Electrical Circuits and Systems
MODULE 2: AC CIRCUITS ANALYSIS
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OUTLINE
Introduction
Basics of sinusoid and phasors
Average, RMS value of an AC quantity
Steady state AC response for a pure resistive circuit
Exercise/Numerical Analysis
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INTRODUCTION
Why alternating current (AC) power system became popular?
AC can be easily converted to DC using rectifiers, but DC cannot be
converted to AC
Another advantage of AC electricity is that the voltage can be readily
changed, thus making it more suitable for long-distance transmission
than DC electricity
AC is cheaper and easier to generate than DC (No commutator).
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INTRODUCTION
Various AC Waveforms
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The output waveform will be sinusoidal with the same frequency as the input signals.
This could be easily verified experimentally. Since we are dealing with linear ac circuits
with sinusoidal inputs, it follows that, the steady-state response in any part of the circuit
is also sinusoidal
BASICS OF SINUSOID
A sinusoid is a signal that has the form of the sine or cosine function
A sinusoidal current is usually referred to as alternating current (AC)
Such a current reverses at regular time intervals and has alternately
positive and negative values as shown,
Fig. Sinusoidal Variation 11
BASICS OF SINUSOID
A sinusoidal signal is easy to generate and transmit
Through Fourier analysis, any practical periodic signal can be
represented by a sum of sinusoids
Circuits driven by sinusoidal current or voltage sources are called
AC circuits.
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BASICS OF SINUSOID
The terms which we most commonly use:
Waveform: The variation of a quantity such as voltage or current
shown on a graph with time is a waveform.
Cycle: Each repetition of a variable quantity, recurring at equal
intervals, is termed a cycle.
Period: The duration of one cycle is termed its period.
Fig. Cycles and Periods 8
BASICS OF SINUSOID
Instantaneous value: The magnitude of a waveform at any instant in
time. They are denoted by lower-case symbols such as v and i.
Peak value: The maximum instantaneous value measured from its
zero value is known as its peak value.
Peak-to-peak value: The maximum variation between the maximum
positive instantaneous value and the maximum negative instantaneous
value is the peak-to-peak value.
Fig. Peak Values 9
BASICS OF SINUSOID
Peak amplitude: The maximum instantaneous value measured from the
mean value of a waveform is the peak amplitude.
Frequency: The number of cycles that occur in 1 second is termed the
frequency of that quantity. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz)
Fig. Effect on waveforms by varying frequency 10
BASICS OF SINUSOID
Sinusoids, play an important role in the analysis of periodic signals
The derivative and integral of a sinusoid are themselves sinusoids.
For these reasons, the sinusoid is an extremely important function in
circuit analysis
Consider the sinusoidal voltage,
v(t) Vm sin t Where, Vm = the amplitude of the sinusoid
ω = the angular frequency in radians/s
ωt = the argument of the sinusoid
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BASICS OF SINUSOID
In one cycle the angle covered is 2π radians. When the frequency is f
cycles per second, the angle covered in one second will be 2π
radians. The angular frequency of sinusoid is represented by ω and its
unit is radians per second. Thus ω = 2π f
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BASICS OF SINUSOID
It is evident that the sinusoid repeats itself every T seconds thus, T is
called the period of the sinusoid
2
From the figures, we observe that ωT = 2π T
Fig. Vm sin ωt as a function of ωt Fig. Vm sin ωt as a function of t
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BASICS OF SINUSOID
The fact that v(t) repeats itself every T seconds is shown by replacing t
by t + T,
v(t T ) Vm sin (t T )
Vm sin(t 2 ) Vm sin t v(t)
Hence, v(t T ) v(t)
Thus, v has the same value at t + T as it does at t and v(t) is said to be
periodic.
