National University of Sciences & Technology NUST

School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science SEECS Department

of Electrical Engineering

Department of Electrical Engineering

EE420: Power Electronics

Faculty Member: Dr. Tassawar Kazmi Dated: 14-02-2024

Semester: 6th Group: 1

Lab 02: Hardware - Single Phase Uncontrolled Rectifiers

Reg. no. Report Viva

Marks / 10 Marks / 5 Total/15
Name

Saied Ramadhan Imthiyaz 398793

Rimsha Jawad 385345

Ali Hassan Khan 391910

Muhammad Khuzaima 368838

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 National University of Sciences & Technology NUST
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science SEECS Department
of Electrical Engineering

1. Objective:

The objectives of the lab include:

a) To become familiar with the operating principles of the diode.
b) Operation of half wave rectifier with R and RL loads and freewheeling diode.
c) Operation of full wave rectifier with R and RL loads and freewheeling diode.

2. Equipment Required:

Model Name
8311 Resistive Load
8325-1X Smoothing Inductors
8341 Single Phase Transformer
8412-1X DC Voltmeter/Ammeter
8425 AC Ammeter
8446 Three Phase
Wattmeter/Varmeter
8821-2X Power Supply
8840 Enclosure/Power Supply
8842-1X Power Diodes

3. Theory and Background:

3.1. Diode: A diode is a two-terminal semiconductor device. The two terminals are called the anode
A and the cathode K. The diode operates as a high-speed switch which has no movable parts.

Figure 1: The diode symbol.

3.2. Half-wave Rectifier: The half-wave rectifier is so called because it delivers a half-cycle of dc
output for every full cycle of the applied ac voltage.

With a resistive load, the circuit operates as follows: (Figure 2)

a) t0 < t < t1:

The diode is forward biased and current flows through the resistor.

b) t = t1:

The current becomes 0 and the diode turns off.

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 National University of Sciences & Technology NUST
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science SEECS Department
of Electrical Engineering

c) t1 < t < t2:

The diode is reverse biased because E is negative. The diode is therefore in the off- state and no
current flows.

Figure 1:Operation of a diode-resistor circuit.

The conduction angle of a rectifier component is equal to the time that the component conducts
current during each cycle, divided by the period, and multiplied by 360o. In Figure 2, the
conduction angle is 180o.

With an inductive load, the circuit operates as follows (see Figure 3).

Figure 2:Operation of a diode-resistor-inductor circuit.

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School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science SEECS Department
of Electrical Engineering

a) t0< t < t1

The diode is forward biased and is turned on. The inductor voltage EL is positive because Eo> ER.
The current I increases and the inductor stores energy in the created magnetic field. This positive
energy corresponds to the A+ region of Figure 3.

b) t1< t < t2
The diode is reverse biased because E is negative. The diode therefore remains in the off-state.

The conduction angle of the diode has been increased because the inductor must restore the energy
which has been supplied by the source. This principle is fundamental in defining the on state of a
diode in inductive circuits. The current in an inductor varies slowly. This is because inductors
oppose variations in their current. Also, the phase of I lags that of E.

3.3. Rectifier with free-wheeling diode:

Figure 3:Half-wave rectifier circuit with free-wheeling diode.

When the load is inductive, the negative part of the output voltage waveform reduces the average
output voltage. To prevent the output voltage from going negative, a free-wheeling diode can be
placed in the circuit as shown in Figure 4.

When the output voltage begins to go negative, the free-wheeling diode starts conducting. This
maintains the output voltage at approximately zero while the energy stored in the inductor is being
released (see Figure 5). The output voltage waveform is the same as for a purely resistive load, and
the average output voltage is therefore greater than it would be without the free-wheeling diode.

3.4. Full-wave bridge rectifier:

With full-wave rectification, current flow is maintained for both the positive and negative half cycles
of the source voltage. This can be accomplished using a bridge rectifier.

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School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science SEECS Department
of Electrical Engineering

Figure 6 shows the circuit representation for a full-wave bridge rectifier and also the resulting output
waveform. To understand the operation of this circuit, the rules of operation for diodes are applied
to the circuit and waveforms of ES and Eo shown in Figure 7.

Figure 4:Half-wave rectifier circuit with free-wheeling diode.

Figure 5:A full-wave rectifier circuit.

