Part II

AC circuits

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 Chapter (4)
AC Fundamentals
4.1 Introduction

This chapter introduces the fundamental of Alternating Current (AC) circuits. The definition of
the AC is comprehensively explained. The average and RMS values are derived.

The chapter also gives the behavior of passive element in the AC. The concept of sinusoidal
current and voltage is first introduced as this forms the basis of AC circuit analysis.

4.2 AC definitions
Alternating current is an electric current which periodically reverses direction, in contrast
to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in which electric
power is delivered to businesses and residences, and it is the form of electrical energy that
consumers typically use when they plug kitchen appliances, televisions, fans and electric lamps into
a wall socket. A common source of DC power is a battery cell in a flashlight. The
abbreviations AC and DC are often used to mean simply alternating and direct, as when they
modify current or voltage.

The usual waveform of alternating current in most electric power circuits is a sine wave, whose
positive half-period corresponds with positive direction of the current and vice versa. Cosine wave is
considered as special case of the sine, as it is considered as a sine wave advanced by 90 o. The sine
and cosine usually are themed as sinusoidal waveforms. AC in general means any waveform, which
has average value. Also this waveform repeat itself after specific time.

4.2.1 Sinusoidal waveforms

In circuit analysis, the term AC generally refers to a sinusoidal current or voltage signal.
Sinusoids or more commonly sine waves are arguably the most important class of waveforms in
electrical engineering. A common example is the mains voltage which is sinusoidal in nature. In
general, any periodic waveform can be generated using a combination of sinusoidal signals of varying
frequencies and amplitudes. The two most important parameters of a sine wave are its amplitude, Vm
and frequency, f or time period, T .

Figure 4.1(a) shows a sinusoid and related parameters Vm and T . The frequency is then given
by the reciprocal of the time period i.e f = 1/T. Note that two complete cycles (time periods) are
plotted which clearly shows the periodic nature of a sine wave. Peak to peak amplitude is also

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occasionally used given as two times the peak amplitude. Another parameter that is vital for AC
analysis is the phase, φ of the sine wave. This is normally measured with respect to a reference
waveform as shown in Fig. 4.1(b). It is important to point out that sinusoidal generally refers to either
sine or cosine waveform where the cosine wave has the same shape but is 900 out of phase with
respect to the sine wave.

Fig. 4.1: Parameters of a sine wave (a) Amplitude and time period, (b) Phase

The sinusoidal waveform of Fig.4.1 with its additional notation will now be used as a model in
defining a few basic terms. These terms, however, can be applied to any alternating waveform. It is
important to remember as you proceed through the various definitions that the vertical scaling is in
volts or amperes and the horizontal scaling is always in units of time.

Waveform: The path traced by a quantity, such as the voltage in Fig. 4.1, plotted as a function of
some variable such as time (as above), position, degrees, radians, temperature, and so on

Instantaneous value: The magnitude of a waveform at any instant of time; denoted by

lowercase letters (e1, e2).

Peak amplitude: The maximum value of a waveform as measured from its average, or mean,
value, denoted by uppercase letters (such as Em for sources of voltage and Vm for the voltage drop
across a load). For the waveform of Fig. 4.1, the average value is zero volts, and Em is as defined by
the figure.

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 Peak value: The maximum instantaneous value of a function as measured from the zero-volt
level. For the waveform of Fig. 4.1, the peak amplitude and peak value are the same, since the
average value of the function is zero volts.

Peak-to-peak value: Denoted by Ep-p or Vp-p, the full voltage between positive and negative
peaks of the waveform, that is, the sum of the magnitude of the positive and negative peaks.

Periodic waveform: A waveform that continually repeats itself after the same time interval. The
waveform of Fig. 4.1 is a periodic waveform.

Period (T ): The time interval between successive repetitions of a periodic waveform (the period
T1 _ T2 _ T3 in Fig. 4.1), as long as successive similar points of the periodic waveform are used in
determining T.

Cycle: The portion of a waveform contained in one period of time. The cycles within T1, T2, and
T3 of Fig. 4.1 may appear different in Fig. 4.1, but they are all bounded by one period of time and
therefore satisfy the definition of a cycle.

