Topic 5 Handout
Topic 5 Handout
Topic 5 Handout
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AC Sources
An AC circuit consists of circuit elements and a power source that provides
an alternating voltage . This time-varying voltage from the source is
described by
where f is the frequency of the source and T is the period. The source
determines the frequency of the current in any circuit connected to it.
Resistors in an AC Circuit
Consider a simple AC circuit consisting of a resistor and an AC source as
shown in the Figure below. At any instant, the algebraic sum of the
voltages around a closed loop in a circuit must be zero (Kirchhoff’s loop
rule). Therefore,
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If we rearrange this expression and substitute for , the
instantaneous current in the resistor is,
Inductors in an AC Circuit
Now consider an AC circuit consisting only of an inductor connected to the
terminals of an AC source as shown in Figure below. Because,
Or,
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Integrating this expression gives the instantaneous current in the
inductor as a function of time,
Because Imax has units of amperes and has units of volts, must
have units of ohms. Therefore, has the same units as resistance and is
related to current and voltage in the same way as resistance. It must
behave in a manner similar to resistance in the sense that it represents
opposition to the flow of charge. Because depends on the applied
frequency , the inductor reacts differently, in terms of offering opposition
to current, for different frequencies. We define as the inductive
reactance, XL
Worked example
In a purely inductive AC circuit, L = 25.0 mH and the rms voltage is 150 V.
Calculate the inductive reactance and rms current in the circuit if the
frequency is 60.0 Hz.
Solution
To find the inductive reactance,
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If the frequency increases to 6.00 kHz, what happens to the rms current in
the circuit?
Capacitors in an AC Circuit
The figure below shows an AC circuit consisting of a capacitor connected
across the terminals of an AC source. Kirchhoff’s loop rule applied to this
circuit gives,
Or,
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As in the case with inductors, the denominator plays the role of resistance,
with units of ohms. We give the combination 1/ C the symbol XC, and
because this function varies with frequency, we define it as the capacitive
reactance.
Worked example
An 8.00-µF capacitor is connected to the terminals of a 60.0-Hz AC source
whose rms voltage is 150 V. Find the capacitive reactance and the rms
current in the circuit.
Solution
To find the capacitive reactance,
What if the frequency is doubled? What happens to the rms current in the
circuit?
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If the applied voltage varies sinusoidally with time, the instantaneous
applied voltage is,
When the circuit elements are all connected together to the AC source, as
in figure above, the current in the circuit is given by,
where is some phase angle between the current and the applied voltage.
Because the circuit elements are in series, the current everywhere in the
circuit must be the same at any instant. That is, the current at all points in
a series AC circuit has the same amplitude and phase. Based on the
preceding sections, we know that the voltage across each element has a
different amplitude and phase. In particular, the voltage across the resistor
is in phase with the current, the voltage across the inductor leads the
current by 90°, and the voltage across the capacitor lags behind the
current by 90°. Using these phase relationships, we can express the
instantaneous voltages across the three circuit elements as,
The sum of these three voltages must equal the instantaneous voltage
from the AC source, but it is important to recognize that because the three
voltages have different phase relationships with the current, they cannot be
added directly.
Using phasor diagram,
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The denominator of the fraction plays the role of resistance and is called
the impedance, Z of the circuit:
From the right triangle in the phasor diagram, the phase angle between
the current and the voltage is found as follows,
Worked example
A series RLC circuit has R 425 , L 1.25 H, and C 3.50 F. It is
connected to an AC source with f 60.0 Hz and = 150 V.
a. Determine the inductive reactance, the capacitive reactance, and the
impedance of the circuit.
b. Find the maximum current in the circuit
c. Find the phase angle between the current and voltage
d. Find the maximum voltage across each element.
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e. What replacement value of L should an engineer analyzing the circuit
choose such that the current leads the applied voltage by 30.0°
rather than 34.0°? All other values in the circuit stay the same.
Solutions
a. Find the angular frequency
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Resonance in a Series RLC Circuit
We investigated resonance in mechanical oscillating systems in PHYS 104.
As shown in the previous chapter, a series RLC circuit is an electrical
oscillating system. Such a circuit is said to be in resonance when the
driving frequency is such that the rms current has its maximum value. In
general, the rms current can be written,
where Z is the impedance. Substituting the expression for Z from into the
above equation gives,
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Exercise
Consider a series RLC circuit for which R = 150 , L = 20.0 mH,
, and . Determine the value of the capacitance for which
the current is a maximum.
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