Pure Resistive AC Circuit

The circuit containing only a pure resistance of R ohms in the AC circuit is known as Pure Resistive AC
Circuit. The presence of inductance and capacitance does not exist in a purely resistive circuit. The
Alternating current and voltage both move forward as well as backwards in both the direction of the
circuit. Hence, the Alternating current and voltage follows a shape of Sine wave or known as the
sinusoidal waveform.

In the pure resistive circuit, the power is dissipated by the resistors and the phase of the voltage and
current remains same i.e., both the voltage and current reach their maximum value at the same time. The
resistor is the passive device which neither produce nor consume electric power. It converts the electrical
energy into heat.

Explanation of Resistive Circuit

In an AC circuit, the ratio of voltage to current depends upon the supply frequency, phase angle, and
phase difference. In an AC resistive circuit, the value of resistance of the resistor will be same irrespective
of the supply frequency.

Let the alternating voltage applied across the circuit be given by the equation

Then the instantaneous value of current flowing through the resistor shown in the figure below will be

Phase Angle and Waveform of Resistive Circuit

From equation (1) and (3), it is clear that there is no phase difference between applied voltage and the
current flowing through a purely resistive circuit, the i.e. phase angle between voltage and current is zero.
Hence, in an AC circuit containing pure resistance, current is in phase with the voltage as shown in the
waveform figure below.

Power in Pure Resistive Circuit

The three colors red, blue and pink shown in the power curve or the waveform indicate the curve for
current, voltage and power respectively. From the phasor diagram, it is clear that the current and voltage
are in phase with each other that means the value of current and voltage attains its peak at the same
instant of time, and the power curve is always positive for all the values of current and voltage.

The value of power will be given by

Where,

1
 P – average power
 Vr.m.s – root mean square value of supply voltage
 Ir.m.s – root mean square value of the current
 Hence, the power in a pure resistive circuit is given by

The voltage and the current in the pure resistive circuit are in phase with each other having no phase
difference with phase angle zero. The alternating quantity reaches their peak value at the interval of the
same time period that is the rise and fall of the voltage and current occurs at the same time.

Pure inductive Circuit

The circuit which contains only inductance (L) and not any other quantities like resistance and
capacitance in the Circuit is called a Pure inductive circuit. In this type of circuit, the current lags behind
the voltage by an angle of 90 degrees. The Circuit containing pure inductance is shown below.

The inductor is a type of coil which reserves electrical energy in the magnetic field when the current flow
through it. The inductor is made up of wire which is wound in the form of a coil. When the current flow
through inductor changes then time-varying magnetic field causes emf which obstruct the flow of
current.The inductance is measured in Henry.The opposition of flow of current is known as the inductive
reactance.

Explanation and Derivation of Inductive Circuit

Circuit Diagram of pure Inductive Circuit

XL = ω L is the opposition offered to the flow of alternating current by a pure inductance and is called
inductive reactance.

Therefore,

Substituting this value in Im from the equation (5) and putting it in equation (4) we will get

2
Phasor Diagram and Power Curve of Inductive Circuit
The current in the pure inductive AC circuit lags the voltage by 90 degrees. The waveform, power curve
and phasor diagram of a purely inductive circuit is shown below

The voltage, current and power waveform are shown in blue, red and pink colour respectively. When the
value of voltage and current are at its peak as a positive value, the power is also positive and similarly,
when the voltage and current give negative waveform the power will also become negative. This is
because of the phase difference between voltage and current.

When the voltage drops, the value of the current changes. When the value of current is at its maximum or
peak value of the voltage at that instance of time will be zero, and therefore, the voltage and current are
out of phase with each other by an angle of 90 degrees.

The phasor diagram is also shown on the left-hand side of the waveform where current (Im) lag voltage
(Vm) by an angle of π/2.

Power in Pure Inductive Circuit

Instantaneous power in the inductive circuit is given by
P=0

Hence, the average power consumed in a purely inductive circuit is zero.

The average power in one alteration, i.e., in a half cycle is zero, as the negative and positive loop is under
power curve is the same.

In the purely inductive circuit, during the first quarter cycle, the power supplied by the source, is stored in
the magnetic field set up around the coil. In the next quarter cycle, the magnetic field diminishes and the
power that was stored in the first quarter cycle is returned to the source. This process continues in every
cycle, and thus, no power is consumed in the circuit.

Pure Capacitor Circuit

The circuit containing only a pure capacitor of capacitance C farads is known as a Pure Capacitor
Circuit.The capacitors stores electrical power in the electric field.Their effect is known as the
capacitance. It is also called the condenser. The capacitor consists two conductive plates which are
separated by the dielectric medium. The dielectric material is made up of glass, paper, mica, oxide layers,
etc. In pure AC capacitor Circuit, the current leads the voltage by an angle of 90 degrees.

