UNIT- III

Rectifiers and Filters:

The process of converting alternating voltage into direct current voltage is called as
rectification. This is achieved with
i) Step-down Transformer, ii) Rectifier, iii) Filter and iv) Voltage Regulator circuits.
These elements constitute d.c. regulated power supply shown in the figure below.

An ideal regulated power supply is an electronics circuit designed to provide a predetermined

D.C voltage Vo which is independent of the load current and variations in the input voltage
and temperature. If the output of a regulator circuit is an AC voltage then it is termed as
voltage stabilizer, whereas if the output is a DC voltage then it is termed as voltage regulator.

TRANSFORMER:
A transformer is a static device which transfers the energy from primary winding to
secondary winding through the mutual induction principle, without changing the frequency.
The transformer winding to which the supply source is connected is called the primary, while
the winding connected to the load is called secondary. If N1, N2 are the number of turns of

the primary and secondary of the transformer then is called the turns ratio.

RECTIFIER:
A rectifier is a electrical device which offers a low resistance to the current in one direction
but a high resistance to the current in the opposite direction. It is capable of converting a
sinusoidal input waveform, whose average value is zero, into a unidirectional waveform, with
a non-zero average component.

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 1

Half Wave Rectifier:

The half rectifier consist a step down transformer, a diode connected to the transformer and a
load resistance connected to the cathode end of the diode. The circuit diagram of half wave
transformer is shown below:

Working of Half Wave Rectifier:

The input given to the rectifier will have both positive and negative cycles. The half rectifier
will allow only the positive half cycles and omit the negative half cycles.

Positive Half Cycle:

The diode will allow current from anode to cathode in the forward bias (diode
conduction will take place in forward bias) which will generate only the positive half
cycle of the AC.
The diode will eliminate the variations in the supply and give the pulsating DC
voltage to the load resistance RL. We can get the pulsating DC at the Load resistance.

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 2

Negative Half Cycle:

In the negative half cycle the diode will not conduct so, no current in flown from
anode to cathode, and we cannot get any power at the load resistance.
Only small amount of reverse current is flown from the diode but this current is
almost negligible. And voltage across the load resistance is also zero.

Half Wave Rectifier Analysis

1. Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV)

Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV) rating of a diode is important in its design stages. It is the
maximum voltage that the rectifying diode has to withstand, during the reverse biased period.
When the diode is reverse biased, during the negative half cycle, there will be no current flow
through the load resistor RL. Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV) of half wave rectifier = Vm max

2. Instantaneous values Voltages and Currents in the diode

By assuming that the voltage across the transformer secondary be sinusoidal of peak values
Vm, instantaneous value of the voltage given to the rectifier can be written as

Assuming that the diode has a forward resistance of R F ohms and infinite reverse resistance
value, the current flowing through the output load resistance RL is
for the period
for the period

3. DC Output Current:

The average or dc value of current is found by taking the average value of such an waveform,
we have to determine the area under the curve and divide by 2 .

Where

. /

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 3

4. DC Output Voltage :

The d.c. (i.e. average) output voltage appearing across RL is given by

Normally Rf and Rs are quite small in value. If

Then

5. Root Mean Square (RMS) Value of Voltage or Current

This RMS is a mathematical quantity used to compare both alternating and direct currents
(and voltage). The RMS value of AC (current) is the direct current which when passed
through a resistor for a given period of time would produce the same heat as that produced by
alternating current when passed through the same resistor for the same time.
RMS value of current across the load is given as

* + as I = 0 for

As

0 1

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 4

6. Root Mean Square (RMS) Value of Output Voltage

7. Rectification Efficiency
Efficiency is defined as the ratio between the output power to the ac input power.

= DC power delivered to the load/AC input power from the transformer =

This means, even under ideal conditions (i.e. RL and Rs equal to zero), only 40.6% of the a.c.
input is converted into d.c. power.

8. Ripple Factor
Ripple factor is in fact a measure of the remaining alternating components in a filtered
rectifier output. It is the ratio of the effective value of the ac components of voltage (or
current) present in the output from the rectifier to the dc component in output voltage (or
current).

( )

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 5

If the above expression is expressed as a percentage, it indicates that the amount of the
alternating component present in the output is 121% of the d.c. value. In other words, it
means the undesired ac. component is in fact more the desired value.
9. TUF (Transformer Utilization Factor)

Most of rectifier circuits make use of a transformer, whose secondary feeds the ac. power. It
is necessary to determine the rating of transformer while designing a power supply. TUF is
useful for this purpose. TUF is defined as

The secondary voltage is purely sinusoidal hence its rms value is times maximum

while the current is half sinusoidal hence its rms value is of the maximum.

