CHAPTER 11

AC Power Analysis
Introduction
Power analysis is of paramount importance;
power is the most important quantity.
Instantaneous and Average power
The instantaneous power (in watts) is the power
at any instant of time
p (t )  v(t )i (t )
1
Let the voltage and current at the terminals in the figure be
v(t )  Vm cost   v 
i (t )  I m cost   i 
p(t )  v(t )i (t )  Vm I m cost   i  cost   v 
1
cos A cos B  cos A  B   cos A  B 
2
1 1
p(t )  Vm I m cos v   i   Vm I m cos2t   v   i 
2 2
constant or time sinusoid term which
independent frequency is 2
p(t) is positive  power is absorbed by the circuit
p(t) is negative  power is absorbed by source  in case of L and C
The average power is the average of the instantaneous
power over one period 2
 T
1
P   p (t )dt
T 0
T T
1 1 1 1
P   Vm I m cos v   i dt   Vm I m cos2t   v   i dt
T 02 T 02
T T
1 1 1 1
P  Vm I m cos v   i   dt  Vm I m  cos2t   v   i dt
2 T 0 2 T 0
1
P  Vm I m cos v   i 
2

p(t)  v(t), i(t) in time domain

P  voltage and current can be in time domain or frequency domain

Find P from voltage and current in frequency domain

3
 1  1 1
VI  Vm I m  v   i  Vm I m cos v   i   j sin v   i 
2 2 2
1
  1
P  Re VI   Vm I m cos v   i 
2 2
1 1 2 1 2
If v = i  pure R 
2
P  Vm I m  I m R  I R; I  I I
2 2 2
1
If v - i = +/- 90  pure reactive  P  Vm I m cos 90   0
2

A resistive load (R) absorbs power at all times, while

reactive load (L or C) absorbs zero average power

4
Example 11.1 Give that v(t )  120 cos(377t  45 )V
and i(t)  10 cos(377t  10 )A find the instantaneous
power and the average power absorbed by the passive
linear network of fig 11.1
Solution
The instantaneous power is given by
 
p  vi  1200 cos(377t  45 ) cos(377t  10 )
Applying the trigonometric identity
1
cos A cos B  [cos( A  B)  cos( A  B)]
2
5
 gives
 
p  600[cos(754t  35 )  cos 55 ]
or
p(t )  344.2  600 cos(754t  35 )W
The average power is
1 1
P  Vm I m cos( v   i )  120(10) cos[45  (10 )]
 

2 2 
 600 cos 55  344.2W

which is the part of p(t) above.

6
 Example 11.2 Calculate the average power absorbed by an
impedance Z  30  j 70 when a voltage V  1200
is applied across it.
Solution The current though the impedance is

V 1200 1200 
I   
 1.57666.8 A
Z 30  j 70 76.16  66.8
The average power is

1 1
P  Vm I m cos( v   i )  (120)(1.576) cos(0  66.8 )  37.24W
2 2
7
Example 11.3 For the circuit find the average power supplied
by the source and the average power by the resistor.
i 4

 +
530 V -  j 2

Solution The current is given by

530 530 
I  
 1.11856.57 A
4  j 2 4.472  26.57
8
The average power supplied by the voltage source is
1
P  (5)(1.118) cos(30  56.57 )  2.5W
2
The current through the resistor is
I R  I  1.11856.57 A
and the voltage across it is
VR  4I R  4.47256.57V
The average power absorbed by the resistor is

1
P  (4.472)(1.118)  2.5W
2
9
Example 11.4 Determine the power generated each source
and the average power absorbed by each passive element
in the circuit
20  j 5
2 4
+

40 A 1 j10 3 5
-
6030V

Solution
We apply mesh analysis as shown in circuit
10
 20  j5
+V -
2
+
 V1
+
6030  V
40 A - I 1 j10 I2 -

