Project 1

Full Wave Rectifier

Group 11

Executive Summary:
The full-wave rectifier circuits purpose is to create maximum efficiency from electric current flow in
order to deliver maximum power. While it may seem complicated at first glance, the concept is fairly
simple. All circuits have a source which generates a voltage, which is needed in order for them to work.
There are two types of voltage sources: those which use direct current (DC) and those that use alternating
current (AC). In this case, we are using an AC supply. AC supplies create a waveform that generally
look something like what you see in the picture below.

One problem with this type of waveform is that only part of it is in the positive direction (above the xaxis) while the rest is in the negative direction (below the x-axis). The negative parts of the waveform
work against the positive parts, making the overall power supply much less than what we might want.
For example, if you were to sail a boat against the wind, the wind would slow you down since it is
blowing in the opposite, or negative, direction. This makes the boats overall distance over a period of
time less than it ought to be. However, what if there was a way to change the direction of the wind so that
it blew in the same direction as the boats direction of travel, so that it would actually increase your speed
and overall distance covered in the same timeframe? In terms of power transform, that is the exact
purpose of the full-wave rectifier. The circuit takes all the negative parts of the waveform and flips them
to positive, so that all of the waveform is working in the same direction. This maximizes the efficiency of
the power transferred. The picture below shows the transformation of the original AC waveform to the
desired waveform generated by the full-wave rectifier.

Introduction to Matlab, Simulink, Wincon:

At its core Matlab is, as inferred by its name, a Matrix Laboratory, which means it is used in the
calculation and manipulation of matrixes and vertices. This in and of itself is quite useful, but Matlab has
so many other uses and can be a valuable tool when dealing with a variety of projects and problems. It
provides the user with a programming environment in which they can use the Matlab specific
programming language to perform tasks, use it to calculate mathematical problems, as well as use various
add-on packages to do a whole range of things. Through the use of Matlab one could do anything from
interface with code written in other programming languages such as C and Fortran, to building a variety
of models to simulate a variety of things. Matlab can also be quite useful in the generation of simulations
and when used in conjunction with Simulink and xPC Target, can be a useful tool in real-time system
tests.
The Simulink package is basically a tool that is used to model, design and simulate. Simulink uses a
block diagramming environment that has a library of a variety of prebuilt components that can be used to
represent real life models as blocks. These blocks generally have a variety of relevant attributes that can
be adjusted to fit the desired simulation. This method provides a much user friendly interface and allows
the user to not be a computer coding expert to run a simple test. From the users block diagram. Simulink
generates the necessary C source code to represent the different connections and components. Simulink is
able to test these simulations out in a real time system using xPC Target to run it in real time on an actual
physical system.
xPC Target works with x86 real-time systems and provides a way for the user to control and
watch what is occurring in the simulation on the x86 system. It is generally considered the earliest way to
run a test in real-time on the actual physical hardware. The Wincon is a client to server package that
enables the user to run simulations on the x86 system completely independent of the Simulink system and
allows you to control a hard real-time system in real time.
All the various parts described above work together to help implement real time control. Matlab
provides the overarching interface for all of the other pieces. It is located on the host computer and it is
what Simulink runs out of. It possesses the simulating and analyzing abilities that is required to analyze
the real time simulation. Simulink is the next link in the chain and its purpose is to create and model the
desired simulation. In Simulink the different parts and the initial attributes of all the parts are set up and
tweaked to match the specific tests that are wanted to be run.. On the target computer, xPC Target is
booted up on the Q4 card in conjunction and is used to load the simulation onto the desired hardware.
Once it is uploaded the simulation can be observed running in real-time. While running certain parameters
can be altered from the host computer which is then communicated to the target and then to the hardware
system.
While this may seem like a pretty cut and dry approach to running these types of simulations there are
other ways. Using C++, many of the same functions of Matlab and Simulink can be designed, but this is
an entirely superfluous approach. Matlab and Simulink contain libraries of already compiled C and C++
code, and to recreate this would be very unproductive. A completing system that uses a similar approach
is Scicos. Scicos is similar too Simulink in that it uses block representations of components to put
together a model that can then be simulated in hard real-time using software packages of its own. These
packages include Scicos-RTAI and the Scicos-Flex board. These packages generate code that can be
downloaded into to the Flex board and can accomplish many of the same things as the Matlab approach,
but is unable to approach its range of abilities and streamlined use. Another alternative is the XANALOG
corporations SIMULINK alternative NL-SIM. This is actually provided as a free alternative to Simulink.
They also have a similar product that to the xPC target that can be used with Simulink which they call
ReaLINK. Their systems are designed specifically for Hardware-in-the-Loop testing and is used by many
major corporations. In general though, the standard for the industry seems to be the Matlab system due to
its wide range of capabilities and the stability of it as a whole.

