1

AC Circuits

Many electric circuits of practical importance including nearly all large-scale electric-power
distribution systems and much electronic equipment use alternating current (a.c) in which
the voltages and currents vary with time, often in a sinusoidal manner i.e.
I = Imsint
V = Vmsint
In commercial practice, a.c is always expressed in terms of the root mean square(r.m.s)
value. The r.m.s of an alternating current is defined as that value of steady current which
would dissipate heat at the same rate in a given resistance.
Power dissipated by a d.c current was found to be given by
P=I2R
The. For a.c
P= I 2r R
Average power = Average value of(I2R)
= average of(I2)xR (because R is constant
Taking the average value of I over a cycle I 2r = average value of I2 called the mean square
current. The variation of I2 as seen below is symmetrical and so the mean square current is
I 2m /2 where Im is the peak current.

Im
Thus Ir = = 0.707Im
2
Similarly Vr =0.707Vm

We shall now study the varying voltages and currents in relation to the circuit behaviour of
inductors and capacitors.
The symbol for a.c is
 2

AC and Resistor.

When a current I passes through a resistor R, we obtain the instantaneous voltage VR from
Ohms law
VR = IR = RImsin(2ft)
If we write this relation in the form
VR = VRmsin(2ft)
We see that
VRm =RIm
And so the current and voltage are in phase

2vr  R 2Ir
or Vr =RIr
Thus the a.c. expression for the relationship between current and voltage hold if we use
r.m.s values or if we use peak values.

a.c. Power in resistor

Power is supplied when current flows in either direction through the resistor. The
instantaneous power supplied to the resistance is given by

IVR = R I 2Msin(2ft)
I V
Average power P = M M
2
I V
= M M
2 2
=IrVr = I 2rR
Thus r.m.s values must be used for a.c. power.
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AC through a Capacitor

Consider capacitor plates being continually charged, discharged and charged the other way
round by the alternating voltage of the mains. Let a p.d V be applied across a capacitor of
capacitance C and let its value at time t be given by
V = VM sin2ft,
VM is the peak voltage and f is the frequency of the supply.
The charge Q on the capacitor at time t is
Q = CV

The current I flowing in the capacitor is then given by

I = rate of change of charge
dQ d(CV)
= 
dt dt
dV  C d (V sin(2 ft)
= C
dt dt M
= 2fCVMcos(2ft)
where 2fCVM = IM the peak value
The current flowing "through" the capacitor (cosine function) leads the applied p.d (a sine
function) by one quarter of a cycle.

VM VM 1 1
Consider the ratio = = =
IM 2 fCVM 2 fC C
1
This expression resembles V/I=R which defines resistance with replacing R. This
2 fC
quantity is taken as a measure of the opposition of a capacitor to a. c. and is called capacitive
reactance Xc

1 1
That is Xc = =
2 fC C
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AC through an Inductor

Let us suppose that the resistance of the coil is negligible. An inductor in an a.c circuit
behaves like a capacitor in that it causes a phase difference between the applied p.d and the
current. In this case the current lags behind the voltage by /2
Consider an inductor L through which current I flows at time t where
I = IMsin2ft
IM is the peak current.
An alternating current flows through the the inductor and sets up a changing magnetic flux.
This induces a back e.m.f given by
dI
E  L
dT
at some time t. L is the inductance of the coil
Suppose that the value of the applied p.d at time t is V. By Kirchoff's Voltage Law,
 E  IR and therefore, since R=0,
The p.d V in the inductor due to the changing current is

dI
V L 0
dT
i.e., V  L
d
I
sin t   0
dt M
 V  LIM cost  0
Writing VM= LIM = 2fLIM gives
V = VMcos t = VMcos2ft

Thus V is a cosine function whereas I is a sine function and therefore there is a phase
difference of p/2 radians between the current and the applied p.d. The voltage reaches its
maximum value before the current i. e. voltage leads the current.

VM 2fLIM
  2 fL   L
IM IM
The quantity 2fL is called the inductive reactance L of the inductor
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L = 2fL = L
Note: If  is in radians per second and L is in henrys, then L is in ohms.
VRMS  VM and I RMS  I M
2 2
V V V
 RMS  M   L 
I RMS IM I
Series Circuits
We are going to consider the network consisting of C, R and L together.

