140 Y.-S. Lee and M.

Chow

FIGURE 10.1 A single-phase half-wave recti®er with resistive load.

FIGURE 10.3 Full-wave recti®er with center-tapped transformer.

current waveforms of resistive load R and the voltage wave-
form of diode D are shown in Fig. 10.2.
with the associated half of the transformer, acts as a half-wave
By observing the voltage waveform of diode D in Fig. 10.2, it
recti®er. The outputs of the two half-wave recti®ers are
is clear that the peak inverse voltage (PIV) of diode D is equal to
combined to produce full-wave recti®cation in the load. As
Vm during the negative half-cycle of the transformer secondary
far as the transformer is concerned, the dc currents of the two
voltage. Hence the Peak Repetitive Reverse Voltage (VRRM ) rating
half-wave recti®ers are equal and opposite, such that there is
of diode D must be chosen to be higher than Vm to avoid reverse
no dc current for creating a transformer core saturation
breakdown. In the positive half-cycle of the transformer second-
problem. The voltage and current waveforms of the full-
ary voltage, diode D has a forward current which is equal to the
wave recti®er are shown in Fig. 10.4. By observing diode
load current and, therefore, the Peak Repetitive Forward Current
(IFRM ) rating of diode D must be chosen to be higher than the
peak load current Vm =R, in practice. In addition, the transfor-
mer has to carry a dc current that may result in a dc saturation
problem of the transformer core.

10.2.2 Single-Phase Full-Wave Rectifiers

There are two types of single-phase full-wave recti®er, namely,
full-wave recti®ers with center-tapped transformer and bridge
recti®ers. A full-wave recti®er with a center-tapped transfor-
mer is shown in Fig. 10.3. It is clear that each diode, together

FIGURE 10.2 Voltage and current waveforms of the half-wave recti®er FIGURE 10.4 Voltage and current waveforms of the full-wave recti®er
with resistive load. with center-tapped transformer.
10 Diode Recti®ers 141

voltage waveforms vD1 and vD2 in Fig. 10.4, it is clear that the
peak inverse voltage (PIV) of the diodes is equal to 2Vm during
their blocking state. Hence the Peak Repetitive Reverse Voltage
(VRRM ) rating of the diodes must be chosen to be higher than
2Vm to avoid reverse breakdown. (Note that, compared with
the half-wave recti®er shown in Fig. 10.1, the full-wave
recti®er has twice the dc output voltage, as shown in Section
10.2.4.) During its conducting state, each diode has a forward
current that is equal to the load current and, therefore, the
Peak Repetitive Forward Current (IFRM ) rating of these diodes
must be chosen to be higher than the peak load current Vm =R
in practice.
Employing four diodes instead of two, a bridge recti®er as
shown in Fig. 10.5 can provide full-wave recti®cation without
using a center-tapped transformer. During the positive half-
cycle of the transformer secondary voltage, the current ¯ows
to the load through diodes D1 and D2. During the negative
half cycle, D3 and D4 conduct. The voltage and current
waveforms of the bridge recti®er are shown in Fig. 10.6. As
with the full-wave recti®er with center-tapped transformer, the
Peak Repetitive Forward Current (IFRM ) rating of the employed
diodes must be chosen to be higher than the peak load current
Vm =R. However, the peak inverse voltage (PIV) of the diodes is
reduced from 2Vm to Vm during their blocking state. FIGURE 10.6 Voltage and current waveforms of the bridge recti®er.

angular frequency of the source o ¼ 2p=T , and Eq. (10.1) can

10.2.3 Performance Parameters
be rewritten as
In this section the performance of the recti®ers mentioned in
ðp
the preceding will be evaluated in terms of the following 1
parameters. Vdc ¼ Vm sin otd ðotÞ ð10:2Þ
2p 0

10.2.3.1 Voltage Relationships Therefore,

The average value of the load voltage vL is Vdc and it is de®ned
Vm
as Half -wave Vdc ¼ ¼ 0:318 Vm ð10:3Þ
p
ðT
1 In the case of a full-wave recti®er, Figs. 10.4 and 10.6 indicate
Vdc ¼ vL ðtÞdt ð10:1Þ
T 0 that vL ðtÞ ¼ Vm j sin otj for both the positive and negative
half-cycles. Hence Eq. (10.1) can be rewritten as
In the case of a half-wave recti®er, Fig. 10.2 indicates that load ðp
1
voltage vL ðtÞ ¼ 0 for the negative half-cycle. Note that the Vdc ¼ Vm sin ot dðotÞ ð10:4Þ
p 0

