MICA PU COLLEGE, Mysuru Kiran Rao G

Alternating Current
Alternating Current:
The current which varies periodically with respect to time is called as alternating
current.

Advantages of AC:
 Electrical energy can be transmitted easily to long distance.
 AC can be stepped up or stepped down easily.

Cycle:
One complete set of positive and negative half cycle Positive
of an alternating current or voltage is known as a half
cycle. Cycle
Negative
half Cycle

Time Period:
One Cycle
It is the time taken by an AC to complete one cycle.
 SI unit of time period is second.

Frequency:
It is the number of AC cycles completed in one second.
 SI unit of Frequency is Hertz (Hz).

Instantaneous value of AC:

The value of alternating current or voltage at any instant of time is called the instantaneous value.

Peak Value (OR) Amplitude of AC (OR) Maximum Value of AC:

It is the maximum value of AC voltage or current attained in either half cycle.

Peak to Peak Value:

The peak to peak value of an AC is equal to twice the peak value.

Mention the expression for instantaneous or Peak value of alternating voltage.

Where

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V is the instantaneous value of alternating voltage.

Vo is the peak value of alternating voltage.
is the Angular Frequency
t is the time

Mention the expression for instantaneous or Peak value of alternating Current.

Where
I is the instantaneous value of alternating current.
Io is the peak value of alternating current.
is the Angular Frequency
t is the time

Mean value of AC (OR) Average value of AC:

It is the mean of the instantaneous values of alternating voltage or current taken over either half cycle.

Relation between mean value and peak value.

For Current

For Voltage

How is rms voltage of AC related to peak value of AC voltage?

√
Pure Resistor (OR) Ideal Resistor:
It is a resistor which is free from induction effects.

Derive an expression for the instantaneous current in an AC circuit with a pure resistor. Draw the phasor
diagram and mention the phase relation between current and voltage.
(OR)
Show that current and voltage are in phase in an AC circuit containing a pure resistor.
R
Phasor Diagram Phase Difference = 00
I
VR
I
V = Vm sin ω t
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In the circuit diagram R is the resistance of the resistor connected across an AC source.

The alternating potential difference across resistor is given by

Where

VO is the peak value of potential difference and

is the angular frequency.

Current in the circuit is given by

Substitute eqn (1) in eqn (2)

Where is the peak value of alternating current.

From eqn (1) and eqn (3) it is observed that the phase difference between the current and voltage is zero.

Graphical representation (wave form) of current and voltage in an AC circuit with a pure resistor.

Pure Inductor:
It is a coil of high inductance and negligible resistance.

Derive an expression for the instantaneous current in an AC circuit with a pure inductor. Draw the phasor
diagram and mention the phase relation between current and voltage.
(OR)
Show that voltage leads the current by 900 in AC circuit containing a pure inductor.

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L
Phasor Diagram Phase Difference = 900
I VL

V = Vm sin ω t IL

In the circuit diagram, L is the inductance of the inductor (coil) connected across an AC source.
The alternating potential difference across the inductor is given by

Where

VO is the peak value of potential difference and

is the angular frequency.

Let e be the e.m.f. induced in the coil. On applying Kirchhoff’s loop rule to the circuit we get
V+e=IR
V+e=0 (For pure inductor resistance R = 0)
We have
V =0

Substitute eqn (1) in eqn (2)

Integrating above equation with respect to time

∫ ∫

( )

( )

Where is the peak value of current

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From eqn (1) and eqn (4) it is observed that the voltage leads the current by 90 0.

Graphical representation (wave form) of current and voltage in an AC circuit with a pure inductor.

Inductive Reactance (XL):

It is the opposition offered by the inductor to the flow of alternating current flowing through it.

Where
is the angular frequency of AC.
f is the frequency of AC.
L is the self inductance.
 SI Unit of inductive reactance is Ω (ohm).

What is the reactance of an inductor in dc circuit?

