Real Analog - Circuits 1

Chapter 12: Steady-State Sinusoidal Power

2012 Digilent, Inc. 1
12. Introduction and Chapter Objectives
In this chapter we will address the issue of power transmission via sinusoidal (or AC) signals. This topic is
extremely important, since the vast majority of power transmission in the world is performed using AC voltages
and currents.
For the most part, the topic of AC power transmission focuses on the average power delivered to a load over time.
In general, it is not productive to focus on the power transmission at a particular time since, if the load contains
energy storage elements (such as capacitors and inductors), it is possible that at times the load will absorb power
and at other times the load will release power. This characteristic leads to the concepts of average power and
reactive power average power is typically the power that is converted by the load to useful work, while reactive
power is the power that is simply exchanged by energy storage elements. Power companies cannot really charge
customers for power which is not absorbed by the load, so one primary goal in AC power transmission is to
reduce the reactive power that is sent to the load.
In this chapter we introduce the basic topics relative to calculation of AC power. In section 12.1, we introduce the
basic concepts associated with AC power, including the notion that a load containing energy storage elements
may alternately absorb and release power. This discussion will lead to the concepts of average power and reactive
power, which are discussed in section 12.2. Power calculations are often presented in terms of RMS values; these
are introduced in section12.3. The relative roles of average and reactive power are often characterized by the
apparent power and the power factor, which are presented in section 12.4. In section 12.5, we will use complex
numbers to simultaneously quantify the average power, the reactive power, the apparent power, and the power
factor. Finally, in section 12.6, we examine approaches to reduce the reactive power which is exchanged between
the power company and the user. This technique is called power factor correction.
After completing this chapter, you should be able to:
Define instantaneous power, average power, and reactive power
Define real power, reactive power, and complex power
Define RMS signal values and calculate the RMS value of a given sinusoidal signal
State, from memory, the definition of power factor and calculate the power factor from a given combination
of voltage and current sinusoids
Draw a power triangle
Correct the power factor of an inductive load to a desired value
Real Analog Circuits 1
Chapter 12.1: Instantaneous Power
2012 Digilent, Inc. 2
12.1: Instantaneous Power
We will begin our study of steady-state sinusoidal power by examining the power delivered by a sinusoidal signal
as a function of time. We will see that, since all the signals involved are sinusoidal, the delivered power varies
sinusoidally with time. This time-varying power is called instantaneous power, since it describes the power
delivered to the load at every instant in time. The instantaneous power will not, in general, be directly useful to us
in later sections but it does provide the basis for understanding the concepts presented throughout this chapter.
In chapter 1, we saw that power is the product of voltage and current, so that power as a function of time is:
( ) = ( ) ( ) (12.1)
Power as a function of time is often called instantaneous power, since it provides the power at any instant in time.
So far, this is the only type of power with which we have been concerned. If our voltages and currents are
sinusoidal, as is the case for AC power, we can write v(t) and i(t) as:
( ) = ( + ) (12.2)
and
( ) = ( + ) (12.3)
Where, of course, V
m
and
v
are the amplitude and phase angle of the voltage signal while I
m
and
i
are the
amplitude and phase angle of the current signal. It should be noted at this point that the voltage and current
signals of equations (12.2) and (12.3) are not independent of one another. Figure 12.1 shows the overall system
being analyzed the voltage v(t) and the current i(t) are the voltage and current applied to some load. If the load
has some impedance, Z
L
, the voltage and current are related through this impedance. Thus, if we represent v(t)
and i(t) in phasor form as p(t) = v(t) and
t j
e I ) t ( i

= , then I Z V
L
= .
Figure 12.1. Voltage and current applied to a load.
