Power Supplies

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Zambia

University College Of Technology


Bachelor of Information Technology

BIT 131: Fundamentals of


Electrical/Electronics Engineering
Class 0
These appliances have no protective-earth connection and feature only a single level of insulation between live parts and exposed metalwork. If
permitted at all, Class 0 items are intended for use in dry areas only. A single fault could cause an electric shock or other dangerous occurrence,
without triggering the automatic operation of any fuse or circuit breaker. Sales of such items have been prohibited in much of the world for
safety reasons, for example in the UK by Section 8 of The Low Voltage Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1989 and New Zealand by the
Electricity Act. However, equipment of this class is common in some 110 V countries, and in much of the 220 V developing world, whether
permitted officially or not. These appliances do not have their chassis connected to electrical earth.

Class I

green/yellow ground

Class I symbol
These appliances must have their chassis connected to electrical earth (US: ground) by a separate earth conductor (coloured green/yellow in
most countries, green in the US, Canada and Japan). The earth connection is achieved with a 3-conductor mains cable, typically ending with 3-
prong AC connector which plugs into a corresponding AC outlet. The basic requirement is that no single failure can result in dangerous voltage
becoming exposed so that it might cause an electric shock and that if a fault occurs the supply will be removed automatically (this is sometimes
referred to as ADS = Automatic Disconnection of Supply).
Class 0I
Electrical installations where the chassis is connected to earth with a separate terminal, instead of via the mains cable. In effect this
provides the same automatic disconnection as Class I, for equipment that otherwise would be Class 0

Class II

Class II symbol
A Class II or double insulated electrical appliance is one which has been designed in such a way that it does not require a safety connection
to electrical earth (ground).

The basic requirement is that no single failure can result in dangerous voltage becoming exposed so that it might cause an electric shock
and that this is achieved without relying on an earthed metal casing. This is usually achieved at least in part by having at least two layers of
insulating material between live parts and the user, or by using reinforced insulation.

Insulated AC/DC power supplies (such as cell-phone chargers) are typically designated as Class II, meaning that the DC output wires are
isolated from the AC input. Class III

Class III symbol


A Class III appliance is designed to be supplied from a separated/safety extra-low voltage (SELV) power source. The voltage from a SELV
supply is low enough that under normal conditions a person can safely come into contact with it without risk of electrical shock.
INTRODUCTION TO BASIC
POWER SUPPLIES
POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM

The power supply system has an input which is either ac or dc


and, for our discussions, a dc output. This dc output is used to
power some form of electronic circuitry.

The input could be the 240V 50Hz mains supply or a dc supply


from a car battery or even a power rail within an existing circuit.
POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM

Breaking this system down , we will first look at the ac voltage change and ac to dc
conversion.

Then, we will look at some simple dc regulation circuitry


Mains input aspects
Usually, the ac input is 240V rms, 50Hz mains supply.

CAUTION this voltage is LETHAL


Take extra care when handling mains powered equipment,
make sure of your safety when constructing and testing.

PLUS make sure that adequate insulation and construction


techniques are employed in the unit.
Mains input aspects
Mains powered equipment must be properly protected by a fuse and double
pole power switch.

The mains powered equipment container (box) must be earthed if metallic or


double insulation techniques employed to provide input to output isolation.

A lot of consumer electronic units (TV, DVD players and the like) utilise double
insulation techniques, so their mains input power lead only contains Live and
Neutral wires, rather than also including an earth wire as well.

Double insulation techniques present at least two ‘high voltage’ insulation


barriers between the mains input circuitry and the system being powered. For
example, the mains transformer has its primary (high voltage) winding on one
bobbin and its secondary winding an a separate bobbin. Thus, if the primary
winding burns up, the mains voltage cannot reach the ‘secondary side’.

If in any doubt, connect the box to mains earth.


Mains input aspects

TYPICAL INPUT CIRCUIT

Only use one fuse and locate this in LIVE line (a blown fuse in the NEUTRAL line
would leave most of the circuit, including the transformer, at LIVE potential. Make
sure this fuse is correctly rated (and also the one in the mains plug!)