Reactance is Zero for DC
f=0

XL = 0

When an alternating current is passed through a moving coil galvanometer, it shows no deflection. Why?
A moving coil galvanometer measures average value of current, which is zero for AC over every cycle, so
galvanometer shows no deflection.

Derive an expression for the instantaneous current in an AC circuit with a capacitor. Draw the phasor
diagram and mention the phase relation between current and voltage.
(OR)
Show that current lead the voltage by 900 in AC circuit containing a capacitor.

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Phasor Diagram Phase Difference = 900

I

VC
In the circuit diagram C is the capacitance of the capacitor connected across an AC source.
The alternating potential difference across the capacitor is given by

Where

VO is the peak value of potential difference and

is the angular frequency.

Let q be the charge on the capacitor at any time t. The instantaneous value of potential difference in terms
of capacitance is given by

On comparing eqn (1) and eqn (2)

Instantaneous current

( )
Where IO = is the peak value of current
From eqn (1) and eqn (4) it is observed that the current leads the voltage by 900.

Graphical representation (wave form) of current and voltage in an AC circuit with a capacitor.

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Capacitive Reactance (XC):

It is the opposition offered by the capacitor to the flow of alternating current flowing through it.

Where
is the angular frequency of AC.
f is the frequency of AC.
C is the capacitance of the capacitor.
 SI Unit of capacitive reactance is Ω (ohm).

Capacitors allow AC to flow through them and it block DC. Why?

For DC f = 0

So a capacitor does not allow DC to flow through it.

Distinguish between inductive reactance and capacitive reactance in an AC circuit.

Inductive reactance Capacitive reactance

It is the amount of opposition offered by the It is the amount of opposition offered by the
inductor to the alternating current flowing capacitor to the alternating current flowing
through it. through it.

It increases with increase of inductance (L) of It decreases with increase of capacitance (C)
the inductor. of the capacitor.
It increases with increase of frequency (f) of AC. It decreases with increase of frequency (f) of
AC

Distinguish between Resistance and Reactance.

Resistance Reactance
It is the opposition offered by the resistor to the It is the opposition offered by the inductor
alternating current flowing through it. or capacitor to the alternating current
flowing through it.
It does not depend on the frequency of AC. It depends on the frequency of AC.

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Impedance (Z):
It is the effective opposition offered by series LCR circuit to the flow AC current.

 SI unit of impedance is Ohm (Ω)

Derive the expression for resultant voltage, impedance, current and phase angle in series LCR circuit using
phasor diagram.

In the phasor diagram

VL is the voltage across the inductor,
VC is the voltage across the capacitor,
VR is the voltage across the resistor,
Assuming VL > VC Voltage across L is greater than voltage across C
(VL - VC) is the resultant voltage of VL and VC,
V is the resultant voltage of (VL - VC) and VR is the phase angle between V and I,
I is the current in the series LCR circuit.
To find magnitude of resultant voltage, impedance and current
From right angled triangle OCB
OB2 = OC2 + CB2
V2 = VR2 + (VL - VC)2 -------- (1)
We have

But
√

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√
To find the phase angle
From right angled triangle OBC

( )

Note:
 Alternate formula for
We have

( )

( )
 When XL = XC, then Z = R

This type of LCR circuit is called as Resistive circuit. In this case the phase difference between the voltage and
current is zero.
 When XL > XC, then

This type of LCR circuit is called as Inductive circuit. In this case the voltage leads the current by an angle .
 When XL < XC, then

This type of LCR circuit is called as Capacitive circuit. In this case the voltage lag the current by an angle .

Resonant Circuit:
When an alternating voltage of particular frequency is applied to series LCR circuit, the current in the circuit
becomes maximum. This LCR circuit is called resonant circuit.

Electrical Resonance (or) Resonance:

When an alternating voltage of particular frequency is applied to series LCR circuit, the current in the circuit
becomes maximum. This phenomenon is called electrical resonance.

