1350 Alternating Current

Chapter

24
Alternating Current
Alternating Quantities (i or V) (i) The time taken to complete one cycle of variations is called the
periodic time or time period.
(1) An alternating quantity (current i or voltage V) is one whose (ii) Alternating quantity is positive for half the cycle and negative for
magnitude changes continuously with time between zero and a maximum the rest half. Hence average value of alternating quantity (i or V) over a
value and whose direction reverses periodically. complete cycle is zero.
(2) Some graphical representation for alternating quantities (iii) The value of alternating quantity is zero or maximum 2  times
i or V i or V every second. The direction also changes 2 times every second.
+ + (iv) Generally sinusoidal waveform is used as alternating
t current/voltage.
t
– – T
(v) At t  from the beginning, i or V reaches to their maximum
Sinusoidal
4
Triangular
value.

i or V
Important Values of Alternating Quantities
i or V
+ + (1) Peak value (i or V ) : The maximum value of alternating quantity (i
0 0

t t or V) is defined as peak value or amplitude.

–
(2) Mean square value ( V 2 or i 2 ) : The average of square of
Rectangular ac super imposed on dc instantaneous values in one cycle is called mean square value. It is always
Fig. 24.1 current or voltage varying as
(3) Equation for i and V : Alternating
1 T V02 i2
sine function can be written as positive for one complete cycle. e.g. V 2 
T 
0
V 2 dt 
2
or i2  0
2
2
i = i sint = i sin 2 t = i sin
0 0
t 0
(3) Root mean square (r.m.s.) value : Root of mean of square of
T voltage or current in an ac circuit for one complete cycle is called r.m.s.
2 value. It is denoted by V or i
and V  V0 sint  V0 sin 2t  V0 sin
rms rms

t
T T

 i dt 
2
where i and V are V0 or i0 Positive half i12  i22  ... i0
irms   i  2 0
i or V = 0.707 i = 70.7% i
Instantaneous values of cycle T

 dt
n
0 0

+ 2
current and voltage,
2
0

i and V are peak
0 0 0 t or  V0
values of current and T/4 Similarly Vrms   0 .707 V0  70.7 % of V
T/2 –
voltage Negative half 2
0

cycle
 = Angular T
 1
 sin ( t)  cos ( t)  2 
2 2
frequency in rad/ sec,  = Fig. 24.2
Frequency in Hz and T =  
time period
 Alternating Current 1351
(i) The r.m.s. value of alternating current is also called virtual value or 2 V0
effective value. Similarly Vav   0.637 V0  63.7% of V .

0

(ii) In general when values of voltage or current for alternating circuits (5) Peak to peak value : It is equal to the sum of the magnitudes of
are given, these are r.m.s. value. positive and negative peak values
(iii) ac ammeter and voltmeter are always measure r.m.s. value. Values  Peak to peak value = V + V = 2V
0 0 0

printed on ac circuits are r.m.s. values.

 2 2 Vrms  2.828 Vrms
(iv) In our houses ac is supplied at 220 V, which is the r.m.s. value of
(6) Form factor and peak factor : The ratio of r.m.s. value of ac to it's
voltage. It's peak value is 2  200  311V. average during half cycle is defined as form factor. The ratio of peak value
and r.m.s. value is called peak factor
(v) r.m.s. value of ac is equal to that value of dc, which when passed
through a resistance for a given time will produce the same amount of heat Phase
as produced by the alternating current when passed through the same Physical quantity which represents both the instantaneous value and
resistance for same time. direction of alternating quantity at any instant is called it's phase. It's a
(4) Mean or Average value (i or V ) : The average value of alternating dimensionless quantity and it's unit is radian.
av av

quantity for one complete cycle is zero. If an alternating quantity is expressed as X  X 0 sin( t   0 ) then
The average value of ac over half cycle (t = 0 to T/2) the argument of sin( t   ) is called it's phase. Where  t =
T /2 instantaneous phase (changes with time) and 0 = initial phase (constant

iav 
 0
i dt

2i0
 0 .637i0  63.7 % of i ,
w.r.t. time)
T /2


0

dt
0

Table 24.1 : Some important values

Nature of wave Wave form r.m.s. average value Form factor Peak factor
form value r.m.s. value Peak value
Rf  Rp 
Average value r.m.s. value