Materials and Methods:

One of the most common sources of electricity is through a standard AC (Alternating Current) wall socket.
This is fine for many devices, such as lights, heating elements, and motors, but electronics usually require
DC (Direct Current). Alternating current, or AC for short, is used to transmit electricity over long
distances, and consists of an electrical signal that is constantly alternating between two polarities. When
this signal is graphed on a timeline, it resembles a sine wave. Direct current, or DC, differs in that it just
provides a steady stream of electricity at a constant voltage. There are many cases when AC needs to be
converted to DC. This is where a full-wave rectifier becomes useful. Essentially, it flips one half of the
AC signal so that its polarity remains the same throughout.
Because a full-wave rectifier is important to power supply design, our group decided to perform an
experiment in which we built and tested one.
A full-wave rectifier can be constructed very simply. All it requires are five diodes, a prototype board,
two resistors, some wire, solder, and a soldering iron. The diodes that we elected to use were lightemitting diodes, so that the signal path could be easily observed (when current flows through an LED, it
will light up). Because LEDs only function within a limited range of current supply, two 2 kOhm resistors
were used to ensure that the current supplied would be within range. The layout of the circuit is pictured
below:

Essentially, the arrangement of the diodes (which only allow current to pass in one direction) ensures that
each polarity segment of the AC input signal will take a different path in the circuit. Those two separate
paths are then combined at a common point to produce a signal of only one polarity. In this circuit, that
common point is the center diode.
There are many ways in which this circuit can be built, however we chose to place the components onto a
prototyping board. A prototyping board is a thin board with holes arranged through its surface. On one
side of the board, the holes are surrounded by a copper trace. Each component was placed on the board in

accordance with the design, with its connections routed through the holes, and then soldered into place.
The excess length on each connection lead was clipped and saved. Once every component was in place,
the proper connections between them were made. For components that were in close proximity to each
other (such as the LEDs), spare leads were formed into jumpers that were soldered to the connection
points of each component. For longer lengths, wire was used. A picture of the top and bottom final
construction can be seen below:
Once the board was constructed, it was tested using the Tigerpaw Workstation. The Tigerpaw
Workstation consists of a standard PC with a Quansar Q4 hardware control board installed. It boots into a
real-time control environment called xPC, which is controlled by a laptop running MATLAB. The
workstation is known as the target, and the laptop the host. The host computer is able to send programs to
the target and receive information back. In this experiment, however, the host computer only sent output
to the target (sample waves to test for proper rectification). This is known as open-loop control.
A test program was developed that would utilize the Q4 board to generate several signals: a normal sine
wave, a square wave centered at 0 V, a square wave with a minimum of 0 V, and a triangular wave
centered at 0 V. Each waveform was 4 V peak-to-peak and 5 Hz.
The output of the Q4 board on the target PC had to be amplified in order to supply enough current to the
circuit. Although the external amplifier's gain was only set to 1, or unity gain, its high input resistance
ensured that the Q4 board only had to supply a minimal amount of current. The output of the Q4 board
was attached to the amplifier, which was in turn connected to our rectifier circuit.
Once the connections were properly made, the circuit was tested using the output waveforms. The
frequency of the waves was set to 5 Hz, so that the signal path could be directly observed through the
LEDs. For each waveform, three signals were captured with the oscilloscope: the input waveform, and the
signals observed from both the anode and cathode of the center diode in the rectifier. The signal observed
at the cathode was subtracted from the signal at the anode to obtain the rectified output.
Results and Discussion
This experiment required that the full wave rectifier be built and properly linked to the computer.
All of the discussion related to this topic is covered in the Materials and Methods section of this report.
As far as results are concerned, the rectifier worked exactly as expected. The following images were
taken from the oscilloscope and demonstrate the correct operation of the rectifier. All original waveforms
are shown first, with the rectified signal following. The rectified signal needed to be measured using two
channels. The orange and blue waveforms shown in the rectified picture are the two measured waveforms.
The red waveform is the combination of the two signals, the output waveform of our rectifier.