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Resonant Frequency (fr):

When an alternating voltage of particular frequency is applied to series LCR circuit, the current in the circuit
becomes maximum. This particular frequency is called resonant frequency.
 SI unit of Resonant Frequency is Hertz (Hz).
Note
 At resonant frequency impedance of the LCR circuit is minimum.
 At resonant frequency current in the LCR circuit is maximum.

Current in the LCR circuit

Impedance of the LCR circuit

Mention the condition for electrical resonance (or) resonance in the series LCR circuit.
Inductive reactance = Capacitive reactance
XL = XC

Obtain the expression for resonant frequency

√
But

√
Note:
 Ac voltage supplied for domestic purpose in India is 220V.

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 AC frequency applied for domestic purpose in India is 50Hz.

 The reciprocal of the reactance is called as Susceptance.
 The reciprocal of the impedance is called as Admittance.
 SI unit for susceptance and admittance is mho or siemen or ohm-1.

Bandwidth:

The bandwidth is defined as the band of frequencies which lies on either side of
the resonant frequency where the current falls to times its maximum value.
√
 Bandwidth = f2 – f1

 SI unit of Bandwidth is Hertz (Hz).

Q – factor (or) Quality factor:

Q – factor is defined as the ratio of resonant frequency to the bandwidth.

Significance of Q – factor

It is the measure of sharpness of resonance curve.

Mention an expression for Q – factor of resonant circuit

Q – factor can be improved

 By decreasing resistance of the circuit.

 By decreasing capacitance of capacitor.

 By increasing the inductance of inductor.

Power:

Power is a rate at which electrical work is done. (OR) The rate at which electrical energy is dissipated.

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Power in an AC circuit:

It is the power dissipated in an ac circuit.

 Where φ is the phase difference between V and I

Power factor:

It is the cosine of the angle between the voltage and the current in an ac circuits.

Power factor = Cos φ

Power factor in pure resistive Power factor in pure inductive Power factor in pure capacitive
circuit circuit circuit
φ = 00 φ = 900 φ = 900
Cos 00 = 1 Cos 900 = 0 Cos 900 = 0
Power factor = 1 Power factor = 0 Power factor = 0

What is the maximum value of power factor?

The maximum value of power factor is 1.

1) The power factor of an AC circuit is 0.5. what is the phase angle between voltage and current in the
circuit?

Power factor = Cos φ = 0.5

φ = Cos-1 0.5 = 600.

2) The power factor of an AC circuit is 0.8. what is the phase angle between voltage and current in the
circuit?

Power factor = Cos φ = 0.8

φ = Cos-1 0.8 = 36.8690.

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Wattles current (or) Idle current

It is the current in the circuit for which the power dissipation is zero. (or) The current through a pure
inductor or capacitor is called wattles current.

Example: The current in a pure inductive circuit.

The current in a pure capacitive circuit.

Transformer:

Transformer is a device which is used to increase or decrease the alternating voltage.

 It increases the alternating voltage by decreasing current and vice versa.

 Transformer works on the principal of Mutual Induction.
 In transformer input frequency and output frequency are same.

Construction and working of transformer

Circuit Symbol
Construction Primary Coil

 A transformer consists of two coils namely VS

NP NS
VP
primary and secondary coil.

 This coils are wound on a laminated soft iron core.

 The input voltage is applied across the primary coil and the output voltage is obtained across the
secondary coil.

Working

 When an alternating current is passed through the primary coil, a varying magnetic flux is produced
around the primary coil.

 This varying magnetic flux links the secondary coil.

 As a result alternating emf of same frequency is induced across secondary.

 The magnitude of this emf depends on voltage across primary, number of turns in the primary and
secondary coils.

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Expression for the transformer

 VP is the voltage across the primary coil.
IP IS
 VS is the voltage across the secondary coil.
VP NS VS
NP
 NP is the number of turns in the primary coil.

