UNIT-A : DC & AC CIRCUITS

1. Unit A - Topic I
 Electrical circuit elements (R, L
and C)
 Series and Parallel circuits
 Concept of equivalent resistance
 Kirchhoff current and voltage laws

 Star-delta conversion
2. Unit A – Topic II
 Analysis of simple circuits with
dc excitation
Contd…..

 Representation of sinusoidal
waveforms, Peak and rms values
 Real power, reactive power, apparent
power, power factor
3. Unit A - Topic III

 Introduction to three phase system

 Relationship between phase voltages
and line voltages
Symbols of Basic Elements

Element Symbol Unit

Ohm
Resistor

Farad
Capacitor

Henry
Inductor
Contd…..
Element Symbol Unit

volts
DC Voltage Source

Ampere
DC Current
Source
Contd…..

Element Symbol Unit

Voltage/current
AC Source
 Resistor and Resistance
 A resistor is an electrical component with
two terminals that is used to limit or
regulate the flow of electrical current in a
circuit.

 The property of a resistor to regulate the

flow of current is called resistance R.
 It is measured in ohms (Ω)

 Voltage across a resistance is given by V=IR

 Inductor and inductance

• Any coil of wire is an inductor.

• Inductance is the property of inductor

•Inductor stores energy in the form of

magnetic field.

•The current through and voltage

across an inductor is given by 1
I  Vdt
L
dI
V L 
dt
 Capacitor and capacitance

•Any two conductors separated by

a dielectric form a capacitor.

• Capacitance is the property of

capacitor

•It stores energy in the form of

electric field. 1
V  Idt
•The current through and voltage C
across a capacitor is given by
dV
I C 
dt
 Define Circuit ???????

A circuit can be defined as a closed path along which an

electrical current can flow.

What is the difference between DC and AC ???????

 Series Circuit:

Two elements are in series if one element is

connected directly to the other with nothing coming
in between.

Note: In series connection, same current will flow through all elements
connected in series
 Parallel Circuit:

Two elements are connected in parallel if both the

ends are connected together.
Note:

 House circuits contain

parallel circuits
 The parallel circuit will
continue to operate even
though one component may
be open
 Only the open or defective
component will no longer
continue to operate
amples of Parallel Circuits:
 Series - Parallel Circuits

 Circuits may contain a combination of

series and parallel components
 Being able to recognize the various
connections in a network is an important
step in analyzing these circuits
Series - Parallel Circuits Contd….
Ohm’s law:

Ohm’s law states that the voltage across a

conductor is directly proportional to the current
flowing through the conductor, provided that the
temperature of the conductor does not change.

i.e. V α I
or V= RI
where R is called the
resistance
Series and parallel elements

Resistors in series: We can replace a combination of several series resistors by a single

equivalent resistor as shown:

R1 R2
. . .

R eq RN

. . .

Req = R1 + R2 + . . . + RN
Resistors in parallel: We can replace a combination of several parallel resistors by a single equivalent resistor as shown:

. . .

R eq R1 R2 RN

. . .

1 1 1 1
   . . . 
Req R1 R2 RN
(a) Series combination of N resistors. (b) Electrically
equivalent circuit.
Concept of open circuit and short circuit
Open Circuit:

• What if R =  ? i(t)=0
The +
Rest of
the –
Circuit
i(t)=0
• i(t) = v(t)/R = 0

In open circuit
Current = 0 ; Voltage at open circuit = v(t)
Short Circuit:

• What if R = 0 ? i(t)
The +
Rest of v(t)=0
the
Circuit –

• v(t) = R i(t) = 0

At short circuit
Current = Maximum or infinite; voltage = 0
Active and passive elements

Active Elements :
The elements which generates or produces
electrical energy are called active elements.
Some of the examples are
batteries,generators,vacuum tubes,operational
amplifiers,transistors etc.

Passive Elements :
The elements which consume rather than
produce electrical energy are called passive
elements, like resistors,inductors,capacitors,etc
Voltage and current sources

 Independent sources.
 dependent sources.