Substituting equations (12.2) and (12.3) into equation (12.1) results in
( ) = ( + ) ( + ) (12.4)
Equation (12.4) can be re-written, using some algebra and trigonometric identities, as:
( ) = { ( ) + (2 + + )} (12.5)
Real Analog Circuits 1
Chapter 12.1: Instantaneous Power
2012 Digilent, Inc. 3
Since V
m
,
v
, I
m
, and
I
are all constants, we can see that equation (12.5) is the sumof two terms: a constant value,
( ), and a sinusoidal component, (2 + + ). The time-domain relationship of
equation (12.5) is plotted in Figure 12.2. The signals average value is ( ) and has a sinusoidal
component with an amplitude of
2
m m
I V
.
) cos( I V
i v m m

2
1
m m
I V
2
1
Figure 12.2. Plot of instantaneous power vs. time.
Section Summary:
The power delivered to a load by a sinusoidal (or AC) signal has two components: an average value and a
sinusoidal component.
Both the average value and the sinusoidal component are dependent upon the amplitude and phase angles of
the voltage and current delivered to the load. These values are, in turn, set by the impedance of the load.
The average power is dissipated or absorbed by the load. This power is electrical power which is converted to
heat or useful work.
The sinusoidal component of the power is due to energy storage elements in in the load; this power is
exchanged (in some sense) between the load and the system supplying power. It is purely electrical energy
which the load is not using to perform useful work.
Exercises:
1. The current and voltage delivered to a load are i(t) = 2cos(100t) and v(t) = 120cos(100t+65), respectively.
Calculate the average power delivered to the load and the amplitude of the sinusoidal component of the
power.
Real Analog Circuits 1
Chapter 12.2: Average and Reactive Power
2012 Digilent, Inc. 4
12.2: Average and Reactive Power
Examination of equation (12.5) and Figure (12.2) indicates that the instantaneous power can be either positive or
negative, so the load is alternately absorbing or releasing power. The overall amount of power absorbed vs. power
released is dependent primarily upon the ) cos(
i v
term. If the voltage and current are in phase,
i v
= ,
1 = ) cos(
i v
and the instantaneous power is never negative. The voltage and current have the same phase if
the load is purely resistive a resistor always absorbs power. If the voltage and current are 90 out of phase, as is
the case for a purely capacitive or purely inductive load, 0 = ) cos(
i v
. In this case, the instantaneous power
curve is a pure sinusoid with no DC offset, so on average no power is delivered to the load. This is consistent with
our models of capacitors and inductors as energy storage elements, which do not dissipate any energy.
The concepts presented in the paragraph above can be mathematically presented by rearranging equation (12.5)
yet again. Application of additional trigonometric identities and performing more algebra results in:
( ) = ( )[1 + (2 )] + ( )[ (2 )] (12.6)
The two terms in equation (12.6) are plotted separately in Figure 12.3. The first term,
j ) t cos( ) cos(
I V
i v
m m
2 1
2
+ , has an average value of ) cos(
I V
i v
m m

2
, while the second term,
j ) t sin( ) sin(
I V
i v
m m
2
2
, has an average value of zero. Thus, the average power delivered to a load is:
) cos(
I V
P
i v
m m
=
2
(12.7)
The amplitude of the term j ) t sin( ) sin(
I V
i v
m m
2
2
, which provides no average power to the load, is
termed the reactive power, Q:
) sin(
I V
Q
i v
m m
=
2
(12.8)
The reactive power is a measure of the amount of power which is delivered to the load, but is not absorbed by the
load the load returns this power to the source!
Real Analog Circuits 1
Chapter 12.2: Average and Reactive Power
2012 Digilent, Inc. 5
) cos( I V
i v m m

2
1
Figure 12.3. Components of instantaneous power vs. time.
Section Summary:
The average power delivered to a load is:
) cos(
I V
P
i v
m m
=
2
where V
m
and
v
are the amplitude and phase angle of the voltage while I
m
and
i
are the amplitude and phase
angle of the current. The average power is often also called the real power. The average power is also the
power dissipated by any resistive elements in the load. Units of average power are Watts (abbreviated W).