 NS is the number of turns in the secondary coil.

 IP is the current in the primary coil.

 IS is the current in the secondary coil.

Voltage Ratio:
The ratio of voltage across the secondary to the voltage across the primary is known as voltage ratio of the
transformer.
If VP and VS are the voltage across the primary and secondary coil respectively then

Turns ratio:
The ratio of number of turns in the secondary to the number of turns in the primary is known as turns ratio
of the transformer.
If NP and NS are the number of turns in the primary and secondary coil respectively then

Current ratio:
The ratio of current in the primary to the current in the secondary is known as current ratio of the
transformer.
If IP and IS are the current in the primary and secondary coil respectively then

Step up transformer
If the output voltage is greater than input voltage, the transformer is called
step up transformer.
In step up transformers the number of turns in the secondary has more than
the number of turns than the primary coil.

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Step down transformer

If the output voltage is less than input voltage, the transformer is called
step down transformer.
In step down transformers the number of turns in the secondary has less than
the number of turns than the primary coil.

Differences between step up and step down transformers

Step up transformer Step down transformer

It is the transformer which increases the AC voltage It is the transformer which decreases the AC voltage
by decreasing the current. by increasing the current.
Output voltage is greater than the input voltage. Output voltage is less than the input voltage.
Output current is less than the input current. Output current is greater than the input current.
The turn ratio is greater than 1 The turn ratio is less than 1

Sources of energy losses in a transformer

 Loss due to heating
 Loss due to flux leakage
 Loss due to eddy current
 Loss due to hysteresis

Loss due to heating

When an alternating current is passed through the primary coil, the coil gets heated due to its resistance.
Thus some amount of energy is lost in the form of heat energy. This loss can be minimized by using thick
wire of high purity.

Loss due to flux leakage

In actual transformers all the flux produced by the primary coil does not link with the secondary coil. Thus
some amount of energy is wasted. This loss can be minimized by winding the coils one over the other.

Loss due to eddy current

Alternating magnetic flux induces eddy currents on the surface of the core. Due to these eddy currents,
energy is lost in the form of heat. This loss can be minimized by using laminated soft iron core.

Loss due to hysteresis

The alternating current flowing through the coils magnetizes and demagnetizes the iron core repeatedly.
During each cycle of magnetization some energy is lost in form of heat. This loss can be minimized by
selecting the material, which has low hysteresis loss.

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Ideal transformer:
Ideal transformer is one in which there is no power loss.

Efficiency of transformer
It is the ratio of output power and the input power in the transformer.

For ideal transformer η = 1 i.e. Efficiency is 100%

Why transformer cannot be used to step up Dc voltage?

Dc supply does not produce a changing magnetic flux in the primary and hence no emf is set up in the
secondary of the transformer.

Question bank
March 2014

1. How is rms voltage of AC related to peak value of AC voltage? (1M)

2. Explain the construction of transformer. Mention its principle. (3M)
3. Calculate resonant frequency and Q – factor of a series LCR circuit containing a pure inductor of
inductance 3H, capacitor of capacitance 27μF and resistor of resistance 7.4Ω (5M)

July 2014
1. Derive an expression for resonant frequency of series circuit containing inductor, capacitor and
resistor. (3M)
2. A pure inductor of 25mH is connected to a source of 220V and 50Hz. Find the inductive reactance,
rms value of current and peak current in the circuit. (5M)

March 2015
1. Show that voltage leads current when AC voltage applied to pure inductance. (3M)
2. A sinusoidal voltage of peak value 283V and frequency 50Hz is applied to a series LCR circuit in which
R = 3Ω, L = 25.48mH and C = 786μF. Find impedance of the circuit, The phase difference between the
voltage across the source and the current, the power factor. (5M)

