2nd Class / Electric Circuits Dr.

Inaam Ibrahim

Three Phase Circuits

➢ An AC generator designed to develop a single
sinusoidal voltage for each rotation of the shaft
(rotor) is referred to as a single-phase AC generator.
➢ If the number of coils on the rotor is increased in a
specified manner, the result is a Poly phase AC
generator, which develops more than one AC phase
voltage per rotation of the rotor
➢ In general, three-phase systems are preferred over
single-phase systems for the transmission of power
for many reasons.
1. Thinner conductors can be used to transmit the
same kVA at the same voltage, which reduces the amount
of copper required (typically about 25% less).
2. The lighter lines are easier to install, and the
supporting structures can be less massive and farther
apart.
3. Three-phase equipment and motors have
preferred running and starting characteristics compared
to single-phase systems because of a more even flow of
power to the transducer than can be delivered with a
single-phase supply.

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2nd Class / Electric Circuits Dr. Inaam Ibrahim

4. In general, most larger motors are three phase

because they are essentially self-starting and do not
require a special design or additional starting circuitry.
Three-phase Generator
The three-phase generator has three induction coils
placed 120° apart on the stator. The three coils have
an equal number of turns, the voltage induced across
each coil will have the same peak value, shape and
frequency.

In discussing 3-phase circuits, it is a stand practice to

refer to the three phase as:
(A, B, and C) or (R, S, and T) or (u, v, and w).

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 2nd Class / Electric Circuits Dr. Inaam Ibrahim

Balanced Three phase Voltages

A set of balanced three – phase voltages of three sinusoidal
voltages that have identical amplitudes and frequencies but are
out of phase with each other by exactly 120°. Standard practice
is to refer to the three phases as a, b, and c, and to use the a-
phase as the reference phase. The three voltages are referred to
as the a-phase voltage, the b-phase voltage, and the c-phase
voltage.
Only two possible phase relationships can exist between the a-
phase voltage and the b- and c-phase voltages. One possibility is
for the b-phase voltage to lag the a-phase voltage by 120°, in
which case the c-phase voltage must lead the a-phase voltage by
120°. This phase relationship is known as the abc (or positive)
phase sequence. The only other possibility is for the b-phase
voltage to lead the a-phase voltage by 120°, in which case the
c-phase voltage must lag the a-phase voltage by 120°. This
phase relationship is known as the acb (or negative) phase
sequence.

abc system (Positive acb system (Negative

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2nd Class / Electric Circuits Dr. Inaam Ibrahim

❖ If the phase sequence is known and one voltage in the set,

we can find the entire set.

Positive Negative

❖ An important characteristic of a set of balanced three –

phase voltage is that at any instant of time the sum of the
three voltages adds to zero.

Three phase voltage sources

❖ There are two ways of interconnecting the separate phase

windings to form a three-phase source: in either a wye (Y)
or a delta (Δ) configuration.

Neutral

a) Wye Connected b) Delta Connected

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2nd Class / Electric Circuits Dr. Inaam Ibrahim

❖ The voltage across any generator winding (or any load

impedance)is called the phase voltage of the generator (or
the load) Vph.

❖ The voltage between any two of the wires (a b c) is called

the line voltage (Vℓ).

❖ The current passing through any one of the three (a b c)

wires is called the line current (Iℓ).

❖ The current passing through any generator winding (or load

impedance) is called the phase current ( Iph).

❖ The point connecting all the ends of generator windings is

called the neutral point of the generator.

❖ If the phase sequence is not mentioned then a positive abc

system is assumed.

Balanced Three phase Loads

❖ A Balanced load has equal impedances on all the phases (Za

= Zb= Zc) therefore the three currents Ia , Ib , and Ic will be
balanced and the sum of these currents is zero (In = Ia + Ib +
Ic= 0).

❖ The loads can be either wye (Y)- connected or a delta (Δ)-

connected.

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2nd Class / Electric Circuits Dr. Inaam Ibrahim

a) Wye- Connected b) Delta- Connected

❖ Because the three – phase sources and load can be either Y –

connected or Δ connected, we have four possible connection
types.