Always use a double pole mains switch.


Mains input aspects – filtered IEC
connector

Filtered mains input sockets are very useful when dealing with transmitters and
receivers, but more RF filtering might also be needed.

Beware that some transceivers use large capacitors for RF filtering from input Live and
Neutral wires to chassis. A higher current flows in the Live to chassis capacitor than the
Neutral to chassis capacitor. This could cause tripping of the mains supply RCD,
especially if several transceivers are connected to the mains, even though switched OFF
MAINS transformers
PRIMARY SIDE
Usually single 240V winding or two 120V windings

Might have tappings to allow operation from other supplies


such as 200V, 220V, 240V, 100V, 110V etc.
These multi tapped transformers are usually fitted to test
equipment that could be used all over the world.

Also, in the UK and in Europe the mains frequency is 50Hz,


but elsewhere could be 60Hz. You can use a transformer
designed for 50Hz on a 60Hz supply, but a transformer
designed for 60Hz could well overheat when run from a
50Hz supply – beware imported goods, especially those
designed for USA (60Hz) market.

SECONDARY SIDE
Can be many different arrangements, or just simple.

Efficiency usually ~90% for small (<20VA) units, rising to


95% for larger (~100 to 200VA) units.
MAINS transformers - ratings
Transformers are rated in VA – Volt Amps - with respect to their outputs
A 20VA transformer with a 10V secondary will provide 2A (10V x 2A = 20VA)
A 45VA transformer with a 15V secondary will provide 3A (15V x 3A = 45VA)
A 60VA transformer with two 20V secondary windings will provide 1.5A
from each secondary winding (20V x 1.5A x 2 = 60VA)
The power rating of a transformer is
directly related to the cross sectional
area of its magnetic circuit – for a
conventional E I transformer this is the
cross sectional area of its central limb
(or twice the CSA of one side limb)

Rule of Thumb, VA rating = (CSA x 5.6)2


where CSA is measured in square inches

So transformer with centre limb 1” wide


and laminations 1.2” deep is rated to
(1” x 1.2” x 5.6)2 = 6.722 = 45VA
ac RECTIFICATION

Recommend using full wave rectification – less ripple (1/2 wave rectification is
inefficient and also causes dc magnetisation of transformer.

Full wave bridge rectifier shown only needs one transformer winding, but there
are 2 diode ‘drops’ in the dc path.

Ensure that the bridge is rated to at least 2 x the load current and to at least 4 x
the secondary rms voltage.

Capacitors (~1nF each) across the bridge diodes reduce high frequency noise.
ac RECTIFICATION

This full wave rectification arrangement only has one diode drop in the dc path, but
requires a centre tapped (or dual windings) secondary on the transformer.

More efficient on low voltage supplies because the diode drop represents a
significant loss at low voltage (despite additional transformer losses).

2V drop (2 diodes) at 10V is 20% loss, whilst 1V drop (1 diode) at 10V is 10% loss

Diodes could be positioned on the –Ve path, so allowing direct mount to chassis.
THE SMOOTHING CAPACITOR

The output from the transformer and rectifiers follows the sin waveform.

The smoothing capacitor ‘fills in’ the low voltage portions, so reducing the
ripple voltage amplitude.

The larger the capacitor (for a given load), the smaller the ripple voltage, but
the higher the peak current through the rectifiers.
THE SMOOTHING CAPACITOR
Close approximation calculations;

CxE=Ixt where C is the capacitance in uF


E is the peak to peak ripple in Volts
I is the full load current in mA
t is the diode conduction time in ms, ~ 9ms @ 50Hz

So if you are building a 13.8V, 2A output power supply (full wave bridge rectifier),

With a 20Vrms output from the transformer the maximum voltage will be about
(20V x 1.414) less 2 diode drops, = 28.28V – 1.4V = 26.88V.