A periodic function is one that satisfies f (t ) = f (t + nT ), for all t and
for all integers n
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BASICS OF SINUSOID
A more general expression for the
sinusoid is,
v(t) Vm sin(t )
where, (ωt+ϕ) is the argument and
ϕ is the phase
Both argument and phase can be in
radians or degrees
Let us examine the two sinusoids, Fig. Two sinusoids with different phases
v1(t) Vm sin(t),v2 (t) Vm sin(t )
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BASICS OF SINUSOID
The starting point of v2 in Fig.
occurs first in time
Therefore, v2 leads v1 by ϕ or v1 lags
v2 by ϕ
If ϕ ≠ 0, v1 and v2 are out of phase
Moreover, if ϕ = 0 then v1 and v2 are
said to be in phase as they reach their
minima and maxima at exactly the
same time Fig. Two sinusoids with different phases
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BASICS OF SINUSOID
A sinusoid can be expressed in either sine or cosine form
sin(A B) sin Acos B cos Asin B
cos(A B) cos Acos B sin Asin B
With these identities, it is easy to show that,
sin(t 180) sin t, cos(t 180) cos t
sin(t 90) cost, cos(t 90) sin t
Using these, sinusoid can be transformed from sine form to cosine form
or vice versa.
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SOLVED NUMERICALS ON SINUSOIDS
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Numerical 1: Determine frequency in Hz, angular frequency in rad/s,
and the amplitude of the harmonic voltage signals as shown.
Solution: All four signals in Fig. have the same amplitude of 0.6 V,
the same frequency of f = 1 kHz, and the same angular frequency
of ω = 2πf = 6283.1 rad/s. 19
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Numerical 2: Find the amplitude, phase, period, and frequency of the
sinusoid v(t) = 12 cos(50t + 10°) V.
Solution:
The amplitude is Vm = 12 V
The phase is ϕ = 10°
The angular frequency is ω = 50 rad/s
The period T =2π/ω =2π/50= 0.1257 s
The frequency is f = 1/T= 7.958 Hz
Numerical 3: Given the sinusoid 45 cos(5πt + 36°), calculate its
amplitude, phase, angular frequency, period, and frequency.
Solution: 45, 36°, 15.708 rad/s, 400 ms, 2.5 Hz
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Numerical 4: Calculate the phase angle between v1 = −10 cos(ωt + 50°)
and v2 = 12 sin(ωt − 10°). State which sinusoid is leading.
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METHOD 1- Alternatively, we may express v1 in sine form:
v1 = −10 cos(ωt + 50°) = 10 sin(ωt + 50° − 90°)
= 10 sin(ωt − 40°) = 10 sin(ωt − 10° − 30°)
But v2 = 12 sin(ωt − 10°). Comparing the two shows that v1 lags v2 by 30°.
This is the same as saying that v2 leads v1 by 30°
METHOD 2- We may regard v1 as simply
−10 cos ωt with a phase shift of +50°.
Similarly, v2 is 12 sin ωt with a phase shift
of −10°.
Therefore, as observed v2 leads v1 by 30°.
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AVERAGE AND RMS VALUES OF AN
ALTERNATING CURRENT
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• Alternating current is defined as the current
whose magnitude changes with time and also
reverses its direction periodically.
Hence, it is not possible to represent the magnitudes as
it will change continuously with time.
This way, we have multiple options to expressed the
magnitude and different values related to an AC sine
wave
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The RMS (Root Mean Square)
Also known as effective or virtual value of an alternating
current (AC), is the value of direct current (DC) when flowing
through a circuit or resistor for the specific time period and
produces same amount of heat which produced by the
alternating current (AC) when flowing through the
same circuit or resistor for a specific time.