Sinusoidal i or V
+
i0 2 
 2 i0  1 .11 2  1.41
0 2  2 2
–

Half wave
rectified
i0 i0 
 1 .57 2
2  2

Full wave
rectified i or V
+ + i0 2i0 
2
2  2 2
 2

Square or
i or V
Rectangular
+
i0 i0 1 1

(1) Phase difference (Phase constant) : The difference between the (2) Time difference : If phase difference between alternating current
phases of currents and voltage is called phase difference. If alternating and voltage is  then time difference between them is given as
voltage and current are given by V  V0 sin( t  1 ) and T
T.D.  
i  i0 sin( t   2 ) then phase difference  =  –  (relative to current) 1 2
2
or    2  1 (relative to voltage)
 1352 Alternating Current
(3) Phasor diagram : A diagram representing alternating current and In dc circuits power is given by P = Vi. But in ac circuits, since there is
alternating voltage (of same frequency) as vectors (phasors) with the phase some phase angle between voltage and current, therefore power is defined
angle between them is called a phasor diagram. as the product of voltage and that component of the current which is in
While drawing phasor diagram for a pure element (e.g. R, L or C) phase with the voltage.
either of the current or voltage can be plotted along X-axis. Thus P  V i cos  ; where V and i are r.m.s. value of voltage and
But when phasor diagram for a combination of elements is drawn then current.
quantity which remains constant for the combination must be plotted along
(1) Instantaneous power : Suppose in a circuit V  V0 sin t and
X-axis so we observe that
i  i0 sin( t   ) then Pinstantane ous  Vi  V0 i0 sin t sin( t   )
(i) In series circuits current has to be plotted along X-axis.
(2) Average power (True power) : The average of instantaneous power
(ii) In parallel circuits voltage has to be plotted along X-axis. in an ac circuit over a full cycle is called average power. It's unit is watt i.e.
Measurement of Alternating Quantities V0 i0 1 V2 R
Pav  Vrms irms cos   . cos   V0 i0 cos   irms
2
R  rms2
Alternating current shows heating effect only, hence meters used for 2 2 2 Z
measuring ac are based on heating effect and are called hot wire meters (3) Apparent or virtual power : The product of apparent voltage and
(Hot wire ammeter and hot wire voltmeter) apparent current in an electric circuit is called apparent power. This is
Table 24.2 : Measurement of ac and dc Vi
always positive Papp  Vrms irms  0 0
2
ac measurement dc measurement
(1) All ac meters read r.m.s. value. (1) All dc meters read average value Power Factor
(2) All ac meters are based on (2) All dc meters are based on (1) It may be defined as cosine of the angle of lag or lead ( i.e.
heating effect of current. magnetic effect of current cos )
(3) Deflection in hot wire meters (3) Deflection in dc meters (2) It is also defined as the ratio of resistance and impedance ( i.e.
  irms
2  i R
)
Z
True power W kW
(3) The ratio    cos 
Apparent power VA kVA
(non-linear scale) (Linear scale) Resistive Circuit (R-Circuit)
R
(1) Current : i  i0 sin t
Impedance, Reactance, Admittance and Susceptance
V0 i
(1) Impedance (Z) : The opposition offered by ac circuits to the flow of (2) Peak current : i0 
R
ac through it is defined it's impedance. It’s unit is ohm().
(3) Phase difference between
(2) Reactance (X) : The opposition offered by inductor or capacitor or
both to the flow of ac through it is defined as reactance. It is of following voltage and current :  = 0 o

V  V0 sin t
two type
(4) Power factor : cos   1 Fig. 24.3
(i) Inductive reactance (X ) : Offered by inductive circuit
L

