Enter the current, AC source line frequency, and capacitance into the calculator to determine the ripple voltage (peak-to-peak).

## Ripple Voltage Formula

The following formula is used to calculate the peak-to-peak ripple voltage for a full-wave rectifier.

Vpp = I / (2*f*C)

• Where Vpp is the ripple voltage (peak-peak)
• I is the current in the circuit
• f is the source frequency of AC Power
• C is the capacitance

## Ripple Voltage Definition

A ripple voltage is defined as the residual periodic variation of the DC voltage whithin a power supply that has been derived from an AC source.

## How to calculate ripple voltage?

Example Problem #1:

First, determine the current in the circuit. For this example, we will assume the current is 50 amps.

Next, determine the frequency of the source power. For this problem the frequency of the AC (alternating current) power is 10 hertz.

Next, determine the capacitance of the circuit. For this example, the capacitance is found to be 20 ohms.

Finally, calculate the ripple voltage using the formula:

Vpp = I / (2*f*C)

= 50/(2*10*20)

= .125 Volts