ISTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ELECTRIC&ELECTRONICS
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
ELK342E POWER ELECTRONICS
LABORATORY
EXPERIMENT 1
SINGLE-PHASE UNCONTROLLED AND
CONTROLLED RECTIFIERS
Information – Application Areas – Purpose of the Experiment
Rectifiers are power electronic circuits that convert alternating (AC) voltages into direct (DC)
voltages. Rectifiers can be divided into two main divisions which can be called as controlled rectifiers
and uncontrolled rectifiers with single- or three-phase versions. Diodes and Thyristors are widely used
in rectifiers because of their switching properties. IGBT and MOSFET semiconductor switches can
also be employed in some advanced rectifier applications.
All off-line electronic circuits that require DC voltage for proper operation contain rectifier structures.
To name a few, commonly used rectifier applications can be named as cellular phone/laptop battery
chargers, utility connected AC/DC power supplies, televisions/computers/DVD players/printer power
supplies and motor drive systems.
In this experiment, operation of single-phase rectifiers will be studied with different load types with
investigation of rectifier parameters and characteristic current/voltage waveforms at different load
conditions will be observed.
Study Materials Before Coming to Experiment
• NE9023, NE7026, NE7027, NE7028 Experiment Set and Oscilloscope Usage,
Watch first, third, fourth, and fifth videos (Videos 1, 3, 4, 5) in YouTube channel of Power
Electronics Laboratory to get familiar with usage of experiment set and oscilloscope
(www.youtube.com/itugucelektronigi),
#Video 1 : Oscilloscope Features and Usage
#Video 3 : NE9023 Thyristor & Diode Experiment Set
#Video 4 : NE9023 Thyristor & Diode Sample Experiment Setup
#Video 5 : NE7026/NE7027/NE7028 Adjustable Load Banks
• Circuit schematics of single-phase half wave/full wave, controlled/uncontrolled rectifiers,
ELK342E Power Electronics Lab, Spring 2023-2024 Experiment 1, page 1/6 Updated: 2024
• Characteristics of the rectifiers operating with a resistive (R) and series connected resistor and
inductor (RL) loads,
• Usage of freewheeling diode and its effect on rectifier operation,
• Firing angle (α), extinction angle (β) and conduction angle (θ) terms,
• Crest Factor (CF), Power Factor (PF), Transformer Utilization Factor (TUF), Ripple Factor (RF),
Form Factor (FF) and Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) terms.
Experiment Procedure:
Equipment List:
• TQ NE9023 : Thyristor & Diode Experiment Set
• TQ NE7026 : Adjustable Resistive Load Bank
• TQ NE7027 : Adjustable Capacitive Load Bank
• TQ NE7028 : Adjustable Inductive Load Bank
• UNI-T UT33A : Two Digital Multimeters
• GOULD DSO400 : Two Channel / 400MHz Analog Oscilloscope
1. Single-Phase Half-Wave Controlled Rectifier
Required measurements for studying characteristic voltage/current waveforms of single-phase half-
wave-controlled rectifier thyristor feeding an RL load will be performed in this part of the experiment
using NE9023 set and NE7026/NE7028 adjustable load banks. Experiment procedure is outlined
below.
1. Assemble the circuit shown in Figure 1 using the NE9023 experiment set.
ik
vy
iy
Figure 1. Single-phase half-wave-controlled rectifier, RL load.
ELK342E Power Electronics Lab, Spring 2023-2024 Experiment 1, page 2/6 Updated: 2024
2. Adjust load resistance Ry to maximum resistance value and load inductance Ly to minimum
inductance value using NE7026 and NE7028 load banks. Adjust firing angle (α) controller on
the experiment set to the lowest value using delay angle controller.
3. Apply power to your circuit with the approval of the teaching assistant (TA).
4. Comment on the waveforms of load voltage and current on the oscilloscope screen.
5. When reducing the load resistance value in steps, increase the load inductance value. Note and
comment on the effect of these changes on the waveforms and values of load voltage and
current values using the oscilloscope screen and multimeters. Make sure that load current does
not exceed 2A.
6. For the load condition in part 5, increase the firing angle (α) slowly. Note and comment on the
effect of increasing firing angle on the waveforms and values of load voltage and current values
using the oscilloscope screen and multimeters.
7. For the operating condition in part 6, write down the values of load resistance (RY), load
inductance (LY), firing angle (α), extinction angle (β), average load voltage (VY) and average
load current (IY) into Table 1.
8. Remove power from your circuit with the approval of the teaching assistant (TA).
2. Single-Phase Full-Wave (Bridge) Controlled Rectifier
Necessary measurements for studying characteristic voltage/current waveforms of single-phase full-
wave controlled rectifier thyristor feeding an RL load will be performed in this part of the experiment
using NE9023 set and NE7026/NE7028 adjustable load banks. Experiment procedure is outlined
below.
1. Assemble the circuit shown in Figure 2 using the NE9023 experiment set.
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iy
Figure 2. Single-phase full-wave controlled rectifier, RL load.
2. Adjust load resistance Ry to maximum resistance value and load inductance Ly to minimum
inductance value using NE7026 and NE7028 load banks. Adjust firing angle (α) controller on
the experiment set to the lowest value using delay angle controller.
