0

A YASHAS ANAND
ISC – 12
VIDYASHILP ACADEMY
YEAR – 2019-2020
 1

A FULL ACKNOLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my special thanks of
gratitude to my teacher Rajee ma’am as well as our

WAVE
principal Selvi Ma’am who gave me the golden
opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic
Full Wave Rectifier , which also helped me in doing
a lot of Research and I came to know about so many

RECTIFIE
new things I am really thankful to them.
Secondly I would also like to thank my parents and
friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this project
within the limited time frame.

R
 2

Index
1. Introduction
2. Theory involved
3. Material required
4. Working
5. Applications of a full wave
rectifier
3
 4

Introduction
A full wave rectifier is a device which is used to rectify all the
alternating current components in an alternating supply and make it
purely a direct 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 due to its intense high power. The use of
batteries in all devices is not 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 TV’s, 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 2 diodes, the one we are to discuss in this project. The multi diode
rectifier has only 2 diodes, the one we are to discuss in this project. The
multi diode rectifiers has an efficiency ~ 94.6% while that of the single
is only 81.2%
 5

Theory involved
The input transformer steps down the A.C mains from 230V (nominal) to 6V
between the center tap and either of the two ends of the secondary winding. The
transformer has a capability of delivering a current of 500 mA. The 6V A.C
appearing across the secondary is the RMS value of the waveform and peak value
would be 6 2  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 – nuts & Bolts of 2 to 3 cm
length, Circuit board of mica, a small box to place the model, a transformer, A
capacitor, A Resistor (1 K  ), P-N junction diodes, Insulation tape, Blades,
soldering wax, soldering lead, soldering iron & sand paper.

Details of the materials used 

i) Connecting wires and a plug  A normal insulated copper wire able to

withstand 230 – 250 v is required.
 6

ii) 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.C current
efficiently.

iii) A circuit board  A normal board of mica facilitated with clips to

simplify the connection.

iv) Nuts ad bolt  In order to fix the board & transformer firmly.
Size 2 – 3 cm.

v) 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.

vi) A small box  To place the equipments safely.

vii) A bulb  To test the output voltage whether Direct or not.

Specification  2.2 –6 v it will get burnt on
application of A.C.

viii) A 6-0-6 transformer

Transformer is a device used to change the voltage of an alternating current.

The transformer which converts low voltage to high voltage is called a step up
transformer whereas the one which converts high voltage to low voltage is
called a step down transformer. It consists of a laminated core consisting of two
coils, a primary & a secondary coil. In a step up the number of turns in the
secondary is greater that that of the primary and the reverse in a step down
 7

transformer. Here we use a step down transformer which steps down 230V to
6V between the secondary terminals and the center tap.

ix) A CAPACITOR 

The ability of a metal to store electric charges measures the capacitances of a

conductor. It provides high impedance to Alternating Current and stores them
while all the D.C components are let to pass. There are different types of
capacitors –

a) PARALLEL PLATE CAPACITOR

b) SPHERICAL CAPACITOR
c) CYLINDRICLAL CAPACITOR

Here we deal with a Cylindrical Capacitor. It consists of two coaxial conducting

cylindrical shells. Due to attraction between unlike charges, the charges spread out
uniformly and thus it gets charged. Capacitance is measured in it  Farads. The
1
reactance a capacitors offers to A.C. Current is = c, where  is the frequency

of the supply.

It does not dissipate any power & the energy stored in it equal to ½ CV 2 . In a
capacitor Voltage does not change instantaneously. It leads current & voltage by an
angle different of 900 .
 8

The capacitor can be connected in 2 ways

1) In Series =
1 1 1 1 
     .....
 C C1 C 2 C 3 
&
2) In Parallel =
(C = C1 + C2 + C3 ……)

Here we use capacitor of 1000  F & 25 v.

x) A Resistor 

A resistor is an electronic components whose resistance value tells us about the

opposition it offers to the flow of electric current. Resistance is measured in
ohms (  ).

