EEE 2230

ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT ANALYSIS

LECTURE 4: AC Circuit Analysis.

May – Aug 2024

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 Sub-topics
1. Capacitive Circuits

2. Inductive Circuits

3. RLC Circuits

4. AC Circuit Analysis

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 Recall: Laws
• Capacitive Circuits
 Coulomb’s Law of Electrostatics

• Inductive Circuits
 Faraday’s Laws of Electromagnetic Induction.
(First and Second)
 Lenz’s Law
(Fleming Left Hand and Right Hand rules)

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 Methods of charging a conductor
• An uncharged conductor can be charged by the following two methods :
– By conduction
– By induction
• By conduction. In this method, a charged body is brought in contact with the
uncharged conductor

• By Induction. In this method, a charged body is brought close to the uncharged

conductor but does not touch it.

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 Capacitance and Capacitors
• It is well known that different bodies hold different charge when given the same
potential.
• This charge holding property of a body is called capacitance or capacity of the
body.
• In order to store sufficient charge, a device called capacitor is purposely
constructed.
• A capacitor essentially consists of two conducting surfaces (say metal plates)
separated by an insulating material (e.g., air, mica, paper etc.).
• It has the property to store electrical energy in the form of electrostatic charge. The
capacitor can be connected in a circuit so that this stored energy can be made to
flow in a desired circuit to perform a useful function.
• In many circuits (e.g., radio and television circuits), capacitors are intentionally
inserted to introduce the desired capacitance.

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 Capacitor
• Any two conducting surfaces separated by an insulating material is called a
capacitor or condenser.
• Its purpose is to store charge in a small space.
• The conducting surfaces are called the plates of the capacitor and the insulating
material is called the dielectric. (air, mica, waxed paper, ceramics etc.)
• Capacitance can be defined as the amount of charge required to create a unit
potential difference between the plates.
Note the following points carefully:
• The ability of a capacitor to store charge (i.e. its capacitance) depends upon the
area of plates, distance between plates and the nature of insulating material (or
dielectric).
• A capacitor is generally named after the dielectric used e.g. air capacitor, paper
capacitor, mica capacitor etc.
• The capacitor may be in the form of parallel plates, concentric cylinder or other
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arrangement.
 Capacitance
• The ability of a capacitor to store charge is known as its capacitance.
• It has been found experimentally that charge Q stored in a capacitor is directly
proportional to the p.d. V across it.

• The constant C is called the capacitance of the

capacitor. Hence capacitance of a capacitor can
be defined as :
• The ratio of charge on capacitor plates to the p.d.
across the plates is called capacitance of the
capacitor.

• A capacitor is said to have a capacitance of 1 farad if a charge of 1 coulomb

accumulates on each plate when a p.d. of 1 volt is applied across the plates.

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 Factors Affecting Capacitance
• The ability of a capacitor to store charge (i.e. its capacitance) depends upon the
following factors :
• Area of plate. The greater the area of capacitor plates, the larger is the capacitance
of the capacitor and vice-versa. It is because the larger the plates, the greater the
charge they can hold for a given p.d. and hence greater will be the capacitance.
• Thickness of dielectric. The capacitance of a capacitor is inversely proportional to
the thickness (i.e. distance between plates) of the dielectric. The smaller the
thickness of dielectric, the greater the capacitance and vice-versa. When the plates
are brought closer, the electrostatic field is intensified and hence capacitance
increases.
• Relative permittivity of dielectric. The greater the relative permittivity of the
insulating material (i.e., dielectric), the greater will be the capacitance of the
capacitor and vice-versa.
• It is because the nature of dielectric affects the electrostatic field between the
plates and hence the charge that accumulates on the plates. 14
Capacitance of Parallel-Plate Capacitor

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 Capacitor Circuits

Capacitors in Series
• Consider three capacitors, having capacitances C 1, C2 and C3 farad respectively,
connected in series across a p.d. of V volts.