The minimum output (at full load) will be (28.28V x 0.9) – 2V = 23.4V

With a 4700uF smoothing capacitor the peak to peak ripple will be

(I x t)/C = (2000mA x 9ms)/4700uF = 3.83V this is the peak to peak ripple.

i.e. at full load the minimum voltage will be 23.4V – 3.83V = 19.5V
THE SMOOTHING CAPACITOR
Taking our example,

The maximum voltage on the capacitor will be the no load value of 26.88V, so the
capacitor needs to be rated for >>27V, say at least 35V or (better) 40V.

With a PSU output voltage of 13.8V and a full load minimum voltage of 19.5V, the PSU
regulator has to be able to work with a minimum ‘headroom’ (difference between input
and output) of 19.5V – 13.8V = 5.7V.

You can now work out the maximum power dissipation in the PSU output stage.

At full load, maximum dc level is 23.4V and the PSU output is 13.8V at 2A

So dissipation is (23.4V – 13.8V) x 2A = 19.2W use a largish heatsink!

3.83V peak to peak ripple on a 23.4V supply represents just over 16%.

Rule of thumb, with about 20V transformer output, full wave rectified 50Hz, using a
capacitance of 2000uF per Amp loading will give you about 20% ripple.
DC POWER SUPPLY CIRCUITS

Now we have converted our mains supply to a dc supply, albeit with


some ripple, we can look at regulating dc supplies.

This section also applies where we already have dc input supplies,


for example from a car battery or from a ‘wall wart’ power supply that
was used for something else, or even if we want to add some extra
circuitry to an existing unit.

We will start with basic, low power, circuitry and then increase the
power, whilst trying to keep the technicalities to a minimum.

Switched mode circuits are not discussed here because, generally,


they are beyond the capabilities of home constructors, needing
specially wound magnetic components and quite complex circuitry.
The basic building block
For any power regulation circuit to work, it needs a reference. By comparing the
output from the regulation circuit to this reference, an error signal is produced and
this error signal is then used to drive the regulation circuit.
The simplest reference that is independent of source variations is the
Zener diode. Other references are available which provide better
performance, but cost more.

The Zener diode is a shunt device, it maintains a constant voltage


across itself by varying the current it conducts.

Taking the circuit to the left, if the Zener diode is a 6.2V device and the
resistor R is 1k, then with V supply at 12V, the Zener diode will ‘conduct’
5.8mA, so V out is 6.2V.

Here, the Zener diode dissipates (6.2V x 5.8mA) = 36mW and the
resistor dissipates (5.8mA x 5.8mA x 1k) = 34mW

If V supply increases to 18V, then the Zener diode increases its current conduction to
11.8mA, so V out remains at 6.2V.

Now, , the Zener diode dissipates (6.2V x 11.8mA) = 73mW and the resistor dissipates
(11.8mA x 11.8mA x 1k) = 140mW
A BIT MORE ABOUT ZENER DIODES

Since Zener diodes are the fundamental voltage reference , it is worth


while saying a bit more about them.

For small Zener diodes (the ones most commonly used for reference
purposes) don’t cause too much current to flow through them. They drift
with temperature (see next slide). Usually about 5mA is the optimum.

If possible, use a Zener diode around 5V to 6V for your design – these


have the smallest temperature coefficient (see next slide).

Zener diodes do produce wideband noise (they are often used as a


noise source) – do decouple them with a capacitor – 1nF is usually
sufficient.

If there is a large variation in the supply voltage providing their current,


think about using a constant current source rather than a series resistor.
EXAMPLE OF ZENER DIODE VOLTAGE RANGE
BOOSTING ZENER CIRCUITS
If you need a more powerful Zener (for
example, to replace a busted motor cycle
regulator) then connecting a transistor as
shown will do the job.

The transistor can be a power device,


mounted on a heatsink. R needs to be
about 1k. Power Zener voltage = small
Zener voltage plus 0.6V.

This simple circuit can be used for low power regulation.


The transistor is connected in the Emitter Follower
mode. The output voltage will be about 0.6V lower than
the Zener diode voltage.

