VOLTAGE REGULATOR

 To maintain a constant output voltage irrespective of changes in line voltage, load current and
temperature in unregulated power supply a voltage regulator is connected to the output of the
filter circuit.
 Voltage regulation is expressed as the ability of the regulator to maintain a constant output
voltage inspite of a.c. input voltage fluctuations and changes in load resistance.

Factors affecting output voltage

Stability factor (Sv): It is the ratio of the change in output voltage to the change in input
voltage by keeping load current and temperature as constant.

V0
SV 
Vi I L and T  constant

Output resistance ( RO ): It is the ratio of change in output voltage to the change in load
current by keeping input voltage and temperature as constant.

V0
RO 
I L Vi and T  constant

Temperature coefficient (ST):It is the ratio of the change in output voltage to the change in
temperature by keeping input voltage and load current as constant.

V0
ST 
T I L and Vi  constant

Performance Specifications of Voltage Regulator

Line regulation: Line regulation refers to the ability of the voltage regulator to reject
variations in the applied voltage and is expressed as percentage.

Load Regulation: It is defined as the percentage change in output voltage for a given change
in load current.

V NL  VFL
 100
% Load regulation = V FL

Where,

VNL= No load voltage, VFL= Full load voltage.

Types of Voltage regulator

Following are the types of voltage regulator based on the connection of active element
in the circuit.

 Series voltage regulator

 Transistorized series regulator
 Controlled transistor series regulator
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  Shunt voltage regulator
 Zener diode shunt regulator
 Transistorized shunt regulator

ZENER DIODE SHUNT REGULATOR

Fig.19. Zener diode shunt regulator

 Zener diode is connected in parallel with the load resistance R L and also it is kept in
reverse biased mode.
 Under this condition, the voltage across the zener diode remains constant irrespective
of the current through it.
 This circuit maintains a constant output voltage irrespective of changes in input
voltage and load current.
Case I: voltage regulation with variation in input voltage and load current constant.

Fig.20. Voltage regulation with variation in input voltage.

From the circuit, voltage (Vo) = Vz = Constant

V0
Load current (IL) = R = Constant
L

I i  I Z  I L (FIX)
 If input voltageVi decreases, current Ii decreases. But IL is constant. Hence, Iz
decreases. As long as Iz is between I and I the output voltage remains
Z max Z min ,
constant.
Ii min= Iz min+ IL
Vi min = Ii min R + Vo

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  If input voltage Vi increases, current I increases. But IL is constant. Hence, Iz increases.
As long as Iz is between I and I the output voltage Vo remains constant.
Z max Z min
Ii max= Iz max+ IL
Vimax = Ii max R + Vo
Design of voltage regulator

By varying the resistance RS, the output voltage is maintained constant irrespective of
variation in input voltage Vi, For any value of RS between RS max and RS min , the output voltage
remains constant.
V V V V
R  i min o  i min o
S max I i min I Z min  I L
V V V V
R  i max o  i max o
S min I i max I Z max  I L

Case II: Voltage regulation with variation in load current with fixed input voltage

Fig.21. Voltage regulation with variation in load current

 From the above circuit, Output voltage (V ) = V = Constant

o z

Vi  Vo
Ii 
R

I i ( FIX )  I z  I L

 If the load current IL decreases, current Iz increases to keep Ii constant. As long as Iz is

between I and I , the output voltage Vo remains constant.
Z max Z min
I I I
i Z max L min
I I I
L min i Z max
 If the load current IL increases, current Iz decreases to keep Ii constant. As long as Iz is
between I and I , the output voltage Vo remains constant.
Z max Z min

I I I
i Z min L max
I I I
L max Z min

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Design of voltage regulator

 By varying the resistance R, the output voltage is maintained constant irrespective of

variation in load current IL, for any value of RL between RL max and RL min , the output voltage
remains constant.
Vo
R 
L max I L min
Vo
R 
L min I L max

Problem.1: Design a zener shunt voltage regulator with the following specifications:

Vo=10V; Vin=20-30V; IL=(30-50)mA; Iz=(20-30)mA

Solution:

Selection of zener diode Vz=Vo=10 V Iz max=40mA

Value of load resistance,

Value of input resistance, R

R  RS min
Therefore, R  S max  215
S
2

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TRANSISTORIZED SHUNT REGULATOR

Fig.22. Transistorized shunt regulator

 Transistor is connected in parallel with the load. The zener diode is connected in the
collector base circuit such that it operates in the breakdown region.
 Resistor RS ensures that the minimum current through the zener diode to keep it in the
breakdown region.
Vo  V z  V BE
Ii  I z  Ic  I L
 If the output voltage Vo decreases, VBE decreases since Vz is constant. Hence transistor
conduction decreases, collector current IC decreases. Thus, load current IL increases,
thereby maintaining the output voltage constant.
 If the output voltage Vo increases, VBE increases, transistor conduction increases,
collector current IC increases. Thus, load current IL decreases, thereby maintaining the
output voltage constant.
Problem 2: Determine the regulated voltage and circuit currents for the shunt regulator of figure.

