AC Circuits

Chapter 23
AC Circuits
Capacitive Reactance
Phasor Diagrams

Inductive Reactance

RCL Circuits

Resonance
Resistive Loads in AC Circuits
Ohms Law:
V Vrms
I I rms
R R
Vt V0 sin 2ft
Vt V0
I t sin 2ft I 0 sin 2ft
R R
R is constant does not depend on frequency
No phase difference between V and I
Capacitive Reactance
At the moment a capacitor is connected to a voltage
source:
I0
+
+
V C V=0
- -

Current is at its maximum

Voltage across capacitor is zero
Capacitive Reactance
After a long time, the capacitor is charged:

+
+
V C V
- -

Current is zero
Voltage is at its maximum (= supply voltage)
Capacitive Reactance
Now, we reverse the polarity of the applied voltage:

I
+
-
+
V -
C V
+ -

Current is at its maximum (but reversed)

Voltage hasnt changed yet
Capacitive Reactance
Time passes; the capacitor becomes fully charged:

- - -

V C V
+ + +

Current is zero
Voltage has reversed to match the applied polarity
Capacitive Reactance
Apply an AC voltage source:

an AC current is present in the circuit

a 90 phase difference is found between the voltage and
the current
Capacitive Reactance
We want to find a relationship between the voltage and
the current that we can use like Ohms Law for an
AC circuit with a capacitive load:

Vrms I rms X C
We call XC the capacitive reactance, and calculate it
as: 1
XC
2fC
units of capacitive reactance: ohms ()
Capacitive Reactance
A particular example:

1 1
XC 2.12
2fC 2 100 Hz 7.5 10 F
-4
Capacitive Reactance
voltage vs. time

50

40 Vt V0 sin 2ft
30

20

10
voltage, V

-10

-20

-30

-40

-50
0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03 0.035
time, s
Capacitive Reactance
Voltage and Current vs. Time Vt V0 sin 2ft

50
It I0 sin 2ft
2
40

30

20
voltage, current (V, A)

10

voltage
0
current

-10

-20

-30

-40

-50
0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03 0.035
time, s
Capacitive Reactance
Voltage, Current, and Power vs Time Vt V0 sin 2ft

60 I t I 0 sin 2 ft
2
Pt Vt I t
40
voltage, current, pow er (V, A, 10W )

20

voltage
0 current
power

-20

-40

-60
0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03 0.035
time, s
Capacitive Reactance
Power is zero each time either the voltage or current
is zero
Power is positive whenever V and I have the same
sign
Power is negative whenever V and I have opposite
signs
Power spends equal amounts of time being negative
and positive
Average power over time: zero
 1
Capacitive Reactance XC
2fC
The larger the capacitance, the smaller the capacitive
reactance

As frequency increases, reactance decreases

DC: capacitor is an open circuit and XC

high frequency: capacitor is a short circuit

and X C 0
Phasor Diagrams
Consider a vector which rotates counterclockwise
with an angular speed 2f :

This vector is called

a phasor. It is a
visualization tool.
Phasor Diagrams
For a resistive load: the current is always
proportional to the voltage
Phasor Diagrams
For a capacitive load: the current leads the voltage
by /2 (or 90)
Inductive Reactance
A coil or inductor also acts as a reactive load in an
AC circuit.

AC
Inductive Reactance
For a coil with a self-inductance L:
I
EMF L
t

AC
Inductive Reactance
As the current increases through zero, its time rate
of change is a maximum and so is the induced
EMF

I
EMF L
t
AC
Inductive Reactance
As the current reaches its maximum value, its rate of
change decreases to zero and so does the
induced EMF

I
EMF L
t
AC
Inductive Reactance
The voltage leads the current in the inductor by
/2 (or 90)

I
EMF L
t
AC
Inductive Reactance
The inductive reactance is the Ohms Law constant
of proportionality:
Vrms I rms X L

X L 2fL
AC

units of inductive reactance:

ohms ()
Inductive Reactance
The voltage-current relationship in an inductive load
in an AC circuit can be represented by a phasor
diagram:
Inductive Reactance
Mnemonic for remembering what leads what:

ELI the ICEman

EMF (voltage) EMF (voltage)

inductor (L) current (I)

capacitor (C)
current (I)
Inductive Reactance
X L 2fL
Larger inductance: larger reactance (more induced EMF to
oppose the applied AC voltage)

Higher frequency: larger impedance (higher frequency

means higher time rate of change of current, which means
more induced EMF to oppose the applied AC voltage)
RCL Circuit
Here is an AC circuit containing series-connected resistive,
capacitive, and inductive loads:
R

AC
C

The voltages across the loads at any instant are different, but a
common current is present.
RCL Circuit
The current is in phase with voltage
in the resistor.

