BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

Module 2

Module - 2
Single-phase circuits (continued):
2.1 Analysis of R-L,
2.2 R-C,
2.3 R-L-C Series and Parallel circuits,
2.4 Real power, reactive power, apparent power, and Power factor. Measurement of
power.
2.5 Three-phase circuits: Generation of three-phase power,
2.6 representation of balanced star (3 wire and 4 wire system) and delta connected
loads, the relation between phase and line values of voltage and current from phasor
diagrams
2.7 advantages of three-phase systems.
2.8 Measurement of three-phase power by two-wattmeter method.

2.1 A.C. THROUGH SERIES R-L CIRCUIT

Consider a circuit consisting of pure resistance R ohms connected in series with a pure
inductance of L henries. The series combination is connected across a.c. supply given by v =
Vm sin ωt.

Circuit draws a current I then there are two voltage drops,

a) Drop across pure resistance, VR = I R

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b) Drop across pure inductance, VL = I XL where XL = 2 π f L

I= r.m.s. value of current drawn
VR , VL = r.m.s. values of voltage drops

The Kirchhoff’s law can be applied to the a.c. circuit but only the point to remember is the
addition of voltages should be vector addition.

Therefore ̅ = ̅̅̅
V VR + ̅̅̅
VL
Therefore ̅ = IR
V ̅ + ̅̅̅̅
IXL
Let us draw the phasor diagram for the above case

From the voltage triangle

V= √(VR )2 + (VL )2 = √(IR)2 + (IXL )2 = I√(R)2 + (XL )2
V=IZ
Where Z= √(R)2 + (XL )2
The impedance Z is measured in ohms.

IMPEDANCE
Impedance is defined as the opposition of circuit to the flow of alternating current. It is
denoted by Z and its unit is ohms.

For the R-L series circuit, it can observed from the phasor diagram that the current lags behind
the applied voltage by an angle Ø. From the voltage triangle, we can write
VL XL VR R VL XL
Tan Ø = = , cos Ø= = , Sin Ø = =
VR R V Z V Z

If all the sides of the voltage triangle are divided by current, we get a triangle called
impedance triangle.

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From the impedance triangle, we can see that the X component of impedance is R and is
given by R= Zcosφ

And Y component of impedance is X L and is given by X L =Zsinφ

In rectangular form the impedance is denoted as

Z= R+jXL

While in the polar form, it is denoted as

Z= |Z|∟φ

𝑋𝐿
Where |Z| = √𝑅2 + 𝑋𝐿 2 and φ= 𝑡𝑎𝑛 −1
𝑅

2.4 POWER AND POWER TRIANGLE

The expression for the current in a series R-L circuit is

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APPARENT POWER

It is defined as the product of r.m.s. value of voltage (V) and current (I). It is denoted by S.

It is measured in unit volt-amp (VA) or kilo volt-amp (kVA).

REAL OR TRUE POWER (P)

It is defined as the product of the applied voltage and the active component of the current.

It is real component of the apparent power. It is measured in unit watts (W) or kilowatts
(kW).

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Reactive Power (Q)

It is defined as product of the applied voltage arid the reactive component of the current.

It is also defined as imaginary component of the apparent power. It is represented by ‘Q’ and
it is measured in unit volt-amp reactive (VAR) or kilovolt-amp reactive (kVAR).

POWER FACTOR (COSΦ)

It is defined as factor by which the apparent power must be multiplied in order to obtain the
true power.

It is the ratio of true power to apparent power.

The numerical value of cosine of the phase angle between the applied voltage and the current
drawn from the supply voltage gives the power factor. It cannot be greater than 1.

It is also defined as the ratio of resistance to the Impedance.

If current lags voltage power factor is said to be lagging. If current leads voltage power factor
is said to be leading.

So, for pure inductance, the power factor is cos (90°) i.e. zero lagging while for pure
capacitance, the power factor is cos (90°) i.e. zero but leading. For purely resistive circuit
voltage and current are in phase i.e. φ= 0. Therefore, power factor is cos (0°) = 1. Such circuit
is called unity power factor circuit.

φ is the angle between supply voltage and current.

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2.2 A.C. THROUGH SERIES R-C CIRCUIT

Consider a circuit consisting of pure resistance R-ohms and connected in series with a pure
capacitor of C-farads as shown in the Fig. The series combination is connected across ac.
supply given by v = Vm sin ωt.

