ELECTRONICS LABORATORY

ACTIVITY 4 DC POWER SUPPLY CIRCUITS

DC Power Supply Circuits

Name : Badlis, Cortez, Giron, Rabe, Santuyo

Signature :

Course – Section : ECEA020L – E01

Date : 10/16/23

Grade :

Remarks :

Course Instructor : Prof. Charmaine Paglinawan

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ACTIVITY 4 DC POWER SUPPLY CIRCUITS

Introduction:

The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate the operation of a half-wave rectifier, a full wave
bridge rectifier, a capacitor filter, and the use of the Zener diode as a voltage regulator.

Let us use the LTSPICE to run simulations and determine the characteristics of dc power supply
circuits. Here is a link about ‘Getting Started with LTSPICE’:
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/getting-started-with-ltspice/all

Part 1: Rectifier

1.1 Connect the circuit of Half-Wave Rectifier in Figure 1.1 using the LTSPICE tool.

Figure 1.1. Half-Wave Rectifier for LTSPICE Simulation.

1.2 Run the simulation. Plot the waveform of input voltage V1 and the output voltage across resistor R1.
Take a photo of simulation waveforms and place it in Figure 1.2.

Figure 1.2. Input and Output Waveforms of Half-Wave Rectifier.

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1.3 Reverse the direction of diode D1. Run the simulation again. Plot the waveform of input voltage V1
and the output voltage across resistor R1. Take a photo of simulation waveforms and place it in
Figure 1.3.

Figure 1.3. Input and Output Waveforms of Half-Wave Rectifier with Diode in Reverse Direction.

Write your observations for the simulation

When the diode is in forward bias, as shown in Figure 1.1, only the positive half cycle of the input
waveform can be observed in the output waveform. Meanwhile, when the direction of the diode is
reversed and the diode is in reverse bias, only the negative half cycle can be seen in the output
waveform. Moreover, there is an evident difference between the amplitude of the input and output
waveforms.

1.4 Connect the circuit of Full-Wave Rectifier in Figure 1.4 in LTSPICE tool.

Figure 1.4. Bridge-type Full-Wave Rectifier for LTSPICE Simulation.

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1.5 Run the simulation. Plot the waveform of input voltage Vsec and the output voltage across resistor
R1. Take a photo of simulation waveforms and place it in Figure 1.5.

Figure 1.5. Input and Output Waveforms of Full-Wave Rectifier.

Write your observations for the simulation

It can be observed that the output waveform consists of continuous waves; there is no plateau at 0V that
is present. The output waveform is a full wave. In addition, same with Figures 1.2 and 1.3, the amplitude
of the input and output waveforms of the full-wave rectifier are not equal.

Part 2: Filter

2.1 Connect the circuit diagram of Rectifier Circuit with Filter Capacitor using the LTSPICE tool, by placing
a 10 micro-Farad capacitor in parallel with the resistor R1 in Figure 1.4. Take a photo of your schematic
diagram and place it in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1. Schematic Diagram of Full-Wave Rectifier with Filter Capacitor.

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ACTIVITY 4 DC POWER SUPPLY CIRCUITS

2.2 Run the simulation. Plot the waveform of input voltage Vsec and the output voltage across resistor
R1. Take a photo of simulation waveforms and place it in Figure 2.2.

Figure 2.2. Input and Output Waveforms of Full-Wave Rectifier with 10-uF Filter Capacitor.

Write your observations for the simulation

The circuit was initially designed as a full-wave rectifier wherein the output voltage decreases to zero.
In figure 2.2, it was shown that the same peak was generated with a value of approximately 8V.
However, upon the addition of a 10 µF filter capacitor, the output voltage displays a pointed peak at
the maximum voltage and does not decrease to zero before the second voltage input, which generates
another peak value.

2.3 Change the value of filter capacitor to 1 micro-Farad. Run the simulation. Plot the waveforms of input
voltage Vsec and the output voltage across resistor R1. Take a photo of simulation waveforms and
place it in Figure 2.3.

Figure 2.3. Input and Output Waveforms of Full-Wave Rectifier with 1-uF Filter Capacitor.

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ACTIVITY 4 DC POWER SUPPLY CIRCUITS

2.4 Again, change the value of filter capacitor to 100 micro-Farad. Run again the simulation. Plot the
waveforms of input voltage Vsec and the output voltage across resistor R1. Take a photo of simulation
waveforms and place it in Figure 2.4.

Figure 2.4. Input and Output Waveforms of Full-Wave Rectifier with 100-uF Filter Capacitor.

2.5 Write your observation on the effect of filter capacitance (using 1-uF in Figure 2.3, using 10-uF in
Figure 2.2, and using 100-uF in Figure 2.4) on the output voltage.

The filter capacitance effectively reduces or removes the amplitude of the output voltage, as indicated
by the results. Observing the graphs in Figures 2.2, 2.3, and 2.4 suggests that the capacitance value of
the filter influences the variation in output voltage. The voltage output appears to have the largest
amplitude at the lowest value (1 µF), while the highest value (100 µF) shows that the voltage output is
nearly linear indicating that it is stable. Hence, among the three results, the filter capacitance with the
highest value is considered preferable due to its ability to generate a constant output voltage, which is
more favorable in the process of converting AC current to DC current.

Part 3: Voltage Regulator

3.1 Connect in LTSPICE the circuit diagram of Unregulated Power Supply in Figure 3.1. Double click on the
value of the load resistor R1 and change it to {R}. Use curly brackets. The SPICE interprets the text
inside the curly brackets as a numerical expression.

Fig. 3.1. Unregulated Power Supply Circuit for LTSPICE Simulation.

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3.2 Add the PARAM part to the circuit. From the Edit menu choose Spice Directive. Type “.step param R
10 1k 250”. This will provide a value of 10 Ohms to 1kOhms for R1 with 250 Ohm interval. Run the
transient simulation. Plot the waveforms of input voltage Vsec and of output voltage across resistor
R1. Take a snapshot of the waveforms and place it in Figure 3.2.

Figure 3.2. Input and Output Waveforms of Unregulated Power Supply.

3.3 Connect in LTSPICE the circuit diagram of Regulated Power Supply in Figure 3.3. (The student or group
may use different types of rectifier diodes and Zener diode, in case the diode models are not
available.)

Fig. 3.3. Regulated Power Supply Circuit for LTSPICE Simulation.

3.4 Run the transient simulation. Plot the waveforms of input voltage Vsec and of output voltage across
resistor R3. Take a snapshot of the waveforms and place it in Figure 3.4.

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Figure 3.4. Input and Output Waveforms of Regulated Power Supply.

Briefly compare the output voltages of unregulated and regulated dc power supply
circuits.

The input voltage Vsec in the regulated and unregulated dc power supply circuit were the same in the
two plots. Vsec was the green line in the plot while V across the resistor was the blue line/s. From the
two plots it was seen that in the Unregulated Power Supply there were two voltage sine waveforms,
while for the Regulated Power Supply there was only one sine waveform.

***

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