Therefore,

2Vm
Full-wave Vdc ¼ ¼ 0:636 Vm ð10:5Þ
p

The root-mean-square (rms) value of load voltage vL is VL ,

which is de®ned as
 ðT 1=2
1
VL ¼ v2L ðtÞdt ð10:6Þ
FIGURE 10.5 Bridge recti®er. T 0
142 Y.-S. Lee and M. Chow

In the case of a half-wave recti®er, vL ðtÞ ¼ 0 for the negative and from Eq. (10.10)
half-cycle, therefore, Eq. (10.6) can be rewritten as
0:707 Vm
s
ð  Full-wave IL ¼ ð10:16Þ
1 p R
VL ¼ ðV sin otÞ2 dðotÞ ð10:7Þ
2p 0 m 10.2.3.3 Rectification Ratio
The recti®cation ratio, which is a ®gure of merit for compar-
or ing the effectiveness of recti®cation, is de®ned as
Vm Pdc Vdc Idc
Half -wave VL ¼ ¼ 0:5 Vm ð10:8Þ s¼ ¼ ð10:17Þ
2 PL VL IL
In the case of a full-wave recti®er, vL ðtÞ ¼ Vm jsin otj for both
In the case of a half-wave diode recti®er, the recti®cation ratio
the positive and negative half-cycles. Hence, Eq. (10.6) can be
can be determined by substituting Eqs. (10.3), (10.13), (10.8),
rewritten as
and (10.14) into Eq. (10.17).
s
ð
1 p ð0:318 Vm Þ2
VL ¼ ðV sin otÞ2 dðotÞ ð10:9Þ Half -wave s ¼ ¼ 40:5%
p 0 m ð10:18Þ
ð0:5 Vm Þ2

or In the case of a full-wave recti®er, the recti®cation ratio is

obtained by substituting Eq. (10.5), (10.15), (10.10), and
V
Full-wave VL ¼ pm ¼ 0:707 Vm ð10:10Þ (10.16) into Eq. (10.17).
2
ð0:636 Vm Þ2
The result of Eq. (10.10) is as expected because the rms value Full-wave s ¼ ¼ 81% ð10:19Þ
of a full-wave recti®ed voltage should be equal to that of the ð0:707 Vm Þ2
original ac voltage.
10.2.3.4 Form Factor
10.2.3.2 Current Relationships The form factor (FF) is de®ned as the ratio of the root-mean-
square value (heating component) of a voltage or current to its
The average value of load current iL is Idc and because load R is
average value,
purely resistive it can be found as

Vdc VL IL
Idc ¼ ð10:11Þ FF ¼ or ð10:20Þ
R Vdc Idc

The root-mean-square (rms) value of load current iL is IL and In the case of a half-wave recti®er, the FF can be found by
it can be found as substituting Eqs. (10.8) and (10.3) into Eq. (10.20)

VL 0:5 Vm
IL ¼ ð10:12Þ Half -wave FF ¼ ¼ 1:57 ð10:21Þ
R 0:318 Vm

In the case of a half-wave recti®er, from Eq. (10.3) In the case of a full-wave recti®er, the FF can be found by
substituting Eqs. (10.16) and (10.15) into Eq. (10.20)
0:318 Vm
Half -wave Idc ¼ ð10:13Þ
R 0:707 Vm
Full-wave FF ¼ ¼ 1:11 ð10:22Þ
0:636 Vm
and from Eq. (10.8)

0:5 Vm
Half -wave ¼ IL ¼ ð10:14Þ 10.2.3.5 Ripple Factor
R
The ripple factor (RF), which is a measure of the ripple
In the case of a full-wave recti®er, from Eq. (10.5) content, is de®ned as

