Acknowledgement

From the depth of my heart I express my deep sincere gratitude to

the Almighty for the Blessings that had bestowed upon me to do
this work.
Having a successful project is really a great pleasure to us. Yet all
these will not have been possible if not for hard work, persistence
and cooperation among the researchers. I would like to extend our
sincerest appreciation to the following people who helped accomplish
the project. They are the people who contributed much for the
success of this endeavor.
First of all, I would like to thank our parents and benefactors who
have shown their unending support and provided us with necessary
materials I needed.
Second, I would like to thank our Physics teacher, Mr. Rajeev
Mishra Sir for teaching us the fundamental research and
investigatory writing and for showing a great deal of patience
through the time.
Above all, I would like to thank God for giving us the gift of
wisdom and understanding and for answering our prayers.
CONTENTS:-
 THEORY
 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
 CONSTRUCTION
 FULL WAVE BRIDGE RECTIFIER
 HALF WAVE RECTIFICATION
 FULL WAVE RECTIFICATION
 RECTIFIER OUTPUT SMOOTHING
 WORKING OF BRIDGE RECTIFIER]
 GRAPH
 BRIDGE RECTIFIER,RC FILTER
 HOW RECTIFIER CIRCUIT WORKS IN ELECTRONICS
 FULL WAVE BRIDGE RECTIFIER
MERITS AND DEMERITS OF FULL WAVE RECTIFIER OVER HALF WAVE
RECTIFIER
THEORY:-
A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC),
which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows
in only one direction. The process is known as rectification.
Rectifiers have many uses, but are often found serving as components of
DC power supplies and high-voltage direct current power transmission
systems. Rectification may serve in roles other than to generate direct
current for use as a source of power. As noted, detectors of radio signals
serve as rectifiers. In gas heating systems flame rectification is used to
detect presence of flame.
The simple process of rectification produces a type of DC characterized
by pulsating voltages and currents (although still unidirectional).
Depending upon the type of end-use, this type of DC current may then
be further modified into the type of relatively constant voltage DC
characteristically produced by such sources as batteries and solar cells.
A diode bridge is an arrangement of four (or more) diodes in a bridge
circuit configuration that provides the same polarity of output for either
polarity of input. When used in its most common application, for
conversion of an alternating current (AC) input into a direct current
(DC) output, it is known as a bridge rectifier. A bridge rectifier provides
full-wave rectification from a two-wire AC input, resulting in lower cost
and weight as compared to a rectifier with a 3-wire input from a
transformer with a center-tapped secondary winding.
Circuit Diagram:-
Construction:-
The diodes labelled D1 to D2 are arranged in "series pairs" with only two
diodes conducting current during each half cycle. During the positive half
cycle of the supply, diodes D1 and D4 conduct in series while diodes D2
and D3 are reverse biased and the current flows through the load as
shown below.

Full Wave Bridge Rectifier :-

Half-wave rectification:-
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.
Because only one half of the input waveform reaches the output, mean
voltage is lower. Half-wave rectification requires a single diode in a single-
phase supply, or three in a three-phase supply. 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.

Full-wave rectification:-
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 yields a higher mean output voltage. Two diodes
and a center tapped transformer, or four diodes in a bridge configuration
and any AC source (including a transformer without center tap), are
needed. Single semiconductor diodes, double diodes with common cathode
or common anode, and four-diode bridges, are manufactured as single
components.

Bridge rectifier: A full-wave rectifier using 4 diodes.

For single-phase AC, if the transformer is center-tapped, then two
diodes back-to-back (cathode-to-cathode or anode-to-anode, depending
upon output polarity required) can form a full-wave rectifier. Twice as
many turns are required on the transformer secondary to obtain the
same output voltage than for a bridge rectifier, but the power rating is
unchanged.

Rectifier output smoothing:-

While half-wave and full-wave rectification can deliver unidirectional
current, neither produces a constant voltage. In order to produce steady
DC from a rectified AC supply, a smoothing circuit or filter is required.
In its simplest form this can be just a reservoir capacitor or smoothing
capacitor, placed at the DC output of the rectifier. There will still be an
AC ripple voltage component at the power supply frequency for a half-
wave rectifier, twice that for full-wave, where the voltage is not
completely smoothed.

Sizing of the capacitor represents a tradeoff. For a given load, a larger

capacitor will reduce ripple but will cost more and will create higher peak
currents in the transformer secondary and in the supply feeding it. The
peak current is set in principle by the rate of rise of the supply voltage
on the rising edge of the incoming sine-wave, but in practice it is
reduced by the resistance of the transformer windings. In extreme cases
where many rectifiers are loaded onto a power distribution circuit, peak
currents may cause difficulty in maintaining a correctly shaped sinusoidal
voltage on the ac supply.
To limit ripple to a specified value the required capacitor size is
proportional to the load current and inversely proportional to the supply
frequency and the number of output peaks of the rectifier per input
cycle. The load current and the supply frequency are generally outside
the control of the designer of the rectifier system but the number of
peaks per input cycle can be affected by the choice of rectifier design.
A half-wave rectifier will only give one peak per cycle and for this and
other reasons is only used in very small power supplies. A full wave
rectifier achieves two peaks per cycle, the best possible with a single-
phase input. For three-phase inputs a three-phase bridge will give six
peaks per cycle; higher numbers of peaks can be achieved by using
transformer networks placed before the rectifier to convert to a higher
phase order.
To further reduce ripple, a capacitor-input filter can be used. This
complements the reservoir capacitor with a choke (inductor) and a
second filter capacitor, so that a steadier DC output can be obtained
across the terminals of the filter capacitor. The choke presents a high
impedance to the ripple current. For use at power-line frequencies
inductors require cores of iron or other magnetic materials, and add
weight and size. Their use in power supplies for electronic equipment has
therefore dwindled in favour of semiconductor circuits such as voltage
regulators.
A more usual alternative to a filter, and essential if the DC load requires
very low ripple voltage, is to follow the reservoir capacitor with an active
voltage regulator circuit. The reservoir capacitor needs to be large enough
to prevent the troughs of the ripple dropping below the
minimum voltage required by the regulator to produce the
required output voltage. The regulator serves both to
significantly reduce the ripple and to deal with variations in
supply and load characteristics. It would be possible to use a
smaller reservoir capacitor (these can be large on high-current power
supplies) and then apply some filtering as well as the regulator, but this
is not a common strategy. The extreme of this approach is to dispense
with the reservoir capacitor altogether and put the rectified waveform
straight into a choke-input filter. The advantage of this circuit is that
the current waveform is smoother and consequently the rectifier no
longer has to deal with the current as a large current pulse, but instead
the current delivery is spread over the entire cycle. The disadvantage,
apart from extra size and weight, is that the voltage output is much
lower – approximately the average of an AC half-cycle rather than the
peak.