The resistor R has to provide the base current for the


transistor as well as the Zener current. Transistor
dissipation can be reduced by adding a resistor in series
with its Collector.
Simple power supply with a Zener diode reference

Uses transformer/rectifier stage discussed earlier

V out = [(12k + 10k) / 10k] x 6.2V = 13.64V

The feedback circuit (12K and 10k) could include a potentiometer


THREE TERMINAL REGULATORS

POSITIVE fixed regulator NEGATIVE fixed regulator

DC power regulators are readily available, both fixed voltage and variable
voltage types, and for either positive or negative power supplies.

These regulators need decoupling capacitors located close to the


devices.

Low, medium and high power versions are available

Note that a negative power supply can be made with a positive regulator
chip, so long as decoupling is carefully considered
THREE TERMINAL REGULATORS

The output voltage from a three terminal regulator can be increased by the
circuit shown above. Supposing you want an 8V supply, but only have 5V
regulators to use.

In this case, make the Zener diode 3.3V (nearest preferred value) and run it
at a current of around 5mA via R (the regulator chip requires around 0.5mA)
so R = 5V/5.5mA = 909 Ohm. Here a 1k resistor will work just as well (the
Zener current will then be around 4.5mA). Don’t forget Cin and Cout
THREE TERMINAL REGULATORS

If there is any chance that when the input supply is switched OFF the
output supply remains active after the removal of the input supply (for
example if there is a very large capacitance on the output or the load is a
motor which is still spinning), the connect a diode across the input to
output as shown above (applies to a simple regulator as well as the
increased output voltage version shown above).

This diode then prevents the regulator device from being reverse biased,
which it does not like! If in any doubt, then fit the diode.
THREE TERMINAL REGULATORS

The TO220 size devices can deliver a maximum current of around 1A if well
cooled. Sometimes you want a bit more current, where the circuit above can be
used.

TR1 is a small signal PNP transistor like a BCY 70. TR2 is a PNP power
transistor. R1 needs to be about 5.6W. R2 determines the maximum current
through TR2 and needs to ‘drop’ about 0.6V at the desired current. So if you
want 2A, R2 needs to be about 0.6V/2A = 0.3W.

As current is drawn from the output the voltage across R1 rises, until TR2 starts
to turn ON, so adding to the output current. If excess current is demanded, then
TR1 shunts away the drive to TR1, so limiting this current .
ADJUSTABLE THREE TERMINAL REGULATORS

POSITIVE variable regulator NEGATIVE variable regulator

These regulators function by maintaining a fixed level of 1.25V between the OUT and
ADJ terminals and by ensuring that the current drawn by the ADJ terminal is very
small. Provided the current through the potential divider from the output to the ground
rail is large compared to the ADJ terminal, then the regulated output voltage is set by
the resistors used for the potential divider. The recommended maximum resistor value
between the ADJ terminal and the OUT terminal is 240W for the positive version (220W
is OK) and 120W for the negative version.

You want +12V out. R1 = 220W, so current through R1 = 1.25V/220W = 5.68mA


V across R2 is 12V – 1.25V = 10.75V, so R2 = 10.75V/5.68mA = 1.892KW which could
be 1.8kW + 100W = 1.9kW. This will give an output of 10.792V + 1.25V = 12.042V.
CONSTANT CURRENT CIRCUITS
Constant current circuits are useful for charging batteries. There are many
suitable circuits – here are a couple of simple ones.
Remembering that the LM317 maintains
1.25V between its OUT and ADJ terminals,
selecting R to drop 1.25V at the desired
current works well. Here, if you want about
100mA R = 1.25V/0.1A = 12.5W

This simple circuit is not as accurate as the one above


because it relies on the VBE of TR2, which varies with
temperature. R1 turns ON TR1 so current flows through
R3 to the load. When the voltage across R3 reaches
around 0.6V, TR2 turns on, which reduces the drive
current to TR1, so TR1 sources a constant current.

