UNIT' 6 POWER SUPPLY

Structure
6.1 ' -Introduction
Objectives
6.2 Power Source
Voltage Source
Current Source
6.3 d.c. Power Ulut J

111e Trans~onner
Ilalf-waveRectification
Full-wave Rectification
6.4 How Effectively a Rcctificr Converts ac into dc
Performrmceof I-Ialf-wave Rectifier
Performance of Full-wave Rectilier
6.5 Filtcr Circuits
Capacitance Filter
Ii~ductancefilter
LC Filter
6.6 , ' Regulation of Output Voltage
Prh~cipleof Regulation
Zener Regulator
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6.8 Temulul Questions

i
'

:. 6.9 Solutions and Answers

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6.1. INTRODUCTION
I Everything that lives or does work must have a source of power or a "power supply". The
sun supplies power that enables plants to manufacture food, and food in turn supplies the
power tlmt makes you live and move; speak, think and run. Among non-living
mechanisms, the motor supplies power to move the car and the huge tuhines in Bhakara
Dam supply power to drive electric generators, Each thing large or small, living or
non-living must take its power from a primary source such as sun or falling water and
clmge it into the specific kind of power needed. In electronics, then a "power supply" is a
circuit or device that changes the electric power from one form to another.
Many electronic devices, such as pocket calculators and small radios operate from batteries
that provide steady (dc) voltage and currents, Usually, flus supply is provided by dry cells,
But sometiines We use a battery eliminator in place of dry cells. The battery eliminator
converts the ac mains voltage into dc voltage and thus eliminates the need for dxy cells. So
far, in all the previous units, where you learnt about various semiconductor devices and
electronic equipment, it was assumed that voltage and currents required to operate them
were available. For the operation of most of the devices in electronic equipment, a dc
voltage is qeeded. In our country, the electrical energy available in homes, laboratories and
industries is in the fonu of alternating voltage of 220 V (rms) at a frequency of 50 Hz.
,Whenyou plug any piece of electronic equipment into the nuins, that will put out 220 V
A,C, That is not wllat you want. Hence now-a-days, almost all electronic equipment
include a circuit that converts the ac voltage of mains si~pplyinto dc voltage. This part of
the equipment is called power supply,
, Every power supply can be thought of as comprising (a) a d,c, power unit consisting of a
transformer followed by a diode circuit called rectifier, which cxttates a d,c,source fromthe
ac illains, plus (b) soille regulating circuitry consisting of filter and then a voltage regulator
circuit, which gives t~ precisely controlled dc voltage. A block diagram of such a power
supply is shown in Fig,(,,1,
1
 ~ledlont;Cirruita The output from a d.c. power unit on its own is usually unfiatisfa~to~y for two reasons:
firstly bkcause it usually canies a small amount of a.c. ripple superimposed on the d.c.
voltage, so that if it is used to supply an audio amplifier it would probably give rise to some
audible 'hum' from the loudspeaker. Secondly the internal resistance of the d.c, power unit
is usually higher than desirable, implying that the voltage output can be significantly
affected by variations in the current drawn from the unit. The change in output voltage per
unit change of output c m n t is called.the regulation of the d.c. source. This is just another
way of referring to the output resistance of the circuit. The regu@hingcircuitry added to the
d.c. power unit in a regulated d.c. supply reduces the ripple and i ~ v ethe s regulation

dc ripple regulating circuitry

dc power unit
r--------------------------------------
I
1 ;-------------* -----------------I
i
; Tkansformer Filter
A
I
Ic,,,,,,,,,,-,,,L-
-------------------J
,-
I
dc supply

Flg.6.l: The block diagram of power nupply. It condrb of n d.c, power unit, which convvts
the r.c. supply to n d,c, voltage plus some mdnr ripple ;followed by cheulty whlch
reducu l e rlpple and repulntee the output voltage. ,

In this unit we examine the electrical principles involved in transforming ac power to dc .

power and discuss several techniques of transformation' But before doing this we study the
sources of electrical power viz. voltage and current sources.
-
In the next unit you will come across many testing, masuring and indicating instmmti€s',
There we will only present and explain the relevant basic details of these instnunants, This
would help the student,to familiarize himself with these instruments so that he can use the@ .
effectively, .
Objectives
Afler going through this unit you will be able to:
0 explain and use correctly the following terms : voltage source, current source,
half-wave rectification, fill-wave rectification, bridge rectifier, ripple, load regulation,
line regulation,
0 draw the circuit diagram and explain the working of half-wave rectifkr, centre-tapped
full wave rectifier and bridge rectifjer,
0 derive in case of half-wave and full-wave rectifiers, the expre\ssionsfor output dc
voltage, ayerage or dc current, rrns current, ripple factor and rectifier efficiency,

l 0

0
explain the need of filters in dc power supply,
- shunt-capacitor,
;xplain with the help of suitable wovcfomw the working of rectifiers using
series inductor and LC filters,

I :
explain the function of each part of a power supply.

6.2 POWER SOURCE

-
The basic purpose of a source'is to supply power to a lotid. The source mt~ysupply either
dc or ac, Sollle dc sources are battery and rcctifici~tio~l
type dc supply. Sinlilarly, exanlple
of ac source is an oscillator. Source of power can also be classified into two; like voltage
sourcc and curre~~t sourcc about \vkich IVC will study in this section:
 All power sources have some internal impedance (or resistance). It is due to this internal Power Supply
inlpedance that the source does not behave ideally. When a voltage source supplies power
to a load, its terminal voltage (voltage available at its terminals) drops. A cell used in a
torch has a voltage of 1.5 V acmss its two terminals when nothing is connected to it.
However, when connected to a bulb, its voltage becomes less than 1.5 V. Such a reduction
\in the terminal voltage of the cell may be explained as follows.