Working of Bridge Rectifier:-

During the positive input half cycle terminal M of the secondary is
positive and N is negative. Diode D1 and D3 becomes forward bias where
as D2 and D4 are reversed bias. Hence the current flows along point M,
E, A, B, C, F and N producing a drop across RL.
During the negative input half cycle secondary terminal N becomes
positive and M is negative. Now D2 and D4 are forward bias and D1 and
D3 are reversed bias. Now the current flows along points N, E, A, B, C,
F and M. Hence we find that current keeps flowing through load
resistance RL in the same direction (A, B). during both half cycles of
the AC input the point A of the bridge rectifier always acts as an anode
and point C as cathod. It frequency is twice that of supply frequency.
Graph:-

Bridge Rectifier, RC Filter:-

A bridge rectifier makes use of four diodes in a bridge arrangement to
achieve full-wave rectification. This is a widely used configuration, both
with individual diodes wired as shown and with single component bridges
where the diode bridge is wired internally.

How Rectifier Circuit Works in

Electronics:-
One of the most common uses for rectifier diodes in electronics is to
convert household alternating current into direct current that can be
used as an alternative to batteries. The rectifier circuit, which is
typically made from a set of cleverly interlocked diodes, converts
alternating current to direct current.
In household current, the voltage swings from positive to negative in
cycles that repeat 60 times per second. If you place a diode in series
with an alternating current voltage, you eliminate the negative side of
the voltage cycle, so you end up with just positive voltage.

If you look at the waveform of the voltage coming out of this

rectifier diode, you'll see that it consists of intervals that
alternate between a short increase of voltage and periods of no
voltage at all. This is a form of direct current because it
consists entirely of positive voltage. However, it pulsates: first
it's on, then it's off, then it's on again, and so on.
Overall, voltage rectified by a single diode is off half of the
time. So although the positive voltage reaches the same peak
level as the input voltage, the average level of the rectified
voltage is only half the level of the input voltage. This type of
rectifier circuit is sometimes called a half-wave rectifier because
it passes along only half of the incoming alternating current
waveform.
A better type of rectifier circuit uses four rectifier diodes, in a
special circuit called a bridge rectifier.

Look at how this rectifier works on both sides of the

alternating current input signal:-
 In the first half of the AC cycle, D2 and D4 conduct
because they're forward biased. Positive voltage is on the
anode of D2 and negative voltage is on the cathode of D4.
Thus, these two diodes work together to pass the first
half of the signal through.
 In the second half of the AC cycle, D1 and D3 conduct
because they're forward biased: Positive voltage is on the
anode of D1, and negative voltage is on the cathode of D3.
The net effect of the bridge rectifier is that both halves of the
AC sine wave are allowed to pass through, but the negative half
of the wave is inverted so that it becomes positive.
In the bridge circuit four diodes are connected in the form of a
Wheatstone bridge, two diametrically opposite junctions of the
bridge are connected to the secondary of a transformer and
the other two are connected to the load.
Full-wave-bridge-rectifier:-
As shown in the given diagram of full wave bridge rectifier it
consists of four diodes under the condition in which four diodes
are connected the called bridge circuit. So due to this type of
circuit is named bridge rectifier. A resistor is connected in the
circuit where rectified output voltage appears called load
resistor RL. When the upper end of the transformer secondary
winding is positive, say during first half-cycles of the input
supply, diodes D1 and D3 are forward biased and current flows
through arm AB, enters the load at positive terminal, leaves
the load at negative terminal, and returns back flowing through
arm DC. During this half of each input cycle, the diodes D2 and
D4 are reverse biased and so the current is not allowed to flow
in arms AD and BC. The flow of current is indicated by solid
arrows in the figure. In the second half of the input cycle the
lower end of ac supply becomes positive, diodes D2 and D4
become forward biased and current flows through arm CB,
enters the load at the positive terminal, leaves the load at
negative terminal and returns back flowing through arm DA.
Flow of current has been shown by dotted arrows in the figure.
Thus the direction of flow of current through the load
resistance RL remains the same during both half cycles of the
input supply voltage.
Merits and Demerits of Full-wave
Rectifier over Half-Wave Rectifier:-
Merits:-
1. The rectification efficiency of full-wave rectifier is
double of that of a half-wave rectifier.
2.The ripple voltage is low and of higher frequency in case
of a full-wave rectifier so simple filtering circuit is
required.
3.Higher output voltage higher output power and higher
TUF in case of a full-wave rectifier.
4.In a full-wave rectifier, there is no problem due to dc
saturation of the core because the dc currents in the
two halves of the transformer secondary flow in opposite
directions.
Demerits:-
1. Full-wave rectifier needs more circuit elements and is
costlier.