Addis Ababa Institute of

technology
School of Electrical and Computer
Engineering
Applied Electronics group
Project

REGULATED POWER SUPPLY

Section 3A

Group members:

1. Kirubel Bejirond UGR/3062/13

2. Tofique Adam UGR/1648/13

3. Yonatan Tizazu UGR/5812/13

 Submitted to: Ermias Telahun

Date: January
13, 2023

Table of Contents

Introduction 3
Components 4
1.Transformer 4
2. Rectifier 5
3. Filter 7
4.Regulator 9
4.1. Zener Regulator 10
Output from the design11

Calculation and Assumptions 13

Conclusion 17
References 17

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Introduction:
A power supply is a device of equipment that supplies electricity to
various components. It is usually used to convert either electrical energy
into another form, or another energy source such as mechanical,
chemical, or solar energy into electrical energy. When using electronic
components like transistors and integrated circuits, the power supply
needs to provide a constant direct current with the correct voltage level.
There are many types of power supply. Most are designed to convert high
voltage AC mains electricity to a suitable low voltage supply for electronic
circuits and other devices. A power supply can by broken down into a
series of blocks, each of which performs a particular function.
Linear Mode Regulated Power Supplies (LMPS) were widely utilized to
convert Alternating Current (AC) to Direct Current (DC). However, these
days they are not popular due to their bulky size and low efficiency.
Despite this setback, their output voltage is noise-free, which makes
them an ideal choice for high-frequency requirements in low noise
devices and systems such as Control Circuits and Signal Processors.
Furthermore, they are quite cost effective adding to the appeal of LMPS.
A linear regulated power supply is an embedded circuit that takes
unregulated AC (Alternating Current) and converts it into a constant DC

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(Direct Current). Through the use of a rectifier, it changes the incoming
AC into DC before outputting either alternating or unidirectional power.
Its purpose is to provide a steady flow of voltage or, sometimes current,
to functions or devices that require it in order to stay within certain
limits. As instructed, we shall be utilizing this type of regulated power
supply for our task.

Components

Now we are going to talk about each block:

1. Transformer

The transformer is a key component in linear regulated AC to DC power

supplies. It converts the AC voltage from the wall socket into something
that’s usable for powering DC devices. The transformer typically consists
of two windings — a primary and a secondary where electrical energy is
transferred by induction between the two. The voltage on the secondary
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winding is then further regulated using a rectifier/filter circuit to produce
the desired dc output voltage. The transformer can also provide
protection from mains-borne noise and insulation for safety purposes.
Transformers convert AC electricity from one voltage to another with
little loss of power. Transformers work only with AC and this is one of the
reasons why mains electricity is AC.

Step-up transformers increase voltage, step-down transformers reduce

voltage. Most power supplies use a step-down transformer to reduce the
dangerously high mains voltage (220V) to a safer low voltage And this is
the one we choose.

The low voltage AC output is suitable for lamps, heaters and special AC
motors. It is not suitable for electronic circuits unless they include a
rectifier and a smoothing capacitor.

As such, we too will use a step-down transformer to reduce the EEPCO’s

220V, 50Hz AC supply to 22V (we chose 20V when our desired output is
20 because there will be minor voltage drops due to other electronic
components later on) per our specifications.

2. RECTIFIER
A full-wave rectifier converts the whole of the input waveform to one of
constant polarity (positive or negative) at its output. Full-wave
rectification converts both polarities of the input waveform to DC (direct
current), and is more efficient. However, in a circuit with a non-center
tapped transformer, four diodes are required instead of the one needed
for half-wave rectification, arranged this way are called a diode bridge or
bridge rectifier.

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A bridge rectifier can be made using four individual diodes, but it is also
available in special packages containing the four diodes required. It is
called a full-wave rectifier because it uses all the AC wave (both positive
and negative sections). 0.6V is used up in the bridge rectifier because
each diode uses 0.3V when conducting and there are always two diodes
conducting, as shown in the diagram below.

Ripple:
A small variation occurs in the DC because the capacitor discharges a
small amount between the positive and negative pulses. Then it
recharges. This variation is called ripple.