Circuit draws a current I, then there are two voltage drops,

a) Drop across pure resistance, VR = I R

1
b) Drop across pure inductance, VC = I Xc where Xc =
2𝜋 𝑓 𝐶
I= r.m.s. value of current drawn
VR , Vc = r.m.s. values of voltage drops

The Kirchhoff’s voltage law can be applied to get,

Let us draw the phasor diagram. Current I is taken as reference as it is common to both the
elements.

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Impedance

Similar to R-L series circuit, in this case also, the impedance is nothing but opposition to the

flow of alternating current. It is measured in ohms given by Z = √𝑅2 + 𝑋𝑐 2 where 𝑋𝑐 =

1
Ω called capacitive reactance.
2𝜋𝑓𝐶

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2.3 A.C. THROUGH SERIES R-L-C CIRCUIT

Consider a circuit consisting of resistance R ohms pure Inductance L henries and capacitance
C farads connected in series with each other across a.c. supply. The circuit s shown below.

The a.c. supply is given by, v = Vm sin ωt

The circuit draws a current I. Due to current I, there are different voltage drops across R, L
and C which is given by.

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Where Z= √R2 + (XL − XC )2

So, if v = Vm sin ωt, then i= Im sin (ωt –φ) as current lags voltage by angle φ

2. 𝐗 𝐋 < 𝐗 𝐂

When 𝐗 𝐋 < 𝐗 𝐂 , obviously, IXL i.e VL is less than IXC i.e VC . So the resultant of VL and VC
will be directed towards VC . Current I will lead (VC − VL ).

The current is said to be capacitive in nature. The phasor sum of VR and (VC − VL ) gives the
resultant supply voltage V. This is shown in the fig below.

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3. 𝐗 𝐋 = 𝐗 𝐂

When 𝐗 𝐋 = 𝐗 𝐂 , obviously 𝐕𝐋 = 𝐕𝐂 . So VL and VC will cancel each other and their resultant is
zero.

So, 𝐕𝐑 = V in such case and overall circuit is purely resistive in nature. The phasor diagram
is shown in fig.

From the phasor diagram V= 𝐕𝐑 = IR= IZ where Z=R

The circuit is purely resistive with unity power factor.

Impedance

In general, for RLC series Circuit impedance is given by,

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Impedance triangle

For 𝑋𝐿 > 𝑋𝐶 , φ is positive and impedance triangle is as shown in fig (a)

For 𝑋𝐿 < 𝑋𝐶 , φ is negative and the impedance triangle is as shown in fig (b)

In both cases R= Z cosφ and X= Z sinφ

POWER

 P = VIcosφ W

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Thus for any condition, in general power can be expressed as P = VI cosφ

2.3.2 A.C. Parallel Circuit

A parallel circuit is one in which two or more impedance are connected in parallel across the
supply voltage. Each impedance may be a separate series circuit. Each impedance is called
branch of the parallel circuit.

The Fig. shows a parallel circuit consisting of three impedances connected in parallel across
an ac. supply of V volts.

TWO IMPEDANCE CONNECTED IN PARALLEL

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CONCEPT OF ADMITTANCE

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Components of admittance

Conductance (G)
It is defined as the ratio of the resistance to the square of the Impedance. It is measured in the
unit siemens.

Susceptance (B)
It is defined as the ratio of the reactance to the square of the impedance. It is measured in the
unit siemens.

The susceptance is said to be inductive (𝐵𝐿 ) if its sign is negative. The susceptance is said to
be capacitive (𝐵𝐶 ) if its sign is positive.

Note: The sign convention for the reactance and the susceptance are opposite to each other.

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MODULE 2B: THREE PHASE CIRCUIT

Introduction

 We have seen that a single phase a.c. voltage can be generated by rotating a turn made
up of two conductors, in a magnetic field. Such an a.c. producing machine is called
single turn alternator.
 But voltage produced by such a single turn is very less and not enough to supply
practical loads.
 Hence number of turns are connected in series to form one winding in a practical
alternator, such a winding is called armature winding.
 The sum of the voltages induced in all the turns is now available as a single phase a.c.
voltage, which is sufficient to drive the practical loads.
 But in practice there are certain loads which require polyphase supply.
 Phase means branch, circuit or winding while poly means many. So such applications
need a supply having many a.c. voltages present in it simultaneously. Such a system is
called polyphase system.

