AC Circuit Fundamentals

 Previously you learned that DC sources have fixed polarities and constant
magnitudes and thus produce currents with constant value and unchanging
direction

 In contrast, the voltages of ac sources alternate in polarity and vary in

magnitude and thus produce currents that vary in magnitude and alternate in
direction.
 Sinusoidal A.C Voltage

Starting at zero,
the voltage increases to a positive peak amplitude,
decreases to zero,
changes polarity,
increases to a negative peak amplitude,
then returns again to zero.
 Since the waveform repeats itself at regular intervals, it is called a periodic signal.

 Symbol for an ac Voltage Source

Lowercase letter e is used

to indicate that the voltage varies with time.
 Sinusoidal A.C Current

 During the first half-cycle, the  During the second half-cycle, the
source voltage is positive voltage polarity reverses
 Therefore, the current is in the  Therefore, the current is in the
clockwise direction. counterclockwise direction.
 Since current is proportional to voltage, its
shape is also sinusoidal
Advantages of A.C over D.C
• Easily stepped up and down for long transmission with fairly low loss.
• When A.C. is supplied at higher voltages in long distance transmission , the line
losses are small compared to a D.C. transmission.
• Easy to generate with AC Generator/motor from rotary sources (e.g. turbines)
Faradays Laws of Electromagnetic Induction
Faraday's First Law
• Any change in the magnetic field of a coil of wire will cause an emf to
be induced in the coil. This emf induced is called induced emf and if
the conductor circuit is closed, the current will also circulate through
the circuit and this current is called induced current.
Faraday's Second Law
• It states that the magnitude of emf induced in the coil is equal to the
rate of change of flux that linkages with the coil. The flux linkage of
the coil is the product of number of turns in the coil and flux
associated with the coil.
• 
Consider a magnet approaching towards a coil. Here we consider two instants at
time T1 and time T2. Flux linkage with the coil at time, T1 = NΦ1 Wb
Flux linkage with the coil at time, T2 = NΦ2 Wb
Change in flux linkage = N(Φ2 - Φ1)
Let this change in flux linkage be, Φ = Φ2 - Φ1
So, the Change in flux linkage = NΦ
Now the rate of change of flux linkage = NΦ / t
Take derivative on right hand side we will get
The rate of change of flux linkage = N
But according to Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction, the rate of change of
flux linkage is equal to induced emf. Considering Lenz's Law.

  dΦ
𝐸 =− 𝑁
dt
Lenz's Law
• Lenz's law states that when an emf is generated by a change in magnetic flux
according to Faraday's Law, the polarity of the induced emf is such, that it
produces an current that's magnetic field opposes the change which produces it.
• Lenz’s law results from energy conservation principle.
 Generating AC Voltages
 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.
 The Basic Sine Wave Equation

The voltage produced by the previously described generator is:

• Em: the maximum coil voltage and

• 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°.
 Angular Velocity (ω)

The rate at which the generator coil rotates is called its angular velocity

If the coil rotates through an angle of 30° in one second, its

angular velocity is 30° per second.

 When you know the angular velocity of a coil and the length of time that it has
rotated, you can compute the angle through which it has turned using:
 Radian Measure
  In practice, 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:

Few Definitions
• Waveform: Path traced by a quantity plotted as a function of some variables
such as time ,degree, position and so on.
• Instantaneous value: Magnitude of waveform at any instant of time.
• Peak Value: The maximum instantaneous value of a function as measured
from zero volt level.
• Peak to Peak Value: Denoted by Ep-p or Ip-p , The voltage or current value of a
waveform measured from its minimum to its maximum points. The peak-to-
peak value is twice the actual voltage.
• Periodic Waveform: Waveforms repeating after some time interval.
• Period(T): The time interval between successive repetitions of a periodic
waveform.
• Cycle: The portion of a waveform contained in one period of time.
• Frequency: The number of cycles that occur in 1 second. Unit is Hertz.
• Average Value: Average value of AC is equivalent to steady DC value
which transfer across any circuit the amount of charge as transferred by that
AC during same time. The average value of a total sine wave voltage or
current would be zero, therefore the average value is defined over a half
cycle.
• The average value of a periodic signal is:

  T
1
X average = ∫ x ( t ) dt
T 0
• Root Mean Square(R.M.S) Value: The rms (root mean square) value, of AC
is given by that steady DC which when flowing through a given circuit for a
given period of time produces same heat as produced by ac when flowing
through same circuit for same time.

