CHAPTER NO.

20 AC Circuit
 AC (Alternating Current):
Definition: An electric current that changes direction periodically

Applications: Used in households, industries, and power distribution systems

Waveform: AC is represented as a sine wave

Advantages of AC:
❑ It is easy to transform voltage levels using transformers.
❑ Efficient transmission over long distances
AC TERMINOLOGIES
 AC TERMINOLOGIES
Frequency (f):
❑ Definition: The number of complete cycles (oscillations) per second.
❑ Unit: Hertz (Hz)

Time Period (T):

❑ Definition: The time taken for one complete cycle of the AC waveform.
❑ Unit: Seconds (s)

Amplitude (𝑰𝒎𝒂𝒙. 𝑶𝑹 𝑽𝒎𝒂𝒙. ):

❑ Definition: The AC waveform's maximum current (I) or voltage (V).
❑ Unit: Amperes (A) or Volts (V)

Angular Frequency (ω):

❑ Definition: The rate of change of the angle in radians per second for the sine
wave.
❑ Unit: Radians per second (rad/s)
❑ Formula: 𝜔 = 2𝜋𝑓
 Root Mean Square (RMS) Value:
❑ Definition: The effective value of AC or voltage that produces the same heating
effect as an equivalent DC value.
❑ Unit: Amperes (A) or Volts (V).
❑ Formula:
𝑰𝑴𝑨𝑿. 𝑽𝑴𝑨𝑿.
𝑰𝑹𝑴𝑺 = , 𝑽𝑹𝑴𝑺 =
𝟐 𝟐
❑ This means the RMS value is about 70.7% of the maximum value

Instantaneous Peak Value:

❑ The instantaneous peak value refers to the exact current or voltage value of
an AC waveform at a specific moment in time.
❑ It changes continuously as the waveform oscillates between its maximum
positive and maximum negative values.
❑ At the peak points, the instantaneous value equals the maximum amplitude
 ALTERNATING CURRENT OR VOLTAGE EQUATION
The equation for alternating current (AC) or voltage describes how the current or
voltage changes over time in a periodic manner, typically as a sine wave

❑ 𝑰 𝒕 𝒐𝒓 𝑽 𝒕 :These represent the instantaneous current (I) or voltage (V) at a

specific time
❑ 𝑰𝒎𝒂𝒙 𝒐𝒓 𝑽𝒎𝒂𝒙 :These are the maximum (peak) values of the current or voltage.
They represent the highest amplitude of the waveform
❑ 𝑺𝒊𝒏 :This comes from the sine wave shape of AC. The sine function describes
the periodic oscillation of the wave
❑ 𝝎: This is the angular frequency of the wave
❑ 𝒕: The time at which the current or voltage is measured
❑ ∅: This is the phase angle (in radians). It shows if the wave is shifted to the left
or right compared to a reference wave
 PHASE OF AC
The phase in AC refers to the position of an AC waveform at a specific point in
time relative to another waveform or a reference point.
It helps describe how two AC signals (like voltage and current) are related to each
other.
In-phase:
❑ When two waveforms (e.g., voltage and current) peak and cross zero at the
same time.
❑ Phase angle 𝜙 = 00
 Out-of-phase:
❑ When one waveform leads or lags behind another
 Phase Lead Or Lag And
Vector Representation of Alternating Current and Voltage
➢ Leading Phase: One wave reaches its peak earlier.
➢ Lagging Phase: One wave reaches its peak later.
 AC THROUGH RESISTOR

Resistor

PURE RESISTIVE CIRCUIT

A circuit in which an AC
source is connected only
with a resistor is called
resistive circuit.
AC Source
CIRCUIT OPERATION:
❑ In the positive half cycle electrons flow in one direction and in the negative
half cycle electrons flow in the opposite direction.
❑ Current and voltage are zero and maximum simultaneously, so current and
voltage are in phase.

Instantaneous Value Of Voltage 𝑽 = 𝑽𝒊𝒏𝒔. = 𝑽𝒐 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝜽, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑽𝒐 = 𝑽𝒎𝒂𝒙.

From Ohm’s law; 𝑽 = 𝑰𝑹, 𝑽𝒐 = 𝑰𝒐 𝑹

𝑰𝑹 = 𝑰𝒐 𝑹 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝜽
Instantaneous Value Of Current 𝑰 = 𝑰𝒐 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝜽
 PHASOR DIAGRAM

Vector Representation of AC
Through Resistor
POWER LOSS IN A RESISTOR
❑ The power curve for the pure resistive circuit is obtained from the product of
the instantaneous value of 𝐼 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑉
❑ Power is positive except at 00 , 1800 and 360° at which it drops to zero which
means the source is constantly delivering power to the circuit and the circuit is
consuming.