X L  L  2L  dc  0 so for dc, X = 0. V0 i0

L (5) Power : P  Vrms irms 
2
Capacitive reactance (X ) : Offered by capacitive circuit
(6) Time difference : T.D. = 0
C

1 1
XC   for dc X = .
C 2C (7) Phasor diagram : Both are in same phase
C

V0 Vrms V i
(3) Admittance (Y) : Z   Reciprocal of impedance is
i0 irms
Fig. 24.4
 1
known as admittance  Y  . It’s unit is mho
 Z Inductive Circuit (L-Circuit)
(4) Susceptance (S) : the reciprocal of reactance is defined as  L

 1 (1) Current : i  i0 sin   t  
susceptance  S  . It is of two type  2
 X  i
(2) Peak current :
1 1
(i) inductive susceptance S L   and V0 V V0
X L 2 L i0   0 
XL L 2L
(ii) Capacitive susceptance, S C 
1
  C  2 C . V  V0 sin t
XC (3) Phase difference between
Fig. 24.5
Power in ac Circuits
 Alternating Current 1353

 (4) Peak current i0 

V0

V0

V0
voltage and current   90 o (or  )
2 Z R  2
X L2 R  4 2 2 L2
2

(4) Power factor : cos   0 XL L

(5) Phase difference :   tan 1  tan 1
(5) Power : P = 0 R R

R
(6) Time difference : T.D. 
T (6) Power factor : cos  
4 R 2  X L2

 (7) Leading quantity : Voltage

(7) Phasor diagram : Voltage leads the current by
2
V V Resistive, Capacitive Circuit (RC-Circuit)
90o
90o or R C
V = iR, VR
i i
R

V = iX  i
VR VC C C

Fig. 24.6
i VC
Capacitive Circuit (C-Circuit) V

  C
(1) Current : i  i0 sin  t   V  V0 sin  t
 2 Fig. 24.10
(2) Peak current : i (1) Applied voltage : V  VR2  VC2

V0  1 
2
i0   V0 C  V0 (2 C) (2) Impedance : Z  R 2  X C2  R 2   
XC
 C 
V  V0 sin t
(3) Phase difference between
Fig. 24.7
(3) Current : i  i0 sin  t   
 V0
voltage and current :   90 o (or  ) (4) Peak current : i0 
V0

V0

2 Z R  2
X C2 R2 
1
(4) Power factor : cos   0 4  C 2
2 2

XC 1
(5) Power : P = 0 (5) Phase difference :   tan 1  tan 1
R CR
T
(6) Time difference : TD  (6) Power factor : cos  
R
4
R  X C2
2

(7) Phasor diagram : Current leads the voltage by /2 (7) Leading quantity : Current
i Inductive, Capacitive Circuit (LC-Circuit)
i
90o or
L C
90o VL
V
V V= (VL – VC)
Fig. 24.8 VL VC V = iX ,
L L

90o
Resistive, Inductive Circuit (RL-Circuit) i V = iX C C

VC i
R L
V = iR ,
R VL V V  V0 sin  t
VR VL V = iX Fig. 24.11
i
L L

 (1) Applied voltage : V  VL  VC

VR i (2) Impedance : Z  X L  X C  X
V  V0 sin  t  
Fig. 24.9 (3) Current : i  i0 sin  t  
(1) Applied voltage : V  VR2  VL2  2

V0 V0 V0
(2) Impedance : Z  R 2  X L2  R 2   2 L2  R 2  4 2 2 L2 (4) Peak current : i0   
Z X L  XC  L
1
C
(3) Current : i  i0 sin  t   
(5) Phase difference :  = 90 o
 1354 Alternating Current