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School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science SEECS Department
of Electrical Engineering

Figure 7. Voltage waveforms associated with full-wave rectifier circuit.

a) t0 < t < t1

At time t = t0, ES is zero and the diode act as open switches. As ES goes positive (point A with
respect to point B), diodes D1 and D4 become forward-biased and turn on. Therefore, the voltage at
point X is the same as point A, and the voltage at point Y, the same as point B. Diodes D 2 and D3
are reverse-biased and act as open switches. The current Io flows in the direction of the arrow.

b) t1 < t < t2

At time t = t1, the source voltage has returned to zero and D1 and D4 turn off. When ES becomes
negative (B becomes positive with respect to A), diodes D 2 and D3 become forward-biased. D1 and
D4 are now reverse-biased. The voltage at X is now the same as that at B, and the voltage at Y is
equal to that of A. By examining the circuit and replacing D1 and D4 by their open-switch symbols,
you will see that the direction of current flow has not changed. It is still in the direction of the arrow.
The direction of current flow for rectifiers is unique. It is the same as the arrow symbolizing the
diode or thyristor in electrical schematics.

The average voltage of Eo can be calculated with the equation:

0.9

where ES is the voltage of the source [V ac].

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 National University of Sciences & Technology NUST
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science SEECS
Department of Electrical Engineering

4. Procedure:

CAUTION!
High voltages are present in this laboratory exercise! Do not make
or modify any banana jack connections with the power on unless
otherwise specified!

1. Make sure that the main power switch of the Power Supply is set to the O (OFF) position. Set the
voltage control knob to 0.
2. On the power supply, set the 24-V ac power switch to the I (ON) position.

4.1. Diode characteristics:

4.1.1. Connect the modules as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8: Circuit for observing the characteristics of a diode.

4.1.2. Set the value of R1 = 210 Ω

4.1.3. Make the following settings:
On the power supply: Voltage Selector: 4-N On the oscilloscope:
Channel-1 sensitivity: 2V/DIV (Set to GND)
Channel-2 sensitivity: 1V/DIV (Set to GND)
Time Base: X-Y

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School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science SEECS Department
of Electrical Engineering

Use the horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) position controls on the oscilloscope to position the spot in
the center of the screen. Then set both channels to dc coupling.
4.1.4. On the power supply, set the main power switch to I (ON), and set the voltage control knob
to 100%.
4.1.5. Observe the curve displayed on the oscilloscope screen. The horizontal axis represents the
instantaneous value of the voltage across the diode and the vertical axis the instantaneous
value of the current through the diode.

Figure 7: Halfwave rectifier

Figure 6: Voltages and Currents

4.1.6. On the power supply, set the voltage control knob to 0 then set the main power switch to O
(OFF).

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 National University of Sciences & Technology NUST
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science SEECS Department
of Electrical Engineering

4.1.7. Can you conclude from the appearance of the curve that current flows in one direction only?
Explain.
Answer: The current is flowing in one direction only because diode only conducts when it is Forward
Biased and it allows no current when it is reverse biased.
4.1.8. Can you also conclude that the diode operates as a switch? Explain.

Answer: Yes diode acts as a switch, as it conducts for half cycle hence is on. For remaining half
cycle, it doesn’t allow current to flow hence is off.

Half-wave rectifier circuit:

4.1.9. Set up the circuit of Figure 10 using the resistive load Z1 (a).

Figure 10: Circuit for observing current and voltage waveforms.

4.1.10. Set Z1 (a) = 220 Ω

4.1.11. Make the following settings on the oscilloscope:
Channel-1 sensitivity: 2V/DIV
Channel-2 sensitivity: 1V/DIV
Time Base: 5ms/DIV
Trigger: LINE

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 National University of Sciences & Technology NUST
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science SEECS Department
of Electrical Engineering

Figure 8:Halfwave with resistive load

4.1.12. On the power supply, make sure that the voltage control knob is set to the 0 position, then set
the main power switch to I (ON). Set the voltage control knob so that the voltage indicated
by the power supply voltmeter is equal to 90% of the nominal line-to-neutral voltage. Sketch
the voltage and current waveforms displayed on the oscilloscope in Figure 11. A sine wave
is provided in this figure as a reference. You may find it helpful to change the time base of
the oscilloscope. For example, you could adjust the time base so that one complete cycle of
the waveform occupies 6 horizontal divisions. Each horizontal division would then represent
60o.Record the ripple frequency (frequency of the rectified waveform).
Ripple frequency: 50 Hz
4.1.13. Record the output voltage, current, and power of the rectifier circuit in the first row of the
Table 1. Enter the conduction angle of the diode in Table 1.