If I and V are in Phase

𝑷 = 𝑰𝑽

𝑷 = 𝑰𝟐 𝑹

𝑽𝟐
𝑷=
𝑹
If I and V are OUT Phase

𝑷 = 𝑰𝑽 𝑪𝒐𝒔 𝜽
 AC THROUGH CAPACITOR
CAPACITIVE CIRCUIT:
A pure capacitive circuit is That in which an AC source is connected to a capacitor.

In one half cycle capacitor is charged and

in other half cycle capacitor discharge. In
this way current flow in capacitor.

DERIVATION:
Let applied voltage; 𝑽 = 𝑽𝟎 𝑺𝒊𝒏 (𝝎𝒕) Equation no.01
At any instant “𝐼“ is current and “q” is charge stored on plates of capacitor
𝒒 = 𝑪𝑽
Using equation no.1
𝒒 = 𝑪 𝑽𝟎 𝑺𝒊𝒏 (𝝎𝒕)
∆𝒒
As we know that current 𝑰 =
∆𝒕
 RESULTS
∆ ∆
𝒒 = 𝑪 𝑽𝟎 𝑺𝒊𝒏 (𝝎𝒕)
∆𝒕 ∆𝒕
∆ ∆
∵ 𝑺𝒊𝒏 𝝎𝒕 = 𝑪𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒕 𝝎
∆𝒕 ∆𝒕

∆𝒒
= 𝑪 𝑽𝟎 𝑪𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒕 𝝎
∆𝒕

𝑰 = 𝑪 𝑽𝟎 𝝎 𝑪𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒕

∵ 𝑪 𝑽𝟎 𝝎 = 𝑰𝒐

𝑰 = 𝑰𝒐 𝑪𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒕

∵ 𝑪𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒕 = 𝑺𝒊𝒏 (𝝎𝒕 + 𝟗𝟎𝟎 )

𝑰 = 𝑰𝒐 𝑺𝒊𝒏 (𝝎𝒕 + 𝟗𝟎𝟎 )

CAPACITIVE REACTANCE (𝑿𝒄 ):
A capacitor opposes the flow of AC due to its property called reactance.

𝑽𝟎 = 𝑰𝟎 𝑿𝒄 ∵ 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅
𝑽𝟎 Equation no.01
= 𝑿𝑪
𝑰𝟎

∵ 𝑪 𝑽𝟎 𝝎 = 𝑰𝒐

𝑽𝟎 𝟏 Equation no.02
=
𝑰𝟎 𝝎𝑪
The capacitive reactance shows an inverse
From Equation no.01 and 02 relationship with the frequency of the applied
𝟏 𝟏 alternating voltage.
𝑿𝑪 = =
𝝎𝑪 𝟐𝝅𝒇𝑪 Consequently, for lower frequencies, the reactance
𝟏 of capacitor increases, while at high frequencies,
𝑿𝑪 𝜶 the reactance decreases.
𝒇
 INDUCTOR
An inductor is a coil of wire that stores energy in the form of a magnetic field

In an AC circuit, the current constantly changes direction, causing the inductor to

continuously oppose these changes
 AC THROUGH INDUCTOR

When AC source is applied to pure

inductive circuit then voltage leads the
current by 900 .

DERIVATION:
As, 𝑰 = 𝑰𝟎 𝑺𝒊𝒏 (𝝎𝒕)
𝑰 = 𝑰𝟎 𝑺𝒊𝒏 (𝝎𝒕) Equation no.01
∆
𝑽=𝑳 𝑰𝟎 𝑺𝒊𝒏 (𝝎𝒕)
When current flows, back emf is produced ∆𝒕
∆
∆𝑰 Equation no.02 ∵ 𝑺𝒊𝒏 𝝎𝒕 = 𝑪𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒕 𝝎
𝜺𝑳 = 𝑳 ∆𝒕
∆𝒕
𝑽 = 𝑳 𝑰𝟎 𝑪𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒕 𝝎
If resistance of coil is zero, then
Applied AC voltage = Back Emf 𝑽 = 𝑽𝟎 𝑪𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒕
𝑽 = 𝜺𝑳 ∵ 𝑪𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒕 = 𝑺𝒊𝒏 (𝝎𝒕 + 𝟗𝟎𝟎 )
∆𝑰
𝑽=𝑳 𝑽 = 𝑽𝟎 𝑺𝒊𝒏 𝝎𝒕 + 𝟗𝟎𝟎
∆𝒕
 RESULTS

PHASOR DIAGRAM
INDUCTIVE REACTANCE (𝑿𝑳 ):

An inductor opposes AC using a property called inductive reactance

𝑽𝟎 = 𝑰𝟎 𝑿𝑳 ∵ 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅
𝑽𝟎 Equation no.01
= 𝑿𝑳
𝑰𝟎

