Three-Phase Full-Wave Rectifier

Most industrial power supplies for motor drives and welding applications use three-phase ac voltage.
This means that the rectifier for these circuits must use a three-phase bridge, which has six diodes to
provide full-wave rectification (two diodes for each line of the three phases). Fig. 1 shows the electrical
diagram for a three-phase bridge rectifier. From this diagram, notice that the secondary winding of a
three-phase transformer is shown connected to the diode rectifier. Phase A of the three-phase voltage
from the transformer is connected to the point where the cathode of diode 1D is connected to the
anode of diode 2D. Phase B is connected to the point where the cathode of diode 3D is connected to the
anode of diode 4D, and phase C is connected to the point where the cathode of diode 5D is connected
to the anode of diode 6D. The anodes of diodes 1D, 3D, and 5D are connected together to provide a
common point for the dc negative terminal of the output power. The cathodes of diodes 2D, 4D, and 6D
are connected to provide a common point for the dc positive terminal of the output power.

Above: Fig. 1 (a) Electronic schematic of the three-phase bridge rectifier that is connected to the
secondary winding of a three-phase transformer. (b) Three-phase input sine waves. (c) Six half-waves for
the dc output.

A good rule-of-thumb for determining the connections on diode rectifiers is that the ac input voltage will
be connected to the bridge where the anode and cathode of any two diodes are joined. Since this occurs
at two points in the bridge, in a four diode bridge the two ac lines will be connected there without
respect to polarity since the incoming ac voltage does not have a specific polarity. The positive terminal
for the power supply will be connected to the bridge where the two cathodes of the diodes are joined,
and the negative terminal will be connected to the bridge where the two anodes of the diodes are
joined.

This diagram also shows the waveforms for the three-phase sine waves that supply power to the bridge,
and for the six half-waves of the output pulsing dc voltage. Notice that since the six half-waves overlap,
the dc voltage does not have a chance to get to the zero voltage point; thus, the average dc output
voltage is very high.
The three-phase full-wave bridge rectifier is used where the required amount of dc power is high and
the transformer efficiency must be high. Since the output waveforms of the half-waves overlap, they
provide a low ripple percentage. In this circuit, the output ripple is six times the input frequency. Since
the ripple percentage is low, the output dc voltage is usable without much filtering. This type of rectifier
is compatible with transformers that are wye or delta connected.

Other Types of Three-Phase Rectifiers

Several other variations of the three-phase rectifier are used in some industrial power supplies because
they provide an advantage of less power being converted by each individual diode, which means smaller
diodes can be used to provide the same voltage and current as another rectifier circuit. Two of the more
usable types of alternative rectifier circuits are shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A three-phase double-wye
rectifier with an interphase transformer is shown in Fig. 1. This rectifier circuit is sometimes used instead
of the normal three-phase bridge because each diode in this circuit must rectify only one-sixth of the
total dc load, whereas each diode in the normal bridge circuit must contribute one-third of the dc load
since it takes a pair of diodes to rectify each phase.

Above: Fig. 1 Electronic schematic of a three-phase double-wye rectifier with an interphase transformer.
The output waveform for the rectifier is also shown.
Above: Fig. 2 Electronic schematic of a six-phase star rectifier circuit. This rectifier circuit utilizes a
secondary transformer winding that has all six windings connected at a center tap.

This circuit consists of the secondary windings of two three-phase wye-connected transformers that
have their neutral points connected by an interphase transformer. The polarity of the windings of the
first secondary must be reversed with respect to the polarity of the windings in the second transformer.

This means that the secondary windings of the two transformers are actually wired in inverse parallel to
each other. This allows the diodes to all be connected the same wav, with their cathodes all connected
together to provide the positive dc power. The interphase transformer connects the two neutral points
of the wye secondary transformers and it has a center tap, which h becomes the negative terminal of
the dc power supply. The output waveform for the rectifier is also shown; notice that the amount of
ripple is the same as the three-phase bridge rectifier.