Sine Wave

Square Wave Form

Triangular Wave Form

These waveforms correctly show the operation of the rectifier All negative values are rectified to form a
fully positive waveform, just as you would expect. We did note that the LEDs required a higher current
to be turned on than the specified input signals could supply. This was easily fixed by increasing the input

voltage supplied through our xPC module. Once the current was high enough to drive the LEDs, the
lights started blinking.
Conclusion
The system appears to be a very powerful and flexible tool. It is capable of hard real time feedback and
provides consistent execution times. This gives the user precise control of the system components such as
motors. The software lets you simulate the system you are trying to design and provides a visual
representation. Matlab is used in place of C/C++ to simplify the programming process. Writing the driver
codes from scratch would require days of work, diverting attention away from the more important lessons.
Normally you would expect to see an expensive stand-alone system with specialized capabilities. Because
of this, however, a compromise is made in regards to its size and portability. In order to use this system
the user needs a laptop with Matlab/Simulink, a workstation, interface board, and an amplifier. It is
widely accepted that the more parts a system requires to perform a function, the more susceptible it will
be to failure. As many of the groups have discovered with the bridge circuit experiment, this system is no
exception. There were many areas left vulnerable to human error. It must be noted that this would leave to
an unfair assessment of the system since there was no formal training in its setup and use. Provided better
training, the experiment would have been far more productive. The largest consumer of time had to be
setting up the laptops. Because there are such a wide variety of laptops being used by students,
considerable trial and error was required to find the right combination of software what would work with
the multiple boot disk versions floating around. In summation, this experiment did very little in
demonstrating the potential of the Q4, but it is clear that it will be a very effective tool for the design
project.

ECE495 Research Project 1

Group Name and Members: Group 11: Adams Gillis, Gregory Canty, Stephen Thomas, Jeremy
McCullough,Lucas Westervelt
Score

ABET

Pts

Outcomes

10

20

30

40

General Format - Professional Looking Document/Preparation (whole

document)
a) Fonts, margins, layout of pictures, captions and numbering (11pt,
times new roman, single spaced. About 1" margins on all sides).
b) Spelling and grammar
c) Cover page with title and group information
d) Grading sheet included as final page
Executive Summary: <1 page
Describe the operation of the circuit you built written for a non -technical
audience
a) Can a non-technical audience (~ high-school degree) read this
section and understand how the circuit operates, your goals,
procedures, and conclusions?
b) Use graphics to help explain
Introduction to Matlab, Simulink, Wincon (1-2 pages)
a) What is MATLAB, Simulink, xPC Target?
b) How do they work to implement real-time control?
c) What are competing systems and approaches?
Materials and Methods (1-2 pages)
d) What is a full-wave rectifier? Describe the construction of the fullwave rectifier experiment.
a) What are the components and layout used to build the board.
b) What equipment is used in building the board
c) What test equipment is used (ie Tigerpaw Workstation)
d) Provide enough information so that you or someone else could
repeat the experiment.
Results and Discussion (2-3 pages)
Describe what you have done including plots, photos, and observations
about the equipment. For example, it is much more effect to use the plots
below to explain the output of a full-wave rectifier versus converts a signal
into a signal of constant polarity.

Conclusions (1/2 page)

Based on this experiment, do you recommend this equipment for use in our
project? What are the possible limitations?