(6) Power factor : cos   0 (10) Half power frequencies and band width : The frequencies at which
the power in the circuit is half of the maximum power (The power at
(7) Leading quantity : Either voltage or current resonance), are called half power frequencies.
Series RLC-Circuit 1
(i) The current in the circuit at half power frequencies (HPF) is or
R L C 2
VL 0.707 or 70.7% of maximum current (current at resonance).
(VL – VC) V
VR VL VC Pmax
i i
 Pmax
P
P 2
VR i
V = V0 sint VC
VR = iR, VL = iXL, VC = iXC Phasor diagram
1 0 2 
(ii) There are two half power frequencies
Fig. 24.12 Fig. 24.13
(1) Equation of current : i  i0 sin( t   ) ; where i0 
V0 (a)  1  called lower half power frequency. At this frequency the
Z circuit is capacitive.
(2) Equation of voltage : From phasor diagram
(b)  2  called upper half power frequency. It is greater than  0 .
V VR2  (VL  VC ) 2 At this frequency the circuit is inductive.

(3) Impedance of the circuit : (iii) Band width () : The difference of half power frequencies  1 and

2
 2 is called band width () and   2  1 . For series resonant
 1 
Z  R 2  ( X L  X C )2  R 2   L   R
 C  circuit it can be proved    
L
(4) Phase difference : From phasor diagram
(11) Quality factor (Q-factor) of series resonant circuit
1 1
 L 2 L  (i) The characteristic of a series resonant circuit is determined by the
VL  VC X  XC C 2 C
tan    L   quality factor (Q - factor) of the circuit.
VR R R R
(ii) It defines sharpness of i -  curve at resonance when Q - factor is
(5) If net reactance is inductive : Circuit behaves as LR circuit large, the sharpness of resonance curve is more and vice-versa.
(6) If net reactance is capacitive : Circuit behave as CR circuit (iii) Q - factor also defined as follows
(7) If net reactance is zero : Means X  X L  X C  0 Max. energy stored
Q - factor  2 
Energy dissipation
 X = X . This is the condition of resonance
L C

(8) At resonance (series resonant circuit) 2 Max. energy stored Resonant frequency  0
   
T Mean power dissipated Band width 
(i) X = X  Z = R i.e. circuit behaves as resistive circuit
L C min

VL V  L 1
(ii) V = V  V = V i.e. whole applied voltage appeared across the (iv) Q - factor  or C  0 or
resistance
L C R

VR VR R 0 CR

(iii) Phase difference :  = 0  p.f. = cos  = 1o

1 L
 Q - factor 
R C
1
(iv) Power consumption P = V i  rms rms
V0 i0
2 R=0
i
Q - factor = Infinity
V0
(v) Current in the circuit is maximum and it is i0 
R R = Very low
Q- factor = Large
(vi) These circuit are used for voltage amplification and as selector R = low
circuits in wireless telegraphy. Q- factor = Normal
(9) Resonant frequency (Natural frequency) R = High
Q- factor = Low
At resonance X L  X C   0 L 
1
 0 
1 rad 0 
0 C LC s e c Resonance curve
1 Fig. 24.14
 0  Hz (or cps) Parallel RLC Circuits
2 LC
V0
(Resonant frequency doesn't depend upon the resistance of the circuit) iR   V0 G
R i iR iL iC
V = V0 sint

R L C

Fig. 24.15
 Alternating Current 1355

V0 1 1
iL   V0 S L (e) Quality factor of the circuit  . In the state of
.
XL 1 R2 CR

V0 LC L2
iC   V0 S C resonance the quality factor of the circuit is equivalent to the current
XC
amplification of the circuit.
(1) Current and phase difference : From phasor diagram current
(ii) If inductance has no resistance : If R = 0 then circuit becomes
i  iR2  (iC  iL )2 and phase difference iC parallel LC circuit as shown
i L
1 (iC  iL ) (S  S L ) i
  tan  tan 1 C iC
iR G
 C
iR V 
iL V
iR
(2) Admittance (Y) of the circuit : From iL
Fig. 24.16 V = V0 sint
equation of current
Fig. 24.18
2
V
2 V V
V0 V  V  Condition of resonance : iC  iL  
  0    0  0  XC XL
Z  R   L
X X C 
 X C  X L . At resonance current i in the circuit is zero and
2
 1 
2
1 1 1
impedance is infinite. Resonant frequency :  0 
1
  Y         G 2  (S L  S C )2

