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4.3 Controlled Full-Wave Rectifiers 131

4.3 CONTROLLED FULL-WAVE RECTIFIERS

A versatile method of controlling the output of a full-wave rectifier is to substi-
tute controlled switches such as thyristors (SCRs) for the diodes. Output is con-
trolled by adjusting the delay angle of each SCR, resulting in an output voltage
that is adjustable over a limited range.
Controlled full-wave rectifiers are shown in Fig. 4-10. For the bridge recti-
fier, SCRs S1 and S2 will become forward-biased when the source becomes posi-
tive but will not conduct until gate signals are applied. Similarly, S3 and S4 will
become forward-biased when the source becomes negative but will not conduct
until they receive gate signals. For the center-tapped transformer rectifier, S1 is
forward-biased when vs is positive, and S2 is forward-biased when vs is negative,
but each will not conduct until it receives a gate signal.
The delay angle is the angle interval between the forward biasing of the
SCR and the gate signal application. If the delay angle is zero, the rectifiers
behave exactly as uncontrolled rectifiers with diodes. The discussion that follows
generally applies to both bridge and center-tapped rectifiers.
Resistive Load
The output voltage waveform for a controlled full-wave rectifier with a resistive
load is shown in Fig. 4-10c. The average component of this waveform is deter-
mined from

1 V
Vo Vm sin (t) d(t) m (1 cos ) (4-23)
3

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132 C H A P T E R 4 Full-Wave Rectifiers

+
S1 S3
vs = +
Vm sin ωt vo
−

S4 S2 –

(a)

S1

– vo +
+
−
S2

(b)

vo

0 α π π+α 2π ωt
(c)

Figure 4-10 (a) Controlled full-wave bridge rectifier;

(b) Controlled full-wave center-tapped transformer rectifier;
(c) Output for a resistive load.
Average output current is then
Vo Vm
Io
(1 cos ) (4-24)
R R
The power delivered to the load is a function of the input voltage, the delay
angle, and the load components; P I2rms R is used to determine the power in a
resistive load, where

2
1 Vm
Irms a sin t b d (t)
C 3 R
(4-25)
Vm 1 sin (2 )

R A 2 2 4
The rms current in the source is the same as the rms current in the load.

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4.3 Controlled Full-Wave Rectifiers 133

EXAMPLE 4-6

Controlled Full-Wave Rectifier with Resistive Load

The full-wave controlled bridge rectifier of Fig. 4-10a has an ac input of 120 V rms at
60 Hz and a 20- load resistor. The delay angle is 40. Determine the average current in
the load, the power absorbed by the load, and the source voltamperes.

■ Solution
The average output voltage is determined from Eq. (4-23).

A 1 cos B A 1 cos 40° B 95.4 V

Vm 22 (120)
Vo

Average load current is
Vo 95.4
Io 4.77 A
R 20
Power absorbed by the load is determined from the rms current from Eq. (4-24), remem-
bering to use in radians.
22(120) 1 0.698 sin[2(0.698)]
Irms 5.80 A
20 A 2 2 4
P I 2rms R (5.80)2 (20) 673 W
The rms current in the source is also 5.80 A, and the apparent power of the source is
S Vrms Irms (120)(5.80) 696 VA
Power factor is
P 672
pf 0.967
S 696

RL Load, Discontinuous Current

Load current for a controlled full-wave rectifier with an RL load (Fig. 4-11a) can
be either continuous or discontinuous, and a separate analysis is required for
each. Starting the analysis at t 0 with zero load current, SCRs S1 and S2 in the
bridge rectifier will be forward-biased and S3 and S4 will be reverse-biased as the
source voltage becomes positive. Gate signals are applied to S1 and S2 at t ,
turning S1 and S2 on. With S1 and S2 on, the load voltage is equal to the source
voltage. For this condition, the circuit is identical to that of the controlled half-
wave rectifier of Chap. 3, having a current function

C sin (t ) sin ( D

Vm
i o(t) ) e (t )>
for t
Z
where (4-26)
L L
Z 2R2 (L)2 tan1 a b and
R R

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134 C H A P T E R 4 Full-Wave Rectifiers

io
+
R
vs (ωt) = +
Vm sin(ωt) vo
−
L
–

(a)
io

0
α π β π+α ωt
Vm
vo

0
π 2π ωt

(b)

io

α π π+α ωt
vo

0
π 2π ωt

(c)

Figure 4-11 (a) Controlled rectifier with RL load;

(b) Discontinuous current; (c) Continuous current.

The above current function becomes zero at t . If , the current

remains at zero until t when gate signals are applied to S3 and S4
which are then forward-biased and begin to conduct. This mode of operation is
called discontinuous current, which is illustrated in Fig. 4-11b.

