Bridge Rectifier

Physics Project

2019-20

Submitted by:
Anirudh
Surender

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Aim............................................................................................................................. 1
2. Introduction................................................................................................................ 1
3. Circuit Diagram ......................................................................................................... 2
4. Theory ........................................................................................................................ 3

4.1 Introduction .............................................................................3

4.2 Characteristics .........................................................................4

4.2.1 Ripple Factor ............................................................................. 4
4.2.2 Efficiency .................................................................................. 5
4.2.3 Peak Factor ................................................................................ 5
4.2.4 Form Factor ............................................................................... 5

4.3 Filters ........................................................................................6

4.3.1 Capacitor Filter .......................................................................... 6
4.3.2 Inductor Filter ............................................................................ 7

5. Description ................................................................................................................. 8
5.1 Materials Required .................................................................................................. 8
5.1.1 Components Overview .............................................................. 8
5.1.2 Equipment Overview............................................................... 10

5.2 Procedure ...............................................................................12

5.2.1 Setting up the workspace ......................................................... 12
5.2.2 Building the Frame .................................................................. 12
5.2.3 Placing the components ........................................................... 13
5.2.4 Making the connections........................................................... 14

5.3 Precautions .............................................................................17

5.4 Sources of Errors ...................................................................17

6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 18
7. Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 18

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 List of Figures
1 Circuit Diagram ............................................................................................................
2 Processes involved .......................................................................................................
3 Capacitor Filter .............................................................................................................
4 Inductor Filter ...............................................................................................................
5 Hole Schematic for Cardboard ....................................................................................
6 Circuit Schematic .........................................................................................................
7 Labelled View of Circuit .............................................................................................

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1. Aim

To construct a full-wave bridge rectifier which converts Alternating Current

(AC) to Direct Current (DC) with minimum power loss.

2. Introduction

Rectifiers are crucial components in various electronic circuits. This is

because most of the electronic circuits operate at low voltage DC and it is
economical to supply power in the form of AC. Rectifiers solve the purpose
of this incompatibility. These are devices which can convert AC voltage to a
pulsating DC voltage.

A Full Wave Rectifier is a circuit, which converts an AC voltage into a

pulsating dc voltage using both half cycles of the applied ac voltage. It uses
two diodes of which one conducts during one half cycle while the other
conducts during the other half cycle of the applied ac voltage.
During the positive half cycle of the input voltage, diode D1 becomes
forward biased and D2 becomes reverse biased. Hence D1 conducts and D2
remains OFF. The load current flows through D1 and the voltage drop across
RL will be equal to the input voltage.

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3. Circuit Diagram

• Connections are done as in the circuit (Figure 1).

• The A.C supply is given to both the input wires of the transformer and
the two ends of the secondary coil is given to the P side of D 1 and D3.
The other diodes D2 and D4 are twined and then connected to the circuit
load, RL.
• During the positive half cycle of the input voltage, diode D 1 becomes
forward biased and D4 becomes reverse biased. Hence D1 conducts and
D4 remains OFF. The load current flows through D1 and the voltage
drop across RL will be equal to the input voltage.
• During the negative half cycle of the input voltage, diode D2 becomes
reverse biased and D3 becomes forward biased. Hence D2 remains OFF
and D3 conducts. The load current flows through D2 and the voltage
drop across RL will be equal to the input voltage.

During the positive half During the negative half

cycle of the input voltage, cycle of the input voltage,
the current follows the loop the current follows the loop
AD1RLD2B BD3RLD4A

Figure 1

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4. Theory
4.1 Introduction
• A Full Wave Rectifier is a circuit, which converts AC voltage into a
pulsating DC voltage using both half cycles of the applied AC voltage.
• It uses 4 diodes, of which 2 conduct during one half cycle while the
other 2 conduct during the next half cycle of the applied AC voltage.

Figure 2

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4.2 Characteristics

4.2.1 Ripple Factor

• Measure of the purity of the DC output of a rectifier.

