EE 315

Power Distribution and Utilization

Lecture3: Electricity Basics

Dr. Shahid Alam

Assistant Professor
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering
Sciences and Technology
s.alam@giki.edu.pk
Sine waves
o The sinusoidal waveform (sine wave) is the
fundamental alternating current (ac) and alternating
voltage waveform.

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Sine waves
o Sine waves are characterized by the amplitude and
period. The amplitude is the maximum value of a
voltage or current; the period is the time interval for
one complete cycle.

20 V

The amplitude (A) of 15 V

this sine wave is 20 V 10 V

A
0V t (ms)
0 25 37.5 50.0
The period is
50.0 ms -10 V

-15 V

-20 V
T
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Sine waves
o The period of a sine wave can be measured between
any two corresponding points on the waveform.

TT T T

A
T T

o The amplitude of a sine wave is only measured

from the center to the maximum point.
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Sine waves
o Frequency (f) is the number of cycles that a
sine wave completes in one second.
o Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz).
o If 3 cycles of a wave occur in one second, the
frequency is 3.0 Hz
1.0 s

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 Sine waves
Period and frequency
o The period and frequency are reciprocals of each
other
1 1
f  and T
T f

Thus, if you know one, you can easily find the other

If the period is 50 ms, the frequency is 0.02 MHz = 20 kHz

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Generation of a sine wave
o Sinusoidal voltages are produced by ac generators and
electronic oscillators.
o When a conductor rotates in a constant magnetic field, a
sinusoidal wave is generated.

N B D S
A B C D
A

Motion of conductor Conduc tor

When the conductor is moving When the loop is moving

parallel with the lines of flux, perpendicular to the lines of flux,
no voltage is induced the maximum voltage is induced
AC voltage generation
Generators convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. A
stationary field generator with a rotating armature is shown
below. The armature has an induced voltage, which is connected
through slip rings and brushes to a load. The armature loops are
wound on a magnetic core (not shown for simplicity).

Small generators may use a

permanent magnet as shown
here; other use field coils to
N S
produce the magnetic flux.

brushes
arm ature

slip rings
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AC voltage generation
By increasing the number of poles, the number of
cycles per revolution is increased. A four-pole
generator will produce two complete cycles in
each revolution.

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 Readout
Function generators

Typical controls:
Function selection
Frequency
Range
Adjust Outputs
Output level (amplitude)
Duty cycle
DC offset CMOS output

Sine Square Triangle

Sine wave voltage

There are several ways to specify the voltage of a sinusoidal

voltage waveform. The amplitude of a sine wave is also
called the peak value, abbreviated as VP for a voltage
waveform.

20 V

15 V

10 V
VP
The peak voltage of
0V t (ms)
this waveform is 20 V. 0 25 37.5 50.0

-10 V

-15 V

-20 V

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Sine wave voltage
The voltage of a sine wave can also be specified as
either the peak-to-peak or the rms value. The peak-to-
peak is twice the peak value. The rms value is 0.707
times the peak value.

20 V

15 V

The peak-to-peak 10 V
Vrms
voltage is 40 V. t (ms)
0V
0 VPP 25 37.5 50.0
The rms voltage
-10 V
is 14.1 V.
-15 V

-20 V

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Sine wave voltage
For some purposes, the average value (actually the half-
wave average) is used to specify the voltage or current.
By definition, the average value is as 0.637 times the
peak value.

20 V

15 V

10 V
The average value for Vavg
the sinusoidal voltage 0V t (ms)
0 25 37.5 50.0
is 12.7 V.
-10 V

-15 V

-20 V

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Angular measurement
Angular measurements can be made in degrees (o) or
radians. The radian (rad) is the angle that is formed when
the arc is equal to the radius of a circle. There are 360o or
2p radians in one complete revolution.

1.0
0.8
R
0.6
0.4
R
0.2
0 p p p
0 3p 5p 3p 7p
-0.2 4 2 4 4 2 4

-0.4
-0.6
-0.8 13
Angular measurement

Because there are 2p radians in one complete revolution

and 360o in a revolution, the conversion between radians
and degrees is easy to write. To find the number of
radians, given the number of degrees:
2p rad
rad   degrees
360

To find the number of degrees, given the radians:

360
deg   rad
2p rad

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Sine wave equation

Instantaneous values of a wave are shown as v or i. The

equation for the instantaneous voltage (v) of a sine
wave is

v  V p sin 
where
Vp = Peak voltage
 = Angle in rad or degrees

If the peak voltage is 25 V, the instantaneous

voltage at 50 degrees is 19.2 V

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Sine wave equation

A plot of the example in the previous slide (peak at

25 V) is shown. The instantaneous voltage at 50o is
19.2 V as previously calculated.

90

Vp Vp = 25 V
v = Vp sin = 19.2 V
= 50
0 50
Vp

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Phase shift

The phase of a sine wave is an angular measurement

that specifies the position of a sine wave relative to a
reference. To show that a sine wave is shifted to the
left or right of this reference, a term is added to the
equation given previously.

v  VP sin  f 
where
f = Phase shift

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Phase shift
Example of a wave that lags the
reference …and the equation
Referenc e has a negative phase
40 shift
30 Peak voltage
20 v = 30 V sin ( - 45o)
Voltage (V)

10
0
0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360 405

-20
-30 Notice that a lagging sine
- 40 wave is below the axis at 0o
Angle ()

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Phase shift
Example of a wave that leads the
reference
Notice that a leading sine
Referenc e
40
wave is above the axis at 0o
30 Peak voltage
20
v = 30 V sin ( + 45o)
Voltage (V)

10

-45 0 0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360

-10
-20 …and the equation
-30 has a positive phase
-40
shift
Angle ()

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Phasors
The sine wave can be represented as the projection of a
vector rotating at a constant rate. This rotating vector is
called a phasor.

90

180 0 0 90 180 360

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Angular velocity of a phasor

When a phasor rotates through 360 or 2p radians, one

complete cycle is traced out.
The velocity of rotation is called the angular velocity ().

 = 2pf
(Note that this angular velocity is expressed in radians
per second.)
The instantaneous voltage at any point in time is given by

v = Vpsin 2pf

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Superimposed dc and ac voltages
Frequently dc and ac voltages are together in a waveform.
They can be added algebraically, to produce a composite
waveform of an ac voltage “riding” on a dc level.

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