When the voltage is applied across the capacitor, then the electric field is developed across the plates of
the capacitor and no current flow between them. If the variable voltage source is applied across the
capacitor plates then the ongoing current flow through the source due to the charging and discharging of
the capacitor.

Explanation and derivation of Capacitor Circuit

A capacitor consists of two insulating plates which are separated by a dielectric medium. It stores energy
in electrical form. The capacitor works as a storage device, and it gets charged when the supply in ON

3
and gets discharged when the supply is OFF. If it is connected to the direct supply, it gets charged equal
to the value of the applied voltage.

Circuit Diagram of pure Capacitor Circuit

Xc = 1/ωC is the opposition offered to the flow of alternating current by a pure capacitor and is
called Capacitive Reactance.

The value of maximum current Im will be given as

Power in Pure Capacitor Circuit

P=0

In the first quarter cycle, the power which is supplied by the source is stored in the electric field set up
between the capacitor plates. In the another or next quarter cycle, the electric field diminishes, and thus
the power stored in the field is returned to the source. This process is repeated continuously and,
therefore, no power is consumed by the Capacitor circuit.

RL Series Circuit
A circuit that contains a pure resistance R ohms connected in series with a coil having pure inductance of
L (Henry) is known as R L Series Circuit. When an AC supply voltage V is applied the current, I flows in
the circuit. IR and IL will be the current flowing in the resistor and inductor respectively, but the amount of
current flowing through both the elements will be same as they are connected in series with each other.
The circuit diagram of RL Series Circuit is shown below

4
 Where,

 VR – voltage across the resistor R

 VL – voltage across the inductor L
 V – Total voltage of the circuit

Phasor Diagram of the RL Series Circuit

The phasor diagram of the RL Series circuit is shown below

Steps to draw the Phasor Diagram of RL Series Circuit

The following steps are given below which are followed to draw the phasor diagram step by step.

 Current I is taken as a reference.

 The Voltage drop across the resistance VR = IR is drawn in phase with the current I.
 The voltage drop across the inductive reactance VL =IXL is drawn ahead of the current I. As the current
lags voltage by an angle of 90 degrees in the pure Inductive circuit.
 The vector sum of the two voltages drops VR and VL is equal to the applied voltage V.

Now,

In right angle triangle OAB

VR = IR and VL = IXL where XL = 2πfL

Where,

Z is the total opposition offered to the flow of alternating current by an RL Series circuit and is called
impedance of the circuit. It is measured in ohms (Ω).

5
Phase Angle
In RL Series Circuit the current lags the voltage by 90-degree angle known as phase angle. It is given by
the equation

Power in R L Series Circuit

Where cosϕ is called the power factor of the circuit.

The power factor is defined as the ratio of resistance to the impedance of an AC Circuit.

Putting the value of V and cosϕ from the equation (4) the value of power will be

From the equation (5) it can be concluded that the inductor does not consume any power in the circuit.

RC Series Circuit
A circuit that contains pure resistance R ohms connected in series with a pure capacitor of capacitance C
farads is known as RC Series Circuit. A sinusoidal voltage is applied to and current I flows through the
resistance (R) and the capacitance (C) of the circuit.The RC Series circuit is shown in the figure below

6
 Where,

 VR – voltage across the resistance R

 VC – voltage across the capacitor C
 V – total voltage across the RC Series circuit

Phasor Diagram of RC Series Circuit

The phasor diagram of the RC Series circuit is shown below

Steps to draw a Phasor Diagram

The following steps are used to draw the phasor diagram of RC Series circuit

 Take the current I (r.m.s value) as a reference vector

 Voltage drop in resistance VR = IR is taken in phase with the current vector
 Voltage drop in capacitive reactance VC = IXC is drawn 90 degrees behind the current vector, as current
leads voltage by 90 degrees in pure capacitive circuit)
 The vector sum of the two voltage drops is equal to the applied voltage V (r.m.s value).

Now, VR = IR and VC = IXC

Where, XC = I/2πfC

7
In right triangle OAB

Where,

Z is the total opposition offered to the flow of alternating current by an RC Series circuit and is called
impedance of the circuit. It is measured in ohms (Ω).

Phase angle
From the phasor diagram shown above it is clear that the current in the circuit leads the applied voltage
by an angle ϕ and this angle is called the phase angle.

