AC power, RMS and 3-Phase circuits

http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/power.html[1/1/2014 10:47:56 AM]

RMS and power in single and three
phase AC circuits
Power in AC circuits, the use of RMS quantities and 3 phase AC including answers
to these questions:
What are RMS values?
How can you work out the power developed in an AC circuit?
How can you get 680 V dc from a 240 V ac supply just by rectifying?
When do you need three phases and why do you need four wires?
This page provides answers to these questions. This is a resource page from Physclips. It is a subsidiary page to the main AC circuits site. There are
separate pages on RC filters, integrators and differentiators, LC oscillations and motors and generators.
Power and RMS values
The power p converted in a resistor (ie the rate of conversion of electrical energy to heat)
is
p(t) =iv =v
2
/R =i
2
R.
We use lower case p(t) because this is the expression for the instantaneous power at time
t. Usually, we are interested in the mean power delivered, which is normally written P. P
is the total energy converted in one cycle, divided by the period T of the cycle, so:
In the last line, we have used a standard trigonometrical identity that cos(2A) =1 - 2 sin
2
A. Now the sinusoidal term averages to zero over any number
of complete cycles, so the integral is simple and we obtain
This last set of equations are useful because they are exactly those normally used for a resistor in DC electricity. However, one must remember that P is
the average power, and V =V
m
/2 and I=I
m
/2. Looking at the integral above, and dividing by R, we see that I is equal to the square root of the mean
value of i
2
, so I is called the root-mean-square or RMS value. Similarly, V =V
m
/2 ~0.71*V
m
is the RMS value of the voltage.
When talking of AC, RMS values are so commonly used that, unless otherwise stated, you may assume that RMS values are intended*. For instance,
normal domestic AC in Australia is 240 Volts AC with frequency 50 Hz. The RMS voltage is 240 volts, so the peak value V
m
=V.2 =340 volts. So the
active wire goes from +340 volts to -340 volts and back again 50 times per second. (This is the answer to the teaser question at the top of the page:
rectification of the 240 V mains can give both +340 Vdc and -340 Vdc.)
* An exception: manufacturers and sellers of HiFi equipment sometimes use peak values rather than RMS values, which makes the equipment seem
more powerful than it is.
Power in a resistor. In a resistor R, the peak power (achieved instantaneously 100 times per second for 50 Hz AC) is V
m
2
/R =i
m
2
*R. As discussed
above, the voltage, current and so the power pass through zero volts 100 times per second, so the average power is less than this. The average is exactly
2 2
AC power, RMS and 3-Phase circuits
http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/power.html[1/1/2014 10:47:56 AM]
as shown above: P =V
m
/2R =V /R.
Power in inductors and capacitors. In ideal inductors and capacitors, a sinusoidal current produces voltages that are respecively 90 ahead and behind
the phase of the current. So if i =I
m
sin wt, the voltages across the inductor and capacitor are V
m
cos wt and -V
m
cos wt respectively. Now the integral of
cos*sin over a whole number of cycles is zero. Consequently, ideal inductors and capacitors do not, on average, take power from the circuit.
Three phase AC
Single phase AC has the advantage that it only requires 2
wires. Its disadvantage is seen in the graph at the top of this
page: twice every cycle V goes to zero. If you connect a
phototransistor circuit to an oscilloscope, you will see that
fluorescent lights turn off 100 times per second (or 120, if
you are on 60 Hz supply). What if you need a more even
supply of electricity? One can store energy in capacitors, of
course, but with high power circuits this would require big,
expensive capacitors. What to do?
An AC generator may have more than one coil. If it has three
coils, mounted at relative angles of 120, then it will produce
three sinusoidal emfs with relative phases of 120, as shown
in the upper figure at right. The power delivered to a resistive
load by each of these is proportional to V
2
. The sum of the
three V
2
terms is a constant. We saw above that the average
of V
2
is half the peak value, so this constant is 1.5 times the
peak amplitude for any one circuit, as is shown in the lower
figure at right.
Do you need four wires? In principle, no. The sum of the
three V terms is zero so, provided that the loads on each
phase are identical, the currents drawn from the three lines
add to zero. In practice, the current in the neutral wire is
usually not quite zero. Further, it should be the same guage
as the other wires because, if one of the loads were to fail and
form an open circuit, the neutral would carry a current
similar to that in the remaining two loads.
The voltage (top) and square of the voltage (bottom) in the three active lines of 3 phase supply.
Go to the main AC circuits site,
RC filters, integrators and differentiators
LC oscillations, or to
Motors and generators.
J oe Wolfe / J .Wolfe@unsw.edu.au, phone 61- 2-9385 4954 (UT +10, +11 Oct-Mar).
School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
J oe's scientific home page
A list of educational links
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As of June 2005, relativity is 100 years old. Our contribution is Einstein
Light: relativity in brief... or in detail. It explains the key ideas in a
short multimedia presentation, which is supported by links to broader
and deeper explanations.
Physclips Home Site map for supporting pages
The Australian Learning and Teaching Council
AC power, RMS and 3-Phase circuits
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School of Physics - UNSW 2052
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