The reactive power delivered to a load is:
) sin(
I V
Q
i v
m m
=
2
The reactive power is not actually absorbed by the load; it is stored by the energy storage elements in the load
and then returned to the source. The units of reactive power are taken to be Volt-Amperes Reactive
(abbreviated VAR). Note that technically watts are the same as volt-amps, but we have changed terminology
to avoid any confusion between real and reactive power.
Exercises:
1. The current and voltage delivered to a load are i(t) = 2cos(100t) and v(t) = 120cos(100t+65), respectively.
Calculate the average power delivered to the load and the reactive power delivered to the load.
Real Analog Circuits 1
Chapter 12.3: RMS Values
2012 Digilent, Inc. 6
12.3: RMS Values
In sections 12.1 and 12.2, we introduced some basic quantities relative to delivery of power using sinusoidal
signals. We saw that power dissipated by a load (essentially, any energy which is converted to non-electrical
energy such as heat or work) is the average power. Reactive power results from energy which is stored by
capacitors and inductors in the load and is then returned to the source without dissipation.
In this chapter, we continue our study of AC power analysis. We will introduce the concept of the root-mean-
square (RMS) value of a signal as a way to represent the power of a time-varying signal. We will also introduce
complex power as a way to conveniently represent both average and reactive power as a single complex number.
We also introduce power factor as a way to represent the efficiency of the transfer of power to a load.
It is often desirable to compare different types of time-varying signals (for example, square waves vs. triangular
waves vs. sinusoidal waves) using a very simple metric. Different types of signals are often compared by their
RMS (root-mean-squared) values. The general idea behind the RMS value of a time-varying signal is that we wish
to determine a constant value, which delivers the same average power to a resistive load.
The average value, P, of an instantaneous power p(t) is defined to be:
=
( ) (12.9)
The power delivered to a resistive load by a constant voltage or current source is, from chapter 1.1,
= = (12.10)
I
eff
and V
eff
are the effective (or constant) current and voltage, respectively, applied to the resistive load, R. It is our
goal to equate equations (12.9) and (12.10) to determine the effective voltage or current values, which deliver the
same average power to a resistive load as some time-varying waveform.
Assuming that a current is applied to a resistive load, the instantaneous power is ) t ( i R ) t ( p
2
= . Substituting
this into equation (12.9) and equating to equation (12.10) results in:
}
+
=
T t
t
eff
dt ) t ( i R
T
I R
0
0
2 2
1
(12.11)
Solving this for
eff
I results in:
}
+
= =
T t
t
RMS eff
dt ) t ( i
T
I I
0
0
2
1
(12.12)
and the effective current is the square root of the mean of the square of the time-varying current. This is also
called the RMS (or root-mean-square) value, for rather obvious reasons.
Real Analog Circuits 1
Chapter 12.3: RMS Values
2012 Digilent, Inc. 7
A similar process can be applied to the voltage across a resistive load, so that
R
) t ( v
) t ( p
2
= . Equating this
expression to equation (12.9) results in:
}
+
= =
T t
t
RMS eff
dt ) t ( v
T
V V
0
0
2
1
(12.13)
So that the definition of an RMS voltage is equivalent to the definition of an RMS current.
Equations (12.12) and (12.13) are applicable to any time-varying waveform; the waveforms of interest to us are
sinusoids, with zero average values (per equations (12.10) and (12.11)). In this particular case, the RMS values can
be calculated to be:
2
m
RMS eff
V
V V = = (12.14)
and
2
m
RMS eff
I
I I = = (12.15)
where V
m
and I
m
are the peak (or maximum) values of the voltage and current waveforms, per equations (12.10)
and (12.11). Please note that equations (12.14) and (12.15) are applicable only to sinusoidal signals with zero
average values.