( ) ( )

If ( ) , then

10. Regulation

The variation of the output voltage as a function of dc load current is called regulation.
Percentage regulation is given as

% Regulation = , -
For an ideal power supply, the output voltage should be independent of load current and the
percentage regulation should be equal to zero.

11. Form Factor

Form factor is defined as the ratio of the rms value of the output voltage to the average value

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 6

of the output voltage.

12. 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.

13. Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV):

It is defined as the maximum reverse voltage that a diode can withstand without destroying
the junction. The peak inverse voltage across a diode is the peak of the negative halfcycle.
For half-wave rectifier, PIV is Vm.

Full Wave Rectifier

A full-wave rectifier converts an ac voltage into a pulsating dc voltage using both half
cycles of the applied ac voltage. In order to rectify both the half cycles of ac input, two diodes
are used in this circuit. The diodes feed a common load RL with the help of a center-tap
transformer.
A center-tap transformer is the one which produces two sinusoidal waveforms of
same magnitude and frequency but out of phase with respect to the ground in the secondary
winding of the transformer. The full wave rectifier is shown in the figure below.

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 7

Operation:
During positive half of the input signal, anode of diode D1 becomes positive and at the same
time the anode of diode D2 becomes negative. Hence D1 conducts and D2 does not conduct.
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, the anode of D1 becomes negative and the anode
of D2 becomes positive. Hence, D1 does not conduct and D2 conducts. The load current flows
through D2 and the voltage drop across RL will be equal to the input voltage.

It is noted that the load current flows in the both the half cycles of ac voltage and in the same
direction through the load resistance.

Negative Half Cycle:

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 8

When point B is positive with respect to point C, diode D2 conducts in the forward direction
and the current flowing through resistor R is in the same direction for both half-cycles. .
Diode D1 becomes reverse biased
As the output voltage across the resistor R is the phasor sum of the two waveforms combined,
this type of full wave rectifier circuit is also known as a bi-phase circuit.

Analysis:

Let a sinusoidal voltage Vi be applied to the input of a rectifier. It is given by Vi= Vm Sint.
The current i1 though D1 and load resistor RL is given by
= Im Sint for 0 t
==0 for t

Where Im =

Similarly, the current i2 through diode D2 and load resistor RL is given by

=0 for 0 t
= Im Sint for t
Therefore, the total current flowing through RL is the sum of the two currents i1 and i2.
i.e.

1. DC Output Current

Dc value of voltage across the load is given by

Since the value of the current i for is the same as the period , therefore
the curve will be twice that of the half wave case.

1. DC Output Voltage

The d.c. (i.e. average) output voltage appearing across RL is

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 9

 ;

If

2. Root Mean Square (RMS) Value of Voltage or Current

* + As

0 1

4. Ripple Factor
The ripple factor for a Full Wave Rectifier is given by

( )

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 10

If the above expression is expressed as a percentage, it indicates that the amount of the
alternating component present in the output is 48% of the d.c. value. In other words, it means
the undesired ac. component is in fact lesser than in case of full wave rectifier.

5. Rectification Efficiency
Efficiency is defined as the ratio between the output power to the ac input power.

= DC power delivered to the load/AC input power from the transformer =

The maximum efficiency of a Full Wave Rectifier is 81.2%.

6. Transformer Utilization Factor

Transformer Utilization Factor, TUF can be used to determine the rating of a transformer
secondary. It is determined by considering the primary and the secondary winding separately
and it gives a value of 0.693.

a) TUF(Secondary) =

b) Since both the windings are used TUFFWR = 2 TUFHWR = 2x0.287= 0.574

c) TUF primary = Rated efficiency = =

d) Average =

7. 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.

8. Peak Factor

Peak factor is defined as the ratio of the peak value of the output voltage to the rms value of

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 11

the output voltage.

9. Peak inverse voltage for Full Wave Rectifier is 2Vm because the entire secondary voltage
appears across the non-conducting diode.

Full Wave Bridge Rectifier

This uses four individual rectifying diodes connected in a closed loop bridge configuration
to produce the desired output. The main advantage of this bridge circuit is that it does not
require a special centre tapped transformer, thereby reducing its size and cost. The single
secondary winding is connected to one side of the diode bridge network and the load to the
other side as shown below.

Operation of the Bridge Rectifier

The four diodes labeled D1 to D4 are arranged in series pairs with only two diodes
conducting current during each half cycle. During the positive half cycle of the supply,
diodes D1 and D2 conduct in series while diodes D3 and D4 are reverse biased and the
current flows through the load as shown below.

