Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Power in AC Circuits

Introduction
 There are 2 fundamentals laws that are important in AC circuits
o Ohm’s Law
 States that the current through a conductor btwn 2 points is directly proportional to the
potential difference across the 2 points, and is inversely proportional to the resistance
between them.
 Mathematical equation: V α IR
Where V - potential difference in volts (V)
I - current in amperes (A)
R - resistance in ohms (Ω)
o Kirchoff’s Laws
 Kirchoff’s Voltage Law
 States that “the algebraic sum of all voltages around any closed loop is zero”

 Kirchoff’s Current Law

 States that “the algebraic sum of currents at a node is zero”

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 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

AC Circuit
 Means voltage signal is in alternating current form (AC) that has positive & negative portions.
 Normally referred as sinusoidal form.
 General equation: V(t) = Vm sin ωt
Where Vm - the maximum voltage
ω - angular frequency in rad/s = 2πf
f - supply frequency in Hz
T - period = 1/f

 AC Signal

AC Signal

Two AC Signals with Different Phases

Vm sin (ωt + Φ) is a signal that leads the original signal by an angle of Φ

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 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

 Phase
o When capacitors or inductors are involved in an AC cct, the current & voltage do not peak
at the same time.
o The period diff btwn the peaks expressed in degrees is said to be the phase difference.
o This phase relation is often represented graphically in a phasor diagram.

θ is the angle between V & I

 θ = θv - θi

Phasor diagram between V and I

 RMS Voltage
o Stands for root-mean-square.
o In AC cct, current & voltages are generally stated as rms values instead of maximum
values.
o It is the effective voltage that is utilized in practical or theoretical analysis given by:

Vm
Vrms  where Vm - the maximum voltage
2

Example 1
An AC signal is given as V (t) = 141.4 sin 314t. Determine the following:
a) Maximum voltage
b) RMS voltage
c) Frequency
d) Period to complete 1 cycle
e) Phase shift

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 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Components of AC Circuit
 Ohm’s Law in AC Circuits
o Modified to the form: V = I Z where
V - the effective or rms voltage values
I - the effective or rms current values
Z - the impedance
 3 main components
o Resistor – R in Ohms (Ω)
o Inductor – L in Henry (H)
o Capacitor – C in Farad (F)

 Pure Resistive Load

o The impedance, Z consists only of a resistor i.e. Z = R

Pure Resistive Circuit

o Phasor diagram
 Current is in phase with voltage
 θ = θv° - θi° = 0  Therefore, θv°= θi°
 With θv° taken as reference point, the phasor diagram is shown below

o Power Factor
 p.f. = cos θ
 Power factor is 1.0 or unity since θ = 0 °

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 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

 Inductive Load
o The impedance, Z consists of a resistor in series with an inductor i.e. Z = R + j XL

Where XL = inductive reactance (Ω)

= 2πfL = ωL
L = inductance (H)
f = supply frequency

Inductive Circuit

o Phasor diagram
 Current lags voltage
o When a voltage is applied to an inductor, it resists the change in current. Current
builds up more slowly than the voltage, lagging it in time and phase.
 θ = θv° - θi° > 0

o Power Factor
 p.f. = cos θ
 Power factor is lagging

 Capacitive Load
o The impedance, Z consists of a resistor in series with a capacitor i.e. Z = R – jXC

Where XC = capacitive reactance (Ω)

1 1
= 
2  fC C
C = capacitance (F)

Capacitive Circuit

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 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

o Phasor diagram
 Current leads voltage
o Since the voltage on a capacitor is directly proportional to the charge on it, the
current must lead the voltage in time and phase to conduct charge to the capacitor
plates and raise the voltage.
 θ = θv° - θi° < 0

o Power Factor
 p.f. = cos θ
 Power factor is leading

Example 2
A resistance of 7.0Ω is connected in series with a pure inductance of 31.4mH and the circuit is
connected to a 100V, 50Hz, sinusoidal supply. Calculate the circuit current & the phase angle.