Power in RC Series Circuit

The Average power consumed in the circuit over a complete cycle is given by

8
Where, cosϕ is called the power factor of the circuit.

Putting the value of V and cosϕ from the equation (3) the value of power will be

From the equation (4) it is clear that the power is actually consumed by the resistance only and the
capacitor does not consumes any power in the circuit.

RLC Series Circuit

The RLC Series Circuit is defined as when a pure resistance of R ohms, a pure inductance of L Henry
and a pure capacitance of C farads are connected together in series combination with each other. As all
the three elements are connected in series so, the current flowing in each element of the circuit will be
same as the total current I flowing in the circuit.

The RLC Circuit is shown below

In the RLC Series Circuit

XL = 2πfL and XC = 1/2πfC

When the AC voltage is applied through the RLC Series Circuit the resulting current I flows through the
circuit, and thus the voltage across each element will be

9
 VR = IR that is the voltage across the resistance R and is in phase with the current I.
 VL = IXL that is the voltage across the inductance L and it leads the current I by an angle of 90 degrees.
 VC = IXC that is the voltage across the capacitor C and it lags the current I by an angle of 90 degrees.

Phasor Diagram of RLC Series Circuit

The phasor diagram of the RLC Series Circuit when the circuit is acting as an inductive circuit that means
(VL>VC) is shown below and if (VL< VC) the circuit will behave as a capacitive circuit.

Steps to draw the Phasor Diagram of the RLC Series Circuit

 Take current I as the reference as shown in the figure above

 The voltage across the inductor L that is VL is drawn leads the current I by a 90-degree angle.
 The voltage across the capacitor c that is Vc is drawn lagging the current I by a 90 degree angle because
in capacitive load the current leads the voltage by an angle of 90 degrees.
 The two vector VL and VC are opposite to each other.

Where,

It is the total opposition offered to the flow of current by an RLC Circuit and is known as Impedance of the
circuit.

Power in RLC Series Circuit

The product of voltage and current is defined as power.

10
 Where cosϕ is the power factor of the circuit and is expressed as

The three cases of RLC Series Circuit

 When XL > XC, the phase angle ϕ is positive. The circuit behaves as a RL series circuit in which the
current lags behind the applied voltage and the power factor is lagging.
 When XL < XC, the phase angle ϕ is negative, and the circuit acts as a series RC circuit in which the
current leads the voltage by 90 degrees.
 When XL = XC, the phase angle ϕ is zero, as a result, the circuit behaves like a purely resistive circuit. In
this type of circuit, the current and voltage are in phase with each other. The value of power factor is
unity.

Impedance Triangle of RLC Series Circuit

When the quantities of the phasor diagram are divided by the common factor I then the right angle
triangle is obtained known as impedance triangle. The impedance triangle of the RL series circuit, when
(XL > XC) is shown below

If the inductive reactance is greater than the capacitive reactance than the circuit reactance is inductive
giving a lagging phase angle.

Impedance triangle is shown below when the circuit acts as a RC series circuit (X L< XC)

When the capacitive reactance is greater than the inductive reactance the overall circuit reactance acts
as a capacitive and the phase angle will be leading.
Applications of RLC Series Circuit

11
 The following are the application of the RLC circuit

 It acts as a variable tuned circuit

 It acts as a low pass, high pass, band pass, band stop filters depending upon the type of frequency.
 The Circuit also works as an oscillator
 Voltage multiplier and pulse discharge circuit

Power Triangle
Power Triangle is the representation of a right angle triangle showing the relation between active power,
reactive power and apparent power. When each component of the current that is the active component
(Icosϕ) or the reactive component (Isinϕ) is multiplied by the voltage V, a power triangle is obtained
shown in the figure below

The power which is actually consumed or utilized in an AC Circuit is called True power or Active
Power or real power. It is measured in kilowatt (kW) or MW. The power which flows back and forth that
means it moves in both the direction in the circuit or react upon it, is called Reactive Power. The reactive
power is measured in kilovolt-ampere reactive (kVAR) or MVAR. The product of root mean square (RMS)
value of voltage and current is known as Apparent Power. This power is measured in KVA or MVA.

The following point shows the relationship between the following quantities and is explained by graphical
representation called Power Triangle shown above.

 When an active component of current is multiplied by the circuit voltage V, it results in active power.it is
this power which produces torque in the motor, heat in heater, etc. This power is measured by the
wattmeter.
 When the reactive component of the current is multiplied by the circuit voltage, it gives reactive power.
This power determines the power factor, and it flows back and froth in the circuit.
 When the circuit current is multiplied by the circuit voltage, it results in apparent power.
 From the power triangle shown above the power, the factor may be determined by taking the ratio of
true power to the apparent power.

