AC FUNDAMENTALS
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Advantages of using AC
• For the same power, An AC Generator/Motor
is smaller, less space consuming and cheaper.
• Maintenance problems associated with the
use of Commutator and brushes etc.
eliminated.
• Voltages can be stepped up to higher values
by using Transformers. This helps in
transmission of Power economically over long
distances
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Advantages of using DC
• Higher starting torque as required for traction
devices is possible with DC motors.
• Finer Speed control possible with simple
cheap devices.
• Constant voltage as required for Electro-
plating and Battery Charging possible.
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AC Terminology - 1
• An alternating quantity is one which acts in
alternate directions and whose magnitude
undergoes a definite cycle of changes at
definite intervals of time.
• A Cycle – a complete change in value and
direction of alternating quantity
• Period – time taken to complete one cycle
• Frequency(Hz) – Number of Cycles per Second
of an alternating quantity.
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AC Terminology - 1
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AC Terminology - 2
• Amplitude – Highest value of current or
voltage in a half cycle.(Also called the
maximum value)
• Instantaneous value – Value at any instant
over the whole cycle.
• Sine curve – is the curve of an alternating
quantity in which all the instantaneous values
are proportional to the sine of the angle
moved.
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AC Terminology - 2
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AC Terminology - 3
• Phase Angle – The angular displacement between
two or more alternating quantities.
• In Phase – If two alternating quantities reach their
maximum or minimum value at one and the same
time, they are said to be in phase.
• Out of Phase – If two alternating quantities reach
their maximum or minimum value at different times
keeping an equal phase angle between them, they
are said to be out of phase.
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AC Terminology - 3
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AC Terminology - 4
Inductive Reactance(xL)- The effective
opposition offered by a pure inductor to the
flow of an alternating current. It is measured
in Ohms.
Capacitive Reactance(xC)- The effective
opposition offered by a pure capacitor to the
flow of an alternating current. It is measured
in Ohms.
Impedance(Z) – The total effective
opposition offered by a series or parallel
circuit containing resistance, inductance
and capacitance to the flow of an alternating
current. It is measured in Ohms.
Power Factor – The ratio between the True
Power and the Apparent Power
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Power Factor - Significance
TRUE POWER
POWER FACTOR = --------------------------- = COS O
APPARENT POWER
WI TH REFERENCE TO AC POWER GENERATI ON, APPARENT POWER I S THE CAPACI TY OF THE ALTERNATOR I N 'KVA'
AND THE TRUE POWER I S THE ACTUAL POWER DELI VERED TO THE LOAD I N 'KW'
LOAD I N KW
POWER FACTOR = --------------------------- = COS O
KVA OF ALTERNATOR
I F A LOAD OF PF 0.9 I S CONNECTED TO A 500KVA ALTERNATOR, THE ACTUAL POWER DELI VERED = 450 KW
I F A LOAD OF PF 0.8 I S CONNECTED TO A 500 KVA ALTERNATOR, THE ACTUAL POWER DELI VERED = 400 KW
I F A LOAD OF PF 0.6 I S CONECTED TO A 500 KVA ALTERNATOR, THE ACTUAL POWER DELI VERED = 300 KW
THE PF OF THE LOAD DECI DES THE SI ZE OF ALTERNATOR, CABLES ETC.
FOR THE SAM E POWER, A LOWER PF I NCREASES THE CURRENT, COPPER LOSSES ETC AND.
DECREASES THE EFFI CI ENCY OF GENRATI ON AND DI STRI BUTI ON
SUPPLY AUTHORI TI ES COM PEL THE CONSUM ERS TO I M PROVE THEI R PF BY SLAPPI NG PENALTY CHARGES FOR POOR PF
I NDUCTI VE LOADS LI KE M OTOR,TUBELI GHTI NG ETC DECREASE THE PF, THE SYSTEM PF CAN BE I M PROVED BY
ADDI NG CAPACI TI VE LOADS LI KE PF CORRECTI ON CAPACI TORS AND OVER-EXCI TED SYNCHRONOUS M OTORS
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Current in AC Circuit
In D.C. Circuit , value of current (I) is given
by I = V/R
In A.C. Circuit, this simple relationship does
not hold good.
Variations in current set up magnetic effects.
With comparative low-voltage and high
currents, magnetic effects may be large.
Variations in voltage set up electrostatic
effects. In high-voltage circuits, electrostatic
effects are usually appreciable .
The current in an [Link] takes into all the
effects produced by the various components
in the circuit
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AC Circuit – Purely Resistive
V
VOLTAGE AND CURRENT WAVEFORMS ARE I N PHASE
R I
I
I V
V
POWER PULSATES BETWEEN ZERO AND CERTAI N M AXI MUM
AND I S ALWAYS POSI TI VE
FREQUENCY OF POWER CURVE I S TWI CE THE SUPPLY
POWER CURVE M EAN POWER FREQUENCY
POSI TI VE POWER I NDI CATES POWER I S DELI VERED TO
THE LOAD
SHADED AREAS REPRESENT ENERGY (POWER X TI ME)
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AC Circuit – Pure inductive
V V
I
L THE CURRENT CURVE LAGS THE VOLTAGE CURVE BY 90°%D%%
I I
POWER CURVE I S A SI NE CURVE OF DOUBLE THE FREQUENCY
V OF VOLTAGE AND CURRENT
A POSI TI VE POWER I NDI CATES THAT POWER I S SUPPLI ED TO
THE LOAD.
+ +
A NEGATI VE POWER I NDI CATES THAT POWER I S RETURNED
FROM THE LOAD TO THE SOURCE.
