Robotics 10

Quarter 1 – Week 3:
Power Supply and
Primary Elements
Prepared by:
REY F. MIRAFLOR

School Initiated Self-Learning Module

Introductory Message

For the facilitator:

Welcome to the Robotics 10 Self-Learning Module (SLM) on Power Supply and

Primary Elements.

This module was collaboratively designed, developed and reviewed by educators both
from public and private institutions to assist you, the teacher or facilitator in helping
the learners meet the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum while overcoming
their personal, social, and economic constraints in schooling.

This learning resource hopes to engage the learners into guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore, this also aims to help
learners acquire the needed 21st century skills while taking into consideration their
needs and circumstances.

In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the body of
the module:

Notes to the Teacher

As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this module.
You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to manage
their own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist the
learners as they do the tasks included in the module.

For the learner:

Welcome to the Media and Information Literacy - Grade 12 Self-Learning Module

(SLM) on Power Supply and Primary Elements.

The hand is one of the most symbolized part of the human body. It is often used to
depict skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may learn, create and
accomplish. Hence, the hand in this learning resource signifies that you as a learner
is capable and empowered to successfully achieve the relevant competencies and
skills at your own pace and time. Your academic success lies in your own hands!

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities for
guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You will be enabled to
process the contents of the learning resource while being an active learner.

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This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

What I Need to Know This will give you an idea of the skills or
competencies you are expected to learn in
the module.

What I Know This part includes an activity that aims to

check what you already know about the
lesson to take. If you get all the answers
correct (100%), you may decide to skip this
module.

What’s In This is a brief drill or review to help you link

the current lesson with the previous one.
What’s New In this portion, the new lesson will be
introduced to you in various ways such as a
story, a song, a poem, a problem opener, an
activity or a situation.
What is It This section provides a brief discussion of
the lesson. This aims to help you discover
and understand new concepts and skills.

What’s More This comprises activities for independent

practice to solidify your understanding and
skills of the topic. You may check the
answers to the exercises using the Answer
Key at the end of the module.

What I Have Learned This includes questions or blank sentence /

paragraph to be filled in to process what you
learned from the lesson.

What I Can Do This section provides an activity which will

help you transfer your new knowledge or skill
into real life situations or concerns.

Assessment This Is a task which aims to evaluate your level

of mastery in achieving the learning
competency.

Additional Activities In this portion, another activity will be given

to you to enrich your knowledge or skill of the
lesson learned. This also tends retention of
learned concepts.

Answer Key This contains answers to all activities in the

module.

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At the end of this module you will also find:

References This is a list of all sources used in developing

this module.

The following are some reminders in using this module:

1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of the
module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities
included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not
hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are
not alone.

We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning and
gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!

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 What I Need to Know
This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you master
the Power Supply and Primary Elements. The scope of this module permits it to be
used in many different learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse
vocabulary level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard
sequence of the course. But the order in which you read them can be changed to
correspond with the textbook you are now using.

This module will focus namely on:

LC 1 – Discuss concepts of robotics technology. SSP_ TLE-CT10PSPE -Ia-

b-1.1

After going through this module, you are expected to:

a) Describe Alternating Current(AC) and Direct Current(DC);

b) Illustrate the Block Diagram of AC/DC Power supply;
c) Explain the principles of transformers used in basic power supplies.
d) Discuss the principles of rectification used in basic power supplies.
e) Examine the principles of Filter used in basic power supplies.
f) Draw the schematic diagram of AC/DC Power Supply

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 What I Know

Let us determine how much you already learned.

Instruction. Select the letter only of the correct answer and write it in a separate
sheet of paper.

1. It allows the current to flow in one direction.

A. Alternating Current C. both A & B
B. Direct Current D. none of these
2. It refers to the voltage or current that changes polarity or direction,
respectively, over time.
A. Alternating Current C. both A & B
B. Direct Current D. none of these
For 3 – 5. Identify the symbol of the components inside the box.