Solution: We know that load voltage,

VL  VZ  VBE  8.2  0.7  8.9V
And the value of load current,
V 8.9
IL  L   .089 A  89mA
RL 100
The current through RS,
V  VL 22  8.9
IS  S   0.109 A  109 mA
RS 120
Therefore the collector current,
I C  I S  I L  109  89  20mA
The base current for the transistor,

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 IC 20
IB  IZ    0.2mA
 100

TRANSISTORIZED SERIES REGULATOR

Fig.23. Transistorized series regulator

 Transistor is connected as an emitter follower and it is often called the pass transistor
because it passes all the load current through the regulator.

Vo  Vz  VBE

 If output voltage Vo decreases, VBE increases since Vz is constant. Hence transistor

conduction increases and to produce more load current. The increase in load current
causes an increase in Vo. Thus the output voltage maintained constant.
 If output voltage Vo increases, VBE decreases, transistor conduction is reduced, load
current decreases, and Vo is reduced.
Problem 3: Calculate the output voltage and zener current in the regulator circuit of figure.

Solution: We know that the output voltage,

V0  VZ  VBE  12  .7  11.3 V
And collector to emitter voltage,
VCE  VS  VL  20  11.3  8.7 V
Therefore current through resistor, R
V  VZ 20  12
IR  S   .03636A=36.36mA
R 220

Also the load current,

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 VO 11.3
IL    11.3mA
RL 1000
And base current
IL 11.3m
IB    113 A
 100
Therefore current through the zener,
I Z  I R  I B  36.36m  113  36.24mA
Disadvantages:
 There is no provision to vary the output voltage. The output is always equal to the zener voltage,
which is constant. If we want the larger output voltage, the zener must be replaced.
 The changes in VBE and VZ due to the changes in the temperature appear at the output.
 Due to large power dissipation, heat zink is necessary which makes the circuit bulky.

IC VOLTAGE REGULATOR

 IC voltage regulators are versatile, relatively inexpensive and are available with features such
as programmable output, current/ voltage boosting and floating operation for high voltage
application.
 Some important types of IC Voltage regulators are:
 Fixed positive/negative output voltage regulators
 Adjustable output voltage regulators.

Fixed voltage regulator

 78XX series are three terminal, positive fixed voltage regulators. The last two numbers (XX)
indicate the output voltage. There are seven output voltage options available such as 5, 6, 8, 12,
15, 18 and 24V.
 It has three terminals labelled as input, output and ground. The general connection diagram of
the regulator circuit using an LM78XX Series IC as shown in figure.
 79XX series are negative fixed voltage regulators which are complements to the 78XX series
devices. There are two extra voltage options of -5.2 V,-20 V and -22 V.
 The inductance of the long connecting wire may cause unwanted oscillations inside the IC and
the capacitor Ci should be used to bypass them to improve the stability of the circuit.
 The output bypass capacitor CO is used to improve the transient response.

Fig.23: Monolithic voltage regulator

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 Fig.24: Dual tracking regulator

 Dual tracking regulated voltage supplies obtained using 7815 and 7915 can have the
advantage of supplying a wide range of voltages at much higher current.

Adjustable voltage regulator using LM317:

 A number of 3- terminal regulator IC (eg: LM 317, LM 337, LM 138/338, LM 150/350) are
available which can be used to obtain adjustable output voltage with maximum load currents
from 1.5 to 5A.

 LM 317 regulator IC is capable of supplying in excess of 1.5 A over a 1.2 V to 37 V output

range.

 Further these ICs also provide very large ripple rejection.

 Figure shows an adjustable regulator circuit where we have used the LM317IC. The data
sheet specifies the output of the circuit as

R2
VO  1.25[1  ]  I ADJ R2
R1

Fig.25: Positive adjustable voltage regulator

 Where R1 and R2 are two adjustable resistances and IADJ is a quotient current that flows through the
adjustment pin.

 The data sheet specifies it as adjustable pin current which has a typical value of 50 µA.

 The three terminal ICs are also available for the negative voltage regulated output.

 It may be mention that IADJ is a function of temperature, load current etc. The data sheet specifies the
output of the circuit as

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 R2
 VO  1.25[1  ]   I ADJ R2
R1

Fig.26: Negative adjustable voltage regulator

Short circuit protection

Fig.28: Regulator with current limiting

 When the output terminals of a power supply are short circuited, the load current
becomes too high and the power supply unit may be damaged.
 To guard against this current limiting can be provided by means of fuse or resistor
(RSC). The resistor RSC is chosen for the desired current limit.
RSC=