Lab # 2

FINDING THE PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS OF FULL WAVE RECTIFIERS

OBJECTIVES:

 To study the concept of full wave rectification

 Learn different techniques applied for full wave rectification
 To study the different performance parameters of full wave rectifiers

THEORY:
FULL WAVE RECTIFICATION:
The full wave rectifier is a circuit arrangement which makes use of both half cycles of input
alternative current and converts them to direct current. Process of converting both half cycles of the
input supply current to direct current is termed as full wave rectification.
There are two types of full wave rectifier;
 Bridge rectifier
 Centre tapped rectifier

1. Bridge Rectifier:

The four diodes labelled 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 D 1 and D2 conduct in
series while diodes D3 and D4 are reverse biased and the current flows through the load as shown below.

Current flow during positive half cycle Current flow during negative half cycle

During the negative half cycle of the supply, diodes D 3 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.

2. Centre tapped rectifier:

The full wave rectifier circuit consists of two power diodes connected to a single load resistance (R L) with
each diode taking it in turn to supply current to the load. When point A of the transformer is positive with
respect to point C, diode D1 conducts in the forward direction as indicated by the arrows.
When point B is positive (in the negative half of the cycle) with respect to point C, diode D 2 conducts in the
forward direction and the current flowing through resistor R is in the same direction for both half-cycles. 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.

PARAMETERS:
1. Ripple factor:

Ripple factor which is a measure of the ripple content, is defined as the ratio of rms value of AC component
to DC component of output voltage.
R. F =Vac/Vdc

The more the DC component is there in the wave, ripple factor is less and good rectification is achieved.
2. Output DC power:

The output DC power of rectifier is defined as;

𝑃 = 𝑉𝐼

3. Output AC power:
The output AC power of rectifier is defined as;
𝑃𝑎 = 𝑉𝑎𝐼𝑎

4. Efficiency:
Efficiency of rectifier, which is a figure of merit and permits us to compare the effectiveness, is defined as
ŋ = Pdc⁄P
ac
5. Effective value of AC component:
The effective (rms) value of AC component of output voltage is
2
2
Vac = √𝑉2rms −𝑉2dc

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM:
 PROCEDURE:
1. Connect the circuit according to diagram shown by using place components icon from the
toolbar at the top of Multisim window. Place resistor, bridge rectifier, center tapped
transformer and voltage source etc.
2. Connect AC and DC voltmeters in parallel to the load resistor to obtain AC and DC values
of voltage.
3. Connect AC and DC ammeters in series with load resistor to obtain AC and DC values of
currents.
4. Connect CRO to observe half wave rectified waveform across the load resistor.

LAB TASK:
Questions.

Draw, measure and calculate output parameters of full wave bridge rectifier using multisim.

OBSERVATIONS AND CALCULATIONS:

Bridge rectifier:
VSource(V) R(ohm) Vdc Vac Vrms Iac Idc Irms Pdc Prms η R.F

Center tapped rectifier:

VSource(V) R(ohm) Vdc Vac Vrms Iac Idc Irms Pdc Prms η R.F
Home Task:
Design and simulate capacitor filter to limit the amount of output ripple voltage and compare values
without filter circuit.
 Table of parameters
 Transient analysis
 Oscilloscope
 Multimeter
 Probe
Attach graphs and multisim simulations indicating values of parameters.

VSource(V) R(ohm) Vdc Vac Vrms Iac Idc Irms Pdc Prms η R.F