Free · Electrical networks

Full-Wave Bridge Voltage, Current and Ripple Tools

Work with four preserved modes for rectified sinusoidal mean voltage, linear peak current, RMS current and a supplied RMS-to-mean ripple ratio.

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Calculator inputs

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How to use this calculator

  1. Enter the known values in the units shown. Results update as you type.
  2. Where results are editable, change one to solve backwards. Lock a value to hold it fixed.
  3. Use the worked example to check the method. Reset restores the starting fields.

Private by default

Inputs and results stay in this browser tab. Bookify does not upload or store the values you enter.

Formula and method

An input peak of 100 V, load 80 Ω and per-diode linear resistance 10 Ω give peak current 1 A. Two conducting diodes contribute 20 Ω in series.

Vmean=2 Vload,peak/π; Ipeak=Vinput,peak/(RL+2Rf); Irms=Ipeak/√2; ripple=√[(Irms/Imean)²−1]

Worked example

Enter these known values and leave the other values blank.

Calculate
Current
Load resistance (R==L==)
80 Ω
Linear resistance per conducting diode
10 Ω
Input peak voltage
100 V
Current (I==M==)
1 A

Assumptions and limitations

  • The four modes retain separate supplied quantities. DC voltage uses rectified load-output peak, while peak current uses input peak. The two peak controls are not linked by a loss equation: for one linear circuit the user must account for its load and two diode resistances. Entered values persist when switching modes; use Reset for a separate example.
  • Peak current uses an ideal diode plus constant forward-resistance approximation for each of two conducting diodes. Real threshold voltage, nonlinear I–V curves, leakage, transformer/source resistance and switching behavior are excluded.
  • Mean-voltage and RMS-current equations assume an unfiltered full-wave rectified sine. A smoothing capacitor changes the waveform and is not modeled.
  • Ripple mode instead accepts supplied RMS and mean currents for the same waveform and computes the RMS AC-component/mean ratio. It does not reconstruct a waveform or certify that the entered pair represents an unfiltered sine. RMS equal to positive mean gives zero ripple; zero mean is undefined.

Common questions

Is peak input voltage the same as peak load voltage?

Only for an ideal zero-loss bridge. In the linear resistance approximation, load peak is input peak multiplied by RL/(RL+2Rf). These two peak controls occur in separate modes.

Why are two diode resistances included?

Each conducting half-cycle crosses two of the four bridge diodes before returning through the load.

References

Require a positive resistive load and nonnegative waveform amplitudes/linear forward resistance. Ripple is the RMS AC component divided by positive mean current; RMS equals mean at the zero-ripple endpoint, which the captured strict inequalities incorrectly rejected. Use sign comparisons to reject arbitrarily small physically negative differences.

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