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AVERAGE AND RMS VALUES OF AN
ALTERNATING CURRENT
In case of unsymmetrical waves like half wave rectified voltage,
the average is calculated over the full cycle. The instantaneous
value i is represented by, i Im sin
where, θ is the angle in radians from instant of zero current
For a very small interval dθ radians, the area of the shaded strip is
i · dθ ampere radians
The use of the unit ‘ampere radian’ avoids converting the scale on
the horizontal axis from radians to seconds 34
AVERAGE VALUE OF AN ALTERNATING
CURRENT
Therefore, total area enclosed by the current wave over half-cycle is,
i d I sin d I cos
m m
0 0 0
Im (1) 1 2Im
2Im
Therefore, average value of current over a half-cycle is I av
Iav = 0.637Im
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RMS VALUE OF AN ALTERNATING CURRENT
If i is the instantaneous current through the resistance, the average
power dissipated is,
2
< 𝑖 2 𝑅 > = 𝐼𝑅𝑀𝑆 𝑅 wher𝑒 < 𝑖2 > = 𝐼𝑅𝑀𝑆
𝜋 2
𝐼𝑚
1
< 𝑖 2 > = ∫ 𝐼𝑚2 𝑠𝑖𝑛2 𝜃 𝑑𝜃 =
𝜋 0 2
Im
Therefore, IRMSI 0.707I m
2
It is normal practice to omit the RMS subscript, and just denote IRMS as I
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AVERAGE AND RMS VALUES OF AN
ALTERNATING CURRENT
RMS value of a sinusoidal current or voltage is,
I 0.707Im
Form factor (= RMS/Average) of a sine wave is,
0.707 ∗ maximum value
Form factor = k f 1.11
0.637 ∗ minimum value
Peak or crest factor (= Amplitude/Average) of a sine wave is
maximum value
Peak factor = k p 1.414
0.707 ∗ maximum value
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Assignment
Derive the expressions for the average value and the root mean square
(RMS) value of sinusoidal waveforms, commonly used in AC circuit
analysis.(Verify the previous slide values)
NUMERICALS ON AVERAGE AND RMS
VALUES
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Numerical 1: An alternating current of sinusoidal waveform has an RMS
value of 10.0 A. What is the peak-to-peak value of this current?
I 10
Solution: Im 14.14A
0.707 0.707
The peak-to-peak value is therefore 14.14 − (-14.14) = 28.28 A
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Numerical 2: An alternating voltage has the equation v = 141.4 sin 377t,
what are the values of (a) RMS voltage (b) frequency
(c) the instantaneous voltage when t = 3 ms?
Solution: The relation is of the form v = Vm sinωt and by comparison,
(a)Vm 141.4V 2V Hence, V 141.4 100V
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(b)Also by comparison,
377rad / s 2 f , f 377 60Hz
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(c)Finally, v 141.4sin 377t v 141.4sin(377 3103 ) 141.4sin1.131
when t = 3 × 10−3 sec, 141.4 0.904 127.8V
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STEADY STATE AC RESPONSE FOR
A
PURE RESISTIVE CIRCUIT
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STEADY STATE AC RESPONSE FOR A PURE
RESISTIVE CIRCUIT
Consider a circuit having a resistance R ohms connected across the
terminals of an AC generator G as shown,
Fig. Circuit with resistance
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STEADY STATE AC RESPONSE FOR A PURE
RESISTIVE CIRCUIT
If the value of the voltage at any instant is v volts, the value of the
current at that instant is given by,
v
i
R
When the voltage is zero, the current is also zero and since the current
is proportional to the voltage, the waveform of the current is exactly
the same as that of the voltage
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STEADY STATE AC RESPONSE FOR A PURE
RESISTIVE CIRCUIT
The two quantities are in phase as
they pass through their zero values
at the same instant and attain their
maximum values in a given
Fig. Voltage and current waveforms for a
resistive circuit
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STEADY STATE AC RESPONSE FOR A PURE
RESISTIVE CIRCUIT
If Vm and Im are the maximum values of the voltage and current
respectively, it follows that
Vm
Im
R
But the RMS value of a sine wave is 0.707 times the maximum value,
so that
RMS value of voltage=V=0.707Vm
RMS value of current=I=0.707Im
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STEADY STATE AC RESPONSE FOR A PURE
RESISTIVE CIRCUIT
Substituting for Im and Vm we have,
I V V
I
0.707 0.707R R
Hence, Ohm’s law can be applied without any modification to an AC
circuit possessing resistance only
If the instantaneous value of the applied voltage is represented by,
v Vm sin t
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STEADY STATE AC RESPONSE FOR A PURE
RESISTIVE CIRCUIT
Then instantaneous value of current in a resistive circuit is
Vm sin t
i
R
The phasors representing the voltage and current in a resistive circuit
are shown below,
Fig. Phasor diagram for a resistive circuit
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UNSOLVED PROBLEMS
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Question 1: Given the sinusoidal voltage v(t) = 50 cos (30t + 10°) V, find:
(a) the amplitude Vm, (b) the period T, (c) the frequency f, and (d) v(t) at t =
10 ms. Ans.1: (a) 50 V, (b) 209.4 ms, (c)
4.775 Hz, (d) 44.48 V, 0.3 rad
Question 2: A current source in a linear circuit has is = 8 cos(500πt - 25°) A
(a) What is the amplitude of the current?
