The Analysis of Bridge Rectifier Circuits using Mathematica

Abstract

This paper addresses the steady-state and transient analysis of bridge rectifiers. It starts with
suggesting an efficient representation of the diodes. A single equation that describes the
diode’s performance in both the forward and reverse directions is presented. It implicitly
takes the voltage polarity into account. Without any loss of generality, the suggested method is
applied to the classical uncontrolled four-valve full-wave rectifier bridge configureuration.
The effect of the load resistance and the eventual presence of a smoothing shunt-capacitor as
well as the waveform of the supply voltage are illustrated. The approach can handle cases
involving non-sinusoidal sources and possible non-linear elements in the rectifier circuit. The
results of a Mathematica code include the currents and voltages of all circuit elements. The
suggested procedure is validated by comparing the solution of two case studies with the
corresponding results available in the literature.

Keywords: Analytical models, bridge, diodes, Mathematica, power electronics, rectifier
circuits, single-phase, stead-state, transient analysis, valve stresses