As we know simply power means the product of voltage and current but in AC circuit except pure resistive
circuit there is usually a phase difference between voltage and current and thus VI does not give real or
true power in the circuit.

Active, Reactive and Apparent Power

Active Power

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 Definition: The power which is actually consumed or utilized in an AC Circuit is called True power or
Active Power or real power. It is measured in kilo watt (kW) or MW. It is the actual outcomes of the
electrical system which runs the electric circuits or load.

Reactive Power
Definition: The power which flows back and froth that mean it moves in both the direction in the circuit or
react upon itself, is called Reactive Power.The reactive power is measured in kilo volt ampere reactive
(kVAR) or MVAR.

Apparent Power
Definition: The product of root mean square (RMS) value of voltage and current is known as Apparent
Power. This power is measured in kVA or MVA.

It has been seen that the power is consumed only in resistance. A pure inductor and a pure capacitor do
not consume any power, since in a half cycle whatever power is received from the source by these
components, the same power is returned to the source. This power which returns and flows in both the
direction in the circuit is called Reactive power. This reactive power does not perform any useful work in
the circuit.

In the pure resistive circuit, the current is in phase with the applied voltage, whereas in pure inductive and
capacitive circuit the current is 90 degrees out of phase. i.e If the inductive load is connected in the circuit
the current lags voltage by 90 degrees and if the capacitive load is connected the current leads the
voltage by 90 degrees.

Hence, from the above all discussion, it is concluded that the current in phase with the voltage produces
true or active power, whereas, the current 90 degrees out of phase with the voltage contributes to
reactive power in the circuit.

Therefore,

 True power = voltage x current in phase with the voltage

 Reactive power = voltage x current out of phase with the voltage

The phasor diagram for an inductive circuit is shown below

Taking voltage V as reference, the current I lags behind the voltage V by an angle ϕ. The current I is
divided into two components

13
 I Cos ϕ in phase with the voltage V
 I Sin ϕ which is 90 degrees out of phase with the voltage V

Therefore, the following expression shown below gives the active, reactive and apparent power
respectively

 Active power P = V x I cosϕ = V I cosϕ

 Reactive power Pr or Q = V x I sinϕ = V I sinϕ
 Apparent power Pa or S = V x I = VI

Active component of the current

The current component which is in phase with the circuit voltage and contributes to the active or true
power of the circuit is called active component or wattfull component or in-phase component of the
current.

Reactive component of the current

The current component which is in quadrature or 90 degrees out of phase to the circuit voltage and
contributes to the reactive power of the circuit is called reactive component of the current.

Difference Between Active & Reactive Power

The most significant difference between the active and reactive power is that the active power is the
actual power which is dissipated in the circuit. Whereas, the reactive power is the useless power which
only flows between the source and load. The other differences between the active and reactive power are
explained below in the comparison chart.

The active, apparent and real power induces in the circuit only when their current lags behind the applied
voltage by an angle of Φ. The right-angled triangle shown below shows the relation between the active,
reactive and apparent power.

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Where, S – apparent power
Q – reactive power
P – Active power

Comparison Chart
Basis for
Active Power Reactive Power
Comparison

Definition The active power is The power which

the real power which moves back and froth
is dissipated in the between the load and
circuit. source such type of
power is known as the
reactive power

Formula

Measuring Watts VAR

Unit

Represented P Q
By

Causes Produces heat in Measures the power

heater, light in lamps factor of the circuit.
and torque in motor.

Measuring Wattmeter VAR Meter

Instrument

Definition of Active Power

The power which is dissipated or do the useful work in the circuit is known as the active power. It is
measured in watts or megawatts. The active power is denoted by the capital alphabet P. The average
value of power in the circuit is given by the expression.

15
 The active power derives the circuit and load.

Definition of Reactive Power

The reactive power moves between the source and load of the circuit. This power is not doing any useful
works on the load. Q represents the reactive power, and it is measured in VAR. The reactive power is
stored in the circuit, and it is discharged by the induction motor, transformer or by solenoids.

Key Differences between Active and Reactive Power

 The active power is the real power consumes by the load. Whereas, the reactive power is the useless
power.
 The active power is the product of the voltage, current and the cosine of the angle between them.
Whereas, the reactive power is the product of voltage and current and the sine of the angle between
them.
 The active power is the real power, and it is measured in watts. While the reactive power is measured in
VAR.
 The letter P represents the Active power, and the Q represents the reactive power.
 The torque that develops in the motor, the heat dissipated in the heater and the light that emit through the
lamps all these produces because of the active power. The reactive power determines the power factor of
the circuit.
 The wattmeter measures the active power, and the VAR meter is used for measuring the apparent power.

