Rectifiers - AC to

DC Converters in
Power Engineering
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Rectifiers – AC to DC Converters
 A rectifier is an electrical component that converts alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC).
 A rectifier is analogous to a one-way valve that allows an electrical current to flow in only one direction.
 The process of converting AC current to DC current is known as rectification.
Single Phase Half-
Wave Uncontrolled
Rectifiers – R Load
Single Phase Half-Wave Uncontrolled Rectifiers – R Load
 Single phase means we have a single-phase source with one phase and neutral.
 Uncontrolled refers to the implementation of uncontrolled power electronics switches (diodes).
 Half-wave means the AC voltage to DC voltage is converted in half a cycle of the main voltage.
 R load means that the connected load is a purely resistive load.
 The average voltage (or current) of a periodic waveform
whether it is a sine wave, square wave, or triangular
waveform is equivalent to the DC value of an alternating
waveform.
Example 1
Example 1
 For the shown half-wave rectifier, the source is a sinusoid of 120 Vrms at a frequency of 60 Hz. The load resistor is 5 Ω.
 Determine (a) the average load current, (b) the power absorbed by the load, and (c) the power factor of the circuit.

Solution
Ripple Factor of
Half-Wave Rectifier
Ripple Factor of Half-Wave Rectifier
 Ripple is the unwanted AC component remaining when converting the AC voltage waveform into a DC waveform.
 Even though we try out best to remove all AC components, there is still some small amount left on the output side which
pulsates the DC waveform.
 This undesirable AC component is called ripple.
 To quantify how well the half-wave rectifier can convert the AC voltage into DC voltage, we use what is known as the
ripple factor.
 The ripple factor is the ratio between the RMS value of the AC voltage and the DC voltage of the rectifier.
Ripple Factor of Half-Wave Rectifier
Ripple Factor of Half-Wave Rectifier
Efficiency of Half-
Wave Rectifier
Efficiency of Half-Wave Rectifier
 The ratio of the DC power available at the load to the applied input AC power is known as the efficiency. Mathematically
it can be given as:
Efficiency of Half-Wave Rectifier
Form Factor, PIV,
and Peak Factor of
Half-Wave Rectifier
Form Factor of Half-Wave Rectifier
 Form factor (f.f.) is defined as the ratio between RMS load voltage and average load voltage.
 The form factor of the half-wave rectifier is as
Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV) of Half-Wave Rectifier
 Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV) is the maximum voltage that the diode can withstand during reverse bias conditions.
 If a voltage is applied more than the PIV, the diode will be destroyed.
 The peak-inverse-voltage (PIV) rating of a diode is of primary importance in the design of rectification systems.
 During negative half cycles of the input voltage, the diode is reversed biased, no current flows through the load resistance
RL and causes no voltage drop across load resistance RL and consequently, the whole of the input voltage appears across
the diode.
 Thus, the maximum voltage, that appears across the diode, is equal to the peak value of the supply voltage (Vm).
Peak Factor of Half-Wave Rectifier
 It is defined as the ratio of the peak value of the output voltage to the RMS value of the output voltage.
 The peak factor of the half-wave rectifier is as
Applications of Half-Wave Rectifier

 It is used for the detection of amplitude-modulated radio signals.

 For welding purposes, it supplies polarized voltage.
 It is used in many signal demodulation processes.
Advantages of Half-Wave Rectifier

 Simple (lower number of components)

 Cheaper up-front cost (as there is less equipment. Although there is a
higher cost over time due to increased power losses)

Disadvantages of Half-Wave Rectifier

 They only allow a half-cycle through per sinewave, and the other half-cycle is wasted. This leads to power loss.
 They produce a low output voltage.
 The output current we obtain is not purely DC, and it still contains a lot of ripples (it has a high ripple factor)
Example 2
Example 2
 A diode with internal resistance Rd = 10Ω is used for half-wave rectification.
If the applied voltage is v = 50 sin(wt) and load resistance RL = 1000Ω.
 Find:
a) Im, Idc, Irms
b) AC power input and DC power output
c) DC output voltage
d) Efficiency of rectification

Solution
Single Phase Half-
Wave Uncontrolled
Rectifiers – RL Load
Single Phase Half-Wave Uncontrolled Rectifiers – RL Load
 Industrial loads typically contain inductance as well as resistance.
Single Phase Half-Wave Uncontrolled Rectifiers – RL Load
 The Kirchhoff voltage law equation that describes the current in the circuit for the
forward-biased ideal diode is
Single Phase Half-Wave Uncontrolled Rectifiers – RL Load

 The forced response for this circuit is the current that exists after the natural response has
decayed to zero. In this case, the forced response is the steady-state sinusoidal current that
would exist in the circuit if the diode were not present.
 The natural response is transient that occurs when the load is energized. It is the solution of the
circuit without the source.
Single Phase Half-Wave Uncontrolled Rectifiers – RL Load
Single Phase Half-Wave Uncontrolled Rectifiers – RL Load
 The value of 𝜔t in the current equation that results in zero current is called the extinction
angle 𝛽.
Single Phase Half-Wave Uncontrolled Rectifiers – RL Load
Example 3
 Example 3
 For the RL half-wave rectifier, R=100 Ω, L=0.1 H, 𝜔=377 rad/s, and Vm=100 V.
 Determine:
(a) An expression for the current in this circuit.
(b) The average current.
(c) The rms current.
(d) The power absorbed by the RL load and the power factor.

