Lab 9: Power Transfer in AC Circuits

Theory and Introduction

Goals for Lab 9 – The goal of this lab is to familiarize students with the process of delivering
power to a load. We will focus in particular on the problem of how to choose the load impedance
to maximize the amount of power to the load and what difference it makes if the load impedance
is not chosen optimally.

Theory

In this lab, you will investigate the issue of transferring power from an AC voltage source to a
load. The situation is illustrated in Figure 9.1 where the source is modelled as an AC voltage
source together with some source resistance, 𝑅𝑠 . Typically the source is connected to the load
through some line which may have a certain amount of line inductance which we model as an
inductor between the source and the load. Often, the load is resistive and in which case we will
model it as a load resistor, 𝑅𝐿 , but in this lab we will also look into the advantages of adding a
capacitive component to the load.

𝑅𝑠 𝐿
+
𝑉𝑖𝑛 (𝑡) 𝑍𝐿
_

Source Line Load

Figure 9.1 – Model of an AC source delivering power to a load.

Case 1 - To start with, consider the case where the load is purely resistive so that 𝑍𝐿 = 𝑅𝐿 . Since
the source is sinusoidal, we can use phasors to calculate the load voltage through a voltage divider
as

𝑽𝒊𝒏 𝑅𝐿
𝑽𝑳 = .
𝑅𝐿 + 𝑅𝑠 + 𝑗𝜔𝐿
In terms of real signals, the sinusoidal voltage on the load is

|𝑽𝒊𝒏 |𝑅𝐿 𝜔𝐿
𝑣𝐿 (𝑡) = |𝑽𝑳 | cos(𝜔𝑡 + ∠𝑽𝑳 ) = cos (𝜔𝑡 + ∠𝑽𝒊𝒏 − tan−1 ( )) .
√(𝑅𝐿 + 𝑅𝑠 )2 + (𝜔𝐿)2 𝑅𝐿 + 𝑅𝑠

The average power delivered to the load is then

1 𝑣𝐿2 (𝑡)
𝑃𝐿 = ∫ 𝑑𝑡,
𝑇𝑜 𝑇𝑜 𝑅𝐿

where 𝑇𝑜 is the period of the sinusoidal signals and is related to the frequency by 𝜔 = 2𝜋/𝑇𝑜 . For
sinusoids, the mean square value is ½ the magnitude squared of the peak value, so the power
delivered to the load can be found from the phasor representation as

|𝑽𝑳 |2 |𝑽𝒊𝒏 |2 𝑅𝐿
𝑃𝐿 = = .
2𝑅𝐿 2((𝑅𝐿 + 𝑅𝑠 )2 + (𝜔𝐿)2 )

Note that there are many parameters that play a role in how much power is delivered to the load.
A typical plot showing how the power delivered to the load depends on the load resistance is given
in Figure 9.2. In the prelab, you will determine what value of the load resistance maximizes the
power delivered to the load if all other parameters are held fixed. For the example in Figure 9.2
you can see that the maximum occurs at about 𝑅𝐿 = 80Ω and produces a maximum delivered
power of about 3.8mW, but with the use of a little calculus, you can determine the exact values.

A word of caution is in order at this point. You may have seen a result in class that says in order
to maximize the power delivered to the load, you need to choose 𝑍𝐿 = 𝑍𝑠∗ . That result assumes
that you have the flexibility to choose both the real part (resistance) and the imaginary part
(reactance) of the load impedance. In the problem we are looking at, we are taking the load
impedance to be purely resistive (reactance = 0) so the result 𝑍𝐿 = 𝑍𝑠∗ cannot be achieved here.

Case 2 – As quite often is the case, the load resistance may be fixed and not under our control.
For example, if the load is our desk lamp or maybe a toaster, there is not much we can do to change
its resistance. In that case, it is sometimes beneficial to place what is known as a shunt capacitor
between the terminals of the load. The circuit of Figure 9.1 is then modified to look as shown in
Figure 9.3. So in this case, we treat the load resistance as fixed and seek the value of the shunt
capacitance that will cause the maximum power to be delivered to the load resistance.
 4

3.5

2.5
PL (mW)

1.5

0.5

0 1 2 3 4
10 10 10 10
RL ()

Figure 9.2– A typical relationship between load power and load resistance.
𝑅𝑠 = 50Ω, 𝐿 = 10𝑚𝐻, 𝑓 = 1𝑘𝐻𝑧.