We determine the value of a resistor using the colour coding on the rings of the
resistor –

1. Black - 0 6. Green - 5
2. Brown –1 7. Blue - 6
3. Red -2 8. Violet - 7
4. Orange – 3 9. Grey - 8
5. Yellow – 4 10. White - 9

Tolerance 
Gold -  5%
Silver -  10%
Colourless -  20%
 9

Measurement 

1st Colour - 1st digit

2nd Colour - 2nd digit
3rd Colour - Power to 10
4th Colour - Tolerance

For Eg: For a resistor of colour code – brown, black, green & gold.
The resistance value is 10  105  5%

Here we use a single resistor of Brown, Red, Red & Gold colour rings.
Its Value = 12  102  5%

Resistance can be connected in 2 ways –

In series,
R = (R1 + R2 + R3 …..)
&
In Parallel
1 1 1 1 
     ..... 
 R R1 R 2 R3 

xi) P-N junction Diodes 

When one side of a semiconductor crystal (Germanium or silicon) is doped with

acceptor impurity atoms and the other side with donor impurity atoms a P-N
junction is formed. It is also called a semiconductor or crystal diode. When
 10

diffusion of the two regions occur a resultant potential barrier is created

between the two sides due to 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 the holes and
turns a current is made to flow overcoming the Internal potential Barrier. While
in reverse biasing the –ve electrons 1st attract the holes and widen the Barrier
and then only the repulsion between the inner electrons occur and current flows.
So theoretically no current flows through due to the widening of the Potential
barrier but practically a very small current does flows through.

Different types of diodes are present –

1. Zener diode
2. P-N junction diode
3. LED
4. LAD
5. Solar cell

Here we use a P-N junction diode. The grayish ring indicated the N side and the
Black colouration the P side.

xii) Finally, small equipments such as a soldering iron to solder the lead,
Blades, holders, insulation tapes – to insulate the wire from shocking and
sand paper – to rub the oxidized wire ends are used.
 11

Circuit diagram

Connection details

Connections are done as in the circuit. The A.C. supply is given to both the
input wires of the transformer and the two ends of the secondary coil is
given to the P side of the two diodes and the N side of the diodes are twined
and then connected to one end of the capacitor and the other end to the
center tap lead and to the resistor. Further, the other end of capacitor with the
diode connection is connected to the other end of the resistor . Connect 2
 12

leads on both the ends of the resistor to measure the output and this is
connected to the +ve & -ve terminals of the bulb.

Working
1st when the A.C. is supplied to the transformer, it steps down the 230V main
supply to 6 volts. It has a capability of delivering a current of 500mA. The 6
volts A.C. appearing across the secondary is the RMS valur and the peak
value is 6 2 or 8.4 volts. During the 1st half cycle of the A.C. input Diode
D1 is forward biased and a current ‘I’ flows in the circuit in the direction
S1D1ABEOS1. During this time diode D2 is reverse biased. So it does not
conduct any electric current. During the next half cycle the diode D2 is
forward and D1 is reversed. Hence D2 conducts current in the direction
S2D2ABEOS2 and D1 does not conduct any current. In subsequent half
cycles of the A.C current the above processes are repeated. In both the half
cycles it is clear that current flows through the resistor in only one direction
ABE. Even though the voltage across RL is unidirectional it will still contain
a few A.C components. This is filtered and made smooth using a capacitor,
which filters 99% of the A.C current. A resistor is then used to adjust the
output voltage. We can then test the o/p Voltage using a multi-meter.

Efficiency of Rectification -

 = D.C power output

Total A.C input power

For a half wave rectifier,  ~ 0.406 = 40.6 %

For a full wave rectifier, the one used here is  ~ 0.812 = 81.2 %
 13

By the use of more number of diodes the efficiency can be increase to a

maximum of 94.6%. Here we only use 2 diodes. The use of multiple
capacitors also nearly filters all A.C components from the supply and
resistance is adjusted for the required output. As this is a simple circuit, only
one capacitor and a resistance is being used. But there will be slight factor of
A.C. current still left in the output but it is negligible.

RECTIFIED D.C VOLTAGE

 14

OBSERVATION:

Capacitance (C) (  F) Resistance (R) (K  ) Output Voltage (DC)

1000 580 15.03
1000 259.6 13.51
1000 661.6 14.69
1000 563.6 14.68

Result:

A full Wave rectifier is constructed & output voltage for different output
resistance is measured and tabulated.
 15

APPLICATIONS OF AFULL WAVE

RECTIFIER

 Car alternator
 Any cell phone charger
 Laptop/tablet charger
 Power bank
 Any other switching supply: alarm, charger,
Bluetooth device charger, lan/router supply etc
 Audio power supply in pre amp and power
amplifier
 Any video device
 Lead battery charger
 LED driver, any LED lamp over 10 watts in general
 16

BIBLIGOGRAPHY
 Google images
 Ncert lab record
 Quora
 Nootan isc textbook