Ec 3

AC CIRCUITS
Alternating current fundamentals
Prepared by: Sakil Ahammed

Lecturer, Dept. of EEE
Khwaja Yunus Ali University
Brief History
• At the end of 19th century, which was the better – ac or dc – was hotly debated and had
extremely outspoken supporters on both sides.
• The dc side was led by Thomas Edison, who had earned a lot of respect due to his
contributions.
• Power generation using AC starts from the contribution of Tesla. The commercial success in
ac came from George Westinghouse and his team, including Tesla, C.F. Scott, B.G. Lamme
and more.
• Most significant contribution to AC was the patenting of the polyphase ac motor by Tesla in
1888. The induction Motor and polyphase generation and distribution system doomed the
used of AC as primary energy. Nikola Tesla
• Till 1800s, DC was really popular. But, Ac is efficient and economical to transmit over long
distances, thus ac ended up the winner.
AC Circuit: Definition and Types
◦ The quantity that changes continuously in magnitude between zero and a maximum value with alternating
directions at regular time intervals is known as an alternating quantity such as current (I) or voltage (V).
◦ AC circuits are powered by an alternating source such as alternating current or voltages which are sinusoidal
and change periodically in direction and magnitude.
◦ (AC quantity- Variation of magnitude with respect to time)
Types of AC signals:
1. Sinusoidal Signals (Sine and Cosine wave)
2. Triangular wave signals
3. Sawtooth wave signals
4. Square wave signals
And many more.
Why sinusoids among all signals?
Among all of the signals, we mainly will use sinusoidal signals. Because-
1. Nature itself is characteristically sinusoidal. (Motion of pendulum, vibration of a string, ripples on the ocean surface,
natural response of under damped second-order systems, etc.)
2. Sinusoidal signals are easy to generate and transmit. In both communication and electric power industry, it is mainly
used.
3. Any practical periodic signals can be represented by a sum of sinusoids. (To know more about Fourier series
representation of non-sinusoidal waveform, visit here)
4. Sinusoids are easy to handle mathematically. Derivative and Integration of sinusoids are itself sinusoids.
Some basic definitions
Periodic Function: A function returning to the same value at regular intervals. satisfies f(t)=f(t+nT), for all t and for all integers n.
Example: Sinusoidal, triangular, sawtooth, square signals and many more.
Time period: The time taken for one complete oscillation to occur is called the Time Period. It is denoted by T. Its unit is seconds.
Frequency: Frequency is the number of vibrations or the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is denoted
by f. It’s unit is Hz or s-1.
1
Mathematically, f =
𝑇
Amplitude/Magnitude: Magnitude refers to the size or amount of a physical
quantity, while amplitude refers to the strength or intensity of a wave. Vm is vm
amplitude of the signals.
t
Angular Frequency(ω): The angular frequency refers to the angular displacement
T
of any wave element per unit of time or the rate of change of the waveform vm
phase. t
Phase angle: Φ (phi) – is the phase angle in degrees or radians that the waveform
has shifted either left or right from the reference point. vm T
t
Phase difference: the difference in phase between two sinusoidally varying
quantities that have the same frequency, measured either as an angle or a time. T
2π vm
Unit, rad/sec. Mathematically, ω = 2πf =
𝑇 t
T
Periodicity and Phase relations
Consider the sinusoidal voltage, 𝑣 𝑡 = 𝑉𝑚 sin 𝜔 𝑡
Where, Vm= the amplitude of the sinusoid
𝜔 = the angular frequency in radians/s
𝜔t = the argument of the sinusoid
From the waveform, T= Time period of the signal.
2𝜋
𝑣 𝑡 + 𝑇 = 𝑉𝑚 sin 𝜔 𝑡 + 𝑇 = 𝑉𝑚 sin 𝜔 𝑡 + = 𝑉𝑚 sin 𝜔𝑡 + 2𝜋 = 𝑉𝑚 sin 𝜔𝑡 = 𝑣(𝑡)
𝜔
Thus, 𝑣 𝑡 + 𝑇 = 𝑣 𝑡 , and the function is periodic.
If phase angle exists, we can write the equation of voltage,
𝑣 𝑡 = 𝑉𝑚 sin(𝜔 𝑡 + Φ)
Where, Φ= phase angle expressed in radian or degree.
Phase difference
Let us examine two sinusoids,
𝑣1 𝑡 = 𝑉𝑚 sin(𝜔 𝑡 + 0)= 𝑉𝑚 sin 𝜔 𝑡 and 𝑣2 𝑡 = 𝑉𝑚 sin(𝜔 𝑡+ Φ)
Therefore, v2 leads v1 by (Φ-0)= Φ . Or v1 lags v2 by Φ .
Here, v1 and v2 are out of phase.
If Φ=0, then v1 and v2 are in phase as the reach their minima and maxima at
the same time.
• We can compare v1 and v2 only when they operate at the same frequency
although they are in different magnitude.
• Sinusoids can be converted form sine form to cosine form and vice versa.
Summation of Signals
◦ If 𝑣1 𝑡 = 𝐴 sin 𝜔 𝑡 and 𝑣2 𝑡 = 𝐵 cos 𝜔𝑡
◦ Then, v = 𝑣1 + 𝑣2 = 𝐴 sin 𝜔 𝑡 + 𝐵 cos 𝜔𝑡 = C cos(𝜔𝑡 − 𝜃)
𝐵
◦ Where, 𝐶 = 𝐴2 + 𝐵2 , and 𝜃 = tan−1 𝐴
For example,
3 cos 𝜔t - 4 sin 𝜔t = 5 cos(𝜔t + 53.1°)
Practice Problems:
1. Find the amplitude, phase angle, period, and frequency of the sinusoid 𝑣 𝑡 = 12 cos(50𝑡 + 10°)
Ans: 12V, 10°, 0.1257 sec, 7.958 sec.
2. Given the sinusoid 30 sin(4𝜋𝑡 − 75°) calculate its amplitude, phase, angular frequency, period, and frequency.
Answer: 30, -75 °, 12.57 rad/s, 0.5 s, 2 Hz.
3. Calculate the phase angle between 𝑣1 = −10 cos(𝜔𝑡 + 50°) and 𝑣2 = 12 sin(𝜔𝑡 − 10°) State which sinusoid is leading.
Ans: v2 leads v1 by 30°.
4.
Phasors
◦ Sinusoids are easily expressed in terms of phasors, which is more convenient to work with.
◦ A phasor is a complex number that represents the amplitude and phase of a sinusoid.
◦ The notion of solving ac circuits using phasors was first introduced by Charles Steinmetz in 1893.
◦ Complex Number: In Rectangular form, 𝑧 = 𝑥 + 𝑗𝑦 where, 𝑗 = −1
◦ Here, x is real part and y is imaginary part of complex plane. It is similar to two axis of two dimensional
vectors.
◦ In polar form, 𝑧 = 𝑟∠𝜙 = 𝑟𝑒 𝑗𝜙 (exponential form)
◦ Where, r= magnitude of z, and 𝜙 is the phase of z.
𝑦
◦ 𝑟= 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 , 𝜙 = tan−1 𝑥
◦ On the other hand, 𝑥 = 𝑟 cos 𝜙 , 𝑦 = 𝑟 sin 𝜙
◦ Thus, 𝑧 = 𝑥 + 𝑗𝑦 = 𝑟∠𝜙= 𝑟 (cos 𝜙 + j sin 𝜙)
Phasor Operations
Given complex numbers, 𝑧 = 𝑥 + 𝑗𝑦 = 𝑟∠𝜙, 𝑧1 = 𝑥1 + 𝑗𝑦1 = 𝑟1 ∠𝜙1 and 𝑧2 = 𝑥2 + 𝑗𝑦2 = 𝑟2 ∠𝜙2
Addition:
Euler’s identity:
Subtraction: We may write,
Multiplication:
Re- real part, Im- imaginary part.
Given a sinusoidal function,
Division:
Or,
Reciprocal:
Thus,
Square Root: Where,
Complex Conjugate:
Note:
Phasor representation
◦ Neglecting time factor 𝑒 𝑗𝜔𝑡 , we get
◦ If,
Difference between v(t) and V