0:636 Vm Vac
Full-wave Idc ¼ ð10:15Þ RF ¼ ð10:23Þ
R Vdc
10 Diode Recti®ers 143

where Vac is the effective (rms) value of the ac component of The poor TUF of a half-wave recti®er signi®es that the
load voltage vL , transformer employed must have a 3.496 (1=0.286) VA
rating in order to deliver 1 W dc output power to the load.
q
Vac ¼ VL2 ÿ Vdc 2 ð10:24Þ In addition, the transformer secondary winding has to carry a
dc current that may cause magnetic core saturation. As a
result, half-wave recti®ers are used only when the current
Substituting Eq. (10.24) into Eq. (10.23), the ripple factor can requirement is small.
be expressed as In the case of a full-wave recti®er with a center-tapped
s
 2
transformer, the circuit can be treated as two half-wave
VL p recti®ers operating together. Therefore, the transformer
RF ¼ ÿ1 ¼ FF2 ÿ 1 ð10:25Þ secondary VA rating Vs Is is double that of a half-wave recti®er,
Vdc
but the output dc power is increased by a factor of four due to
the higher recti®cation ratio as indicated by Eqs. (10.5) and
In the case of a half-wave recti®er,
(10.15). Therefore, the TUF of a full-wave recti®er with center-
p tapped transformer can be found from Eq. (10.32)
Half -wave RF ¼ 1:572 ÿ 1 ¼ 1:21 ð10:26Þ

In the case of a full-wave recti®er, 4  0:3182

Full-wave TUF ¼
2  0:707  0:5
p
Full-wave RF ¼ 1:112 ÿ 1 ¼ 0:482 ð10:27Þ ¼ 0:572 ð10:33Þ

10.2.3.6 Transformer Utilization Factor
The transformer utilization factor (TUF), which is a measure
of the merit of a recti®er circuit, is de®ned as the ratio of the
dc output power to the transformer volt-ampere (VA) rating
required by the secondary winding,
The bridge recti®er has the highest TUF in single-phase
recti®er circuits because the currents ¯owing in both the
primary and secondary windings are continuous sinewaves.
By substituting Eqs. (10.5), (10.15), (10.29), and (10.31) into
Eq. (10.28), the TUF of a bridge recti®er can be found

Pdc V I
TUF ¼ ¼ dc dc ð10:28Þ 0:6362
V s Is Vs Is Bridge TUF ¼ ¼ 0:81 ð10:34Þ
0:707  0:707
where Vs and Is are the rms voltage and rms current ratings of
the transformer secondary The transformer primary VA rating of a full-wave recti®er is
equal to that of a bridge recti®er because the current ¯owing
V in the primary winding is also a continuous sinewave.
Vs ¼ pm ¼ 0:707 Vm ð10:29Þ
2
10.2.3.7 Harmonics
The rms value of the transformer secondary current Is is the Full-wave recti®er circuits with resistive load do not produce
same as that for the load current IL . For a half-wave recti®er, Is harmonic currents in their transformers but they are produced
can be found from Eq. (10.14) in half-wave recti®ers. The amplitudes of the harmonic
currents of a half-wave recti®er with resistive load, relative
0:5 Vm to the fundamental, are given in Table 10.1. The extra loss
Half -wave Is ¼ ð10:30Þ
R caused by the harmonics in the resistively loaded recti®er
circuits is often neglected because it is not high compared with
For a full-wave recti®er, Is is found from Eq. (10.16). other losses. However, with nonlinear loads, harmonics can
cause appreciable loss and other problems such as poor power
0:707 Vm
Full-wave Is ¼ ð10:31Þ factor and interference.
R

Therefore, the TUF of a half-wave recti®er can be obtained by

TABLE 10.1 Harmonic percentages of a half-wave recti®er with resistive
substituting Eqs. (10.3), (10.13), (10.29), and (10.30) into Eq.
load
(10.28).
Harmonic 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th
0:3182
Half -wave TUF ¼ ¼ 0:286 ð10:32Þ % 21.2 0 4.2 0 1.8 0 1.01
0:707  0:5
144 Y.-S. Lee and M. Chow

TABLE 10.2 Important design parameters of basic single-phase recti®er circuits with resistive load

Half-Wave Recti®er Full-Wave Recti®er with Full-Wave Bridge Recti®er

Center-Tapped Transformer

Peak repetitive reverse voltage VRRM 3.14 Vdc 3.14 Vdc 1.57 Vdc
Rms input voltage per transformer leg Vs 2.22 Vdc 1.11 Vdc 1.11 Vdc
Diode average current IFðAVÞ 1.00 Idc 0.50 Idc 0.50 Idc
Peak repetitive forward current IFRM 3.14 IFðAVÞ 1.57 IFðAVÞ 1.57 IFðAVÞ
Diode rms current IFðRMSÞ 1.57 Idc 0.785 Idc 0.785 Idc
Form factor of diode current IFðRMSÞ =IFðAVÞ 1.57 1.57 1.57
Recti®cation ratio 0.405 0.81 0.81
Form factor 1.57 1.11 1.11
Ripple factor 1.21 0.482 0.482
Transformer rating primary VA 2.69 Pdc 1.23 Pdc 1.23 Pdc
Transformer rating secondary VA 3.49 Pdc 1.75 Pdc 1.23 Pdc
Output ripple frequency fr 1 fi 2 fi 2 fi