Vector Diagram
A sinusoidal alternating quantity can be represented by a rotating vector (often called a
phase vector or a phasor). Suppose we have two waves

y1 =Y1sint,
y2 = Y2 sin(t - )

then it can be demonstrated as shown

(a) Resistor and Capacitor

Suppose an alternating p.d V is applied across resistor R and capacitor C in series, as shown
below. Our reference vector will be that representing I.
(1) The p.d VR across R is always in phase with I
(2) The p.d Vc across C lags behind I by /2

C VC VR I



V
R VR VC

V
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The vector sum of VR and Vc equals the p.d V hence

V2  VR2  VC2
But VR  IR, and VC  IC C  2fC
 V2  I2 R 2   2C
 V  I R 2   C2 
The quantity R 2
  C2  , where  is called theimpendance of the circuit and
measures its oppositionto a.c.
   R 2   2 
V
C
I
VC C
Phase angle  is given by tan  
VR R

(b) Resistor and Inductor

The analysis is similar but in this case the p.d VL across L leads on the current I and the p.d
VR across R is again in phase with I.

VL



VR I

The p.d V equals the vector sum of VL and VR

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V2  V2  V2
R L

1
But VR  IR, and VL  ILC , L  2fL


 V2  I2 R 2   2L 
V  I R 2
  L2 
The quantity R 2

  L2  , where  is called theimpendance of the circuit and
measures its oppositionto a.c.

 
V
   R 2   2
L
I
VL L
Phase angle  is given by tan  
VR R

(c) Resistor, Capacitor and Inductor in Series

An R-C-L circuit is shown below

Since VL leads the current I by 900 and Vc lags I by 900 then VL and Vc are 1800 (half-cycle)
out of phase, i.e. antiphase. If VL is greater than Vc, then the resultant is VL - VC

The p.d V is given by


V 2  V R2  V L V C2 
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But VR=IR, VL=IL and VC=IC

hence
V2 = I2[R2+(L+C)2]

V I R 2
  L   C 
2


The impedance Z is given by
V
Z   R2     2
L C
I
The phase angle  is given by
V  VC   C
tan  L  L
VR R
L  C
 tan 
R
Electrical Resonance in the L-C-R Series Circuit
The expression just derived for the impedance of an R-C-L circuit show that Z varies with
the frequency f of the applied p.d, since both L and C depend on f.
- L f and the variation of L with frequency is a straight line passing through the origin.
- C 1/f and the variation of C with frequency is a curve approaching through the two
axes.
- The resistance R is independent of frequency and thus is represented by a straight line.
This is summarised on the diagram shown below

At a certain frequency, L= C. This frequency is called the resonant frequency (fo) and Z is
a minimum. Then
1
C  L   2fo L
2foC
1
f 
o
2 LC
The phase angle  is given by
  C
tan  L 0
R
implying that the applied p.d V and the current are in phase.
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How to measure fo
The circuit shown above is used to measure either L or C. As the frequency increases the
milliameter reading rises to a maximum and then falls. When various values of I and f are
collected the graph of I vs. f is drawn, the peak is the resonance frequency.

H/Work: Read about L-R-C in parallel

Homework 3
1. A sinusoidal voltage of frequency f=60Hz and peak value 150V is applied to a series R-L
circuit where R=20 and L=40mH.
(a) Compute the period T, , L, Z and .
(b) Compute the amplitudes I, VR, VL and the instantaneous values i, VR and VL at t=T/6
(c) Compute the IRMS, VRMS and the average power into the circuit.
2. A 1000F capacitor is joined in series with a 2.5V, 0.3A lamp and a 50Hz supply.
Calculate
(a) the p.d of the supply to light the lamp
(b) the p.ds across the capacitor and the resistor respectively.
3. A 2.0H inductor of resistance 80 is connected in series with a 420 resistor and a
240V, 50Hz supply. Find
(a) the current in the circuit and
(b) the phase angle between the applied voltage and the current.
4. A circuit consists of an inductor of 200H and resistance 10 in series with a variable
capacitor and a 1.0V, 1MHz supply. Calculate
(a) the capacitance to give resonance
(b) the p.d's across the inductor and the capacitor at resonance.
5. A capacitor from a 50V DC supply is discharged across a charge-measuring instrument
and found to have carried a charge of 10C. What was the capacitance of the capacitor
and how much energy was stored in it?
6. (a) Explain the meaning of the terms capacitance, relative permitivity and time constant.
(b) Two capacitors C1 and C2 are connected in series and then charged with a battery.
The battery is disconnected and C1 and C2, still in series, are discharged through an
80K resistor. The time constant for the discharge is found to be 4.8 seconds. Calculate
the capacitance of C1 and C2 in series and the capacitance of C1 if C2 has a capacitance
of 100F.