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Three Phase Rectification
3-phase rectification is the process of converting a balanced 3-phase power
supply into a fixed DC supply using solid state diodes or thyristors
We saw in the previous tutorial that the process of converting an AC
input supply into a fixed DC supply is called Rectification with the most
popular circuits used to perform this rectification process is one that is
based on solid-state semiconductor diodes. In fact, rectification of
alternating voltages is one of the most popular applications of diodes,
as diodes are inexpensive, small and robust allowing us to create
numerous types of rectifier circuits using either individually connected
diodes or with just a single integrated bridge rectifier module.
Single phase supplies such as those in houses and offices are
generally 120 Vrms or 240 Vrms phase-to-neutral, also called line-to-
neutral (L-N), and nominally of a fixed voltage and frequency
producing an alternating voltage or current in the form of a sinusoidal
waveform being given the abbreviation of “AC”.
Three-phase rectification, also known as poly-phase rectification
circuits are similar to the previous single-phase rectifiers, the
difference this time is that we are using three, single-phase supplies
connected together that have been produced by one single three-
phase generator.
The advantage here is that 3-phase rectification circuits can be used
to power many industrial applications such as motor control or battery
charging which require higher power requirements than a single-
phase rectifier circuit is able to supply.
3-phase supplies take this idea one step further by combining together
three AC voltages of identical frequency and amplitude with each AC
voltage being called a “phase”. These three phases are 120 electrical
degrees out-of-phase from each other producing a phase sequence,
or phase rotation of: 360o ÷ 3 = 120o as shown.
Three-phase Waveform
The advantage here is that a three-phase alternating current (AC)
supply can be used to provide electrical power directly to balanced
loads and rectifiers. Since a 3-phase supply has a fixed voltage and
frequency it can be used by a rectification circuit to produce a fixed
voltage DC power which can then be filtered resulting in an output DC
voltage with less ripple compared to a single-phase rectifying circuit.
Three-phase Rectification
Having seen that a 3-phase supply is just simply three single-phases
combined together, we can use this multi-phase property to create 3-
phase rectifier circuits.
As with single-phase rectification, three-phase rectification uses
diodes, thyristors, transistors, or converters to create half-wave, full-
wave, uncontrolled and fully-controlled rectifier circuits transforming a
given three-phase supply into a constant DC output level. In most
applications a three-phase rectifier is supplied directly from the mains
utility power grid or from a three-phase transformer if different DC
output level is required by the connected load.
As with the previous single-phase rectifier, the most basic three-phase
rectifier circuit is that of an uncontrolled half-wave rectifier circuit which
uses three semiconductor diodes, one diode per phase as shown.
Half-wave Three-phase Rectification
So how does this three-phase half-wave rectifier circuit work. The
anode of each diode is connected to one phase of the voltage supply
with the cathodes of all three diodes connected together to the same
positive point, effectively creating a diode-“OR” type arrangement.
This common point becomes the positive (+) terminal for the load
while the negative (-) terminal of the load is connected to the neutral
(N) of the supply.
Assuming a phase rotation of Red-Yellow-Blue (VA – VB – VC) and the
red phase (VA) starts at 0o. The first diode to conduct will be diode 1
(D1) as it will have a more positive voltage at its anode than diodes
D2 or D3. Thus diode D1 conducts for the positive half-cycle of VA while
D2 and D3 are in their reverse-biased state. The neutral wire provides a
return path for the load current back to the supply.
120 electrical degrees later, diode 2 (D2) starts to conduct for the
positive half-cycle of VB (yellow phase). Now its anode becomes more
positive than diodes D1 and D3 which are both “OFF” because they are
reversed-biased. Similarly, 120o later VC (blue phase) starts to increase
turning “ON” diode 3 (D3) as its anode becomes more positive, thus
turning “OFF” diodes D1 and D2.
Then we can see that for three-phase rectification, whichever diode
has a more positive voltage at its anode compared to the other two
diodes it will automatically start to conduct, thereby giving a
conduction pattern of: D1 D2 D3 as shown.