POWER CURVE SHADED AREAS REPRESENT ENERGY (POWER X TI M E)
AREAS ABOVE HORI ZONTAL AXI S I NDI CATE THAT ENERGY I S
SUPPLI ED BY THE SOURCE TO THE CI RCUI T
AREAS BELOW THE HORI ZONTAL AXI S I NDI CATE THAT ENERGY
I S BEI NG RETURNED TO THE SOURCE
REFERRI NG TO THE POWER CURVE, I T WI LL BE SEEN THAT
THE TOTAL AREA ABOVE THE HORI ZONTAL AREA EQUALS THE
- - AREAS BELOW THE HORI ZONTAL AXI S. HENCE THE TOTAL
ENERGY SUPPLI ED I S ZERO.
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AC Circuit – Purely Capacitive
V
I
C I THE CURRENT CURVE LEADS THE VOLTAGE CURVE BY 90°%D%%
V POWER CURVE I S A SI NE CURVE OF DOUBLE THE FREQUENCY
I V OF VOLTAGE AND CURRENT
A POSI TI VE POWER I NDI CATES THAT POWER I S SUPPLI ED TO
THE LOAD.
+ +
A NEGATI VE POWER I NDI CATES THAT POWER I S RETURNED TO
THE SOURCE
SHADED AREAS REPRESENT ENERGY (POWER X TI M E)
POWER CURVE
AREAS ABOVE HORI ZONTAL AXI S I NDI CATE THAT ENERGY I S
SUPPLI ED TO THE CI RCUI T
AREAS BELOW THE HORI ZONTAL AXI S I NDI CATE THAT ENERGY
I S BEI NG RETURNED TO THE SOURCE
REFERRI NG TO THE POWER CURVE, I T WI LL BE SEEN THAT
THE TOTAL AREA ABOVE THE HORI ZONTAL AREA EQUALS THE
AREAS BELOW THE HORI ZONTAL AXI S. HENCE THE TOTAL
- -
ENERGY SUPPLI ED I S ZERO.
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A Practical AC Circuit- RL
CURRENT LAGS BEHI ND THE VOLTAGE BY AN ANGLE =
V V
L R I
I
I
POWER CURVE I S A SI NE CURVE OF DOUBLE THE FREQUENCY
V OF VOLTAGE AND CURRENT
A POSI TI VE POWER I NDI CATES THAT POWER I S SUPPLI ED TO
THE LOAD.
A NEGATI VE POWER I NDI CATES THAT POWER I S RETURNED TO
THE SOURCE
+ +
SHADED AREAS REPRESENT ENERGY (POWER X TI M E)
AREAS ABOVE HORI ZONTAL AXI S I NDI CATE THAT ENERGY I S
POWER CURVE SUPPLI ED TO THE CI RCUI T
MEAN POWER = VI Cos O AREAS BELOW THE HORI ZONTAL AXI S I NDI CATE THAT ENERGY
I S BEI NG RETURNED TO THE SOURCE
REFERRI NG TO THE POWER CURVE, I T WI LL BE SEEN THAT
THE TOTAL AREA ABOVE THE HORI ZONTAL AREA I S M ORE THAN
- - AREAS BELOW THE HORI ZONTAL AXI S. HENCE THE TOTAL NET
ENERGY SUPPLI ED I S POSI TI VE
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RMS value of an alternating
Quantity
E
AN ALTERNATING CURRENT CHANGES IN MAGNITUDE FROM INSTANT TO INSTANT.
ANY MEASUREMENT OF [Link] WILL NOT BE PRACTICALLY USEFUL
e7
e6
e5 AN RMS VALUE OF AN ALTERNATING CURRENT IS THE VALUE OF THAT
e4
e3 DIRECT CURRENT WHICH WILL DO THE SAME AMOUNT OF WORK IN THE
e2 SAME TIME
e1
WORK DONE BY A.C. FLOWING THROUGH A RESISTOR "R" OHMS IN TIME "t" SECS
T 2 Rt JOULES
= MEAN VALUE OF i X
IF "I" BE THE D.C CURRENT, WHICH, FLOWING THROUGH THE SAME RESISTANCE, DOES
LET e1, e2 --- BE THE INST. VALUES
THE SAME WORK IN THE SAME TIME, THEN,
OF EMF AND 'R' BE THE LOAD RESCE.
2 2
i1, i2,--in WILL BE [Link] OF I Rt = MEAN VALUE OF i X Rt
CURRENT
ENERGY EXPENDED IN TIME T WILL BE I = VMEAN VALUE OF i 2
i12R + i2 2R + ---in 2
R THIS IS CALLED THE ROOT MEAN SQUARE(R.M.S.) VALUE OF THE AC
MEAN VALUE OF ENERGY WILL BE MEASUREMENT OF ALL AC PARAMETERS WILL BE THE RMS VALUES
i12R + i2 2 2 X T/n
R + ---in R
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RMS, Average & Peak
factor
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Wattless & Wattful
components
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3-Phase Power systems
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Voltage & Current relations
in 3-Phase Systems
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What is resonance?
Resonance refers to a condition in an AC
electrical circuit in which the inductive
reactance and capacitive reactance cancel
each other out to produce a minimum
impedance (series resonance)
or
inductive admittance and the capacitive
admittance cancel each other to produce a
maximum impedance (parallel resonance)
Resonance occurs at a given frequency called
Resonant Frequency.
Resonant Circuits are used in amplifiers and
oscillators
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“Series” or “Voltage”
Resonance
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Impedance Characteristics of
Series Resonant Circuits
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