Chapter 9

Complex Numbers and Phasors

Chapter Objectives:
Understand the concepts of sinusoids and phasors.
Apply phasors to circuit elements.
Introduce the concepts of impedance and admittance.
Learn about impedance combinations.
Apply what is learnt to phase-shifters and AC bridges.

Huseyin Bilgekul
EENG224 Circuit Theory II
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Eastern Mediterranean University

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Complex Numbers
A complex number may be written in RECTANGULAR FORM as:

RECTANGULAR FORM
z = x+ jy j= -1, x=Re z , y=Im(z)
A second way of representing the complex number is by specifying the
MAGNITUDE and r and the ANGLE in POLAR form.

POLAR FORM
z = x+ jy= z =r
The third way of representing the complex number is the EXPONENTIAL form.

EXPONENTIAL FORM
z = x+ jy= z =re j
x is the REAL part.
y is the IMAGINARY part.
r is the MAGNITUDE.
is the ANGLE.

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Complex Numbers
A complex number may be written in RECTANGULAR FORM as: forms.
z = x+ jy j= -1 RECTANGULAR FORM
x r cos

y r sin

z= r

POLAR FORM

r x2 y 2

=tan -1

z= re j

EXPONENTIAL FORM

r x2 y 2

=tan -1

y
x

y
x

z = x + jy= r = re j
e j =cos +jsin
cos Re e j

sin Im e j

Euler's Identity
Real part
Imaginary part

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Complex Number Conversions

We need to convert COMPLEX numbers from one form to the other form.

z x jy r re j =r (cos j sin )

z x jy r re j =r (cos j sin )
r x 2 y 2 , tan 1
x rcos , y r sin

y
Rectangular to Polar
x
Polar to Rectangular
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Mathematical Operations of Complex Numbers

Mathematical operations on complex numbers may require conversions from one
form to other form.

ADDITION: z1 + z 2 =(x1 + x 2 )+j(y1 + y 2 )

SUBTRACTION: z1 - z 2 =(x1 -x 2 )+j(y1 - y 2 )
MULTIPLICATION: z1z 2 = r1 r2 1 +2
DIVISION:

z1 r1
= 1 -2
z 2 r2

RECIPROCAL:

1 1
= -
z r

SQUARE ROOT: z = r

COMPLEX CONJUGATE: z x jy r re j
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Phasors
A phasor is a complex number that represents the amplitude and phase of a sinusoid.
Phasor is the mathematical equivalent of a sinusoid with time variable dropped.
Phasor representation is based on Eulers identity.

e j =cos jsin
cos Re e j

sin Im e j

Euler's Identity
Real part

Imaginary part

Given a sinusoid v(t)=Vmcos(t+).

v(t ) Vm cos(t ) Re(Vm e j (t ) ) Re(Vm e j e jt ) Re( Ve jt )

V Vm e j Vm PHASOR REP.
v(t ) Vm cos(t ) V Vm
(Time Domain Re pr.)
v(t ) Re{Ve jt }

(Phasor Domain Re presentation)

(Converting Phasor back to time)

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Phasors
Given the sinusoids i(t)=Imcos(t+I) and v(t)=Vmcos(t+ V) we can obtain the
phasor forms as:

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Phasors
Amplitude and phase difference are two principal
concerns in the study of voltage and current sinusoids.
Phasor will be defined from the cosine function in all our
proceeding study. If a voltage or current expression is in
the form of a sine, it will be changed to a cosine by
subtracting from the phase.
Example
Transform the following sinusoids to phasors:

i = 6cos(50t 40o) A
v = 4sin(30t + 50o) V

Solution:
a. I 6 40 A
b. Since sin(A) = cos(A+90o);
v(t) = 4cos (30t+50o+90o) = 4cos(30t+140o) V
Transform to phasor => V 4140 V
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Phasors

Example 5:

Transform the sinusoids corresponding to

phasors:

a)
b)

V 1030 V
I j(5 j12) A

Solution:
a)

v(t) = 10cos(t + 210o) V

5
) 13 22.62
12

b) Since I 12 j5 12 2 52 tan 1 (
i(t) = 13cos(t + 22.62o) A

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Phasor as Rotating Vectors

v(t ) Vm cos(t )
v(t ) Re Vm e ( jt )

v(t ) Re Vm ( jt )
Rotating Phasor

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Phasor Diagrams

The SINOR

Ve

jt

Rotates on a circle of radius Vm at an angular velocity of in the counterclockwise

direction

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Phasor Diagrams

Time Domain Re presentation

Vm cos(t )

Phasor Domain Re p.
Vm

Vm sin(t )

Vm 90

I m cos(t )

I m

I m sin(t )

I m 90

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Time Domain Versus Phasor Domain

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Differentiation and Integration in Phasor Domain

Differentiating a sinusoid is equivalent to multiplying its corresponding phasor by
j.
v(t ) Vm cos(t ) Re Ve j t
dv(t )
Vm sin(t ) Vm cos(t 90)
dt
dv
= Re j Ve j t
JV
dt
Integrating a sinusoid is equivalent to dividing its corresponding phasor by j.

(Time Domain)

(Phasor Domain)

v(t ) Vm cos(t )

V Vm

v(t ) Vm sin(t )

V Vm 90

dv
dt

vdt

JV

V
J

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Adding Phasors Graphically

Adding sinusoids of the same frequency is equivalent to adding
their corresponding phasors.
V=V1+V2

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20cos(5t 30) A

1
H
10

2F

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Solving AC Circuits
We can derive the differential equations for the following
circuit in order to solve for vo(t) in phase domain Vo.

d 2 vo 5 dv0
400
o

20
v

sin(4
t

15
)
0
2
dt
3 dt
3
However, the derivation may sometimes be very tedious.
Is there any quicker and more systematic methods to do it?
Instead of first deriving the differential equation and then
transforming it into phasor to solve for Vo, we can transform all the
RLC components into phasor first, then apply the KCL laws and other
theorems to set up a phasor equation involving Vo directly.
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