R, RL and RC –AC

circuit analysis
AC Circuit

 An AC circuit consists of a combination

of circuit elements and an AC
generator or source
 The output of an AC generator is
sinusoidal and varies with time
according to the following equation
 Δv = ΔVmax sin 2ƒt
 Δv is the instantaneous voltage
 ΔVmax is the maximum voltage of the
generator
 ƒ is the frequency at which the voltage
changes, in Hz
Resistor in an AC Circuit

 Consider a circuit consisting

of an AC source and a
resistor
 The graph shows the current
through and the voltage
across the resistor
 The current and the voltage
reach their maximum values
at the same time
 The current and the voltage
are said to be in phase
More About Resistors in an AC
Circuit
 The direction of the current has no
effect on the behavior of the resistor
 The rate at which electrical energy is
dissipated in the circuit is given by
 P = i2 R
 where i is the instantaneous current
 the heating effect produced by an AC current
with a maximum value of Imax is not the same
as that of a DC current of the same value
 The maximum current occurs for a small
amount of time
rms Current and Voltage

 The rms current is the direct current that

would dissipate the same amount of
energy in a resistor as is actually
dissipated by the AC current
I max
I rms   0.707 I max
2
 Alternating voltages can also be discussed
in terms of rms values

Vmax
Vrms   0 .707  Vmax
2
Ohm’s Law in an AC Circuit

 rms values will be used when discussing AC

currents and voltages
 AC ammeters and voltmeters are designed to
read rms values
 Many of the equations will be in the same form as
in DC circuits
 Ohm’s Law for a resistor, R, in an AC circuit
 ΔVrms = Irms R
 Also applies to the maximum values of v and i
Capacitors in an AC Circuit

 Consider a circuit containing a capacitor

and an AC source
 The current starts out at a large value
and charges the plates of the capacitor
 There is initially no resistance to hinder the
flow of the current while the plates are not
charged
 As the charge on the plates increases, the
voltage across the plates increases and
the current flowing in the circuit
decreases
More About Capacitors in an AC Circuit

 The current
reverses direction
 The voltage across
the plates decreases
as the plates lose
the charge they had
accumulated
 The voltage across
the capacitor lags
behind the current
by 90°
Capacitive Reactance and
Ohm’s Law
 The impeding effect of a capacitor on the
current in an AC circuit is called the
capacitive reactance and is given by

1
XC 
2 ƒC
 When ƒ is in Hz and C is in F, XC will be in ohms
 Ohm’s Law for a capacitor in an AC circuit
 ΔVrms = Irms XC
 Summary
Capacitive phase shift

When a sine wave

is applied to a VC
0
capacitor, there is a
phase shift between 90o
voltage and current
such that current
always leads the I
0
voltage by 90o.
Sinusoidal response of RC circuits
When both resistance and capacitance are in a series
circuit, the phase angle between the applied voltage and
total current is between 0 and 90, depending on the
values of resistance and reactance.
VR VC

V R leads VS V C lags V S

R
C
VS

I leads V S
Impedance of series RC circuits
In a series RC circuit, the total impedance is the phasor
sum of R and XC.
R is plotted along the positive x-axis.
XC is plotted along the negative y-axis.
 XC 
  tan 1   R R
 R   
Z is the diagonal
XC XC
Z Z

It is convenient to reposition the

phasors into the impedance triangle.
Impedance of series RC circuits

Sketch the impedance triangle and show the

values for R = 1.2 kW and XC = 960 W.

Z 1.2 kW  +  0.96 kW 
2 2
R = 1.2 kW
 1.33 kW 
39o
0.96 kW XC =
  tan 1
1.2 kW Z = 1.33 kW 960 W
 39
Analysis of series RC circuits
Ohm’s law is applied to series RC circuits using Z,
V, and I.
V V
V  IZ I Z
Z I

Because I is the same everywhere in a series circuit,

you can obtain the voltages across different
components by multiplying the impedance of that
component by the current as shown in the following
example.
Analysis of series RC circuits

Assume the current in the previous example is 10 mArms.

