AIM - A FULL WAVE RECTIFIER

INTRODUCTION-

A full wave rectifier is a device which is used to rectify

all the alternating cu rrent co m p o nents in an
al ternat ing s u p pl y and m ake it p u rel y a direc t
current. The two alternating halves of an alternation current
are rectified in a full wave rectifier which is an advantage
over a half wave rectifier. Most electronic devices cannot
withstand very high voltage or alternating current du e to its
in te nse high p o wer. The u s e o f batter ies in al l
dev ices is no t practical as their replacement and durability
is a huge problem as the device has to be dismantled each
time for such a replacement. So these rectifiers are used in
most of the electronic devices like TVs, Radios, Chargers,
Lightings etc. There are several stages in a rectifier.
Based on their rectification they are classified into two. The
single staged & multi staged. In the multi staged rectifiers,
more than two diodes are used and these are used in the
above-mentioned devices. The singled staged rectifier has only
2diodes, the one we are to discuss in this project. The multi
diode rectifier has o nl y 2 dio des , the o n e we are to
dis cuss in th is p ro ject. The m u l ti dio de rectifiers has an
efficiency ~ 94.6% while that of the single is only 81.2%
Theory involved:-
The input transformer steps down the A.C mains
from 230V (nominal) to 6 V b et w een t h e c ent er
t a p a nd eith er of t h e t w o end s of t h e
s ec ond a r y winding. The transformer has a capability
of delivering a current of 500 mA.T h e 6 V A . C
appearing across the secondary is the
R M S v a l u e o f t h e waveform and peak value
would be 8.4volts the diodes rectify the A.C
waveform appearing across the secondary with
the help of alternate forward and reverse biasing. The
capacitor further filters 99% of the resident components
and this is let to pass through the resistance and emerges
out as+ve and ve. The bulb connected verifies the
output as it works on Direct Current and if used on
an Alternating Current, the fluctuation will burn out the
bulb

Materials required in the construction-

Connecting wires, a plug, single lead wire 2m , 3 -
nut bolts, circuit board, a transformer, resistor, P -
N junction diodes, insulation tape, soldering wax,
soldering lead .
Details of the materials used

: Connecting wires and a plug- A normal insulated

copper wire able to withstand 230 250 v is required.

: Single lead wire- Thin wire with one single strand of

copper well Insulated and able to conduct a current of
1 ampere or a D.Ccurrent efficiently.

: A circuit board- A normal board of mica facilitated with clips

to simplify the connection

: Nuts ad bolt- In order to fix the board & transformer firmly.

Size 2 3 cm

: Soldering wax & lead- The wires are to be soldered

firmly to make the connection tight so for this a thin lead wire
is required to affix the connections and wax to make the
lead to hold on when soldered.

: A bulb- To test the output voltage whether Direct or not

: 6 - 0 - 6 t r a n s f o r m e r - Tr a ns f or m er is a
d evic e us e d to c h a ng e t h e vol t a g e of a n
a l t er na ting current. The transformer which
converts low voltage to high voltage is called a step
up transformer whereas the one which converts high
voltage t o l o w v o l t a g e i s c a l l e d a s t e p
down transformer. It consists of a
laminated core consisting of two coils, a primary & a
secondary coil
Step up the number of turns in the secondary is
greater than that of the primary and the reverse
in a step down transformer. Here we use a step-
down transformer which steps down 230V to 6V
between the secondary terminals and the center tap.
: A Resistor- A resistor is electronic components
whose resistance value tells us about the opposition
it offers to the flow of electric current. Resistance is
measured in ohms.

: P-N junction Diodes- W h en one s id e of a

s em ic o nd uc tor cr y s ta l ( G er m a niu m or s il ic on)
is d o p e d w i t h a c c e p t o r i m p u r i t y a t o m s
and the other side with donor i m p u r i t y
atoms a P-N junction is formed.
I t i s a l s o c a l l e d crystal diode. When diffusion
of the two regions occurs a r es u l t a nt p ot ent ia l
b a rr ier is crea ted b et ween t h e t w o s id es d u e
t o migration of electrons and holes.

When the diode is connected with P side to positive

terminal of a battery& N side to ve terminal it is said
to be forward biased & reverse biased when reversed.
In forward biasing the applied positive potential
repels th e h ol es a nd t u r ns a c u r r ent is m a d e
t o f l ow over com ing t h e int e r na l potential
Barrier. While in reverse biasing the ve electrons attract
the holes and widen the Barrier and then only the
repulsion between the inner el ec t r ons oc c u r a nd
c u r r ent fl ow s . S o t h eor et ic a l l y no c u r r ent
f l ow s through due to the widening of the Potential
barrier but practically a very small current does flows
through

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM:

In full wave rectifier both the both half-cycles of the

input are utilized with the help of two or four diode
working alternately. For full-wave rectification, use of
the transformer is essential (through it is optional for
half-wave rectification).
Single-Phase Centre-Tap Full-wave rectifier
The full-wave rectifier circuit using two diodes and a
centre-tapped transformer shown in Figure 1-1. The
centre-tap is usually taken as the ground or zero
voltage reference point.
Working-When input ac supply is switched on, the ends
M and N of the transformer secondary become +ve and
-ve alternately. During the positive half-cycle of the ac
input, terminal M is +ve, G is at zero potential and N is
at ve potential. Hence, being forward-biased, diode D1
conducts (but not D2 which is reversed-biased) and
current flows along MD1CABG. As a result, positive half-
cycle of the voltage appears across RL.
During the negative half-cycle, when the terminal N
becomes +ve, then D2 conducts (but not D1) and current
flows along ND2CABG. So, we find that the current
keeps on flowing through RL in the same direction (i.e.
from A to B) in both half-cycles of ac input. It means
that both half-cycles of the input ac supply are utilized
as shown in figure 1-2. Also, the frequency of the rectified
output voltage is twice the supply frequency. Of course,
this rectified output consists of a dc component and
many ac components of diminishing amplitudes
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Physics text book for class XII of

N.C.E.R.T.

Laboratory manual of Physics for

class XII.

Comprehensive Physics.
This is to certify that, student of CLASS-
XII/B ; ENROLMENT NO : ...of, has done
the project work on FULL WAVE RECTIFIER under
my supervision and guidance with my full satisfaction in the
stipulated time period. All through the period I found her
very sincere.

Mr. .
(H.O.D)
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS.
It is my duty to record my sincere thanks and deep sense of
gratitude to my respected teacher Mr. for his valuable
guidance, interest and constant encouragement that has
helped me to complete the project successfully.

I am also grateful to our laboratory in charge

Mr. who provided me the required apparatus and materials.