Single Phase Full Bridge Inverter – Resistive Load

What is a Full Bridge Inverter?

Single Phase Full Bridge Inverter is basically a voltage source inverter and it is a topology of H-
bridge inverter used for converting DC power into AC power.

In case of Single Phase Half Bridge Inverter, we require three wire DC input supply. Where as
in Single Phase full Bridge Inverter we use two wire DC input supply, which suffices the
requirement. By controlling the turn ON and turn OFF time of the thyristor output frequency
can be easily controlled.

Single phase full bridge inverter circuit required more component for conversion than that
used in single phase Half bridge inverters so, the cost of the circuit get increases.

The full bridge inverter circuit basically consists of 4 feedback diodes and 4 controlled
switches (like Thyristor, IGBT or MOSFET).

Single Phase Half Bridge Inverter R load

Single phase Half Bridge Inverter circuit basically consist of four Thyristor (T1to T4) and four
diode (D1to D4) these diodes are called feedback diode and these diodes function only when
the load is other than Resistive Load. Each diode is connected in anti-parallel with each
thyristor.

A voltage source and a resistive

load. Here load is connected between two points A and B. The output current direction is
considered as positive when current flow from A to B and output voltage is considered as
positive when A is positive w.r.t. B.

Operation Of Single-Phase Half Bridge Inverter R load

The operation of Single-Phase Half Bridge Inverter R load is based on the sequential triggering
of thyristors placed diagonally opposite. This means that only two thyristors are turned ON in
half of the time period like thyristors T3 & T4 will be triggered while for the remaining half of
time period, T1 & T2 will be triggered.

Now, the operation of Half Bridge Inverter is divided into two modes.

Mode – 1: 0 < t < T/2

Mode – 2: T/2 < t < T

Mode I (0 < t < T/2): In this mode we give gate triggering pulse to thyristor T1 and T2. So, T1
and T2 get turned on. So current flow from Supply Vs…. T1……load…. T2…back to Vs. This
time the direction of current flow across load is positive because point A is positive w.r.t. point
B.

This time output voltage is also positive Vo = Vs.

The output current is Io = Vs/RL

Mode II (T/2 < t < T): In this mode we give gate triggering pulse to thyristor T3 and T4. This
time T3 and T4 get turned on and thyristor T1 and T2 get turned off. So current flow from
Supply Vs…. T3……load…. T4…back to Vs. This time the direction of current flow across load
is negative because point B is positive w.r.t. point A.

This time output voltage is also negative Vo = (-Vs).

The output current is Io = – Vs/RL

Here we see in the waveform, if load is pure resistive the output voltage and output current
waveform is identical (same).

Now, we draw the waveform

Waveform of Single Phase Full Bridge Inverter With R Load

What is the purpose of diodes in full Bridge

Inverter circuit?
In full bridge inverter circuit if the load is purely resistive, there is no need to connect diodes
D1 to D4 in a circuit because in case of resistive load both output voltage and current are
always in phase with each other.

But if loads are not a purely resistive load, then the output current (io) will not be in phase with
the output voltage (Vo). In such case, the diodes D1 to D4 connected in anti-parallel with the
thyristors T1 to T4 respectively. This will allow the flow of current when main thyristor is turned
off. These diodes (D1 to D4) are called feedback diode . Because when these diode conducts,
the energy is fed back to the DC source.

Comparison between Half & Full Bridge

Inverters:
Half Bridge Inverter Full Bridge Inverter

It consist of two thyristors and two feedback diodes. It consists of four thyristors and four flyback diodes.

The circuit cost of half bridge inverter is less as compare The circuit cost of full bridge inverter is high as compare to
to full bridge inverter circuit because it required less half bridge inverter circuit because it required large no of
 components. components.

The magnitude of output voltage is half of the magnitude The magnitude of load voltage is equal to the magnitude of
of input DC source. DC input source.

The drawback of half bridge inverter is overcome by full

Half bridge inverter use three wire DC input supply.
bridge inverter because it requires two wire DC source.

The output power of half bridge inverter is less than full The output power of full bridge inverter is four times that of
bridge inverter. for half bridge inverter.

What is the major difference between full bridge inverter

and half bridge inverter ?
The major difference between the single phase half and full bridge inverter is that former
requires a three wire DC input source while the latter requires two wire DC source.

What is the advantage of full bridge inverter?

The output power of full bridge inverter is four times that of for half bridge inverter.

What is Half-Bridge Inverter?

The inverter is a device that converts a dc voltage into ac voltage and it consists of four
switches whereas half-bridge inverter requires two diodes and two switches which are
connected in anti-parallel. The two switches are complementary switches which means
when the first switch is ON the second switch will be OFF Similarly, when the second
switch is ON the first switch will be OFF.

Single Phase Half Bridge Inverter with Resistive Load

The circuit diagram of a single-phase half-bridge inverter with resistive load is shown in the
below figure
.