Sketch the voltage phasor diagram. The impedance
triangle from the previous example is shown for reference.
The voltage phasor diagram can be found from Ohm’s
law. Multiply each impedance phasor by 10 mA.
R = 1.2 kW VR = 12 V

x 10 mA 
39o = 39o
XC = VC =
Z = 1.33 kW 960 W VS = 13.3 V 9.6 V
Variation of phase angle with frequency
Phasor diagrams that have reactance phasors can only
be drawn for a single frequency because X is a
function of frequency.
R
As frequency changes, 
Increasing f
3
2

the impedance triangle Z
1
3

for an RC circuit changes X f C3 3

as illustrated here Z 2

because XC decreases X f C2 2
Z 1
with increasing f. This
determines the frequency X f C1 1

response of RC circuits.
 Applications

For a given frequency, a series RC circuit can be used to

produce a phase lag by a specific amount between an
input voltage and an output by taking the output across
the capacitor. This circuit is also a basic low-pass filter, a
circuit that passes low frequencies and rejects all others.
V
R
VR Vout

Vin C Vout
f
(phase lag)
Vin
f

Vout Vin (phase lag)

 Applications

Reversing the components in the previous circuit produces

a circuit that is a basic lead network. This circuit is also a
basic high-pass filter, a circuit that passes high frequencies
and rejects all others. This filter passes high frequencies
down to a frequency called the cutoff frequency.
V
C Vout

(phase lead) Vin
Vin R Vout
Vout

VC Vin (phase lead)
Inductive Reactance and
Ohm’s Law
 The effective resistance of a coil in an AC
circuit is called its inductive reactance and
is given by
 XL = 2ƒL
 When ƒ is in Hz and L is in H, XL will be in ohms

 Ohm’s Law for the inductor

 ΔVrms = Irms XL
Inductors in an AC Circuit

 Consider an AC circuit
with a source and an
inductor
 The current in the
circuit is impeded by
the back emf of the
inductor
 The voltage across the
inductor always leads
the current by 90°
 Summary
Sinusoidal response of series RL circuits
When both resistance and inductance are in a series
circuit, the phase angle between the applied voltage and
total current is between 0 and 90, depending on the
values of resistance and reactance.
VR VL

V R lags VS VL lead s VS

R L
VS

I lags V S
 Summary
Impedance of series RL circuits
In a series RL circuit, the total impedance is the phasor
sum of R and jXL.
R is plotted along the positive x-axis.
XL is plotted along the positive y-axis (+j).
 XL 
  tan 1  
 R 
Z Z
Z is the diagonal
XL XL
 
R R

It is convenient to reposition the

phasors into the impedance triangle.
 Summary
Impedance of series RL circuits

Sketch the impedance triangle and show the

values for R = 1.2 kW and XL = 960 W.

Z 1.2 kW  +  0.96 kW 
2 2

 1.33 kW Z  1.33 kW 39

0.96 kW XL =
  tan 1
1.2 kW  960 W
 +39
R = 1.2 kW
 Summary
Analysis of series RL circuits
Ohm’s law is applied to series RL circuits using
phasor quantities of Z, V, and I.
V V
V  IZ I Z=
Z I

Because I is the same everywhere in a series circuit,

you can obtain the voltage phasors by simply
multiplying the impedance phasors by the current.
 Summary
Analysis of series RL circuits

Assume the current in the previous example is 10 mArms.

