AC - Notes

CET236
An online learning Experience
236 - AC

• Up till this point been looking at DC circuits

• Direct current
• These are circuits characterized by constant or non time varying sources

• AC circuits have sources that vary with time.

• Alternating current

• As a source consider the sinusoid….

• Repeating, all cycles the same
 236 - AC
• Sinusoidal
voltage
• Completes
one cycle and
continuously
repeats
• How
Generated?
• Rotating
Machines
• Oscillators
236 - AC
• Alternating
Current means
the current will
reverse
direction on the
½ cycles of a
sinusoid input
236 AC

Period

Amplitude
236-AC

• Horizontal , period, measured in time units

• Measuring a cycle in seconds
• Measure at any point relative to the next cycle. Peaks, zero cross, etc..
• Ex. T = 1 ms
• We can convert from period to frequency as the inverse
• T = 1 cycle / x seconds
• F = 1/T or how many cycles fit into 1 sec
• F or cycles /second is in Hertz
• Ex. F = 1 / 1ms = 1000 Hertz
236-AC

• Vertical, amplitude, is measured in voltage, current, etc….

• Measured at the peaks of + / -
• V = 2 Vpk-pk
• Other measures….
• Peak – Vp is ½ Vpp
• Average – The average of a sinusoid is 0 but for certain measures we derive
an average based upon the half cycle and the area under the curve.
• Used primarily in meter measurements
• Area / Pi
• Vavg = .637 Vp
• RMS or root mean squared is the effective DC equivalent power of a AC input.
• Vrms = .707 Vp
236-AC

• RMS or root mean squared is the effective DC equivalent power of a

AC input.
• In DC power is P = I^2 * R
• In AC average power is ½ peak or max power
• As an equivalent then Pdc = ½ Pmax
• I^2 * R = ½ I^2max * R
• I^2 = ½ I^2 max
• I = Imax / sqrt(2)
• I rms = .707 Imax
236 AC

Vpp

Vrms
Vp
236- AC - example
236- AC
• The sine
wave goes
through I a
full cycle in
360 degrees
so we can
start to think
in terms of
phases
236-AC
236 - AC

• Instantaneous Values
• Y = A sinΘ
236 AC

• Phase shift
• Relationship
between 2
waveforms
236 - AC

• Angular position - Instantaneous value

• Phasors used to represent a magnitude and an angle.
236 - AC

V = Vp Sin Θ
236 - AC

• Angular velocity position -

• How fast does the phasor rotate
• Defines ?
• Frequency
236- AC
• Angular velocity is how fast the phasor rotates
• It rotates 2π radians in 1 period T
• So ω = 2π / T ( radians/sec)
• but f = 1/T
• Therefore ω = 2π f
• Knowing the frequency we can calculate the rotational or angular
velocity
236 - AC
• Θ is the the phasor position at any time t
• Knowing angular velocity is how fast the phasor rotates we can
calculate position at any time t as:
• Θ = ω t (radians/sec)

• Therefore we calculate the position of the phasor at any time t

knowing the frequency
• V = Vp sin 2π f t
236 – AC – Example
236 - AC
• Power still follows but be careful of units
• Unless your looking for a peak or instantaneous value it’s rms when
talking about power
• P = Vrms * Irms
• P = Vrms^2 / R
• P = Irms^2 * R
236 - AC

• Everything still applies……

• Series Parallel
• Ohms Law
• Watt’s Law
• Kirchhoff's voltage and
current
236 – AC
• Circuit ……..