LECTURE 13. PARALLEL A.C.

CIRCUITS
As in parallel d.c. circuits, the voltage is the same across each branch of a
parallel a.c. circuit. But current in any branch depends upon the impedance of that
branch. The total line current supplied to the circuit is the phasor sum of the branch
currents. Parallel circuits are used more frequently in electrical systems than are
the series circuits. For example, electrical devices and equipment are connected in
parallel across a.c. mains. There are two principal reasons for it. First, the
operation of each device becomes independent of the other. Therefore, it is
possible to turn on or off any device without disturbing the operation of other
devices. Secondly, most of the electrical appliances requiring different currents at
the same voltage are to be connected to the same power source. This necessitates
parallel connections. In this chapter, we shall discuss the various methods of
solving parallel a.c. circuits.

Methods of Solving Parallel A.C. Circuits

While analysing a parallel a.c. circuit, two important points must be kept in mind.
First, a parallel circuit, in fact, consists of two or more series circuits connected in
parallel. Therefore, each branch of the circuit can be analysed separately as a series
circuit and then the effect of the separate branches can be combined. Secondly,
alternating voltages and currents are phasor quantities. This implies that both
magnitudes and phase angles must be taken into account while carrying out circuit
calculations. There are four principal methods of solving parallel a.c. circuits,
namely ;
1. By phasor algebra
2. Equivalent impedance method
3. Admittance method
The use of a particular method will depend upon the conditions of the problem.
 By Phasor Algebra
Consider a parallel circuit consisting of two branches and connected to an
alternating voltage of V volts (r.m.s.) as shown in Fig. 14.1.

In this method, voltages, currents and impedances are expressed in the complex
form i.e. either in the rectangular or polar form. Since complex form includes both
magnitude and phase angle, the solution of parallel-circuit problems can be
obtained mathematically by using the rules of phasor algebra. This eliminates the
need of phasor diagram. Referring back to the parallel circuit shown in Fig. 14.1,
we have,

The solution of I can be obtained in the standard form a ± jb by using the rules of
phasor algebra. Then it is an easy task to find the magnitude and phase angle of I.
 Equivalent Impedance Method
In this method, we find the equivalent or total impedance of the parallel circuit.
The line current is equal to the applied voltage divided by the equivalent
impedance. Consider several impedances connected in parallel as shown in Fig.
14.3

where Z T is the total or equivalent impedance of the parallel circuit.

Line current,

Note that relation (i) compares with that for parallel resistors but with one
important difference. Here each impedance is in complex form and takes care of
magnitude as well as impedance angle. Therefore, all algebraic operations (e.g.
addition, division, subtraction etc.) must be in complex form. No attempt should be
made to carry out these operations airthmetically.
Special case. If only two impedances are in parallel, then the total or equivalent
impedance is given by ;
 Admittance (Y)
The admittance of an a.c. circuit is defined as the reciprocal of its impedance i.e.
Admittance,

The unit of admittance is siemen (S). Whereas impedance (Z) is the opposition to
alternating current flow, admittance (Y) is the inducement to alternating current
flow. We defined before the following terms :
Conductance, G = 1R ;
Inductive susceptance,

Capacitive susceptance,

The units of G, BL and BC are siemen (S). The admittance approach is quite useful
in the solution of parallel a.c. circuits.
Components of admittance. Depending upon the nature of reactance, the
impedance of
an a.c. circuit can be expressed in the complex form as :
Z = R + j XL or Z = R – j XC
Here, R is the resistive or in-phase component of Z while XL or XC is the reactive
or quadrature component of Z. Let us find the components of Y. We shall discuss
two cases by way of illustration.
1. R and L in parallel. Fig. 14.4 (i) shows the circuit. Here V is the applied
voltage and Z is total circuit impedance.

