CHAPTER 10- SINUSOIDAL

VOLTAGES AND CURRENTS

 AC FUNDAMENTALS

An alternating current (a.c) is the current which

changes periodically both in magnitude and
direction.
A sinusoid is a signal that has the form of the sine or
cosine function
Changes in magnitude and direction is measured in terms of
cycles. Each cycle of a.c consists of two half cycles namely
positive and negative cycles. Current/voltage increases in
magnitude, in one particular direction, attains maximum and
starts decreasing, passing through zero it increases in
opposite direction and behaves similarly to figure below
There are many types of alternating waveforms (such
as square, triangular, trapezoidal, etc.) but purely
sinusoidal waveform is preferred for a.c systems.
Figure 6.2
 ADVANTAGES OF A.C

1. The voltages in ac system can be raised of lowered

with the help of transformer. In dc system, raising
and lowering of voltages is not easy.
2. As the voltages can be raised, electrical
transmission at high voltages is possible.
3. AC electrical motors are simple in construction, are
cheaper and require less attention from
maintenance point of view.
4. Whenever it is necessary, ac supply can be easily
converted to obtain ac supply.
 GENERATION OF ALTERNATING EMFs

 Discovered by Michael Faraday in 1831

Generator action, involving the development of
voltage, may result
1. by moving magnetic lines of force in such a
manner that they cut across a conductor
2. by moving a conductor in such a manner that it cuts across
magnetic lines of force.

3. by changing the number of magnetic lines of force that link

with wire or coil of wire.
In the first of these the voltage is said to be an induced
emf and, in accordance with Faraday’s law, its
magnitude at any instant of time is given by equation

e= N(dΦ/dt) X 10^-8
where N=number of turns in the coil
dΦ/dt= rate at which the flux, in maxwells, changes
through the coil
By the second and third method there is actual
physical motion of coil or magnet, and in altered
positions of coil or magnet flux through the coil
changes. A voltage developed in either of these ways
is said to be a generated emf and is given by the
equation,
e=Blv * 10^-8
Where B= flux density, lines per square inch
l= length of wire, inch, that is moved relative to
the flux
v= velocity of the wire, inch per sec, with
respect to the flux
 GENERATION OF ALTERNATING EMFs

The machines which are used to generate electrical

voltages are called generators. The generators
which generate purely sinusoidal ac voltages are
called alternators.
The basic principle of an alternator is the principle of
electromagnetic induction. The sine wave is
generated according to Faraday’s Law of
electromagnetic induction. It says that whenever
there is a relative motion between the conductor and
the magnetic field in which it is kept an emf gets
induced in the conductor.
Working: the coil is rotated in anti-clockwise direction.
While rotating, the conductors “ab” and “cd” cut the
lines of flux of the permanent magnet. Due to
Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction, an emf
gets induced in the conductors. This emf drives a
current through the lamp connected across the
brushes.
 GENERATION OF SINE WAVE

The fact that the voltage developed in a coil of

generator changes 1.) in magnitude from instant to
instant as varying values of flux are cut per second
2.) in direction as coil sides change positions under
north and south poles, implies that an alternating
emf is generated.
In general cases, assuming uniform flux-density
distribution between north and south poles, the
generated voltage in a coil will be
e=Em sin Ѳ
Where: e=instantaneous voltage
Em= maximum voltage
Same with instantaneous current,
i=Im sin Ѳ
Where: i=instantaneous current
Im= maximum current

Mode of calculator should be converted to radians,

to calculate the sine of the angle expressed in
radians, before substituting in any of the above
equations
ALTERNATING EMF ALTERNATING
CURRENT
e= Em sin Ѳ but Ѳ=ωt i= Im sin Ѳ but Ѳ=ωt
e=Em sin ωt but ω= 2Πf i=Im sin ωt but ω= 2Πf
e= Em sin (2Πf )t i= Im sin (2Πf )t
But f=1/T But f=1/T

e= Em sin (2Πt/T) i= Im sin (2Πt/T)

GRAPH OF 10.5
 EXAMPLE

1. Write the 4 ways of representing an ac voltage

given by a magnitude of 5V and frequency of 50Hz.
2. An alternating current of frequency 60 hz has a
maximum value of 12A.
a. Write down the equation for instantaneous
values
b. Find the value of the current after 1/360 second
c. time taken to reach 9.6A for the first time
 Other important formulas:

Em-m=2Em
Em=Erms X √2
Em-m=Eave X Π

Applicable also in Maximum Currents (Im)

 FREQUENCY

Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating

event per unit of time.
f=(PxN)/120
Where P=no. of poles
N=speed in rpm
Example
An alternator has 6 poles. A.) at what speed must the
machine be driven to develop 60 cycles? 25 cyles?
What frequency is developed if the speed is 1000
rpm? 1600 rpm?
 Summation of In-phase Sinusoidal Waves

 When two or more sinusoidal voltage or current waves

are in phase and have the same frequency they may be
added to yield a sine wave of the same frequency. The
resultant wave will then have a maximum value that is
equal to the arithmetical sum of the maximum values of
the component waves.
Emr=Em1+Em2+Em3+…
Imr=Im1+Im2+Im3+…
These equations may be expressed in effective terms by
dividing both sides either one by 2 ; thus
E=E1+E2+E3+…
I=I1+I2+I3+…
 EXAMPLE