July 2015

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1. What is the principle behind the working of a transformer? Mention any two sources of energy loss
in transformer. (3M)
2. A resistor of 100Ω, a pure inductance coil of L = 0.5H and capacitor are in series in a circuit containing
an AC source of 200V, 50Hz. In the circuit, current is ahead of the voltage by 30 0. Find the value of
the capacitance. (5M)
March 2016
1. What is a transformer? Mention two sources of energy loss in a transformer? (3M)
2. Calculate resonant frequency and Q – factor of a series LCR circuit containing a pure inductor of
inductance 4H, capacitor of capacitance 27μF and resistor of resistance 8.4Ω (5M)
July 2016
1. With a diagram, explain the working of a transformer. (3M)
2. An inductor and a bulb are connected in series to an AC source of 220V, 50Hz. A current of 11A flows
in the circuit and phase angle between voltage and current is radians. Calculate the impedance and
inductance of the circuit. (5M)
March 2017
1. What is a transformer? Mention two sources of energy loss in a transformer? (3M)
2. A source of alternating emf of 220V, 50Hz is connected in series with a resistance of 200Ω an
inductance of 100mH and a capacitance of 30μF. Does the current lead or lag the voltage and by
what angle? (5M)

July 2017
1. Mention the value of power factor of a pure capacitor. (1M)
2. A sinusoidal voltage of peak value 285V and frequency 50Hz is applied to a series LCR circuit in which
R = 5Ω, L = 28.5mH and C = 800μF. Find the resonant frequency and calculate impedance, current and
power dissipated at the resonance. (5M)

March 2018
1. If the peak value of AC current is 4.24A, what is its root mean square value (Irms)? (1M)
2. Arrive an expression for the impedance of a series LCR circuit using phasor diagram method and
hence write the expression for the current through the circuit. (5M)

July 2018
1. What is a wattles current? (1M)
2. A 20Ω resistor, 1.5H inductor and 35μF capacitor are connected in series with a 220V, 50Hz AC
supply. Calculate the impedance of the circuit and also find the current through the circuit. (5M)

March 2019

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1. Mention any three energy loss in a transformer. (3M)

2. Derive an expression for impedance of a series LCR circuit, where an AC voltage is applied to it. (5M)

July 2019
1. What is transformer? Mention any one sources of energy loss. (2M)
2. A sinusoidal voltage of peak value 283V and frequency 50Hz is applied to a series LCR circuit in which
R = 3Ω, L = 25.48mH and C = 796μF. Find impedance of the circuit, The phase difference between the
voltage across the source and the current, the power factor. (5M)

March 2020
1. How does capacitive reactance vary with frequency? (1M)
2. Mention any two sources of energy loss. (2M)
3. A series LCR circuit contains a pure inductor of inductance 5H, a capacitor of capacitance 20μF and a
resistor of resistance 40Ω. Find the resonant frequency, Q – factor and what is the impedance at
resonant condition? (5M)

May 2022
1. Mention any three sources of energy loss in a transformer. (3M)
2. Show that the current lags the voltage by in an AC circuit containing a pure inductor. Draw the
phasor diagram for it. (5M)

March 2023
1. The relation between peak value of current and rms value of current is (1M)
a) b) √ c) d)
√
2. Mention any two sources of energy loss in a transformer (2M)
3. A sinusoidal voltage of peak value 283V and frequency 50Hz is applied to a series LCR circuit in which
R = 3Ω, L = 25.48mH and C = 796μF. Find impedance of the circuit, The phase difference between the
voltage across the source and the current, the power factor. (5M)

July 2023
1. In case of a pure capacitor connected to an AC source, the phase difference between voltage and
current through the circuit is (1M)
0 0 0 0
a) 180 b) 90 c) 0 d) 45
2. What is a transformer? Mention its principle. (2M)
3. A series LCR circuit containing an inductor of 1.5H, a capacitor of 35μF and a resistor of 50Ω is
connected to ac source of 200V and 50Hz. Calculate impedance and power factor. (5M)

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