10.2.4 Design Considerations It is important to evaluate the Peak Repetitive Forward Current
(IFRM ) rating of the employed diodes in recti®er circuits.
The goal in practical design is to achieve a given dc output
In the case of a half-wave recti®er, from Eq. (10.13),
voltage. Therefore, it is more convenient to put all the design
parameters in terms of Vdc . For example, the rating and turns
ratio of the transformer in a recti®er circuit can be easily Vm I
Half -wave IFRM ¼ ¼ dc ¼ 3:41Idc ð10:40Þ
determined if the rms input voltage to the recti®er is in terms R 0:318
of the required output voltage Vdc . Denote the rms value of
the input voltage to the recti®er as Vs , which is equal to In the case of full-wave recti®ers, from Eq. (10.15),
0:707 Vm . Based on this relation and Eq. (10.3), the rms input
voltage to a half-wave recti®er is found as Vm I
Full-wave IFRM ¼ ¼ dc ¼ 1:57Idc ð10:41Þ
R 0:636
Half -wave Vs ¼ 2:22 Vdc ð10:35Þ
The important design parameters of basic single-phase recti-
Similarly, from Eqs. (10.5) and (10.29), the rms input voltage ®er circuits with resistive loads are summarized in Table 10.2.
per secondary winding of a full-wave recti®er is found as

Full-wave Vs ¼ 1:11 Vdc ð10:36Þ 10.3 Three-Phase Diode Rectifiers

Another important design parameter is the Peak Repetitive In Section 10.2 we showed that single-phase diode recti®ers
Reverse Voltage (VRRM ) rating of the diodes employed. require a rather high transformer VA rating for a given dc
In the case of a half-wave recti®er, from Eq. (10.3), output power. Therefore, these recti®ers are suitable only for
low to medium power applications. For power output higher
Vdc than 15 kW, three-phase or polyphase diode recti®ers should
Half -wave VRRM ¼ Vm ¼ ¼ 3:14 Vdc ð10:37Þ be employed. There are two types of three-phase diode recti®er
0:318
that convert a three-phase ac supply into a dc voltage, star
recti®ers and bridge recti®ers. In the following, the operations
In the case of a full-wave recti®er with center-tapped trans-
of these recti®ers are examined and their performances are
former, from Eq. (10.5),
analyzed and compared in a table. For the sake of simplicity,
the diodes and transformers are considered to be ideal, that is,
Vdc the diodes have zero forward voltage drop and reverse current,
Full-wave VRRM ¼ 2 Vm ¼ 2 ¼ 3:14 Vdc ð10:38Þ
0:636 and the transformers do not possess either resistance or
leakage inductance. Furthermore, it is assumed that the load
In the case of a bridge recti®er, also from Eq. (10.5), is purely resistive, such that the load voltage and the load
current have similar waveforms. The effects of inductive load
Vdc and capacitive load on a diode recti®er are considered in detail
Bridge VRRM ¼ Vm ¼ ¼ 1:57 Vdc ð10:39Þ
0:636 in Section 10.5.
10 Diode Recti®ers 145