ELK342E Power Electronics Lab, Spring 2023-2024 Experiment 1, page 3/6 Updated: 2024
3. Apply power to your circuit with the approval of the teaching assistant (TA).
4. Comment on the waveforms of load voltage and current on the oscilloscope screen.
5. When reducing the load resistance value in steps, increase the load inductance value. Note and
comment on the effect of these changes on the waveforms and values of load voltage and
current values using the oscilloscope screen and multimeters. Make sure that load current does
not exceed 2A.
6. For the load condition in part 5, increase the firing angle (α) slowly. Note and comment on the
effect of increasing firing angle on the waveforms and values of load voltage and current values
using the oscilloscope screen and multimeters.
7. For the operating condition in part 6, write down the values of load resistance (RY), load
inductance (LY), firing angle (α), extinction angle (β), average load voltage (VY) and average
load current (IY) into Table 2.
8. Remove power from your circuit with the approval of the teaching assistant (TA).
3. Single-Phase Full-Wave (Bridge) Uncontrolled Rectifier with a Capacitive Filter
Necessary measurements for studying characteristic voltage/current waveforms of single-phase full-
wave uncontrolled rectifier with a capacitive filter feeding a resistive load will be performed in this part
of the experiment using NE9023 set and NE7026/NE7027 adjustable load banks. Experiment
procedure is outlined below.
1. Assemble the circuit shown in Figure 3 using the NE9023 experiment set.
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Figure 3. Single-phase full-wave uncontrolled rectifier with capacitive filter, resistive load.
2. Adjust load resistance Ry to maximum resistance value and filter capacitance CF to minimum
capacitance value using NE7026 and NE7027 load banks.
3. Apply power to your circuit with the approval of the teaching assistant (TA).
4. Comment on the waveforms of load voltage and current on the oscilloscope screen.
5. For a value of filter capacitance which will remain constant throughout this part, reduce and
increase the load resistance value in steps. Note and comment on the effect of these changes on
the waveforms and values of load voltage and supply current values using the oscilloscope
screen and multimeters. Make sure that load current does not exceed 2A.
ELK342E Power Electronics Lab, Spring 2023-2024 Experiment 1, page 4/6 Updated: 2024
6. For a value of load resistance which will remain constant throughout this part, reduce and
increase the value of filter capacitance in steps. Note and comment on the effect of these
changes on the waveforms and values of load voltage and supply current values using the
oscilloscope screen and multimeters. Make sure that load current does not exceed 2A.
7. For the load resistance and filter capacitance values that you used in parts 5 and 6, write down
the values of load resistance (RY), filter capacitance (CF), peak-to-peak load voltage ripple
(VY(pp)), and diode conduction angle (β) into Table 3.
8. Remove power from your circuit with the approval of the teaching assistant (TA).
References:
[1] Ned Mohan, Tore M. Undeland, William P. Robbins Çevirenler: Nejat Tuncay, Metin
Gökaşan, Seta Boğosyan Güç Elektroniği - Çeviriciler, Uygulamalar ve Tasarım, 2.
Basımdan Çeviri, Literatür Kitabevi, 2003.
[2] Muhammad H. Rashid, Power electronics : circuits, devices, and applications, Englewood
Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice Hall, 1993.
[3] J. Michael Jacob, Power electronics : principles & applications, Albany : Delmar Thomson
Learning, 2002.
[4] Kjeld Thorborg, Power electronics, New York : Prentice Hall, 1988.
[5] M. Brown, Power Supply Cookbook, Newnes 2nd. ed., 2001.
[6] D. W. Hart, Introduction to Power Electronics, Prentice Hall, 1997.
[7] J. W. Motto, Introduction to Solid State Power Electronics, Powerex |Inc., 1977.
ELK342E Power Electronics Lab, Spring 2023-2024 Experiment 1, page 5/6 Updated: 2024
EXPERIMENT RESULT SHEET
This form must be filled in with a PEN. Use of a PENCIL IS NOT ALLOWED.
EXPERIMENT 1: SINGLE-PHASE UNCONTROLLED AND CONTROLLED RECTIFIERS
STUDENT NO STUDENT NAME/SURNAME SIGNATURE DATE
1
2
3 INSTRUCTOR/ LECTURER
4 APPROVAL
5 NAME/SURNAME:
6
7
8
9
10 SIGNATURE:
11
12
13
Data for NE9023 Thyristor & Diode Experiment Set
Transformer Voltage Sensor Current Sensor
Source Voltage
Turns Ratio Turns Ratio Turns Ratio
(V)
(n:1) [V/V] [A/V]
3,7 : 1 47 : 1 2,4 : 1
Table 1: Half Wave Controlled Rectifier – RL type load
RY (Ω) LY (mH) α (degrees) (degrees) VY (V) IY (A)
Table 2: Full Wave Controlled Rectifier – RL type load
RY (Ω) LY (mH) α (degrees) (degrees) VY (V) IY (A)
Table 3: Full Wave Uncontrolled Rectifier with a Capacitive Filter – R type load
Crest Factor Power Factor
RY (Ω) CF (μF) VY (V) VY(pp) θ (degrees)
(C.F) cos (θ)
ELK342E Power Electronics Lab, Spring 2023-2024 Experiment 1, page 6/6 Updated: 2024
