Rectifier BY:

TENIE HAYAH JANE V. HAMOC

Rectifier
A rectifier is an electrical device that converts an Alternating Current (AC) into a Direct Current
(DC) by using one or more P-N junction diodes.
Are often found serving as components of DC power supplies and high-voltage direct current
power transmission systems.
A circuit which employs one or more diodes to convert AC voltage into Pulsating DC voltage.
Rectifier circuit
Rectifier circuits may be single-phase or multi-phase (three phase being
the most common number of phases). Most low power rectifiers for domestic
equipment are single-phase, but three-phase rectification is very important for
industrial applications and for the transmission of energy as DC (HVDC).
Single-phase rectifiers
 Half-wave rectification
 Full-wave rectification
Three-phase rectifiers
 Three-phase, half-wave circuit
 Three-phase, full-wave circuit using center-tapped transformer
 Three-phase bridge rectifier uncontrolled
Voltage-multiplying rectifiers
Single-phase rectifiers
Half-wave rectification
◦ The half wave rectifier is a type of rectifier which converts half of the AC input signal
(positive half cycle) into pulsating DC output signal and the remaining half signal
(negative half cycle) is blocked or lost. In half wave rectifier circuit, we use only a
single diode.
◦ In half-wave rectification of a single-phase supply, either the positive or negative half
of the AC wave is passed, while the other half is blocked.
◦ Rectifiers yield a unidirectional but pulsating direct current; half-wave rectifiers
produce far more ripple than full-wave rectifiers, and much more filtering is needed to
eliminate harmonics of the AC frequency from the output.
 Single-phase rectifiers
Half-wave rectification

For load voltage,

VLM = ILM RL
𝑉𝐿𝑀
VL(dc) = = 0.318 VLM
𝜋

For load current,

𝐼𝐿𝑀
IL(dc) = = 0.318 ILM
𝜋
𝐼𝐿𝑀 𝑉𝐿𝑀
IL = = 0.5 ILM = 0.5
2 𝑅𝐿
Single-phase rectifiers
Full-wave rectification
◦ The full wave rectifier is a type of rectifier which converts the full AC input signal (positive half
cycle and negative half cycle) to pulsating DC output signal. Unlike the half wave rectifier, the
input signal is not wasted in full wave rectifier. The efficiency of full wave rectifier is high as
compared to the half wave rectifier.
◦ converts both polarities of the input waveform to pulsating DC (direct current), and yields a
higher average output voltage.
 Single-phase rectifiers
Full-wave rectification

For load voltage,

𝑉𝐿𝑀
VL = 2
= 0.707 VLM
2𝑉
VL(dc) = 𝐿𝑀 = 0.636 VLM
𝜋

VL(ac) = 𝑉𝐿 2 − 𝑉𝐿(𝑑𝑐) 2

For load current,

𝑉𝐿𝑀
ILM =
𝑅𝐿
𝐼𝐿𝑀
IL = 2
= 0.707 ILM
2𝐼
IL(dc) = 𝜋𝐿𝑀 = 0.636 ILM

IL(ac) = 𝐼𝐿 2 − 𝐼𝐿(𝑑𝑐) 2
Three-phase rectifiers
Single-phase rectifiers are commonly used for power supplies for domestic
equipment in industrial and high-power applications, three-phase rectifier circuits are
the norm. As with single-phase rectifiers, three-phase rectifiers can take the form of a
half-wave circuit, a full-wave circuit using a center-tapped transformer, or a full-wave
bridge circuit.
Three-phase rectifiers
Three-phase, half-wave circuit
◦ An uncontrolled three-phase, half-wave midpoint circuit requires three diodes, one
connected to each phase.
◦ This type of rectifier is said to have a pulse-number of three, since the output voltage
on the DC side contains three distinct pulses per cycle of the grid frequency.
Three-phase rectifiers
Three-phase, full-wave circuit using center-tapped transformer
◦ If the AC supply is fed via a transformer with a center tap, a rectifier circuit with
improved harmonic performance can be obtained.
◦ This rectifier now requires six diodes, one connected to each end of each transformer
secondary winding. This circuit has a pulse-number of six, and in effect, can be
thought of as a six-phase, half-wave circuit.
Three-phase rectifiers
Three-phase rectifiers
Three-phase bridge rectifier uncontrolled
◦ six diodes are used, and the circuit again has a pulse number of six.
◦ The B6 circuit can be seen simplified as a series connection of two three-pulse center
circuits.
◦ higher-power applications, a single discrete device is usually used for each of the six
arms of the bridge.
◦ very highest powers, each arm of the bridge may consist of tens or hundreds of
separate devices in parallel (where very high current is needed, for example in
aluminum smelting) or in series (where very high voltages are needed, for example in
high-voltage direct current power transmission).
Three-phase rectifiers
Voltage-multiplying rectifiers
Half-wave rectifier can be built in two electrical configurations with the diodes pointing
in opposite directions, one version connects the negative terminal of the output direct
to the AC supply and the other connects the positive terminal of the output direct to
the AC supply.
Combining both of these with separate output smoothing it is possible to get an
output voltage of nearly double the peak AC input voltage. This also provides a tap in
the middle, which allows use of such a circuit as a split rail power supply.
Voltage-multiplying rectifiers
It is the most frequently-used circuit for electronic dc power supplies. It requires four
diodes but the transformer used is not center-tapped and has a maximum voltage.
Voltage-multiplying rectifiers
◦ Cascaded diode and capacitor stages can be added to make a voltage multiplier (Cockroft-Walton
circuit). These circuits are capable of producing a DC output voltage potential up to about ten times the
peak AC input voltage, in practice limited by current capacity and voltage regulation issues
Thank You!!!!