10.3.1 Three-Phase Star Rectifiers

10.3.1.1 Basic Three-Phase Star Rectifier Circuit
A basic three-phase star recti®er circuit is shown in Fig. 10.7.
This circuit can be considered as three single-phase half-wave
recti®ers combined together. Therefore, it is sometimes
referred to as a three-phase half-wave recti®er. The diode in
a particular phase conducts during the period when the
voltage on that phase is higher than that on the other two FIGURE 10.7 Three-phase star recti®er.
phases. The voltage waveforms of each phase and the load are
shown in Fig. 10.8. It is clear that, unlike the single-phase
recti®er circuit, the conduction angle of each diode is 2p=3, sum to zero. Therefore, it is preferable not to have star-
instead of p. This circuit ®nds uses where the required dc connected primary windings.
output voltage is relatively low and the required output
current is too large for a practical single-phase system. 10.3.1.2 Three-Phase Inter-Star Rectifier Circuit
Taking phase R as an example, diode D conducts from p=6
The transformer core saturation problem in the three-phase
to 5p=6. Therefore, by using Eq. (10.1) the average value of the
star recti®er can be avoided by a special arrangement in its
output can be found as
secondary windings, known as zig-zag connection. The modi-
ð 5p=6 ®ed circuit is called the three-phase interstar or zig-zag
3
Vdc ¼ Vm sin y dy ð10:42Þ recti®er circuit, as shown in Fig. 10.9. Each secondary phase
2p p=6 voltage is obtained from two equal-voltage secondary wind-
ings (with a phase displacement of p=3) connected in series so
or that the dc magnetizing forces due to the two secondary
p windings on any limb are equal and opposite. At the expense
3 3 of extra secondary windings (increasing the transformer
Vdc ¼ Vm ¼ 0:827 Vm ð10:43Þ
p 2 secondary rating factor from 1.51 VA=W to 1.74 VA=W), this
circuit connection eliminates the effects of core saturation and
Similarly, using Eq. (10.6), the rms value of the output voltage reduces the transformer primary rating factor to the minimum
can be found as of 1.05 VA=W. Apart from transformer ratings, all the design
s parameters of this circuit are the same as those of a three-
ð phase star recti®er (therefore, they are not separately listed in
3 5p=6
VL ¼ ðV sin yÞ2 dy ð10:44Þ
2p p=6 m

or
s
 p 
3 p 3
VL ¼ Vm þ ¼ 0:84 Vm ð10:45Þ
2p 3 4

In addition, the rms current in each transformer secondary

winding can also be found as
s
 p 
1 p 3
Is ¼ Im þ ¼ 0:485 Im ð10:46Þ
2p 3 4

where Im ¼ Vm =R.
Based on the relationships stated in Eqs. (10.43), (10.45)
and (10.46), all the important design parameters of the three-
phase star recti®er can be evaluated as listed in Table 10.3.
Note that, as with a single-phase half-wave recti®er, the three-
phase star recti®er shown in Fig. 10.7 has direct currents in the
secondary windings that can cause a transformer core satura- FIGURE 10.8 Waveforms of voltage and current of the three-phase star
tion problem. In addition, the currents in the primary do not recti®er as shown in Fig. 10.7.
146 Y.-S. Lee and M. Chow

TABLE 10.3 Important design parameters of three-phase recti®er circuits with resistive load

Three-Phase Star Recti®er Three-Phase Double-Star Recti®er Three-Phase Bridge Recti®er

With Inter-Phase Transformer

Peak repetitive reverse voltage VRRM 2.092 Vdc 1.06 Vdc 1.05 Vdc
Rms input voltage per transformer leg Vs 0.855 Vdc 0.855 Vdc 0.428 Vdc
Diode average current IFðAVÞ 0.333 Idc 0.167 Idc 0.333 Idc
Peak repetitive forward current IFRM 3.63 IFðAVÞ 3.15 IFðAVÞ 3.14 IFðAVÞ
Diode rms current IFðRMSÞ 0.587 Idc 0.293 Idc 0.579 Idc
Form factor of diode current IFðRMSÞ =IFðAVÞ 1.76 1.76 1.74
Recti®cation ratio 0.968 0.998 0.998
Form factor 1.0165 1.0009 1.0009
Ripple factor 0.182 0.042 0.042
Transformer rating primary VA 1.23 Pdc 1.06 Pdc 1.05 Pdc
Transformer rating secondary VA 1.51 Pdc 1.49 Pdc 1.05 Pdc
Output ripple frequency fr 3 fi 6 fi 6 fi

FIGURE 10.9 Three-phase inter-star recti®er.

Table 10.3). Furthermore, a star-connected primary winding

with no neutral connection is equally permissible because the
sum of all primary phase currents is zero at all times.
FIGURE 10.10 Three-phase double-star recti®er with interphase trans-
former.

