TYPES OF CURRENT

Compiled and presented by

Doren Nedrick

Direct Current

Steady DC

Varying DC

direct current (d.c.) flows in one direction

only; batteries and thermocouple produce
d.c. The waveform of a current is a graph
whose shape shows how the current varies
with time.

Alternating Current (AC)

An

alternating current or voltage (a.c.) is

one that continually changes in magnitude
and direction; car and power station
alternators produce a.c. Fig. 1 shows the
simplest a.c. waveform - it has a sine wave
or sinusoidal shape.

The Cycle
The

current rises from zero to a

maximum in one direction ( + ), falls
to zero again before becoming a
maximum in the opposite direction ()
and then rises to zero once more and
so on. The circuit symbol for an a.c.
power supply is ~.

How AC is produced

shows

a waveform representing one complete

set of changes in an alternating voltage.
This figure shows the magnitude and direction
of voltage in a single conductor rotating
through 360 (one complete revolution)
between the poles of a magnet

Continued
Voltage

variations in one revolution (Fig.

12.1):
Position (1): The conductor is not cutting
any lines of force, therefore the voltage is
zero.
Position (3): The conductor is cutting lines of
force at right angles, giving position of peak
voltage.
After position (5) the conductor is cutting
lines of force in the opposite direction,
giving a voltage in the opposite direction.

Angles in radians
It

is often common to see the angle specified

in radians. It is common because a radian is
the angular part of a circle that includes an
arc equal to the radius r of the circle.
The circumference around a circle equals
2radians (1 radian = 57.3o). A circle, then,
includes 2 x x 57.3o = 360o
Therefore 2 rad = 360o

rad = 180o

1 rad = 57.3o

The Cycle
A

cycle is one complete set of changes

zero to peak positive;
peak positive to zero;
zero to peak negative;
peak negative to zero

Characteristics of ac
Frequency

is the number of complete

changes in a given time, usually one
second. The unit of frequency is the Hertz
(Hz). For example, 50 cycles per second
means 50 complete sets of changes in
one second (written as 50 Hz).
Period: symbol T is the time taken to
complete one (1) cycle. If f = 2Hz, there
are 2 cycles per second, so T = s.
Therefore T = 1/f or f =1/T

Example
How

long does it take to complete one

cycle of JPS supply (JPS supply
frequency = 50Hz)?
f = 50Hz
T = ?
T = 1/f
T = 1/50
T = 0.02 secs

Root Mean Square (RMS)

A

root mean square voltage (or

current) is that value of alternating voltage
(or current) which gives the same heating
and lighting effect as a similar value of
direct voltage (or current).
For example, an electric fire supplied with
240V r.m.s. will give the same heat on a
240V d.c. supply.
NOTE. Values of voltage and current on a.c.
equipment (e.g., fires, irons, motors, etc.)
are always given in r.m.s. values.

Peak or Maximum Value or

amplitude
is

the highest value which the voltage or

current attains over a half cycle. Peak
value is important for two main reasons:
(a) Safety. The peak value of a 240V
a.c. supply is 339.4 V and is therefore
more dangerous than 240V d.c.
(b) Insulation. The higher peak voltage
puts a greater stress on the insulation
throughout an a.c. circuit.

Conversion of RMS and peak

values
V

= VP x 0.707
VAVE = VP x 0.637
VP = 1.414 x VRMS
RMS

Example
Calculate

the peak value for 110VRMS.

RMS = 110V
P = ?
RMS = 0.707 x Peak
110V = 0.707 x Peak
110V/ 0.707 = Peak
155.59VP = Peak

Instantaneous Voltage
The

voltage waveforms in figs. 14.1 and

14.3 are called sine waves. This is
because the amount of a.c. voltage is
proportional to the sine of the angle of
rotation for the rotating loop in the
magnetic field.
The instantaneous value of the sine wave
voltage for any angle rotation is
expressed by the following formula:
Vinst = Vmax x sin

Example
Calculate

the instantaneous voltage at

120o for a waveform when its peak
voltage is 20V
Vinst = Vmax x Sin
Vinst = 20V x sin 120o
Vinst

= 20V x 0.866
= 17.32V