Republic of the Philippines

NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY

Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.07: ECE101-2S-2022-2023

College: Engineering
Campus: Bambang

DEGREE PROGRAM Bachelor of

Science in
COURSE NO. ECE 101
Mechanical
Engineering
SPECIALIZATION COURSE TITLE Basic Electronics Engineering
YEAR LEVEL 2nd Year TIME FRAME WK NO. IM NO. 07

I. UNIT TITLE/CHAPTER TITLE

DC Regulated Power Supplies

II. LESSON TITLE

1. Basic block diagram of a power supply

2. Capacitor filter output voltage
3. Surge Current in the Capacitor-input Filter
4. Voltage Regulation

III. LESSON OVERVIEW

This module provides the students the fundamental knowledge in analyzing a power supply
circuits. It will also discuss the capacitive filter which eliminates the unwanted fluctuations in the output
voltage of a half-wave or full-wave rectifier.

IV. DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. Explain the purpose of a filter.

2. Describe the capacitor-input filter.
3. Define ripple voltage and ripple factor.
4. Calculate the ripple factor.
5. Discuss voltage regulation.

V. LESSON CONTENT

1. Basic block diagram of a power supply

A block diagram containing the parts of a typical analog power supply and the voltage waveforms at
various points in the unit is shown in Figure 1.0. The ac voltage, typically 220 V rms, is connected to a
step-down transformer, which steps that ac voltage down to the level for the desired dc output level. A
diode rectifier then provides a full-wave rectified voltage, which is initially filtered by a basic capacitor
filter to produce a dc voltage (pulsating DC). This resulting dc voltage usually has some ripple or ac
voltage variation. A regulator circuit can use this dc input to provide a dc voltage that not only has much
less ripple voltage, but also remains at the same dc value even if the input dc voltage varies or the if the
load connected to the output dc voltage changes. This voltage regulation is usually obtained using one
of a number of popular voltage regulator IC units.

Figure 1.0 Block diagram of a power supply..

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
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INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.07: ECE101-2S-2022-2023

A rectifier circuit is necessary to convert a signal having zero average value into one that has a nonzero
average. The output resulting from a rectifier is a pulsating dc voltage and not yet suitable as a battery
replacement.

Such a voltage could be used in, say, a battery charger, where the average dc voltage is large enough
to provide a charging current for the battery. For dc supply voltages, such as those used in a radio, stereo
system, computer, and so on, the pulsating dc voltage from a rectifier is not good enough. A filter circuit
is necessary to provide a steadier dc voltage.

1.a. Working Principle of a Transformer

A transformer is a static (or stationary) piece of apparatus by means of which electric power in
one circuit is transformed into electric power of the same frequency in another circuit. It can raise or lower
the voltage in a circuit but with a corresponding decrease or increase in current. The physical basis of a
power transformer is mutual induction between two circuits linked by a common magnetic flux. In its
simplest form, it consists of two inductive coils which are electrically separated but magnetically linked
through a path of low reluctance as shown in the figure below.

Figure 1.a Transformer Construction

The two coils possess high mutual inductance. If one coil is connected to a source of alternating voltage,
an alternating flux is set up in the laminated core, most of which is linked with the other coil in which it
produces mutually-induced e.m.f. (according to Faraday’s Laws of Electromagnetic Induction e =
M.dI/dt). If the second coil circuit is closed, a current flow in it and so electric energy is transferred (entirely
magnetically) from the first coil to the second coil. The first coil, in which electric energy is fed from the
a.c. supply mains is called primary winding and the other from which energy is drawn out, is called
secondary winding. In brief, a power transformer is a device that:
a. transfers electric power from one circuit to another
b. it does so without a change of frequency
c. it accomplishes this by electromagnetic induction and
d. where the two electric circuits are in the mutual inductive influence of each other.

Faraday’s Laws of Electromagnetic Induction

Whenever a conductor is placed in a varying magnetic field, an electromotive force is induced. If the conductor
circuit is closed, a current is induced, which is called induced current.

1.b. Working Principle of Rectifier

A rectifier is an electronic device that converts an alternating current into a direct current by using
one or more P-N junction diodes. A diode behaves as a one-way valve that allows current to flow in a
single direction. This process is known as rectification. A rectifier can take the shape of several physical
forms such as solid-state diodes, vacuum tube diodes, mercury-arc valves, silicon-controlled rectifiers,
and various other silicon-based semiconductors switches.
Rectifiers are mainly classified into two types such as Uncontrolled and Controlled. Uncontrolled
Rectifiers is the type of rectifier whose voltage cannot be controlled and further divided as Half Wave
Rectifier or Full Wave Rectifier. The type of rectifier that converts only the half cycle of the alternating
current into the direct current is known as a half-wave rectifier. Likewise, a full-wave rectifier converts
both positive and negative half cycles of the AC. An example of this is a bridge rectifier (uses 4 diodes
that are connected in the form of a Wheatstone bridge).

