MECHATRONICS LAB REPORT-5

Aim:
To study Half wave and Full wave rectifiers and the effects of different filter circuits on AC
ripple at different loads

Apparatus Required:
The apparatus required during this practical are as follows:

AC step down transformer of secondary output taps 9V, 0V and 9V AC.

Four diodes are mounted behind the front panel for rectification purpose.
Filter section consists of two filter (capacitor) selected using toggle switches.
Different types of load resistances can be selected through bandwidth provided on
front panel.
Two meters to measure voltage and current are mounted on the front panel and
connections brought out on 4mm Sockets.

Theory:
The theories of a half wave rectifier, a full wave rectifier and an oscilloscope are given
below:

Half Wave Rectifier

In a half wave rectifier, it conducts current only during the positive half of the cycles of input
AC supply.
However, during the negative half of the input AC supply, no current is conducted and hence
no voltage appears across the load. Therefore, current flown in only one direction through the
load during the positive half cycle. The input AC supply is in series with the load resistance
RL and supplied through a transformer. The AC voltage changes polarity after every cycle.
During the positive cycle, A becomes positive with respect to B. Thus, the diode is forward
biased and the current flows. During the negative cycle, end B becomes positive with respect
to end A and hence, the diode is reverse biased which makes it stop conducting current. In
this way, a DC output is obtained across R L during the positive half cycle. The output is
smoothened with the help of a filter.
Efficiency of A Half Wave Rectifier
The ratio of the obtained DC output and the applied AC input is the efficiency of the rectifier;
which is given by:
= 0.406/ (1+r/ RL)

Where r=diode resistance and RL = Load resistance.

Since r is very small as compared to RL, then
=0.406=40.6%
Ripple Factor
It is the measure of the AC components in the DC output of the load resistance.
Ripple factor= R.M.S. value of AC components/ R.M.S. value of DC components
i.e. =AC (Ripple) voltage/DC voltage
= 1.21
This shows that the AC component exceeds the DC component at the output side. Thus, it is a
poor device for conversion of AC to DC voltage.

Full Wave Rectifier

In this type of rectifier, current flows in the same direction through the load for both the half
cycles of the input AC voltage. This is achieved with 2 diodes working alternately.
During the positive half of the cycle, end A becomes positive with respect to end B. Thus, D 1
conducts current being in forward bias while D2 does not being in reverse bias. Current flows
through D1 and load resistance RL and in the upper half of the secondary winding.
During the negative half of the cycle, the end B becomes positive with respect to end A.
Hence, D2 conducts current while D1 does not. The current flows in D2, load resistance RL and
the lower half of the winding. Note that the direction of current is the same for both the cases.
Hence, DC output is obtained across RL.
Efficiency of Full Wave Rectifier
The ratio of the obtained DC output and the applied AC input is the efficiency of the rectifier;
which is given by:
= 0.812/ (1+r/ RL)
As the diode resistance r is small as compared to load resistance RL,
=0.812=81.2%
Ripple Factor for The Full Wave Rectifier
It is the measure of the AC components in the DC output of the load resistance.
Ripple factor R= R.M.S. value of AC components/ R.M.S. value of DC components
R= AC (Ripple) voltage/DC voltage
R= 0.48

Thus, in a full wave rectifier, the ripples will be less as compared to the half wave rectifier.

Oscilloscope:
Oscilloscopes (as shown in figure 1) are used to observe the change of an electrical signal
over time, such that voltage and time describe a shape which is continuously graphed against
a calibrated scale. The observed waveform can be analysed for such properties
as amplitude, frequency, rise time, time interval, distortion and others.
The main components of an oscilloscope are:

Screen: It usually displays a V/t graph, with voltage V on the vertical axis and time t on
the horizontal axis. The scales of both axes can be changed to display a huge variety of
signals.

On/Off Switch: Pushed in to switch the oscilloscope on.

X-Y: When the X-Y button is pressed IN, the oscilloscope does not display a V/t graph.
Instead, the vertical axis is controlled by the input signal to CH II. This allows the
oscilloscope to be used to display a V/V voltage/voltage graph.

TIME / DIV: Allows the horizontal scale of the V/t graph to be changed.

