Rectification

Rectification
The
process of converting alternating current and
voltage
into direct

current and
voltage
used which direct
·

Rectification is in electronic
equipment requires
a

current

· For
example ,
powersupplies eg battery chargers
provide DC
power
for electronic devices.
to internal
These devices convert AL to DC power
circuits.

Types of rectification
·

Half-wave rectification
· Full-wave rectification
Diode
Pn
P :
positive juctio
n
Negative junction
:

n
P
It allows current

#
-
to flow through
&
the diode

>

Forward bias

n
P
It does not allow

- t current to pass .

Reverse bias
 Half-wave rectification

consists
of diode
·

Half-wave rectification a
single

alternating input voltage connected to

·
An is
a circuit

with a load resistor and diode in series

 LOAD
A.C. SUPPLY -
RESISTOR
out
R

V
&

21 .

DIODE

LOAD
A.C. SUPPLY -
RESISTOR
out
R

Half-wave rectification requires a single diode and the graph is

represented by only the positive cycles

va

&
t
· For
half-wave rectification :

·The
graph of the output voltage Vout against time is a

sine curve
with the
positive cycles and a
flat line
(Vort =
8) on
the
negative cycle
conducts
positive
~

This because the diode the

only
is in

direction

HALF-WAVE RECTIFICATION
Vout
POSITIVE CYCLES
W

A
t

NEGATIVE CYCLES

This
·

type of rectification means

half of the time the
voltage
is zes0

· So ,
the
power
available
from a
half-wave rectified supply
is reduced
 Full-wave rectification

·
Full-wave rectification requires
a

bridge rectifier circuit

This consists
of for diodes connected across an
input
alternating
voltage supply
taken load resistor
The
output voltage Vout is across a
·

During
the
positive cycles of the input voltage ,
one terminal

of the
voltage supply positive
is and the other
negative
Two diodes
opposite each other that are in
forward
bias will conduct
First Half Cycle :

2
1
#
A

A.C. SUPPLY -

B
I
+
3 4

R out

Which diodes are forward biased

Which diodes reverse biased

are
>

Resistor·
Mark flow and -on
current +,

The other two

·
in reverse bias will not conduct

the load resistor with the

·
A current will flow in
positive
the resistor
terminal at the
top of
Negative Half Cycle :

2
1
-
A

A.C. SUPPLY -

#B
I
+
3 4

R out

During negative
the
cycles of the input voltage ,
the

positive and negative terminals of the

input alternating
will
voltage supply swap

Which diodes are forward biased

Which diodes reverse biased

are
>

Resistor·
Mark flow and -on
current +,
·
The two diodes that were
forward bias will now be

in reverse bias and not conduct

· The other two in reverse bias will now be in

forward
bias and will conduct

The current
· in the load resistor will still flow in the

same
direction as
before
 Circuit diagram for full-wave rectification

2
1
A

A.C. SUPPLY -

B
I
+
3 4

R out

When A is positive and B is negative,diodes 2 and 3 will conduct and 1 and 4 will not.
When A is negative and B is positive,diodes 1 and 4 will conduct and diodes 2 and 3
will not.The current in the load resistor R will flow downwards

and
· In both the
positive negative cycles ,
the current in the

load resistor is the same

 Vout FULL-WAVE RECTIFICATION

The difference between the graphs of full-wave and half-wave

rectification

· For
full-wave rectification

graph of output voltage against

·
The the Vout time is a

since curve
where the
positive cycles
and the
negative
both curved
cycles are

bumps'
 conduct
during positive cycles of
The diode will the
only
·
the

input alternating voltage

current load resistor
during
the
Hence there
only
· is
in

these
positive cycles
the resistor will
The
·

output voltage Vout across

fluctuate against
time in the same

way
as the
input alternating voltage except
there are no
negative cycles

·
The main
advantage of full-wave rectification compared to

half-wave rectification
that there
power
is is more

available

Therefore
·
,
a

greater power is
supplied .
A bridge rectifier consists of four ideal diodes A, B, C and D as connected in the figure
shown below:

A B
T

~ =

-
D C

An alternating supply is applied between the terminal X and Y.

State which diodes are conducting when terminal X of the supply is positive.
 SOLUTION:

Draw the path of the current direction with diodes in forward bias

Remember that conventional current flow is from positive to

negative and only travels through the paths with diodes in
forward bias

&

A B
V

~
7 =

I X

-
D C V
7 ~

-
Y
[ C -

Therefore, the answer is: diodes A and C

 Smoothing
· In
rectification ,
to
produce steady direct current or

current
voltage from alternating voltage
or a
an , ,

smoothing capacitor necessary

is

Smoothing :

The reduction in the variation of the

output voltage or

current

· This works in the

following ways :

connected
· A
single capacitor
with
capacitance C is in

with load resistor of resistance

parallel R

and maintains
· The
capacitor charges up from the
input voltage
at level
the
voltage a

high
 resistor when the rectified
discharges gradually through
·
It the

and the
voltage drops
but the
voltage then rises
again

capacitor charges up again

Smoothing capacitor circuit diagram
O-t : C
charges
-

in
w
C R Vout
t
,
-2 : (discharges
V

.
A smoothing capacitor connected in parallel with the load resistor.The capacitors
charges as the output voltage increases and discharges as it decreases

resulting graph of output

The a smoothed
output voltage Vout
·
or

current lout
,

against time is a
'ripple' shape
 A smoothed out current-time graph

&

⑧
t

A smooth,rectified current graph creates a `rippling`shape against time

controlled
· The amount of smoothing is
by the capacitance (

and the resistance of load resistor

of the
capacitor R the

rippling effect rectified

· The less the ,
the smoother the

voltage output
current and

the the that

·
The slower the
capacitor discharges ,
more
smoothing
smaller
ripple
i

occurs . e .

This be achieved
by using
:
can

· A
capacitor with
greater capacitance (

resistance with resistor R

· A
larger
 · Recall that the
product RC is the time constant of a resistor

·
This means that the time constant of the
capacitor must be

greater than the time interval between the

adjacent peaks
of the
output signal
-

⑧
t

·
I determines how quickly a
capacitor

discharges
should
·
For effective smoothing,
the capacitor
This the output
discharge slowly .
ensures

constant between the

voltage remains nearly

peaks .
The graph below shows the output voltage from a half-wave rectifier. The
load resistor has a resistance of 2.6 kΩ. A student wishes to smooth the
output voltage by placing a capacitor in parallel across the load resistor.

VI

8
↓ I 1111111

100
jo ms

Suggest if a capacitor of 60 pF or 800 µF would be suitable for this task.

Answer : 800 µF capacitor