Course Objectives
At the end of this course, you will be able to:
generally analyse the uncontrolled and controlled full-wave rectifiers
with different loads and apply the power computation concepts from
the previous chapter to these circuits.
Full-Wave Rectifiers
Single-phase Full-Wave Rectifier:
▪ The objective of a full-wave rectifier is to produce a voltage or current that is purely dc
or has some specified dc component.
▪ The source is utilized in entire cycle (not half a cycle as used in half-wave rectifiers).
H-bridge rectifiers
Figure 4-1: Full-wave bridge rectifier. (a) Circuit diagram. (b&c) Alternative representation.
Figure 4-2: Voltages and currents of full-wave bridge rectifier.
1. Diodes D1 and D2 conduct together, and D3 and D4 conduct together.
Kirchhoff’s voltage shows that D1 and D3 cannot be ON at the same time
(similarly, D2 and D4). The load current can be positive or zero but can
never be negative.
2. The voltage across the load is +vs when D1 and D2 are ON. The voltage
across the load is -vs when D3 and D4 are ON.
3. The maximum voltage across a reverse-biased diode is the peak value of
the source. This can be obtained by KVL around the loop containing the
source, D1, and D3. With D1 ON, the voltage across D3 is -vs.
4. The current entering the bridge from the source is iD1-iD4, which is
symmetric about zero. Therefore, the average source current is zero.
5. The rms source current is the same as the rms load current. The source
current is the same as the load current for one-half of the source period and
is the negative of the load current for the other half. The squares of the load
and source currents are the same, so the rms currents are equal.
6. The fundamental frequency of the output voltage is 2ω where ω is the
frequency of the ac input since two periods of the output occur for every
period of the input.
Vo (t ) = Vin (t )
1 2 2 2Vm
2 0
Vo (t ) = V Sin( t ) d ( t ) = Vm Sin(t )d (t ) =
2
m 0
V (t ) 2V
io (t ) = o = m
R R
1 2 1 Vm2 Vm
2 0
Vo ,rms = = =
2
V Sin( t ) d ( t ) 2
2 2
m
2
V V I
I o ,rms = o ,rms = m = m
R 2R 2
V
R ( m )2
average output power R I o ,rms 2
2R = 1
pf = = =
apparent input power Vin ,rms I in ,rms Vm V
m
2 2R
Full-Bridge Rectifier with R-L load:
(a)
D & D2 are ON
if vs 0 → 1
D3 & D4 are OFF
D & D2 are OFF
if vs 0 → 1
D3 & D4 are ON
The vo will be absolute value of vs (vo = vs )
Figure 4-3 (a) Bridge rectifier with an RL load; and (b) Voltages and currents.
dio di
vo = L + Rio → Vm Sin t = L o + Rio
dt dt
Full-Bridge Rectifier with R-C load:
D & D2 are ON
if vs 0 → 1
D3 & D4 are OFF
D & D2 are OFF
if vs 0 → 1
D3 & D4 are ON
The analysis proceeds exactly as for the half-wave rectifier.
ϴ is the angle where the diodes become reverse biased
At that boundary point:
or
The peak-to-peak voltage variation, or ripple is:
In practical circuits where RCW≫ π:
Figure 4-4 (a) Full-wave rectifier with capacitance filter; (b) Source and output voltage.
Note that the approximate peak-to-peak ripple voltage for the full-wave rectifier is one-half that of the half-wave rectifier.
Example: The full-wave rectifier of Fig. 4-4(a) has a 120 V source at 60 Hz, R=500 Ω, and C=100 μF. (a) Determine the
peak-to-peak voltage variation of the output. (b) Determine the value of capacitance that would reduce the output voltage
ripple to 1percent of the dc value.
Solution Vm = 120 2 = 169.7 V
RC = (2 60)(500)(10) −6 = 18.85
The angle is determined as: = -tan −1 (18.85) + = 1.62 rad = 93o
Vm Sin = 169.7 Sin(93o ) = 169.5 V
The angle is determined by the numerical solution of following equation:
(Sin )e − ( + − )/ RC − Sin = 0 Sin(1.62)e − ( + −1.62)/18.85 − Sin = 0
= 1.06 rad=60.6o
(a ) Peak-to-peak output voltage is described as:
Vo=Vm (1 − Sin ) = 169.7 1 − Sin(1.06) = 22 V
Note that this ripple value is half of ripple value in a half-wave rectifier.
(b) With the ripple limited to 1 percent, the output voltage will be held close to Vm .
Vm Vo 1 1 1
Vo = 0.01 C = = 1670 F
2 fRC Vm 2 fRC Vo 2(60)(500)(0.01)
2 fR( )
Vm
Controlled Full-Bridge Rectifier:
Controlling is possible by substituting controlled switches such as thyristors (SCRs) for the diodes.
IG1 and IG2 are sent to S1 and S2 and turn them ON at the same time. With 180 degree phase shift triggering happening for
IG3 and IG4.
Average output voltage is:
Average output current is then:
The rms current in the source is the same as the rms current
in the load.
Figure 4-5 (a) Controlled full-wave bridge rectifier; (b) Output for
a resistive load.
Example: The full-wave controlled bridge rectifier of Fig. 4-5 (a) has an ac input of 120 V rms at 60 Hz and a
20-Ω load resistor. The delay angle is 40 degree. Determine the average current in the load, the power absorbed
by the load, and the source voltamperes
Solution:
Controlled Full-Bridge Rectifier R-L load:
Case 1: Inductor is small or firing angle α is large, so the output
current is discontinuous. It means that it starts from zero, goes
somewhere up and comes back to zero and remains there for the next
half of the cycle to repeat.
Case 2: Inductor is large or firing angle α is small, so the output
current is continuous and current continuously flow though in load
(before the current reaches zero, the next triggering starts).
How do we understand whether we are in continuous
mode or in discontinuous mode?
L
if tan −1 () Continuous Current Happens
R
otherwise: Discontinuous Current Happens
Figure 4-6 (a) Controlled rectifier with RL load; (b) Discontinuous
current; (c) Continuous current.
Three-Phase Rectifiers:
Three-phase rectifiers are commonly used in industry to produce a dc voltage and current for large loads.
Figure 4-7 (a) Three-phase full-bridge rectifier; (b) Source and output voltages; (c) Currents for a resistive load.
Three-Phase Rectifiers:
Figure 4-8 (a) Three-phase full-bridge rectifier; (b) Source and output voltages; (c) Currents for a resistive load.
Controlled Three-Phase Rectifier:
The output of the three-phase rectifier can be controlled by substituting SCRs for diodes.
Figure 4-9 (a) A controlled three-phase rectifier; (b) Output voltage for α= 45.