Sketch the voltage phasors. The impedance triangle from
the previous example is shown for reference.
The voltage phasors can be found from Ohm’s
law. Multiply each impedance phasor by 10 mA.
Z  1.33 kW 39 VS  13.3 V 39
x 10 mA
XL = = VL =
960 W 9.6 V
 

R = 1.2 kW VR = 12 V
 Summary
Variation of phase angle with frequency
Phasor diagrams that have reactance phasors can only
be drawn for a single frequency because X is a
function of frequency.
Increasing f
As frequency changes,
X
the impedance triangle Z 3
L3

for an RL circuit changes

as illustrated here Z X 2 L2

because XL increases with Z 1

X L1
increasing f. This
  3
determines the frequency  1
2

R
response of RL circuits.
 Summary
Applications

For a given frequency, a series RL circuit can be used to

produce a phase lead by a specific amount between an
input voltage and an output by taking the output across
the inductor. This circuit is also a basic high-pass filter, a
circuit that passes high frequencies and rejects all others.

R Vout
Vin
f Vout Vin
(phase lead)
Vin L Vout
f
 VR
 Summary
Applications

Reversing the components in the previous circuit

produces a circuit that is a basic lag network. This circuit
is also a basic low-pass filter, a circuit that passes low
frequencies and rejects all others.

L VL Vin
Vin
Vout
Vin R Vout
f
f (phase lag)

Vout
The RLC Series Circuit

 The resistor,
inductor, and
capacitor can be
combined in a
circuit
 The current in the
circuit is the same
at any time and
varies sinusoidally
with time
Current and Voltage Relationships in an
RLC Circuit

 The instantaneous
voltage across the
resistor is in phase with
the current
 The instantaneous
voltage across the
inductor leads the
current by 90°
 The instantaneous
voltage across the
capacitor lags the
current by 90°
Phasor Diagrams

 To account for the

different phases of the
voltage drops, vector
techniques are used
 Represent the voltage
across each element as
a rotating vector,
called a phasor
 The diagram is called a
phasor diagram
Phasor Diagram for RLC Series Circuit

 The voltage across the

resistor is on the +x
axis since it is in phase
with the current
 The voltage across the
inductor is on the +y
since it leads the
current by 90°
 The voltage across the
capacitor is on the –y
axis since it lags behind
the current by 90°
Phasor Diagram, cont

 The phasors are

added as vectors to
account for the
phase differences in
the voltages
 ΔVL and ΔVC are on
the same line and so
the net y
component is ΔVL -
ΔVC
ΔVmax From the Phasor
Diagram
 The voltages are not in phase, so they
cannot simply be added to get the
voltage across the combination of the
elements or the voltage source
Vmax  VR + (VL  VC ) 2
2

VL  VC
tan f 
VR
 f is the phase angle between the
current and the maximum voltage
Impedance of a Circuit

 The impedance, Z,
can also be
represented in a
phasor diagram

Z  R 2 + ( X L  X C )2
XL  XC
tan f 
R
Impedance and Ohm’s Law

 Ohm’s Law can be applied to the

impedance
 ΔVmax = Imax Z
Summary of Circuit Elements,
Impedance and Phase Angles
Problem Solving for AC
Circuits
 Calculate as many unknown quantities as
possible
 For example, find XL and XC
 Be careful of units -- use F, H, Ω

 Apply Ohm’s Law to the portion of the

circuit that is of interest
 Determine all the unknowns asked for in
the problem
Power in an AC Circuit

 No power losses are associated with

capacitors and pure inductors in an AC
circuit
 In a capacitor, during one-half of a cycle
energy is stored and during the other half
the energy is returned to the circuit
 In an inductor, the source does work
against the back emf of the inductor and
energy is stored in the inductor, but when
the current begins to decrease in the
circuit, the energy is returned to the
circuit
Power in an AC Circuit, cont

 The average power delivered by the

generator is converted to internal
energy in the resistor
 Pav = IrmsΔVR = IrmsΔVrms cos f
 cos f is called the power factor of the
circuit
 Phase shifts can be used to
maximize power outputs
Resonance in an AC Circuit

 Resonance occurs at
the frequency, ƒo,
where the current has
its maximum value
 To achieve maximum
current, the impedance
must have a minimum
value
 This occurs when XL = XC
1
ƒo 
2 LC