TRAINING NOTES

Module 3(Electrical Fundamentals-II) CODE:

IIAE
(AC Theory) TN-
Ref: LP-

VALUES OF AC

There are three values of alternating current, which are instantaneous, peak, and effective
(root mean square, RMS).

Instantaneous Value

An instantaneous value of voltage or current is the induced voltage or current flowing at

any instant during a cycle. The sine wave represents a series of these values. The
instantaneous value of the voltage varies from zero at 0° to maximum at 90°, back to zero
at 180°, to maximum in the opposite direction at 270°, and to zero again at 360°. Sine
wave of voltage or current has many instantaneous values in any cycle. Any point on the
sine wave is considered the instantaneous value of voltage.

Peak Value

The peak value is the maximum instantaneous value of voltage (Vm) or current (Im). The
peak value can be positive or negative. The maximum positive value occurs when the
sine wave of voltage is at 90°, and the maximum negative value occurs when it is at 270°.
The peak values (maximum value) is 1.41 times the effective value. Eg If a cycle have
170V maximum value than it’s peak value is 170 V.

Peak value is related with RMS value

Vp = √ 2× Vrms

Vp = 1.414 × Vrms
 TRAINING NOTES
Module 3(Electrical Fundamentals-II) CODE:
IIAE
(AC Theory) TN-
Ref: LP-

Peak to peak value

In above eg. the peak-to-peak value is 340 V, (double the peak value of 170 V), since the
positive and negative peaks are symmetrical. For a cycle the peak to peak value will not
be cancelled but will be added. Note that the two opposite peak values cannot occur at the
same time.

Peak to peak value = 2.828 × Vrms

Average Value

This is an average (mean) of all values in a sine wave for one alternation, or halfcycle.
The half-cycle is used for the average because over a full cycle the average value is zero.
If the sine values for all angles up to 180 for one alternation are added and then divided
by the number of values. If the sine values for all angles up to 180 for one alternation are
added and then divided by the number of values, this average equals 0.637. These
calculations are shown in Table. Since the peak value of the sine function is 1 and the
average equals 0.637, then

Average value = 0.637 X Peak value

With a peak of 170 V, for example, the average value is 0.637 X 170 V, which equals
approximately 108 V.

Effective Value or rms value

It is known as the effective value or the RMS value or root mean square value. Most AC
voltmeters will display the effective or RMS value when used. The effective value is less
than the maximum value (Emax >> Eeff), being equal to .707 times the maximum value.
The effective value of a sine wave is actually a measure of the heating effect of the sine
wave & by relating it to the dc voltage and current that will produce the same heating
effect. The RMS or effective value of a sine wave is equal to the DC voltage that
produces the same amount of heat as the sinusoidal voltage.

The peak value of a sine wave can be converted to the corresponding RMS value using
the following relationship.

rms = (Peak ) (For I as well as V)

√2
 TRAINING NOTES
Module 3(Electrical Fundamentals-II) CODE:
IIAE
(AC Theory) TN-
Ref: LP-

Vrms = 0.707 × Vpeak or Irms = 0.707 × Ipeak

Thus, the 110 volt value given for alternating current supplied to homes is only 0.707 of
the maximum voltage of this supply. The maximum voltage is approximately 155 volts
(110 × 1.41 = 155 volts maximum). In the study of alternating current, any values given

for current or voltage are assumed to be effective values unless otherwise specified, and
in practice, only the effective values of voltage and current are used. Similarly,
alternating current voltmeters and ammeters measure the effective value.

The factor 0.707 for the rms value is derived as the square root of the average (mean) of
all the squares of the sine values. If we take the sine for each angle in the cycle, square
 TRAINING NOTES
Module 3(Electrical Fundamentals-II) CODE:
IIAE
(AC Theory) TN-
Ref: LP-

each value, add all the squares, divide by the number of values added to obtain the
average square, and then take the square root of this mean value, the answer is 0.707.

The advantage of the rms value derived in terms of the squares of the voltage or current
values is that it provides a measure based on the ability of the sine wave to produce
power, which is I²R or V²R . As a result, the rms value of an alternating sine wave
corresponds to the same amount of direct current or voltage in heating power. An
alternating voltage with an rms value of 120 V, for instance, is just as effective in heating
the filament of a light bulb as 120 V from a steady dc voltage source. For this reason, the
rms value is also called the effective value.

The ratio of the rms to average values is the form factor. For a sine wave, this ratio is
0.707/0.637= 1.11.

Note that sine waves can have different amplitudes but still follow the sinusoidal
waveform. Figure compares a low-amplitude voltage with a high-amplitude voltage.
Although different in amplitude, they are both sine waves. In each wave, the rms value
0.707 X Peak value.
 TRAINING NOTES
Module 3(Electrical Fundamentals-II) CODE:
IIAE
(AC Theory) TN-
Ref: LP-

Alternating Current Circuits with Resistance

In an ac circuit with only resistance, the current variations are in phase with the applied
voltage. This voltage connected across an external load resistance produces alternating
current of the same waveform, frequency, and phase as the applied voltage. Circuit
components that have R alone include resistors, the filaments of lightbulbs, and heating
elements. The amount of current equals V/R by Ohm’s law. Where V is an rms value, I is
also an rms value. For any instantaneous value of V during the cycle, the value of I is for
the corresponding instant.
The calculations in ac circuits are generally in rms values, unless noted otherwise.

Series AC Circuit with R

It remains same for AC as well as for DC circuit.

Parallel AC Circuit with R

It remains same for AC as well as for DC circuit.

True Power, Apparent Power and Reactive Power

There are typically two types of power used to describe the work performed by an ac
circuit.

True power considers only resistance & measured in watts (w). True power P is placed
on the horizontal axis, and its magnitude is found by P=I2R. True power is the power
consumed by the resistance of an ac circuit. It is the measure of true value or real value in
watts. Since current and voltage are in phase in a circuit. Then

Real power = P = I²R

 TRAINING NOTES
Module 3(Electrical Fundamentals-II) CODE:
IIAE
(AC Theory) TN-
Ref: LP-

or

Real power = P = VI cos q

where V and I are in rms values, and P, the real power, is in watts.

Apparent power is the power consumed by the entire ac circuit & measured in voltamps
(VA). Apparent power is the power consumed because of the resistance, inductive or
capacitive reactance in the circuit. Since V and I are out of phase because of reactance,
the product of V x I is called apparent power.

Reactive power is a function of the total reactance of a circuit & measured in volt-amps-
reactive (var).