• In series connection, charge on each capacitor is the same (i.e. +Q on one plate and
−Q on the other) but p.d. across each is different.

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 Capacitors in Parallel

• Consider three capacitors, having capacitances C 1, C2 and C3 farad respectively,

connected in parallel across a p.d. of V volts.

• In parallel connection, p.d. across each capacitor is the same but charge on each is
different.

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Inductive Circuits
Comparison Between Magnetic and Electric Circuits

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Inductors in Series

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Inductors in Series

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Inductors in Parallel with no Mutual Inductance

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A.C. Circuits
 Series A.C. Circuits

• An a.c. circuit differs from a d.c. circuit in many respects.

• First, in a d.c. circuit we consider resistances only whereas in an a.c. circuit, in

addition to resistance (R), inductance (L) and capacitance (C) also play the part.

• The elements L and C offer opposition (i.e. XL and XC) to current flow in an a.c.
circuit.

• Secondly, the magnitude of current in an a.c. circuit is affected by the supply

frequency because XL (= 2π f L) and XC ( = 1/2π f C) are frequency dependent.
However, such a situation is not encountered in a d.c. circuit.

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 R-L Series A.C. Circuit
• In an a.c. circuit containing inductance L and resistance R, the applied voltage V is the phasor sum of VR
and VL, and thus the current I lags the applied voltage V by an angle lying between 0° and 90° (depending
on the values of VR and VL), shown as angle.
• In any a.c. series circuit the current is common to each component and is thus taken as the reference
phasor.
 R–C series a.c. circuit
In an a.c. series circuit containing capacitance C and resistance R, the applied voltage V is the
phasor sum of VR and VC and thus the current I leads the applied voltage V by an angle lying
between 0◦ and 90◦ (depending on the values of V R and VC), shown as angle α.
 R–L–C series a.c. circuit
• In an a.c. series circuit containing resistance R, inductance L and capacitance C,
the applied voltage V is the phasor sum of VR, VL and VC . VL and VC are anti-
phase, i.e. displaced by 180◦, and there are three phasor diagrams possible —
each depending on the relative values of VL and VC.

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 Practice Questions
• Qn. A coil of inductance 159.2mH and resistance 20Ω is connected in series with
a 60Ω resistor to a 240V, 50 Hz supply. Determine (a) the impedance of the
circuit, (b) the current in the circuit, (c) the circuit phase angle, (d) the p.d. across
the 60 resistor and (e) the p.d. across the coil.

• Qn. A capacitor C is connected in series with a 40Ω resistor across a supply of frequency
60 Hz. A current of 3A flows and the circuit impedance is 50Ω. Calculate (a) the value of
capacitance, C, (b) the supply voltage, (c) the phase angle between the supply voltage and
current, (d) the p.d. across the resistor, and (e) the p.d. across the capacitor.

Qn. A coil of resistance 5Ω and inductance 120mH in series with a 100 μF capacitor, is
connected to a 300V, 50 Hz supply. Calculate (a) the current flowing, (b) the phase
difference between the supply voltage and current, (c) the voltage across the coil and (d)
the voltage across the capacitor.
 Examples
Qn. A coil consists of a resistance of 100Ω and an inductance of 200 mH. If an
alternating voltage, v, given by v=200 sin 500t volts is applied across the coil, calculate
(a) the circuit impedance, (b) the current flowing, (c) the p.d. across the resistance, (d) the
p.d. across the inductance and (e) the phase angle between voltage and current.

Qn. 2. A 230 V, 50 Hz a.c. supply is applied to a coil of 0.06 H inductance and 2.5Ω
resistance connected in series with a 6·8 µF capacitor. Calculate (i) impedance (ii) current
(iii) phase angle between current and voltage (iv) power factor and (v) power consumed.