Half-wave Three-phase Rectifier Conduction
Waveform
From the above waveforms for a resistive load, we can see that for a
half-wave rectifier each diode passes current for one third of each
cycle, with the output waveform being three times the input frequency
of the AC supply. Therefore there are three voltage peaks in a given
cycle, so by increasing the number of phases from a single-phase to a
three-phase supply, the rectification of the supply is improved, that is
the output DC voltage is smoother.
For a three-phase half-wave rectifier, the supply voltages VA VB and
VC are balanced but with a phase difference of 120o giving:
VA = VP*sin(ωt – 0o)
VB = VP*sin(ωt – 120o)
VC = VP*sin(ωt – 240o)
Thus the average DC value of the output voltage waveform from a 3-
phase half-wave rectifier is given as:
As the voltage supplies peak voltage, VP is equal to VRMS*1.414, it
follows that VP is equal to VP/1.414 giving 0.707*VP, so the average DC
output voltage of the rectifier can be expressed in terms of the rms
(root-mean-squared) phase voltage giving:
3-phase Rectification Example No1
A half-wave 3-phase rectifier is constructed using three individual
diodes and a 120VAC 3-phase star connected transformer. If it is
required to power a connected load with an impedance of 50Ω,
Calculate, a) the average DC voltage output to the load. b) the load
current, c) the average current per diode. Assume ideal diodes.
a). The average DC load voltage:
VDC = 1.17*Vrms = 1.17*120 = 140.4 volts
Note that if we were given the peak voltage (Vp) value, then:
VDC would equal 0.827*Vp or 0.827*169.68 = 140.4V.
b). The DC load current:
IL = VDC/RL = 140.4/50 = 2.81 amperes
c). The average current per diode:
ID = IL/3 = 2.81/3 = 0.94 amperes
One of the disadvantages of half-wave 3-phase rectification is that it
requires a 4-wire supply, that is three phases plus a neutral (N)
connection. Also the average DC output voltage is low at a value
represented by 0.827*VP as we have seen. This is because the output
ripple content is three times the input frequency. But we can improve
on these disadvantages by adding three more diodes to the basic
rectifier circuit creating a three-phase full-wave uncontrolled bridge
rectifier.
Full-wave Three-phase Rectification
The full-wave three-phase uncontrolled bridge rectifier circuit uses six
diodes, two per phase in a similar fashion to the single-phase bridge
rectifier. A 3-phase full-wave rectifier is obtained by using two half-
wave rectifier circuits. The advantage here is that the circuit produces
a lower ripple output than the previous half-wave 3-phase rectifier as it
has a frequency of six times the input AC waveform.
Also, the full-wave rectifier can be fed from a balanced 3–phase 3-wire
delta connected supply as no fourth neutral (N) wire is required.
Consider the full-wave 3-phase rectifier circuit below.
Full-wave Three-phase Rectification
As before, assuming a phase rotation of Red-Yellow-Blue
(VA – VB – VC) and the red phase (VA) starts at 0o. Each phase connects
between a pair of diodes as shown. One diode of the conducting pair
powers the positive (+) side of load, while the other diode powers the
negative (-) side of load.
Diodes D1 D3 D2 and D4 form a bridge rectifier network between
phases A and B, similarly diodes D3 D5 D4 and D6 between
phases B and C and D5 D1 D6 and D2 between phases C and A.
Thus diodes D1 D3 and D5 feed the positive rail and depending on
which one has a more positive voltage at its anode terminal conducts.
Likewise, diodes D2 D4 and D6 feed the negative rail and whichever
diode has a more negative voltage at its cathode terminal conducts.
Then we can see that for three-phase rectification, the diodes conduct
in matching pairs giving a conduction pattern for the load current of:
D1-2 D1-6 D3-6 D3-6 D3-4 D5-4 D5-2 and D1-2 as shown.
Full-wave Three-phase Rectifier Conduction
Waveform
In 3-phase power rectifiers, conduction always occurs in the most
positive diode and the corresponding most negative diode. Thus as
the three phases rotate across the rectifier terminals, conduction is
passed from diode to diode. Then each diode conducts for 120o (one-
third) in each supply cycle but as it takes two diodes to conduct in
pairs, each pair of diodes will conduct for only 60o (one-sixth) of a
cycle at any one time as shown above.