Load Z1 Output Voltage Output Current Output Power Conduction

E1 dc I1 dc Po = E1 x I1 Angle
V A W degrees
(a) Resistive 155.7 0.72 112.1 180
(b) Inductive 160.63 0.60 96.38 216

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 National University of Sciences & Technology NUST
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science SEECS Department
of Electrical Engineering

4.1.14. On the power supply, set the voltage control knob to the 0 position then set the main power
switch to the O position.

4.1.15. Change the load in the circuit to the inductive load Z1 (b) i.e. with R= 220 Ω
and L = 0.8 H. Repeat the procedure steps necessary to complete the Table 1 and Figure 11.
4.1.16. Explain the effect of an inductive load on the voltage and current waveforms and on the
conduction angle.
Answer: Conduction angle increases with inductive load as it must restore the energy which has
been supplied by the source. Whereas Voltage increases and current decreases.

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School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science SEECS Department
of Electrical Engineering

4.1.17. On the power supply, set the voltage control knob to the 0 position then set the main power
switch to the O position.

4.2. Rectifier with free-wheeling diode

4.2.1. Add a free-wheeling diode to the circuit as shown in Figure 12.
4.2.2. On the power supply, set the main switch to I (ON), and set the voltage control knob so that
the voltage indicated by the power supply voltmeter is equal to 90 % of the nominal line-to
neutral voltage.

Figure 12. Rectifier circuit with free-wheeling diode.

4.2.3. Fill in Table 2.

Table 2. Measurements for controlled rectifier circuit with free-wheeling diode
Load Z1 Output Voltage Output Current Output Power
E1 dc I1 dc Po = E1 x I1
V A W
(b) Inductive 157.2 0.6 94.32
4.2.4. What effect does free-wheeling diode have on the operation of the circuit and on the
parameters measured? -

Answer: It removes the spikes in output waveform and the average output voltage is also greater
than it would be without the free-wheeling diode.

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Figure 9: Free wheeling Diode

4.3. Full-wave rectifier

4.3.1. Set up the circuit as shown in Figure 13. On the power supply, set the main power switch to
the I (ON). Set the voltage control knob so that the voltage indicated by the power supply
voltmeter is equal to 90 % of the nominal line-to-neutral voltage. The value of resistive load
is Z1 (a) = 220 Ω and inductive load is Z1 (b) , , is R = 220 Ω and L = 0.8 H. Sketch
the voltage and current waveforms in Figure 14. Record the ripple frequency.
Ripple frequency = 100 Hz

Figure 13. Full-wave bridge rectifier circuit.

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School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science SEECS Department
of Electrical Engineering

Record the output voltage, current, and power of the rectifier circuit in the first row of Table 3.

Figure 10: Full wave Rectifier

Table 3: Measurements for bridge rectifier circuit

Load Z1 Output Voltage Output Current Output Power Conduction

E1 dc I1 dc Po = E1 x I1 Angle
V A W degrees
(a) Resistive 218.33 0.91 198.68 360
(b) Inductive 217.54 0.93 202.31 360

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School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science SEECS Department
of Electrical Engineering

4.3.2. With the power off, change the load in the circuit to the inductive load, Z1 (b). Repeat the
procedure steps necessary to complete Table 3 and Figure 14.
4.3.3. What is the effect of the inductive load on the operation of the circuit?
Answer: Inductive load results in phase shift between voltage and current.

Figure 11:Full wave with resistive load

4.3.4. Compare the following characteristics of a single-phase bridge rectifier to those of a single
phase half-wave rectifier.
Diode Conduction angle: Halfwave: 216 , Fullwave: 360
Ripple Frequency: Halfwave: 50 Hz , Fullwave: 100 Hz
Average output voltage and power: Halfwave: 96.38 Watt , Fullwave: 202.31 Watt

On the power supply, set the voltage control knob to 0 then set the main power switch to O (OFF).
Conclusion: In this lab, we performed hardware of halfwave and fullwave rectifier and observed
that diodes allow current to pass in one direction only. We also observed the spikes after addition of
inductive load in output waveform in case of halfwave rectifier. These spikes can be removed by using
free-wheeling diode as it provide path for reverse current flow. At last we also observed effect of the
type of load on the conduction angle for halfwave and fullwave rectifiers.

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