Qn. 3. A resistor R in series with a capacitor C is connected to 50 Hz, 240V source. Find
the value of C so that R absorbs 300W and voltage across R is 100V. Also find the
maximum charge and the maximum stored energy in C.
Qn. 4. A coil consists of a resistance of 100 Ω and an inductance of 200 mH. If an
alternating voltage, given by v = 200 sin 500t volts is applied across the coil, calculate,
the current flowing in the circuit and the p.d. across the resistance, and the inductance.
Solution
Solution
Solution
 Series Resonant
• An a.c. circuit containing reactive elements (L and C) is said to be in resonance
when the. circuit power factor is unity
• Resonance means to be in step with. When applied voltage and circuit current in an
a.c. circuit are in step with (i.e. phase angle is zero or p.f. is unity), the circuit is said
to be in electrical resonance.
• If this condition exists in a series a.c. circuit, it is called series resonance. On the
other hand, if this condition exists in a parallel a.c. circuit, it is called parallel
resonance. The frequency at which resonance occurs is called resonant frequency
(fr).

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A.C. Circuits – Power Triangle Concept
Power Triangle and power factor
 Practice Questions
Qn. 1: A 20 resistor is connected in parallel with an inductance of 2.387 mH
across a 60V, 1 kHz supply. Calculate (a) the current in each branch, (b) the
supply current, (c) the circuit phase angle, (d) the circuit impedance, and (e)
the power consumed

• Qn. 2: A 30 μF capacitor is connected in parallel with an 80 resistor across a

240V, 50 Hz supply. Calculate (a) the current in each branch, (b) the supply
current, (c) the circuit phase angle, (d) the circuit impedance, (e) the power
dissipated, and (f ) the apparent power

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Solution
A.C. Circuit Analysis.
Intro.
 Generating ac Voltages (Method A)
➢ One way to generate an ac voltage is to rotate a coil of wire at constant
angular velocity in a fixed magnetic field

➢ The magnitude of the resulting voltage is proportional to the rate at which flux
lines are cut

➢ its polarity is dependent on the direction the coil sides move through the field.
 Generating ac Voltages

Time Scales ➢ Often we need to scale the output voltage in time.

➢ The length of time required to generate one cycle depends on the
velocity of rotation.
600 revolutions in 1 minute = 600 rev / 60 s
= 10 revolutions in 1 sec.

The time for 1 revolution = one-tenth of a second

= 100 ms
 Generating ac Voltages (Method B)
➢ AC waveforms may also be created electronically using function (or signal)
generators.
➢ With function generators, you are not limited to sinusoidal ac. gear.

➢ The unit of Figure can produce a variety of variable-frequency waveforms,

including sinusoidal, square wave, triangular, and so on.
➢ Waveforms such as these are commonly used to test electronic
 Instantaneous Value
➢ As the coil voltage changes from instant to instant. The value of voltage at any
point on the waveform is referred to as its instantaneous value.

➢ The voltage has a peak value of 40 volts ✓ at t = 0 ms, the voltage is zero.
➢ The cycle time of 6 ms. ✓ at t=0.5 ms, the voltage is 20V.
 The Basic Sine Wave Equation

The voltage produced by the previously described generator is:

• Em: the maximum coil voltage

• α : the instantaneous angular position of the coil.

➢ For a given generator and rotational velocity, Em is constant.)

➢ Note that a 0° represents the horizontal position of the coil and that one
complete cycle corresponds to 360°.
 Radian Measure

➢ In practice, angular rotation is usually expressed in radians per second,

➢ Radians and degrees are related by :

For Conversion:
 Relationship between ω, T, and f

➢ Earlier you learned that one cycle of sine wave may be represented as either:

➢ Substituting these into:

Sinusoidal Voltages and Currents as Functions of Time:

➢ We could replace the angle α as:

 Voltages and Currents with Phase Shifts

➢ If a sine wave does not pass through zero at t =0 s, it has a phase shift.
➢ Waveforms may be shifted to the left or to the right

v  Vm sinwt
 
 Phasor Difference
➢ Phase difference refers to the angular displacement between different
waveforms of the same frequency.

