AC/DC POWER SUPPLY

 An alternating current (AC) is an electrical current whose

magnitude and direction vary cyclically, as opposed to direct
current (DC) or continuous current , whose direction remains
constant. The usual waveform of an AC power circuit is a sine
wave, as this results in the most efficient transmission of energy.
However in certain applications different waveforms are used,
such as triangular or square waves.

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AC/DC: What's the Difference?

In 1887 direct current (DC) was king. At that time there were 121
Edison power stations scattered across the United States delivering
DC electricity to its customers.
But DC had a great limitation -- namely, that power plants could
only send DC electricity about a mile before the electricity began
to lose power. So when George Westinghouse introduced his system
based on high-voltage alternating current (AC), which could carry
electricity hundreds of miles with little loss of power, people
naturally took notice. A "battle of the currents" ensued. In the end,
Westinghouse's AC prevailed.

The American Experience | Edison's Miracle of Light | AC - DC: What's the Difference?

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The amplitude of AC
An AC voltage v can be described mathematically as a function of time by
the following equation:
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V
Veff =
2
Vpeak is the peak voltage (unit: volt),
ω is the angular frequency (unit: radians per second)
The angular frequency is related to the physical
frequency, f, which represents the number of
oscillations per second (unit = hertz), by the equation ω
=
How to compare AC and DC

 AC voltage is usually expressed as a root mean square (RMS)

value, written Vrms. For a sinusoidal voltage:

Vrms is useful in calculating the power consumed by a load. If a DC

voltage of VDC delivers a certain power P into a given load, then an AC
voltage of Vpeak will deliver the same average power P into the same
load if Vrms = VDC. Because of this fact, RMS is the normal means of
measuring AC voltage.
110VAC is actually the RMS value which is used from the energy
companies in America. But the voltage peak value is 155.55V.
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AC/DC POWER SUPPLY
Block-Diagramm

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AC/DC POWER SUPPLY

Circuit diagram :

Note: This configuration applies for 230V

(Europe).
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DC APPLICATIONS
All electronics projects and parts for sale on SparkFun
run on DC. Everything that runs off a battery, plugs into
the wall with an AC adapter, or uses a USB cable for
power relies on DC. Examples of DC electronics includes:

Cell phones
Flashlights\
The LilyPad-based D&D Dice Gauntlet
Flat-screen TVs (AC goes into the TV, which is converted
to DC)
Hybrid and electric vehicles

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AC APPLICATIONS

 Refrigerators, dishwashers, and so

on, which run on AC.

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Transformer:

 Function: A transformer is a device used to increase (step up) or decrease

(step down) the AC voltage in a circuit.

 Properties: Laminated in order to reduce power losses through Eddy Currents.

 Operation: The way transformers operate is based on the principle that an

alternating current in the primary coil will induce an alternating electro-
magnetic-field (EMF) on the secondary coil due to their mutual inductance.

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What is happening inside a transformer?

1. Iron Core 2. Energizing the coil 3. Iron Core molecules

molecules and thus magnetic line up after
before flux generation. energizing.
energizing.

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Rectifier:
Diode

Ideal Diode Real Diode

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Half Wave Rectifier:

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Full Wave Rectifier:

Link to PDF with the bridge

rectifier animation

➢ One disadvantage of the full-wave rectifier is that there is a voltage

loss of 1.4V across the diodes.
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 You could either build a full wave rectifier bridge out of 4 diodes (i.e.
1N4001 capable of 50V and 1A) or an already made rectifier as the one
shown below:

While the full-wave rectifier is an improvement on the half-wave rectifier,

its output still isn't suitable as a power supply for most circuits since the
output voltage still varies between 0V and Vs-1.4V. So, if you input 12V
AC, you will get 10.6V DC output.

This is why the 'smoothing' block, described in the next chapter is

required.

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 Smoothing:

Vr
I
Vr =
2C. f
✓ Where: I [Amps], C [F], f [Hz]
and Vr [V]

✓ Note: The ripple voltage shouldn't

be higher than 10% of Vs.

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Ex 1: What should be the Capacitance to appropriately smooth an 24Vpp AC
signal, 60Hz and 1A?

I 1A
C= = = 6950 F
2  Vr  f 2  0,112V  60Hz
Ex 2: How big would the Ripple voltage be if the current gets reduced to
500mA?

I 0,5 A
Vr = = −3
= 0.6V
2  C  f 2  6,95e  60 Hz
Compromise:
• Availability of components
• Price of components
• Ripple voltage

Q3: What factors affect the amount of ripple?

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 Regulation:
✓ Reason: While there are many circuits that will tolerate a smoothed power
supply, some must have a completely regular supply with no ripple voltage.

If the ripple voltage is too large and the input voltage to the regulator falls
below the regulated voltage of the regulator, then of course the regulator
will not be able to produce the correct regulated voltage.

As a rule of thumb the input voltage to a regulator should usually be at

least 2V above the regulated voltage.

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 By using the brochures of the components all the requirements can be found.

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