1 Alternating current (AC)

Alternating current (AC) describes the flow of charge that changes direction periodically.
As a result, the voltage level also reverses along with the current. AC is used to deliver
power to houses, office buildings, etc. The AC voltage of a periodic waveform may be
written as

V (t) = Vm sin(ωt), (1)

where ω = 2π/T is the angular frequency of the waveform or voltage and T is the time
period of the voltage.

1
 Figure 1: AC voltage V (t)

Average voltage over the time period

The average value of V (t) over the time period T is defined as

Z T
1
V = V (t)dt. (2)
T 0

Hence
Z T
Vm
V = sin(ωt)dt
T 0
 T
Vm cos(ωt)
= −
T ω 0
Vm
= {− cos(ωT ) + cos 0}
ωT
Vm
= {− cos(2π) + cos 0}
2π
Vm
= (−1 + 1)
2π
= 0. (3)

Therefor, the average value of an AC voltage over the time period of the oscillation is
zero.

2
Average voltage over half of the time period

Since the average value of the AC voltage over the time period is zero, we may calcu-
late the average value over the half of the time period using a similar definition as (2).
Therefore
Z T /2
1
Vavg = V (t)dt
T /2 0
2Vm T /2
Z
= sin(ωt)dt
T 0
 T /2
2Vm cos(ωt)
= −
T ω 0
2Vm
= {− cos(ωT /2) + cos 0}
ωT
2Vm
= {− cos(π) + cos 0}
2π
Vm
= (+1 + 1)
π
2
= Vm
π
≈ 0.637 Vm . (4)

The RMS value of the AC voltage

The term ”RMS” stands for ”Root-Mean-Squared”, also called the effective or heating
value of alternating current, is equivalent to a DC voltage that would provide the same
amount of heat generation in a resistor as the AC voltage would if applied to that same
resistor.

RMS is not an ”Average” voltage, and its mathematical relationship to peak voltage
varies depending on the type of waveform. The RMS value is the square root of the mean
(average) value of the squared function of the instantaneous values. For the voltage V (t)
given in (1) it can be written as
 Z T 1/2
1 2
Vrms = V (t)dt . (5)
T 0

3
Hence
Vm2 T
Z
2
Vrms = sin2 (ωt)dt
T 0
Vm2 T
Z
= 2 sin2 (ωt)dt
2T 0
Vm2 T
Z
= {1 − cos(2ωt)} dt
2T 0
Vm2 T Vm2 T
Z Z
= dt − cos(2ωt)dt
2T 0 T 0
T
Vm2 h iT Vm2 sin(2ωt)

= T −
2T 0 2T 2ω 0
2 2 n
Vm Vm o
= − sin(2ωT ) − sin(0)
2 4ωT
Vm2 V2 n o
= − m sin(4π) − sin(0)
2 4ωT
2
Vm V2
= − m (0 − 0)
2 4ωT
Vm2
= . (6)
2

Therefore,

Vm
Vrms = √ ≈ 0.707 Vm . (7)
2

Important relations to remember

A few handy things to keep in mind about RMS values that apply when dealing with a
sine wave, are as follows:

• Vrms ≈ 0.707× peak AC voltage = 70.7 % of peak voltage

• Peak AC voltage ≈ 1.414 ×Vrms = 141.1 % of Vrms

• Vavg ≈ 0.637× peak AC voltage = 63.7 % of peak voltage

Vrms π
• = √ ≈ 1.11
Vavg 2 2

2 Half wave rectifier

A half wave rectifier is a type of rectifier that only allows one half-cycle of an AC voltage
waveform to pass, blocking the other half-cycle. Half-wave rectifiers are used to convert

4
AC voltage to DC voltage, and only require a single diode to construct. A half wave
rectifier is the simplest form of rectifier available.

Figure 2 shows the input AC voltage waveform, the circuit diagram and the final output
voltage waveform of a half wave rectifier. During the positive half cycle, the diode is
forward biased making the current flow through the load resistor. While during the
Negative half cycle the diode is reverse biased so it stops the current flow through the
load resistor. Since current can not flow through the load during the negative half cycles,
the output voltage is equal to zero.

