G.

BPUBLICSCHOOL
MELMARUVATHUR

PHYSICSINVESTIGATORYPROJECT

Name: B.LOHITHA

Class: XII-B

Topic: MeasurementofCurrentusingHalfwave
Rectifier.

Year: 2023-2024
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of

gratitude tomy physics teacherMr. Sathish Kumar as wellas
our principal Mr. Arasappan who gave me the golden
opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic
“Measurement of Current using Halfwave Rectifier”, which
alsohelpedmeinlearningnewthings.Iamreallythankfulto them.

Secondly,Iwouldliketothankmyparentsand
friends who helped me a lotI finishing this project within the
limited time.
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that lohitha student of class XII-B has

successfully completed the research on project titled
“MEASUREMENTOFCURRENTUSINGHALFWAVERECTIFIER”

UndertheguidanceofMr.SathishKumar(PGTPhysics)during the
year 2023-24 in partial fulfillment of physics practical
examination conducted by AISSCE, New Delhi.

External Principal Internal

Examiner Examiner
 INDEX

1. Introduction
2. Theory
3. Aim
4. Materialsrequired
5. Procedure
6. Circuitdiagram
7. Observation
8. Calculation
9. Result
10. Conclusion
11. Precaution
12. Sourcesoferror
13. Bibliography
 INTRODUCTION

A rectifier is a simple diode or group of diodes

which converts the Alternating Current (AC) into Direct
Current (DC). We know that a diode allows electric current in
onedirectionandblockselectriccurrentinanotherdirection. We
are using the principle to construct various types of rectifiers
Rectifiers are classified into different types based on the
number of diodes used in the circuit or arrangement of
diodes in the circuit. The basic types of rectifiers are : half
wave rectifier, full wave rectifier and bridge rectifier.

Typesofrectifier:
 1.Halfwaverectifier:

A half wave rectifier is a type of a rectifier which

convertsthepositivehalfcycle(positivecurrent)oftheinput
signal into pulsating DC ( Direct Current) output signal. The
half wave rectifier is the simplest form of the rectifier. We
only use a single diode to construct a half wave rectifier. The
half wave rectifier is made up of an AC source, transformer
(step- down), diode, and resistor (load). The diode is placed
between the transformers and resistors (load).

Advantagesofhalfwaverectifier:

1. Itisquiteeasytoconstructahalfwaverectifiercircuitdue to its
simple design.

2. Averysmallnumberofcomponentsarerequiredto
construct it.

3. Itis notvery expensive.

Disadvantagesofhalfwaverectifier :

1. It has a high ripple factor. It should never be used as the

powersupplyofanaudiocircuitsinceahighripplefactorwill
result in noises in the audio signal, which will subsequently
affect the quality of the audio signal.

2. Ithaslowrectificationefficiency.

3. Ithasalowtransformerutilization factor.

4. PowerisonlyprovidedbytheACsupplyduringthehalf
cycle. Therefore, the power output is low.

5. Itshouldbenotedthatthepulsating currentintheoutput
contains AC components with the same frequency as the
supply voltage. This results in an increase in the cost of
filtering circuits.
 THEORY

Circuitismadebyusingasemiconductordiode(D)
with a load resistance RL. The diode is connected in series
with the secondary of the transformer is being connected to
the ac supply mains. The ac voltage across the secondary
winding changes polarities after every half cycle of input
wave. During the positive half-cycles of the input ac voltage
i.e., when upper end of the secondary winding is positive
with respect to its lower end, the diode is forward based and
therefore conducts current. If the forward resistance of the
diode is assumed to be zero (in practice, however a small
resistance exists) the input voltage during the positive half-
cycles is directly applied to the load resistance RL, making its
upper hand end positive with respect to its lower end.
 The waveforms of the output current and
output voltage are of the same shape as that of the input ac
voltage. During the negative high cycles of the input ac
voltage i.e., when the lower end of the secondary winding is
positive with respect to its upper end, the diode is reverse
biased and so does not conduct. Thus, during the negative
half-cycles of the input ac voltage, the current through and
voltage across the load remains zero. The reverse current,
being very small in magnitude, is neglected. Thus, for the
negative half-cycles no power is delivered to the load. Thus,
theoutputvoltage(VL)developedacrossloadresistanceRLis a
series of positive half-cycles of alternating voltage, with
intervening very small constant negative high voltage levels.
 Itisobviousfromthefigurethattheoutputis not a
steady DC, but only a pulsating DC wave. To make the
output wave smooth and useful in a DC power supply, we
have to use a filter across the load. Since, only half-cycles of
the input wave are used, it is called a half wave rectifier.

