Lecture 1-2

Objectives: to introduce alternating current (AC) circuits.

Electrical Circuits Dr. Ali Mahmoud Salman Al-bayati

Introduction

• Thus far our analysis has been limited to DC circuits: those circuits excited by constant or time-invariant sources.

• A DC voltage or current has a fixed magnitude (amplitude) and a definite direction associated with it, and they do
not change their values with regards to time, they are a constant values flowing in a continuous steady-state
direction.

• We now begin the analysis of circuits in which the source voltage or current is time-varying or alternating.
Types of Alternating Waveforms

• The term alternating indicates only that the waveform alternates between two prescribed levels in a set time
sequence.

Figure (1): alternating waveforms.

• The type of signal we are interesting and will be analyzing is sinusoidal AC voltage (commonly called AC
voltage) and sinusoidal AC current (commonly called AC current).

• AC voltage or AC current reverse at regular time intervals and has alternately positive and negative values.

• Circuits driven by sinusoidal voltage or current sources are called AC circuits.

Sinusoidal AC Voltage: Generation and Definitions

Generation

• Sinusoidal AC voltages are available from a variety of sources.

Figure (2): various sources of AC power: (a) generating plant; (b) portable AC generator; (c) wind-power station; (d) solar panel; (e) function
generator.
Definitions
• The basic terms and parameters of a sinusoidal waveform:

Figure (3): important parameters for a sinusoidal voltage.

1. Instantaneous value: the magnitude of a waveform at any instant of time (e1, e2 in Figure (3)).
2. Peak amplitude: the maximum value of a waveform as measured from its average or mean value (Em in
Figure (3)).
3. Peak value: the maximum instantaneous value of a function as measured from the zero volt level.
For the waveform in Figure (3), the peak amplitude and peak value are the same, since the average value of
the function is zero volts.
4. Periodic waveform: a waveform that continually repeats itself after the same time interval. The waveform in
Figure (3) is a periodic waveform.
5. Period (T): is the length of time that the waveform takes to repeat itself from start to finish. This can also be
called the Periodic Time of the waveform.
6. Cycle: the portion of a waveform contained in one period of time.
7. Frequency (f): the number of cycles that occur in 1 s.

Figure (4): demonstrating the effect of a changing frequency on the period of a sinusoidal waveform.

Frequency is the reciprocal of the time period (T).

Example: for the sinusoidal waveform in the figure below:

Solution:
Example: find the period of periodic waveform with a frequency of

Solution:

Example: determine the frequency of the waveform in the figure below:

Solution:
From the figure, T = (25 ms - 5 ms) or (35 ms - 15 ms) = 20 ms, and
The Sinusoidal Waveform
 Why sinusoidal waveform and not other alternating waveforms such as
square or triangular waveforms?

In other words, if the voltage across (or current through) a resistor, inductor,
or capacitor is sinusoidal in nature, the resulting current (or voltage, Figure (5): the sine wave is not altered by the
respectively) for each will also have sinusoidal characteristics, as shown in response characteristics of a pure resistor,
inductor, or capacitor.
Figure (5) . If any other alternating waveform such as a square wave or
a triangular wave were applied, such would not be the case.
 Horizontal Axis Measurement Units
• The unit of measurement for the horizontal axis can be time, degrees, or radians.

• What is a radian?
If we mark off a portion of the circumference of a circle by a length
equal to the radius of the circle, as shown, in Figure (6), the angle resulting
at the center of that circle is called 1 radian.

Figure (6): defining the radian.

One full circle has: 2𝝅 radians (6.28 radians)

Note:
𝜋 radians = 3.14 ∗ 57.3 = 179.92 180°
2𝜋 radians = 2 ∗ 3.14 ∗ 57.3 Figure (7): there are 2𝜋 radians (6.28 radians) in one full circle of 360°.
Figure (8): plotting a sine wave versus (a) degrees and (b) radians.
 Radius Vector Rotation in a Uniform Circular Motion

• The sinusoidal waveform can be derived from the length of the vertical
projection of a radius vector rotating in a uniform circular motion about
a fixed point as shown in Figure (9).

• The velocity with which the radius vector rotates about the center, called
the angular velocity.

so, (rad/sec) (rad)

Figure (9): generating a sinusoidal waveform through the vertical

projection of a rotating radius vector.
• In Figure (9), the time required to complete one revolution is equal to the period (T) of the sinusoidal waveform in
Figure (9)(i). The radians subtended in this time interval are 2𝜋. Substituting, we have

or where

• From the above two equations, we can conclude that:

1. The higher the angular velocity of the rotating radius vector, the smaller
the period of the sinusoidal waveform.
2. The higher the angular velocity of the rotating radius vector, the higher
the frequency of the generated sinusoidal waveform.

Figure (10): demonstrating the effect of 𝜔 on the

frequency and period.
Example: determine the angular velocity of a sine wave having a frequency of 60 Hz.
Solution:

Example: given 𝜔 = 200 rad/s, determine how long it will take the sinusoidal waveform to pass through an angle of
90°.
Solution:

However, ∝ must be substituted as 𝜋/2 (= 90°) since 𝜔 is in radians per second:

Example: find the angle through which a sinusoidal waveform of 60 Hz will pass in a period of 5 ms.
Solution: