Phase Difference

&
Phase Relationships

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The phase difference or phase shift as it is also called of a
sinusoidal waveform is the angle Φ (Greek letter Phi), in
degrees or radians that the waveform has shifted from a
certain reference point along the horizontal zero axis.

In other words phase shift is the lateral difference

between two or more waveforms along a common axis
and sinusoidal waveforms of the same frequency can have
a phase difference.
The phase difference, Φ of an alternating waveform can
vary from between 0 to its maximum time period, T of the
waveform during one complete cycle and this can be
anywhere along the horizontal axis between, Φ = 0 to
2π (radians) or Φ = 0 to 360o depending upon the angular
units used.

Phase difference can also be expressed as a time

shift of τ in seconds representing a fraction of the time
period, T for example, +10mS or - 50uS but generally it is
more common to express phase difference as an angular
measurement.
Then the equation for the instantaneous value of a
sinusoidal voltage or current waveform we developed in
the previous Sinusoidal Waveform will need to be
modified to take account of the phase angle of the
waveform and this new general expression becomes.

Phase Difference Equation

Where:
Am - is the amplitude of the waveform.
ωt - is the angular frequency of the waveform in radian/sec.
Φ (phi) - is the phase angle in degrees or radians that the
waveform has shifted either left or right from the
reference point.

If the positive slope of the sinusoidal waveform passes through the

horizontal axis "before" t = 0 then the waveform has shifted to the
left so Φ >0, and the phase angle will be positive in nature.
Likewise, if the positive slope of the sinusoidal waveform passes
through the horizontal axis "after" t = 0 then the waveform has
shifted to the right so Φ <0, and the phase angle will be negative in
nature and this is shown below.
Phase Relationship of a Sinusoidal Waveform
Firstly, lets consider that two alternating quantities such as a
voltage, v and a current, i have the same frequency ƒ in Hertz.
As the frequency of the two quantities is the same the angular
velocity, ω must also be the same. So at any instant in time we
can say that the phase of voltage, v will be the same as the
phase of the current, i.

Then the angle of rotation within a particular time period will

always be the same and the phase difference between the two
quantities of v and i will therefore be zero and Φ = 0. As the
frequency of the voltage, v and the current, i are the same they
must both reach their maximum positive, negative and zero
values during one complete cycle at the same time (although
their amplitudes may be different). Then the two alternating
quantities, v and i are said to be "in-phase".
Two Sinusoidal Waveforms - "in-phase"
Now lets consider that the voltage, v and the current, i have a
phase difference between themselves of 30o, so
(Φ = 30o orπ/6 radians). As both alternating quantities rotate at the
same speed, i.e. they have the same frequency, this phase
difference will remain constant for all instants in time, then the
phase difference of 30o between the two quantities is represented
by phi, Φ as shown below.
Phase Difference of a Sinusoidal Waveform
The voltage waveform above starts at zero along the
horizontal reference axis, but at that same instant of time
the current waveform is still negative in value and does not
cross this reference axis until 30o later. Then there exists
a Phase difference between the two waveforms as the
current cross the horizontal reference axis reaching its
maximum peak and zero values after the voltage
waveform.
As the two waveforms are no longer "in-phase", they must
therefore be "out-of-phase" by an amount determined by
phi, Φand in our example this is 30o. So we can say that the
two waveforms are now 30o out-of phase. The current
waveform can also be said to be "lagging" behind the
voltage waveform by the phase angle, Φ. Then in our
example above the two waveforms have a Lagging Phase
Difference so the expression for both the voltage and
current above will be given as.

where, i lags v by angle Φ

The phase angle of a sine wave can be used to describe the
relationship of one sine wave to another by using the terms
"Leading" and "Lagging" to indicate the relationship between
two sinusoidal waveforms of the same frequency, plotted onto
the same reference axis. In our example above the two
waveforms are out-of-phase by 30o so we can say
that i lags v or v leads i by 30o.

The relationship between the two waveforms and the

resulting phase angle can be measured anywhere along the
horizontal zero axis through which each waveform passes with
the "same slope" direction either positive or negative. In AC
power circuits this ability to describe the relationship between
a voltage and a current sine wave within the same circuit is
very important and forms the bases of AC circuit analysis.
The Cosine Waveform
So we now know that if a waveform is "shifted" to the
right or left of 0o when compared to another sine wave the
expression for this waveform becomes Am sin(ωt ± Φ). But
if the waveform crosses the horizontal zero axis with a
positive going slope 90o or π/2 radians before the
reference waveform, the waveform is called a Cosine
Waveform and the expression becomes.
 Cosine Expression

The Cosine Wave, simply called "cos", is as important as

the sine wave in electrical engineering. The cosine wave
has the same shape as its sine wave counterpart that is it is
a sinusoidal function, but is shifted by +90o or one full
quarter of a period ahead of it.
Phase Difference between a Sine
wave and a Cosine wave
Alternatively, we can also say that a sine wave is a cosine wave that
has been shifted in the other direction by -90o. Either way when
dealing with sine waves or cosine waves with an angle the following
rules will always apply.

Sine and Cosine Wave Relationships

When comparing two sinusoidal waveforms it more common to
express their relationship as either a sine or cosine with positive
going amplitudes and this is achieved using the following
mathematical identities.
Phase Relations
Phase Relations
Phase Relations
Phase Relations
Phase Relations
Phase Relations
The phase relationship between two waveforms indicates
which one leads or lags the other, and by how many
degrees or radians.

Example: What is the phase relationship between the

sinusoidal waveforms of each of the following sets:
1.v = 10 sin (ωt + 30o) V 4.v = 10 cos (ωt + 10o) V
i = 5 sin (ωt + 70o) A i = 5 sin (ωt -10o) A
2. v = 15 sin (ωt + 60o) V 5.v = –10 cos (ωt + 30o) V
i = 5 sin (ωt – 20o) A i = 5 sin (ωt + 10o) A

3.v = 10 cos (ωt + 10 ) V

o 6.v = –10 cos (ωt - 60o) V
i = 5 sin (ωt – 10o) A i = 5 sin (ωt – 150o) A