Wig. 6.2 : A cell connected t o n bulb.

Fig.6.2 shows a cell of 1.5 V connected to a bulb. When we say "cell of 1.5 V", we mean
a cell whose open-circuit voltage is 1.5 V. Here the bulb is replaced by a load resistor RL
(of, say, 0.9 R ), and the cell is replaced by a coilstailtvoltagesource of 1.5 V in series with
the internal resistance Rs(of, say, 0.1 ). The total resistance in the circuit is now 0.1 R +
0.9 L?= 1.0 R . Since the net voltage that sends current into the circuit is 1.5 V, the current
in the circuit is

The terminal voltage (the voltage acmss the terminals AB) of the cell is same as the voltage
across the load resistor RL.Therefore,

The voltage that drops because of the internal resistance is

Note that, if the internal resistance of t p cell were smaller (cornpaid to the load
resistance), the voltage drop would a l q ~have been smaller than 0.15 V.
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6.2.1 Volt'age Source
Consider an ac source. Let Vs be iti open-circuit voltage (i.e.thevoltage which exists
across its terminals when nothing is connected to it), and Zs be its internal impedance. Let
it be connected to a load impedance ZL whose value can be varied, as shown in Fig.6.3.

Source

Now, suppose ZL is illfinite. It lneans that tile ter~~unak .4B of the source are
open-circuited. Under this collditibn, no curreit can flow. The &mind voltage 1 9is
s ~tlle emf I/>, since there is no voltage drop across Zs . Let us now
obviously tl7- r . t ~ as
I - --
I
Elcrt~~oiuc
Circuits collllect a f'ute load impedance ZL,uid then go on reducing its value. As we do this, die
current in the circuit goes on increasing. The voltage drop across Zs also goes on
increasing. As aresult, the'terminal voltage-J!f goes on decreasing.

For a givemvalue of ZL, the current in the circuit is given as

Therefore, the terminal voltage of the source , which is the same as the voltiige across the
load, is

From the above equation, we find that if the ratio ZSIZLis small compared to unity, the
terminal voltage VTremains almost the same as the voltage Vs. Under this condition, the
source behaves as a good voltage source. Even if the load impedance changes, the
terminal voltage of the source remains practically constant (provided the ratio Zs/ZL) is
quite small). Such a source is said to be a "good (but not ideal) ~ o l t a g esource".
Ideal Voltage source
It would have been ideal, if the terminal voltage of a source remains fixed whatever be the
load connected to it. In other words, a voltage source should ideally provide a fixed
terminal voltage even though the current drawn ( or load resistance) nlay'vary. In Eq.6.1, to
make the terminal voltage VT fvred for any value of Zs, the only way is to make the
internal impedance Zs zero. Thus,we infer that an ideal voltage source must have zero
internal impedance. The symbolic representation of dc and ac ideal voltage sources axe
shown in Fig.6,4a and b. The characteristics of an ideal voltage sources is shown in ,
Fig.6.4~.The terminal voltage VT is seen to be constant at Zs for all values of load
current..

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Load current, IL 3
+Load impedance, ZL
(4 (b) (c)
Flg.6.4: Syll~boUcrepresentqtion of anideal volhge source: (a) DC voltage source.
(b) AC voltage sourqe. (c) V-I chrrrncterhticsof an idenl volhge source.

Practical Voltage Source

An ideal voltagd source is not practically possible. There is no source which can maintain
its tern~nalvoltage constant when its terminals are short-circuited. If it could do so, it
would mean that it can supply an infinite amount of power to a short-circuit. This is not ,
possible. Hence; an idea! voltage source does not exist in practice. However, the concept
of an ideal
- voltage
- source is very helpful in understanding h e circuits containing a practical
voltage source.
A practical voltage source can be considered to consist of an ideal voltage source in series
with an inlpedance. This inlpedailce is called the internal impedance. The synlbolic I

representation of practical voltage sources are shown in Fig.6.5. ~

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Ternlitla14 and B are tlle terniilals available for making estemal coimectio~is.
No practical voltage source can be an ideal voltage source. Thus, no pmctical voltage
. sourcc can have the V-T cllaracteristic as shown in Fig.6.4~.When the load current
illcreases, the tenllinal voltage of a practical voltage sourcc decreases as sllown in Fig,G.G,.
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 (a) (b)
Flg.6.5: Pmctlcnl voltage source: (a) DC voltage source (b) AC voltage aovrce.

Ng.6.6: V
:1 charactelsttcs ofa prnctlcal voltage source.