Single Phase Half Bridge Inverter

Where RL is the resistive load, V s/2 is the voltage source, S1 and S2 are the two switches,
i0 is the current. Where each switch is connected to diodes D1 and D2 parallelly. In the above
figure, the switches S1 and S2 are the self-commutating switches. The switch S 1 will conduct
when the voltage is positive and current is negative, switch S 2 will conduct when the voltage
is negative, and the current is negative. The diode D1 will conduct when the voltage is
positive and current is negative, diode D 2 will conduct when the voltage is negative, and the
current is positive.
Case 1 (when switch S1 is ON and S2 is OFF): When switch S1 is ON from a time period of 0 to
T/2, the diode D1 and D2 are in reverse bias condition and S2 switch is OFF.
Applying KVL (Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law)

Vs/2-V0=0
Where output voltage V0= Vs/2
Where output current i0 = V0/R= Vs/2R
In case of supply current or switch current, the current i S1 = i0 = Vs/2R, iS2 = 0 and the diode
current iD1 = iD2 = 0.
Case 2 (when switch S2 is ON and S1 is OFF): When switch S2 is ON from a time period of T/2
to T, the diode D1 and D2 are in reverse bias condition and S1 switch is OFF.
Applying KVL (Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law)

Vs/2+V0=0
Where output voltage V0= -Vs/2
Where output current i0 = V0/R= -Vs/2R
In case of supply current or switch current, the current i S1 = 0, iS2 = i0 = -Vs/2R and the diode
current iD1 = iD2 = 0.
The single-phase half-bridge inverter output voltage waveform is shown in the below figure.
Half Bridge Inverter Output Voltage Waveform

The average value of output voltage is

So output voltage wa

veform from converting time ‘T’ to ‘‘ωt” axis is shown in the below figure.

Time Axis Converting for the Output Voltage Waveform

When is multiply by zero, it will be zero; When is multiply by T/2, it will be T/2=π; When is
multiply by T, it will be T=2π; When is multiply by 3T/2, it will be T/2=3π and so on. In this
way, we can convert this time axis into the ‘ωt’ axis.

The average value of output voltage and output current is

V0 (avg) = 0
I0 (avg) = 0
The RMS value of output voltage and output current is

V0 (RMS)= VS/2
 I0 (RMS) = V0 (RMS) /R =VS/2R
The output voltage we are getting in an inverter is not pure sinewave i.e a square wave.
The output voltage with the fundamental component is shown in the below figure.

Output Voltage Waveform with Fundamental Component

Using Fourier series

Where Cn, an and bn are

bn=VS/nᴨ(1-cosnᴨ)
The bn =0 when substituting even numbers (n=2,4,6…..) and b n =2Vs/nπ when substituting
odd numbers (n=1,3,5……). Substitute bn =2Vs/nπ and an=0 in Cn will get Cn=2Vs/nπ.
ϕn=tan-1(an/bn)=0
V01(ωt)=2 VS/ᴨ * (Sin ωt)
Substitute V0 (avg) = 0 in will get

The equation (1) can also be written as

V0(ωt)=2VS/ᴨ * (Sin ωt) + 2VS/3ᴨ * (Sin3ωt) + 2VS/5ᴨ * (Sin5ωt) +……..+∞

V0(ωt)= V01(ωt)+ V03(ωt)+ V05(ωt)
The above expression is the output voltage which consists of fundamental voltage and odd
harmonics. There are two methods to remove these harmonic components they are: to use
the filter circuit and to use the pulse width modulation technique.
The fundamental voltage can be written as

V01(ωt)=2VS/ᴨ * (Sin ωt)

The maximum value of fundamental voltage

V01(max) =2VS/ᴨ
The RMS value of the fundamental voltage is

V01(RMS) =2VS/√2ᴨ=√2VS/ᴨ
The fundamental component of the RMS output current is

I01(RMS)= V01(RMS)/R
We have to obtain the distortion factor, the distortion factor is denoted by g.

g=V01(RMS)/ V0(RMS)=rms value of fundamental voltage/total RMS value of output voltage

By substituting the V01(RMS) and V0(RMS) values in g will get
g=2√2/ ᴨ
The total harmonic distortion is expressed as

In the output voltage the total harmonic distortion THD=48.43%, but as per IEEE, the total
harmonic distortion should be 5%.

The fundamental power output of single-phase bridge inverter is

P01= (V01(rms))2/R=I201(rms)R
By using the above formula we can calculate the fundamental power output.

In this way, we can calculate the various parameters of the single-phase half-bridge
inverter.
Full Bridge Inverter
A full-bridge inverter is a type of H-bridge inverter employed for converting DC power into AC
power. The power circuit of a single phase full bridge inverter is constructed with precision,
featuring four thyristors labeled T1 to T4 , four diodes D1 to D4 and a two wire DC input
power source denoted as V s. The four diodes , also known as freewheeling or feedback
diodes, facilitate the redirection of stored energy in the load back to the DC source ,
particularly for non-pure resistive loads. Each diode is connected in anti-parallel with each
thyristor.

