Electrical Power Systems Technology

Direct Current Power Systems 185

Single-phase Bridge Rectification

One disadvantage of the full-wave rectifier discussed previously is the

requirement for a large center-tapped transformer. To overcome this dis-

advantage, four diodes may be used to form a full-wave bridge rectifier, as

shown in Figure 7-22. Additionally, the diode piv rating is only required

to be the peak output voltage value (Vmax).

During the operation of a bridge rectifier, two diodes are forward bi-

ased during each alternation of the AC input. When the positive half cycle

Figure 7-21. Single-phase full-wave rectification: (A) Diode D1 is forward bi-

ased, (B) Diode D2 is forward biased, (C) Input/output voltage waveforms