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AC Electrical Circuit Analysis
Unit - 1
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Learning outcomes
Upon completing this lecture, students will be able to:
Identify a sinusoidal wave.
Describe period, frequency, and amplitude.
Describe peak, peak-to-peak, and effective voltage.
Describe phase relationships and phase-shift
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Direct Current and Alternating Current
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The sinusoidal waveform (sine wave) is the fundamental
alternating current (ac) and alternating voltage waveform.
Sine waves
Electrical sine waves are
named from the
mathematical function
with the same shape.
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6
Terminologies used
in AC circuits
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Sine waves are characterized by the amplitude and period.
The amplitude is the maximum value of a voltage or current;
the period is the time interval for one complete cycle.
Amplitude and Period
0 V
10 V
-10 V
15 V
-15 V
-20 V
t ( s)
0 25 37.5 50.0
20 V
The amplitude (A)
of this sine wave
is
20 V
The period is 50.0 s
A
T
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The period of a sine wave can be measured between
any two corresponding points on the waveform.
Time period
T T T T
T T
By contrast, the amplitude of a sine wave is only
measured from the center to the maximum point.
A
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3.0 Hz
Frequency
Frequency ( f ) is the number of cycles that a sine wave
completes in one second.
Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz).
If 3 cycles of a wave occur in one second, the frequency
is
1.0 s
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The period and frequency are reciprocals of each other.
Period and frequency
T
f
1
and
f
T
1
Thus, if you know one, you can easily find the other.
If the period is 50 s, the frequency is 0.02 MHz = 20 kHz.
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0 V
10 V
-10 V
15 V
-15 V
-20 V
t ( s)
0 25 37.5 50.0
20 V
The voltage of a sine wave can also be specified as
either the peak-to-peak or the rms value. The peak-to-
peak is twice the peak value. The rms value is 0.707
times the peak value.
Peak-to-peak (Vpp) and RMS value:
The peak-to-peak
voltage is
40 V.
The rms voltage
is
14.1 V.
V
PP
V
rms
12
0 V
10 V
-10 V
15 V
-15 V
-20 V
t ( s)
0 25 37.5 50.0
20 V
Average value of a sine wave is measured over only half a cycle since
over a complete cycle the average value is zero regardless of the peak
amplitude. It depends on the magnitude of the waveform and not the
function of frequency and phase angle.
=
2
= 0.637
Average value:
The average value for
the sinusoidal voltage is
12.7 V.
V
avg
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=
sin( )
Phase shift
where
f = Phase shift
The phase of a sine wave is an angular measurement
that specifies the position of a sine wave relative to a
reference. To show that a sine wave is shifted to the
left or right of this reference, a term is added to the
equation given previously.
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Let us examine the two sinusoids, as follows;
1
=
sin
2
=
sin( +)
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Phase shift
V
o
l
t
a
g
e
(
V
)
270 360 0 90 180
40
45 135 225 315
0
Angle ()
30
20
10
-20
-30
- 40
405
Peak voltage
Reference
Notice that a lagging sine
wave is below the axis at 0
o
Example of a wave that lags the
reference
v = 30 V sin (q - 45
o
)
and the equation
has a negative phase
shift
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Phase shift
V
o
l
t
a
g
e
(
V
)
270 360 0 90 180
40
45 135 225 315
0
Angle ()
30
20
10
-20
-30
-40
Peak voltage
Reference
-45
-10
Notice that a leading sine
wave is above the axis at 0
o
Example of a wave that leads the
reference
v = 30 V sin (q + 45
o
)
and the equation
has a positive phase
shift
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Sine wave
Alternating
current
Period (T)
Frequency (f)
Hertz
Current that reverses direction in response to a
change in source voltage polarity.
The time interval for one complete cycle of a
periodic waveform.
A type of waveform that follows a cyclic
sinusoidal pattern defined by the formula
y = A sin q.
Key Terms
A measure of the rate of change of a periodic
function; the number of cycles completed in 1 s.
The unit of frequency. One hertz equals one
cycle per second.
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Instantaneous
value
Peak value
Peak-to-peak
value
rms value
The voltage or current value of a waveform at
its maximum positive or negative points.
The voltage or current value of a waveform
measured from its minimum to its maximum
points.
The voltage or current value of a waveform at
a given instant in time.
Key Terms
The value of a sinusoidal voltage that indicates
its heating effect, also known as effective
value. It is equal to 0.707 times the peak value.
rms stands for root mean square.
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Problem 1:
Find the amplitude, phase, period and frequency of the given
sinusoid: = 12 cos(50 +10)
Problem 2:
Given the sinusoid 30sin 4 75 , calculate its amplitude,
phase, angular frequency, period and frequency of the given
sinusoid:
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Practice problems:
In a linear circuit, the voltage source is
= 12 sin(10
3
+24 )
a) What is the angular frequency of the voltage?
b) What is the frequency of the source ?
c) Find the period of the voltage.
d) Express
in cosine form.
e) Determine
at = 2.5 .
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Practice problems:
In a linear circuit, the voltage source is
i
s
= 8 cos(500 25 )
a) What is the amplitude of the current?
b) What is the angular frequency?
c) Find the frequency of the source ?
d) Calculate
at = 2 .
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An alternating current of frequency 60 Hz has a maximum value of
120 A.
a) Write down the equation for its instantaneous value.
b)Find the instantaneous value after 1/360 second and
c) Find the time taken to reach 96 A for the first time.
Practice problems:
