AC CIRCUITS:

Alternating current abbreviated as a.c is a system in which the magnitude of the voltage and current
vary in a repetitive manner. Examples of such repetitive currents are shown below.

Before we analyse the performance of ac circuit analysis, we need to remind ourselves on the laws
of electromagnetic induction and a few of the basic definitions.
LAWS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION:
1. The first law of electromagnetic induction states that whenever a conductor is placed in the
varying magnetic field, electromagnetic fields are induced known as induced emf. If the
conductor is closed, a current is also induced and this is the induced current.
2. The induced emf in a coil is equal to the rate of change of flux linkage. The flux is the product
of the number of turns in the coil and the flux connected in the coil.
dΦ
E=N × ,
dt
E=electromotive force , N =number of turns∧Φ=magnetic flux .
DEFINITIONS:
Waveform: This is the variation of a quantity such as voltage or current shown on a graph to a base
of time or rotation.
A Cycle is a repetition of a variable quantity recurring at equal intervals.
Period: This is the duration of one cycle.
Instantaneous Value is the magnitude of the waveform at any instant in time.
Peak Value is the maximum instantaneous value measured from its zero value.
Peak to Peak value is the maximum variation between the maximum positive instantaneous value
and the maximum negative instantaneous value. For a sinusoidal wave form , this is twice the peak
value. It is abbreviated as V pp , I pp , E pp .

Peak Amplitude is the maximum instantaneous value measured from the mean value of a
waveform. It is abbreviated as V m , I m , Em .

The frequency is the number of cycles completed in a second.

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It is seen that
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f= , where f isthe frequency∈Hertz (Hz)∧T is the period ∈seconds .
T
The average of all the instantaneous values of an alternating voltage and currents over one
complete cycle gives the average Value.
Average Value=0.637 ×maximum value .
The square root of means of squares of instantaneous values gives the RMS value.

The RMS value of an alternating current is defined as the value of a constant current that
produces the same power in a resistor as the alternating current.

The RMS value of an alternating voltage is defined as the value of a constant voltage that
produces the same power in a resistor as the alternating voltage.

The form factor of a wave is the ratio of the RMS (root mean square) value to the average
value.
Im Vm
I RMS= , V RMS= .
√2 √2

RMS Value
Form Factor= .
Average Value
Peak or crest factor of a wave is the ratio of peak values to effective value. In other words
crest factor indicates how extreme the peaks are in a wave form.
Peak∨maximum Value
Crest Factor= .
RMS Value
Example:
The current in an a.c circuit at any time t seconds is given by I =5 sin ( 100 πt−0.432 ) A .
Determine the:

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 (i) Amplitude, frequency, Periodic time and phase angle.
(ii) The value of current at t=0.
(iii) The value of the current at t=8 ms
(iv) The time when current is maximum
(v) The time when current first reaches 3A.
(vi) Peak to peak value of current.
(vii) RMS Value of current.
SOLUTION:
Compare I =5 sin ( 100 πt−0.432 ) A with y= A sin ( ωt ± α )
Where A=Amplitude , ω= Angular velocity=2 πf , α = Angle of lead∨lag .
Then,
(i) Amplitude¿ 5 A . ω=100 π or 2 πf =100 π . This gives f =50 Hz .
1 1
From f = , T = . This gives T =0.02 s , α =0.432 rad ∨24.80 lag .
T 50
(ii) At t=0 , I =5 sin ( 100 π × 0−0.432 ) or I =5 sin (−0.432 )=−2.093 A .
(iii) (
At t=8 ms , I =5 sin 100 π ×
8
1000 )
−0.432 ∨I =5 sin ( 0.8 π −0.432 )

This gives I =4.363 A .

(iv) When current is maximum I =5 A .
Hence 5=5sin ( 100 πt−0.432 ) orsin ( 100 πt−0.432 )=1 .
100 πt−0.432=sin 1, This yields 100 πt−0.432=90 ∨1.5708 rad .
−1 0

100 πt−0.432=1.5708 , 100 πt=2.0028

2.0028
This gives t= ¿ 6.375 ms .
100 π
(v) When I =3 A , then3=5sin ( 100 πt−0.432 ) .
This gives sin ( 100 πt−0.432 )=0.6 or 100 πt−0.432=sin−1 0.6 .

We get 100 πt−0.432=0.6435 or 100 πt=1.0755 .

1.0755
This gives t= =3.423 ms.
100 π
(vi) Peak Value ¿ 5 A , Therefore Peak to Peak Value¿ 2 ×5=10 A .
I 5
(vii) I RMS = m , I RMS = .This gives I RMS=3.536 A .
√2 √2
Example:
If the waveform of voltage has a form factor of 1.15 and a peak factor of 1.5, and if the peak
value is 4.5kv, calculate the average and RMS values of the voltage.
SOLUTION:
RMS Value Peak∨maximum Value
From Form Factor= and Peak Factor= .
Average Value RMS Value
4.5 kV 4.5 kV
We shall have1.5= . This gives RMS value= =3kV
RMS Value 1.5

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The RMS Value of the voltage is 3000 V ∨3 kV .
3000
Also1.15= . Average value ¿ 2608.69 V .
AverageValue
The average value of the voltage is 2608.69V or 2.61kV.
A phasor is a line drawn to represent a sinusoidal alternating quantity. It is drawn to scale
and its angle relative to the horizontal represents its phase shift in time. Phasors of the same
quantities can be added or subtracted.
Example:
The instantaneous values of two alternating voltages are represented respectively by

V 1=60 sin θ volts∧V 2=40 sin sin θ− ( π3 ) volts . Derive an expression for the instantaneous
value of :
(i) The sum
(ii) The difference of these Voltages.

[ Ans :87.2 sin ( θ−23.5 0 ) ,52.9 sin ( θ+ 40.90 ) ] .

TRIAL QUESTIONS:
1. An alternating current has a periodic time of 25 ms and a maximum value of 20 A.
When time t=0 , current I =−10 A .
Express the current I in the form I = A sin ( ωt +α )
[ Ans :I =20 sin ( 80 πt−0.524 ) A ].
2. The instantaneous voltage in an a.c circuit at any time t seconds is given by
V =340sin ( 5 0 πt−0.541 ) Volts .
Determine the:
(i) Amplitude, frequency, Periodic time and phase angle.
[ Ans :340V , 40 ms ,25 Hz , 310 lagging , ].
(ii) The value of voltage at t=0. [ Ans :−175.1 V ] .
(iii) The value of the voltage at t=10 ms . [ Ans :291.4 V ].
(iv) The time when voltage is maximum. [ Ans :13.44 ms ] .
(v) The time when current first reaches 200V.[ Ans :7.447 ms ].
(vi) Peak to peak value of voltage.[ Ans : 680V ].
(vii) RMS Value of voltage.[ Ans :240.42 V ].
Most electrical supplies operate at 50 Hz or 60 Hz with domestic supplies at 110 V or 220 V .
We can produce sounds using electrical signals in the range of 15 Hz to 20 kHz . As the
frequency increases, we get signals to transmit radio, television and other communications.
Our radio stations vary between 88 MHz and 108 MHz . Frequencies above and below this
are used for television signals. Note that at high frequencies the voltages and currents are
very small e.g millivolts and microamperes.

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