4

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the following physics project on FULL WAVE
RECTIFIER for
All India Senior School Certificate Examination (AISSE) 20142015 original and authentic work of :NAME :- ASHISH KUMAR
CLASS :- XII A2
Of Delhi Public School, Karmik Nagar, Dhanbad
Roll No:To the best of my knowledge and has been satisfactorily done and
submitted under my supervision.

SUBJECT TEACHER

EXAMINER

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:-

I would like to thank my school Delhi Public

School, Dhanbad for giving me an opportunity
to carry out this project. I have learnt a lot in
this process and hope that the knowledge I
have gained will be helpful in future.
With great pleasure I would like to express my
deep sense of gratitude towards my parents for
their immense support and guidance. They
have heaped me throughout. I would like to
thank both Mr.Sukumar Patra and LAB Asst. Mr.
Bhudev Goswami for guiding me on step by
step basis and ensuring that I completed all my
experiments with ease.
I would be failing in my duty if I do not thank
my classmates for their creative and useful
ideas that I have tried to implement in this
project.
Last but not the least I am indebted to internet
sources such as Google, Wikipedia and many
more without which my project would not have
been complete.

INDEX

AIM
INTRODUCTION
THEORY INVOLVED
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
WORKING
OBSERVATION
BIBLIOGRAPHY

AIM

To construct a full wave

rectifier and show that the
Alternating Components are
rectified into a direct
current.

INTRODUCTION:A full wave rectifier is a device which is used to rectify all the
alternating current components in an alternating supply and make
it purely a direct current. The two alternating halves of an
alternation current are rectified in a full wave rectifier which is an
advantage over a half wave rectifier. Most electronic devices
cannot withstand very high voltage or alternating current due to its
intense high power. The use of batteries in all devices is not
practical as their replacement and durability is a huge problem as
the device has to be dismantled each time for such a replacement.
So these rectifiers are used in most of the electronic devices like
TVs, Radios, Chargers, Lightings etc. There are several stages in a
rectifier. Based on their rectification they are classified into two.
The single staged & multi staged.

In the multi staged rectifiers, more than two diodes are used and
these are used in the above-mentioned devices. The singled staged
rectifier has only 2 diodes, the one we are to discuss in this project.
The multi diode rectifier has only 2 diodes, the one we are to
discuss in this project. The multi diode rectifiers has an efficiency

~ 94.6% while that of the single is only 81.2%

THEORY INVOLVED:-

The input transformer steps down the A.C mains from 230V
(nominal) to 6V between the center tap and either of the two ends
of the secondary winding. The transformer has a capability of
delivering a current of 500 mA. The 6V A.C appearing across the
secondary is the RMS value of the waveform and peak value
would be

6 2 8.4volts.

The diodes rectify the A.C waveform

appearing across the secondary with the help of alternate forward

and reverse biasing. The capacitor further filters 99% of the
resident components and this is let to pass through the resistance
and emerges out as +ve and ve. The bulb connected verifies the
output as it works on Direct Current and if used on an Alternating
Current, the fluctuation will burn out the bulb.

Materials required in the construction:Connecting wires, a plug, single lead wire - 2m, 3 nuts & Bolts
of 2 to 3 cm length, Circuit board of mica, a small box to place the
model, a transformer, A capacitor, A Resistor (1 K ), P-N junction
diodes, Insulation tape, Blades, soldering wax, soldering lead,
soldering iron & sand paper.

Details of the materials used

i)

Connecting wires and a plug

A normal insulated

copper wire able to withstand 230 250 v is required.

ii)

Single lead wire

Thin wire with one single strand of

copper well Insulated and able to conduct a current of 1

ampere or a D.C current efficiently.
iii)

A circuit board

A normal

board of mica facilitated with

clips to simplify the connection.

iv)

Nuts and bolt

In order to fix the board & transformer

firmly. Size 2 3 cm.

v)

Soldering wax & lead The wires are to be soldered

firmly to make the connection tight so for this a thin lead
wire is required to affix the connections and wax to make the
lead to hold on when soldered.

vi)

A small box To place the equipments safely.

vii)

A bulb To test the output voltage whether Direct or not.

Specification

2.2 6 v it

will get burnt on

application of A.C.
viii) A 6-0-6 transformer

Transformer is a device used to change the voltage of an

alternating current. The transformer which converts low voltage
to high voltage is called a step up transformer whereas the one
which converts high voltage to low voltage is called a step down
transformer. It consists of a laminated core consisting of two
coils, a primary & a secondary coil. In a step up the number of
turns in the secondary is greater that that of the primary and the
reverse in a step down transformer. Here we use a step down
transformer which steps down 230V to 6V between the
secondary terminals and the center tap.
ix)

A CAPACITOR

The ability of a metal to store electric charges measures the

capacitances of a conductor. It provides high impedance to
Alternating Current and stores them while all the D.C
components are let to pass. There are different types of
capacitors
a) PARALLEL PLATE CAPACITOR
b) SPHERICAL CAPACITOR
c) CYLINDRICLAL CAPACITOR
Here we deal with a Cylindrical Capacitor. It consists of two
coaxial conducting cylindrical shells.
It does not dissipate any power & the energy stored in it equal to
CV2 . In a capacitor Voltage does not change instantaneously. It
leads current & voltage by an angle different of 900 .
The capacitor can be connected in 2 ways
1) In Series =
1
1
1
1

.....