For mesh 1.
I1  4 A
For mesh 2.
( j10  j5) I 2  j10I1  6030  0 , I1  4 A
or
 
j5I 2  6030  j 40  I 2  12  60  8
 10.5879.1 A 11
 For voltage source ,the average power is
1
P5  (60)(10.58) cos(30  79.1 )  207.8W
2
For the current source ,the voltage across it is
V1  20I1  j10( I1  I 2 )  80  j10(4  2  j10.39)
 183.9  j 20  184.9846.21V
The average power supplied by the current source is
1
P1   (184.984)(4) cos(6.21  0)  367.8W
2
For resistor ,the voltage across it is
20I1  800V
12
 The power absorbed by resistor is
1
P2  (80)(4)  160W
2
For capacitor, voltage across it is
 j5I 2  (5  90 )(10.5879.1 )  52.9(79.1  90 )
The average power by capacitor is
1
P4  (52.9)(10.58) cos(90 )  0
2
For inductor, the current though it is
I1  I 2  2  j10.39  10.58  79.1

13
The voltage across it is
 
j10( I1  I 2 )  105.8(79.1  90 )
The average power absorbed by the inductor is
1
P3  (105.8)(10.58) cos 90  0
2
The total power

P1  P2  P3  P4  P5  0

14
 Maximum Average Power Transfer
In DC, the maximum power would be delivered to load
if the load resistance is equal to Thevenin resistance (RL =
Rth). In this section, that result is applied to AC circuits

Let Z th  Rth  jX th , Z L  RL  jX L
Vth Vth
I 
Z th  Z L Rth  jX th   RL  jX L 
2 RL
Vth
1 2 2
P  I RL 
2 Rth  RL 2  X th  X L 2 15
To adjust load parameters RL and XL so that P is maximum
by setting RP and XP  0
L L

Vth RL  X th  X L 
2
P

X L 
Rth  RL 2   X th  X L 2 2

P

Vth
2
R
th
2

 RL    X th  X L   2 RL Rth  RL 
2

RL 2R    
2 2 2
th  R L  X th  X L

P
 0  X L   X th
X L
P
 0  RL  Rth2  ( X th  X L ) 2
RL
Z L  RL  jX L  Rth  jX th  Z th
2
Vth
Pmax 
8Rth 16
 In a situation in which the load is purely real, the
condition for maximum power transfer is obtained by
setting XL = 0, that is
2 2
RL  Rth  X th  Zth

17
Example 11.5 Determine the load impedance ZL the maximizes
the average power drawn from the circuit . What is the
maximum average power
4 j 5

8
100 V +
-
ZL
 j 6

Solution
First we obtain Thevenin equivalent at the load terminal.
To get ZTH consider the circuit
18
 4 j5

8 Z TH
 j6

ZTH  j5  4 //(8  j 6)  2.933  j 4.467

4 j5
+
+
8

100 V - VTH
 j6
-

19
 To find VTH by voltage division.
8  j6
VTH  (10)  7.454  10.3V
4  8  j6

The load impedance draws the maximum power from the circuit
when
Z L  ZTH  2.933  j 4.467
*

The maximum average power is

2
VTH (7.454) 2
Pmax    2.368W
8 RTH 8(2.933)
20
Example 11.6 In the circuit ,find the value of RL what will
absorb the maximum average power. Calculate that power.
40  j 3

15030 V +
- j 20 RL

Solution We first find the Thevenin equivalent at terminal

of RL
ZTH  (40  j30) // j 20  9.412  j 22.35
By voltage division,
j 20
VTH  (15030 )  72.76134V
j 20  40  j30 21
The value of RL that will absorb the maximum average power is
RL  ZTH  9.412  22.35  24.25
2 2

The current through the load is


VTH 72.76134 
I   1.8100.2 A
ZTH  RL 33.66  j 22.35
The maximum average power absorbed by RL is
1 2 1
Pmax  I RL  (1.8) (24.25)  39.29W
2

2 2

22
Effective or RMS value

The effective value of a periodic current is the dc

current that delivers the same average power to a
resistor as the periodic current