 To develop polyphase system, the armature winding in an alternator is divided into

number of phases required.
 In each section, a separate a.c. voltage gets induced. So there are many independent ac.
voltages present equal to number of phases of armature winding.
 The various phases of armature winding are arranged in such a manner that the
magnitudes and frequencies of all these voltages is same but they have definite phase
difference with respect to each other.
 The phase difference depends on number of phases in which armature is divided.
 For example, if armature is divided into three coils then three separate a.c. voltages will
be available having same magnitude and frequency but they will have a phase difference
of 360°/3 = 120° with respect to each other.
 All three voltages with a phase difference of 120° are available to supply a three phase
load.
 Such a supply system is called three phase system. Similarly by dividing armature into
various numbers of phases, a 2 phase, 6 phase supply system also can be obtained.
 A phase difference between such voltages Is 360°/n where n is number of phases.

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2.7 Advantages of Three Phase System

In the three phase system, the alternator armature has three windings and it produces
three independent alternating voltages. The magnitude and frequency of all of them is equal
but they have a phase difference of 120° between each other. Such a three phase system has
following advantages over single phase system.
1. The output of three phase machine is always greater than single phase machine of same
size, approximately 1.5 times. So for a given size and voltage a three phase alternator
occupies less space and has less cost too than single phase having same rating.
2. For a transmission and distribution, three phase system needs less copper or less
conducting material than single phase system for given volt amperes and voltage rating
so transmission becomes very much economical.
3. It is possible to produce rotating magnetic field with stationary coils by using three
phase system. Hence three phase motors are self starting.
4. In single phase system, the instantaneous power is a function of time and hence
fluctuates w.r.t. time. This fluctuating power causes considerable vibrations in single
phase motors. Hence performance of single phase motors is poor. While instantaneous
power in symmetrical three phase system is constant.
5. Three phase system give steady output.
6. Single phase supply can be obtained from three phase but three phase cannot be obtained
from single phase.
7. Power factor of single phase motors is poor than three phase motors of same rating.
8. For converting machines like rectifiers, the D.C. output voltage becomes smoother if
number of phases is increased.
But it is found that optimum number of phases required to get all above said advantages is
three. Any further increase in number of phases cause a lot of complications. Hence three
phase system is accepted as standard system throughout the world.

2.5 Generation of Three Phase Voltage System

It is already discussed that alternator consisting of one group of coils on armature
produces one alternating voltage. But if armature coils are divided into three groups such that
they are displaced by the angle 120° from each other, three separate alternating voltages get
developed.
 Consider armature of alternator divided into three groups as shown in the Fig. 4.1. The
coils are named as R1- R2, Y1 -Y2 and B1- B2 and mounted on same shaft.

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Fig 4.1
 The ends of each coil are brought out through the slip ring and brush arrangement to
collect the Induced e.m.f.
 Let eR , eY and eB be the three independent voltages in coil R1 R 2 , Y1 Y2 and B1 B2
respectively.
 All are alternating voltages having same magnitude and frequency as they are rotated at
uniform speed.
 All of them will be displaced by one another by 120°.
 Suppose eR is assumed to be reference and is zero for the instant shown in fig 4.2.

Fig 4.2
 At the same instant eY will be displaced by 120° from eR and will follow eR while eB
will be displaced by 120° from eY and will follow eY .
 All coils together represent three phase supply system.
 The equation of the induced e.m.f are
eR = Em sin(ωt)
eY = Em sin(ωt- 120°)
eB = Em sin(ωt- 240°)

 The phasor diagram is shown in fig 4.3

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Fig 4.3
 If the three voltages are added vectorially, it can be observed that the sum of these three
voltages at any instant is zero.

Phase Sequence
The sequence in which the voltages in three phases reach their maximum positive values is
called phase-sequence. Generally the phase sequence is R-Y-B.
The significance of the phase sequence of the three phase supply is:
1. When the 3 phase supply of a particular sequence is given to a static three phase load,
certain current flows through the line and phase of the load. If the phase sequence is
changed, then both magnitude and phase of the currents flowing in the lines and the
phase of the load will change.
2. If the load is a three phase induction motor, when the sequence of the supply is changed,
not only the magnitude and phase of the line current and phase current change, but the
direction of rotation of motor also changes.