The average and reactive powers given by equations (12.16) and (12.17) can be written in terms of the RMS values
of voltage and current as follows:
) cos( I V P
i v RMS RMS
= (12.16)
and
) sin( I V Q
i v RMS RMS
= (12.17)
Real Analog Circuits 1
Chapter 12.3: RMS Values
2012 Digilent, Inc. 8
Section Summary:
The RMS value of a sinusoidal signal f(t) = F
m
cos(t+) is given by:
2
m
RMS
F
f =
The above formula cannot be used for any signal other than a pure sinusoid with no offset.
Exercises:
1. The current and voltage delivered to a load are i(t) = 2cos(100t) and v(t) = 120cos(100t+65),
respectively. What are the RMS values of voltage and current?
Real Analog Circuits 1
Chapter 12.4: Apparent Power and Power Factor
2012 Digilent, Inc. 9
12.4: Apparent Power and Power Factor
In the previous subsections, we have seen that average power can be represented in terms of either the magnitudes
of the voltage and current or the RMS values of the voltage and current and a multiplicative factor consisting of
the cosine of the difference between the voltage phase and the current phase:
) cos( I V ) cos(
I V
P
i v RMS RMS i v
m m
= =
2
It is sometimes convenient to think of the average power as being the product of apparent power and a power
factor (abbreviated pf). These are defined below:
The apparent power is defined as either
2
m m
I V
or
RMS RMS
I V . (The two terms are, of course, equivalent.)
Units of apparent power are designated as volt-amperes (abbreviated VA) to differentiate apparent power
from either average power or reactive power.
The power factor is defined as ) cos(
i v
. Since cosine is an even function (the sign of the function is
independent of the sign of the argument), the power factor does not indicate whether the voltage is
leading or lagging the current. Thus, power factor is said to be either leading (if current leads voltage) or
lagging (if current lags voltage).
It should be emphasized again at this point that the voltage and current are not independent quantities; they are
related by the load impedance. For the system of Figure 12.1, for example, the voltage and current phasors are:
I Z V
L
= (12.18)
where V is the voltage phasor across the load, I is the current phasor through the load, and
L
Z is the load
impedance. Thus, the difference between the voltage and current phase angles is simply the phase angle of the
load impedance:
ZL i v
X = . Therefore, the load impedance sets the power factor. If the load is purely
resistive,
i v
= , the power factor is one, and the average power is the same as the apparent power. If the load is
purely imaginary (as with purely inductive or purely capacitive loads) the power factor is zero and there is no
average or real power absorbed by the load.
Real Analog Circuits 1
Chapter 12.4: Apparent Power and Power Factor
2012 Digilent, Inc. 10
Section Summary:
Apparent power and power factor provide an alternate method for characterizing the average power delivered
to the load. If the average power is:
) cos(
2
i v
m m
I V
P = ,
The apparent power is
2
m m
I V
and the power factor is ) cos(
i v
.
Exercises:
1. The current and voltage delivered to a load are i(t) = 2cos(100t) and v(t) = 120cos(100t+65),
respectively. What are the apparent power and power factor of the power delivered to the load?
2. A load consumes 100kW with a power factor pf = 0.85 (lagging). If the load current is 256A (RMS), find the
load voltage.
3. An industrial plant has a load which consumes 20kW of power from a 220V
RMS
line. If the power factor is 0.9
(lagging), what is the difference in angle between the load voltage and the load current?
Real Analog Circuits 1
Chapter 12.5: Complex Power
2012 Digilent, Inc. 11
12.5: Complex Power
Apparent power, average power, reactive power, and power factor can all be represented simultaneously in a
single parameter called complex power. If we define complex power as:
2
*
I V
S = (12.19)
where V is the phasor representing the voltage, I is the phasor representing the current, and the superscript *
denotes complex conjugation (simply changing the sign on the imaginary part of the phasor).
If we substitute the magnitude and phase angle representations for the phasors in equation (12.19), we obtain
(since complex conjugation simple changes the sign of the phase angle of a complex number):
, ), ) , )
i v
m m
i m v m
I V
I V S X = X X =
2 2
1
(12.20)
So that the complex power S is a complex number with magnitude
2
m m
I V
(or, equivalently,
RMS RMS
I V ) and
phase angle
i v
. It is easy to see that the magnitude of the complex power is simply the apparent power.