6.2.2 Current Source

Like a constant voltage source, there may be a constant current source-a source that
supplies a constant current to a load even if its impedance varies. Ideally, the cudtent
supplied by it should amain constanf, no matter what the load impedance is. A symbolic
representation of such an ideal c m n t source is shown in Fig.6.7a. The m o w inside the
circle indicates the direction in which current will flow in the ci~cuitwhen a load is
connected to the source. Fig.6.7b shows the V-I characteristic of an ideal current source.
.-
Let us connect a variable load impedance ZL to a constant current source, as shown in
Fig.6.7~

I' + Load impedance --+ @

Flg.6.7: (a) Syll~bolfor nil ideal currei~taource.(b)Y-I cheructedstlc of ail ideal current source. (c) A
ved-blr land cui~necteclto nn lded cbrrent source. (d) Symbol for u prndlml,current source.
l<lcctt.o~~le
Circuits As stated above, the current supplied by the source should renlain constant at Is for all
values of load impedance. It means even if ZL is made infinity, the current through tlus
should remain Is. Now, we must see if any practical current source could satisfy this
condition. The load impedance ZL = CQ means no conducting path, extenlal to the source,
exists between the terminals A and B. Hence, it is a physical inlpossibility for current to
flow between terminals A and B. If the source could maintain a current I s tluougl~an
infinitely large load impedance, there would have been an infinitely large voltage drop
across the load. It would then have consunled infinite power from the source. Of course,
,
no practical source could ever supply infinite power.
A practical currentsource supplies current I s to a short-circuit (i.e, when ZL =O). But,
when we increase the load impedance, the current falls below I s . When the load impedance
ZL is made infinite (i.e. the tenninats A and B are open-circuited),the load current reduces
to zero. It means there should be some path (inside the source itself) through which the
current Is can flow. When some finite load impedance is connected, only a part of this
current Is flows through the load. The remaining current goes through the path inside the
source. This inside path has zn impedance Zs, and is called the internal impedance. The
symbolic representation of such a practical current source is shown i n Fig. 6.7d.
Now, it teminals AB are open-circulated (ZL = w ) in Fig.6.7d,the terminal voltage does
not have to be infinite. It is now a finite value, VT= I s Zs. It means that the source does
not have to supply infinite power!
Practical Current Source
In practice, an ideal cumnt source cannot exist. Obviously, there cannot be a source that
can supply constant current even if its terminals are opencircuited. The reason why an
actual source does not work as an ideal current source is that its interr~dimpedance is not
igtnite. A practical current source is represented by the symbol shown in Fig.6.7d. he
source impedance Z s is put in parallel with the ideal current source I s . Now, if we connect
a load across the terminals A and B, the load current will be different from the current . The
current I s now divides itself between two brancnes -one made of the source impedance Zs
inside the source itself, and the other nude of the load impedance ZL external to the source.
Let us find the conditions under which a source cah work as a good (practical) current
source. In Fig.6.8a, a load impedance ZL is connected to a current source. LetIs be the
short circuit current of the source, and Z s be its internal impedance. The current Is is seen
to be divided into two parts - through Z s and Is through 21;. That is,
 /

Since tlle inlpedance Zs and ZL are ill parallel, tlle voltage drop across each should be eq~ml. Passer Supply

I.e.,

This equation tells 11s that the load current IL will remain almost tl!e same as the current IS
provided the ratio ZL/Zs is small compared to unity. The source h e n behaves as a good
current source. In other words, the larger the value of internal impedance Z s (compared to
, the better it works as a constallt
the load impedance ZL), the smaller is the ratio Z L / Z ~and
current source.
From Eq. 6.2, we see that the current IL = I s , when ZL = 0. But, as the value of load
impedance is increased, the current IL is reduced. For a given increase in load impedance
ZL , the corresponding reduction in load current IL is much smaller, Tl~uswid1 the increase
in load impedance, the tt?rminal voltage (V= IL ZL) also increases. The V-I characteristic of
a practical current source is shown in Fig.6.8b.
To have a constant current source we require a constant voltage source, in the rest of the
unit. We will discuss how to obtain a constant voltage source.

6.3 d.c. POWER UNIT

DC power units consist of transformer and rectifier circuit,

6.3.1 The Transformer

Few electronic circuits now-a-days operate at the voltage supplied by the a.c, mains,so a
transformer is usually needed.
It serves two purposes. Firstly, it allows us to step the voltage up or down. This way we
can get the desired level of dc voltage. For example, the battexy eliminator used with a
transistor radio gives a dc voltage of about 6 V. We can use a step down transformer to got
such a low ac voltage at the input of the rectifier. On the other hand, the cathode-ray tube
used in an oscilloscope needs a very high dc voltage-of the order of a few kV, Here, we
may use a step up transformer. The second advantage of the transformer is the isolation it
provides from the power line. It reduces the risk of electrical shock. Such a transformer is
called power trailsfonner since it must be capable of passing the quite large peak currents
which are needed to drive the capacitive smoothing circuit, as described in Section 6.4.
The transfontler in a d.c. power unit uses either 9 single secondary winding or a
cent*-tapped one, depending on the design of th rectifier circuit, as described in the next
sub-section. Before moving further, solve the following SAQ's which will serve a kind of
revision of your previous knowledge.

SAQ 1
I

,(a) Recall froill your knowledge on "El6ctricity" that 220 V of mains supply means that
r.ill,s. voltage is 220 V. Wlnt is the illaxiruun~voltage (also called voltage amnplitude) ?
0)You know that to obtain a dc voltage in the range of 5 V to 15 V, a step down
transfonller is needed. Suppose the primary of such a transformer is collnected to
220V illr~insthen calculate tlle n~auullumvoltage across it ? If the turns ratio of such a
, lrtlnsfonller is 15:1. what will be the maxinlun~
voltage across seconda~y?:
 Electronle Gircultb
6.3.2 Half-wave Rectification
I '

In practice ~uostd.c, power units use full-tviwc rectific~tion,wl~icl~ is achieved either by ,

the use bf tlie 'full-wave rectifier' circuit with a centre-tapped trailsfonller windityg, orrelse
by a 'bridge rectifier' with a single secondary transfonner winding. Both these circuits will
be esplaiiled after liaving esplained the sinlpler hiilf-wave rectification circuit.
Fig.6.9 shows the circuit of a d.c. power unit with lxilf-wave rectifier where.the diode forms
a serics circuit with the s e c o n d a ~of the transformerand the load resistor RL.