10.3.1.3 Three-Phase Double-Star Rectifier with

Interphase Transformer at all times. Therefore, a star primary winding with no neutral
This circuit consists essentially of two three-phase star recti- connection would be equally permissible.
®ers with their neutral points interconnected through an
interphase transformer or reactor. The polarities of the corre-
10.3.2 Three-Phase Bridge Rectifiers
sponding secondary windings in the two interconnected
systems are reversed with respect to each other, so that the Three-phase bridge recti®ers are commonly used for high-
recti®er output voltage of one three-phase unit is at a mini- power applications because they have the highest possible
mum when the recti®er output voltage of the other unit is at a transformer utilization factor for a three-phase system. The
maximum as shown in Fig. 10.10. The interphase transformer circuit of a three-phase bridge recti®er is shown in Fig. 10.12.
causes the output voltage vL to be the average of the recti®ed
voltages v1 and v2 as shown in Fig. 10.11. In addition, the
ripple frequency of the output voltage is now six times that of
the mains and, therefore, the component size of the ®lter (if
there is any) becomes smaller. In a balanced circuit, the output
currents of two three-phase units ¯owing in opposite direc-
tions in the interphase transformer winding will produce no
dc magnetization current. Similarly, the dc magnetization
currents in the secondary windings of two three-phase units
cancel each other out. By virtue of the symmetry of the FIGURE 10.11 Voltage waveforms of the three-phase double-star recti-
secondary circuits, the three primary currents add up to zero ®er.
10 Diode Recti®ers 147

Similarly, using Eq. (10.6), the rms value of the output voltage
can be found as
s
ð
9 2p=3
VL ¼ ðV sin yÞ2 dy ð10:49Þ
p p=3 m

or
s
p
FIGURE 10.12 Three-phase bridge recti®er. 3 9 3
VL ¼ Vm þ ¼ 1:655 Vm ð10:50Þ
2 4p

In addition, the rms current in each transformer secondary

The diodes are numbered in the order of conduction winding can also be found as
sequences and the conduction angle of each diode is 2p=3.
The conduction sequence for diodes is 12, 23, 34, 45, 56, s
 p 
and 61. The voltage and current waveforms of the three-phase 2 p 3
Is ¼ Im þ ¼ 0:78 Im ð10:51Þ
bridge recti®er are shown in Fig. 10.13. The line voltage is 1.73 p 6 4
times the phase voltage of a three-phase star-connected source.
It is permissible to use any combination of star- or delta- and the rms current through a diode is
connected primary and secondary windings because the
s
 p 
currents associated with the secondary windings are symme-
1 p 3
trical. ID ¼ Im þ ¼ 0:552 Im ð10:52Þ
Using Eq. (10.1), the average value of the output can be p 6 4
found as
where Im ¼ 1:73 Vm =R.
ð 2p=3
6 p Based on Eqs. (10.48), (10.50), (10.51), and (10.52), all the
Vdc ¼ 3 Vm sin y dy ð10:47Þ important design parameters of the three-phase star recti®er
2p p=3
can be evaluated as listed in Table 10.3. The dc output voltage
is slightly lower than the peak line voltage or 2.34 times the
or
rms phase voltage. The Peak Repetitive Reverse Voltage (VRRM )
p rating of the employed diodes is 1.05 times the dc output
3 3 voltage, and the Peak Repetitive Forward Current (IFRM ) rating
Vdc ¼ Vm ¼ 1:654 Vm ð10:48Þ
p of the employed diodes is 0.579 times the dc output current.
Therefore, this three-phase bridge recti®er is very ef®cient and
popular wherever both dc voltage and current requirements
are high. In many applications, no additional ®lter is required
because the output ripple voltage is only 4.2%. Even if a ®lter
is required, the size of the ®lter is relatively small because the
ripple frequency is increased to six times the input frequency.