• Defined as the ratio of the output component of AC to the output

component of DC.

𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 2
𝛾 = √( ) −1
𝑉𝑑𝑐

1. The average voltage (Vdc) available across the load

resistance:
2𝑉𝑜
𝑉𝑑𝑐 =
𝜋

2. The RMS voltage (Vrms) available across the load

resistance:
𝑉𝑜
𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 =
√2

3. This results in the final ripple factor to be:

𝑉𝑜 2
𝜋 2
∴ 𝛾 = √( √2 ) − 1 = √( ) − 1 = 0.482
2𝑉𝑜 8
𝜋

• This implies that the ripples after rectification becomes 48.2 % the
input voltage.

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4.2.2 Efficiency
• Efficiency, η is the ratio of DC output power to AC input power.
𝐷𝐶 𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑃𝑑𝑐
η= =
𝐴𝐶 𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑃𝑎𝑐
𝑉𝑑𝑐 2
𝑃𝑑𝑐 ⁄𝑅 8
𝐿
= = = 0.812
𝑃𝑎𝑐 𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 2⁄ 𝜋2
𝑅𝐿
• The maximum efficiency of a full wave rectifier is 81.2 %.

4.2.3 Peak Factor

• Peak factor is defined as the ratio of the peak value of the output
voltage to the RMS value of the output voltage.
𝑉𝑚
𝑃𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 =
𝑉𝑚
⁄
√2
4.2.4 Form Factor
• Form factor is defined as the ratio of the rms value of the output
voltage to the average value of the output voltage.
𝑉𝑚
⁄
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 = √2 = 𝜋 = 𝟏. 𝟏𝟏
2𝑉𝑚⁄ 2√2
𝜋

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4.3 Filters
• Filters are used to reduce the rippling factor of AC voltage.

• The output of the Full Wave Rectifier contains both ac and dc

components. Most of the applications, which cannot tolerate a high
value ripple, necessitates further processing of the rectified output.
The undesirable ac components i.e. the ripple, can be minimized
using filters.

• There are several filters that are useful along with wave
rectifications:
1. Inductor Filter
2. Capacitor Filter
3. LC Filter
4. CLC or P-Filter

• This project limits its scope to inductor and capacitor filters.

4.3.1 Capacitor Filter

• A capacitor filter connected
directly across the load is
shown in Figure 3. The
property of a capacitor is that it
allows AC component and
blocks DC component. Figure 3

• The operation of the capacitor filter is to short the ripple to ground

but leave the dc to appear at output when it is connected across the
pulsating dc voltage.

• The ripple may be decreased by increasing C or RL (both) with a

resulting increase in the dc. output voltage.
• The capacitor charges upto the peak value of the transformer
secondary voltage and will try to maintain this value as the full
wave input drops to zero. Capacitor will discharge through R L
slowly until the transformer secondary voltage again increase to a
value greater than the capacitor voltage. The diode conducts for a
period, which depends on the capacitor voltage. The diode will
conduct when the transformer secondary voltage becomes more

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 than the diode voltage. This is called the cut in voltage. The diode
stops conducting when the transformer voltage becomes less than
the diode voltage. This is called cut out voltage.

4.3.2 Inductor Filter

• When the output of the rectifier
passes through an inductor, it blocks
the AC component and allows only
the DC component to reach the load.

• The operation of the inductor filter Figure 4

depends on its property to oppose any change of current passing

through it. Therefore, inductor is connected in series

• The ripple factor of an inductor filter is given by:

𝑅𝐿
𝛾=
3√2 𝜔𝐿
• When RL is very large,
2
𝛾= = 0.471
3√2
• The reduction in ripple factor is consistently small.

• Therefore, when RL is small, the inductor filter is more effective.