Diode

-
d
220.v
50 Hz
power mains

Fig.6.9: A hnlf-wnve rectifier circuit conshtlng of n transfornler, a diode and n load resistor.

Let us see how this circuit rectifies ac into dc.

The priniary of the transformer is connected to the power mains. An ac voltage is induced
across the secondary of the transformer. The voltage may be less than, or equal to, or
greater than the prinla~yvoltage depending upon the turns ratio of the transformer. We can
represent the voltage across the secondary by the equation
v = V,, sin ot (6.3)
Fig.6.lOa shows how voltage varies with time. It has alternate positive and negative
half-cycles. Voltage V, is the peak value of this alternating voltage. ' ,

v," a---

Vo 5
\ ' - / L /
2A \
3L 4X
f OI'
1

(b)

Flg.6,10: Half-wave rectlfler: (a) Input voltage wayefonn (b) Output voltage wavefonn.
(c) The transfonner output voltage (Input voltnge) waveform together with the
lpctlfled voltage (output voltage) wavefon~lacross tlre load (shown dashed).
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During alle positive 1wK-cycle of the input voltage, the polarity of the voltage across the Power Supply
secondary is as sllown in Fig.6.l la. This polarity makes the diode forward biased, because
it tries to pus11 the current in the direction of the diode arrow. The diode conducts, and a
current i~ flows tluough the load resistor RL. This current nukes the terminal A positive
\vith respect to tern~inalB. Since a forward-biased diode 0ffers.a very low resistance, the
voltage drop across it is also very sillall (about 0.3 V for Ge diode and about 0.7 V for
Si diode). Therefore, the voltage appearing across the load terminals AB is practically
articularly the same as that the input voltage vi at every instant. But ideally speaking the
situation is slightly different. By solving the following SAQ find out for yourself.

Ng.6.11:EInlf-wnve rectifier circuit : (a) Dudng positlve 11ulf-cycle;(b) Daring segnllve llnlf cycle.

SAQ 2
Fige6.10(c)shows the transformer output (input voltage) waveform as a continuous line
and the voltage across the load resistor (output voltage) as a dashed line, Why the output
voltage is less than the input voltage. Give reasons for the difference between tlze two
waveforms.
During t l negative
~ ldf-cycle'of the input voltage, the polarity gets reversed. The voltage
tries to send current against the direction of diode arrow. See Fig.G.1lb. The diode is now
reverse biased. It is shown shaded in the figure to indicate that it is non-coilducting,
Practically no curreilt flows through the circuit. Therefore, almost no voltagc is developed
across the load resistance. All the input voltage appears across t l ~ cdiode itself, Tlds
explains how we obtain the output waveslupe as show11in Fig.G.1Ob

To sun1up, when the input voltage is going through its positive half-cyclc, the vqltage of
tlie output is almost the sane as tile input voltage. During the negative halfcycle, no
voltage is available across the load. The complete waveform of the output voltage v,
~ is show11in Fig.6.lOb. This voltage, though not a perfect dc, is at least
across t l load
unidirectional.

Peak Inverse Voltage

Let us again focus our attention o n the diode in Fig.6.l lb. During the negative hdfcycle
of the input, tl~ediode is reverse biased. The whole of the input voltage appears across the
diode (as there is no voltage across the load resistance). Whenthe input reaches its peak
value V;,, in the negative half-cycle, the voltage across the diode is also maxiinun~.This
milriiiuumvoltage is kilown as tlie peak inverse voltage (PIV). It represents the inaximum
voltage the diode nlust withstand during the negative ldf-cycle of the input. Tllus, for a
half-wave rectifier,

0utl)ut dc Voltage

'rl~eaverage valule of a sine wave (sucl~as that in Fig.6, lOa) over one conlplete cycle is
zero, If a dc anuneter (moving coil type) is connected in an ac circuit, it will read zero.
(The dc tneter reads average value of current in a circuit.) Now, if the dc ammeter is
connected in the half-wave rectifier circuit (Fig.6.9), it will show some reading. This
indicates that there is some dc current flowing through the load RL, We can find out the
value of this current in a half-wave rectifier circuit.
 Fig.6.12: Waveform orthe current flowing through load RL In a half-wave rectifier.

In Fig.6.l0b, we had plotted the waveform of the voltage across the load resistor RL. If we
divide each ordinate of this curve by the value of resistance RL , we get the current
waveform. This is shown in Fig.6.12. Note that the two waveforms (for current and for
voltage) are similar. Mathematically, we can describe the current waveform as follows :
i LI,,,sinot; forOcol<n: 65)
fi
'and i ~ = O ; f o r n < a t < 2 n (6.6)
Here, I, is the peak value of the cunent i~. It is obviously related to the peak value of
voltage V, as

since the diode resistance in the conducting state is assumed to be zero. To find the dc or
average value of current, we add or integrate the instantaneous values of the current over
one complete cycle, i.e, from 0 to 2n ( c w e repeats itself after the first cycle). UsingEq.6,5
and 6,6 we find the dc current as follows :

=277~ o I,,,
[ sinmtd(rnt)
f +(O d(c~t)]

" The dc voltage developed across the load RL is

While writing Eq. 6.7, we had assumed that

i

(i) the diode resistance in forward bias is zero, and I

(ii) the secondaq winding of transformer has zero resistance.