A B C D

3. Diode
A. B. C. D.
4. Transformer
A. B. C. D.
5. Capacitor
A. B. C. D.
6. It has its primary winding connected to the mains (line) supply.
A. Diode C. Transformer
B. Capacitor D. Resistor
7. It conducts only half of each cycle of the AC input wave.
A. Diode C. Transformer
B. Capacitor D. Resistor
8. It acts as a temporary storage for the power supply output current.
A. Diode C. Transformer
B. Capacitor D. Resistor
9. What is the current stored in a battery?
A. DC C. CA
B. AC D. CD
10. It refers to a component or portion of a circuit that consumes
(active) electric power.
A. voltage drop C. voltage spike
B. load D. energy saver

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 Lesson

1 AC/DC Power Supply

Power supplies in recent times have greatly improved in reliability but, because they
have to handle considerably higher voltages and currents than any or most of the
circuitry they supply, they are often the most susceptible to failure of any part of an
electronic system.

Modern power supplies have also increased greatly in their complexity, and can supply
very stable output voltages controlled by feedback systems. Many power supply
circuits also contain automatic safety circuits to prevent dangerous over voltage or
over current situations.

What’s In

What is AC and DC?

In direct current (DC), the electric charge (current) only flows in one direction. The
electric charge in alternating current (AC), on the other hand, changes direction
periodically. The voltage in AC circuits also periodically reverses because the current
changes direction.

extremelowenergy.com

Batteries only supply DC voltage and Wall Plugs only supply AC voltage.

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 What’s New

Activity 1: Picture Analysis

Identify which of the home appliances that uses a DC Power Supply or an AC Power
Supply? Write AC for the appliances that uses Alternating Current, DC for the
appliances that uses Direct Current and your Full Name for the appliances that no
need an AC or DC at all.

Weighing Scale
Television Refrigerator

3. _________ 1. _________ 2. _________

Blender Obstacle avoidance robot Cellphone

6. _________ 5. _________ 4. _________

Remote control Computer Bread toaster

9. _________ 7. _________ 8. _________

Electric Fan

10. _________

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 What is It

Warning:

If you are considering building or repairing a power supply,

especially one that is powered from mains (line) voltages, you must
realize that the voltages and currents present in many power
supplies are, at best dangerous, and can be present even when the power supply is
switched off! At worst, the high voltages present in power supplies can, and from time
to time do KILL.
The information provided on this module, qualify you to work safely on power supplies.
You must also have the skills and equipment to work safely, and be fully aware of
locally relevant health and safety issues.

Parts of an AC/DC Power Supply

A DC Power Supply Unit (commonly called a PSU) deriving power from the AC mains
(line) supply performs a number of tasks:

1. It changes (in most cases reduces) the level of supply to a value suitable for driving
the load circuit.
2. It produces a DC supply from a pure AC wave.
3. It prevents any AC from appearing at the supply output.
4. It will ensure that the output voltage is kept at a constant level, independent of
changes in:
a. The AC supply voltage at the supply input.
b. The Load current drawn from the supply output.
c. Temperature.

To do these things the basic PSU has four main stages, illustrated in Fig. 1

AC
AC DC DC
AC to DC Converter
Input Output

Transformer Rectifier Filter Regulator

Unregulated DC Regulated DC

Fig.1 Block Diagram of a Power Supply

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Symbol

PSU Parts Symbol Image

Transformer

Rectifier Diode

Filter Capacitor

IC – Integrated Circuit
regulator

The Transformer Stage

Primary Winding Secondary Winding

220VAC
12VAC
110VAC 0
Input Output
12VAC
0

Fig.2 Transformer Symbol

In a basic power supply, the input power transformer has its primary winding
connected to the mains (line) supply. A secondary winding, electro-magnetically
coupled but electrically isolated from the primary is used to obtain an AC voltage
of suitable amplitude, and after further processing by the PSU, to drive the
electronics circuit it is to supply.

The transformer stage must be able to supply the current needed. If too small a
transformer is used, it is likely that the power supply's ability to maintain full
output voltage at full output current will be impaired. With too small a transformer,
the losses will increase dramatically as full load is placed on the transformer.