Figure 2: Half wave rectifier circuit diagram and waveform [electrical4u.com].

Therefor, for an AC voltage given by (1) the output voltage of a half wave rectifier will
be (for an ideal diode)

 Vm sin(ωt), 0 ≤ t ≤ T /2
Vo (t) = (8)
0, T /2 ≤ t ≤ T


Average output voltage of a half wave rectifier

To calculate the average voltage, Vdc , of the pulsating DC output of a half wave rectifier
we use the definition (2). Therefore, for the voltage (8) we have
1 T
Z
Vdc = Vo (t)dt
T 0
1 T /2 1 T
Z Z
= Vm sin(ωt)dt + 0 dt
T 0 T T /2
Vm T /2
Z
= sin(ωt)dt
T 0
 T /2
Vm cos(ωt)
= −
T ω 0
Vm
= {− cos(ωT /2) + cos(0)}
ωT
Vm
= . (9)
π
Here we have used the relation ω = 2π/T .

5
RMS value of the output voltage of a half wave rectifier

To calculate the RMS value of the output voltage, Vrms , of the pulsating DC output of a
half wave rectifier we use the definition (5). Therefore, for the voltage (8) we have

1 T 2
Z
2
Vrms = V (t)dt
T 0 o
Vm2 T /2 2 Vm2 T
Z Z
= sin (ωt)dt + 0 dt
T 0 T T /2
Vm2 T /2
Z
= 2 sin2 (ωt)dt
2T 0
Vm2 T /2
Z
= {1 − cos(2ωt)} dt
2T 0
Vm2 T /2 Vm2 T /2
Z Z
= dt − cos(2ωt)dt
2T 0 T 0
T /2
Vm2 h iT /2 Vm2 sin(2ωt)

= T −
2T 0 2T 2ω 0
2 2n
Vm Vm o
= − sin(2ωT ) − sin(0)
4 ωT
2
Vm
= . (10)
4
Hence for the half wave rectifier

Vm
Vrms = . (11)
2

Ripple factor of half wave rectifier

Ripple is the unwanted AC component remaining when converting the AC voltage wave-
form into a DC waveform. Even though we try out best to remove all AC components,
there is still some small amount left on the output side which pulsates the DC waveform.
This undesirable AC component is called ripple.

To quantify how well the half wave rectifier can convert the AC voltage into DC voltage,
we use what is known as the ripple factor (represented by γ). The ripple factor is the
ratio between the RMS value of the AC voltage and the DC voltage of the rectifier.

RMS value of the AC component Vr(rms)

γ= = . (12)
value of DC component Vdc

Note that the RMS value of the AC component of the signal is Vr(rms) and Vrms is the
RMS value of the whole voltage signal.

6
To calculate Vr(rms) , the RMS value of the AC component present in the output of the
half wave rectifier we write the output voltage as

Vo (t) = Vac + Vdc , (13)

where Vac is the AC component remaining when converting the AC voltage waveform
into a DC waveform. The RMS value of the AC component present in the output of the
half wave rectifier is given by
 Z T 1/2
1 2
Vr(rms) = V dt . (14)
T 0 ac

Therefore,
1 T
Z
2
Vr(rms) = (Vo − Vdc )2 dt
T 0
1 T 2
Z
= (Vo − 2Vo Vdc + Vdc2 ) dt
T 0
1 T 2 2Vdc T
Z Z
= Vo dt − Vo dt + Vdc2
T 0 T 0
2 2 2
= Vrms − 2Vdc + Vdc
2
= Vrms − Vdc2 . (15)

Hence the formula to calculate the ripple factor can be written as

s 2
Vr(rms) Vrms
γ= = −1 (16)
Vdc Vdc

Using the values of Vdc and Vrms given in (9) and (11) respectively for the half wave
rectifier we find the the ripple factor as
s 2 r 
Vm π π 2
γ= × −1= − 1 ≈ 1.21. (17)
2 Vm 2

Note that to construct a good rectifier, one should keep the ripple factor as low as
possible. This is why capacitors and inductors as filters are used to reduce the ripples in
the circuit.