: discontinuous current (4-27)

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4.3 Controlled Full-Wave Rectifiers 135

Analysis of the controlled full-wave rectifier operating in the discontinuous-

current mode is identical to that of the controlled half-wave rectifier except that
the period for the output current is rather than 2 rad.
EXAMPLE 4-7

Controlled Full-Wave Rectifier, Discontinuous Current

A controlled full-wave bridge rectifier of Fig. 4-11a has a source of 120 V rms at 60 Hz,
R 10 , L 20 mH, and 60. Determine (a) an expression for load current, (b) the
average load current, and (c) the power absorbed by the load.
■ Solution
From the parameters given,
120
Vm 169.7 V
12
Z 2R2 (L)2 210 2 [(377)(0.02)]2 12.5 Æ
L (377)(0.02)
tan 1 a b tan 1 c d 0.646 rad
R 10
L (377)(0.02)
0.754 rad
R 10
60° 1.047 rad
(a) Substituting into Eq. (4-26),
i o(t) 13.6 sin (t 0.646) 21.2e t>0.754 A for t
Solving io() 0 numerically for , 3.78 rad (216). Since 4.19 ,
the current is discontinuous, and the above expression for current is valid.
(b) Average load current is determined from the numerical integration of

1
Io i o(t) d (t) 7.05 A
3

(c) Power absorbed by the load occurs in the resistor and is computed from I2rmsR,
where

1
Irms i (t) d(t) 8.35 A
C 3 o

P (8.35)2(10) 697 W

RL Load, Continuous Current

If the load current is still positive at t when gate signals are applied to
S3 and S4 in the above analysis, S3 and S4 are turned on and S1 and S2 are forced

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136 C H A P T E R 4 Full-Wave Rectifiers

off. Since the initial condition for current in the second half-cycle is not zero, the
current function does not repeat. Equation (4-26) is not valid in the steady state
for continuous current. For an RL load with continuous current, the steady-state
current and voltage waveforms are generally as shown in Fig. 4-11c.
The boundary between continuous and discontinuous current occurs when
for Eq. (4-26) is . The current at t must be greater than zero for
continuous-current operation.

i( )0
sin( ) sin( ) e ( )>
0

Using

sin( ) sin( )
sin( ) A 1 e (>) B 0

Solving for ,

Using
L
tan1 a b
R
L
tan1 a b for continuous current (4-28)
R
Either Eq. (4-27) or Eq. (4-28) can be used to check whether the load current is
continuous or discontinuous.
A method for determining the output voltage and current for the continuous-
current case is to use the Fourier series. The Fourier series for the voltage wave-
form for continuous-current case shown in Fig. 4-11c is expressed in general
form as
q

vo(t) Vo a Vn cos (n0t n) (4-29)

n1

The dc (average) value is

1 2V
Vo Vm sin (t) d(t) m cos (4-30)
3

The amplitudes of the ac terms are calculated from

Vn 2a 2n b 2n ()() (4-31)

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4.3 Controlled Full-Wave Rectifiers 137

where
2Vm cos(n 1) cos(n 1)
an c d
n1 n1

2Vm sin(n 1) sin(n 1) (4-32)

bn c d
n1 n1
n 2, 4, 6, . . .
Figure 4-12 shows the relationship between normalized harmonic content of the
output voltage and delay angle.
The Fourier series for current is determined by superposition as was done for
the uncontrolled rectifier earlier in this chapter. The current amplitude at each
frequency is determined from Eq. (4-5). The rms current is determined by com-
bining the rms currents at each frequency. From Eq. (2-43),

In 2
a b
q

Irms I 2o a
C n2,4,6 Á 12
where
Vo Vn Vn
Io and In (4-33)
R Zn ƒ R jn 0L ƒ

1.0

n=2
0.8

0.6
Vn /Vm

0.4
n=4

n=6
0.2
n=8

0 40 80 120 160
90
Delay Angle

Figure 4-12 Output harmonic voltages as a function

of delay angle for a single-phase controlled rectifier.

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138 C H A P T E R 4 Full-Wave Rectifiers

As the harmonic number increases, the impedance for the inductance increases.
Therefore, it may be necessary to solve for only a few terms of the series to be
able to calculate the rms current. If the inductor is large, the ac terms will become
small, and the current is essentially dc.

EXAMPLE 4-8

Controlled Full-Wave Rectifier with RL Load, Continuous Current

A controlled full-wave bridge rectifier of Fig. 4-11a has a source of 120 V rms at 60 Hz,
an RL load where R 10 and L 100 mH. The delay angle 60 (same as Exam-
ple 4-7 except L is larger). (a) Verify that the load current is continuous. (b) Determine the
dc (average) component of the current. (c) Determine the power absorbed by the load.
■ Solution
(a) Equation (4-28) is used to verify that the current is continuous.

L (377)(0.1)
tan1 a b tan 1 c d 75°
R 10
60° 75° ‹ continuous current
(b) The voltage across the load is expressed in terms of the Fourier series of Eq. (4-29).
The dc term is computed from Eq. (4-30).

2Vm 222(120)
V0 cos cos(60°) 54.0 V

(c) The amplitudes of the ac terms are computed from Eqs. (4-31) and (4-32) and are
summarized in the following table where, Zn |R jL| and In Vn/Zn.

n an bn Vn Zn In
0 (dc) — — 54.0 10 5.40
2 90 93.5 129.8 76.0 1.71
4 46.8 18.7 50.4 151.1 0.33
6 3.19 32.0 32.2 226.4 0.14

The rms current is computed from Eq. (4-33).

1.71 2 0.33 2 0.14 2 . . .

Irms (5.40)2 a b a b a b L 5.54 A
C 12 12 12
Power is computed from I2rmsR.

P (5.54)2(10) 307 W

Note that the rms current could be approximated accurately from the dc term and
one ac term (n 2). Higher-frequency terms are very small and contribute little to
the power in the load.

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