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.07: ECE101-2S-2022-2023
On the other hand, Controlled Rectifiers is a type of rectifier whose voltage can be varied is known
as the controlled rectifier. We use SCRs (Silicon Controlled Rectifiers), MOSFETs (metal–oxide–
semiconductor field-effect transistor) and IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) to make an
uncontrolled rectifier a controlled one. These rectifiers are preferred over their uncontrolled counterparts.
There are two types of controlled rectifiers, and they are Half Wave Controlled Rectifier and Full Wave
Controlled Rectifier. Half-wave-controlled rectifier has the same design as the half-wave uncontrolled
rectifier except we replace the diode with an SCR.

And for the remaining parts of the DC power supply will be discussed in details.

2. Capacitor filter output voltage (Capacitor-input filter)

A half-wave rectifier with a capacitor-input filter is shown in Figure 2.0. The filter is simply a capacitor
connected from the rectifier output to ground 𝑅𝐿 represents the equivalent resistance of a load.

Figure 2.0 Operation of a half-wave rectifier with a capacitor-input filter

During the positive first quarter-cycle of the input, the diode is forward-biased, allowing the capacitor to
charge to within 0.7V of the input peak, as illustrated in Figure 2.0(a).

When the input begins to decrease below its peak, as shown in part (b), the capacitor retains its charge
and the diode become reverse-biased because the cathode is more positive than the anode.

During the remaining part of the cycle, the capacitor can discharge only through the load resistance at a
rate determined by the 𝑅𝐿 𝐶 time constant, which is normally long compared to the period of the input.
The larger the time constant, the less the capacitor will discharge.

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.07: ECE101-2S-2022-2023
During the first quarter of the next cycle, as illustrated in Figure 2.0(C), the diode will again become
forward-biased when the input voltage exceeds the capacitor voltage by approximately 0.7 V (Silicon
diode)

Ripple Voltage

Based from the Figure 2.0, the capacitor quickly charges at the beginning of a cycle and slowly discharges
through 𝑅𝐿 after the positive peak of the input voltage (when the diode is reverse-biased). The variation
in the capacitor voltage due to the charging and discharging is called the ripple voltage. Generally, ripple
is undesirable; hence, the smaller the ripple, the better the filtering action as shown in Figure 3.0.

Figure 3.0 Half-wave ripple voltage

Frequency of Ripple Voltage

For a given input frequency, the output frequency of a full-wave rectifier is twice that of a half-wave
rectifier as shown in Figure 4.0. This makes a full-wave rectifier easier to filter because of the shorter time
between peaks. When filtered, the full-wave rectified voltage has a smaller ripple than does a half-wave
voltage rectifier for the same load resistance and capacitor values. The capacitor discharges less during
the shorter interval between fill-wave pulses, as shown in Figure 5.0.

Figure 4.0 The frequency of a full-wave rectified voltage is twice that of a half-wave rectified voltage.

Figure 5.0 Comparison of ripple voltage for half-wave and full-wave rectified voltages with the same
filter capacitor, load and input voltage.

Ripple Factor

The ripple factor (r) is an indication of the effectiveness of the filter and is defined as

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.07: ECE101-2S-2022-2023
𝑉𝑟(𝑝𝑝)
𝑟= 𝑉𝐷𝐶
𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 # 1

Where 𝑉𝑟(𝑝𝑝) is the peak-to-peak ripple voltage and 𝑉𝐷𝐶 is the dc (average) value of the filter’s output
voltage, as illustrated in Figure 6.0.The lower the ripple factor, the better the filter. The ripple factor can
be lowered by increasing the value of the filter capacitor or increasing the load resistance.

𝑉𝑟(𝑝𝑝)
𝑉𝑝(𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡)

Figure 6.0 𝑉𝑟 and 𝑉𝑑𝑐 determine the ripple factor

For a full-wave rectifier with a capacitor-input filter, approximations for the peak-to-peak ripple
voltage, 𝑉𝑟(𝑝𝑝) , and the dc value of the filter output voltage, 𝑉𝐷𝐶 , are given in the following expressions.
The variables 𝑉𝑝(𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡) is the unfiltered peak rectified voltage.

1
𝑉𝑟(𝑝𝑝) ≅ ( )𝑉 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 # 2
𝑓𝑅𝐿 𝐶 𝑝(𝑟𝑒𝑐)

1
𝑉𝐷𝐶 ≅ (1 − )𝑉 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 # 3
2𝑓𝑅𝐿 𝐶 𝑝(𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡)

Example # 1:

Determine the ripple factor for the filtered bridge rectifier with a load as indicated in Figure 7.0.