(b) What is the angular frequency?
(c) Find the frequency of the current.
Ans.2: (a) 8 A, (b) 1570.8 rad/s,
(d) Calculate is at t = 2 ms. (c) 250 Hz, (d) -7.25 A
Question 3: Express the following functions in cosine form:
(a) 4 sin(ωt - 30°) (b) −2 sin(6t)
(c) −10 sin(ωt + 20°) Ans.3: (a) 4 cos(ωt-120°), (b) 2
cos(6t+90°), (c) 10 cos(ωt+110°)
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Question 4: Given v1 = 20 sin(ωt + 60°) V and v2 = 60 cos(ωt − 10°) V,
determine the phase angle between the two sinusoids and which one lags
the other. º
Ans.4: 20 and v1 lags v2
Question 5: For the following pairs of sinusoids, determine which one
leads and by how much.
(a) v(t) = 10 cos(4t − 60°) and i(t) = 4 sin(4t + 50°)
(b) v1(t) = 4 cos(377t + 10°) and v2(t) = −20 cos 377t
(c) x(t) = 13 cos 2t + 5 sin 2t and y(t) = 15 cos(2t − 11.8°)
Ans.5: (a) i(t) leads v(t) by 20° (b) v2(t) leads
v1(t) by 170° (c) y(t) leads x(t) by 9.24°
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Question 6: Find the phasors corresponding to the following signals:
(a) v(t) = 21 cos(4t − 15°)V (b) i(t) = −8 sin(10t + 70°) mA
(c) v(t) = 120 sin(10t − 50°) V (d) i(t) = −60 cos(30t + 10°) mA
Ans.6: (a) 21∟-15 ° (b) 8∟-160 ° (c) 120∟-140 ° (d) 60∟-190 °
Question 7: Transform the following sinusoids to phasors:
(a) −10 cos(4t + 75°) (b) 5 sin(20t - 10°)
(c) 4 cos (2t) + 3 sin (2t)
Ans.7: (a) 10∟-105 (b) 5∟-100 ° (c) 5∟-36.87 °
°
Question 8: Two voltages v1 and v2 appear in series so that their sum is v
= v1 + v2. If v1 = 10 cos(50t − π∕3) V and v2 = 12 cos(50t + 30°) V, find v.
Ans.8: 15.62 cos(50t-9.8°) V
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Question 9: A linear network has a current input 10 sin(ωt + 30°) A and a
voltage output -65cos(ωt+120°) V. Determine the associated impedance.
Ans.9: 6.5 Ω
Question 10: If the waveform of a voltage has a form factor of 1.15 and
a peak factor of 1.5, and if the peak value is 4.5 kV, calculate the average
and the r.m.s. values of the voltage.
Ans.10: 2.61kV, 3 kV
Question11: An alternating current was measured by a DC milliammeter
in conjunction with a full-wave rectifier. The reading on the milliammeter
was 7.0 mA. Assuming the waveform of the alternating current to be
sinusoidal, calculate: (a) the r.m.s. value; and (b) the maximum value of
the alternating current.
Ans.11: 7.8mA, 11 mA
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Question 12: An alternating current has a periodic time 2T. The current
for a time one-third of T is 50 A; for a time one-sixth of T, it is 20 A; and
zero for a time equal to one-half of T. Calculate the RMS and average
values of this current.
Ans.12: 30 A RMS, 20 A average
Question 13: A triangular voltage wave has a periodic time of (3/100)
sec. For the first (2/100) sec, of each cycle it increases uniformly at the
rate of 1000 V/s, while for the last (1/100) sec, it falls away uniformly to
zero. Find (a) its average value; (b) its RMS value; (c) its form factor.
Ans.13: 10 V, 11.55 V, 1.155
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