With the use of the proper voltage divider and a little bit of algebra, you should be able to show
that the load voltage (phasor) of this circuit is

𝑽𝒊𝒏 𝑅𝐿
𝑽𝑳 = .
𝑅𝐿 + 𝑅𝑠 + 𝑗𝜔(𝐿 + 𝑅𝐿 𝑅𝑠 𝐶) − 𝜔 2 𝑅𝐿 𝐿𝐶

The power dissipated in the load resistor with the shunt capacitor in place is then

|𝑽𝑳 |2 |𝑽𝒊𝒏 |2 𝑅𝐿
𝑃𝐿 = = 2 .
2𝑅𝐿 2 ((𝑅𝐿 + 𝑅𝑠 − 𝜔 2 𝑅𝐿 𝐿𝐶)2 + (𝜔(𝐿 + 𝑅𝐿 𝑅𝑠 𝐶)) )

A typical plot showing how the power delivered to the load depends on the shunt capacitance is
given in Figure 9.4. In the prelab, you will determine what value of the shunt capacitance
maximizes the power delivered to the load if all other parameters are held fixed. For the example
in Figure 9.4 you can see that the maximum occurs at about 𝐶 = 1.5𝜇𝐹 and produces a maximum
delivered power of about 4.7mW. This is about a 24% improvement of power delivered to the
load as compared to when the shunt capacitor was not used.
 𝑅𝑠 𝐿
+
𝑉𝑖𝑛 (𝑡) 𝑅𝐿
_ 𝐶

Source Line Load

Figure 9.3 – Modified circuit with a shunt capacitor.

-3
x 10
5

4.5

3.5

3
PL (mW)

2.5

1.5

0.5 -1 0 1
10 10 10
C ( F)

Figure 9.4– A typical relationship between load power and shunt capacitance.
𝑅𝑠 = 50Ω, 𝑅𝐿 = 80Ω, 𝐿 = 10𝑚𝐻, 𝑓 = 1𝑘𝐻𝑧.

Case 3: Finally, consider the case when both the load resistance and the shunt capacitance are
under our control. Since we have the flexibility to adjust both the resistance and the reactance of
the load (real and imaginary parts of the load impedance), we can now chose the load impedance
according to the formula presented in the text, namely 𝑍𝐿 = 𝑍𝑠∗ . In our case, the source impedance
is 𝑍𝑠 = 𝑅𝑠 + 𝑗𝜔𝐿 and the load impedance is
 𝑅𝐿
𝑍𝐿 = .
1 + 𝑗𝜔𝑅𝐿 𝐶

By setting 𝑅𝑒[𝑍𝐿 ] = 𝑅𝑒[𝑍𝑠 ] and 𝐼𝑚[𝑍𝐿 ] = −𝐼𝑚[𝑍𝑠 ], we obtain two equations which can be used
to solve for the two load component values, 𝑅𝐿 and 𝐶.

Prelab

2.2𝑘Ω 0.12H

+
𝑉𝑖𝑛 (𝑡) 𝑅𝐿
_

Figure 9.5 – An AC circuit with a variable load resistance

A. For the circuit shown in Figure 9.5, find the expression for the load resistance that will
maximize the power delivered to the load resistor. Note, your result should depend on
the frequency of the input voltage source. If the AC input is a 10kHz sine wave with a
peak-to-peak value of 8Volts, find the maximum power delivered to the load, and the
component value of the resistor that produces maximum power dissipation. Show your
derivations.

2.2𝑘Ω 0.12H

+
𝑉𝑖𝑛 (𝑡) 𝐶 𝑅𝐿
𝐶
_

Figure 9.6 – An AC circuit with a variable shunt capacitance.

B. Now suppose we add a shunt capacitor to the circuit as shown in Figure 9.6. Assuming
that we use the load resistance that you calculated in Part A, find the value of the shunt
capacitance that will maximize power delivered to the load resistor. As before, assume
 the input is a 10kHz sine wave with a peak-to-peak value of 8Volts. What is the power
delivered to the load and how does it compare with your results in Part A. Show your
derivations.

2.2𝑘Ω 0.12H

+
𝑉𝑖𝑛 (𝑡) 𝐶 𝑅𝐿
𝐶
_

Figure 9.7 – An AC circuit with a variable load resistance and shunt capacitance.

