Performance Improvement of Regulator Rectifier for 2-Wheeler Engine with Respect to Upcoming Stringent Regulations in Emerging Market

On two wheelers, magneto/alternator generates either single/three phase AC power and Regulator Rectifier Unit (RRU) does regulated rectification to charge the battery. In order to face the requirements of 2-wheeler engine with respect to upcoming stringent regulations like electronic fuel injection (EFI), anti-lock braking system (ABS), automatic headlamp on (AHO) in emerging markets like India; vehicles demand more electrical power from batteries. This demands higher power from alternator and consequently from RRU.

Requirement of higher output power presents challenges on regulator rectifier unit in terms of size, power dissipation management and reliability. In this paper, improved performance of MOSFET based RRU is discussed in comparison to Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) based RRU. The motivation/benefits of MOSFET based design is described along with the thermal behavior and temperature coefficient performance of RRU with test results. The second topic discussed is how the MOSFET based RRU helps to improve performance by respecting form factor and total power dissipation compared to SCR based design.