Intensity and focus: Adjusting the INTENSITY control changes the brightness of the
oscilloscope display. The FOCUS should be set to produce a bright clear trace.

X-POS: Allows the whole V/t graph to be moved from side to side on the oscilloscope
screen.

X-MAG: In the IN position, the horizontal scale of the V/t graph is increased by 10 times.
For example, if TIME/DIV is set for 1 ms per division and X-MAG is pushed IN, the
scale is changed to 0.1 ms per division.

Y-POS I and Y-POS II: These controls allow the corresponding trace to be moved up or
down, changing the position representing 0 V on the oscilloscope screen. To investigate
an alternating signal, you adjust Y-POS so that the 0 V level is close to the centre of the
screen. For a pulse waveform, it is more useful to have 0 V close to the bottom of the
screen Y-POS I and Y-POS II allow the 0 V levels of the two traces to be adjusted
independently.

VOLTS / DIV: Adjust the vertical scale of the V/t graph. The vertical scales for CH I and
CH II can be adjusted independently.

DC/AC/GND Slide Switches: In the DC position, the signal input is connected directly
to the Y-amplifier of the corresponding channel, CH I or CH II. In the AC position, a
capacitor is connected into the signal pathway so that DC voltages are blocked and only
changing AC signals are displayed. In the GND position, the input of the Y-amplifier is

connected to 0 V. This allows you to check the position of 0 V on the oscilloscope screen.
The DC position of these switches is correct for most signals.

Trigger: A collection of controls called the trigger that are used to synchronize the
input signal to the horizontal display. Because there is no fixed relationship between an
external signal and the internal time base, the trigger makes the scope wait until some
prescribed level in an input is reached before beginning its display.

Invert: When the INVERT button is pressed IN, the corresponding signal is turned
upside down, or invert

Figure 1: Oscilloscope

Procedure:
The Procedure for the practical is as follows:

Half Wave Rectifier

Connect the circuit as shown in figure 2. Also connect 15 V DC voltmeter and 250mA
DC current meter in the space provided on the front panel.
Connect electronic AC multi voltmeter/CRO across output to measure the ripple
directly.
Connect load (RL) in the circuit for measuring DC output current.
Switch ON the instrument using ON/OFF toggle switch provided on the front panel.
Note down the observations i.e. DC output voltage, DC current and AC ripples on the
meters.
Switch ON the toggle switch S1 to connect the capacitor C1 in the circuit again check
the DC output voltage, DC current and AC ripples.
Switch ON toggle switch S2 so that capacitor C2 also connects in the circuit. Now the
filter circuit is in pie type configuration. Again note down output voltage, output
current and AC ripple.
Repeat the experiment for different values of load resistances.
The output will appear on the oscilloscope as shown on Figure 4.

Figure 2: Half Wave Rectifier connection

Figure 3: Circuit Diagram for a Half Wave Rectifier

Figure 4: Output wave of AC supply Through Half Wave Rectifier on Oscilloscope

Full Wave Rectifier

Connect the circuit as shown in Figure 5.

Repeat the steps from 2-8 and take all the possible observations.
The output will appear on the oscilloscope as shown on Figure 7.

Figure 5: Full Wave Rectifier Connection

Figure 6: Circuit diagram for a Centre Tapped Full Wave Rectifier

Figure 7: Output wave of AC supply Through Full Wave Rectifier on Oscilloscope

Result:
The Half Wave and Full Wave Rectifier circuit design output waveform have been studied
and the required parameters are calculated.

Precautions:
The Precautions required to be followed during this practical are:

Connections should be verified before clicking run button.

The resistance to be chosen should be in Ohm range.
Best performance is being obtained within 50Hz to 1Mhz.

Uses and Applications of Rectifier

Rectifiers are used in a variety of places like for:

Conversion of AC voltage to DC voltage

Detection of amplitude modulated radio signals.
Rectifiers supply polarised voltage for welding.
Thyristors are used in various classes of railway rolling stock systems so that fine
control of the traction motors can be achieved.

References
The references used to make this report are as follows:

Lab manual
www.wikipedia.com
www.electricalcircuit4u.com
www.allaboutcircuits.com