Therefore we can correctly say that for a 3-phase rectifier being fed by
“3” transformer secondaries, each phase will be separated by 360o/3
thus requiring 2*3 diodes. Note also that unlike the previous half-wave
rectifier, there is no common connection between the rectifiers input
and output terminals. Therefore it can be fed by a star connected or a
delta connected transformer supply.
So the average DC value of the output voltage waveform from a 3-
phase full-wave rectifier is given as:
Where: VS is equal to (VL(PEAK) ÷ √3) and where VL(PEAK) is the maximum
line-to-line voltage (VL*1.414).
3-phase Rectification Example No2
A 3-phase full-wave bridge rectifier is required to fed a 150Ω resistive
load from a 3-phase 127 volt, 60Hz delta connected supply. Ignoring
the voltage drops across the diodes, calculate: 1. the DC output
voltage of the rectifier and 2. the load current.
1. the DC output voltage:
The RMS (Root Mean Squared) line voltage is 127 volts. Therefore
the line-to-line peak voltage (VL-L(PEAK)) will be:
As the supply is 3-phase, the phase to neutral voltage (VP-N) of any
phase will be:
Note that this is basically the same as saying:
Thus the average DC output voltage from the 3-phase full-wave
rectifier is given as:
Again, we can reduce the maths a bit by correctly saying that for a
given line-to-line RMS voltage value, in our example 127 volts, the
average DC output voltage is:
2. the rectifiers load current.
The output from the rectifier is feeding a 150Ω resistive load. Then
using Ohms law the load current will be:
Uncontrolled 3-phase rectification uses diodes to provide an average
output voltage of a fixed value relative to the value of the input AC
voltages. But to vary the output voltage of the rectifier we need to
replace the uncontrolled diodes, either some or all of them, with
thyristors to create what are called half-controlled or fully-controlled
bridge rectifiers.
Thyristors are three terminal semiconductor devices and when a
suitable trigger pulse is applied to the the thyristors gate terminal
when its Anode–to-Cathode terminal voltage is positive, the device will
conduct and pass a load current. So by delaying the timing of the
trigger pulse, (firing angle) we can delay the instant in time at which
the thyristor would naturally switch “ON” if it were a normal diode and
the moment it starts to conduct when the trigger pulse is applied.
Thus with a controlled 3-phase rectification which uses thyristors
instead of diodes, we can control the value of the average DC output
voltage by controlling the firing angle of the thyristor pairs and so the
rectified output voltage becomes a function of the firing angle, α.
Therefore the only difference to the formula used above for the
average output voltage of a 3-phase bridge rectifier is in the cosine
angle, cos(α) of the firing or triggering pulse. So if the firing angle is
zero, (cos(0) = 1), the controlled rectifier performs similar to the
previous 3-phase uncontrolled diode rectifier with the average output
voltages being the same.
An example of a fully-controlled 3-phase bridge rectifier is given
below:
Fully-controlled 3-phase Bridge Rectifier
Three-phase Rectification Summary
We have seen in this tutorial that three-phase rectification is the
process of converting a 3-phase AC supply into a pulsating DC
voltage as rectification converts the input power supply of a sinusoidal
voltage and frequency into a fixed voltage DC power. Thus power
rectification changes an alternating supply into a unidirectional supply.
But we have also seen that 3-phase half-wave uncontrolled rectifiers,
which use one diode per phase, require a star connected supply as a
fourth neutral (N) wire to close the circuit from load to source. The 3-
phase full-wave bridge rectifier which use two diodes per phase
requires just three mains lines, without neutral, such as that provided
by a delta connected supply.
Another advantage of a full-wave bridge rectifier is that the load
current is well balanced across the bridge improving efficiency (the
ratio of output DC power to input power supplied) and reducing the
ripple content, both in amplitude and frequency, as compared to the
half-wave configuration.
By increasing the number of phases and diodes within the bridge
configuration it is possible to obtain a higher average DC output
voltage with less ripple amplitude as for example, in 6-phase
rectification each diode would conduct for only one-sixth of a cycle.
Also, multi-phase rectifiers produce a higher ripple frequency means
less capacitive filtering and a much smoother output voltage. Thus 6,
12, 15 and even 24-phase uncontrolled rectifiers can be designed to
improve the ripple factor for various applications.