Relationship between Line and Phase Quantities

1. Balanced Wye-wye Connection

❖ Phase voltages are: Van, Vbn and

Vcn.

❖ Line voltages are: Vab, Vbc and Vca

❖ Iℓ = Iph

❖ Neutral current is zero:

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 2nd Class / Electric Circuits Dr. Inaam Ibrahim

In= -(Ia+ Ib+ Ic)= 0

❖ Magnitude of line voltages is 3 times the magnitude of

phase voltages. VL= 3 Vph .

➢ Phasor diagram of phase

and line voltages

Single Phase Equivalent of Balanced Y-Y Connection

➢ Balanced three phase circuits can be analyzed on “per phase “
basis..
➢ We look at one phase, say phase a and analyze the single phase
equivalent circuit.
➢ Because the circuıit is balanced, we can easily obtain other phase
values using their phase relationships.

Van
Ia =
ZY

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2nd Class / Electric Circuits Dr. Inaam Ibrahim

Example (1): Calculate the line voltages and line currents of a Y-Y
connection.

Ex: The voltage from A to N in a balanced three phase circuit is 240 ∠−

! 30° V. If
the phase sequence is positive, what is the value of VBC?

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2nd Class / Electric Circuits Dr. Inaam Ibrahim

Ex: The c-phase voltage of a balanced three-phase Y-connected system is 450

∠ - 2 5 ° V. If the phase sequence is negative, what is the value of VAB?

2.Balanced Wye-delta Connection

➢ There is no neutral connection for the Y-∆ system.

➢ VL = Vph

The
phase currents are: VAB
I AB =
ZΔ
VBC
I BC =
ZΔ
VCA
I CA =
ZΔ

➢ Line currents are obtained from the phase currents IAB, IBC
and ICA

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2nd Class / Electric Circuits Dr. Inaam Ibrahim

I a = I AB − I CA = I AB 3∠ − 30°
I b = I BC − I AB = I BC 3∠ − 30°
I c = I CA − I BC = I CA 3∠ − 30°

➢ Single phase equivalent circuit of the balanced Wye-delta

connection

Example(2): A balanced three phase Y-connected generator with

positive sequence has an impedance of 0.2+j0.5 Ω/Ø and an internal
voltage of 120 V/Ø. The generator feeds a Δ-connected load through
a distribution line having an impedance of 0.3 + j0.9 Ω/Ø. The load
impedance is 118.5 + j85.8 Ω/Ø. Use the a-phase internal voltage of
the generator as the reference.
a) Construct a single-phase equivalent circuit of the three-phase
system.
b) Calculate the line currents IaA, IbB, and IcC.
c) Calculate the phase voltages at the load terminals.
d) Calculate the phase currents of the load.
e) Calculate the line voltages at the source terminals

Solution
a) Figure (*) shows the single-phase equivalent circuit. The load
impedance of the Y equivalent is
(118.5 + j85.8)/3 = 39.5 + j 28.6 Ω/Ø.
b) The a-phase line current is

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2nd Class / Electric Circuits Dr. Inaam Ibrahim

IaA =120∠0° / ( (0.2 + 0.3 + 39.5) + j(0.5 + 0.9 + 28.6))

= 2.4 ∠-36.87° A.
Hence
IbB=2.4 ∠-156.87° A.
IcC=2.4 ∠83.13° A.

c) Because the load is Δ connected, the phase voltages are the

same as the line voltages. To calculate the line voltages, we first
calculate VAN:
VAN = (39.5 + j28.6)(2.4∠-36.87°)
= 117.04∠-0.96° V.
Because the phase sequence is positive, the line voltage VAB is
VAB = ( 3 ∠3 0 ° ) V AN
= 202.72 ∠29.04° V.
Therefore
VBC = 202.72 ∠-90.96° V.
VCA = 202.72 ∠149.04° V.
d) The phase currents of the load may be calculated directly
from the line currents:

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IAB = ( ∠3 0 ° ) IaA
3
=1.39 ∠ − 6.87° A.
Once we know IAB, we also know the other load phase currents:
IBC = 1.39∠-126.87° A.
ICA = 1.39∠113.13° A.

