Holy Angel University

School of Engineering and Architecture

BASETRONL

EXPERIMENT 4
GROUP 3

ME-301

Submitted By:

Canlas, Natasha Chyle Q.

Submitted To:

Engr. Jerome Lapitan

Instructor

Date Performed:

March 13 ,2023
 HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
Angeles City

BASIC ELECTRONICS

EXPERIMENT 4

DATA AND RESULTS

Step Waveform Vpk(volts) Vrms (volts) Vdc (volts)

2
18.5 13.08 5.89

3
18.5 13.08 5.89

4(V1) 18 12.73 11.46

4(V2)
18 12.73 11.46

5(V0) 9 6.36 5.73

EXPERIMENT 4
 HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
Angeles City

BASIC ELECTRONICS

PART 2
Table 4-2
Peak RMS DC
Step Switch Position Waveform Voltage Voltage Voltage
(Vpk) (Vms) (Vdc)
S1 S2 S3 S4

2 X X X X 18.5 13.08 11.78

3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

4a 0 0 0 C 0 0 0

4b C C 0 0 0 0 0

4c C 0 0 C 0 0 0

EXPERIMENT 4
 HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
Angeles City

4d C 0 C 0 17.5 12.37 11.14

4e 0 C 0 C 17.5 12.37 11.14

4f C C C C 17.5 12.37 11.14

EXPERIMENT 4
 HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
Angeles City

BASIC ELECTRONICS

REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. A diode will pass only alternation of a sine wave.
2. A half-wave rectifier can produce positive or negative pulsating dc, depending on the that the
diode is placed in the circuit.
3. A full-wave rectifier passes both of a sine wave.
4. In terms of polarity, the output of a full-wave rectifier has both alternations of the sine wave input
voltage going in the direction.
5. What is the main advantage of full-wave rectifier over the half-wave rectifier?
6. The main advantage of the bridge rectifier over the standard full-wave rectifier is that it does not
require a transformer.
7. When one of the diodes in the bridge circuit opens, one of the will be missing at the output.
8. From the data, what conclusion can you draw about the relationship between the dc voltage across R L
and peak voltage in a full-wave rectifier?

Answer to Review Questions

1. A diode will pass only one half-cycle, either the positive half-cycle or the negative half-cycle, of a sine
wave, depending on its orientation in a circuit. When a diode is forward-biased, current can flow in one
direction while being blocked in the other. This means that a diode with the proper forward bias will allow
current to pass through it during the positive half-cycle of a sine wave, while blocking current during the
negative half-cycle. Similar to this, a diode with reverse bias will permit current to flow during the negative
half-cycle while blocking it during the positive half-cycle. As a result, depending on the biasing direction, a
diode will only pass one half of a sine wave.

2. A half-wave rectifier can produce only positive pulsating DC output, regardless of the direction in which
the diode is placed in the circuit. With a half-wave rectifier, only the positive half-cycle of the input AC
voltage may travel through the circuit; the negative half-cycle is blocked.
The diode conducts when the AC voltage is positive, allowing current to pass through the circuit's
load resistor. This is due to the diode's forward bias. As a result, the load resistor experiences a positive,
pulsing DC voltage. Since the diode is reverse-biased and does not conduct when the AC voltage is
negative, this prevents current from passing through the load resistor.
Hence, a half-wave rectifier can only provide positive pulsing DC output, regardless of the direction
in which the diode is positioned in the circuit. A full-wave rectifier circuit must be employed if a negative
pulsing DC output is needed.

EXPERIMENT 4
 HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
Angeles City

3. A full-wave rectifier passes both the positive and negative half-cycles of a sine wave. Two diodes
are placed in a circuit in such a way that current can flow through the load resistor in the same direction
during both halves of the input AC voltage.
One diode is forward-biased and conducts during the positive half-cycle of the input AC voltage,
allowing current to pass through the load resistor in one direction. The second diode is forward-biased and
conducts during the negative half-cycle of the input AC voltage, enabling current to flow through the load
resistor in the opposite direction. As a result, there is a positive DC voltage that pulses throughout both
halves of the input AC voltage across the load resistor.
Because a full-wave rectifier uses both half-cycles of the input AC voltage to produce a greater
average DC output voltage, it is more effective than a half-wave rectifier.

4. In terms of polarity, the output of a full-wave rectifier has both alternations of the sine wave input voltage
going in the same direction. A full-wave rectifier's output is a pulsing DC voltage with a consistent polarity
that can be either positive or negative depending on how the circuit's diodes are arranged.
Current flows through the load resistor in one direction during the positive half-cycle of the input
AC voltage, creating a positive pulsing DC voltage across the load resistor. The load resistor experiences
the opposite direction of current flow during the input AC voltage's negative half-cycle, which likewise
results in a positive pulsing DC voltage across the resistor. As a result, the polarity of the output voltage of
a full-wave rectifier is constant and is governed by the placement of the circuit's diodes.