∵ 𝑳 𝑰𝟎 𝝎 = 𝑽𝒐

𝑳 𝑰𝟎 𝝎
𝑿𝑳 =
𝑰𝟎
𝑿𝑳 = 𝝎𝑳
Inductive reactance is directly
𝑿𝑳 = 𝟐𝝅𝒇 𝑳 proportional to the frequency of the AC
𝑿𝑳 𝜶 𝒇 signal.
As the frequency increases, the inductive
reactance also increases.
AC THROUGH RC SERIES CIRCUIT
RC-SERIES CIRCUIT:
A circuit in which an alternating
voltage Source is connected in series
with resistor and capacitor

VECTOR REPRESENTATION:
❑ AC through pure resistive
circuit
𝟎
𝚽=𝟎

❑ AC through pure capacitive

circuit
𝚽 = 𝟗𝟎 𝟎
❑ AC through RC Series Circuit IMPEDANCE:
The combined effect of resistance
and reactance is called impedance. It
is denoted by Z

𝑉𝑅

𝚽
𝑉𝐶
𝑉
RESULTS
By using Pythagoras theorem
In an RC series circuit, current leads
the voltage by an angle 𝚽 greater 𝑯 𝟐 = 𝑩𝟐 + 𝑷𝟐
than 00 but less than 900 .
𝑽𝟐 = 𝑽𝑹 𝟐 + 𝑽𝑪 𝟐
R and C are in series, So same current 𝐼
 𝑽𝟐 = 𝑽𝑹 𝟐 + 𝑽𝑪 𝟐 IMPEDANCE DIAGRAM:
𝑅
(𝑰𝒁)𝟐 = (𝑰𝑹)𝟐 +(𝑰𝑿𝑪 )𝟐

𝑰𝟐 𝒁𝟐 = 𝑰𝟐 𝑹𝟐 + 𝑰𝟐 𝑿𝑪
𝟐 𝚽
𝑰𝟐 𝒁𝟐 = 𝑰𝟐 (𝑹𝟐 + 𝑿𝑪 𝟐 ) 𝑋𝐶
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐
𝑍
𝒁 = 𝑹 +𝑿𝑪

𝒁= 𝑹𝟐 +𝑿𝑪 𝟐
Phase Angle:
𝟏
∵ 𝑿𝑪 = 𝑷
𝝎𝑪 ∵ 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝚽 =
𝑩
𝑿𝑪
𝟏 𝟐 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝚽 =
𝒁= 𝑹𝟐 +( ) 𝑹
𝝎𝑪
−𝟏
𝑿𝑪
𝚽 = 𝒕𝒂𝒏 ( )
𝑹
−𝟏
𝟏
𝚽 = 𝒕𝒂𝒏 ( )
𝝎𝑪𝑹
AC THROUGH RL SERIES CIRCUIT

RL-SERIES CIRCUIT:
A circuit in which an alternating
voltage Source is connected in series
with resistor and inductor

VECTOR REPRESENTATION:

❑ AC through pure resistive

circuit
𝟎
𝚽=𝟎

❑ AC through pure inductive

circuit
𝚽 = 𝟗𝟎 𝟎
❑ AC through RL Series Circuit IMPEDANCE:
The combined effect of resistance
and reactance is called impedance. It
is denoted by Z

By using Pythagoras theorem

𝑯 𝟐 = 𝑩𝟐 + 𝑷𝟐
RESULTS
𝑽𝟐 = 𝑽𝑹 𝟐 + 𝑽𝑳 𝟐
In an RL series circuit, VOLTAGE leads
the current by an angle 𝚽 greater R and L are in series, So same current 𝐼
than 00 but less than 900 .
 𝑽𝟐 = 𝑽𝑹 𝟐 + 𝑽𝑳 𝟐 IMPEDANCE DIAGRAM:

(𝑰𝒁)𝟐 = (𝑰𝑹)𝟐 +(𝑰𝑿𝑳 )𝟐

𝟐
𝑰𝟐 𝒁𝟐 = 𝑰𝟐 𝑹𝟐 + 𝑰𝟐 𝑿𝑳 𝑍
𝑰𝟐 𝒁𝟐 = 𝑰𝟐 (𝑹𝟐 + 𝑿𝑳 𝟐 ) 𝑋𝐿
𝒁𝟐 = 𝑹𝟐 +𝑿𝑳 𝟐

𝑅
𝒁= 𝑹𝟐 +𝑿𝑳 𝟐
Phase Angle:
∵ 𝑿𝑳 = 𝝎𝑳
𝑷
∵ 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝚽 =
𝑩
𝒁= 𝑹𝟐 +(𝝎𝑳)𝟐 𝑿𝑳
𝒕𝒂𝒏𝚽 =
𝑹
𝑿𝑳
𝚽 = 𝒕𝒂𝒏−𝟏 ( )
𝑹
−𝟏
𝝎𝑳
𝚽 = 𝒕𝒂𝒏 ( )
𝑹