ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC

PRINCIPLES I

Lecture 07 – AC Fundamentals
T. Subashini De Silva
subashini.d@slit.lk
Department Of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Faculty Of Engineering
Sri Lanka Institute Of Information Technology
Sinusoidal ac current & ac voltage
 To generate a ac voltage,
• rotate a coil in a constant angular velocity
in a fixed magnetic field.
• rotate a fixed magnetic field in a constant
angular velocity around wire loop.
 Use the principle of electromagnetic induction.
 The value of voltage at any point on the waveform is referred to as its instantaneous value.
Characteristics ….
 Period (T) – length of time in seconds that the waveform takes to repeat itself from start to finish.
(Periodic Time)
 Frequency (ƒ) – number of times the waveform repeats itself within a one second time period. ƒ = 1/T
unit Hertz, (Hz).
 Amplitude (A) – the magnitude or intensity of the signal waveform measured in volts or amps (peak
value).
Phasors
a rotating vector whose projection on a vertical axis can be used to represent sinusoidally varying
quantities
 θ

 Green Color phasor – leads the red color phasor (leading)

 Red Color phasor – lags the green color phasor (lagging)

if the green color waveform represent by →

then the red color waveform represents by →

 Phase difference refers to the angular displacement between different waveforms of the same
frequency.
Complex numbers and Phasors

• Convenient to use Peak values in representing

the phasors.

• Practice, RMS value (effective value) is used to

represent phasors.
E = Em
R, L and C in phasor domain
 Resistance – opposes current
 Capacitance – opposes changes in voltage
 Inductance – opposes changes in current

Purely Resistive Circuits

Follows Ohm’s Law, hence current variations follow the voltage variations
For Purely resistive
circuits – voltage and
current are in phase

Considering the RMS voltage

and current values
 If,

For Purely inductive

circuits –
Purely Inductive Circuits voltage leads current
by 900
current lags voltage
by 900

Considering the RMS voltage

and current values
If,

Assuming
Inductive Reactance - the opposition that inductance presents to current for the
sinusoidal ac case
 For Purely inductive
Purely Capacitive Circuits circuits –
current leads voltage
by 900
voltage lags current
by 900

Considering the RMS voltage

If, and current values

Assuming

Capacitive Reactance - the opposition that capacitance presents to current for

the sinusoidal ac case
Capacitive & Inductive Reactance with Frequency