Independent source: An independent source is a

source that provides a specified voltage or
current that is completely independent of other
circuit variables.
Dependent Source : A dependent source is a
source that depends on other variables( voltage
or current) of the circuit.
 Independent source:

An independent source can be of the following

types

I. ideal voltage source

II. ideal current source
III. Practical voltage source
IV. Practical current source

Independent voltage source Independent current source

Dependent source:

A dependent source can be of the following

types:
v=kvx v=rix
+ +
- -

Voltage Current
Controlled Controlled
Voltage Source Voltage Source
(VCVS) (CCVS)
 I=gVx I=kIx

Voltage Current
Controlled Controlled
Current Source Current Source
(VCCS) (CCCS)
 Kirchoff’s Laws

Kirchhoff's First Law: Kirchhoff's Current Law or KCL, states that the
“total current entering a junction or node is exactly equal to the curren
leaving the node”. In other words “the algebraic sum of all the currents
meeting at a node is zero”.

Or
 Contd….

Kirchhoff's Second Law: Kirchhoff's Second Law or KVL, states that the
“algebraic sum of all the voltage drops (or rise) across all the elements
in a closed loop is zero”.
 Superposition Theorem

Statement: Superposition Theorem states that “In

any active linear bilateral circuit containing more
than one independent source, the current through or
voltage across is the algebraic sum of the currents or
voltages that would be produced when each source
is acting independently”.
1. Find the current I in the given circuit by using Superposition Theorem.
12 

IS = 3 A + VS = 54 V
6 _

Approach: First, deactivate the source IS and find I in the 6  resistor.

Second, deactivate the source VS and find I in the 6  resistor.

Then, Sum the two currents for the total current.

19
Sol:

Case1: When 54V source is acting alone:

12 

IV s
+ VS = 54 V
6 _

IVs = 3 A
Case2: When 3A source is acting alone:

Is 12 

IS = 3 A 6

12
I 6 3 X
12  6
2A
Total current I: I = IS + Ivs = 5 A
 Representation of Sinusoidal Waveforms

Any sinusoidal signal can be represented in the following form:

i
Imax
i = Imaxsin(wt)
 Sinusoidal signal and its significance

Sinusoidal signal is a form of alternating quantity.

Alternating Quantity and Direct Quantity:

An alternating quantity is a quantity( voltage, current, etc ) which periodically
changes its direction and magnitude whereas direct quantities are steady and in
one direction.
 Advantages of Sinusoidal signal

1. The waveform from generation to utilization remains the same if a

sinusoidal signal is generated.
2. Electromagnetic torque developed in three phase machines is free
from oscillations.
3. There is no noise in the operation of three phase machines with
sinusoidal currents.
4. The losses in the generators, motors, working with sinusoidal
quantities are less
5. Less interference to nearby communication circuits.
 Peak, Average and RMS values of sinusoidal signals

In a dc system, the voltage and current are constant, and therefore there is no
problem in specifying their magnitude.
But in case of ac system, an alternating voltage or current varies from
instant to instant and so there is a problem in specifying its magnitude. An
alternating voltage or current may possibly be expressed in terms of
(i) Peak value( maximum value)
(ii) Average value( mean value)
(iii) Effective( rms) value

Peak Value: The maximum value( positive or negative) attained by an alternating

quantity is called its amplitude or peak value.
 Contd…..

Average Value:Averagevalue is defined as the value

determined by taking the mean of the instantaneous
values over a half cycle. Average value of alternating
current over a complete cycle is zero. Hence, average
wt
value is always calculated over half cycle.
Average value of alternating current is
given by
Iav =

=
Contd…..

Rms Value: The RMS value is the effective value of a varying voltage or
current. It is the equivalent steady DC (constant) value which gives the same effect.
For example, a lamp connected to a 6V RMS AC supply will shine with the same
brightness when connected to a steady 6V DC supply. However, the lamp will be
dimmer if connected to a 6V peak AC supply because the RMS value of this is only
4.2V (it is equivalent to a steady 4.2V DC).
Mathematically, it is equal to the square-root of the mean of the squares of
successive ordinates.
Irms
ALTERNATING CURRENT
 In a DIRECT CURRENT (dc) circuit
the current flows in one direction
only.
 In an ALTERNATING CURRENT (ac)
circuit the direction of current flow
through the circuit changes at a
particular frequency (f).
 The frequency used in the India is
50 cycles per second or 50Hz.
Determine the equation of the following
voltage signal.
From diagram:
• Period is 50 ms =
0.05 s
• Thus f = 1/T =1/0.05
= 20 Hz
• Peak voltage is 10 V
• Therefore

v Vp sin 2ft

 10 sin 2 20t
 10 sin 126 t
 Average value of a sine wave
 average value over one (or more) cycles is
clearly zero
 however, it is often useful to know the
average magnitude of the waveform
independent of its polarity
 we can think of this as
the average value over
half a cycle…
 … or as the average value
of the rectified signal
 1 
I av  0 I p sin  dθ