C. Finally, consider the case where both the load resistance and the shunt capacitance are
adjustable as shown in Figure 9.7. Assuming the input is a 10kHz sine wave with a
peak-to-peak value of 8Volts, find the values of the load resistance and shunt
capacitance that maximize power delivered to the load resistor. Compute the power
dissipated in this case and compare with the results from Part A and B. Show your
derivations.
1 1
Hint: You may find it algebraically easier to solve 𝑍 = 𝑍 ∗ then to solve 𝑍𝐿 = 𝑍𝑠∗ .
𝐿 𝑠
Procedure

Parts and Equipment needed:

1- 2.2k Resistor
1 – 0.12H inductor.
Various resistors
Various capacitors
Function Generator
Oscilloscope

Task 1 – Maximum Power Transfer with a Purely Resistive Load

Build the circuit shown in Figure 9.5 on your breadboard. The idea is to find the value of the load
resistance that will cause the most power to be delivered to your load. Use a sinusoidal input
voltage from either the bench function generator or the waveform generator on your PMD. Set
the input amplitude at 8V (peak-to-peak) and the frequency at 10kHz. Choose a load resistor as
close as you can get to 20𝑘Ω. If necessary, you can set the load resistance pretty close to where
you want it, by using a series combination of a fixed resistor and the potentiometer. You can adjust
the potentiometer until the combination is close to 20𝑘Ω. Be sure to record the actual resistance.
Measure the voltage on the load resistor and from that calculate the power dissipated in the load
resistor. Repeat these measurements for the following values of the load resistance: 4𝑘Ω, 6𝑘Ω,
8𝑘Ω, 10𝑘Ω, 15𝑘Ω, 20𝑘Ω. Record the values of the load resistances, the measured load voltages,
and the calculated power dissipated in a table. In your lab report you will plot your measured data
and from your plot give an estimate of what you think the best load resistance would be in terms
of maximizing the amount of power delivered to the load.
Task 2 – Improving Power Transfer with a Shunt Capacitor

Now modify the circuit of the previous task by placing a shunt capacitor across the terminals of
the load as shown in Figure 9.6. This time, the load resistance will remain fixed and you will vary
the capacitance to see what value produces the maximum power delivered to the load resistor.

Set the frequency of the input sinusoidal voltage source to 10kHz. Use the value of 𝑅𝐿 you found
in Task 1 that maximized power delivered to the load. Measure the value of the load voltage and
the power dissipated in the load resistor for each of the following values of the shunt capacitor:
𝐶 = 0.5nF, 0.8nF, 1𝑛F, 1.5𝑛F, 2𝑛F, 3𝑛F, 4𝑛F. Note: You may not be able to get these exact
capacitance values. Use capacitors from your kit to get you as close as you reasonably can to these
values.

Record the values of the shunt capacitances, the measured load voltages, and the calculated power
dissipated in a table. In your lab report you will plot your measured data and from your plot give
an estimate of what you think the best shunt capacitance would be in terms of maximizing the
amount of power delivered to the load. How does that maximum power compare with what you
found without a shunt capacitor?

Task 3 – Optimal Power Transfer

In this final section of the lab, you are going to be allowed to simultaneously vary both the load
resistance and the shunt capacitance. Again, set the frequency of the sinusoidal input to 10𝑘𝐻𝑧.
Calculate the theoretical values (see prelab) of the pair {𝑅𝐿 , 𝐶} that will maximize the power
delivered to the load resistor. Adjust your load resistor and shunt capacitor values to as close to
these values as you can get them. For the load resistance you can use whatever combination
(parallel/series) you need of fixed resistors and the potentiometer that you have available to get
you as close to the desired load resistance as possible. Likewise, with the shunt capacitor, use
whatever combination (parallel/series) of fixed capacitors that you have available to get the shunt
capacitance as close as you can to the desired value. Record the actual component values, the load
voltage and calculate the power dissipated in the load resistor. In your lab report, compare the
power dissipated in the load resistors for each of the three tasks. Comment on how much difference
it makes whether or not we optimize the load resistance and/or the shunt capacitance.
Before you leave the lab…

Bring your lab notebook so that your TA can sign off on your data pages. You should be prepared
to answer questions about how you did your various measurements. Your TA may also ask you
to verify some of the measurements using the bench equipment in the lab.

Lab Report Requirements

1. Title Page
2. Procedure – Summarize in your own words what you have done.
3. Data and Results –Present your measured data in tabular form and also plot your results
and compare them with the theoretical values. For Task 1, plot dissipated power vs. load
resistance. Plot dissipated power vs. shunt capacitance for Task 2. Make sure to include a
copy of your signed data pages from your lab notebook as an appendix to your lab report.
4. Discussion – What kind of deviation are you seeing between the measured and theoretical
results? If there are differences that are significant, be sure to discuss the most likely
sources of these errors. Comment on how the dissipated power improves as we optimize
the various component values. How much difference does it make?