Mathematically, a sinusoidal signal is given by the general form

V(t) = Vm sine (ωt +φ ) (4.1)

Where

Vm : amplitude or peak value, ω=2π f = 2 π / T angular frequency in rad/s, φ is phase angle in

degrees or radian.

when φ = 900 , sin(ω t + 900 ) = cos(ω t )

T is the time of complete cycle; it has the unit of second (s)

f: The frequency, it is the reciprocal of the periodic time. The frequency is a number of
complete cycles per second or defined as Hertz(Hz)

f=1/T (4.2)

4.3 Average and RMS values

4.3.1 Mean or Average Value

Given a discrete sequence of signals such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 the average value is calculated as

follows

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 Average Value = (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5) / 5 = 3

The problem is that there are an infinite number of numbers to add up, then divide by infinity. One
approach is to divide up the interval and use n left or right samples of the value of the function, add
them up, then divide by n. If we take the limit as n approaches infinity, then we will get the average
value. The formula for the average value of a function, f, over the interval from a to b is:

(4.3)

One way to think about this is to rewrite this formula as

(4.4)

Think of (b - a) as the width of a rectangle, and average as the height. Then the average value of
a function on an interval is the height of a rectangle that has the same width as the interval and has
the same area as the function on that interval.

For a continuous periodic waveform such as a sinusoid, the mean value can be found by
averaging all the instantaneous values during one cycle. This is given by:

Vav = 1 / T (4.5)

Clearly, the average value of a complete sine wave is 0 because of equal positive and negative
half cycles. This is regardless of the peak amplitude.

Example : Average value of a fully rectified sine wave

By taking the absolute value of a sine wave, a fully rectified waveform can be generated. In
practise, this can be achieved by employing the bridge circuit shown in Figure 4.2(a) with sine wave
as the excitation signal. The output waveform across the load,

RL is depicted in Fig. 3.2(b) with a time period of T /2 where T is the time period of a normal sine
wave. Thus:

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 Fig. 4.2: A bridge rectifier and the resulting fully rectified sine waveform

Vav = 2 / T , Vav = 2 Vm/ π (4.6)

A bridge rectifier circuit is common in DC power supplies and is mainly employed to convert an
AC input signal to a DC output.

Average value of a half rectified sine wave A half wave rectification circuit is depicted in Fig.
4.3(a) and the resulting waveform is also shown in Fig. 4.3(b). In this case, the negative half cycle of
the sine wave is clipped to zero and hence the time period T of the waveform remains the same.
Therefore,

Fig. 4.3: A half wave rectification circuit and the resulting output.

Vav = +

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 Vav = Vm/ π

A half wave rectifier is also commonly employed in DC power supplies for AC to DC conversion.

This requires just one diode as opposed to four in a bridge rectifier. However, the average value
is half of the full wave as given by Equation 3.4.

Example 2 (try with your self)

Determine the average value of the waveforms of Fig. 4.5

Figure 4.5

4.3.2 Effective or RMS Value

This section will begin to relate dc and ac quantities with respect to the power delivered to a
load. It will help us determine the amplitude of a sinusoidal ac current required to deliver the same
power as a particular dc current. The question frequently arises, How is it possible for a sinusoidal ac
quantity to deliver a net power if, over a full cycle, the net current in any one direction is zero (average
value _0)? It would almost appear that the power delivered during the positive portion of the
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sinusoidal waveform is withdrawn during the negative portion, and since the two are equal in
magnitude, the net power delivered is zero. However, understand that irrespective of direction,
current of any magnitude through a resistor will deliver power to that resistor. In other words, during
the positive or negative portions of a sinusoidal ac current, power is being delivered at each instant of
time to the resistor. The power delivered at each instant will, of course, vary with the magnitude of the
sinusoidal ac current, but there will be a net flow during either the positive or the negative pulses with
a net flow over the full cycle. The net power flow will equal twice that delivered by either the positive
or the negative regions of sinusoidal quantity. A fixed relationship between ac and dc voltages and
currents can bederived from the experimental setup shown in Fig. 4.6. A resistor in a water bath is
connected by switches to a dc and an ac supply. If switch 1 is closed, a dc current I, determined by
the resistance R and battery voltage E, will be established through the resistor R. The temperature

reached by the water is determined by the dc power dissipated in the form of heat by the
resistor.