➢ The terms lead and lag can be understood in terms of phasors.

➢ If you observe phasors rotating as in Figure, the one that you see passing first is
leading and the other is lagging.

Electrical Circuits - Basem ElHalawany 19

 A.C. values
• Instantaneous values are the values of the alternating quantities at any instant of
time. They are represented by small letters, i, v, e, etc.,
• The largest value reached in a half cycle is called the peak value or the
maximum value or the amplitude of the waveform. Such values are represented
by Vm, Im, Em,
A peak-to-peak value of e.m.f. is the difference between the maximum and
minimum values in a cycle.
The average or mean value of a symmetrical alternating quantity, (such as a sine
wave), is the average value measured over a half cycle, (since over a complete cycle the
average value is zero).
• The effective value of an alternating current is that current which will produce
the same heating effect as an equivalent direct current.
• The effective value is called the root mean square (r.m.s.) value and whenever
an alternating quantity is given, it is assumed to be the rms value.

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Summary: The equation of a sinusoidal
waveform
 Example 1
An alternating voltage is given by v = 282.8sin314t volts.
Find: (a) the r.m.s. voltage,(b) the frequency and (c) the instantaneous value of voltage when t =4
ms.
• Exa.2. An alternating voltage is
given by v = 75sin(200πt −
0.25) volts. Find
• (a) the amplitude,
• (b) the peak-to-peak value,
• (c) the r.m.s. value,
• (d) the periodic time,
• (e) the frequency, and
• (f) the phase angle (in degrees
and minutes) relative to 75 sin
200πt.

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Exa. 3: The current in an a.c. circuit at any
time t seconds is given by: i=120 sin(100πt
+0.36) amperes. Find:
(a) the peak value, the periodic time, the
frequency and phase angle relative to 120
sin 100πt
(b) the value of the current when t =0
(c) the value of the current when t =8 ms
(d) the time when the current first
reaches 60A, and
(e) the time when the current is first a
maximum.
A.C. Circuit Analysis.
Laws and Theorems
 A.C. Network Analysis
• The techniques and theorems employed to solve d.c. network problems can also be
applied to a.c. network problems keeping in view the following points :
• (i) In an a.c. network, we have impedances (R, L and C in varying proportions)
instead of resistances only as in a d.c. circuit.
• (ii) The alternating voltages and currents are phasors. Therefore, for the addition
or subtraction of alternating voltages or currents, we have to use phasor algebra.
• (iii) In solving a.c. networks, the phase angles of all impedances, voltages and
currents must be carefully considered. Where two quantities are to be multiplied or
divided, they should be stated in polar form. Where they are to be added or
subtracted, they must be converted to rectangular form.
• (iv) Although alternating voltages are continuously reversing polarity, + and –
terminals must be identified at each voltage source. This is necessary because if a
voltage source is connected in reverse, the phase angle of the source output is
changed by 180o.
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 Kirchhoff’s Laws for A.C. Circuits
• Kirchhoff’s laws for d.c. circuits can also be applied to a.c. circuits with a slight
modification. In d.c. circuits, we take algebraic sum of voltages and currents
whereas in a.c. circuits, we take phasor sum of voltages and currents.

• 1. Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL). Kirchhoff’s current law for a.c. circuits may
be stated as under :
• The phasor sum of the currents entering a point in an a.c. circuit is equal to the
phasor sum of the currents leaving that point.
• The term ‘phasor sum’ is used because we are dealing with alternating currents.
This law is based on the principle of conservation of charge.

• 2. Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL). Kirchhoff’s voltage law for a.c.circuits may
be statedas under :
• In any closed electric circuit, the phasor sum of voltage drops plus the phasor sum
of voltage rises is zero. 3
 Practice

• Using Kirchhoff’s voltage law, determine the circuit current in

Fig. below.