I
The second assumption is often very near the truth. 'Qe winding resistance is almost zero. I
*
But, the forward diode-resistance rd is sometimes not so small. If it is comparable to the
load resistance RL, we must take it into consideration. Eq.6.7 for peak curient then gets I

I
- modified to
64
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 Power Suppljl

The dc voltage across the 'load resistor RL, can now be written with the help of Ec1.6.7 as

Example 1
The turns ratio of a transformer used in a half-wave rectifier (such as shown in Fig.6.9) is
12 : 1. The primary is connected to the power mains: 220 V, 50 Hz. Assuming the diode
resistance in forward bias to be zero, calculate the dc voltage across the load. what is the
~ ?
PIV of t l diode
Solution
The maxinlunl (peak value) primav voltage is
V, = 6 V,, = 6x 220 = 311V.
Therefore, the maxiinurn secondaq voltage is

The dc load voltage is

The peak inverse voltage is

PIV = Vl,,= 25.9V

6.3.3 Full-wave Rectification

1
In a half-wave rectifier, discussed above, we utilize only one half-cycle of the input wave.
In a full-wave rectifier we utilize both the half cyclep. Alternate half cycles are iiwelted to
give a unidirectional load current. There are two types of rectifier circuit that are in use.
One is called centre-tap rectifier and uses two diodes. The other is called bridge rectifier
and uses four diodes.
Centre-Tap Rectifier
The circuit of a centre-tap rectihr is shown in Fig,6;i3a, It uses two diodes D l and D2,
During the positive lulf-cycles af secondary voltage, the diode D l is forward biased and
'D2 is reverse biased. The current flows through the diode D l , load resistor RL, and the
upper half of the winding, as shown in Fig.6.13b. During negative halfcycles diode D2
beconles forwardbiased and D l &verse biased. Now D2 cgducts and ~f becomes open
The current flows through diode D2, load resistorRL, and the lower half of the winding, as
shown in Fig.6.13~.Note that the load current in both Figs. 6.13b and c is in the same
direction. The waveform of the current i ~and, hence of the load voltage V,, is shown in
Fig.6.13d.
Peak Inverse Voltage
Fig.6.14 shqws the centre-tap rectifier circuit at the i-nstantthe secondary voltage reaches its
positive lilaxiilluill value. ,
The voltage V,,, is tllc maxiil~urn(peak) voltage across half of the secondary winding. At
tlus instant, the diode D 1 is col;ducting and it offers almost zero resistance. The whole of
the voltage T<,, across the upper half winding appears across the load resistor RL.Therefore
the reverse voltage that appears across the nonconducting diode is the summation of the
Electronic Circuits

Dl

Power
mms
220 v
50 Hz

4 : PlV across the non-condudng diode D2 In a centre-tap rectlfler ia 2&.

~ ~ . 6 . iThe

voltage across the lower half winding and the voltage across the load resistor RL. Fmm the
figure this voltage is Vm+ Vm= 2Vm. Thus,
PIV =2vm (63)

Bridge Rectifier
A more widely used full-wave rectifier circuit is the bridge rectifier, shown in Fig.6.15a.It
requires four diodes instead of two, but avoids the needs for a centre-tapped transformer.
During the positive half-cycle of the secondary voltage, diodes D2 and D4 axe conduct$%
and diodes D l and D3 are noncondudting. Therefore, current flows through the second^
winding, diode D2 load resistor RL and diode D4, as shown in Fig.6.15b. During negative
half-cycles of the secondary voltage, diodes Dl and D3 conduct, and the diodes D2 and D4
do 1101conduc~.Thc current flows tllrot~gl~ tllc sccondaq winding, diod*eDl,load resistor
2nd diode D3,as shown in Fig.6.15~.In both cases, {hecurrellt passes tluougll the load
resistor in the sallle direction. Therefore, a fluctuating. ui~idirectionalvoltage is developed
across the load. The loadvoltage wavefonn is sl1own in Fig.6.lSd.

power
rnalns
220v
50 Hz

Flg.6.15: Bddge rectifier,

Pe,k Inverse Voltage

Let us now find t l peak

~ inverse voltage that apears across a nonconducting diode in a
bridgCht.i€ier. Fig.6.16 shows the bridge recMer circuit at the instant the seconday
voltage reaches its positive peak value, I/,, . The diodes D2 and D4 are conducting,
whereas diodes D l and D3 are reverse biased and are nonconducting. The conducting
diodes D2 and D4 have almost zero resistance (and hence zero' voltage drops across them).
Point B is at the same potential as the point A. Similarly, point Dds at the same potential.as
tlx point C. The entire voltage Vm across the secondary winding appears across the load
resistor RL . The reverse voltage across the nonconducting diode D l (or D3) is also V,.
Thus,
A

Flg.6.16: Tile FIV across the nonconducting diode D l or D3 is VW

 I'~cct~.onic
~~rcuits PIV ='I/, (6.13)
I
Output dc Voltage in Full Wave Rectifiers
The voltage waveform in Fig.6.15d is exactly the same as that in Fig.6.13d. In both the
rectifier circuits, the load voltage is the same. However, there is one difference. In the
bridge rectifier, I/,, is the maximunl voltage across the secondary winding, But in the
centre-tap rectifier, V,,,represents the maxinlum voltage across half the secondary winding.