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 12

During the negative half cycle of the supply, diodes D3 and D4 conduct in series, but diodes
D1 and D2 switch OFF as they are now reverse biased. The current flowing through the
load is the same direction as before.

As the current flowing through the load is unidirectional, so the voltage developed across the
load is also unidirectional the same as for the previous two diode full-wave rectifier,

Parameter HWR FWR BR

1 No of diodes 1 2 4
2 PIV of diodes Vm 2Vm Vm
3 DC Current at No Load

4 DC voltage at No Load

5 RMS current Irms = Irms =

6 RMS voltage Vrms =

Vrms =

7 Ripple Factor 1.21 0.482 0.482

8 Rectification efficiency 0.406 0.812 0.812

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 13

Filter Circuits

Rectifier circuit converts a sinusoidal ac voltage into its corresponding pulsating dc. This
pulsating dc voltage will have unwanted ac components like the components of its supply
frequency along with its harmonics (together called ripples). These ripples will be the highest
for a single-phase half wave rectifier and will reduce further for a single-phase full wave
rectifier. Such supply is not useful for driving complex electronic circuits. For most supply
purposes constant dc voltage is required than the pulsating output of the rectifier. Thus, the
output of the rectifier has to be passed though a filter circuit to filter the ac components.

The filter is a device that allows passing the dc component of the load and blocks the ac
component of the rectifier output. Thus the output of the filter circuit will be a steady dc
voltage. The filter circuit can be constructed by the combination of components like
capacitors, resistors, and inductors. Inductor is used for its property that it allows only dc
components to pass and blocks ac signals. Capacitor is used so as to block the dc and allows
ac to pass. All the combinations and their working are explained in detail below.

A harmonic is a component frequency of the signal that is an integer multiple of

the fundamental frequency, i.e. if the fundamental frequency is f, the harmonics have
frequencies 2f, 3f, 4f, etc. The harmonics have the property that they are all periodic at the
fundamental frequency; therefore the sum of harmonics is also periodic at that frequency. For
example, if the fundamental frequency (first harmonic) is 25 Hz, the frequencies of the next
harmonics are: 50 Hz (2nd harmonic), 75 Hz (3rd harmonic), 100 Hz (4th harmonic) etc.

Many types of passive filters are in use such as.

a) Shunt capacitor filter b) Series inductor filter c) Chock input (LC) filter

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 14

d) Pi( ) section filter or CLC filter or capacitor input filter

Series Inductor Filter

The working of series inductor filter depends on the inherent property of the inductor to
oppose any variation in current intend to take place. The inductor offers more reactance to the
a.c. components and low impedance to d.c producing small ripple at the output. Therefore the
inductor blocks a.c components in the output of the rectifier and allows only d.c. component
to flow through RL .

When the rectifier output current increases above a certain value, energy is stored in it in the
form of a magnetic field and this energy is given up when the output current falls below the
average value.

Thus all the sudden changes in current that occurs in the circuit will be smoothened by
placing the inductor in series between the rectifier and the load. In inductor filter an increase
in load current will improve the filtering action and results in reduced ripple. The effect of
higher harmonic voltages can be easily neglected as better filtering for the higher harmonic
components take place.

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 15

This is because of the fact that with the increase in frequency, the reactance of the inductor

also increases. The ripple factor in series inductor filter is

Shunt Capacitor Filter Xc (=1/2fC)

This type of filter consists of large value of capacitor connected across the load resistor RL as
shown. This capacitor offers a low reactance to the a.c. components and very high
impedance to d.c producing small ripple at the output. Here Xc (=1/2 fC), the impedance of
capacitor) should be smaller than RL. Hence the value of capacitor should be very large.

Operation:
During, the positive quarter cycle of the ac input signal, the diode D is forward biased and
hence it conducts. This quickly charges the capacitor C to peak value of input voltage Vm.

When the input starts decreasing below its peak value, the capacitor remains charged at Vm
and the ideal diode gets reverse biased. This is because the capacitor voltage which is cathode
voltage of diode becomes more positive than anode.

Therefore, during the entire negative half cycle and some part of the next positive half cycle,
capacitor discharges through RL. The discharging of capacitor is decided by RLC, time
constant which is very large and hence the capacitor discharge very little from Vm.

Half Wave Rectifier with Capacitor filter

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 16

Ripple factor (r)

T1 = time for which the diode is conducting.

T2 = time for which diode is not conducting.
Let, T = time period of the ac input voltage (T= T1+T2)

Let Vr be the peak to peak value of the ripple voltage which is assumed to be triangular
waveform. It is known mathematically that the rms value of such a triangular waveform is

Charge gained = C Vr
During the time interval T2 the capacitor C is discharging through the load resistance RL.