5. Full-wave rectifiers have one major benefit over half-wave rectifiers: they provide a greater average DC
output voltage from a given AC input voltage. The reason for this is that a half-wave rectifier only uses one
half-cycle of the input AC voltage, but a full-wave rectifier uses both half-cycles.
A full-wave rectifier creates an output voltage that has the same polarity as the output voltage
generated during the positive half-cycle of the input AC voltage, but a half-wave rectifier does not produce
any output voltage during the negative half-cycle of the input AC voltage. This indicates that a full-wave
rectifier's output voltage has a greater average value than a half-wave rectifier's output voltage.
A full-wave rectifier also generates a smoother DC output voltage compared to a half-wave rectifier
because it generates a higher frequency pulsing DC voltage that may be further tamed with a capacitor
filter. This is due to the fact that a half-wave rectifier generates a throbbing DC voltage with the same
frequency as the input AC voltage whereas a full-wave rectifier generates a pulsating DC voltage with
double that frequency.

EXPERIMENT 4
 HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
Angeles City

6. The main advantage of a bridge rectifier over a standard full-wave rectifier is not that it does not require
a transformer, but that it does not require a center-tapped transformer.
The two equal and opposing voltages needed for full-wave rectification are produced by a center-
tapped transformer, a type of transformer with a center tap on its secondary winding, in a conventional full-
wave rectifier. The diodes, which are linked between the two ends of the secondary winding and the center
tap, use the center tap as a reference point.
A bridge rectifier, on the other hand, eliminates the necessity for a center-tapped transformer while
yet producing the same full-wave rectification as a typical full-wave rectifier. Instead of requiring a center-
tapped transformer, the bridge rectifier may be connected directly to a conventional AC power source,
such a wall outlet or power supply.
Consequently, a bridge rectifier's principal benefit over a typical full-wave rectifier is that it may be
powered by a conventional AC power source, which is more widely accessible and less expensive than a
center-tapped transformer. Nonetheless, depending on the application, a transformer is still required to
step down or step up the voltage as necessary.

7. When one of the diodes in the bridge rectifier circuit opens, one of the half-cycles of the AC input
voltage will be missing at the output. Particularly, a failing diode will prevent current from flowing in one
direction, producing in a pulsing DC voltage at the output that lacks one of the AC input voltage's half-
cycles.
For instance, the negative half-cycle of the input AC voltage will be blocked and not appear at the
output if the diode connected between the positive terminal of the AC source and the negative terminal of
the load resistor fails to conduct. The result is a pulsing DC voltage with half the frequency of the AC input
voltage since the output voltage only includes the positive half-cycle of the AC input voltage.

8. In conclusion, the DC voltage across RL and the peak voltage in a full-wave rectifier are directly
proportional. As the peak voltage of the input AC signal rises, so does the DC voltage across RL, making
full-wave rectifiers an effective tool for converting AC voltage to DC voltage.

EXPERIMENT 4
 HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
Angeles City

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
In this experiment, we are focused on diodes acting as rectifiers. That is, converting an AC input

voltage into a DC output voltage.

Both AC and DC voltages have their own advantages and disadvantages, which is why AC

voltages are used for transmitting electricity over long distances when compared to DC voltages which

have large voltage losses at longer distances. On the other hand, DC voltage is far more consistent in

terms of voltage delivery since it only provides one constant voltage compared to AC having phase-shifts,

creating less work and easier to supply by batteries.

That is why converting AC to DC voltage is necessary, to create more efficiency in terms of voltage

consumption, and this can be done by using rectifiers such as diodes. By using a diode, it allows the

voltage to travel into one phase only by using its forward and reverse biased feature. The three types of

connection that were introduced are the half-wave rectifier, the full-wave rectifier, and the bridge rectifier.

On performing the experiment, you will immediately notice the voltage difference on each type of

rectifier. On the half-wave type, it only allows current to pass on one way because of only one diode,

therefore having a voltage loss of 50%. The full-wave on the other hand allows the positive and negative

cycle of the AC to be transformed into one positive cycle, therefore giving it a much less voltage drop per

cycle. The bridge rectifier follows the principle of the full-wave but without using a center tapped

transformer which acts as the ground, but because of the usage of four diodes, it has more voltage drop

than that of the full-wave.

At the end of the experiment, we were able to familiarize ourselves more with usage of diodes as

rectifier. Not only it can be used as a switch, but it holds a significant role in conversion of AC to DC

voltage. By creating circuits given throughout the discussion, we were able to differentiate the three types

of diodes connection and their advantages and disadvantages. With this, we can apply this knowledge to

our following tasks and can also be utilized on our course.

EXPERIMENT 4
 HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
Angeles City

DOCUMENTATION

EXPERIMENT 4