1) What is the purpose of the smoothing capacitor?
Smoothing capacitor is where the energy is stored and drawn by the load. It must be sufficiently large in value so that the voltage drop caused is minimal. It smoothens the ripples present in the rectified ac.
2) What should be the Peak Inverse Voltage of the Rectifier?
In the case of a half wave rectifier the peak inverse voltage should be 2Vmax., where Vmax is the peak value of the AC input voltage.
3) Is the output voltage a constant DC value?
No, the output voltagedepends on the value of the smoothing capacitor. Larger the smoothing capacitor may be, the voltage varies from Vmax to Vmin as shown below.
4) How can the ripple be minimized?
The ripple can be minimized either by increasing the frequency of the input voltage, or increasing the value of smoothing capacitor.
5)What applications are possible with Half Wave rectified High Voltage DC output?
The half wave rectifier units are used for charging the capacitors of the Impulse Voltage Generators and also various Electrostatic applications in the Industry.