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Solution

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 Practice Question

• Use the voltage-divider rule to find the voltage across 0.05 µF capacitor in Fig.
below.

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 Practice Question
• Determine the potential difference across the capacitor in Fig. below when there is a current
input of 10 sin (1000t + 30o) A. Use admittance method.

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Solution

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 A.C. Mesh Current Analysis
• The procedure for the analysis of a.c. networks is exactly the same as that for d.c.
networks except that impedances, voltages and currents are expressed as complex
numbers. Remember that mesh current method consists of the following steps :
• (i) Each mesh is assigned a separate mesh current. The same direction must be
chosen for all the mesh currents in a circuit. A usual convention is to make all the
mesh currents clockwise currents.
• (ii) When two mesh currents are flowing through the same circuit element, the net
current in that circuit element is found in a manner identical to that used for d.c.
mesh analysis.
• (iii) Kirchhoff’s voltage law for a.c. circuits is applied to write equation for each
mesh in terms of mesh currents. Remember, while writing mesh equations, voltage
rise is assigned positive sign and voltage drop negative sign.
• (iv) When the analysis is complete, those branch currents that come out as positive
quantities are (instantaneously) in the same direction as that selected for the mesh
currents. The branch currents that have negative signs have an additional 180° 10
phase shift in relation to the mesh currents.
 Practice

• Use mesh analysis to find the currents through the source and capacitor in
the circuit in Fig below. Also find the power delivered by the source.

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Solution

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 Practice Question
• Use mesh analysis to find currents in the various branches of the circuit shown in
Fig below.

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 A.C. Nodal Analysis
• The procedure for nodal analysis of an a.c. network is the same as that for a d.c.
network except that we have to deal with impedances instead of resistances and
that the phase angle of all quantities (e.g. impedances, voltages and currents) must
be taken into consideration.
• Qn. Use nodal analysis to find the voltage at node ‘a’ and currents I1,I2 and I3 in the
circuit shown in Fig below.

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Solution

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 Thevenin’s Theorem for AC circuits
• Thevenin’s theorem for an a.c. circuit is the same as that for a d.c. circuit
except that phase angle of all quantities (impedances, voltages and currents)
must be taken into consideration.
• Therefore, Thevenin’s theorem for a.c. circuits can be stated as:
• Any two-terminal linear a.c. circuit can be replaced by a single a.c. voltage
source (VTh) in series with a single impedance (ZTh).
• The procedure for finding VTh and ZTh is the same as for d.c. circuits i.e. VTh is
the open circuit voltage at the considered terminals (say terminals AB) and the
series impedance ZTh is the impedance at terminals AB with all sources replaced
by their internal impedances. 21
 Practice Question

• Using Thevenin’s theorem, find current in the resistor R in Fig below.

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 Norton’s Theorem for A.C. Circuits
• Recall that Norton’s theorem for d.c. circuits allows us to replace a two -
terminal linear d.c. circuit by a single equivalent d.c. current source (I N) in
parallel with a single equivalent resistance (RN).
• The a.c. version of Norton’s theorem is similar and may be stated as under :
• A two-terminal linear a.c. circuit can be replaced by a single equivalent a.c.
current source (IN) in parallel with a single equivalent impedance (ZN).
• The impedance Z N (called Norton equivalent impedance) has exactly the
same value as the
• Thevenin equivalent impedance (Z Th) and is found in the same way. The
current IN (called Norton equivalent current) is the current that flows
through a short circuit connected across the Norton terminals (i.e., load
terminals). Note that the Thevenin and Norton circuits are alternative
equivalents for a circuit.
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 Thevenin and Norton Equivalent Circuits

• A two-terminal a.c. circuit can be replaced either by Thevenin equivalent

circuit or Norton equivalent circuit as shown in Fig. below. Since both
circuits are equivalent, we can show that VTh = IN ZN and ZTh = ZN.

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