Solution
R-L Load with
Freewheeling
Diode
R-L Load with Freewheeling (Commutating) Diode
R-L Load with Freewheeling Diode
 A freewheeling diode D2, can be connected across an RL load as
shown.
 Both diodes cannot be forward-biased at the same time.
 Diode D1 will be ON when the source is positive, and diode D2
will be ON when the source is negative.
 For a positive source voltage, D1 is on and D2 is off. The
equivalent circuit is Fig. b and the voltage across the RL load is the
same as the source.
 For a negative source voltage, D1 is off and D2 is on. The
equivalent circuit is Fig. c and the voltage across the RL load is
zero.
Example 4
Example 4
 Determine the average load voltage and current for the circuit, where R = 2 Ω
and L = 2 5mH, Vm is 100 V, and the frequency is 60 Hz.

Solution
Single Phase Half-
Wave Controlled
Rectifiers – R Load
Single Phase Half-Wave Controlled Rectifiers – R Load
 A way to control a half-wave rectifier is to use a thyristor instead of a diode.
 Two conditions must be met before the thyristor can conduct:
1. The thyristor must be forward-biased (Vthyristor > 0).
2. A current must be applied to the gate of the thyristor.
 The thyristor will not begin to conduct as soon as the source becomes positive.
 Conduction is delayed until a gate current is applied.
 Once the thyristor is conducting, the gate current can be removed, and the
switch remains on until the current goes to zero.
Single Phase Half-Wave Controlled Rectifiers – R Load
 If a gate signal is applied to the SCR at 𝜔t=α, where α is the firing angle.
 The average or DC voltage across the load resistor, the average or DC current,
the RMS values, and the power are
Example 5
Example 5
 The single-phase half-wave rectifier has a purely resistive load of R and the
delay angle is α=π/2, determine: 𝑉𝑑𝑐, 𝐼𝑑𝑐, 𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠, 𝐼𝑟𝑚𝑠.

Solution
Example 6
Example 6
 Find the delay angle that will produce an average voltage of 40V across a 100Ω
load resistor from a 120Vrms 60-Hz ac source. Also, determine the power
absorbed by the resistance and the power factor.
Solution
Single Phase Half-
Wave Controlled
Rectifiers – RL Load
Single Phase Half-Wave Controlled Rectifiers – RL Load
Single Phase Half-Wave Controlled Rectifiers – RL Load
 The current is the sum of the forced and natural responses:

 The constant A is determined from the initial condition 𝜔t=α, i(α)=0:

 𝛽 is the angle at which the current returns to zero. When 𝜔t=𝛽, i(𝛽)=0:

 The equation must be solved numerically for 𝛽.

Single Phase Half-Wave Controlled Rectifiers – RL Load
 The angle (𝛽-α) is called the conduction angle 𝛶.
Example 7
Example 7
 For the opposite circuit, the source is 120 Vrms at 60 Hz, R = 20Ω, L = 0.04H, and the delay
angle is 45°.
 Determine (a) an expression for i(𝜔t), (b) the rms current, (c) the power absorbed by the
load, and the power factor.

Solution
Half-Wave
Controlled Rectifiers
– RL Load with FWD
Half-Wave Controlled Rectifiers – RL Load with FWD

 Assuming continuous current

waveform.
Half-Wave Controlled Rectifiers – RL Load with FWD
Half-Wave Controlled Rectifiers – RL Load with FWD
Highly Inductive Load
 When the load inductance is large, the variation in current will be very small and the current will be continuous.
 If the inductance becomes very large (highly inductive or heavily inductive), the current will be constant.
Example 8
Example 8
 The single-phase half-wave circuit with a commutating diode shown is used to supply a
heavily inductive load of 15 A from a 240 V AC supply.
 Determine the mean load voltage for firing angles (a) 0°, 45°, and 90°. Neglect the thyristor
and the diode voltage drop.
 Specify the required rating of the thyristor and the diode.

Solution
Example 9
Example 9
 In the circuit shown, the supply is 240 V, 50 Hz. The thyristor voltage drop is neglected.
Find the mean load voltage and current for a delay angle of 120°, if the load is
 Pure resistive load of 10 Ω.

Solution
Example 9
 In the circuit shown, the supply is 240 V, 50 Hz. The thyristor voltage drop is neglected.
Find the mean load voltage and current for a delay angle of 120°, if the load is
 An inductance of 0.1 H in series with a 10 Ω resistor.

Solution
Half-Wave
Controlled Rectifiers
– RLE Load
Half-Wave Controlled Rectifiers – RLE Load
 The EMF in the load can be due to a
battery or a DC motor.
 The firing angle must be given when the
supply voltage exceeds the EMF value.
Half-Wave Controlled Rectifiers – RLE Load
Example 10
Example 10
 In the circuit shown, the supply is 240 V, 50 Hz. The thyristor voltage drop is neglected.
 Find the mean load voltage and current for a delay angle of 60° and the power absorbed
by the load. If the load is a 1 Ω resistor with 20 V back EMF.

Solution
Example 10
 In the circuit shown, the supply is 240 V, 50 Hz. The thyristor voltage drop is neglected.
 Find the mean load voltage and current for a delay angle of 60° and the power absorbed
by the load. If the load is a 1 Ω resistor with 20 V back EMF.

Solution
Example 11
Example 11
 In the circuit shown, the supply is 240 V, 50 Hz. The thyristor voltage drop is neglected.
 Find the mean load voltage and current for a delay angle of 60° and the power absorbed
by the load. If the load is a 1 Ω resistor with 20 V back EMF and 0.01 H inductance.

Solution
Example 11
 In the circuit shown, the supply is 240 V, 50 Hz. The thyristor voltage drop is neglected.
 Find the mean load voltage and current for a delay angle of 60° and the power absorbed
by the load. If the load is a 1 Ω resistor with 20 V back EMF and 0.01 H inductance.

Solution