If we represent S in rectangular coordinates, we obtain:
jQ P S + = (12.21)
Where P is the average power,
) cos( I V ) cos(
I V
P
i v RMS RMS i v
m m
= =
2
as before, and Q is the reactive power,
) sin( I V ) sin(
I V
Q
i v RMS RMS i v
m m
= =
2
also as before.
The complex power, real power, reactive power, and apparent power can be represented graphically in the
complex plane as a power triangle, as shown in Figure 12.4 below.
Real Analog Circuits 1
Chapter 12.5: Complex Power
2012 Digilent, Inc. 12
Figure 12.4. Power triangle.
One important thing to note about Figure 12.4 is that this figure differs from a phasor diagram the components
shown on the power triangle are not phasors, since they do not provide magnitude and phase information about
sinusoidal signals. The vectors shown in Figure 12.4 are simply complex numbers.
We conclude this chapter with an example.
Example 12.1:
For the circuit below,
a. find the average power delivered by the source
b. find the power absorbed by the resistor
c. find the apparent, real, and reactive powers delivered by the source
d. sketch a power triangle for the source
The frequency domain circuit is shown below.
V X0 100
The current delivered by the source is therefore:
A . .
) j (
I X =
O
X
= 66 38 8 7
8 10
0 100
Real Analog Circuits 1
Chapter 12.5: Complex Power
2012 Digilent, Inc. 13
a. The average power delivered by the source is therefore:
W ) . cos(
) A . )( V (
P 305 66 38 0
2
8 7 100
= =
b. The power absorbed by the resistor is the same as the average power delivered by the source, so
W P 305
10
=
O
, which is the same as
2
RMS
I R .
c. The apparent power is 391
2
8 7 100
=
) A . )( V (
VA, the reactive power is
244 66 38 0
2
8 7 100
= = ) . sin(
) A . )( V (
Q VAR, and the real power is simply the average power,
W P 305 = .
d. The power triangle is shown below:
Section Summary:
It is often convenient to express power as a complex number, S. This quantity expresses, simultaneously, the
average power, the reactive power, the apparent power, and the power factor. Complex power can be
determined from the voltage and current phasors as:
2
*
I V
S = ,
Where * denotes complex conjugation.
As with any other complex number, complex power can be expressed in either rectangular or polar
coordinates.
In rectangular coordinates, the complex power readily provides the real power (P) and reactive power
(Q):
jQ P S + =
In polar coordinates, the complex power readily provides the apparent power and power factor:
, )
i v
m m
I V
S X =
2
where the apparent power is
2
m m
I V
and the power factor is given by ) cos(
i v
.
Real Analog Circuits 1
Chapter 12.5: Complex Power
2012 Digilent, Inc. 14
Exercises:
1. The current and voltage delivered to a load are i(t) = 2cos(100t-30) and v(t) = 120cos(100t+65),
respectively. What is the complex power delivered to the load?
2. For the circuit shown, i(t) = 2cos(100t) and v(t) = 120cos(100t+65). Find:
a. The complex power delivered by the source
b. The average power delivered by the source
c. The power dissipated by the resistor
3. For the circuit shown, find
a. i(t)
b. The complex power delivered by the source
c. The average power delivered by the source
F
4
1
Real Analog Circuits 1
Chapter 12.6: Power Factor Correction
2012 Digilent, Inc. 15
12.6: Power Factor Correction
In previous sections, we saw that power can be considered to be real (average power) or imaginary (reactive
power). Reactive power is power which is provided to energy storage elements such as inductors or capacitors;
this power is returned to the power source, since inductors and capacitors have no energy dissipation mechanism.