Keep in mind that the output waveform for the half-waves created by the three-phase sine waves will
show two half-waves for the sine-wave input of each phase. This means that the output waveform will
have six half-waves that will overlap because the sine waves of the three-phase input voltage overlap at
120° intervals. The overlap of the six half-waves in the output section results in a higher average dc
voltage and less ripple that needs to be filtered.

Another method of connecting the secondary windings of the transformer for the three-phase rectifier
is shown in Fig. 2. In this diagram notice that the secondary windings of the transformer consist of six
separate windings. All six of the windings are connected at one end to form a center point for the star
configuration, which is actually a type of wye-connected transformer. The cathodes of each diode in this
rectifier are connected to provide the positive terminal of the dc power supply. The center point of the
star is the negative terminal of the dc power supply. This circuit is used where it's important that all of
the diodes in the circuit have a common connection for their cathodes.

Six-Phase Full-Wave Bridge Circuits

In the 1970s and 1980s power supplies required higher currents and voltages than the individual diodes
could provide in the basic four-diode bridge. If the amount of current or voltage the power supply
requires is larger than the individual diode can provide, the diodes can be connected in parallel to
provide the extra current. and they can be connected in series to meet the higher voltage specification.
Two types of circuits are generally used to provide these configurations. Fig. 1a shows an example using
12 diodes that are connected in parallel as a six-phase full-wave bridge to provide extra current. Fig. 1b
shows examples of 12 diodes connected in series to allow the bridge to be used in a circuit where the
system voltage is higher than the specification for any of the individual diodes.

Above: Fig. 1 (a) Electronic schematic of 12 diodes connected in parallel as a six-phase full-wave bridge
rectifier. This circuit can provide larger current that exceeds the specification of each individual diode.
(b) Electronic schematic of 12 diodes connected in series as a six-phase full-wave bridge rectifier that
provides a voltage that exceeds the specification of each individual diode.

Since both of these types of circuits use 12 diodes, the amount of ripple in the output section is reduced
to approximately 1% since the output frequency will be 12 times the input frequency. In the circuit in
Fig. 1a where the diodes are connected as two parallel power supplies that are interconnected with
equalizing reactors, each of the bridge circuits provide half of the load. In the circuit in Fig. 1b, each
phase of the input voltage will pass through four diodes instead of two so the voltage drop is shared
four ways.

A Comparison of the Different Types of Rectifier Circuits

It's important to compare all of the different types of rectifier circuits. One will find each of these
different types of circuits when one troubleshoots modern electronic controls such as ac and dc motor
drives, welding power supplies, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), and other industrial systems that
require dc voltage. Fig. 1 (below) provides a table that shows all of the types of rectifier circuits that
have been previously discussed and each of their characteristics are compared.

In the first line of the table notice a comparison of the average current that each diode will carry. In the
four-diode bridge and in the six-phase rectifier circuit where the diodes are connected in series, each
diode must carry 0.333 of IF(Av), and in all of the other circuits, each diode must carry 0.167. This means
that if the current requirements for the output of the power supply are larger than the current rating of
any individual diode, the circuit where the diode carries 0.167 of the full-load current should be used.
Also notice that as more diodes are used in a rectifier circuit, the ripple factor (percentage of total rms
ripple) becomes better (lower). This table also shows that the conversion efficiency of each of the three-
phase rectifiers is above 96%. This means that each of these types of three-phase rectifiers will produce
approximately the same amount of dc voltage for a given input ac voltage.

In the examples of the single-phase power supplies the amount of dc average voltage was calculated
using several equations. The equations for solving the amount of dc average voltage for three-phase
rectifiers become more complex because the instantaneous values of each phase of the supply voltage
must be accounted for. Thus, it's easier to use a rectification ratio for each type of three-phase power
supply, which is shown in the bottom line of the table.

Above: Fig. 1 A table that shows the comparison of all of the features of three-phase power supplies.