VL

VR
The capacitor voltage trails the I

current; the inductor voltage leads

it.
VC
We want to calculate the entire
applied voltage from the generator.
RCL Circuit
We will add the voltage phasors as
vectors (which is what they are.)

We start out by adding the reactive

voltages (across the capacitor and the VR
inductor). VL - V C I

This is easy because those phasors are

opposite in direction. The resultants
magnitude is the difference of the two,
and its direction is that of the larger
one.
RCL Circuit
Now we use Pythagoras Theorem to add
the VL VC phasor to the VR phasor.
V = VR2 + (VL - VC)2

VR

VL - V C I
RCL Circuit
The current phasor is unaffected by our
addition of the voltage phasors.

It now makes an angle with the overall

applied voltage phasor.
RCL Circuit
We can make Ohms Law substitutions for the voltages:

VC IX C VL IX L VR IR
V VR VL VC I R IX L IX C
2 2 2 2 2

V I R I XL XC
2 2 2 2

V I R X L XC
2 2
RCL Circuit
V I R X L XC
Our result: 2 2

suggests an Ohms Law relationship for the combined loads in the

series RCL circuit:
V IZ I R X L X C
2 2

Z R X L XC
2 2

Z is called the impedance of the RCL circuit.

SI units: ohms ()
RCL Circuit -- Power
If the load is purely resistive, the
2
average power dissipated is P I rms R

We can use the phasor diagram to

relate R to Z trigonometrically:
VR I rms R R
cos
V I rms Z Z

R Z cos
power factor

P I rms R I rms Z cos

2 2
RCL Circuit -- Resonance
Series-connected inductor and capacitor:

Capacitor is initially charged.

When connection is made,

discharge current I flows +
through inductor. Induced EMF C L
opposes and limits discharge - I
current.
RCL Circuit -- Resonance

When capacitor is discharged,

current I slows and stops. +

Decrease of magnetic flux in

inductor induces EMF that C L
opposes the decrease (and I
continues the current I).

-
RCL Circuit -- Resonance

Induced current charges C with

the opposite polarity to its
original state. When the
capacitor is charged, the current -
I is stopped. C L
+
 RCL Circuit -- Resonance
Now the capacitor begins to
discharge through the inductor
again this time in the opposite
direction (new discharge current - -I
= -I). C L
+
Opposite induced EMF across
inductor again limits this new
discharge current.

The cycle continues.

RCL Circuit -- Resonance
Energy is alternately stored in
the capacitor (in the form of
the electrical potential energy
of separated charges) and in
the inductor (in its magnetic
field). When the magnetic C L
field collapses, it charges the
capacitor; when the capacitor
discharges, it builds the
magnetic field in the
inductor.
RCL Circuit -- Resonance
This LC oscillator or tuned tank circuit oscillates at a natural
or resonant frequency of

1
f res C
2 LC L
RCL Circuit -- Resonance
At the resonant frequency, how are the inductive and capacitive reactances related?

1
f res
2 LC
1 1 LC
XC
2f res C 2C C
2 LC
The reactances are equal to each other.
1 L L LC LC
X L 2f res L 2L XC
2 LC LC LC C
RCL Circuit -- Resonance
At the resonant frequency, when the inductive and capacitive
reactances are equal, what is the situation in the circuit?

VL
VR VR
I I

VC
RCL Circuit -- Resonance
At the resonant frequency, when the inductive and capacitive
reactances are equal, what is the impedance of the circuit?

Z R2 X L X C R2 R
2

At resonance, the circuits impedance is simply equal to its

resistance, and its voltage and current are in phase.

If the resistance is small, the current may be quite large.