Electrical Engineering ⇒ Topic : Single-phase Half-wave Rectifier

Single-phase Half-wave Rectifier

The half-wave rectification which is obtained with a single diode connected in series with a single-phase AC circuit is shown in Figure 1 (a). The rectified output voltage will be in phase with AC input voltage for completely resistive loads and the waveform is shown in Figure 1 (b).

                                             figure (1) Half-wave rectification

The input sinusoidal voltage is given by

                                                                    v = V_m sin ωt                     ...........(1)

The diode is considered as idealized resistance R_f in the on state and hence voltage drop across the diode is zero. The current in the diode or load resistance R_L is given by

                           .............. (2)

and                  ................ (3)

where  α = ωt

and                            ................. (4)