23
 1T 2 RT 2 2
P   i Rdt   i dt  I eff R
T 0 T 0

1T 2
I eff   i t dt
T 0

T
1 2
X rms   x t dt
T0

For the sinusoid i(t )  I m cost

2 T
1T 2 Im 1 Im Vm
I rms  2
 I m cos tdt   1  2 cos t dt   Vrms 
T 0 T 02 2 2
24
 Keep in mind that they are only valid for sinusoid
signal. Then, the average power can be written in terms
of rms values
1 Vm I m
P  Vm I m cos v   i   cos v   i   Vrms I rms cos v   i 
2 2 2

Similarly, the average power absorbed by a

resistor R can be written as
2
2 V
P  I rms R  rms
R

25
Example 11.7 Determine the rms value of the current waveform
in figure .If the current is passed through a 2-Ω resistor, find
the average power absorbed by the resistor.
i (t )
10

0
2 4 6 8 10
t
-10

26
Solution The period of the waveform is T=4.Over a period ,
We can write the current waveform as
5t , 0  t  2
i (t )  
10, 2  t  4
The rms value is

1 
T 2 4
1 2
  i dt    (5t ) dt   (10) dt 
2 2
I rms
T 0 4 0 2 
27
 1  t 3 2
4

I rms   25  100t 2   8.165 A
4 3 0 


The power absorbed by a 2-Ω resistor is

PI 2
rms R  (8.165) (2)  133.3W
2

28
 Example 11.8 The waveform show is a half-wave sine wave.
Find the rms value and the amount of average power dissipated
In a 10-Ω resistor.
v(t )
10

0
 2 3
t
Solution The period of the voltage waveform is T=2¶
10sin t , 0  t  
v(t )  
0,   t  2
29
The rms value is obtained as
 2
1  
T
1 2
2
Vrms   v (t )dt    (10sin t ) dt   0 dt 
2 2

T 0 2  0  
1
But sin t  (1  cos 2t ) .Hence
2

2
 
1 100 50  sin 2t 
  (1  cos 2t )dt  t 
2
V 
2 0 2 2 
rms
2 0
50  1 
    sin 2  0   25,
2  2 

Vrms  5V 30
 Vrms  5V
The average power absorbed is

2 2
V 5
P   2.5W
rms
R 10

31
Apparent Power and Power Factor
The apparent power (S) is the product of the rms
values of voltage and current (VA)
S  VrmsI rms

The power factor (p.f.) is the cosine of phase

difference between voltage and current; it is also the
cosine of the angle of the load impedance
P
p. f .   cos v  i 
S
32
For pure R; v - i = 0  p.f. = 1
For purely reactive load; v - i = +/- 90  p.f. = 0
Between these two cases, pure R and pure reactive; p.f.
is said to be lagging or leading
Leading p.f.  I leads V  R-C
Lagging p.f.  I lags V  R-L

33
 Example 11.9 A series-connected load draws a current
i(t )  4cos(100 t  10 ) A when the applied voltage is


v(t )  120cos(100 t  20 )V . Find the apparent power and



the power factor of the load. Determine the element value

that form the series-connected load
Solution The apparent power is
120 4
S  Vrms I rms   240VA
2 2
The power factor is
pf  cos(v  i )  cos(20  10 )  0.866(leading )
34
 V 120  20 
Z  
 30  30  25.98  j15
I 410

pf  cos(30 )  0.866(leading )
The load impedance Z can be modeled by a 25.98-Ω resistor
in series with a capacitor with
1
X C  15  
C
or
1 1
C   212.2 F
15 15 x100
35
Example 11.10 Determine the power factor of the entire circuit
as seen by the source. Calculate the average power delivered
by the source.
6

300  Vrms +-  j2 4

Solution The total impedance is

Z  6  4 //( j 2)  7  13.24
The power factor is
pf  cos(13.24)  0.9734(leading ) 36
 Since the impedance is capacitive. The rms value of the
circuit is

Vrms 300 
I rms   
 4.28613.24 A
Z 7  13.24
The average power supplied by the source is
P  Vrms I rms pf  (30)(4.286)(0.9734)  125W
or
P  I rms
2
R  (4.286) 2 (6.8)  125W
where R is the resistive part of Z.