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5. Description

5.1 Materials Required

5.1.1 Components Overview

Component Description Figure

P-N Junction Diode 1N4007

Capacitor 1000 uF

Resistor 10 k ohms

Step Down To step down the input voltage

Transformer between 9-12V

Rocker switch To turn the circuit on or off

LEDs Load of the circuit

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 To facilitate connection to the
Plug
mains power supply

To facilitate connection between

Connecting Wires
components

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5.1.2 Equipment Overview

Equipment Description Figure

Used as the frame of the

Cardboard
model

Appropriate devices such as

scissors and paper cutters to
cut through cardboard. Thin
Cutting Devices needles and screwdrivers
have been used for making
holes to insert the
components

Used to strip the insulation

Wire Stripper of the wires before making
connections

Used to keep the frame

Nuts and bolts intact and to fix the
transformer in place.

Used to fuse the wires and

Soldering Iron permanently fix wires to
components

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 Used as binding substance
Soldering Lead
in the process of soldering

To cover naked wires to

Insulation Tape
avoid short circuits

To sketch the circuit

Markers
diagram

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5.2 Procedure

5.2.1 Setting up the workspace

• First, it is essential to set up the working space for a smooth and
efficient progress.

• Prepare a clean table with all the gathered equipment, cardboard and
cutting tools.

• Ensure the proximity to a socket for handy usage of soldering iron.

5.2.2 Building the Frame

• This step involves building the frame in which this model will be
placed.
• For convenience, we chose to stick with 20 x 30 cm rectangular
cardboard with a depth of 4 cm supported by a wooden frame.
• Using compasses and screwdrivers, holes were drilled at appropriate
places for the insertion of the components.
• A rectangular cavity was cut out for making the outlet for the switch.

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5.2.3 Placing the components
• The components are then placed at their appropriate locations.
• Screw the transformer to its place using nuts and bolts.
• The following schematic has been executed while drilling the
cardboard.

Figure 5

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5.2.4 Making the connections
• Before soldering the components, to ensure the working of the
components and the circuit a test connection is made.

• All the components have been soldered only after prototyping.

• The following circuit schematic summarises all the connections.

Figure 6

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5.2.4a Wiring the plug
• Use a craft knife to remove the outer sheath, but don’t
cut all the way through the inner wires. If the inner wires
have their insulation stripped, cover them with insulation
tape to avoid short circuits.

• Strip the insulation at the end of the wires and make the
connections to the plug.

• Once you have cut the cables to the right length, and
removed the insulation, twist the end of each cable. This
ensures that there are no loose copper wires.

• Position the cables within the plug so that they are not
over - or too close - to where the screws or clip will go to
hold the two parts of the plug together.

5.2.4b Connecting the transformer

• Make the connections to the rocker switch.
• Connect the live and neutral wire to the side of the transformer with more turns.
• On the other side, extend wires from the transformer and connect to the circuit.
5.2.4c Connect the diodes
• Solder the diodes together as per the circuit schematic.

5.2.4d Completing the circuit

• Make the connections to the load circuit.
• The capacitor of capacitance 4700 µF has been connected in parallel to the load.
• A resistor of 20k Ω has been connected in parallel to the load.
• A resistor of 1000 Ω has also been connected in series with the LED.

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Below is the overview of the circuit and the connections made.

Figure 7

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5.3 Precautions
1. Ensure that all the wires are insulated, and naked wires ducted, to avoid
short circuit.
2. Test the circuit with different load resistances to prevent overloading
and burning of LEDs.
3. Make sure that the wires connected to the switch don’t touch each other.
4. Handle soldering iron with care.

5.4 Sources of Errors

1. Ensure that the diodes are connected in the right manner. Connecting
in reverse bias may result in malfunctioning.
2. Make sure the transformer is connected in the step-down manner.

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6. Conclusion
• A full wave rectifier is a means of converting AC to DC.

• It is done by either use of 2 diodes coming out of a centre tapped

transformer, or by using a bridge rectifier, which consists of 4 diodes
ganged together in a certain configuration.
• It converts both positive and negative waves of AC into DC.

• Therefore, it is more efficient than a half wave rectifier which only

converts half the complete waveform.

7. Bibliography

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