As the transformer is likely to be the most costly item in the power supply unit,
careful consideration must be given to balancing cost with likely current
requirement. There may also be a need for safety devices such as thermal fuses to
disconnect the transformer if overheating occurs, and electrical isolation between
primary and secondary windings, for electrical safety.

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The Rectifier Stage

Three types of silicon diode rectifier circuit may be used, each having a different
action in the way that the AC input is converted to DC. These differences are
illustrated in Figs. 3

Half Wave Rectification A single silicon diode may be used to obtain a DC voltage
from the AC input as shown in Fig 3. This system is cheap but is only suitable for
fairly non-demanding uses. The DC voltage produced by the single diode is less
than with the other systems, limiting the efficiency of the power supply, and the
amount of AC ripple left on the DC supply is generally greater.

The half wave rectifier conducts on only half of each cycle of the AC input wave,
effectively blocking the other half cycle,
leaving the output wave shown in Fig. 3. As
the average DC value of one half cycle of a
sine wave is 0.637 of the peak value, the
average DC value of the whole cycle after half
wave rectification will be 0.637 divided by 2,
because the average value of every alternate
half cycle where the diode does not conduct,
will of course be zero. This gives an output
of: Vpk x 0.318 Fig. 3 Half Wave Rectification

This figure is approximate, as the amplitude of the half cycles for which the diode
conducts will also be reduced by about 0.6V due to the forward voltage drop (the
depletion layer p.d.) of the silicon rectifier diode.

This additional voltage drop may be insignificant when large voltages are rectified,
but in low voltage power supplies where the AC from the secondary winding of the
mains transformer may be only a few volts, this 0.6V drop across the diode junction
may have to be compensated for, by having a slightly higher transformer secondary
voltage.

Half wave rectification is not very efficient at producing DC from a 50Hz or 60Hz
AC input. In addition, the gaps between the 50 or 60Hz diode output pulses make
it more difficult to remove the AC ripple remaining after rectification.

Full Wave Rectification

If a transformer with a center-tapped secondary winding is used, more efficient full

wave rectification can be used. The center-tapped secondary produces two anti-
phase outputs, as shown in Fig 4.

If each of these outputs is ‘half wave rectified’ by one of the two diodes, with each
diode conducting on alternate half cycles, two pulses of current occur at every
cycle, instead of once per cycle in half wave rectification. The output frequency of
the full wave rectifier is therefore twice the input frequency.

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 This effectively provides twice the
220VAC output voltage of the half wave circuit,
Vpk x 0.637 instead of Vpk x 0.318 as
the ‘missing’ half cycle is now rectified,
reducing the power wasted in the half
wave circuit. The higher output
0
frequency also makes the smoothing of
any remaining AC ripple easier.
Fig.4 Center-Tapped

Although this full wave design is more efficient than the half wave, it requires a
center-tapped (and therefore more expensive) transformer.

The Bridge Rectifier

The full wave bridge rectifier uses four diodes

arranged in a bridge circuit as shown in Fig. 5 to
give full wave rectification without the need for a
center-tapped transformer.

An additional advantage is that, as two diodes

(effectively in series) are conducting at any one Fig. 5 Bridge Type
time, the diodes need only half the reverse
breakdown voltage capability of diodes used for half and conventional full wave
rectification. The bridge rectifier can be built from separate diodes or a combined
bridge rectifier can be used.

220VAC 220VAC

0 0

Fig. 6 Current Flow on the Positive Half Cycle Fig. 7 Current Flow on the Negative Half Cycle

The current paths on positive and negative half cycles of the input wave are shown
in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. It can be seen that on each half cycle, opposite pairs of diodes
conduct, but the current through the load remains in the same polarity for both
half cycles.

The Filter Stage

A typical power supply filter circuit can be best understood by dividing the circuit
into two parts, the reservoir capacitor and the low pass filter. Each of these parts
contributes to removing the remaining AC pulses, but in different ways.