1. Three resistors having ohmic values that are,

respectively 9,12.5, and 16 ohms are connected in
series to a sinusoidal source of emf whose effective
voltage is 120. calculate the current through the
circuit and the voltage drops across the individual
resistors.
2. Four incandescent lamps (resistors) having ratings
of 50, 60, 75, and 100 watts, respectively, are
connected in parallel and to a sinusoidal emf whose
effective voltage is 120. Calculate the current
through each lamp and the total current.
 SUMMATION OF OUT-OF-PHASE
SINUSOIDAL WAVES

When two or more sinusoidal voltage or current waves

are out of phase but have the same frequency, they
maybe added to yield a sine wave of the same
frequency.
Fig. 10-8
To determine the magnitude of the effective value of
the resultant of TWO LIKE –FREQUENCY
sinusoidal waves, the following equation may be
used:
R=√(A+B cos Ѳ)² + (B sinѲ)²
 EXAMPLE

1.Two units, connected in parallel, are energized by an

ac source. If the component currents are 12 and 16 A,
respectively, and the corresponding sinusoidal waves
are out of phase by 60 elec deg, calculate the rms
value of the total current.
 VECTORS AND PHASORS

In DC circuit-numbers that have magnitude but no

direction
In AC circuit- have magnitude and direction (vector)

The sinusoidally varying alternating quantity can be

represented graphically by a STRAIGHT LINE with an
Arrow. The length of the line represents the magnitude of
the quantity and arrow indicated its direction. Similar to
vector representation such line is called PHASOR.

NOTE: The PHASORS are assumed to be rotated in anti

clockwise direction.
The Phase of an alternating quantity at any instant is
the angle Φ (in radians or degress) travelled by the
phasor representing that alternating quantity up to
the instant of consideration, measured from the
reference.

Case 1: Φ=o° (Zero phase)

When phase of an alternating quantity is zero, it
is standard pure sinusoidal quantity having
instantaneous value at t=0 (Fig.1)
Case 2: Positive Phase Φ
When phase of an alternating quantity is
positive, it means that quantity has some positive
instantaneous value at t=0 (Fig.2)
Case 3: Negative Phase Φ
When phase of an alternating quantity is
negative, it means that quantity has some negative
instantaneous value at t=0 (Fig.3)
 Concept of Phase

1. The phase is measured with respect to reference

direction i.e. positive x-axis direction
2. The phase measured in anticlockwise direction is
positive while the phase measured in clockwise
direction is negative.
 POLAR AND RECTANGULAR NOTATION

There are two basic forms of complex number

notation: Polar and Rectangular
Polar form-is where a complex number is denoted by
the length (otherwise known as the magnitude,
absolute value, or modulus) and the angle of its
vector (usually denoted by an angle symbol that look
like this: )
Rectangular form-is where a complex number is
denoted by its respective horizontal and vertical
components. In essence, the angled vector is taken to
be the hypotenuse of a right triangle, described by
the lengths of the adjacent and opposite sides.
Rather than describing a vector’s length and
direction by denoting magnitude and angle, it is
described in terms of “how far left/right” and “how
far up/down.”
These two dimensional figures (horizontal and vertical) are
symbolized by two numerical figures. In order to
distinguish the horizontal and vertical dimensions from
each other, the vertical is prefixed with a lower-case “i”
(in pure mathematics) or “j” (in electronics). These
lower-case letters do not represent a physical variable
(such as instantaneous current, also symbolized by a
lower-case letter “i”), but rather are
mathematical operators used to distinguish the vector’s
vertical component from its horizontal component. As a
complete complex number, the horizontal and vertical
quantities are written as a sum: (Figure below)
In “rectangular” form the vector’s length and
direction are denoted in terms of its horizontal and
vertical span, the first number representing the the
horizontal (“real”) and the second number (with the
“j” prefix) representing the vertical (“imaginary”)
dimensions.
Vector compass with real and imaginary (“j”) number lines.
To convert from polar to rectangular, find the real
component by multiplying the polar magnitude by
the cosine of the angle, and the imaginary
component by multiplying the polar magnitude by
the sine of the angle. This may be understood more
readily by drawing the quantities as sides of a right
triangle, the hypotenuse of the triangle representing
the vector itself (its length and angle with respect to
the horizontal constituting the polar form), the
horizontal and vertical sides representing the “real”
and “imaginary” rectangular components,
respectively: (Figure below)
To convert from rectangular to polar, find the polar
magnitude through the use of the Pythagorean
Theorem (the polar magnitude is the hypotenuse of a
right triangle, and the real and imaginary
components are the adjacent and opposite sides,
respectively), and the angle by taking the arctangent
of the imaginary component divided by the real
component:
The current, i is lagging the voltage, v by angle Φ and in our example
above this is 30o. So the difference between the two phasors representing
the two sinusoidal quantities is angle Φ and the resulting phasor diagram
will be.