Chapter 7: Alternating-Current Circuits

7.1 Alternating-Current (AC) Sources

When we work with AC sources, we shall assume that the voltages, the
currents, and the charges are all sinusoidal functions of time, with appropriate
phases.

The voltage or current supplied The voltage or current supplied

by an AC source are sinusoidal by an DC source are constant
with time. with time.

For instance, the time varying voltage from the AC source can be described
by:

V = Vmax sin t

where Vmax is the peak voltage and ω = 2πf is the angular frequency, expressed
in radians per second
2
 = 2f =
T

and f is the frequency, expressed in Hertz.

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Such voltage is said to be alternating and if it is applied to a circuit then the
alternating current is of the form:

𝐼 = 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜔 𝑡 + 𝜙)

where Imax is the peak current and ϕ is the phase of the current with respect
to the source voltage V.

7.2 Resistors in an AC Circuit

The instantaneous current in the resistor shown in the circuit below is:

Vmax
I= sin t = I max sin t
R
where

Vmax
I max =
R

I and V both vary as (sin ωt) and reach their maximum, minimum and zero
values at the same time, therefore, they are said to be in phase.

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The rate at which energy is delivered to a resistor is the power, the
instantaneous power is:
P = IV = I max
2
R sin 2 t

𝑃𝑎𝑣𝑔 = 𝐼𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠

where

I max
root mean square value I rms = = 0.707 I max
2

Vmax
Vrms = = 0.707 I max
2

Example 7.1

The voltage output of an AC source is given by the expression:

V = 200sin t
where V is in volts. Find the rms current in the circuit when this source is
connected to a 100 Ω resistor.

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7.3 Capacitors in an AC Circuit

From Chapter 3, the charge on a capacitor is:

q=CV

If a capacitor is connected across an AC source as shown in the circuit below,

then the instantaneous charge on it is:

q = CVmax sin t

The current in the circuit is:

dq
I= = CVmax cos t
dt

 
As cos t = sin  t + 
 2

Then,
𝜋
𝐼 = 𝜔𝐶𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑠𝑖𝑛 (𝜔𝑡 + )
2

This shows that the current is (π/2) out of phase with the voltage across the
capacitor.

This means the current reaches its maximum value before the voltage reaches
its maximum value by ¼ of a cycle as shown in the following plots.

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The previous figure also shows the phasor diagram (on the right) which
illustrate that the current always leads the voltage across a capacitor by π/2.

A phasor is a vector whose length is proportional to the maximum value of

the voltage Vmax or the current Imax and it rotates counterclockwise at
an angular speed equal to the angular frequency.

The projection of the phasor onto the vertical axis can gives the instantaneous
value of the quantity it represents (voltage or current)

What will be the phasor diagram of a resistor connected across an AC source?

From the previous equation:

Vmax
I max = CVmax =
XC

where Xc is defined as the capacitive reactance with unites of ohms and it

varies with frequency

1
XC =
C
And the instantaneous power in a purely capacitive AC circuit is:

1
P = VI = CVmax
2
sin 2t
2

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Example 7.2

An 8-μF capacitor is connected to the terminals of a 60-Hz AC source whose

rms voltage is 150 V. Find the capacitive reactance and the rms current in the
circuit.

Example 7.3

The voltage output of an AC source is given by the expression

V=100 sin 1000 t

where V is in volts. If this source is connected to a 2μF capacitor, find the

following:
a) Capacitive reactance.
b) The instantaneous current.
c) The instantaneous charge on the capacitor.
d) The instantaneous power in the circuit.

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7.4 Inductors in an AC Circuit

If an AC circuit consisting of an inductor of inductance L as shown in the

figure below, we can apply Kirchhoff’s second loop rule to this circuit:

V+VL =0

dI 𝑑𝐼
V −L =0 ➔ 𝐿 = 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜔 𝑡)
dt 𝑑𝑡

𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝑑𝐼 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜔 𝑡)𝑑𝑡
𝐿
𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝐼𝐿 = ∫ 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜔 𝑡)𝑑𝑡 = − 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜔 𝑡)
𝐿 𝜔𝐿

Vmax  
➔ IL = sin  t − 
L  2

This shows that the the instantaneous current IL in the inductor and the
instantaneous voltage VL across the inductor are out of phase.