Now let us compare the full-wave rectified voltage waveform (of Fig.6.15d or Fig.6.13d)
with tlle half-wave rectified voltage wavefonn (of Fig.6.9b). In a half-wave rectifier, only
positive half-cycles are utilized for the dc output. But a fiill-wave rectifier utilizes both the
half-cycles. There, the dc or average voltage available in a full-wave rectifier will be
double the dc voltage available in a half-wave rectifier. If the resistance of a forward
biased diode is assumed zero, the dc voltage of a full-wave rectifier (refer Eq.6.11) is

We can i~~thematically derive Eq.6.14. on the same lines as we derived Eq. (6.8) in the
previous sub-section. Try fo derive it by solving the following SAQ.

i
I SAQ 3
The ontput voltage of a full wave rectifier (see Fig.6.15b) is described as :

-.
V0= - V;,,sin of .rr <of < 2 ~

A nlinus sign appears in the secoild equlation because during the second half-cycle the wave
is still sinusoidal, but inverted. The average or the dc value of voltage is

Prove that

Therefore, a dc power unit can take one of the tluee forms: it can contain a llalf-wave
rectifier, or a'full-wave rectifier or a bridge rectifier circuit.
You have seen that the types of rectifiers described above convert an a-c input into a
fluctuating d-c output. TbeJluctuation ofthe d-c output above and below its average value
is called ripple. In a Imlf-wave rectifier, !he frequency of tlie ripple is the same as the
fequency of the a-c input, because it produces one pulse per cycle. In a fiill-wave rectifier,
the ripple freqyeilcy is twice that of the a-c input, because two pudses per cycle are
produced:
Most electronic equipmeilt requires smooth d-c operating voltages. The output of a rectifier
callnot be applied directly to such equipment because of the ripple. Consequiently, the
ripple illust be eliminated. Circuits for accoi~~plishing
this are called filter circuits. But
beforc studying about filter circuits let us know what does riple factor. rectifier efficiency
mean.

6.4 HOW EFFECTIVELY A RECTIFIER C O N V E ~ T S

ac INTO dc
- --- -

If we coiulect a load resistor RL directly across an ac power milins, the cuncnt flowing
tluougli it will be pnrely ac (sin~isoidalhying zero avcragc value). This current is sliown
in Fig.6.17a.
 Power Supply

Eig.6.17: Comparison of half-wave and hll-wave mctlflers wlth an ideal RC-to-dcconverter.

1n'some applications, we require a dc current to flow through the load. The dc current is
unidirectional and, ideally, has no fluctuations with time. The ideal dc current is shown in
Fig.6.17b. To see how effectively a rectifier converts ac into dc, we compare its output
current waveshape with the ideal dc cumnt.

If the load takes current from a half-wave rectifier, the current waveform will be as in
Fig.G.17~.It is unidirectional, but fluctuates greatly with time. The waveform of the load
current, when the load is connected to a full-wave rectifier, is shown in Fig,6,17d. This too
is unidi~ctionaland fluckates with time. A unidirectional, fluctuating waveform may be
considered as consisting of a number of components. It has an average or dc value over
which are superimposed a number of ac (sinusoidal) components of different frequencies.
These undesired ac components are called ripples. The lowest ripple frequency in case of a
half-wave rectifier is the same as the power-mains frequency. But, for fill-wave rectifier it
is not so. As can be seen from Figs.6.17d and a, the period of the output wave of a
full-wave rectifier is half the period of the input wave. The variation in current (or voltage)
repeats itself after each angle x of the input wave. Therefore, the lowest frequency of the
ripple in the output of a full-wave rectifier is twice the input frequency, That is, the ripple
frequency

f,=J= 50 Hz (half-wave rectifier) (6.15)

and

f,= 2fi = lOOHz (full-wave rectifier) (6.16)

How effectively a actifier coriverts ac power into dc power is described quantitatively by

terms such aS ripple factor, rectification efficiency, etc.

Tl~eripple factor is a measure of purity of the dc output of a rcctificr, and is defined as

r = rmsvalue of the components of wave (6.17)

average or dc value
\..\
--
The rectificatiox-egciency-tellsus what percentage of total input.ac power is converted
into useful dc output power, Thus,-recgication
---
efficiency is defined as
--._

-,. ' ac inputdcpower

=
power delivered to load
from transformer secondary .
I5lcrtro1ucCircuits

Here, Po, is the power that would bc indicated by a waltmclcr connectcd in tlie rectifying
circuit with its voltage terminals placed across the secondary winding and Pdc is the dc
output power.
We shall now analy se half-wave and full-wave rectifiers to f7nUei-r fipple factormd
rectification efficiency.

6.4.1 Performance of Half-wave Rectifier

The Ilalf-~vavcrcctified current wave is plotted in Fig.6.18 and is described rnathem;~ticall~
as

iL = O : for n <of <2n (6.20)

For dclcrnuning the ripple factor or rectification efficiency, we first find the rrns value of
the current.

