Experiment 4

Rectifier Circuits

OBJECTIVE
Studying diode rectifier and filter circuits.

EQUIPMENT & COMPONENTS

1. AC function generator
2. Oscilloscope
3. Breadboard
4. 1 k resistor
5. 1 F capacitor
6. 4x1N4001 diodes

PREPARATIONS
1. Study “Basic Electrical Engineering” books and lecture notes about diodes and rectifier
circuits.

THEORY

An electronic circuit is usually energized using a battery; a dry cell or a DC power supply unit.
The ideal power supply is defined to be an ideal voltage source; i.e. its output voltage must be
constant regardless of the load current and the input voltage (mains) variations. A practical power
supply consists of a transformer, a rectifier, a smoothing circuit and a stabilizer as shown in Figure
3.1.

Rectifier and Voltage

AC Transformer Input DC Output
Filter Stabilizer
(mains)

Figure 3.1 Block Diagram of Power Supply

The transformer steps up or down the mains AC voltage (110 or 220 V AC) to some desired
value. The rectifier then converts this AC waveform into a unidirectional waveform, which has a DC
component superimposed on it. Smoothing circuit filters out the remaining AC components while
the stabilizer provides a constant output voltage.

(a) (b)

+ D3 D1
D
+
D2 D4
_ _

Figure 3.2 (a) Half wave and (b) full wave with bridge rectifier circuits

RECTIFIERS

Figure 3.2a shows a "half-wave rectifier". During the first half-cycle of the input sinewave, the
diode conducts and the output voltage is equal to the input voltage, approximately. For the second
half, the input voltage is negative and the diode may be assumed an open circuit; hence the output
voltage is zero as shown in Figure 3.3a.

v(t) (a ) v(t) (b )
V V
VDC
VDC
t t

Figure 3.3 Half-Wave and Full-Wave rectified voltage waveforms

A more efficient rectification may be obtained if both half-cycles are rectified, which is called
"full-wave rectification". In a full-wave bridge rectifier circuit, shown in Figure 3.2b, diodes D1, D2
conduct when the input voltage is positive and D3, D4 conduct during the other half of the period.
The resulting waveform is shown in Figure 3.3b.

SMOOTHING
The output of the rectifier circuit has a D.C. component, but the output voltage is not smooth
enough to supply a circuit directly. A simple and the most commonly used way of smoothing it, is
to connect a capacitor across the output terminals. If the capacitance is sufficiently large, the
capacitor will not fully discharge during one period of the input voltage. Provided that the output
impedance of the rectifier is low, the capacitor will be charged to nearly the peak value of the sine-
wave, as shown in Figure 3.4. v(t)

VDC
 V
Vr

Figure 3.4 Output voltage of smoothed full wave rectifier

PROCEDURE

1. Set up the half-wave rectifier circuit shown in Figure 3.2a. Connect the load resistor across the
output.

2. Sketch and dimension (indicate voltage and time values) the input and output voltages.

3. Replace the circuit with a full-wave rectifier as shown in Figure 3.2b and repeat step 2.

4. Add the smoothing capacitor across the output and repeat step 2. Measure carefully the peak-
to-peak ripple voltage at the output terminals (Set the input to AC-coupled and increase the
amplitude of the ripple, for more precise measurement). Be careful to connect the positive
lead of the capacitor to the positive output terminal of the supply. Otherwise it will
BLOW-UP!

ANALYSIS AND QUESTIONS

1. What is the difference between a half-wave rectifier and a full-wave rectifier?

2. Why is a capacitor added to a rectifier circuit and what happens when the capacitance of the
smoothing capacitor changes?
3. What is ripple voltage, and why is it important in rectifier circuits?

4. What would happen to the rectifier circuit if one of the diodes in the full-wave rectifier fails (e.g.,
becomes open or short-circuited)? Analyze the potential outcomes.

5. Make some simplifying assumptions to derive the approximate value for the ripple voltage where
f is the frequency of the input voltage, V is the peak voltage, C is the capacitance of the smoothing
capacitor, and R is the resistance of the load resistor. Assume there is no voltage drop on diode.

𝑉
𝑉 =
The formula is: 𝑟
𝑅∗𝑓∗𝐶
EXPERIMENT-3 DATA SHEET
Name of the Experiment : Rectifier Circuits Date …. / …. / ………..
Section : …………
Group # : ……………
Names of the Students : …………………………………………..
…………………………………………..
Names of the Lab. Assistants : ………………………………………….. Signed
………………………………………….. ………………………………

Circuits