The power factor provides a metric for assessing the amount of real power relative to the reactive power delivered
to a load. The higher the power factor, the larger the amount of real power relative to reactive power ideally, a
power factor of one means that no reactive power is provided to the load.
Power companies in general cannot charge customers for power which is returned to the power company, so
delivering reactive power to a customer is not productive from a power companys standpoint. In fact, since
transmission losses will typically result in real power losses due to transmission of reactive power, the power
company actually loses power when transmitting reactive power, for which no one pays! Unsurprisingly, this is
not popular with power companies.
Large power users, such as factories, may have requirements placed upon them by the power company to provide
a minimum power factor for their loads. If the factory cannot meet the required power factor, the power company
can refuse to supply power or charge an increased rate for the power they do provide. This chapter illustrates how
to re-design an inductive load to increase its power factor.
Most large power users loads are inductive in nature. Therefore, in this section, we will only consider power
factor correction for inductive loads. We illustrate the overall process in the context of an example.
Example 12.2:
Determine the power factor for the circuit below if v
s
(t)=100cos(377t). Re-design the load so that the power factor
is one.
The load in this case consists of a 100O resistor in parallel with a 1H inductor. To determine the power factor, we
need to determine the current delivered by the source; we do this by determining the equivalent impedance of the
load, Z
L
:
X =
O + O
O O
= 86 14 67 96
377 100
377 100
. .
j
) j )( (
Z
L
Therefore, the current phasor delivered by the source is
X =
X
X
= = 86 14 03 1
86 14 67 96
0 100
. .
. . Z
V
I
L
s
s
Real Analog Circuits 1
Chapter 12.6: Power Factor Correction
2012 Digilent, Inc. 16
The power factor is:
, ) 967 0 86 14 0 . ) . ( cos ) cos( pf
i v
= = = (lagging)
Note that the power factor is lagging, since current lags voltage, this is because the load is inductive in nature.
We can change the power factor of the load by adding a capacitor in parallel with the inductive load. The
impedance of the capacitor can be used, in essence, to cancel out the inductive impedance of the load. The re-
designed circuit is as shown below. The capacitance, C, must be chosen to provide the desired power factor.
In order to determine the necessary size of the capacitor, we first determine the reactive power of the
uncompensated system. Without the capacitor, the reactive power is:
26 13 86 14
2
03 1 100
2
. ) . sin(
) A . )( V (
) sin(
I V
Q
i v
m m
= = = VAR
Our goal is to use the capacitor to change this reactive power so that the resulting power factor is as desired,
without changing the real power delivered to the load. The capacitor will induce a negative reactive power; in
order to achieve a power factor of exactly one, the reactive power introduced by the capacitor must exactly cancel
the reactive power of the original load. Thus, the capacitors reactive power must be:
26 13. Q
C
= VAR
For the parallel combination of the resistor, capacitor, and inductor, we can claim:
2
2 2
1
RMS
RMS
C
RMS
C
CV
C
V
Z
V
Q

= = =
Where
C
Q is the magnitude of the desired reactive power, and
C
Z is the magnitude of the capacitors
impedance. Solving the above expression for the desired capacitance provides:
7
2
100
377
26 13
2
= = =
) V sec)( / rad (
VAR .
V
Q
C
RMS
C

F
and a 7F capacitor placed in parallel with the load will give the desired pf = 1.
Real Analog Circuits 1
Chapter 12.6: Power Factor Correction
2012 Digilent, Inc. 17
Section Summary:
A small power factor means that a large portion of the power delivered by the power company to a user is in
the form of reactive power. The user does not pay for reactive power, since it is essentially returned to the
power company. The power company, however, incurs costs in exchanging reactive power with the user,
since transmission of the reactive power results in power dissipation. Power companies, therefore, may
require that a user meet a minimum power factor requirement.
The power factor of an inductive load can be increased by placing a capacitor in parallel with the load. This
process is called power factor correction. The goal is to increase the power factor without changing the
average power delivered to the load.