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2nd Class / Electric Circuits Dr. Inaam Ibrahim

Note that we can check the calculation of IAB by using the

previously calculated VAB and the impedance of the Δ-connected
load; that is,

IAB =VAB /Z∅ = 202.72∠29.04°/(118.5 +j85.8)

= 1.39∠-6.87° A.

e) To calculate the line voltage at the terminals of the source,

we first calculate Van. Figure (*) shows that Van is the voltage
drop across the line impedance plus the load impedance, so

Van = (39.8 + j29.5)(2.4∠-36.87°)

= 118.90∠-0.32° V.
The line voltage Vab is

Vab = ( 3 ∠3 0 ° ) Van,

= 205.94 ∠29.68° V.
Therefore
Vbc = 205.94∠-90.32° V.
Vca = 205.94∠149.68° V.
Ex: The current ICA in a balanced three-phase A-connected load is 8 ∠—15° A. If
the phase sequence is positive, what is the value of IcC?
Ex: A balanced three-phase Δ-connected load is fed from a balanced three-phase
circuit. The reference for the b-phase line current is toward the load. The value of
the current in the b-phase is 12 ∠65° A. If the phase sequence is negative, what is
the value of IAB?

Power in Three-Phase Circuits

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2nd Class / Electric Circuits Dr. Inaam Ibrahim

1) In Y – Connected Load:

The average power associated with the a-phase as

PA = |VAN| | I a A | c o s ( θv A- θi A) .

The power associated with the b- and c-phases:

PB = |VBN| | I bB | c o s ( θv B- θi B) .

PC = |VCN| | I cC | c o s ( θv C- θi C) .

In a balanced three-phase system, the magnitude of each line-

to-neutral voltage is the same, as is the magnitude of each
phase current the power delivered to each phase of the load is
the same, so
PA = PB = PC = PØ = VØ IØ cos θØ

The total average power delivered to the balanced Y-connected

load is simply three times the power per phase, or
PT = 3PØ = 3VØ IØ cos θØ
VL
PT=3( )IL cos θØ
3

= 3 VL IL cos θØ
and the total reactive power are

QT= 3 VL IL sin θØ

2) In Δ – Connected Load:

The power associated with each phase is

PA = |VAB| | I AB | c o s ( θv AB- θi AB) .

PB = |VBC| | I BC | c o s ( θv BC- θi BC) .

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2nd Class / Electric Circuits Dr. Inaam Ibrahim

PC = |VCA| | I CA | c o s ( θv CA- θi CA) .

For the balanced load

PA = PB = PC = PØ = VØ IØ cos θØ

PT = 3PØ = 3VØ IØ cos θØ

IL
PT=3VL ( ) cos θØ
3

= 3 VL IL cos θØ
and the total reactive power are

QT= 3 VL IL sin θØ

Example(*): A balanced three phase Y-connected generator with

positive sequence has an impedance of 0.2+j0.5 Ω/Ø and an internal
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2nd Class / Electric Circuits Dr. Inaam Ibrahim

voltage of 120 V/Ø. The generator feeds a balanced three phase Y-

connected load having an impedance of 39 + j28 Ω/Ø. The
impedance of line connecting the generator to the load is 0.8 + j1.5
Ω/Ø. Use the a-phase internal voltage of the generator as the
reference.
a) Construct a single-phase equivalent circuit of the three-phase
system.
b) Calculate the 3 line currents IaA, IbB, and IcC.
c) Calculate the 3 phase voltages at the load VAN , VBN and VCN.
d) Calculate the line voltages VAB, VBC ,and VCA at the load terminals.
e) Calculate the phase voltages at the terminals of the generator Van
, Vbn and Vcn.
f) Calculate the line voltages Vab , Vbc and Vca at the terminals of
generator.
g) Repeat (b) – (f) for the negative phase sequence.

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