Electric Circuit Analysis 2020/2021 Doaa Hakim

POLYPHASE CIRCUITS
Up to this point, we have dealt with what we refer to as single-phase circuits. Now we extend
our analysis techniques to polyphase circuits or, more specifically, three-phase circuits (that
is, circuits containing three voltage sources that are one-third of a cycle apart in time).
Three-phase circuit is more advantageous and economical to generate and transmit electric
power in the polyphase mode than with single-phase systems. As a result, most electric
power is transmitted in polyphase circuits. In the United States the power system frequency
is 60 Hz, whereas in other parts of the world 50 Hz is common.
The generation of electric power in the polyphase mode is accomplished with an electric
generator, which converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. This mechanical energy
can be produced at a dam or hydroelectric facility.

Fig.(1) Power transmission lines

Power transmission lines, such as those shown in Fig. (1), are constructed to transport
electrical energy from the generating facilities to the loads.
As the name implies, three-phase circuits are those in which the forcing function is
a three-phase system of voltages. If the three sinusoidal voltages have the same magnitude
and frequency and each voltage is 120° out of phase with the other two, the voltages are said

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to be balanced. If the loads are such that the currents produced by the voltages are also
balanced, the entire circuit is referred to as a balanced three-phase circuit.

Fig. (2) Balanced three-phase voltages.

A balanced set of three-phase voltages can be represented in the frequency domain as shown
in Fig. (2), where we have assumed that their magnitudes are 120 V rms. From the figure we
note that

Van means the voltage at point a with respect to point n also, if in term of current Ian is used
to represent the current from a to n. The preceding phasor voltages can be expressed in the
time domain as:

These time functions are shown in fig. (2-b).

Finally, let us examine the instantaneous power generated by a three-phase system.
Assume that the voltages in Fig. 2 are:

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If the load is balanced, the currents produced by the sources are:

The instantaneous power produced by the system is:

Using the trigonometric identity,

So,

which can be written as

There exists a trigonometric identity that allows us to simplify the preceding expression. The
identity, which we will prove later using phasors, is

If we employ this identity, the expression for the power becomes

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 Three-Phase Connections:
By far the most important polyphase voltage source is the balanced three-phase source. This
source, as illustrated by Fig. 3, has the following properties. The phase voltages—that is,
the voltage from each line a, b, and c to the neutral n—are given by

Fig. 3 Balanced three-phase voltage source

The phasor diagram for these voltages is shown in Fig.3. The phase sequence of this set is
said to be abc (called positive phase sequence), meaning that Vbn lags Van by 120°. We will
standardize our notation so that we always label the voltages Van, Vbn, and Vcn and observe
them in the order abc. Furthermore, we will normally assume with no loss of generality that
Van = 0°.
An important property of the balanced voltage set is that

From the standpoint of the user who connects a load to the balanced three-phase voltage
source, it is not important how the voltages are generated. It is important to note, however,
that if the load currents generated by connecting a load to the power source shown
in Fig.3 are also balanced, there are two possible equivalent configurations for the load. The
equivalent load can be considered as being connected in either a wye (Y) or a delta (∆)
configuration. The balanced wye configuration is shown in Fig. 4-a and equivalently in
Fig.4-b. The delta configuration is shown in Fig. 5-a and equivalently in Fig. 5-b. Note that

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in the case of the delta connection, there is no neutral line. The actual function of the neutral
line in the wye connection will be examined, and it will be shown that in a balanced system
the neutral line carries no current and, for purposes of analysis, may be omitted. The wye
and delta connections each have their advantages. In the wye case, we have access to two
voltages, the line-to-line and line-to-neutral, and it provides a convenient place to connect to
ground for system protection. That is, it limits the magnitude of surge voltages. In the delta
case, this configuration stays in balance better when serving unbalanced loads, and it is
capable of trapping the third harmonic.

Fig. 4 Wye (Y)-connected loads.

Fig. 5 Delta (∆)-connected loads.

Since the source and the load can each be connected in either Y or ∆, three-phase balanced
circuits can be connected Y–Y, Y– ∆, ∆ –Y, or ∆ – ∆.

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 Source/Load Connections
 BALANCED WYE–WYE CONNECTION: Suppose now that both the
source and load are connected in a wye, as shown in Fig. 6. The phase voltages
with positive phase sequence are

Fig.6 Balanced three-phase

wye–wye connection.

where Vp , the phase voltage, is the magnitude of the phasor voltage from the
neutral to any line. The line-to-line voltages or, simply, line voltages can be
calculated using KVL; for example,

The phasor addition is shown in Fig. 7-a. In a similar manner, we obtain the set of
line-to-line voltages as

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Fig. 7 Phasor representation of phase and line voltages in a balanced wye–wye system.

All the line voltages together with the phase voltages are shown in Fig. 7-b. We will denote
the magnitude of the line voltages as VL , and therefore, for a balanced system,

Hence, in a wye-connected system, the line voltage is equal to √3 times the phase voltage.
As shown in Fig. 8, the line current for the a phase is:

where Ib and Ic have the same magnitude but lag Ia by 120° and 240°, respectively. The
neutral current In is then:

Since there is no current in the neutral, this conductor could contain any impedance or it
could be an open or a short circuit, without changing the results found previously. As
illustrated by the wye–wye connection in Fig. 6, the current in the line connecting the source
to the load is the same as the phase current flowing through the impedance ZY. Therefore, in
a wye–wye connection,

where IL is the magnitude of the line current and I Y is the magnitude of the current in a
wye-connected load. Although we have a three-phase system composed of three sources and

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three loads, we can analyze a single phase and use the phase sequence to obtain the voltages
and currents in the other phases. This is, of course, a direct result of the balanced condition.
We may even have impedances present in the lines; however, as long as the system remains
balanced, we need analyze only one phase. If the line impedances in lines a, b, and c are
equal, the system will be balanced. Recall that the balance of the system is unaffected by
whatever appears in the neutral line, and since the neutral line impedance is arbitrary, we
assume that it is zero (i.e., a short circuit).
Example: An abc-sequence three-phase voltage source connected in a balanced wye has a
line voltage of Vab = 208 −30° V rms. We wish to determine the phase voltages.

Example: A three-phase wye-connected load is supplied by an abc-sequence balanced three-

phase wye-connected source with a phase voltage of 120 Vrms. If the line impedance and
load impedance per phase are 1 + j1 Ω and 20 + j10 Ω, respectively, we wish to determine
the value of the line currents and the load voltages.

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H.W. An abc-phase-sequence three-phase voltage source connected in a balanced wye has

a line voltage of Vab = 208 0 ° V rms. Determine the phase voltages of the source.
H.W. A three-phase wye-connected load is supplied by an abc-sequence balanced three-
phase wye-connected source through a transmission line with an impedance of 1 + j1 Ω per
phase. The load impedance is 8 + j3 Ω per phase. If the load voltage for the a phase is 104.02
26.6 ° V rms (i.e., Vp = 104.02 Vrms at the load end) , determine the phase voltages of the
source.

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