EE02 (Electrical Circuits 2)

Module 1: Alternating Circuits (AC) Fundamentals

Introduction

An electrical circuit is a complete conductive path through which electrons flow from the
source to the load and back to the source. The direction and magnitude of the electrons
flow however depend on the kind of source. In Electrical Engineering, there are basically
two types of voltage or current (Electrical Energy) source which defines the kind of circuit
and they are; Direct Current (DC) and Alternating Current (AC).

Single-phase power is a two-wire alternating current (ac) power circuit. Typically, there
is one power wire—the phase wire—and one neutral wire, with current flowing between
the power wire (through the load) and the neutral wire Single-phase systems can be
derived from three-phase systems.

In a single-phase (or 3-phase for that matter) AC electrical power distribution system, both
the load current (as electrical utilization loads are connected) and the applied voltage that
causes it to flow are transmitted along the length of the circuit conductors varying in
amplitude with time and periodically reverse between positive and negative polarities.

The Phasor Concepts

AC vs DC

The difference between AC and DC lies in the direction in which the electrons flow. In DC,
the electrons flow steadily in a single direction, or "forward." In AC, electrons keep switching
directions, sometimes going "forward" and then going "backward."
Comparison chart

Alternating Current versus Direct Current comparison chart

Alternating Current Direct Current

Amount of Safe to transfer over longer city distances Voltage of DC cannot travel
energy that and can provide more power. very far until it begins to lose
can be energy.
carried

Cause of Rotating magnet along the wire. Steady magnetism along the
the wire.
direction of
flow of
electrons

Frequency The frequency of alternating current is The frequency of direct current

50Hz or 60Hz depending upon the is zero.
country.

Direction It reverses its direction while flowing in a It flows in one direction in the
circuit. circuit.

Current It is the current of magnitude varying with It is the current of constant

time magnitude.

Flow of Electrons keep switching directions - Electrons move steadily in one

Electrons forward and backward. direction or 'forward'.

Obtained A.C Generator and mains. Cell or Battery.

from

Passive Impedance. Resistance only

Parameters
AC Circuits

AC circuits as the name (Alternating Current) implies are simply circuits powered by an
Alternating Source, either voltage or current. An Alternating Current or Voltage, is one
in which the value of either the voltage or the current varies about a particular mean value
and reverses direction periodically of AC waveform.

Most present-day household and industrial Appliances and systems are powered using
alternating current. All DC based plugged in appliances and rechargeable battery-based
devices technically run on Alternating current as they all use some form of DC power
derived from AC for either charging of their batteries or powering of the system. Thus,
Alternating-current is the form via which power is delivered at the mains.
Basic AC Source (Single Coil AC Generator)

The principle around AC generation is simple. If a magnetic field or magnet is rotated

along a stationary set of coils (wires) or the rotation of a coil around a stationary magnetic
field, an Alternating current is generated using an AC generator (Alternator).

The simplest form of AC generator consists of a loop of wire that is mechanically rotated
about an axis while positioned between the north and south poles of a magnet.

Consider the Image below.

As the armature coil rotates within the magnetic field created by the north and south pole
magnets, the magnetic flux through the coil changes, and charges are thus forced through
the wire, giving rise to an effective voltage or induced voltage. The magnetic flux through
the loop is as a result of the angle of the loop relative to the direction of the magnetic field.
Consider the images below;

AC Generator Armature at0degree AC Generator Armature at 90degrees

 AC Generator Armature at180degrees AC Generator Armature at 270degrees

AC Generator Armature at 360 degrees

From the images shown above, we can deduce that, certain number of magnetic field
lines will be cut as the armature rotates, the amount of ‘lines cut’ determines the
voltage output. With each change in the angle of rotation and the resultant circular
motion of the armature against the magnetic lines, the amount of ‘magnetic lines cut’ also
changes, hence the output voltage also change. For instance, the magnetic field lines cut
at zero degree is zero which makes the resultant voltage zero, but at 90 degrees, almost
all the magnetic field lines are cut, thus maximum voltage in one direction is generated in
one direction. The same holds at 270 degrees only that it’s generated in the opposite
direction. There is thus a resultant change in the voltage as the armature rotates within
the magnetic field leading to the formation of a sinusoidal waveform. The resultant
induced voltage is thus sinusoidal, with an angular frequency(ω)measured in radians
per seconds.
In alternating current (AC) circuits, instead of a constant voltage supplied by a battery,
the voltage oscillates in a sine wave pattern, varying with time.

