Experiment A
The investigation of 3 phase measurements in AC circuits with balanced and unbalanced
loads. PF is used to represent Power Factor.
1. The voltage and power measurements with a balanced load of 50
Table 1 shows the measurements taken from the three phase system with a balanced 50
load.
Table 1: Voltage and Power measurements with a balanced load of 50 .
Switch S2 Closed Switch S2 Open
Phase Line Power (W): Phase Line Power (W):
Voltage Voltage 3 and 2 Voltage Voltage 3 and 2
(V) (V) Wattmeter (V) (V) Wattmeter
69 120 W1:90 W1:135 69 120 W1:90 W1:135
W2:90 W2:135 W2:90 W2:135
W3:90 W3:90
The total power from the 3 and 2 wattmeter methods respectively (S2 either closed or
open):
P3WM 270W and P2WM 270W
Both the 2 and 3 wattmeter methods give the same total power thus both methods are
valid.
Star and neutral point voltage and current measurements:
V RMS 0.4V 0 and I RMS 0
The load power factor:
From the 2 wattmeter method:
3 ( P1 P 2) 3 (135 135)
tan 0 00
P1 P 2 135 135
PF cos 1
This confirms that the load is purely resistive, the load dissipates real power only.
2. The voltage and power measurements with a PF of approximately 0.75 and zero
For PF 0.75, the load impedance per phase is Z P 17.9 j16.65 and the voltage and
power measurements are shown in table 2.
The total power from the 3 and 2 wattmeter methods respectively (S2 either closed or
open):
P3WM W1 W2 W3 390W and P2WM W1 W2 390W
Both the 2 and 3 wattmeter methods give the same total power thus both methods are
valid.
Table 2: Voltage and Power measurements with a load PF of approximately 0.75.
Switch S2 Closed Switch S2 Open
Phase Line Power (W): Phase Line Power (W):
Voltage Voltage 3 and 2 Voltage Voltage 3 and 2
(V) (V) Wattmeter (V) (V) Wattmeter
69 120 W1:130 W1:90 69 120 W1:130 W1:90
W2:130 W2:300 W2:130 W2:300
W3:130 W3:130
Star and neutral point voltage and current measurements:
V RMS 0.4V 0 and I RMS 0
For PF 0, the load impedance per phase Z P 1.2 j16.65 and the voltage and power
measurements are shown in table 3.
Table 3: Voltage and Power measurements with a load PF of approximately zero.
Switch S2 Closed Switch S2 Open
Phase Line Power (W): Phase Line Power (W):
Voltage Voltage 3 and 2 Voltage Voltages 3 and 2
(V) (V) Wattmeter (V) (V) Wattmeter
69 120 W1:20 W1:-195 69 120 W1:20 W1:-195
W2:20 W2:255 W2:20 W2:255
W3:20 W3:20
The total power from the 3 and 2 wattmeter methods respectively (S2 either closed or
open):
P3WM W1 W2 W3 60W and P2WM W1 W2 60W
Both the 2 and 3 wattmeter methods give the same total power thus both methods are
valid for any type of balanced load (regardless of power factor).
Star and neutral point voltage and current measurements:
V RMS 0.4V 0 and I RMS 0
3. The voltage and power measurements with an unbalanced load
The phase sequence of the 3 phase load is as follows:
Phase A: 50.0 j 0
Phase B: 51.2 j16.65
Phase C: 34.6 j16.65
Table 4 shows the measurements taken from the three phase system with an unbalanced
load.
Table 4: Voltage and Power measurements with an unbalanced load.
Switch S2 Closed Switch S2 Open
Phase Line Power (W): Phase Line Power (W):
Voltages Voltage 3 and 2 Voltages Voltage 3 and 2
(V) (V) Wattmeter (V) (V) Wattmeter
V A 64 120 W1:110 W1:150 V A 64 120 W1:110 W1:150
W2:70 W2:135 W2:70 W2:135
VB 69 VB 69
W3:105 W3:105
VC 68 VC 68
The total power from the 3 and 2 wattmeter methods respectively (S2 either closed or
open):
P3WM W1 W2 W3 285W and P2WM W1 W2 285W
Both the 2 and 3 wattmeter methods give the same total power thus both methods are
valid for unbalanced loads as well.
Star and neutral point voltage and current measurements:
V RMS 15.2V and I RMS 90mA
4. For 1 and 2 (balanced loads), there was no voltage across (S2 open) or current through
(S2 closed) the star and neutral points. This is because all phases have equal voltage and
current amplitudes but 120 0 apart – therefore the three phase voltages and currents add up
to zero at the star point.
5. For both power and PF measurements in 1 and 2 (balanced loads) it does not matter
which lines are used for the two wattmeter method, they give the same total power and
PF. For power measurement in 3 (unbalanced load) it also does not matter which lines are
used as long as a common reference is kept, however for PF calculation it does since the
wattmeters give different readings thus resulting in three different power factors.
Therefore the concept of power factor in an unbalanced 3 phase network has no meaning
at all.
6. For a balanced load (1 and 2), phase rotation has no effect at all, but it will change the
readings for each wattmeter for an unbalanced load (3), however the total power remains
the same in both balanced and unbalanced loads regardless of phase rotation.
Experiment B
Power measurements with non-sinusoidal waveforms.
1. Tables 5 and 6 shows the measured voltage, current and power using the analogue and
digital instruments.
Table 5: Analogue and digital readings for load 1: RSeries 16.7 and R Load 50
Voltage (V) Current (A) Power (W)
Analogue 70 2.55 165
Digital (RMS) 80.9 2.28 153
Table 6: Analogue and digital readings for load 2: R Series 0 and R Load 50
Voltage (V) Current (A) Power (W)
Analogue 104 6.0 480
Digital (RMS) 118.4 5.34 450
The voltage, current and power waveforms are shown in figure 1 for both (a) load 1 and
(b) load 2. Figure 2 shows the harmonic content of these waveforms for both (a) load 1
and (b) load 2.
Figure 1: Voltage, current and power waveforms for (a) load 1 and (b) load 2
The current waveform is almost sinusoidal just that it levels down to zero at points below
and above certain voltages. This is due to the switching action of the rectifier diodes.
Hence the power waveform nearly follows the current waveform since P VI cos
with 0 . The voltage waveform is distorted because the rectifier used is non-linear
(made of non-linear components i.e. non-linear diodes).
Figure 2: Current, voltage and power Harmonic content for (a) load 1 and (b) load 2
2. The magnitude of the power measured by the analogue instrument is different form the
first harmonic measured by the digital instrument because the analogue instrument adds
up all the harmonics within its bandwidth.
3. Negative harmonics (3rd harmonic) in power means the capacitor is sourcing power
instead of absorbing. This is due to the discharging action of the capacitor as the voltage
oscillates.
4. The PF in circuits with distorted (non-sinusoidal) voltage and current is called
Displacement PF (DPF).
