AC CIRCUITS
Detailed Study Notes — Definitions, Formulae, Diagrams, Worked Examples and Solutions
NebCode
Author: Ngwa Frank Neba
1. Definition of Key Terms
Alternating current (AC) is the form of electricity supplied to homes, schools and industry almost everywhere in
the world. Before studying it in detail, the following basic terms must be understood clearly.
Term Meaning
Alternating Current (AC) An electric current that periodically reverses its direction
and continuously changes its magnitude with time,
tracing out a repeating waveform (usually sinusoidal).
Direct Current (DC) A current that flows steadily in one direction only, with
constant or near-constant magnitude, e.g. current from a
battery.
Alternator / AC Generator A machine that generates an alternating EMF by rotating
a coil of wire inside a magnetic field (or rotating a
magnet inside a fixed coil), based on electromagnetic
induction.
Cycle One complete repetition of the waveform pattern, from
0° to 360° (or 0 to 2π radians).
Period (T) The time taken for one complete cycle to occur,
measured in seconds (s).
Frequency (f) The number of complete cycles occurring every second,
measured in hertz (Hz). f = 1/T. Mains supply in
Cameroon and much of the world is 50 Hz.
Angular Frequency (ω) The rate of change of the phase angle of the waveform,
measured in radians per second (rad/s). ω = 2πf = 2π/T
Amplitude / Peak Value The maximum value reached by the alternating current or
voltage during a cycle, measured from zero to the top (or
bottom) of the wave.
Instantaneous Value The value of the alternating current or voltage at one
particular instant in time, denoted by lower-case letters i
and v.
Phase / Phase Angle (φ) A measure (in degrees or radians) of the position of a
waveform in its cycle relative to a reference waveform of
the same frequency.
Waveform A graph that shows how the instantaneous value of a
quantity (current or voltage) varies with time.
Root Mean Square (RMS) Value The value of a steady DC quantity that would produce
the same average heating (power) effect in a resistor as
the given alternating quantity.
How AC is Generated
AC is generated by an alternator: a coil of wire rotated at a steady rate inside a magnetic field (or, in large power
stations, a magnet rotated inside fixed coils). As the coil rotates, the magnetic flux linking it changes
continuously, inducing an EMF according to Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction. Because the rate of
change of flux varies sinusoidally as the coil turns, the induced EMF (and hence current in a connected circuit)
also varies sinusoidally — this is the origin of the sine-wave shape of AC.
Figure 1: A simple AC generator (alternator) — a coil rotating in a magnetic field, connected to an external circuit through
slip rings and brushes.
2. AC Current
An alternating current is one whose instantaneous value varies sinusoidally with time, repeatedly reversing
direction. If a coil rotates in a magnetic field at constant angular speed ω, the resulting current at any instant t is:
i(t) = Ip sin(ωt) or, more generally, i(t) = Ip sin(ωt + φ)
where i(t) is the instantaneous current, Ip is the peak (maximum) current, ω = 2πf is the angular frequency, and φ
is a phase angle (present if the current is not zero at t = 0). During one cycle the current rises from 0 to +Ip, falls
back through 0 to −Ip, and returns to 0.
– When the current is positive, it is said to flow in the 'forward' direction around the circuit.
– When the current is negative, it flows in the reverse direction — this is what distinguishes AC from DC, which
never reverses.
– The direction reverses twice every cycle, i.e. 2f times per second (for 50 Hz mains, the current reverses
direction 100 times every second).
Example 1
An alternating current is given by i(t) = 5 sin(314t) A. Find: (a) the peak current, (b) the angular frequency, (c) the
frequency, and (d) the instantaneous current at t = 2.5 ms.
Solution:
(a) Comparing with i(t) = Ip sin(ωt): Ip = 5 A
(b) ω = 314 rad/s
(c) f = ω/2π = 314/6.283 = 50 Hz
(d) i = 5 sin(314 × 0.0025) = 5 sin(0.785 rad) = 5 × 0.7068 = 3.53 A
Example 2
A generator produces a current of peak value 8 A at a frequency of 60 Hz. Write the equation for the
instantaneous current, and find the current 5 ms after it was last zero and increasing.