10.3.3 Operation of Rectifiers with Finite Source

Inductance
It has been assumed in the preceding sections that the
commutation of current from one diode to the next takes
place instantaneously when the interphase voltage assumes
necessary polarity. In practice, this is hardly possible because
there are ®nite inductances associated with the source. For the
purpose of discussing the effects of the ®nite source induc-
tance, a three- phase star recti®er with transformer leakage
inductances is shown in Fig. 10.14, where l1 , l2 , l3 , denote the
FIGURE 10.13 Voltage and current waveforms of the three-phase bridge leakage inductances associated with the transformer secondary
recti®er. windings.
148
FIGURE 10.14 Three-phase star recti®er with transformer leakage
inductances.
Refer to Fig. 10.15. At the time that vYN is about to become
larger than vRN , due to leakage inductance l1 , the current in D1
cannot fall to zero immediately. Similarly, due to the leakage
inductance l2 , the current in D2 cannot increase immediately
to its full value. The result is that both diodes conduct for a
certain period, which is called the overlap (or commutation)
angle. The overlap reduces the recti®ed voltage vL as shown in
the upper voltage waveform of Fig. 10.15. If all the leakage
inductances are equal, that is, l1 ¼ l2 ¼ l3 ¼ lc , then the
amount of reduction of dc output voltage can be estimated
as mfi lc Idc , where m is the ratio of the lowest-ripple frequency
to the input frequency.
For example, for a three-phase star recti®er operating from
a 60-Hz supply with an average load current of 50 A, the
amount of reduction of the dc output voltage is 2.7 V if the
leakage inductance in each secondary winding is 300 mH.
10.4 Poly-Phase Diode Rectifiers
10.4.1 Six-Phase Star Rectifier
A basic six-phase star recti®er circuit is shown in Fig. 10.16.
The six-phase voltages on the secondary are obtained by
FIGURE 10.15 Waveforms during commutation in Fig. 10.14.
Y.-S. Lee and M. Chow
FIGURE 10.16 Six-phase star recti®er.
means of a center-tapped arrangement on a star-connected
three-phase winding. Therefore, it is sometimes referred to as
a three-phase full-wave recti®er. The diode in a particular
phase conducts during the period when the voltage on that
phase is higher than that on the other phases. The voltage
waveforms of each phase and the load are shown in Fig. 10.17.
It is clear that, unlike the three-phase star recti®er circuit, the
conduction angle of each diode is p=3 instead of 2p=3.
Currents ¯ow in only one rectifying element at a time,
resulting in a low average current, but a high peak-to-average
current ratio in the diodes and poor transformer secondary
utilization. Nevertheless, the dc currents in the secondary of
the six-phase star recti®er cancel in the secondary windings
like a full-wave recti®er and, therefore, core saturation is not
encountered. This six-phase star circuit is attractive in appli-
cations that require a low ripple factor and a common cathode
or anode for the recti®ers.
By considering the output voltage provided by vRN between
p=3 and 2p=3, the average value of the output voltage can be
found as
ð 2p=3
6
Vdc ¼ Vm sin y dy ð10:53Þ
2p p=3
FIGURE 10.17 Voltage waveforms of the six-phase star recti®er.
10 Diode Recti®ers 149

or individual bridge recti®er) to 1%. The combined bridge

recti®er is referred to as a six-phase series bridge recti®er.
6 1 In the six-phase series bridge recti®er shown in Fig. 10.18,
Vdc ¼ Vm ¼ 0:955 Vm ð10:54Þ
p 2 let Vm be the peak voltage of the delta-connected secondary.
The peak voltage between the lines of the star-connected
Similarly, the rms value of the output voltage can be found as secondary is also Vm . The peak voltage across the load,
denoted as Vm , is equal to 2 Vm  cosðp=12Þ or 1:932 Vm
s
ð
6 2p=3 because there is p=6-phase displacement between the second-
VL ¼ ðV sin yÞ2 dy ð10:55Þ aries. The ripple frequency is 12 times the mains frequency.
2p p=3 m
The average value of the output voltage can be found as

or ð 7p=12
12
Vdc ¼ Vm sin y dy ð10:58Þ
s
p  p
 5p=12
6 p 3
VL ¼ Vm þ ¼ 0:956 Vm ð10:56Þ
2p 6 4 or
p
In addition, the rms current in each transformer secondary 12 3ÿ1
Vdc ¼ Vm p ¼ 0:98862 Vm ð10:59Þ
winding can be found as p 2 2
s
 p  The rms value of the output voltage can be found as
1 p 3
Is ¼ Im þ ¼ 0:39 Im ð10:57Þ s
2p 6 4 ð
12 7p=12
VL ¼ ðV sin yÞ2 dy ð10:60Þ
2p 5p=12 m
where Im ¼ Vm =R.
Based on the relationships stated in Eqs. (10.55), (10.56),
and (10.57), all the important design parameters of the six- or
phase star recti®er can be evaluated, as listed in Table 10.4 s
 
(given at the end of Section 10.4.3). 12 p 1
VL ¼ Vm þ ¼ 0:98867 Vm ð10:61Þ
2p 12 4