The ripple can be reduced further by making the capacitor larger.

The ripple appears to be a sawtooth shaped AC variation riding on the

DC output.

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 A small amount of ripple can be tolerated in some circuits but the
lower the better overall.

Why we want to remove the ripple??

1-The presence of ripple can reduce the resolution of electronic test and
measurement instruments. On an oscilloscope it will manifest itself as a
visible pattern on screen.

2-Within digital circuits, it reduces the threshold, as does any form of

supply rail noise, at which logic circuits give incorrect outputs and data is
corrupted.

3-High amplitude ripple currents reduce the life of electrolytic capacitors.

 The varying DC output is suitable for lamps, heaters and standard

motors.
 It is not suitable for electronic circuits unless they include filter.

So how can we reduce ripples in our design?

3.FILTER
The rectifier output that we get can be converted to a ripple free steady DC
voltage using a filter. The output we are going to get after using a filter is
very close to a pure DC voltage.
This is the case because the filter reduces the ripple substantially.

We chose to use capacitor as a filter instead of a inductor our design.

Adding this capacitor to our circuit, it would look like…

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By adding a capacitor parallel to the load resistor, we can reduce the
fluctuations in the voltage in the output that we see. So instead of a
pulsating DC out put that looks like the figure, it will look something like
this.

A filter is used to remove the pulsations and create a constant output.

Smoothing is performed by a large value electrolytic capacitor connected

across the DC supply to act as a reservoir, supplying current to the output
when the varying DC voltage from the rectifier is falling. The diagram

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shows the unsmoothed varying DC (dotted line) and the smoothed DC
(solid line). The capacitor charges quickly near the peak of the varying DC,
and then discharges as it supplies current to the output.

Note that smoothing significantly increases the average DC voltage to

almost the peak value (1.4 × RMS value). For example 6V RMS AC is
rectified to full wave DC of about 4.6V RMS (1.4V is lost in the bridge
rectifier), with smoothing this increases to almost the peak value giving
1.4 × 4.6 = 6.44V smooth DC.

Smoothing is not perfect due to the capacitor voltage falling a little as it

discharges, giving a small ripple voltage.

The capacitor does a good job of smoothing the pulses from the
rectifier into a more constant DC.

4. Regulator

The regulator is a circuit that helps maintain a fixed or constant output

voltage. Changes in the load or the AC line voltage will cause the output
voltage to vary.
Most electronic circuits cannot withstand the variations since they are
designed to work properly with a fixed voltage.
The regulator fixes the output voltage to the desired level then maintains
that value despite any output or input variations
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Voltage regulator ICs are available with fixed (typically 5, 12 and 15V) or
variable output voltages. They are also rated by the maximum current
they can pass.

Zener diode regulator

For low current power supplies a simple voltage regulator can be made
with a resistor and a Zener diode connected in reverse as shown in the
diagram. Zener diodes are rated by their breakdown voltage Vz and
maximum power Pz (typically 400mW or 1.3W).

The resistor limits the current (like an LED resistor). The current through
the resistor is constant, so when there is no output current all the current
flows through the zener diode and its power rating Pz must be large
enough to withstand this.

1. The resistor power rating: P > (Vs - Vz) × Imax

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Output from the design
Figure: Current through the load

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Figure: Voltage across the load

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Calculation and Assumption
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Conclusion
A linearly regulated power supply provides high stability and accuracy,
making it ideal for powering sensitive electrical components.

As a result of the work we put into this project, we gained a great deal of
knowledge. For example, we had already seen and used DC power
supplies and chargers, but this is the first time that we delved into their
individual components and stages. We studied rectifiers in a Power
Electronics course, but it was here that we observed the output on an
oscilloscope. In addition, the value of using fuses for protection became
evident. Finally, we were exposed to several ICs such as power
transistors, operational amplifiers, and Zener diodes which all featured in
separate courses - this project gave us the opportunity to use them all
together at once.

References:

 www.engineersgarage.com
 www.componentsexpert.com
 Regulated DC power supply using transistors (circuitstoday.com)
 http://www.instructables.com

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