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 17

But therefore
Therefore the charge lost is Q =

Hence

But T = T1+T2 & T2 >> T1 therefore T2 = T

Full Wave Rectifier with Capacitor filter

Operation:

During the positive quarter cycle of the ac input signal, the diode D1 is forward biased, the
capacitor C gets charges through forward bias diode D1 to the peak value of input voltage Vm.

In the next quarter cycle from to , the capacitor starts discharging through RL and supplies

the load current.

In the next quarter half cycle from to of the rectified output voltage, the input voltage

exceeds the capacitor voltage making D2 forward biased, and charges the capacitor back to Vm.

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 18

T1 = time for which the diode is conducting.
T2 = time for which diode is non conducting.
Let, T = time period of the ac input voltage

And = half the time period.

Charge gained = C Vr
During the time interval T2, the capacitor C is discharging through the load resistance RL.

But therefore
Therefore the charge lost is Q =

Hence

But T2 >> T1 and T1+T2 = ; where T =

L-Section Filter (or) LC Filter:

In the simple shunt capacitor filter circuit, we have concluded that the capacitor will reduce
the ripple voltage, but causes the diode current to increase .This large current may damage
the diode and will further cause heating problem and decrease the efficiency of the filter. The
Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 19
capacitor filter has low ripple at heavy loads while inductor filters at small loads.

A combination of these two filters may be selected to make the ripple independent of load
resistance. The resulting filter is called L-Section filter (or) LC filter (or) Choke input filter.
This name is due to the fact that the inductor and capacitor are connected as an inverted L. A
full-wave rectifier with choke input filter is shown in figure below:

L-C filters can be of two types: Choke Input L-section Filter and L-C Capacitor input filter

Choke Input L-Section Filter

L-C inductor input or L-section filter consists of an inductor L connected in series with a
half or full wave rectifier and a capacitor C across the load. This arrangement is also called
a choke input filter or L-section filter because its shape resembles and inverted L-shape. To
increase the smoothing action using the filter circuit, just one L-C circuit will not be enough.
Several L-section filters will be arranged to obtain a smooth filtered output.

As shown in the circuit diagram above, the inductor L allows the dc to pass but restricts the
flow of ac components as its dc resistance is very small and ac impedance is large. After a
signal passes through the choke, if there is any fluctuation remaining the current, it will be
fully bypassed before it reaches the load by the shunt capacitor because the value of Xc is
much smaller than RL. The number of ripples can be reduced to a great amount by making the
value of XL greater than Xc at ripple frequency.

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 20

 Filter or Capacitance Input Filter
The name pi Filter implies to the resemblance of the circuit to a shape with two shunt
capacitances (C1 and C2) and an inductance filter L. As the rectifier output is provided
directly into the capacitor it also called a capacitor input filter.

The output from the rectifier is first given to the shunt capacitor C. The rectifier used can be
half or full wave and the capacitors are usually electrolytic even though they large in size. In
practical applications, the two capacitances are enclosed in a metal container which acts as a
common ground for the two capacitors. Circuit diagram and the waveform are given below.

When compared to other type of filters, the Filter has some advantages like higher dc
voltage and smaller ripple factor. But it also has some disadvantages like poor voltage
regulation, high peak diode current and high peak inverse voltage.

This filter is divided into two a capacitor filter and a L-section filter. The capacitor C1 does
most of the filtering in the circuit and the remaining ripple is removed by the L-section filter
(L-C2). C1 is selected to provide very low reactance to the ripple frequency. The voltage
regulation is poor for this circuit as the output voltage falls off rapidly with the increase in
load current.

R-C Filter
We have already discussed about the drawbacks of using a pi-filter. The main reason for all
these drawbacks is the use of inductor in the filter circuit. If we use a resistance in series,
instead of the inductor as the filter, these drawbacks can be overcome. Thus the circuit is
named as R-C filter. In this circuit, the ripples have to be made to drop across the resistance R
instead of the load resistance RL. For this, the value of RL is kept much larger than the value

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 21

of reactance of capacitor C2 (XC2). This means that each section reduces the ripple by a
factor of at least 10.

R-C Filter
Though the circuit nullifies certain drawbacks of the pi-filter, the circuit on its own has some
problems as well. The filter has very poor voltage regulation. There is a large voltage drop in
the resistance R. The circuit also develops a lot of heat and this has to be dissipated through
enough and adequate ventilation. Thus, the filter is only suitable for small load current or
large load resistance circuits.

Prepared by I Krishna Rao (Associate Professor ECE Dept) Page 22