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The Reservoir Capacitor

Fig. 8 shows an electrolytic capacitor used as a

reservoir capacitor, so called because it acts as a
temporary storage for the power supply output
current. The rectifier diode supplies current to
charge a reservoir capacitor on each cycle of the
input wave. The reservoir capacitor is a large
electrolytic, usually of several hundred or even a
thousand or more microfarads, especially in
Fig. 8 The Reservoir Capacitor mains frequency PSUs. This very large value of
capacitance is required because the reservoir
capacitor, when charged, must provide enough DC to maintain a steady PSU
output in the absence of an input current; i.e. during the gaps between the positive
half cycles when the rectifier is not conducting.
The action of the reservoir capacitor on a half wave rectified sine wave is shown in
Fig. 9 During each cycle, the rectifier anode AC voltage increases towards Vpk. At
some point close to Vpk the anode voltage exceeds the cathode voltage, the rectifier
conducts and a pulse of current flows, charging the reservoir capacitor to the value
of Vpk.

Fig. 9 Reservoir Capacitor Action

Of course, even though the reservoir capacitor has large value, it discharges as it
supplies the load, and its voltage falls, but not by very much. At some point during
the next cycle of the mains input, the rectifier input voltage rises above the vo1tage
on the partly discharged capacitor and the reservoir is re-charged to the peak value
Vpk again.

AC Ripple

The amount by which the reservoir capacitor discharges on each half cycle is
determined by the current drawn by the load. The higher the load current, the
more the discharge, but provided that the current drawn is not excessive, the
amount of the AC present in the output is much reduced. Typically, the peak-to-
peak amplitude of the remaining AC (called ripple as the AC waves are now much
reduced) would be no more than 10% of the DC output voltage.

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 What’s More

Types of Capacitor

Non-Polarized
Ceramic

Mylar

Polarized
Electrolytic

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 What I Have Learned

Activity 2. My Diagram
Connect the symbols below to be able to complete the schematic diagram of Full
Wave Bridge Type AC/DC Power Supply.

What I Can Do

Activity 3. Line Tracer

Please help me to find the correct Power Supply of my
electronic gadgets. Put a line from the power supply to the
gadget.

Outputs

19VDC

5VDC
AC/DC
Power Supply 12VDC

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 Assessment

Instruction. Select the letter only of the correct answer and write it
in a separate sheet of paper.

1. It refers to the current that periodically reverses its direction and has no permanent
polarity.
a. direct current c. alternating current
b. battery d. charger
2. It refers to electric charge that only flows in one direction.
a. alternating current c. reverse current
b. direct current d. forward current
3. What do you consider when if you are building or repairing a power supply,
especially one that is powered from mains (line) voltages?
a. Voltage can be present even when the power supply is switched off.
b. The high voltages present in power supplies can or from time to time do KILL.
c. Must always realize that the voltages and currents present in many power
supplies are, at best dangerous.
d. all of the above.
4. What are/is the factor/s that affect the output voltage of AC/DC power supply?
a. The AC supply voltage at the supply input.
b. The Load current drawn from the supply output.
c. a and b
d. None of these
5. What is the FIRST STAGE of AC/DC power supply in the block diagram?
a. Filter c. transformer
b. rectifier d. regulator
6. What is the part of AC/DC power supply that has primary and secondary windings?
a. diode c. transformer
b. regulator d. capacitor
7. It refers to allow current to flow easily in one direction.
a. capacitor c. diode
b. transformer d. all of these
8. It acts as a temporary storage for the power supply output current.
a. capacitor c. diode
b. transformer d. integrated circuit
For 9 and 10

9. Which of the symbols is a diode?

10. Which of the schematic symbol is a capacitor?

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 Additional Activities

Complete the circuit! Connect the bulb to the battery by using a switch to control
the flow of current. Follow the schematic diagram for the
connections of the circuit.

Schematic Diagram.

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 Answer Key

d 10. B 10.
c 9. A 9.
a 8. B 8.
c 7. A 7.
c 6. C 6.
c 5. D 5.
c 4. B 4.
d 3. C 3.
b 2. A 2.
c 1. B 1.
Assessment What I know

References

Creative Technology Curriculum Guide

https://mammothmemory.net/physics/electricity/simple-electrical-
circuits/simple-electrical-circuits.html
https://learnabout-electronics.org/
Google image

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