BIUST

Chapter 9
Alternating Voltage
and Current
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Short story AC Vs. DC

In the late 1880’s:
DC power stations by Thomas Edison in USA
Cannot be transported on distances > 1 mile because
impossible to get high DC
Same time:
AC machine (alternator) by Nikola Tesla
Can be transported over long distances using
transformers
Most used nowadays in power generation and
transmission
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Objectives
 Understand the AC current and voltage and know how they
are generated

 Find the main parameters of an AC quantity: period,

amplitude, phase, etc…

 Be able de find the average and RMS value of any AC

quantity

 Understand the representation of phasors, their sum and

difference

 Know the main frequency domains and applications

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Different alternating current waveforms

 An alternating system is a system in which the magnitudes of the quantities vary

in a repetitive manner.

 In the above figures, the current flows first in one direction and then in the other.
The cycle of variation is repeated exactly for each direction
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Generation of an alternating e.m.f

Slip rings

Carbon
brushes

Magnetic poles

In the alternator, the force is created by an external system (water, gas, etc)
and magnetic field by the a Permanent magnet and electromagnet
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Generation of an alternating e.m.f

Magnetic flux
. ,
N S
Φ ,
number of turn
Magnetic induction lines S section of the conductor

Lenz- Faraday law

Φ
. . ,
. . ,
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Values of an alternating e.m.f

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Terminology in AC quantities
Period and frequency
The period of an AC quantity is the time after which the quantity
becomes equal to itself. It is noted as .
The frequency represents the inverse of the period. It is noted

3
2 2
0 $

The signal can represented as function of the angle as well using the
'(
relationship % &$ and & )
is the pulsation or angular speed
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Terminology in AC quantities
Amplitude or peak
The peak amplitude of an AC quantity is its maximum.
The peak-to-peak value goes from the minimum to the maximum of AC.

*+ Peak Peak-to-peak
3
2 2
0 $

*+ 2

Notation
'(
, $ ,- ./ 0 &$ 1 23 ,- ./ 0 )
$ 1 23 or , % ,- 45 % 1 23
In our example here, the initial phase 67 0 and , $ ,- ./0 &$
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Terminology in AC quantities
Average and RMS value
The average is the mean value of the AC quantity over one period time
< <
1 1 1 CD
*89 ; * ; *+ sin @ ; * sin B B
7 7 2A 7 +
The RMS is the mean value of the square of the AC quantity over one
period time. Its also known as the effective value of the AC as the RMS
value of an AC quantity delivers the power that quantity would have
delivered if it were a DC.
C 1 < C
1 < C C
1 < C C
*EFG ; * ; *+ @ ; *+ B B
7 7 2A 7
For the sinusoidal quantity
*+
*EFG 0.707*+
2
 Ex. 9.1
A coil of 100 turns is rotated at 1500 r/min in a
magnetic field of uniform density of 0.05 T. The axis of
rotation being at right angles to the direction of the
flux. The mean area per turn is 40 cm². Calculate:
a) The frequency
b) The period
c) The maximum value of the generated EMF.
d) The value of the generated EMF when the coil has
rotated through 30° from the position of zero EMF.
 Ex. 9.3
An alternating voltage has the equation V =
141.4 sin 377t. What are the values of;
a) RMS voltage
b) Frequency
c) Instantaneous voltage when t = 3 ms?
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Phasor representation of an AC quantity

sin B 4 % M- ./0 %

A phasor is a vector

Direction of angles is anti-clockwise

Instantaneous values of represent the its projection on sin B axis
Example: B IJ IK B with IK L+
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Phasor representation of AC quantities

4 % M- ./0 % % ,- ./0 % 1 2

6 6N 6O is the phase difference between P B and B

If 6 Q 0, P is leading 4, if If 6 R 0, P is lagging otherwise P and are in phase

P is leading 4 in this example

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Addition of phasors
Let’s consider two phasors IK
and I with IK leading

Instantaneous values of
IK IS and that of
I I

The sum of the two phasors is the

diagonal of the parallelogram IJ
which instantaneous value is I
I IS 1 I

OC is less than the arithmetic sum of OA and OB except when

the latter are in phase

This is why it is seldom correct in a.c. to add voltages or currents arithmetically

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Subtraction of phasors

To make I negative, just take the

projection through the origin
I V I

U The sum of the two phasors is the

diagonal of the parallelogram IS
which instantaneous value is I
I IJ 1 I
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Example 9.7: the instantaneous values of two alternating voltages are represented
respectively by PV 60 sin B and PC 40 sin B A/3 .
Derive an expression for the instantaneous value of: (a) the sum;

Always use one quantity as reference IK 60 I 40 69VZ9C 60°

IK\ → 0
IK` → IK 60*
I \ → I^ 40 sin 60 34.64V I → IS 40 cos 60 20V
`

m IJ\ → I \ I^ 34.64*
IJ` → IK` 1 I ` IK 1 IS 80*
IJ\ 34.64
tan → 23.5°
IJ` 80

IJ IJ` C 1 IJ\ C 80C 1 34.64 C

l
gT hi. ' ./0 % 3. jk
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Example: the instantaneous values of two alternating voltages are represented

respectively by PV 60 sin B and PC 40 sin B A/3 .
Derive an expression for the instantaneous value of: (b) the difference.

Always use one quantity as reference IK 60 I 40 69VZ9C 60°

IK\ → 0 IK` → IK 60*

I \ → I^ 40 sin 120 34.64V I ` →I 40cos 120 20V
l
IJ\ → I \ I^ 34.64*
IJ` → IK` 1 I ` IK 1 IS 40*
IJ\ 34.64
tan → 40.9°
m IJ` 40

IJ IJ` C 1 IJ\ C 40C 1 34.64 C

gT o'. p ./0 % 1 3. ikj

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Frequency ranges

430 qr 770 qr