1. v(t) is the instantaneous or time domain representation, while V is the frequency or phasor domain representation.
2. v(t) is time dependent, while V is not.
3. v(t) is always real with no complex term, while V is generally complex.
Practice problem
1. Evaluate the complex numbers: Ans: a) 4.
b)
2. 5.
3. 6.
Ans:
8.
Ans:
7.
RMS and Average value Calculation
• The Average value of a signal x(t) can be written as,
1 𝑇
𝑥𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑡 = න 𝑥 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑇 0
Where, T= Time period of the signal.
• The RMS value of signal x(t) can be written as,

𝑇
2
1
𝑥𝑟𝑚𝑠 = න 𝑥 2 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑇
0
Practice Problem
1. Calculate RMS and average value of the following figures,
(For both half cycle and full cycle)
-5 16
2 4
100
AC through Resistance
If 𝑖 = 𝐼𝑚 cos(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙) passes through resistor R, then
Voltage 𝑣 = 𝑖𝑅 = 𝑅𝐼𝑚 cos(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙 = 𝑅𝐼𝑚 ∠𝜙 = 𝑅𝐼
Time and frequency domain relation of

voltage and current
Phasor diagram for resistor

Next: Inductance and Capacitance

Ec 3

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ec 3

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ec 3

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

AC CIRCUITS

Alternating current fundamentals

Prepared by: Sakil Ahammed

Difference between v(t) and V

• The RMS value of signal x(t) can be written as,

Time and frequency domain relation of

Phasor diagram for resistor

You might also like