Flg.6.18: Ilulf-jvuve rectlnel curre~~t

wsvefonl~,(The Lsts~~tnt~eous ac con~pot~et~t of current Is tile .
Ilflcre~~cc totnl currel~tnlld dc currct~t,I.e., i ' = i~ - la.)
bchvee11b~stn~~tnr~eous

RMS Value of Current

The nns or effective value of the current flowing tluough the load is given as

where current i~ is described by Eqs. (6.10) and (6.20). Therefore,

Tlus is thc rills value of the total current (dc V~IIUC and ac components). As can bc sccn
from Fig.G.18, h e instantaneous value of ac fluclui~lionis rllc difcrcncc o r the
instu~taneoustotal value and the dc valm. Tlut is, tllc instan~iincousilc value is given as
b
 Power Slipply
Therefore, the nils vallle of nc co~llpol~ents
is given iIS

Ripple Factor .
Fro111Eq.6.17, the ripple factor is given ss

Using Eqs. 6.8 2nd 6.2 1, for half-wave rectifier the ratio

Tl~erefore,tlie ripple fi~ctoris given as

Tlurs, we see that tllc ripple current (or voltage) csceeds the dc current (or vollagc). This
slioys tlat thc Ilalf-wavc rectifier is rr poor converter of ac into dc.
Rectificr~tionEfficicncy
For (z half-wilvc rectifier, the dc power delivered to the load is
a

and the total illput ac power is

\ J

.Tl~erefore,thc rectificalion cfficicncy is

If rd <RL , q + 40.6 pcr ccnt. It nleiins that under the best conditioils (i.e, no diode loss),
oidy 40.6% of tlic ilc input power is convcrled into dc power. Tllc rest retl~air~s as ac power
in the load.

6.4.2 Performance of Full-wave Rectifier

Fig.6.19 sllows a fiillwa\lc rectified curre~llwavcfonn. Its period may be sccll to bc n.
Tllc wavc repeats itsclf after cacl~x . Tllercfore, wliile computing tla average or nns
values, we sllould takc Lhc i~ilcgralio~ibetween the lilllits 0 lo n, instcad of O to 2x,Thc
\\~ilvcsliapcbct\vcc~ris described as

whcrc (11 ( = 27cf) is tllc angultlr frequency of Uie ii~pufac vollagc,

 Fig.6.19: Full-wnvc rcctiflcd currcrlt wn~,cfhnn.

RMS Value of Current

Effective or nns value of current is given as
.
L
'

"s=x 1m
,

No& that this is the same as the rms value of the full sinusoidal ac wave.
i
i The dc or average value of the current is
3

i
4
!
This current, as it should be;is double the dc cumnf of a llalf-wave rectifier.
I

: Ripple Factor
j
Eq.(6.22)is valid for a full-wave rectifier too. We can therefore use Eq. 6.23 to calculate
the ripple factor of a full-wave rectifier.

i I = 0.482
I

Rectification Efficiency
I For a full-wave rcctificr,the dc power delivered to the load is
I

and the total input ac power is

2
2
p m = I m ~ ( r d + R ~ ) =(rd+R~)
[~)
*
Therefore, the rectification efficiency is
72
 Power Supply

This shows that the rectification efficiency of a full wave rectifier is twice that of a
half-wave rectifier under identical conditions. The inaxinlunl possible efficiency can be
81.2% (wllen rd <RL).

-- - --

Example 2
In a centre-tap full-wave rectifier, the load resistance RL = 1 k i-2 . Each diode has a
fonvard-bias dy~lailucresistance of 10 !2 . Tlx voltage across lulf t l secondary
~ wiildii~g
is 220 sin 3 14t. Find (a) the peak value of current, (b) the dc or average value of current, (c)
the rms value of current, (d) the ripple factor. and (e) the rectification efficie~icy.
Solution
The voltage across half the secondary winding is given as

- v=220 sin314t
(a) The peak \ d u e of voltfige is
I,,;,, = 220v

Therefore, peal<\ra~.:eof current is

= 217.8 n ~ 4

(b) The dc or avefiige value of current is

(c) The rmsvalue of current is

(d) The ripple factor is given as

(e) The rectification eficieilcy is given as

But, Pdc ==IdcRL = (1.38.66)~x ( 1 0 7 ~x) ~I000 = 19.2265 W

. A full-wave rectifier is preferred to a half-wave rectifier, becau~e'itsrectificatibn efficiency

.' is double and its ripple factor is low. Table 6 , l gives the comparison between different
' rectifiers discussed so far. Unless otherwise indicated, all rectifiers discussed from now on
are full-wave kctifiers (either centre-tap or bridge).
 Table 6.1: Comparison Between Different Rectifiers.

Centre-tap Bridge
Number of diodes 1 2 4
Transformer necessary No Yes No
Peak secondary voltage vm Vm Vm
Peak inverse voltage Vm 2 Vm Vm
Peak load current, I m Vm (rdfRL) Vm (2rdfRL) Vm (2rd+RL)
RMS current, IrmJ
DC current, Id,
Ripple factor, r 1.21 0.482 0.482
Rectification efficiency (max) 40.6% 81.2% 81.2%
Lowest ripple frequemy,j j 2J 2f; ,

6.5 FILTER CIRCUITS

The object of rectification is to provide a steady dc voltage, similar to the voltage from a
battery. We have seen that a full-wave rectifier provides a better dc than a half-wave
rectifier. But, even a full-wave rectifier does not provide ripple-free dc voltage. The
rectif~ersprovide what we may call "a pulsating dc". We can filter or smooth out the ac
variations from the rectified voltage. For this we use a filter or smoothing circuit (see
Fig.6.1). In this section, we shall discuss different types of filter circuits.