• Effective value for current 1 2

T
ieff  
T 0
i dt
• Effective value for voltage T
1 2
veff  
T 0
v dt

• The effective value of a periodic signal is then root mean square (rms) value
T
1 2
X rms  
T 0
x dt
•  Form Factor:
• Peak Factor:
 Phasors
• Sinusoids are easily expressed in terms of phasors, which
are more convenient to work with than sine and cosine
functions.
• A phasors is a complex number that represents the
amplitude and phase of a sinusoid.
 Complex number
• A complex number z can be written in rectangular form as z = x + jy
where j   1 : x is the real part and y is the imaginary part of z.
• The complex number z can also be written in polar form or
j
exponential form as z  r  re
where r is the magnitude of z and  is the phase of z.

j
z  x  jy  r  re
 Complex number
• Rectangular form z  x  jy
• Polar form
z  r
j
• Exponential form z  re
• Given x, y can get r and 
y
r x y ,
2 2
  tan 1
.
x
• Know r and , can obtain x and y

x  r cos  , y  r sin  .
 Important operation
• Addition: z1  z 2  ( x1  x2 )  j ( y1  y2 )
• Subtraction: z1  z 2  ( x1  x2 )  j ( y1  y2 )
• Multiplication: z1 z 2  r1r2 (1  2 )
z1 r1
 (1  2 )
• Division: z 2 r2
• Reciprocal: 1 1
    
z r
z  r   / 2 
• Square root:
 Complex conjugate
• Complex conjugate of z is

z  x  jy  r     re
  j

1
j
j
 j
e  cos   j sin 
Real
of e 
partcos  
. Re e
j j

sin   Im e  j Imaginary part of ej.

 Sinusoidal-phasor transformation
v (t )  Vm cos t     V  Vm 
(Time - domain representa tion) (Phasor - domain representa tion)

Time –domian Phasor domain

representation representation

Vm cos(t   ) Vm 
Vm sin(t   ) Vm (  90 o )
I m cos(t   ) I m 
I m sin(t   ) I m (  90o )
 Example
Transform these sinusoids to phasors

(a) i  6 cos 50t  40
o

sin (t±180o) = sin t

(b) v  4 sin 30t  50
o

Cos (t±180o) = cos t
Solution
(a) I  6  40 
o
 sin (t±90o) = ±cos t

v  4 sin  30t  50 
o
cos (t±90o) = sin t
(b)

 4 cos 30t  50  90o o


 4 cos 30t  140 o

V  4140 o
 Example
Find the sinusoids represented by these phasors:
(a) I = -3 +j4
o
(b) V  j8e  j 20

Solution j  190 o

(b) I = -3 +j4 = 5(126.87o)


i (t )  5 cos t  126.87 o

(b)
V  j8e  j 20o
 
 190o 8(20 o ) 
 870o

v(t )  8 cos t  70o 
Capacitor
• A basic capacitor has two parallel plates separated by an insulating
material.
• A capacitor stores an electrical charge between the two plates.
• The unit of capacitance is Farads (F)
• Capacitance values are normally smaller, such as µF, nF or pF.
Current-Voltage Relationships
q  CvC
1
iC 
dq pC  iC vC wC  CvC
2

dt 2
dvC dvC
iC  C pC  CvC q 2
dt dt wC 
1
t1
2C
vC   iC dt
C to
Inductor
• An inductor is a two terminal element
consisting of a winding of N turns capable of
storing energy in the form of a magnetic
field.
• Inductance (L) is a measure of the ability of a
device to store energy in the form of a
magnetic field. It is measured in Henries (H).
Current-Voltage Relationships
t1
di p L  vL iL  LiL  iL dt
vL  L
dt to
t1 t1
t1 diL
1 w L iL dt  L  iL diL
iL   vL dt to
dt to
L to 1 2
w(t )  Li (t )
2
 Impedance and Admittance of passive elements
• Impedance Z of a circuit is the ratio of the phasor
voltage V to the phase current I, measured in ohms.
• The admittance Y is the reciprocal of impedance,
measured in Siemens.
Element Impedance Admittance
R Z=R 1
Y
R
L 1
Z = jL Y
j L
1
C Z
j C Y  j C
Phasor relationships for circuit elements
• For resistor R , V = RI I = V/R
V
• For inductor L, V = jLI I
j L
• For capacitor C, I I = jCV
V
jC
 Impedance Z
• The complex quantity Z may be represented by rectangular form as
Z = R +jX.
where R = ReZ is the resistance and
X = Im Z is the reactance.