Steady-state sinusoidal time-varying voltage and current waveforms can be given by

ν(t) = Vm sinθ = Vm

sinωt(t) = Imsin(ωt + θ)

where: Vm = maximum or peak value of voltage called Amplitude

Im = maximum or peak value of current
ω = angular frequency = 2πf
θ = phase angle difference between voltage and current
f = frequency (in household circuit, f = 60 Hz)

Sinusoidal Voltage Waveform (Sine Wave)

Average Voltage Analytical Method

The average voltage of a periodic waveform whose two halves are exactly similar, either
sinusoidal or non-sinusoidal, will be zero over one complete cycle. Then the average value
is obtained by adding the instantaneous values of voltage over one half cycle only. But in
the case of a non-symmetrical or complex wave, the average voltage (or current) must be
taken over the whole periodic cycle mathematically.

The average value can be taken mathematically by taking the approximation of the area
under the curve at various intervals to the distance or length of the base and this can be
done using triangles or rectangles.

The mathematical area under the positive half cycle of the periodic wave which is defined
as V(t) = Vp cos(ωt) with a period of T using integration is given as:

The instantaneous voltage of a sinusoid is given as: v = Vpsinθ and the period of a sinusoid
is given as: 2π, then:

Average Voltage Equation

Effective (or RMS) Voltage Analytical Method

The maximum or peak value is nothing but the amplitude of an alternating quantity. In
practice the alternating quantities are expressed interim of their effective or rms (root-
mean-square) values.

A periodic sinusoidal voltage is constant and can be defined as V (t) = Vmcos(ωt) with a period
of T. Then we can calculate the root-mean-square (rms) value of a sinusoidal voltage (V(t))
as:

Integrating through with limits taken from 0 to 360o or “T”, the period gives:

RMS Voltage Equation

Form Factor

The ratio of the root mean square value to the average value of an alternating quantity
(current or voltage) is called Form Factor. The average of all the instantaneous values of
current and voltage over one complete cycle is known as the average value of the
alternating quantities.
Purely Resistive Circuit

Figure (a) A resistor connected across an ac voltage source. (b) The current through the
resistor and the voltage across the resistor. The two quantities are in-phase.

Consider a resistor connected across an ac voltage source. From Kirchhoff’s loop rule,
the instantaneous voltage across the resistor R.

vR(t) = Vo sinωt
and the instantaneous current through the resistor is

iR(t) = (Vo/R) sinωt = Io sinωt

Here, Io = Vo /R the amplitude of the time-varying current. Plots of iR(t) and vR(t) are shown
in Figure. Both curves reach their maxima and minima at the same times, that is, the
current through and the voltage across the resistor are in-phase.

Graphical representations of the phase relationships between current and voltage are
often useful in the analysis of ac circuits. Such representations are called phasor
diagrams.

.
Figure (a) The phasor diagram representing the current through the resistor of and Figure (b) The
phasor diagram representing both iR(t) and vR(t).
Purely Capacitive Circuit

Figure (a) A capacitor connected across an ac generator. (b) The current iC(t) through the
capacitor and the voltage vC(t) across the capacitor. Notice that iC(t) leads vC(t) by π/2 rad.

Consider a capacitor connected across an ac voltage source. From Kirchhoff’s loop rule,
the instantaneous voltage across the capacitor C.

vC(t) = Vo sinωt

Recall that the charge in a capacitor is given by Q = [Link] is true at any time measured
in the ac cycle of voltage. Consequently, the instantaneous charge on the capacitor is

q(t) = CvC(t) = CVo sinωt

Since the current in the circuit is the rate at which charge enters (or leaves) the
capacitor,
iC(t) = dq(t)/dt = ωCVo cosωt = Io cosωt

where: Io = ωCVo is the current amplitude. Using the trigonometric relationship cosωt =
sin(ωt + π/2), we may express the instantaneous current as

iC(t) = Io sin(ωt + π/2)

Dividing Vo by Io, we obtain an equation that looks similar to Ohm’s law:

Vo/Io = 1/ωC = 1/2πfC = XC

where: XC is analogous to resistance in a dc circuit in the sense that both quantities are a
ratio of a voltage to a current. As a result, they have the same unit, the ohm. Keep in mind,
however, that a capacitor stores and discharges electric energy, whereas a resistor
dissipates it. The quantity XC is known as the capacitive reactance of the capacitor, or
the opposition of a capacitor to a change in current. It depends inversely on the frequency
of the ac source—high frequency leads to low capacitive reactance.
.
The corresponding phasor diagram is shown

√√√√

The current phasor leads the voltage phasor by π/2 rad

as they both rotate with the same angular frequency.

