Full-wave rectifier, centre-tapped design
This circuit's operation is easily understood one half-cycle at a time. Consider the first
half-cycle, when the source voltage polarity is positive (+) on top and negative (-) on
bottom. At this time, only the top diode is conducting; the bottom diode is blocking
current, and the load “sees” the first half of the sine wave, positive on top and negative
on bottom. Only the top half of the transformer's secondary winding carries current
during this half-cycle as in Figure below.
Full-wave center-tap rectifier: Top half of secondary winding conducts during
positive half-cycle of input, delivering positive half-cycle to load.
During the next half-cycle, the AC polarity reverses. Now, the other diode and the other
half of the transformer's secondary winding carry current while the portions of the
circuit formerly carrying current during the last half-cycle sit idle. The load still “sees”
half of a sine wave, of the same polarity as before: positive on top and negative on
bottom. (Figure below)
Full-wave center-tap rectifier: During negative input half-cycle, bottom half of
secondary winding conducts, delivering a positive half-cycle to the load.
One disadvantage of this full-wave rectifier design is the necessity of a transformer with
a center-tapped secondary winding. If the circuit in question is one of high power, the
size and expense of a suitable transformer is significant. Consequently, the center-tap
rectifier design is only seen in low-power applications.
The full-wave center-tapped rectifier polarity at the load may be reversed by changing
the direction of the diodes. Furthermore, the reversed diodes can be paralleled with an
existing positive-output rectifier. The result is dual-polarity full-wave center-tapped
rectifier in Figure below. Note that the connectivity of the diodes themselves is the
same configuration as a bridge.
Dual polarity full-wave centre tap rectifier
Another, more popular full-wave rectifier design exists, and it is built around a four-
diode bridge configuration. For obvious reasons, this design is called a full-wave
bridge. (Figure below)
Full-wave bridge rectifier
Current directions for the full-wave bridge rectifier circuit are as shown in Figure below for positive
half-cycle and Figure below for negative half-cycles of the AC source waveform. Note that regardless
of the polarity of the input, the current flows in the same direction through the load. That is, the
negative half-cycle of source is a positive half-cycle at the load. The current flow is through two
diodes in series for both polarities. Thus, two diode drops of the source voltage are lost (0.7·2=1.4 V
for Si) in the diodes. This is a disadvantage compared with a full-wave center-tap design. This
disadvantage is only a problem in very low voltage power supplies.
Full-wave bridge rectifier: Electron flow for positive half-cycles.
Full-wave bridge rectifier: Electron flow for negative half=cycles.
Remembering the proper layout of diodes in a full-wave bridge rectifier circuit can
often be frustrating to the new student of electronics. I've found that an alternative
representation of this circuit is easier both to remember and to comprehend. It's the
exact same circuit, except all diodes are drawn in a horizontal attitude, all “pointing”
the same direction. (Figure below)
Alternative layout style for Full-wave bridge rectifier
One advantage of remembering this layout for a bridge rectifier circuit is that it expands
easily into a polyphase version in Figure below.
Three-phase full-wave bridge rectifier circuit
Each three-phase line connects between a pair of diodes: one to route power to the
positive (+) side of the load, and the other to route power to the negative (-) side of the
load. Polyphase systems with more than three phases are easily accommodated into a
bridge rectifier scheme. Take for instance the six-phase bridge rectifier circuit in Figure
below.
Six-phase full-wave bridge rectifier circuit
When polyphase AC is rectified, the phase-shifted pulses overlap each other to produce
a DC output that is much “smoother” (has less AC content) than that produced by the
rectification of single-phase AC. This is a decided advantage in high-power rectifier
circuits, where the sheer physical size of filtering components would be prohibitive but
low-noise DC power must be obtained. The diagram in Figure below shows the full-
wave rectification of three-phase AC.
Three-phase AC and 3-phase full-wave rectifier output
In any case of rectification -- single-phase or polyphase -- the amount of AC voltage
mixed with the rectifier's DC output is called ripple voltage. In most cases, since “pure”
DC is the desired goal, ripple voltage is undesirable. If the power levels are not too
great, filtering networks may be employed to reduce the amount of ripple in the output
voltage.
Sometimes, the method of rectification is referred to by counting the number of DC
“pulses” output for every 360o of electrical “rotation.” A single-phase, half-wave
rectifier circuit, then, would be called a 1-pulse rectifier, because it produces a single
pulse during the time of one complete cycle (360 o) of the AC waveform. A single-
phase, full-wave rectifier (regardless of design, center-tap or bridge) would be called a
2-pulse rectifier, because it outputs two pulses of DC during one AC cycle's worth of
time. A three-phase full-wave rectifier would be called a 6-pulse unit.
Modern electrical engineering convention further describes the function of a rectifier
circuit by using a three-field notation of phases, ways, and number of pulses. A single-
phase, half-wave rectifier circuit is given the somewhat cryptic designation of
1Ph1W1P (1 phase, 1 way, 1 pulse), meaning that the AC supply voltage is single-
phase, that current on each phase of the AC supply lines moves in only one direction
(way), and that there is a single pulse of DC produced for every 360 o of electrical
rotation. A single-phase, full-wave, center-tap rectifier circuit would be designated as
1Ph1W2P in this notational system: 1 phase, 1 way or direction of current in each
winding half, and 2 pulses or output voltage per cycle. A single-phase, full-wave,
bridge rectifier would be designated as 1Ph2W2P: the same as for the center-tap design,
except current can go both ways through the AC lines instead of just one way. The
three-phase bridge rectifier circuit shown earlier would be called a 3Ph2W6P rectifier.
Is it possible to obtain more pulses than twice the number of phases in a rectifier
circuit? The answer to this question is yes: especially in polyphase circuits. Through the
creative use of transformers, sets of full-wave rectifiers may be paralleled in such a way
that more than six pulses of DC are produced for three phases of AC. A 30 o phase shift
is introduced from primary to secondary of a three-phase transformer when the winding
configurations are not of the same type. In other words, a transformer connected either
Y-Δ or Δ-Y will exhibit this 30o phase shift, while a transformer connected Y-Y or Δ-Δ
will not. This phenomenon may be exploited by having one transformer connected Y-Y
feed a bridge rectifier, and have another transformer connected Y-Δ feed a second
bridge rectifier, then parallel the DC outputs of both rectifiers. (Figure below) Since the
ripple voltage waveforms of the two rectifiers' outputs are phase-shifted 30 o from one
another, their superposition results in less ripple than either rectifier output considered
separately: 12 pulses per 360o instead of just six:
Polyphase rectifier circuit: 3-phase 2-way 12-pulse (3Ph2W12P)
REVIEW:
Rectification is the conversion of alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC).
A half-wave rectifier is a circuit that allows only one half-cycle of the AC voltage
waveform to be applied to the load, resulting in one non-alternating polarity
across it. The resulting DC delivered to the load “pulsates” significantly.
A full-wave rectifier is a circuit that converts both half-cycles of the AC voltage
waveform to an unbroken series of voltage pulses of the same polarity. The
resulting DC delivered to the load doesn't “pulsate” as much.
Polyphase alternating current, when rectified, gives a much “smoother” DC
waveform (less ripple voltage) than rectified single-phase AC.