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2.6 Concept of Phase Voltages and Phase Currents

Now to define the phase voltages and phase currents let us see the connections of the three
phase load to the supply lines. Generally Red, Yellow and Blue coloured wires are used to
differentiate three phases and hence the names given to three phases are R, Y and B.

The load can be connected in two ways, i) Star connection, ii) Delta connection

The three phase load is nothing but three different impedances connected together in star or
delta fashion

1. Star connected load: There are three different impedances and are connected such that
one end of each is connected together and other three are connected to supply terminals
R-Y-B. This is shown in the Fig.

 In the diagram shown VRN , VYN and VBN are the phase voltages while IR , IY and IB are
phase currents.
 The phase voltages are denoted as Vph while the phase currents are denoted as Iph .
 Generally suffix N is not indicated for phase voltages in star connected load. So, Vph =
VR = VY =VB .
 It can be seen from the diagram that Iph =IR =IY =IB .
 But same are the currents flowing in the three lines also. Thus we can conclude that for
star connection

𝐈𝐩𝐡 =𝐈𝐋

2. Delta Connection: If the three impedances are connected such that the starting end of
one is connected to the terminating end of other, to form a closed loop it is called delta
connection of the load. The junction points are connected to supply terminals R-Y-B.
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 The currents IRY , IYB and IBR flowing through the various branches of the load are
phase currents. The line currents are IR , IY and IB flowing through supply lines. Thus
in delta connection of the load, line and phase currents are different.
 The voltages across Zph1 = VRY , across Zph2 = VYB and across Zph3 = VBR and all are
phase voltages.

Vph = VRY = VYB = VBR

 But as per definition of line voltages, same are the voltage across the supply line also.
Thus it can be concluded that in delta connection line voltage is equal to phase
voltage.

𝐕𝐩𝐡 = 𝐕𝐋

Balanced Load

 The load is said to be balanced when magnitude of all the impedances are equal and
phase angle of all of them are equal and of same nature either all inductive or all
capacitive or all resistive.
 In such cases all phase voltages have equal magnitude and are displaced from each other
by 120° while all phase currents also have equal magnitude and are displaced from each
other by 120°.
 The same is true for all the line voltages and line currents.
 The load is said to be unbalanced when magnitude of all the impedances are unequal
and phase angle of all of them are unequal. In such cases all phase voltages have unequal
magnitude and are not displaced from each other by 120°.

Relation for star connected load

Consider a balanced star connected load as shown in fig.

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Line voltages VL = VRY = VYB = VBR .

While Line currents IL = IR = IY = IB .

Phase voltages Vph = VR = VY =VB .

Phase currents Iph =IR =IY =IB

As seen earlier 𝐈𝐩𝐡 =𝐈𝐋

To derive relation between Vph and VL , consider the voltage VRY . we can write

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The three phase voltages are displaced by 120° from each other. The phasor diagram to get
VRY is shown in the above. The VY is reversed to get −VY and then it is added to VR to get VRY .

The perpendicular is drawn from point A on vector OB representing VL . In triangle OAB, the
sides OA and AB are same as phase voltages. Hence OB bisects angle between VR and −VY .

Now lagging or leading nature of the current depends on per phase Impedance. If Zph is
𝑋𝐿
inductive i.e. R+j XL then current Iph lags Vph by angle φ where φ is tan−1 . If Zph is
𝑅
capacitive i.e. R-j XC then Iph leads Vph by angle φ. If Zph is resistive i.e. R+j 0 then Iph is in
phase with Vph .

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Relation for Delta Connected Load

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2.8 Measurement of power and power factor by two wattmeter method

The power in a three phase circuit can be measured by connecting two wattmeters in any of
the two phases of the three phase circuit. A wattmeter consists of a current coil and a potential
coil as shown in the figure.

The wattmeter is connected in the circuit in such a way that the current coil is in series and
carries the load current and the potential coil is connected in parallel across the load voltage.
The wattmeter reading will then he equal to the product of the current carried by the current
coil, the voltage across the potential coil and the cosine of the angle between the voltage and
current.