Output of half wave rectifier is not a

constant DC voltage. In real life applications, we need a
powersupplywithsmoothwaveforms.Inotherwords,we desire
a DC power supply with constant output voltage. A constant
output voltage from the DC power supply is very
important as it directly impacts the reliability of the
electronic devices we connect to the power supply. We can
make the output of half wave rectifier smooth by using a
filter(acapacitorfilteroraninductorfilter)acrossthediode. In
some cases an resistor-capacitor coupled filter (RC) is also
used.
WorkingofHalfWaveRectifier:

1. AhighACvoltageisappliedtotheprimarysideofthe step-
down transformer. The obtained secondary low
voltage is applied to the diode.

2. The diode is forward biased during the positive half

cycleoftheACvoltageandreversebiasedduringthe
negative half cycle.

HalfWaveRectifierFormula:

1. RippleFactorofHalfWave Rectifier:

Ripplefactordetermineshowwellahalfwaverectifiercan convert
AC voltage to DC voltage.

Theripplefactorofahalfwaverectifieris1.21.

2. EfficiencyofHalfwaveRectifier:

TheefficiencyofahalfwaverectifieristheratioofoutputDC power
to the input AC power.
3. RMSvalueofHalfWaveRectifier:

TheRMSvalueoftheloadcurrentforahalf-waverectifieris given
by the formula:

4. FormfactorofaHalfwave Rectifier

TheformfactoristheratiobetweenRMSvalueandaverage value

ApplicationsofHalfWaveRectifier:

 Theyareusedforsignaldemodulationpurpose.

 Theyareusedforrectificationapplications.

 Theyareusedforsignalpeakapplications.
 AIM

Todeterminethecurrentbymeasuringvoltageand resistance
using Halfwave Rectifier.

MATERIALSREQUIRED
 Diode

 Capacitor(50v)

 Voltmeter

 Resistance Box

 AC Supply

 WiresforConnection
 PROCEDURE
 ACSupplyandconnectittoswitch.
 II.ConnecttheterminalpartoftheACterminaltothePpart of the
diode using wire.
 III.NowconnecttheotherpartoftheACterminaltothe
Capacitor.
 IV.Connectthen-partofthedipoletothe capacitor.
 V.Connectthebothendsofacapacitortotheresistance box.
 VI.Placeaconnectionbetweenvoltmeterandresistancebox by
joining the terminals of voltmeter.
 VII.Nowpowerontheswitchandfindouttheresultant
voltage by changing the resistance box.
 VIII.Calculatethecurrentbymeasuringthemeanvoltage and
resistance using ohm’s law.
CIRCUITDIAGRAM
 OBSERVATION

CALCULATION
Meanv =0.7+1.1 + 1.4 + 1.6 +1.8 =1.32 v

MeanR=1 +2+3 +4+5=3 ohm

CurrentI=MeanV/Mean R=1.32 /3 = 0.264 Ampere

RESULT
Theaveragecurrentproducedbythehalfwave rectifier =
0.264 Ampere
 CONCLUSION
A half wave rectifier is rarely used in
practice.Itisneverpreferred asthepowersupplyofanaudio
circuit because of the very high ripple factor. High ripple
factor will result in noises in input audio signal, which in turn
will affect audio quality. Advantage of a half wave rectifier is
only that it is cheap, simple and easy to construct. It is cheap
because of the low number of components involved. Simple
because of the straight forwardness in circuit design.
Measuringthemeancurrentflowhelpsustounderstandthe
amount of AC current passed through the circuit.
 PRECAUTIONS

 Donotswitchonthecircuitbeforecheckingwhetherit is
correct or not.
 Theconnectionbetweenvoltmeterandresistancebox
should be made correctly.
 Connectallthewiresproperly,looseconnectionmay
end up in failure of circuit.
 Capacitoroflessvoltmaybe connectedtothe diode.

SOURCESOFERROR
 Thepandnparts ofthe diodemaybe changed.
 Thewireconnectionmaybe loose.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
 www.wikipedia.com
 Google images
 NCERTClass12 physics
 ComprehensiveLabManual
 http://www.circuitstoday.com