Title: RECTIFICATION AND SMOOTHING OF AN A.C.

VOLTAGE
Aim: To investigate the rectification and smoothing of an alternating (a.c.) voltage.
Apparatus/Materials: Oscilloscope, 0-12 volts A.C. power supply, 4 diodes, 56 and 120
resistors, 220 F, 500 F and 1200 F capacitors.

Theory:
Rectification is the process of converting alternating (ac) voltage to a direct (dc) voltage. The
direct voltage which results will have a periodic variation from zero volt to some peak or
maximum value. The period of this variation depends in some way on the period of the
alternating voltage. In practice it is usually desirable to minimize this variation so as to provide
as constant a direct voltage as possible. This process is referred to as smoothing. In this
experiment half-wave and full-wave rectification and capacitive smoothing will be investigated.
In half wave rectification, 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, it is only
50% efficient if used for power transfer. Half-wave rectification can be achieved with a single
diode in a single phase supply or with three diodes in a three-phase supply. A full-wave rectifier
converts both the positive and negative halves of the input waveform to a single polarity
(positive or negative) at its output. By using both halves of the AC waveform full-wave
rectification is more efficient than half wave. When a simple transformer without a center tapped
secondary is used, four diodes are required instead of the one needed for half-wave rectification.
Four diodes arranged this way are called a diode bridge or bridge rectifier. The bridge rectifier
can also be used for translating a DC input of unknown or arbitrary polarity into an output of
known polarity. This is generally required in electronic telephones or other telephony devices
where the DC polarity on the two phone wires is unknown. There are also applications for
protecting against accidental battery reversal in battery-powered circuits.

Variables:
Manipulated- The Capacitance of the capacitor ( C ) and Resistance (R)
Responding- The Output voltage (V) and Current flow (I)

Controlled- The Input Voltage (V)

Procedure:
Analysis of alternating voltage:
1. The power supply output was set to 6 volts.
2. After the power supply was switched on and the oscilloscope was used to examine the
waveform produced.
3. The waveform (voltage vs. time) was sketched ,the measured values of the peak-to-peak
voltage were calculated and other characteristics of this voltage were indicated on the
sketch.

band

symbol for diode

direction of current

Fig. 1

Half-wave rectification:
4. A half-wave rectifier was constructed using a 56 load
5. After the oscilloscope was used to investigate the voltage across the load.
6. The waveform was sketched then time and voltage characteristics were indicated.

Fig. 2
120
(1-5 W)

6V
a.c. supply

fuse

Full-wave rectification:
7. A full-wave rectifier (see Fig. 3) was constructed and the resulting voltage displayed
across the 56 load on the oscilloscope.
8. The waveform was sketched such that the time and voltage characteristics were
indicated .

C
D

B
A

ground (earth)

+
-

56

To
oscilloscope

Capacitive smoothing:
9. One of the capacitors was connected across the load (56 ) and the effect of the capacitor
on the load voltage examined (Fig. 3).
10. The d.c. component was measured as was the peak-to-peak range of ripple voltage (a.c.
component).
11. This waveform was sketched
12. This procedure was repeated where other (values of) capacitors were used.
13. The results obtained were sketched and the effect of increasing capacitance on the ripple
voltage characteristics and its d.c. offset (d.c. component)were deduced.

Results/Observations:

On graphs

Discussion:
When the circuit is used as shown in figure 1 an alternating current is produced. In this current
the electrons change direction (reverses) regularly as the voltage changes polarity. This can be
seen in the graph where the voltage peaks on either side of the zero or rest position The graph
shows that the voltage ranges from 2.8 V to 2.8 V and that the voltage changes polarity every
19 milliseconds. Time period for this voltage was 38 milliseconds. This alternating current acts
as the input current to the diode and bridge rectifier.
In half wave rectification the output voltage is always positive or zero as there is a pause for
every other half cycle (due to the restriction of current flow ). As show in graph 1 for every other
half cycles the displacement is zero as no current flows. Between 0 and 19 milliseconds the
voltage is zero and also between 38 and 57 milliseconds. While when the input voltage is
positive the output voltage will also be positive.Full wave rectification is therefore more
proficient at converting an a.c voltage into a d.c. voltage than half-wave rectification as it
converts both output (positive and negative half-cycles) into (pulsating) d.c. voltage.
The function of the capacitor is to smooth the output voltage so that it has fewer ripples. When
the output voltage increased, the capacitor charges. As soon as the voltage begins to fall, the
capacitor begins to discharge through the load .When a larger capacitance is placed in parallel
with the load, the time constant increases ( t = CR ) . This means the capacitor takes a longer
time to discharge thus the size of the ripples in the output voltage are made even smaller by
increasing the size of the capacitor.

Precautions:

1. Ensure the circuit is done exactly as shown in the diagram with neat and tight
connections.

2. The capacitor was not charged for too long to minimize limited accuracy due to the
prolonged use of the apparatus.
3. Ensure to observe and analyze the display screen carefully so as to identify the faint wave
forms for sketching.

Source of Error:
1. The circuit board to which the diodes, capacitors and resistive load were attached was
rusty which may have resulted in producing faluty results as it produced faint wave forms
which could not be easily identified.
2. Instrument drift, the electronic instruments produced readings that drift over time.

Conclusion: Despite experimental errors the oscilloscope was used to observe the output
voltages produced. An alternating voltage was produced and this was converted to a pulsating
direct current using a semi- conductor diode. From the results it is seen that full wave
rectification was achieved by using a bridge rectifier. The output voltage from the bridge rectifier
was smoothed using a capacitor.Rectification serves to convert ac to dc voltage whilst smoothing
using a capacitor which increases the dc characteristics of the voltage by reducing the number of
ripples in the output voltage.