This rectifier uses one diode and furnishes a DC pulsed voltage with the same frequency of the AC input. The following formulas are used to calculate the current and voltage across a load.
Formula 1
Average voltage:
Where:
Vavg is the average voltage across the load in volts (V)
Vmax is the voltage peak or maximum in volts (V)
π is the constant 3.1416
Note: The voltage fall in the diodes (about 0,2 V in germanium types and 0.6 V in silicon types) were not considered by this formula.
Formula 2
Average current:
Where:
Iavg is the average current through the load in amperes (A)
Imax is the peak or maximum AC input current in amperes (A)
π is 3.1416
Application example:
Determine the average current in a half-wave power supply where the maximum rectified current is 600 mA.
Data:
Imax = 600 mA
π = 3.14
Iavg = ?
Using formula 2:
Iavg = 600 / 3.14 = 191.08 mA
Note: you can also use Imax in amperes, calculating the Iavg in amperes.
