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Power Supply

A regulated power supply converts unregulated AC power into a stable DC output, maintaining consistent voltage despite input variations. It consists of four main components: a step-down transformer, rectifier circuit, DC filter circuit, and voltage regulator. These supplies are widely used in applications such as mobile charging, testing circuits, and electronic computers due to their reliability and efficiency.

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26 views5 pages

Power Supply

A regulated power supply converts unregulated AC power into a stable DC output, maintaining consistent voltage despite input variations. It consists of four main components: a step-down transformer, rectifier circuit, DC filter circuit, and voltage regulator. These supplies are widely used in applications such as mobile charging, testing circuits, and electronic computers due to their reliability and efficiency.

Uploaded by

PrashanthiKrishna
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Power Supply

An electronic circuit that produces a stable DC voltage of fixed value across


the load terminals irrespective of changes in the load is known as regulated power
supply. Thus, the primary function of a regulated power supply is to convert an AC
power into a steady DC power. The regulated power supply is sometimes also called
as a linear power supply.
The regulated power supply ensures that the output power at the load
terminals should remain constant even if the input power varies. The regulated
power supply receives an AC power as input and generates a constant DC power as
output. A regulated power supply is basically an embedded circuit consisting of
various blocks.

Block Diagram and Operation of Regulated Power Supply

The block diagram of a typical regulated power supply is shown in Figure-1.

The regulated power supply consists of the following four major parts −
 Step-down transformer
 Rectifier circuit
 DC filter circuit
 Voltage regulator

Function of Step-Down Transformer


The step-down transformer used in the circuit of the regulated power supply
changes the input AC voltage to the desired lower voltage value. Also, this
transformer provides an electrical isolation between two circuits. The reduced
output AC voltage of the step-down transformer is used as the input to the rectifier
circuit.

Function of Rectifier Circuit


The rectifier circuit is used to convert the input AC voltage into a DC voltage. It
consists of diodes that perform the rectification process, i.e. conversion of the AC
voltage into the DC voltage. However, the output of the rectifier is a pulsating direct
voltage. In practice, a full wave rectifier is used for the rectification due to its
technical advantages. This full wave rectifier can be a center-tapped full-wave
rectifier or a bridge rectifier. The full wave rectifier converts both positive and
negative cycles of AC voltage into DC voltage.

Function of Filter Circuit


Since the output of the rectifier is a pulsating direct voltage which has very high
ripple content. Hence, the raw output of the rectifier is undesirable. In order to get a
pure ripple free direct voltage, a DC filter circuit is used. We have different types of
filter circuits such as capacitor filter choke input filter, π-filter, and LC filter.
Therefore, the filter circuit converts the pulsating direct voltage into the constant
direct voltage having almost zero ripple content.

Voltage Regulator
The voltage regulator constitutes the last block of the regulated power supply.
It monitors and corrects the fluctuations in the output voltage of the power supply.
The output voltage may change or fluctuate due to any change in the input AC
voltage or the change in the load or change in any physical parameters such as
temperature of the circuit. Thus, the voltage regulator takes care of this problem.
The voltage regulator maintains the DC voltage constant at the output terminals.
A zener diode operated in zener region, a transistor series regulator, fixed and
variable IC regulators are commonly used in different regulated power supplies as
the voltage regulator.

Features of Regulated Power Supply

Following are the main features of the regulated power supply –

 The regulated power supplies have the efficiency ranging from 20% to 25%.
 Regulated power supplies are relatively more reliable.
 Regulated power supplies have less complex circuit and less weight.
 Regulated power supplies give faster response.
 The cost and noise level of the regulated power supplies is low.

Applications of Regulated Power Supplies


The regulated power supplies are the embedded circuits that convert an
unregulated AC power supply into a steady DC power supply which is the basic
requirement of several electronic circuits. Hence, the regulated power supplies are
extensively used in several applications such as −
 Mobile charging circuits
 Testing circuits
 Bench power supplies
 Oscillators and amplifiers
 Electronic computers
 Automatic control systems, etc.

What is a Regulated Power Supply?


A regulated power supply transforms unregulated AC (Alternating Current)
into a stable DC (Direct Current). It guarantees consistent output despite variations
in input.
A regulated DC power supply is also known as a linear power supply, it is an
embedded circuit and consists of various blocks.
The regulated power supply will accept an AC input and give a constant DC output.
The figure below shows the block diagram of a typical regulated DC power supply.

The basic building blocks of a regulated DC power supply are as follows:

1. A step-down transformer
2. A rectifier
3. A DC filter
4. A regulator
Operation of Regulated Power Supply

Step Down Transformer


A step down transformer will step down the voltage from the ac mains to the
required voltage level. The turn’s ratio of the transformer is so adjusted such as to
obtain the required voltage value. The output of the transformer is given as an input
to the rectifier circuit.

Rectification
Rectifier is an electronic circuit consisting of diodes which carries out the
rectification process. Rectification is the process of converting an alternating voltage
or current into corresponding direct (DC) quantity. The input to a rectifier is AC
whereas its output is unidirectional pulsating DC.

While a half wave rectifier is an option, its high power losses make a full wave
rectifier or bridge rectifier a better choice for rectifying AC’s full cycle. The figure
below shows a full wave bridge rectifier.
A bridge rectifier consists of four p-n junction diodes connected in the manner
shown above. In the positive half cycle of the supply, the voltage induced across the
secondary of the electrical transformer i.e. VMN is positive.
Therefore point E is positive with respect to F. Hence, diodes D 3 and D2 are
reversed biased and diodes D1 and D4 are forward biased. The diode D3 and D2 will
act as open switches (practically there is some voltage drop) and diodes D1 andD4
will act as closed switches and will start conducting.
Hence a rectified waveform appears at the output of the rectifier as shown in
the first figure. When voltage induced in secondary i.e. VMN is negative than D 3 and
D2 are forward biased with the other two reversed biased and a positive voltage
appears at the input of the filter.
DC Filtration

The rectifier outputs a pulsating DC with high ripple content; however, to


achieve a smooth DC waveform, a filter is employed. Different types of filters are
used such as capacitor filter, LC filter, Choke input filter, π type filter. The figure
below shows a capacitor filter connected along the output of the rectifier and the
resultant output waveform.
As the instantaneous voltage starts increasing the capacitor charges, it
charges until the waveform reaches its peak value. When the instantaneous value
starts reducing the capacitor starts discharging exponentially and slowly through the
load (input of the regulator in this case). Hence, an almost constant DC value having
very less ripple content is obtained.

Regulation
This is the last block in a regulated DC power supply. The output voltage or
current will change or fluctuate when there is a change in the input from ac mains or
due to change in load current at the output of the regulated power supply or due to
other factors like temperature changes. This problem can be eliminated by using a
regulator.
A regulator will maintain the output constant even when changes at the input
or any other changes occur. Transistor series regulator, Fixed and variable IC
regulators or a zener diode operated in the zener region can be used depending on
their applications. IC’s like 78XX and 79XX (such as the IC 7805) are used to
obtained fixed values of voltages at the output.

Integrated circuits such as the LM 317 and 723 enable us to fine-tune the
output voltage to a precise constant value. The figure below shows the LM317
voltage regulator. The output voltage can be adjusted by adjusting the values of
resistances R1 and R2. Usually, coupling capacitors of values about 0.01µF to 10µF
need to be connected at the output and input to address input noise and output
transients. Ideally, the output voltage is given by
The figure above shows the complete circuit of a regulated +5V DC power supply.

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