Figure 7.0 Example # 1 Circuit Diagram

Solution:

The transformer turns ratio is 𝑛 = 0.1. The peak primary voltage is

𝑉𝑝(𝑝𝑟𝑖) = √2 𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠

𝑉𝑝(𝑝𝑟𝑖) = √2 (115𝑉) = 163 𝑉

The peak secondary voltage is

𝑉𝑝(𝑠𝑒𝑐) = 𝑛 𝑉𝑝(𝑝𝑟𝑖) = 0.1 (163𝑉) = 16.3 𝑉

The unfiltered peak full-wave rectified voltage is

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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.07: ECE101-2S-2022-2023
𝑉𝑝(𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡) = 𝑉𝑝(𝑠𝑒𝑐) − 1.4𝑉 = 16.3𝑉 − 1.4𝑉 = 14.9𝑉

Note: the 1.4V is equivalent to two silicon diodes (0.7V x 2)

The frequency of a full-wave rectified voltage is 120 Hz. The approximate peak-to-peak ripple voltage at
the output is

1
𝑉𝑟(𝑝𝑝) ≅ ( )𝑉
𝑓𝑅𝐿 𝐶 𝑝(𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡)

1
𝑉𝑟(𝑝𝑝) ≅ ( ) 14.9𝑉 = 𝟏. 𝟏𝟑 𝑽
(120𝐻𝑧)(2.2𝐾Ω)(50µ𝐹)

The approximate dc value of the output voltage is determined as follows:

1
𝑉𝐷𝐶 = (1 − )𝑉
2𝑓𝑅𝐿 𝐶 𝑝(𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡)

1
𝑉𝐷𝐶 = (1 − ) 14.9𝑉 = 𝟏𝟒. 𝟑𝑽
2(120𝐻𝑧)(2.2 𝑘Ω)(50µ𝐹)

The resulting ripple factor is

𝑉𝑟(𝑝𝑝)
𝑟=
𝑉𝐷𝐶

1.13 𝑉
𝑟= = 0.079
14.3𝑉

The percent equivalent of the ripple is 7.9%

3. Surge Current in the Capacitor-Input Filter

Before the switch in Figure 8.0 is closed, the filter capacitor is uncharged. At the instant the switch is
closed, voltage is connected to the bridge and the uncharged capacitor appears as short, as shown. This
produces an initial surge of current, 𝐼𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑔𝑒 through the two forward-biased diodes 𝐷1and 𝐷2. The worst-
case situation occurs when the switch is closed at a peak of the secondary voltage and a maximum surge
current, 𝐼𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑔𝑒(max ), is produced, as illustrated in the Figure.

Figure 8.0 Maximum surge current occurs when switch is closed at a peak of an input cycle.

It is possible that the surge current could destroy the diodes, and for this reason a surge-limiting resistor
is sometimes connected, as shown in Figure 9.0. The value of this resistor must be small compared to
𝑅𝐿 . Also, the diodes must have a maximum forward surge current rating such that they can withstand the
momentary surge of current. This rating is specified on diodes sheets as 𝐼𝐹𝑆𝑀 . The minimum surge
resistor value can be calculated as follows:

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.07: ECE101-2S-2022-2023
𝑉𝑝(sec)−1.4 𝑉
𝑅𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑔𝑒 = 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 # 4
𝐼𝐹𝑆𝑀

Figure 9.0 A series resistor (𝑅𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑔𝑒 ) limits the surge current

4. Voltage regulation

While filters can reduce the ripple from power supplies to a low value, the most effective approach is a
combination of capacitor-input filter used with a voltage regulator. A voltage regulator is connected to the
output of a filtered rectifier and maintains a constant output voltage (or current) despite changes in the
input, the load current, or the temperature. The capacitor-input filter reduces the input ripple to the
regulator to an acceptable level. The combination of a large capacitor and a voltage regulator helps
produce an excellent power supply circuit.

Most regulators are integrated circuits and have three terminals – an input terminal, an output terminal,
and a reference (or adjust) terminal. The input to the regulator is first filtered with a capacitor to reduce
the ripple to < 10%. The regulator reduces the ripple to a negligible amount. In addition, most regulators
have an internal voltage reference, short-circuit protection, and thermal shutdown circuitry. They are
available in a variety of voltages, including positive and negative outputs, and can be designed for
variable outputs with a minimum of external components. Typically, voltage regulators can furnish a
constant output of one or more amps of current with high ripple rejection.

Three-terminal regulators designed for fixed output voltages require only external capacitors to complete
the regulation portion of the power supply, as shown in Figure 10,0. Filtering is accomplished by a large
value capacitor between the input voltage and ground. An output capacitor (typically 0.1µF to 1.0µF) is
connected from the output to ground to improve the transient response.