6.5.1 Capacitance Filter

\
The ripple output of a rectifier represents energy being supplied to the load in pulses. The
ripple fluctuatiom can be reduced considerably if some of the output is stored while the
rectifier is delivering a pulse and then released to the load between output pulses. This is
the basic operating principle.of the capacitance filter.
Such a filter consists of a large value capacitor C in shunt with the load resistor RL, as
shown in Fig.6.20a. The capacitance offers a low-resistance path to the ac components of
cumnt. To dc (with zero frequency), this is an open circuit. All the dc current passes
through the load. Only a small part of the ac component passes through the load producing
*
a small ripple voltage.
The capacitor changes the conditions under which the diodes (of the rectifier) conduct
When the re@~er output voltage is increasing, the capacitor charges to the peak voltage
V,. Just past the positive peak, the rectifier output voltage tries to fall (see the dotted curve
in Fig.6.20b). But at point Bythe capacitor has + V, volts across it. Since the source
voltage becomes slightly less than V, the capacitor will try to send current back through
the diode (of the mtifier). This reverse-biases the diode, i.e. it becomes open-circuited
The diode (o&-circuit) disconnects or separates the source from the load. The capacitor
starts to discharge through the load. This prevents the load voltage from falling b zero.
The capacitor continues to discharge until the %irce voltage (the dotted curve) becomes
more than the capacitor voltage (at point C). The diode again starts conducting, and the
capacitor is again charged to peak value Vm.During the time the capacitor is charging
(from point C to point D) the rectifier supplies the charging current i , through the capacitor
branch as well as the load current i ~ .When the capacitor discharges (from point B to point
C), the rectifier does not supply any current, the capacitor sends current ir, through the load.
The current is maintained through the load all the time.
2
The rate at which the capacitor discharges between points B and C (in Fig.6.20) depends Paver SuppIy
upon t h e h e constant CRL. The lonser this time constant is, the steadier is the output
voltage. If the load current is fairly small (i.e., RL is sufficiently large) the capacitor does '

not discharge very much, and the average load voltage Vdcis slightly less than the peak
value V, (see Fig.6.20b).
Any increase in the load current (i.e, decrease in the value ofRL) makes the time constant
of the discharge path smaller. The capacitor then discharges more rapidly, and the load
voltage is ~ m constant
t (see Fig.6.20~).The ripple increases with increase in load current '
Also, the dc output voltage, Vdcdecreases.

Power
mains

Fig.6.20 : FuU-wave rectlfler with sl~unteapacltsnceNter.

6.5.2 Inductance F'ilter ,

An inductor is another device that can alternately store and release electrical energy. It
does this by extracting energy from a flowing current and storing it in a magnetic field
when the current is increasing. Then it releases the energy to keep the current flowing
when the current begins to decrease. This ability of an inductor to store and release energy
can be used to help prevent the abrupt changes in the output of a ~ctifier.This property is
used in the inductance filter of Fig.6.21. Whenevef-thecurrent through an inductor tends to
change. a "back enfl' is induced in the inductor, Tlus induced back emf prevents the
current from changing its value. Any sudden c h & e in current that might have occurred in
the circtut without a11 inductor is smoothed out by tlz presence of the inductor. Its effects
on the output waveform is shown in Fig.6,21b,
The inductance filter prevents the current, and, therefore, the output voltage from ever
reachi 1 the peak value that would be obtaiiled if the inductor were not in the circuit.
Eicctrodc Clrcuita

Power
mam

Fig.6.21: Full-wnvc redlflcr with inductance Nicr.

Therefore, a rectifier that has an inductance filter will not produce as high an output voltage
as one that has a capacitance filter. However, a large load cumnt can be drawn from the
inductance filter without changing the output voltage.
The operation of a series inductor filter depends upon the current flowing through it.
Therefore tlus filter (and also the choke-input LC filter discussed in the next sub-section)
can only be used together with a full-wave rectifier (since it requires c~~rrentto flow at all
times). Furthermore, the higher the current flowing through it, the better is its filtering
action Therefore, an increase in load current results in reduced ripplc.

6.5.3 LC Filter
We have seen that an inductance filter has a feature of decreasing the ripples when the load
current is increased. Reverse is the case with a capacitor filter. In this case, as the load
current is increased, the ripples also increase. An LC filter combines the features of both
the inductor filter and shunt capacitor filter. Therefore, the ripples remain fairly the same
even when the load current changes. There are two types of LC filter:.capacitor input filter
and Choke input filter. Let us describe each one of them.
Capacitor input filter
This type O ~ L filter
C is shown in Fig.6.22. This is called ihe capacitor input filter because
capacitor (C1)is the first filtering element directly after the rectifier. It is also called-the
"pi" filter because of its schematic resemblence to the Greek letter n.

--
Rg.6.22: Capacitor input fllter.
In this type of filter, capacitor C1performs the same function as the simple capacitor filter
previously described. It charges on the peaks of the rectified output pulses and then
discharges through the load, when the rectifier output falls. Capacitor C2 provides similar
filtering action but to a lesser degree. Inductor L1adds to the overall filtering action by
opposing changes in both the output current filtered by C2 and the current drawn by the
load.
The output of such a filter contains only small amount of ripple. However, the voltage
regulation of such a filter is relatively poor. This is because of tile decrease in the voltage .
across C1as it discharges between rectified pulses.

Choke input fiiter

When an inductor is used as primary filtering element in an LC filter, the network is cdlbd
a choke input filter. The term choke is used because of the inductor's ability to stop, or
choke, the passage of ripple voltage to the load, Fig.6.23 shows a simple choke~inputfilter.