Conclusion
The active power does the useful work in the circuit. And the reactive power merely flows in the circuit
without doing any useful work.

How Power of the AC circuit depends on Power Factor?

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The power factor determines the total useful power flows in the circuit. For understanding, the role of
power factor in the ac circuit consider the three conditions.

AC Power in a Purely Resistive Circuit

The resistor is an electrical component which consumed the electrical power of the ac

circuit.

In a purely resistive circuit, the current flows through the resistor is in phase with the supply voltage, i.e.,
the waves form of the voltage and current is in phase with each other. The zero-degree phase difference
occurs between the waveform of voltage and current.

AC power in a Purely Inductive Circuit

In the purely inductive circuit, the value of voltage and current are not in phase with each other.

17
The voltage and current rise and fall together at the phase shift of 90º. The expression gives the power of

the purely inductive circuit.

The above equation shows that the inductor neither consumes nor dissipates any electrical power.

AC Power in a Purely Capacitive Circuit

In the purely capacitive ac circuit, the waveform of voltage and current are out of phase to each other.

The current of the circuit is leading with their voltage

by an angle of 90º. In spite of dissipating the power the capacitor stores the electrical energy.

Power Factor
The power factor is defined as the ratio of the active power (P) and volt-amperes. The active power is the
real power which is assumed in an AC circuit, whereas volt-amperes is the apparent power which is
produced in the circuit when the waves of voltage or current are not in phase.

18
 For sinusoidal waveforms, the power factor is the cosine of the
angle (phase angle) between voltage and current.

Equation (1) shows that the current is affected by the power

factor. Hence, for a given power P by the load, the current I, taken by the load varies inversely as the load
power factor cosΦ. Thus, a given load takes more current at a low power factor than it does at a high
power factor.

Disadvantages of low power factor

The undesirable effect of operating a low load at a low power factor is due to the large current required for
a low power factor. The important disadvantages of low power factor are

 Higher current is required by the equipment, due to which the economic cost of the equipment is
increased.
 At low power factor, the current is high which gives rise to high copper losses in the system and therefore
the efficiency of the system is reduced.
 Higher current produced a large voltage drop in the apparatus. This results in the poor voltage regulation.

Since both the capital and running cost are increased, the operation of the system at low power factor
(whether it is lagging or leading) is uneconomical from the supplier’s point of view.

Causes of Low power factor

The usual reason for the low power factor is because of the inductive load. The current in the inductive
load lag behind the voltage. The power factor is therefore lagging. The important inductive loads
responsible for the low power factor are the three-phase induction motors (which operate at a 0.8 lagging
power factor), transformer, lamps and welding equipment operate at low lagging power factors. Power
factor improvement methods are used for improving the value of power factor in a power system.

Phasor Method for Solving Parallel Circuits

For solving Parallel Circuits, a number of branches are connected in parallel. Each branch
contains a number of components like resistance, inductance and capacitance forming a series
circuit. Each branch of the circuit is analysed separately as a series circuit and after that, the
effects of each branch are combined together. For circuit calculations, the magnitude and phase
angle of current and voltage is taken into consideration.

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 The magnitudes and phase angle voltages and currents are taken into consideration while solving
the circuit. There are mainly three methods of solving the parallel AC circuits. They are as
follows

 Phasor Method or Vector Method

 Admittance Method
 Method of Phasor algebra or Symbolic method or J method

The method which yields quick result is applied. In this article, the Phasor Method is explained
in detail.

Steps to Solve Parallel Circuits By Phasor Method

Consider the circuit diagram below to solve the circuit step by step.

Step 1 – Draw the

circuit diagram as per the given problem. As we are considering the above circuit as an example.

Here, two branches connected in parallel are taken into consideration. One branch contains
resistance and inductance in series. The second branch consists of resistance and capacitance in
series. The supply voltage is V volts.

Step 2 – Find the impedance of each branch of the circuit separately, i.e.

20
Where, X = 2πf
L1 L1

Where, X = I/2πf
C2 C2

Step 3 – Determine the magnitude of current and phase angle with the voltage in each branch.

Here,

ϕ is lagging this means it is for inductive load and ϕ leading as it is for the capacitive load.
1 2

Step 4 – Draw the phasor diagram taking voltage as the reference. Represent the various branch
current on it as shown in the phasor diagram below.

21
Step 5 – Now, find the phasor sum of the branch currents by the methods of components.

And therefore, current I will be

Step 6 – Find the phase angle ϕ between the total current I and the circuit voltage V.

Here angle ϕ will be lagging as I is negative

yy

Power factor of the circuit will be Cosϕ or

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