A basic fixed power supply with a +12V voltage relator is shown in Figure 11.0.

Figure 10.0 A voltage regulator with input and out capacitors

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.07: ECE101-2S-2022-2023
Figure 11.0 A basic +5V regulated power supply using LM7812 IC.

The series 78 regulators provide fixed regulated voltages from 5 V to 24 V. Figure 11.0 shows
how one such IC, a 7812, is connected to provide voltage regulation with output from this unit of
+12 V dc. An unregulated input voltage V i is filtered by capacitor C 1 and connected to the IC’s
IN terminal. The IC’s OUT terminal provides a regulated +12 V, which is filtered by capacitor C 2
(mostly for any high-frequency noise). The third IC terminal is connected to ground (GND).
Whereas the input voltage may vary over some permissible voltage range and the output load
may vary over some acceptable range, the output voltage remains constant within specified
voltage variation limits. These limitations are spelled out in the manufacturer’s specification
sheets. A table of positive-voltage regulator ICs is provided in Table 1.0.

Table 1.0 Positive-Voltage Regulators in the 7800 Series

4.1 Percent Regulation

The regulation expressed as a percentage is a figure of merit used to specify the performance of a voltage
regulator. It can be in terms of input (line) regulation or load regulation. Line regulation specifies how
much change occurs in the output voltage for a given change in the input voltage. It is typically defined
as s ration of a change in output voltage for a corresponding change in the input voltage expressed as
percentage.

Δ𝑉𝑂𝑈𝑇
𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = ( ) 𝑥 100 % 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 # 5
Δ𝑉𝐼𝑁

Load regulation specifies how much change occurs in the output voltage over a certain range of
load current values, usually from minimum current ( no Load), NL) to maximum current (full load, FL). It
is normally expressed as a percentage and can be calculated with the following formula:

𝑉𝑁𝐿 − 𝑉𝐹𝐿
𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = ( ) 𝑥 100% 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 # 6
𝑉𝐹𝐿

Example # 2:

A certain 7805 regulator has a measured no-load output voltage of 5.18V and full-load output of
5.15V. What is the load regulation expressed as a percentage?

Solution:

𝑉𝑁𝐿 − 𝑉𝐹𝐿
𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = ( ) 𝑥 100%
𝑉𝐹𝐿

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.07: ECE101-2S-2022-2023
5.18𝑉 − 5.15𝑉
𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = ( ) 𝑥 100% = 𝟎. 𝟓𝟖%
5.15𝑉

VI. LEARNING ACTIVITIES

VII. EVALUATION (Note: Not to be included in the student’s copy of the IM)

1. ONLINE ASSIGNMENTS

2. ONLINE QUIZZES

VIII. ASSIGNMENT

Direction: Carefully read and solve the following problems. Show your complete solutions and indicate your
final answers.

1. Determine the peak-to-peak ripple voltage if the filter capacitor in Figure 7.0 is increased to 100 µF and
the load resistance changes to 12 KΩ.

2. If the no-load output voltage of a regulator is 24.8V and the full-load output is 23.9V, what is the load
regulation expressed as a percentage?

IX. REFERENCES

A. Book/Printed Resources

Boylestad, R.L. & Nashelsky, L. (2013). Electronic devices and circuit theory (11th Ed.) Pearson Education
South Asia. Singapore

Floyd, T.L. (2005). Electronic devices: conventional current version (7th Ed.). Pearson Education South
Asia. Singapore.

Neamen, D.A. (2002). Electronics circuit analysis and design (2nd Ed.). Philippines: McGraw-Hill
International Edition.

B L Theraja;, A K Theraja;, & S G Tarnekar. (2005). A TEXTBOOK OF ELECTRICAL TECHNOLOGY VOLUME

I BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING IN S.I. SYSTEM OF UNITS (Volume II). New Delhi : S. Chand.

B. e-Resources/ e-Book

Schultz, Mitchel E. (2016). Grob Basic Electronics. (12 Edition). McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza,
New York, NY 10121. https://engineeringbookslibrary.com/grobs-basic-electronics-12th-edition/

MIT OpenCourseWare ( 30 August 2019) Circuits and Electronics

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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.07: ECE101-2S-2022-2023
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-002-circuits-and-electronics-spring-
2007

Dube.D.C. ( 30 August 2019 ) Electronics I https://freevideolectures.com/course/3062/electronics-i

ALLDATASHEET.COM (25 SEPTEMBER 2020) 1N4001 Datasheet (PDF) - Bytesonic Electronics Co.,
Ltd.https://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/1169555/BYTESONIC/1N4001.html

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