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Balanced star connected load

 The current coils of the two wattmeters are connected in any two lines while the voltage
coil of each wattmeter is connected between its own current coil terminal and the line
without the current coil.
 For example, the current coils are inserted in the lines R and Y then the voltage coils
are connected between R-B for one wattmeter and Y-B for other wattmeter.
 It can be shown that when two wattmeters are connected in this way, the algebraic sum
of the two wattmeter readings gives the total power dissipated in the three phase circuit.
 If W1 and W2 are the two wattmeter readings then total power

W= 𝐖𝟏 + 𝐖𝟐 = three phase power = √𝟑 𝐕𝐋 𝐈𝐋 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝛗

PROOF:

 Consider star connected load and two wattmeter connected as shown in fig.

 Let us consider the RMS values of current and voltage to prove that sum of two
wattmeter gives the total power consumed by the three phase load.
W1 = IR X VRB X cos∠IR &VRB

W2 = IY X VYB X cos∠IY &VYB

 To find angle between ( IR and VRB ) and (IY and VYB ) phasor diagram is drawn.
(Assuming power factor to be lagging)
̅̅̅̅̅
V ̅̅̅ ̅̅̅
RB = VR − Vb
And V ̅̅̅̅̅ ̅̅̅ ̅̅̅
YB = VY − VB
Angle between VR and IR = φ
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Angle between VY and IY = φ

Vph = VR = VY =VB and VRB = VYB = VL
IR = IY = IL =IPH (star)

From the vector diagram

Angle between VRB and IR = 30° - φ
Angle between VYB and IY = 30° + φ

 W1 = IR VRB cos(30° - φ ) i.e. W1 = IL VL cos(30° - φ )

W2 = IY VYB cos(30° + φ) i.e. W2 = IL VL cos(30° + φ)

 W1 + W2 = IL VL [cos(30° - φ ) + cos(30° + φ) ]
= IL VL [ cos 30 cos φ + sin 30 sin φ + cos 30 cos φ - sin 30 sin φ]
= 2 IL VL cos 30 cos φ
√3
= 2 IL VL cos φ
2
𝐖𝟏 + 𝐖𝟐 = √𝟑 𝐈𝐋 𝐕𝐋 cos φ = Total 3 phase power

Power Factor Calculation by Two Wattmeter Method

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 In case of balanced load, the p.f. can be calculated from W1 and W2 readings.
 For balanced lagging p.f.

W1 = IL VL cos(30° - φ )

W2 = IL VL cos(30° + φ)

𝐖𝟏 + 𝐖𝟐 = √𝟑 𝐈𝐋 𝐕𝐋 cos φ ---------------------------------(i)

W1 − W2 = IL VL [cos(30° - φ) - cos(30° + φ) ]
W1 − W2 = IL VL [cos30cos φ + sin30sin φ - cos30cosφ +sin 30 sin φ]
W1 − W2 = 2 IL VL sin 30 sin φ
𝐖𝟏 − 𝐖𝟐 = 𝐈𝐋 𝐕𝐋 sin φ --------------------------------------(ii)

 Taking ratio of equation (ii) and (i)

W1 − W 2 IL VL sin φ tan 𝜑
= =
W1 + W 2 √3 IL VL cos φ √3

√3(W1 − W2 )
Tan φ =
W1 + W2

√3(W1 − W2 )
φ= tan−1 [ ]
W1 + W2

√𝟑(𝐖𝟏 − 𝐖𝟐 )
Power factor cosφ = cos{𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 [ ]}
𝐖𝟏 + 𝐖𝟐

Effect of Power Factor on Wattmeter Readings

 For balanced lagging p.f.

W1 = IL VL cos(30° - φ )

W2 = IL VL cos(30° + φ)

 Consider different cases

Case (i) cosφ = 0 i.e. φ=90°

 W1 = IL VL cos(30° - 90°) = 1/2IL VL

W2 = IL VL cos(30° + 90°) = - 1/2IL VL

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i. e. 𝐖𝟏 + 𝐖𝟐 = 0

|𝐖𝟏 | = |𝐖𝟐 | but 𝐖𝟐 = - 𝐖𝟏

Case (ii) cos φ = 0.5 i.e. φ= 60°

W1 = IL VL cos(30° - 60°) = √3/2IL VL

W2 = IL VL cos(30° + 60°) = 0

𝐖𝟏 + 𝐖𝟐 = 𝐖𝟏 = Total Power

 One wattmeter shows zero reading

Case (iii) cosφ =1 i.e φ = 0

W1 = IL VL cos(30° - 0°) = √3/2IL VL

W2 = IL VL cos(30° + 0°) = √3/2IL VL

 Both wattmeter read equal and positive

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