Efficiency of half wave rectifier

The ratio of the DC power available at the load to the applied input AC power is known
as the efficiency, η. Mathematically it can be given as:

DC power output Pdc

η= = . (18)
AC power input Pac

7
Let rf and RL be the forward resistance and load resistance of the diode. The voltage
appearing across the secondary of the power transformer is given by (1). The waveform
diagram at the right side of the Figure 2 shows only a positive waveform at the output
and a suppressed negative waveform. During the conduction period the instantaneous
value of the current is given by the equation:

V (t) Vm
I(t) = = sin(ωt) = Im sin(ωt), (19)
RL + rf RL + rf

with Im = Vm /(rf + RL ) being the maximum current.

Now, the AC power input to the load is given as,

2
2 Vrms
Pac = Irms (RL + rf ) = . (20)
RL + rf

Since the output is obtained across RL , the DC power output is given by

2 Vdc2
Pdc = Idc RL = . (21)
RL

The half wave rectifier efficiency is then

Pdc
η =
Pac
Vdc2 RL + rf
= × 2
RL Vrms
Vdc2 RL + rf
= 2
×
Vrms RL
 2  
Vdc rf
= × 1+
Vrms RL
 2  
Vm /π rf
= × 1+
Vm /2 R
  L
rf
≈ 0.4053 1 + (22)
RL

In reality rf is much smaller then RL . If we neglect rf compare to RL then the efficiency

of the rectifier is maximum. Therefore,

ηmax ≈ 0.4053 = 40.53%. (23)

This indicates that the half wave rectifier can convert maximum 40.53% of AC power
into DC power, and the remaining power of 59.47% is lost in the rectifier circuit. In fact,
50% power in the negative half cycle is not converted and the remaining 9.47% is lost in
the circuit.

8
Form factor of half wave rectifier

Form factor (f.f.) is defined as the ratio between RMS load voltage and average load
voltage. The form factor of the half wave rectifier is as

Vrms Vm /2 π
f.f. = = = ≈ 1.57. (24)
Vdc Vm /π 2

The form factor is used to get the information of the waveform.

Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV) of half wave rectifier

Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV) is the maximum voltage that the diode can withstand during
reverse bias condition. If a voltage is applied more than the PIV, the diode will be
destroyed. The peak-inverse-voltage (PIV) rating of a diode is of the primary importance
in the design of rectification systems. During negative half cycles of the input voltage,
the diode is reversed biased, no current flows through the load resistance RL and so
causes no voltage drop across load resistance RL and consequently the whole of the input
voltage appears across the diode. Thus the maximum voltage, that appears across the
diode, is equal to the peak value of the secondary voltage i.e. Vm . Thus for a half-wave
rectifier

PIV = Vm . (25)

Peak factor of half wave rectifier

It is defined as the ratio of the peak value of the output voltage to the RMS value of the
output voltage. The peak factor of the half wave rectifier is as
Vm
Peak factor = = 2. (26)
Vrms

Applications of half wave rectifier

Half wave rectifier is not so good as compared to Full-wave or Bridge rectifier, but some-
times we require this rectifier depending on the requirements. Some of the applications
of half-wave rectifier are

• It is used for the detection of amplitude modulated radio signals.

• For the welding purpose, it supplies polarized voltage.

• It is used in many signal demodulation processes.

9
Advantages of half wave rectifier

The main advantage of half-wave rectifiers is in their simplicity. As they do not require
as many components, they are simpler and cheaper to setup and construct. As such, the
main advantages of half-wave rectifiers are:

• Simple (lower number of components)

• Cheaper up front cost (as their is less equipment. Although there is a higher cost
over time due to increased power losses)

Disadvantages of half wave rectifier

The disadvantages of half-wave rectifiers are:

• They only allow a half-cycle through per sinewave, and the other half-cycle is
wasted. This leads to power loss.