 Mode I (0 < t < T/2): In this mode we give gate triggering pulse to thyristor T1 and T2.
So, T1 and T2 get turned on while T3 & T4 are non-conductive. So current flow
from Supply Vs…. T1……load…. T2…back to Vs. This time the direction of current
flow across load is positive because point A is positive w.r.t. point B. This implies that
the supplied voltage , denoted as +Vs , will instantaneously appear across the load
terminal .
This time output voltage is also positive Vo = Vs.
The output current is Io = Vs/RL

 Mode II (T/2 < t < T): In this mode we give gate triggering pulse to thyristor T3 and T4. This time
T3 and T4 get turned on and thyristor T1 and T2 get turned off. So current flow from Supply
Vs…. T3……load…. T4…back to Vs. This time the direction of current flow across load is negative
because point B is positive w.r.t. point A.
This time output voltage is also negative Vo = (-Vs).
The output current is Io = – Vs/RL
Analysis Of Full Bridge Inverter Resistive Load

Q. The single phase half bridge inverter has a resistive load of R=1.2ohms and the DC
input voltage is 24V . Determine
 RMS output voltage at the fundamental frequency
 Output power
 Average thyristor current
 Peak thyristor current
Given that R= 1.2ohms , input voltage (V s) = 24v
RMS output voltage at the fundamental frequency is V 01 = (2Vs/pi)/√2
V01 = (2*24/pi)/√2
V01 =10.803v
Output power P0 = (V0rms)2/R
=(Vs/2)2/ R
=(24/2)2/1.2
=120
Average thyristor current = I t1 = It2 = ([Vs/2R]*[T/2])/T
=([24/2*1.2]*[T/2])/T
=5 A
Peak thyristor current = I t1 peak = It2 peak = (Vs/2*R)
=24/(2*1.2)
=10

Half Bridge Inverter with Resistive Load

The circuit given below is a single phase inverter with resistive load where R L is resistive load
, Vs/2 is taken as the voltage source and self commutating switches S1 and S2 , each is
connected in parallel with diodes D1 and D2. S1 conducts when the voltage is positive and
current is negative , while S2 conducts when both voltage and current are negative . Diode
D1 conducts during positive voltage and negative current , whereas diode D2 conducts
during negative voltage and positive current .

Case 1 : When switch S1 is ON from 0 to T/2 time period, then diode D1 and D2 are reverse
biased and switch S2 is OFF.
By applying Kirchhoff’s voltage law ,
Output voltage V0 = Vs/2 Output current i 0 = V0/ R = Vs/2R
If switch current is1 = i0 = Vs/2R , is2 = 0 and also the diode current
id1 = id2 = 0
Case 2 : when switch S2 is ON from T/2 to T time period , then diode D1 and D2 are reverse
biased and switch S1 is OFF .
By applying Kirchhoff’s voltage law ,
Output voltage V0 = -Vs /2
Output current i0 = V0/R = -Vs/2R
If switch current is1 = 0, is2 = -Vs/2R and also the diode current
iD1 = iD2 = 0

It is seen that for 0< t <= T/2 , SCR T1 conducts and the load is subjected to a voltage V s/2
due to upper voltage source . At t=T/2 , SCR T1 is commutated and T2 is gated on . During
the period T/2 < t <T , SCR T2
conducts and the load is subjected to a voltage -V s/2 due to the lower voltage source. It is
seen that load voltage is an alternating voltage waveform of amplitude V s/2 and of frequency
1/T Hz .

Advantages of Full Bridge Inverter

 The output power of full bridge inverter is four times that of for half bridge inverter
 There is minimal fluctuation of voltage in the circuit.
 It is also suitable for high input voltage.
 Energy-Efficient.
 The current rating of the circuit is equal to the load current.
 It drives slightly more voltage ripples than a half-bridge inverter.
Disadvantages of Full Bridge Inverter
 Two electrolytic capacitors connected in series are needed at the dc input side.
 It is unable to generate zero output voltage intervals for non-resistive loads.
 The amplitude of the output voltage pulses is half of the dc input voltage.
 The efficiency of the full bridge inverter ( 95% ) is less than the half-bridge inverter
(99%).
 Losses and noise are high, so it requires more switching elements.
 It is analogous to the half-bridge inverter. However, it’s an extra segment to attach the
ground point to the load.
Applications of Full Bridge Inverter
 This is used in the application of a higher voltage requirement.
 It can be applicable in low and medium power example square wave / quasi square
wave voltage.
 Solar inverters can use this type of power inverter.
 It also uses in these types of devices like AC variable motors, heating induction devices,
standby power supplies etc.