Solution:
ω = 2πf = 2π(60) = 376.99 rad/s, so i(t) = 8 sin(377t) A
At t = 0.005 s: i = 8 sin(377 × 0.005) = 8 sin(1.885 rad) = 8 × 0.951 = 7.61 A
3. AC Voltage
In the same way, an alternating voltage source (such as an AC generator or the mains supply) produces a voltage
that varies sinusoidally with time:
v(t) = Vp sin(ωt) or v(t) = Vp sin(ωt + φ)
where Vp is the peak voltage. For a purely resistive circuit (e.g. a filament lamp or heater connected straight to an
AC supply), the current follows the voltage exactly with no time delay — the current and voltage are said to be 'in
phase', both reaching their peak, zero and minimum values at the same instants.
Figure 2: A sinusoidal AC voltage waveform, showing the peak voltage Vp and the RMS voltage Vrms.
Example 3
The voltage across a resistor connected to an AC supply is v(t) = 200 sin(100πt) V. Find (a) the peak voltage, (b)
the frequency of the supply, and (c) the voltage at t = 6 ms.
Solution:
(a) Vp = 200 V
(b) ω = 100π, so f = ω/2π = 100π/2π = 50 Hz
(c) v = 200 sin(100π × 0.006) = 200 sin(1.885 rad) = 200 × 0.951 = 190.2 V
4. Peak Voltage and Root Mean Square (RMS) Voltage
Peak Voltage
The peak voltage, Vp (sometimes written V0 or Vmax), is simply the maximum value the instantaneous voltage
reaches during a cycle — the height of the crest of the waveform above zero.
Root Mean Square (RMS) Voltage
Because an AC voltage is constantly changing, quoting only its peak value does not tell us how effective it is at
delivering power. The RMS voltage solves this: it is defined as the value of the steady DC voltage that would
produce the same average heating effect (average power dissipated) in a resistor as the given alternating voltage.
Vrms = Vp / √2 ≈ 0.707 Vp
Derivation: For v(t) = Vp sin(ωt), the instantaneous power delivered to a resistance R is v²/R = (Vp²/R) sin²(ωt).
Averaging sin²(ωt) over a complete cycle gives exactly ½, so the average power is P = Vp²/(2R). Setting this
equal to the power an equivalent DC voltage Vrms would give, Vrms²/R, and solving gives:
Vrms² = ½Vp² ⟹ Vrms = Vp/√2
All meters used to measure AC voltage (voltmeters) and all quoted mains supply values are RMS values, not peak
values. For example, the 'domestic mains supply' commonly quoted as 240 V or 220 V is the RMS voltage.
Example 4
The mains supply in a certain country has a peak voltage of 339 V. What is the RMS voltage, and how is this
value normally described?
Solution:
Vrms = Vp/√2 = 339/1.414 = 239.7 V ≈ 240 V
This is exactly why the mains is quoted as '240 V' — this is its RMS value, even though the voltage actually
peaks at about 339 V twice every cycle.
Example 5
An oscilloscope displays a sinusoidal voltage with peaks at +15 V and −15 V. Find the RMS voltage.
Solution:
Vp = 15 V, so Vrms = 15/√2 = 15/1.414 = 10.6 V
Example 6
An AC voltmeter connected across a supply reads 110 V. Find the peak voltage of the supply.
Solution:
Since voltmeters read RMS values: Vrms = 110 V
Vp = Vrms × √2 = 110 × 1.414 = 155.6 V
5. Peak Current and Root Mean Square (RMS) Current
Peak Current
The peak current, Ip, is the maximum instantaneous current reached during a cycle.
Root Mean Square (RMS) Current
By exactly the same reasoning as for voltage, the RMS current is the value of the steady DC current that would
produce the same average heating effect in a resistor as the alternating current:
Irms = Ip / √2 ≈ 0.707 Ip
AC ammeters read RMS current. RMS values are used for all practical AC power calculations, since they
correctly represent the 'effective' or 'equivalent DC' values of the alternating quantities:
Average power, P = Vrms × Irms (for a purely resistive load, where V and I are in phase)
Equivalently, since Vrms = IrmsR for a resistor:
P = Irms²R = Vrms²/R
Example 7
A heater is rated at 240 V RMS, and draws an RMS current of 10 A. Find (a) the peak current, (b) the peak
voltage, and (c) the power dissipated by the heater.
Solution:
(a) Ip = Irms × √2 = 10 × 1.414 = 14.14 A
(b) Vp = Vrms × √2 = 240 × 1.414 = 339.4 V
(c) P = Vrms × Irms = 240 × 10 = 2400 W = 2.4 kW
Example 8
A resistor of resistance 50 Ω is connected to an AC supply of peak voltage 100 V. Find (a) the RMS voltage
across it, (b) the RMS current through it, and (c) the average power dissipated.