With 13.8V input and a 7.2V battery pack to charge, with


R1 at 1kW, R2 at 1kW and R3 at 0.68W, then the battery
will be charged at about 90mA (0.6V/ 0.68W)
CONSTANT CURRENT CIRCUITS
Here is a development of the previous simple circuit which has the advantage
that a LED illuminates when the battery is charging (so you know that it is
connected OK)
A RED LED has a forward voltage drop of around
1.7V.

With a LED current of 10mA and R4 at 100W, then


the voltage across R4 + the LED = 2.7V. You want a
current of 100mA so the current through R2 + R5 =
90mA.

So R2 + R5 = 2.7V/90mA = 30W. The voltage across


R5 has to be around 0.6V, so R5 = 0.6V/90mA =
6.66W.This then means that R2 = 30W - 6.66W =
23.33W.

In this case you would fit 6.8W for R5 and 22W for
R2, which would mean that the current through the
LED would be a little bit higher. R1 and R3 remain
the same as before, 1kW each.
Relay back EMF suppression

Whilst this is not really a power supply subject,


to answer the frequently asked question, “what
sort of diode should be used to suppress the
relay coil’s back EMF at its switch off”?

The golden rules are;

Always fit a diode which is rated to conduct at


least (or more than) the maximum relay coil
current.

Always fit a diode whose blocking voltage rating


is at least (or more than) twice the supply
voltage.
Safety Precautions
• Make notes for backtracking
• Stay organized, do not stack boards
• Do not touch board chips
• With hands, magnetized screwdriver
• Do not change dual inline package (DIP) switch settings with a
graphite pencil
• Protect yourself and the equipment
• Never ever touch inside of a turned on computer
• Consider monitor, power supply as “black boxes”
• Protect against static electricity

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Problems with an Inadequate Power
Supply
• Power supply may not meet needs of new devices
• Testing for an adequate power supply
• Make all devices in the system work at the same time
• Example: copy files from new drive to old drive
• Simple solution: upgrade to a higher power supply
• Calculate total wattage needed by system

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Problems with a Faulty Power Supply

• Test with a power supply tester or multimeter


• Power supply with correct voltages
• May still be problem source
• ATX power supply monitors motherboard voltage range
• Halts motherboard if voltages inadequate
• If power supply appears “dead”, replace it

A+ Guide to Managing and


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Maintaining your PC, 7e
Problems with the Power Supply
Fans
• Fans usually hum, whine before failing
• Replace fan or entire power supply
• Suspect another short if failure continues
• Do not operate PC if fan not working
• Troubleshooting nonfunctional fan
• Turn off power; remove all power cord connections to all components except
motherboard; turn on power
• Turn off power; reconnect one card or drive at a time
• Motherboard power supply problem
• Fan does not work when all devices except motherboard disconnected

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Problems with Overheating

• Computer powers down after operating for a few minutes or a few


hours
• Troubleshooting
• Leave system turned off for about 30 minutes, try again
• Check computer’s internal temperature
• Install additional fans

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Power Problems with the
Motherboard
• Bad contact between board component and chassis
• Short can seriously damage motherboard
• Check for missing or extra standoffs (spacers)
• Shorts in the circuit on motherboard
• Look for damage to the bottom of the motherboard
• Look for burned-out capacitors

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Replacing the Power Supply

• Criteria for replacement power supply


• Uses correct form factor
• Adequately rated for power in watts
• Has necessary power connectors
• Determining power supply problem
• Turn off PC, open computer case, set new power supply on top of the old one
• Disconnect old power supply’s cords, plug PC devices into the new power
supply
• Turn on PC, verify new power supply solves problem

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Summary

• Form factor specifies size, shape, features of device


• Motherboard, power supply, and case share the same form factor
• Types of cases: desktop, tower, notebook
• Quantities characterizing electricity
• Voltage, current, resistance, power
• Current flows from hot wires to neutral wires
• Excess current escapes through grounds

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Summary (cont’d.)

• AC supplied by power station


• Transformed, rectified before flowing into PC
• Major components in a circuit board
• Transistor, capacitor, diode, resistor
• Electrical threats
• ESD, EMI, uneven current flow, sudden power surges (or spikes)

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