This tool calculates the capacitor value for a full-wave bridge rectifier. The capacitor is used to smooth the output voltage to a specified ripple.
Formula
C = ILOAD/(f*VRipple)
where,
- ILOAD is the load current
- f is the frequency
- VRipple is the peak-to-peak voltage ripple
Example Calculation
For a load current of 1 Amp, 60 Hz frequency and Ripple Voltage of 1 Volt the required capacitor is 16.7 mF. To reduce the voltage ripple down to 0.5 V requires twice the capacitor or 33.3 mF.