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 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Power in AC Circuits
 The behavior of AC machines & systems are often easier to understand by working with power,
rather than working with voltages and currents
 Active, reactive & apparent power apply to steady-state AC circuits with sinusoidal waveforms
only
o Cannot be used to describe transient (temporary) behaviour
o Cannot be used to describe DC circuits

 Instantaneous Power in AC circuits

o The product of instantaneous voltage & current, unit in Watts (W)
o Given by: P = V I

 Active Power, P
o The average value of the instantaneous power over one cycle of the voltage
o Also known as real power @ true power @ actual power. The effective power that does
real work, unit in Watts (W)
o Given by: P = V I cos θ where θ = angle btwn V & I
o Since V = IZ, P can also be written as P = I2Z cos θ

 Reactive Power, Q
o The circulating power in the circuit.
o Power which does no real work. Also known as the imaginary power, unit in volt-amperes-
reactive [var]
o Given by: Q = V I sin θ
o Q can also be written as Q = I2Z sin θ

 Sources and Loads

o Generator
 Active source, delivers active power
o Resistor
 Active load, absorbs active power
o Capacitor
 Reactive source, delivers reactive power
o Inductor
 Reactive load, absorbs reactive power

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 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

 Complex Power, S
o The product of the voltage across the load and the current through the load, unit in VA
(volts-amperes)
o Given by: S = V I*

S = (Vθv°)(I-θi°)* = (Vθv°)(I+ θi )
= P + j Q = VI cosθ + j VI sinθ

o Apparent power – the power that supplied to the load if phase angle diff btwn V & I are
ignored
o Given by S = V I
o S can also be written as S = I2Z

 Power Triangle
o The relationship btwn S, P and Q can be represented graphically by a power triangle.

Where S2 = P2 + Q2

 For inductive load, since θ > 0, Q = VI sin +θ = +ve Q

 For capacitive load, since θ < 0, Q = VI sin -θ = -ve Q
 Based on the discussion earlier, the summary is as follows:

Resistive Load Inductive Load Capacitive Load

I is in phase with V I lags V I leads V
θ = θv° - θi° = 0 θ = θv° - θi° > 0 θ = θv ° - θi° < 0
Q is zero Q is +ve Q is -ve
pf is unity pf is lagging pf is leading

D. Johari, FKE UiTM 8

 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Example 3
Figure below shows an AC voltage source supplying power to a load with impedance Z = 20∠-30
Ω. Calculate the current, I supplied to the load, the power factor of the load, and the real, reactive,
apparent, and complex power supplied to the load.

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 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

 Power Factor
o The ratio of the active power P to the apparent power S

P
pf   cos
S
o The value lies between 0 and 1
o A power factor of 1 or unity is the goal of any electric utility company.
o If less than 1, the utility company has to supply more current to the user for a given amount
of power use.
 This will cause more line losses.
 Larger capacity equipment is required.
o An industrial facility will be charged a penalty if its power factor is less than 1.
o In West Malaysia, minimum p.f specified by TNB is 0.85

 Power Factor Correction

o It is the process of adjusting the characteristics of electric loads in order to improve power
factor so that it is closer to unity (1).
o Can be improved by connecting a capacitor bank in parallel with the load.
o Connecting a capacitor bank in parallel with the load means to inject reactive power to the
system.

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 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Without capacitor, I= IL With capacitor, I= IL+IC

 From phasor diagram for inductive load, the power factor is lagging.
 When capacitor is connected in parallel with the load, θ2 < θ1
 Therefore, cos θ2 > cos θ1 i.e. p.f.2 > p.f.1

 Calculating the Capacitance Value

o Consider the power triangle

o From diagram:

QC  Q1  Q2
o The reactive power is given by:

VC2
QC   VC2C
XC
o The capacitance value can then be calculated as below:

QC
C
VC2

D. Johari, FKE UiTM 11

 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Example 4
A single phase circuit is depicted in the following figure. The supply rms mode is 120V with 60Hz
frequency. Calculate the corresponding capacitance value that is needed to improve the circuit
power factor to 0.95 lagging. Show the answer through the aid of phasor diagram.

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