Fig. 14.4 (ii) shows the components G and BL of Y. Here, G is the in-phase
component of Y while BL is the quadrature component of Y. Note that G
(conductance) is positive and BL (inductive susceptance) is negative.
2. R and C in parallel. Fig. 14.5 (i) shows the circuit. Here V is the applied
voltage and Z is total circuit impedance.
Fig. 14.5 (ii) shows the components G and BC of Y. Here, G is the in-phase
component of Y while BC is the quadrature component of Y. Note that G
(conductance) is positive and BC (capacitive susceptance) is also positive.
Conductance G is always positive. However, BL (inductive susceptance) is
negative while BC (capacitive susceptance) is positive. The positive sign with B
indicates capacitive susceptance and the negative sign with B implies inductive
susceptance.

Importance of Admittance in Parallel A.C. Circuit Analysis

In the analysis of parallel circuits, it is quite useful to use admittance values
instead of impedance values. Consider several impedances Z1, Z2, Z3 ...
connected in parallel across an a.c. supply of V volts. We convert these parallel-
connected impedances into equivalent parallel-connected admittances Y1, Y2,
Y3 ... in rectangular form. The total impedance ZT of the circuit is given by ;
The admittances in rectangular form (Y1 = G1± jB1, Y2 = G2± jB2 ... ) of
parallel branches can be added to give the resultant conductance G and the
resultant susceptance B. Note that G is always positive while inductive
susceptance is negative and capacitive susceptance is positive. Thus admittance
method of parallel circuits makes the approach somewhat similar to a series
circuit where impedances (in rectangular form) are added. For this reason, the
admittance approach in the analysis of parallel a.c. circuits is for more
convenient than impedance approach.

Admittance Triangle
Since admittance has in-phase component (i.e. G) as well as quadrature
component (i.e. BL or BC), it can be represented by a right angled triangle,
called admittance triangle.
(i) For an inductive circuit (i.e. R + jXL), the impedance and admittance
triangles will be as shown in Fig. 14.6. Note that admittance angle is equal to
the impedance angle but is negative. For this reason, BL will be along OY -axis
and hence negative.
For a capacitive circuit (i.e. R – jXC), the impedance and admittance triangles
will be as shown in Fig. 14.7. Note that admittance angle is equal to the
impedance angle but of opposite sign. For this reason, BC will lie along OY-
axis and hence positive.

Admittance Method for Parallel A.C. Circuit Solution

Fig. 14.8 (i) shows two impedances Z1 = R1 – j XC1 and Z2 = R2 + jXL2 in
parallel across an a.c. supply of V volts.

We can convert the impedances into equivalent admittances as under :

Fig. 14.8 (ii) shows Y1 and Y2 resolved into conductances and suceptances. It
may be noted that conductance and suceptance components of each admittance
are paralleled elements.
Total circuit admittance

Application of Admittance Method

Consider a parallel a.c. circuit consisting of three branches as shown in Fig.
14.9. The total conductance of the circuit is the sum of the conductances of the
individual
 branches. However, total susceptance is the algebraic sum of susceptances of
the individual branches. Remember, inductive susceptance is negative while
capacitive susceptance is positive. It is an important point.

The magnitudes of various circuit values are :

The currents in the individual branches are :

It φ is positive, then current leads the voltage and if φ is negative, current lags
behind the voltage.
We have seen that the equivalent admittance of a number of parallel admittances is
the sum of their admittances.
R and C in parallel. When resistance (R) and capacitance (C) are in parallel, the
total admittance Y is the sum of admittances of the two components. Since the
admittance for resistance is 1/R and that for the capacitor is jωC,

Total admittance

The magnitude of total admittance is

R and L in parallel. When resistance (R) and inductance (L) are in parallel, the
total admittance Y is the sum of admittances of the two components. Since
admittance for the resistance is 1/R and that for the inductor is – j/ωL,
Total admittance,

The magnitude of total admittance is

R, L and C in parallel. For resistance (R), inductance (L) and capacitance (C) all
in parallel,

the total admittance Y is

The magnitude of total admittance is

Electrical status equation for the circuit in complex form is accordingly:

 GV  jCV  j /(L)V  I .

Complex admittance makes: Y  G  jC  j /(L)  G  j ( BC  BL ) .

Expression for Ohm`s law is thus:
Ie j V I
j I
 e j ( I  V )   j
Y  I /V  V e V Ye  Y cos   jY sin   G  jB .
Vector diagram is shown on the figure