This means the voltage reaches its maximum value ¼ of a period before the
current reaches its maximum value as shown in the following plots.

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From the last equation:

Vmax Vmax
I max = =
L X L

where XL is defined as the inductive reactance with unites of ohms and it varies
with frequency

where,

X L = L

And the instantaneous power in a purely inductive AC circuit is:

1
P = VI = LI max
2
sin 2t = Vrms I rms sin 2t
2
Example 7.4

In a purely inductive AC circuit, L = 25 mH and the rms voltage is 150 V.

Calculate the inductive reactance and rms current in the circuit if the
frequency is 60 Hz.

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7.5 The RLC Series Circuit

The following circuit contains a resistor, an inductor, and a capacitor

connected in series across an AC voltage source.

As shown previously, the instantaneous applied voltage is given by:

V = Vmax sin t

And the current in this case is given by the following equation:

I = I max sin( t −  )

where α is the phase angle between the current and the voltage.

As the circuit elements in this circuit are connected in series, the current must
be the same at any instant (with the same amplitude and phase) in each
element. However, the voltage across each element has a different amplitude
and phase as discussed int the previous sections:
• The voltage across the resistor is in phase with the current.
• The voltage across the inductor leads the current by π/2.
• The voltage across the capacitor lags behind the current by π/2.

The following figure shows the phasor diagram of the instantaneous voltages
across the three elements of the series RLC circuit.

The figure illustrates that the inductance and capacitance phasors are added
together and then added vectorially to the resistance phasor.

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This figure illustrates that the inductance and capacitance phasors are added
together and then added vectorially to the resistance phasor.

It also shows that the total voltage Vmax makes an angle α (the phase angle)
with Imax.

Therefore, Vmax can be expressed as:

Vmax = VR2 + (VL − VC ) 2 = ( I max R) 2 + ( I max X L − I max X C ) 2

where

Vmax = I max R 2 + ( X L − X C ) 2

Vmax = I max Z

Where Z is called the impedance of the circuit and its unit is ohm

Z = R 2 + ( X L − X C )2

The impedance (and the current) in an AC circuit depend on the resistance,

the inductance, the capacitance, and the frequency (because XL and XC are
frequency dependent).

From the right triangle in the phasor diagram in the previous figure, the phase
angle α is found as:

 XL − XC 
 = tan −1  
 R 

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The table below shows impedance values and phase angles for various
circuit-element combinations

The average power delivered to the series RLC circuit is given by:

Pavg=IrmsVrmscosα
where the quantity (cos α) is called the power factor

Example 7.5

A series RLC circuit has R = 425 Ω, L = 1.25 H, and C = 3.5 μF. It is connected
to an AC source with f = 60 Hz and Vmax = 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.
e) Calculate the average power delivered to the series RLC circuit

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7.6 Resonance in a Series RLC Circuit

A series RLC circuit which can be an electrical oscillating system becomes in

resonance when the driving frequency allows Irms to have its maximum value.
The rms current can be written as:

𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠
𝐼𝑟𝑚𝑠 =
𝑍
𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠
𝐼𝑟𝑚𝑠 =
√𝑅2 +(𝑋𝐿 − 𝑋𝐶 )2

Irms has its maximum value when

XL=XC

1
r L =
r C

1
2f r L =
2f r C

The resonance frequency:

1
fr =
2 LC

A radio’s receiving circuit is an important application of a resonant circuit.

The radio is tuned to receive a signal of a specific frequency by varying a
capacitor that is an element of the receiving circuit.

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Example 7.6

Consider a series RLC circuit for which R = 150 Ω, L = 20 mH, Vrms = 20 V,

and ω =5000 s-1. Determine the value of the capacitance for which the current
is a maximum.

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