Fig. 4.6

The effective or root mean square (RMS) value of a periodic signal is equal to the magnitude of a
DC signal which produces the same heating effect as the periodic signal when applied across a load
resistance.

Consider a periodic signal, v(t), then

Mean Square = Vav = 1 / T

Root Mean Square = 1/T (4.5)

The RMS value of a sine wave is found out to be

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 Vrms = (4.6)

The mains voltage of 230 V in the UK is its RMS value. A multimeter measures RMS voltages
whereas an oscilloscope measures peak amplitudes. Hence the mains voltage when displayed on an
oscilloscope will read 230 × = 325.27 V All the above expressions are independent of the phase
angle φ.

4.4 Passive elements in steady-state AC circuits

Electrical and electronic circuits consist of connecting together many different components to
form a complete and closed circuit. The three main passive components used in any circuit are
the: Resistor, the Capacitor and the Inductor. All three of these passive components have one thing
in common, they limit the flow of electrical current through a circuit but in very different ways.

Electrical current can flow through a circuit in either of two ways. If it flows in one steady direction
only it is classed as direct current, (DC). If the electrical current alternates in both directions back and
forth it is classed as alternating current, (AC). Although they present an impedance within a circuit,
passive components in AC circuits behave very differently to those in DC circuits.

Passive components consume electrical energy and therefore can not increase or amplify the
power of any electrical signals applied to them, simply because they are passive and as such will
always have a gain of less than one. Passive components used in electrical and electronic circuits
can be connected in an infinite number of ways as shown below, with the operation of these circuits
depending on the interaction between their different electrical properties.

Passive Components in AC Circuits

Where: R is resistance, C is capacitance and L is inductance.

Resistors whether used in DC or AC circuits will always have the same value of resistance no
matter what the supply frequency. This is because resistors are classed to be pure having parasitic
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properties such as infinite capacitance C = ∞ and zero inductance L = 0. Also for a resistive circuit the
voltage and current are always in-phase so the power consumed at any instant can be found by
multiplying the voltage by the current at that instant.

Capacitors and inductors on the other hand, have a different type of AC resistance known
as reactance, (XL and XC). Reactance also impedes the flow of current, but the amount of reactance
is not a fixed quantity for one inductor or capacitor in the same way that a resistor has a fixed value of
resistance. The reactance value of an inductor or a capacitor depends upon the frequency of the
supply current as well as on the DC value of the component itself.

The following is a list of passive components commonly used in AC circuits along with their
corresponding equations which can be used to find their value or circuit current. Note that a
theoretically perfect (pure) capacitor or inductor does not have any resistance. However in the real
world they will always have some resistive value no matter how small.

Purely Resistive Circuit

Resistor – Resistors regulate, impede or set the flow of current through a particular path or
impose a voltage reduction in an electrical circuit as a result of this current flow. Resistors have a
form of impedance which is simply termed resistance, ( R ) with the resistive value of a resistor being
measured in Ohms, Ω. Resistors can be of either a fixed value or a variable value (potentiometers).

Purely Capacitive Circuit

Capacitor – The capacitor is a component which has the ability or “capacity” to store energy in
the form of an electrical charge like a small battery. The capacitance value of a capacitor is measured
in Farads, F. At DC a capacitor has infinite (open-circuit) impedance, ( XC ) while at very high
frequencies a capacitor has zero impedance (short-circuit).

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 Purely Inductive Circuit

Inductor – An inductor is a coil of wire that induces a magnetic field within itself or within a central
core as a direct result of current passing through the coil. The inductance value of an inductor is
measured in Henries, H. At DC an inductor has zero impedance (short-circuit), while at high
frequencies an inductor has infinite (open-circuit) impedance, ( XL ).

Series AC Circuits

Passive components in AC circuits can be connected together in series combinations to form RC,
RL and LC circuits as shown.

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Series RC Circuit

Series RL Circuit

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 Series LC Circuit

Parallel AC Circuits

Passive components in AC circuits can also be connected together in parallel combinations to

form RC, RL and LC circuits as shown.

Parallel RC Circuit

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 Parallel RL Circuit

Parallel LC Circuit

Passive RLC Circuits

All three passive components in AC circuits can also be connected together in both
series RLC and parallel RLC combinations as shown below.