To this point, we have exclusively been using peak values of the current or voltage in our
discussion, namely, I0 and V0. However, if we average out the values of current or voltage,
these values are zero. Therefore, we often use a second convention called the root mean
square value, or rms value, in discussions of current and voltage. The rms operates in
reverse of the terminology. First, you square the function, next, you take the mean, and
then, you find the square root. As a result, the rms values of current and voltage are not
zero. Appliances and devices are commonly quoted with rms values for their operations,
rather than peak values. We indicate rms values with a subscript attached to a capital
letter (such as Irms).

Purely Inductive Circuit

Figure (a) An inductor connected across an ac generator. (b) The current i L(t) through the
inductor and the voltage vL(t) across the inductor. Here iL(t) lags vL(t) by π/2 rad.

Consider an inductor connected to an ac voltage source. From Kirchhoff’s loop rule,

the voltage across the inductor L.

vL(t) = Vo sinωt
The emf across an inductor is equal to E = - L(diL/dt) however, the potential difference
across the inductor is vL(t) = L diL(t)/dt because if we consider that the voltage around the
loop must equal zero, the voltage gained from the ac source must dissipate through the
inductor. Therefore, connecting this with the ac voltage source, we have

diL(t)/dt = Vo/L sinωt

The current iL(t) is found by integrating this equation. Since the circuit does not contain a
source of constant emf, there is no steady current in the circuit. Hence, we can set the
constant of integration, which represents the steady current in the circuit, equal to zero,
and we have

iL(t) = - V o/ωL cosωt = V o/ωL sin(ωt – π/2) = Io sin(ωt – π/2)

where Io = Vo/ωL. The relationship between and may also be written in a form analogous
to Ohm’s law:

Vo/Io = ωL = 2πfL = XL

The quantity XL is known as the inductive reactance of the inductor, or the opposition of
an inductor to a change in current; its unit is also the ohm. Note that X L varies directly as
the frequency of the ac source—high frequency causes high inductive reactance.

A phase difference of π/2 rad occurs between the current through and the voltage across
the inductor. The current through an inductor lags the potential difference across an
inductor by π/2 rad, or a quarter of a cycle.

The phasor diagram for this case is shown

 The phasor diagram for the inductor. The current phasor lags
the voltage phasor by π/2 rad as they both rotate with the
same angular frequency.

Summary of Equations

General
Frequency f = 1/T
Period T = 1/f
Instantaneous Voltage v = Vm sinωt
Instantaneous Current i = Imsinωt
Average Voltage Vave= 2Vm/π = 0.637Vm
Average Current Iave= 2Im/π = 0.637Im
RMS (Effective) Voltage Vrms = Vm/√2 = 0.707Vm = V
RMS (Effective) Current Irms = Im/√2 = 0.707Im = I

Purely Resistive Circuit

Instantaneous Voltage v = Vm sinωt
Instantaneous Current i = Imsinωt = Vm/R sinωt
Maximum (Peak) Current Im = Vm/R
RMS (Effective) Current I = V/R
RMS (Effective) Voltage V = IR
Resistance R = V/I

Purely Inductive Circuit

Instantaneous Voltage v = Vm sinωt
Instantaneous Current i = Vm/ωLsin(ωt – π/2) = Imsin(ωt – π/2)
Maximum (Peak) Current Im = Vm/ωL = Vm/2πfL = Vm/XL
RMS (Effective) Current I = V/XL
RMS (Effective) Voltage V = IXL
Inductive Reactance XL =ωL = 2πfL

Purely Capacitive Circuit

Instantaneous Voltage v = Vm sinωt
Instantaneous Current i = ωCVm sin(ωt – π/2) = Imsin(ωt – π/2)
Maximum (Peak) Current Im = ωCVm = 2πfCVm =Vm/(1/2πfC)
RMS (Effective) Current I = V/XC
RMS (Effective) Voltage V = IXC
Capacitive Reactance XC = 1/ωL = 1/2πfC