Ip
  cos 0 


2I p
 0.637 I p

1 
Similarly ,
Vav  0 V p sin  dθ

2V p
 0.637 V p

 Average value of a sine wave
Let  d .c.  current I d .c.
2 2
 Pd .c. I d .c. R I rms R Pac
T T 2 T
2 1 2 R 2 I0 R
I rms R  i Rdt  I 0 (sin wt )dt 
2
(1  cos 2 wt )dt
T 0 T 0 2T 0
2 T 2
2 I0  sin 2 wt  I0
I rms   t  2w   2
2T  0
2
2 I0 I0
 I rms   I rms  0.707 I 0
2 2
RMS Values

I
d.c. equivalent value
0.707 I
i=Isin(wt)

 2 wt

-I
 Form factor
 for any waveform the form factor is
defined as

Form factor  r.m.s. value

average value

 for a sine wave this gives

0.707 V
p
Form factor  1.11
0.637 V
p
 Peak factor
 for any waveform the peak factor is
defined as
peak value
Peak factor 
r.m.s. value

 for a sine wave this gives

V
p
Peak factor  1.414
0.707 V
p
 Apparent Power, Real Power, Reactive Power
and power factor

DC Circuits, power supply to the DC load is simply the produ

tage across the load and current flowing through it i.e., P = V
ny practical circuits contain a combination of resistive, induc
d capacitive elements, and such circuits are called AC circuits
AC circuit, power quantity comes in different forms ( real pow
ctive power and apparent power)
Contd………………..

arent Power (S): The product of root mean square (RMS) val
age and current is known as Apparent Power. This power i
asured in VA, KVA or MVA.
i.e. Apparent Power = Vrms x Irms

al Power (P): The power which is actually consumed or util

circuit is called True power or Active Power or real power.
measured in kilowatt W, kW or MW.
i.e. Real Power = Vrms x Irms x cos ϕ
 ve Power (Q): Reactive power (Q), (sometimes called wattle
) is the power consumed in an AC circuit that does not perfor
work. . This power is measured in VAR, KVAR or MVAR.

i.e. Reactive Power = Vrms x Irmssinxϕ

wer factor (cos ϕ ): Power factor is defined as the ratio of

er (P) to apparent power (S).
 Contd………………..

er triangle: These three types of power—true, reactive, a

rent - relate to one another in trigonometric form. We call th
er triangle: (Figure below).
 Introduction to three phase system
In a three-phase system, three circuit conductors carry
three alternating currents (of the same frequency) which
reach their instantaneous peak values at different times.
This currents/ voltages are displaced from each other by
120°.
 (contd…….)

• Most household loads are single-phase. In India, North

America and some other countries, three-phase power
generally does not enter homes. Even in areas where it does, it
is typically split out at the main distribution board and the
individual loads are fed from a single phase.
contd…….
Advantages of three phase system over single phase system

In general, three-phase systems are preferred over single-

phase systems for the transmission of power for many
reasons, including the following:

1. In a single phase system, the power delivered is pulsating.

However in a three phase circuit, the total power delivered
to load is constant.

2. The rating of a given machine increases with the increase in

the number of phases .

3. Efficiency of a three phase motor is also higher than that of

a single phase motor of the same rating.
4. The three phase motors are much smaller in size and less
expensive than single phase motor of the same rating.

5. Transmission of power by a three phase system is much cheaper

than that of a single phase system.

6. Three phase system are more capable and reliable than that
of a single phase system.
 Connection in Three Phase System
• A 3-phase system is equivalent to three
single phase circuit
• Two possible configurations in three phase
system:
1. Y-connection (star connection)
2. ∆-connection (delta connection)
 Y-connected system
• Line voltage:
VAB ; VBC ; VCA

• Phase voltage:
VAN ; VBN ; VCN
 Points to Remember
• In Y-connected, 3-phase system, the voltage from line to
neutral point is called a phase voltage

• In Y-connected, 3-phase system, the voltage from one

line to another is called a line voltage

• The magnitude of the line voltage of a Y-connected

system is

• The magnitude of the line current of a Y-connected

system equals the phase current for each phase; that is

I L I φ
 ∆-connected system

• Line current:
IAa ; IBb ; ICc

• Phase current:
for load:
Iab ; Ibc ; Ica

62
 Points to Remember
• The magnitude of the line voltage of a ∆ connected
system is

EL = E
• The magnitude of the line current of a ∆ -connected
system is given by

IL =√3 I
Thank You!!!!