• They produces a low output voltage.

• The output current we obtain is not purely DC, and it still contains a lot of ripple
(i.e. it has a high ripple factor)

3 Full wave rectifier

A full wave rectifier converts both halves of each cycle of an alternating wave (AC signal)
into pulsating DC signal. Figure 3 shows the input AC voltage waveform, the circuit
diagram and the final output voltage waveform of a center tapped full wave rectifier.

Figure 3: Center tapped full wave rectifier circuit diagram and waveform [electrical4u.com].

10
For an AC voltage given by (1) the waveform of the output voltage of a full wave rectifier
can be written as (for an ideal diode)

 Vm sin(ωt), 0 ≤ t ≤ T /2
Vo (t) = (27)
Vm sin(ωt − π), T /2 ≤ t ≤ T


Average output voltage of a full wave rectifier

1 T
Z
Vdc = Vo (t)dt
T 0
Z T /2
1
= Vm sin(ωt)dt
T /2 0
2Vm T /2
Z
= sin(ωt)dt
T 0
2Vm
= . (28)
π

RMS value of the output voltage of a full wave rectifier

 Z T 1/2
1
Vrms = Vo2 (t)dt
T 0
" #1/2
T /2
Vm2
Z
= sin2 (ωt)dt
T /2 0
" #1/2
T /2
Vm2
Z
2
= 2 sin (ωt)dt
T 0

Vm
= √ . (29)
2

Ripple factor of full wave rectifier

s 2
Vrms
γ = −1
Vdc
s 2
π
= √ −1
2 2
≈ 0.48 (30)

11
Efficiency of full wave rectifier

Pdc
η =
Pdc
 2  
Vdc rf
= × 1+
Vrms R
  L
rf
≈ 0.8106 1 + (31)
RL

In reality rf is much smaller then RL . If we neglect rf compare to RL then the efficiency

of the rectifier is maximum. Therefore,

ηmax ≈ 0.8106 = 81.06%. (32)

Form factor of full wave rectifier

Vrms π
Form factor = = √ ≈ 1.11. (33)
Vdc 2 2

Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV) of full wave rectifier

Peak inverse voltage(PIV) or peak reverse voltage(PRV) can be defined as the maximum
value of the reverse voltage of a diode, which occurs at the peak of the input cycle when
the diode is in reverse bias.

PIV of center tapped full wave rectifier is 2Vm and of a bridge rectifiers it is Vm .

Peak factor of full wave rectifier

Vm √
Peak factor = = 2. (34)
Vrms

Applications of full wave rectifier

Full wave rectifier is of two types; center tapped and bridge rectifier. Both these rectifiers
are used for following purposes depends upon the requirement. Following of full wave
rectifier applications are:

• It can be used to detect the amplitude of modulated radio signal.

12
 • It can be used to supply polarized voltage in welding.

• The Bridge Rectifier circuits are widely used in power supply for various appliances,
as they are capable of converting the High AC voltage into Low DC voltage.

Advantages of full wave rectifier

• Full wave rectifiers have higher rectifying efficiency than half-wave rectifiers. This
means that they convert AC to DC more efficiently.

• They have low power loss because no voltage signal is wasted in the rectification
process.

• The output voltage of center tapped full wave rectifier has lower ripples than a half
wave rectifiers.

Disadvantages of full wave rectifier

• The center tapped rectifier is more expensive than half-wave rectifier and tends to
occupy a lot of space.

A comparison of different parameters related to the half and full wave recti-
fiers are given below:

Parameters Half wave rectifier Full wave rectifier

Number of diodes 1 2 or 4
Maximum efficiency 40.53% 81.06 %
Peak inverse voltage Vm Vm or 2Vm
Average voltage no load Vm /π 2Vm /π
√
Vrms no load Vm /2 Vm / 2
Ripple factor 1.21 0.48
Form factor 1.57 1.11
Output frequency f 2f