Z  R  jX  Z 
X
Z  R X ,
2 2
  tan-1

R
R  Z cos  , X  Z sin 
Steady state analysis of resistive circuit

 For a purely resistive element, the voltage across and the current through the element are in
phase, with their peak values related by Ohm’s law.
Steady state analysis of inductive circuit

 For an inductor, vL leads iL by 90°, or IL lags VL by 90°.

Steady state analysis of capacitive circuit

 For a capacitor, iC leads vC by 90°, or vC lags iC by 90°.

 Example
Find v(t) and i(t) in the circuit shown.

i 5

+ +
_ vs=10cos4t 0.1F v
_
 Solution
•  = 4. Vs = 100o.
1
Z  5  5  j 2.5
j (4)(0.1)
Vs 100o 100o
I    1. 789  26 .57 o


Z 5  j 2.5 5.59  26.57 o 
• Voltage across the capacitor
I 1.78926.57 o 1.78926.57 o
V  IZ c   
jC j (4)(0.1) 0.490o
 4.47(63.43o )
i (t )  1.789 cos(4t  26.57 o )
v(t )  4.47 cos(4t  63.43o )
 Impedance combination
• Consider N series-connected impedance,
V = V1 + V2 +… +VN = I(Z1+Z2+…+ZN)
V
Z eq   Z1  Z 2  ...  Z N
I
• Consider N parallel-connected impedance,
 1 1 1 

I  I 1  I 2  ...  I N  V    ...  
 Z1 Z 2 ZN 
1 I 1 1 1
    ... 
Z eq V Z1 Z 2 ZN
Yeq  Y1  Y2  ...  YN
 Example
Find the input impedance in the circuit shown.
Assume that the circuit operates at  = 50 rad/s.

2mF
0.2H

Zin 3
8
10mF
 Solution
• Impedance of 2mF capacitor
1 1
Z1     j10
jC j (50)(0.002)
• Impedance of the 3- resistor in series with 10 mF capacitor
1 1
Z2  3   3  (3  j 2)
jC j (50)(0.01)
• Impedance of the 8- resistor in series with 0.2 H inductor

Z 2  8  jL  8  j (50)(0.2)  (8  j10)

 Solution
• The input impedance is
(3  j 2)(8  j10)
Z in  Z1  Z 2 Z 3   j10 
(3  j 2)  (8  j10)
(3  j 2)(8  j10)
  j10 
11  j8
(44  j14)(11  j8)
  j10 
112  82
  j10  3.22  j1.07
 3.22  j11 .07
 Example
• Determine vo(t) in the circuit.

60

20sin(4t-15o)
+
+_ 10mF 5H v_o
 Solution
• Vs = 20(-105o)
1
Zc    j 25
• Impedance of 10 mF capacitor j (4)(0.01)

• Impedance of 5-H inductor ZL= j(4)(5)=j20

• Impedance of the parallel combination of 10-mF
capacitor and 5-H inductor
( j 25)( j 20) 500
Z   j 25 j 20    j100
( j 25)  ( j 20)  j 5
Z j100
Vo  Vs  (20( 105o )
Z  60 60  j100
 (0.857530.96o )( 20(105o )  17.15  74.04o
vo (t )  17.15 cos( 4t  74.04o ) V
Single Phase Power
 The first term in the preceding equation has a constant magnitude (no time dependence) and
therefore provides some net transfer of energy.
 This term is referred to as the average power, The average power, or real power as it is
sometimes called, is the power delivered to and dissipated by the load.
 It corresponds to the power calculations performed for dc networks.

Inductor

Capacitor
Active Power : It is the power consumed by active elements such as resistors or
sometimes called Real Power is P (Watt).

Reactive Power : It is the power that is stored in reactive elements such as

capacitors and inductors. It is denoted by Q and unit is VAR.

Apparent Power: It is the total power consumed by an electrical system. It is

denoted by S and unit is VA.

The power factor is defined as the ratio of real power to apparent power or the
ratio of the actual electrical power dissipated by an AC circuit to the product of the
r.m.s. values of current and voltage. The difference between the two is caused by
reactance in the circuit and represents power that does no useful work.