Hz
Z R  XL XC  2 LC
Wattless Current
(3) Resonance : At resonance (i) iC  iL  imin  iR
In an ac circuit R = 0  cos = 0 so P = 0 i.e. in resistance less circuit
av

V V
(ii)   S C  S L  S  0 the power consumed is zero. Such a circuit is called the wattless circuit and
XC X L the current flowing is called the wattless current.
V or
(iii) Z max  R
iR The component of current which does not contribute to the average
power dissipation is called wattless current
(iv)   0  p.f. = cos = 1 = maximum
(i) The average of wattless component over one cycle is zero
1 (ii) Amplitude of wattless current = i sin
(v) Resonant frequency    0

2 LC
i0
(4) Parallel LC circuits : If inductor has resistance (R) and it is and r.m.s. value of wattless current = irms sin  sin .
2
connected in parallel with capacitor as shown
V
(i) At resonance i cos
R L

C 
i
i
i sin 
V = V0 sint
Fig. 24.19
1 L Fig. 24.17 It is quadrature (90 ) with voltage.
(a) Z max  
o

Y min CR
Choke Coil
V CR
(b) Current through the circuit is minimum and imin  0 Choke coil (or ballast) is a device having high inductance and
L
negligible resistance. It is used to control current in ac circuits and is used
1 1 in fluorescent tubes. The power loss in a circuit containing choke coil is
(c) S L  S C    X 
XL XC least.

1 R 2 rad Iron core

(d) Resonant frequency 0   2 or
LC L sec
1 1 R2 L
0   2 Hz (Condition for parallel resonance is R  ) Starter
2 LC L C
Coil of Cu wire Choke
coil
L, R
Application of choke coil
Choke coil
Fig. 24.20
 1356 Alternating Current

(1) It consist of a Cu coil wound over a soft iron laminated core.

Alternating Current, Voltage and Power
(2) Thick Cu wire is used to reduce the resistance (R) of the circuit.
(3) Soft iron is used to improve inductance (L) of the circuit. 1. The power is transmitted from a power house on high voltage ac
because [CPMT 1984, 85]
(4) The inductive reactance or effective opposition of the choke coil is (a) Electric current travels faster at higher volts
given by X =  L = 2 L
L
(b) It is more economical due to less power wastage
(5) For an ideal choke coil r = 0, no electric energy is wasted i.e. (c) It is difficult to generate power at low voltage
average power P = 0. (d) Chances of stealing transmission lines are minimized
(6) In actual practice choke coil is equivalent to a R – L circuit.
(7) Choke coil for different frequencies are made by using different
substances in their core.
For low frequency L should be large thus iron core choke coil is used.
For high frequency ac circuit, L should be small, so air cored choke coil is
used.

 If ac is produced by a generator having a large number of poles

then it's frequency
Number of poles  rotation per second P n
 
2 2
Where P is the number of poles; n is the rotational frequency of
the coil.
 Alternating current in electric wires, bulbs etc. flows 50 times in
one direction and 50 times in the opposite direction in 1 second. Since in
one cycle the current becomes zero twice, hence a bulb lights up 100
times and is off 100 times in one second (50 cycles) but due to
persistence of vision, it appears lighted continuously.
 ac is more dangerous than dc.
 The rate of change of ac is minimum at that instant when they are
near their peak values.
 ac equipments such as electric motors, are more durable and
convenient compared to dc equipments.
 Skin Effect
A direct current flows uniformly throughout the cross-section of the
conductor. An alternating current, on the other hand, flows
mainly along the surface of the conductor. This
effect is known as skin effect. the reason is that
when alternating current flows through a 
conductor, the flux changes in the inner part of
the conductor are higher. Therefore the
I =0
inductance of the inner part is higher than that ac

of the outer part. Higher the frequency of

alternating current, more is the skin effect.
The depth upto which ac current flows through a wire is called skin
depth ().