C C1 C 2 C 3

&
2) In Parallel =
(C = C1 + C2 + C3 )
Here we use capacitor of 1000 F & 25 v.

A Resistor

x)

A resistor is an electronic components whose resistance value

tells us about the opposition it offers to the flow of electric
current. Resistance is measured in ohms ( ).
Resistance can be connected in 2 ways
In series,
R = (R1 + R2 + R3 ..)
&
In Parallel
1
1
1
1

.....

R R1 R 2 R3

xi)

P-N junction Diodes

When one side of a semiconductor crystal (Germanium or

silicon) is doped with acceptor impurity atoms and the other
side with donor impurity atoms a P-N junction is formed. It is
also called a semiconductor or crystal diode. When diffusion of
the two regions occur a resultant potential barrier is created
between the two sides due to migration of electrons and holes.
When the diode is connected with P side to positive terminal of
a battery & N side to ve terminal it is said to be forward biased
& reverse biased when reversed. In forward biasing the applied
positive potential repels the holes and turns a current is made to

flow overcoming the Internal potential Barrier. While in reverse

biasing the ve electrons 1st attract the holes and widen the
Barrier and then only the repulsion between the inner electrons
occur and current flows. So theoretically no current flows
through due to the widening of the Potential barrier but
practically a very small current does flows through.
Different types of diodes are present
1. Zener diode
2. P-N junction diode
3. LED
4. LAD
5. Solar cell
Here we use a P-N junction diode. The grayish ring indicated
the N side and the Black colouration the P side.
xii)

Finally, small equipments such as a soldering iron to

solder the lead, Blades, holders, insulation tapes to
insulate the wire from shocking and sand paper to rub
the oxidized wire ends are used.

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM:-

Connection details
Connections are done as in the circuit. The A.C. supply is given to
both the input wires of the transformer and the two ends of the
secondary coil is given to the P side of the two diodes and the N side
of the diodes are twined and then connected to one end of the
capacitor and the other end to the center tap lead and to the resistor.
Further, the other end of capacitor with the diode connection is
connected to the other end of the resistor . Connect 2 leads on both
the ends of the resistor to measure the output and this is connected to
the +ve & -ve terminals of the bulb.

WORKING:1st when the A.C. is supplied to the transformer, it steps down the
230V main supply to 6 volts. It has a capability of delivering a current
of 500mA. The 6 volts A.C. appearing across the secondary is the
RMS valur and the peak value is 6 2 or 8.4 volts. During the 1 st
half cycle of the A.C. input Diode D1 is forward biased and a current
I flows in the circuit in the direction S1D1ABEOS1. During this
time diode D2 is reverse biased. So it does not conduct any electric
current. During the next half cycle the diode D2 is forward and D1 is
reversed. Hence D2 conducts current in the direction S2D2ABEOS2
and D1 does not conduct any current. In subsequent half cycles of the
A.C current the above processes are repeated. In both the half cycles
it is clear that current flows through the resistor in only one direction
ABE. Even though the voltage across RL is unidirectional it will still
contain a few A.C components. This is filtered and made smooth
using a capacitor, which filters 99% of the A.C current. A resistor is
then used to adjust the output voltage. We can then test the o/p Voltage
using a multi-meter.
Efficiency of Rectification

D.C power output

Total A.C input power

For a half wave rectifier, ~ 0.406 = 40.6 %

For a full wave rectifier, the one used here is ~ 0.812 = 81.2 %

By the use of more number of diodes the efficiency can be increase to

a maximum of 94.6%. Here we only use 2 diodes. The use of multiple
capacitors also nearly filters all A.C components from the supply and
resistance is adjusted for the required output. As this is a simple
circuit, only one capacitor and a resistance is being used. But there
will be slight factor of A.C. current still left in the output but it is
negligible.

RECTIFIED D.C VOLTAGE

OBSERVATION:
Capacitance (C) ( F)
1000
1000
1000
1000

Resistance (R) (K )
580
259.6
661.6
563.6

Output Voltage (DC)

15.03
13.51
14.69
14.68

Result:
A full Wave rectifier is constructed & output voltage for different
output resistance is measured and tabulated.

BIBILIOGRAPHY:-

1)Electronic projects for beginners by

A.K Manini
2)www.google.com
3)www.wikipedia.com
4)Ncert textbook for class XII
5)Comprehensive practical book for class
XII