Solution:
(a) Vrms = Vp/√2 = 100/1.414 = 70.7 V
(b) Irms = Vrms/R = 70.7/50 = 1.414 A
(c) P = Vrms × Irms = 70.7 × 1.414 = 100 W (Check: P = Vrms²/R = 70.7²/50 = 100 W ✓)
6. Current Rectification
Rectification is the process of converting alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC). It is essential because
most electronic devices (phones, chargers, computers, radios) require a steady DC supply internally, even though
mains electricity is supplied as AC. Rectification is carried out using diodes — devices that allow current to pass
in one direction only.
(a) Half-Wave Rectification
In half-wave rectification, a single diode is placed in series with the load. The diode conducts only during the
half-cycle when it is forward biased (conventionally, the positive half-cycle), and blocks current completely
during the other half-cycle. The result is that only one half of every cycle reaches the load; the other half is cut off
completely, leaving a gap.
Figure 3: A simple half-wave rectifier circuit — a single diode allows current to flow to the load only during one half of each
AC cycle.
Figure 4: Input AC waveform (top) and the resulting half-wave rectified output (bottom).
Average (DC) output voltage: Vdc = Vp / π ≈ 0.318 Vp
Half-wave rectification is simple but inefficient: it wastes half of the input power, and the output is very 'lumpy'
(highly pulsating), with a large gap between pulses.
(b) Full-Wave Rectification
Full-wave rectification makes use of both halves of the AC cycle, so no part of the input is wasted. This can be
done using a centre-tapped transformer with two diodes, or — much more commonly — using four diodes
arranged in a bridge rectifier. In a bridge rectifier, whichever half of the cycle is occurring, current is always
directed through the load in the same direction, so the negative half-cycle appears at the output as a positive pulse
(it is 'flipped up' rather than blocked out).
Figure 5: A full-wave bridge rectifier circuit — four diodes direct current through the load in the same direction on both
halves of the AC cycle.
Figure 6: Input AC waveform (top) and the resulting full-wave rectified output (bottom) — note that every half-cycle now
contributes to the output.
Average (DC) output voltage: Vdc = 2Vp / π ≈ 0.636 Vp
Full-wave rectification gives twice the average output voltage of half-wave rectification from the same input, and
the output pulses are more closely spaced (the output 'ripple' occurs at twice the frequency of the supply, i.e. 100
Hz for a 50 Hz mains supply), making it easier to smooth.
Smoothing the Rectified Output
Even full-wave rectified output still rises and falls between zero and Vp every half-cycle — it is not yet steady
DC. A smoothing (filter) capacitor is connected across the load to reduce this fluctuation, called ripple. The
capacitor charges up to close to the peak voltage, then supplies the load current itself as the rectified voltage
momentarily falls, discharging only slightly before the next pulse recharges it. This produces an output that stays
much closer to a constant DC level, with only a small ripple remaining.
Figure 7: Effect of a smoothing capacitor — the dotted curve is unsmoothed rectified output; the solid curve shows the much
steadier output once a capacitor is added.
– A larger smoothing capacitor, or a smaller load current, gives less ripple (a steadier output).
– Full-wave rectified output needs a smaller smoothing capacitor than half-wave output to achieve the same
smoothness, because the gaps between pulses are shorter.
Example 9
An AC supply with peak voltage 30 V is rectified. Calculate the average (DC) output voltage for (a) half-wave
rectification, and (b) full-wave rectification. (c) State one advantage of full-wave rectification over half-wave
rectification.
Solution:
(a) Half-wave: Vdc = Vp/π = 30/3.1416 = 9.55 V
(b) Full-wave: Vdc = 2Vp/π = 2(30)/3.1416 = 19.10 V — exactly twice the half-wave value
(c) Full-wave rectification uses both halves of the input cycle (rather than wasting one half), giving a higher
average output voltage, a higher ripple frequency, and an output that is easier to smooth into steady DC.
Example 10
A full-wave bridge rectifier is supplied from an AC source of RMS voltage 12 V. Find (a) the peak voltage of the
supply, and (b) the average DC output voltage of the rectifier (ignoring any voltage drop across the diodes).
Solution:
(a) Vp = Vrms × √2 = 12 × 1.414 = 16.97 V
(b) Vdc = 2Vp/π = 2(16.97)/3.1416 = 10.80 V