10.4.2 Six-Phase Series Bridge Rectifier The rms current in each transformer secondary winding is

The star- and delta-connected secondaries have an inherent s

 
p=6-phase displacement between their output voltages. When 4 p 1
Is ¼ Im þ ¼ 0:807 Im ð10:62Þ
a star-connected bridge recti®er and a delta-connected bridge p 12 4
recti®er are connected in series as shown in Fig. 10.18, the
combined output voltage will have a doubled ripple frequency The rms current through a diode is
(12 times that of the mains). The ripple of the combined s
output voltage will also be reduced from 4.2% (for each  
2 p 1
Is ¼ Im þ ¼ 0:57 Im ð10:63Þ
p 12 4

where Im ¼ Vm =R.
Based on Eqs. (10.59), (10.61), (10.62), and (10.63), all the
important design parameters of the six-phase series bridge
recti®er can be evaluated, as listed in Table 10.4.

10.4.3 Six-Phase Parallel Bridge Rectifier

The six-phase series bridge recti®er described in the preceding
is useful for high-output voltage applications. However, for
high-output current applications, the six-phase parallel bridge
recti®er (with an interphase transformer) shown in Fig. 10.19
FIGURE 10.18 Six-phase series bridge recti®er. should be used.
150 Y.-S. Lee and M. Chow

TABLE 10.4 Important design parameters of six-phase recti®er circuits with resistive load

Six-Phase Star Recti®er Six-Phase Series Bridge Six-Phase Parallel Bridge

Recti®er Recti®er (With Inter-Phase
Transformer)

Peak repetitive reverse voltage VRRM 2.09 Vdc 0.524 Vdc 1.05 Vdc
Rms input voltage per transformer leg Vs 0.74 Vdc 0.37 Vdc 0.715 Vdc
Diode average current IFðAVÞ 0.167 Idc 0.333 Idc 0.167 Idc
Peak repetitive forward current IFRM 6.28 IFðAVÞ 3.033 IFðAVÞ 3.14 IFðAVÞ
Diode rms current IFðRMSÞ 0.409 Idc 0.576 Idc 0.409 Idc
Form factor of diode current IFðRMSÞ =IFðAVÞ 2.45 1.73 2.45
Recti®cation ratio 0.998 1.00 1.00
Form factor 1.0009 1.00005 1.00005
Ripple factor 0.042 0.01 0.01
Transformer rating primary VA 1.28 Pdc 1.01 Pdc 1.01 Pdc
Transformer rating secondary VA 1.81 Pdc 1.05 Pdc 1.05 Pdc
Output ripple frequency fr 6 fi 12 fi 12 fi

in opposite directions in the interphase transformer winding)

produce no dc magnetization current.
All the important design parameters of the six-phase paral-
lel recti®ers with interphase transformer are also listed in Table
10.4.

10.5 Filtering Systems in Rectifier

FIGURE 10.19 Six-phase parallel bridge recti®er.
The interphase transformer causes the output voltage vL to
be the average of the recti®ed voltages v1 and v2 as shown in
Fig. 10.20. As with the six-phase series bridge recti®er, the
output ripple frequency of the six-phase parallel bridge recti-
®er is also 12 times that of the mains. Further ®ltering on the
output voltage is usually not required. Assuming a balanced
circuit, the output currents of two three-phase units (¯owing
Circuits
Filters are commonly employed in recti®er circuits for
smoothing out the dc output voltage of the load. They are
classi®ed as inductor-input dc ®lters and capacitor-input dc
®lters. Inductor-input dc ®lters are preferred in high-power
applications because more ef®cient transformer operation is
obtained due to the reduction in the form factor of the
recti®er current. Capacitor-input dc ®lters can provide volu-
metrically ef®cient operation, but they demand excessive turn-
on and repetitive surge currents. Therefore, capacitor-input dc
®lters are suitable only for lower-power systems where close
regulation is usually achieved by an electronic regulator
cascaded with the recti®er.

10.5.1 Inductive-Input dc Filters

FIGURE 10.20 Voltage waveforms of the six-phase bridge recti®er with
interphase transformer.
The simplest inductive-input dc ®lter is shown in Fig. 10.21a.
The output current of the recti®er can be maintained at a
steady value if the inductance of Lf is suf®ciently large
ðoLf  RÞ. The ®ltering action is more effective in heavy
load conditions than in light load conditions. If the ripple
attenuation is not suf®cient even with large values of induc-
tance, an L-section ®lter as shown in Fig. 10.21b can be used
for further ®ltering. In practice, multiple L-section ®lters can
also be employed if the requirement on the output ripple is
very stringent.