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 Series RLC Circuit

Parallel RLC Circuit

We have seen above that passive components in AC circuits behave very differently than
when connected in a DC circuit due to the influence of frequency, ( ƒ ). In a purely resistive circuit, the
current is in-phase with the voltage. In a purely capacitive circuit the current in the capacitor leads the
voltage by 90o and in a purely inductive circuit the current lags the voltage by 90 o.

The opposition to current flow through a passive component in an AC circuit is

called: resistance, R for a resistor, capacitive reactance, XC for a capacitor and inductive
reactance, XL for an inductor. The combination of resistance and reactance is called Impedance.
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 In a series circuit, the phasor sum of the voltages across the circuits components is equal to the
supply voltage, VS. In a parallel circuit, the phasor sum of the currents flowing in each branch and
therefore through each of the circuits components is equal to the supply current, IS.

For both parallel and series connected RLC circuits, when the supply current is “in-phase” with
the supply voltage the circuit resonance occurs as XL = XC. A Series Resonance Circuit is known as
an Acceptor Circuit. A Parallel Resonance Circuit is known as a Rejecter Circuit.

4.5 Impedance
The magnitudes of the ratio of voltage to current across the three circuit elements can be written
as:

(4.7)

ω (4.8)

(4.8)
ω

Where ωL and have the dimensions of resistance ( Ω ) and are termed as inductive reactance
ω

and capacitive reactance respectively i.e.

XL = ωL inductive reactance

XC = ω inductive reactance

The impedance, Z can now be defined by the following relationship

Impedance = Resistance ± j Reactance

Or Z = R + j X where j represents a 900 phase shift

X is positive for inductance and negative for capacitance. The magnitude and phase of the
impedance can be calculated as follows:

) (4.9)

φ = arctan ( ) (4.10)

Admittance The reciprocal of impedance is called admittance (Y ) and is measured in Ω-1.

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Mathematically Y =

Also Y = G ± jB, where G and B represents conductance and susceptance respectively. For a
purely resistive or purely inductive/capacitive circuit

G= and B =

For a combination of resistance and reactance

Y=

multiply and divide by the complex conjugate

Y=

Y=

G= & B=

4.6 Problems

Problem (1). For the periodic waveform of Fig.

a. Find the period T.
b. How many cycles are shown?
c. What is the frequency?
d. Determine the positive amplitude and peak-to-peak

value (think!).

Fig. 4.7

Problem (2). Repeat Problem 1 for the periodic waveform of Fig.4..8 and Fig. 4.9

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 Fig. 4.8

Fig. 4.9
Problem (3). Find the period of a periodic waveform whose frequency is
a. 25 Hz. b. 35 MHz.
c. 55 kHz. d. 1 Hz.
Problem (4)Find the frequency of a repeating waveform whose
period is
a. 1/60 s. b. 0.01 s.
c. 34 ms. d. 25 ms.
Problem (5). Find the period of a sinusoidal waveform that completes
80 cycles in 24 ms.
Problem (6). If a periodic waveform has a frequency of 20 Hz, how long (in seconds) will it take to
complete five cycles?
Problem (7). What is the frequency of a periodic waveform that completes 42 cycles in 6 s?
Problem (8). Sketch a periodic square wave a frequency of 20,000 Hz and a peak value of

10 mV.

a. Determine the period.

b. Find the frequency.
c. Determine the average value.

Problem (9). Find the average value of the periodic waveforms of Fig. 4.10 over one full cycle.

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 Fig. 4.10

Problem (11). Find the average value of the periodic waveforms of Fig.4.11 over one full cycle.

Fig. 4.11

Problem (12). Find the rms values of the following sinusoidal waveforms:
a. v _ 20 sin 754t
b. v _ 7.07 sin 377t
c. i _ 0.006 sin(400t _ 20°)
d. i _ 16 _ 10_3 sin(377t _ 10°)
Problem (13). Write the sinusoidal expressions for voltages and currents having the following rms
values at a frequency of 60 Hz with zero phase shift:
a. 1.414 V
b. 70.7 V
c. 0.06 A
d. 24 mA
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Problem (14). Find the rms value of the periodic waveform of Fig 4.12 over one full cycle.
Problem (15).. Find the rms value of the periodic waveform of Fig. 4.13 over one full cycle.

Fig. 4.11 Fig. 4.12

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