37
 Complex Power
Complex power is the product of the rms voltage
phasor and the complex conjugate of the rms current
phasor. As a complex quantity, its real part is real power P
and its imaginary part is reactive power Q
1
S  VI   Vrms I rms
*
 Vrms I rms v   i  Vrms I rms cos v   i   jVrms I rms sin v   i 
2

However, it can be expressed in terms of the

load impedance Z
2
Vrms
2
S  I rmsZ 
 VrmsI rms 2
 I rms R  jX   P  jQ
Z
38
P (real power) – the average power in watts delivered
to a load; only useful power (Watts)
Q (reactive power) the measure of the energy
exchange between the source and the reactive part
of the load (VAR)

Q = 0; resistive loads  unity p.f.

Q  0; capacitive loads  leading p.f.
Q  0; inductive loads  lagging p.f.

39
Power Triangle
S, P and Q can be represented as a triangle

v-i

v-i

40
Example 11.11 The voltage across a load is
v(t )  60cos(t 10 )V and the current though the element
in the direction of the voltage drop is i(t )  1.5cos(t  50 )
A find : (a) The complex and apparent power
(b) The real and reactive power
(c) The power factor and load impedance
Solution (a) For the rms value of the voltage and current

60 1.5 
Vrms    10 , I rms    50
2 2
41
 The complex power is
 60   1.5 
S V I *
rms rms    10    50   45  60VA
 2  2 
The apparent power is
S  S  45VA
(b) We can express the complex power in rectangular from as
S  45  60  45[cos(60 )  j sin(60 )]  22.5  j38.97
Since S = P + jQ, the real power is
P  22.5
42
while the reactive power is
Q  38.97VAR
(c) The power factor is
pf  cos(60)  0.5(leading )
It is leading ,because the reactive power is negative.
The load impedance is
V 60  10 
Z  
 40  60 
I 1.5  50

which is a capacitor impedance

43
Example 11.12 A load Z draws 12 kVA at a power factor of
0.856 lagging from a 120-V rms sinusoidal source. Calculate:
(a) The average and reactive powers delivered to the load
(b) The peak current
(c) The load impedance
Solution (a) Find  find real and reactive power
  cos (0.856)  31.13
1 

P  S cos( )  12, 000 x0.856  10.272kW

Q  S sin( )  12, 000 x0.517  6.204kVAR
44
 (b) Since the pf is lagging , the complex power is
S  P  jQ  10.272  j 6.204kVA
From S = VrmsI*rms,we obtain
S 10, 272  j 6204 
I *
rms   
 85.6  j 51.7 A  10031.13 A
Vrms 1200

Thus I rms  100  31.13 and the peak current is

I m  2 I rms  2(100)  141.4 A

45
(c) The load impedance
Vrms 1200 
Z  
 1.231.13 
I rms 100  31.13

which is an inductive impedance

46
Conservation of AC Power

S
1 
2
VI 
1
2
 
V I1  I 2  S1  S 2

1  1
S  VI  V1  V2 I   S1  S2
2 2

The complex, real and reactive powers of the sources

equal the respective sums of the complex, real and
reactive powers of the individual loads

47
Example 11.13 In the circuit show a load being fed by a voltage
source through a transmission. The impedance of the line
is represented by the (4+j2) Ω impedance and a return path.
Find the real power and reactive power absorbed by
(a) The source (b) The line (c) The load
I 4 j 2

15
+
2200Vrms -
 j10

Source Line Load

48
 Solution The total impedance is
Z  (4  j 2)  (15  j10)  19  j8  20.62  22.83 
The current through the circuit is
Vs 2200 
I  
 10.6722.83 Arms
Z 20.62  22.83
(a) For the source , the complex power is
 
S s  Vs I  (2200 )(10.67  22.83 )
*


 2347.4  22.83  (2163.5  j910.8)VA
From this, we obtain the real power as 2163.5 W
reactive power as 910.8 VAR (leading). 49
(b) For the line, the voltage is
Vline  (4  j 2) I  (4.47226.57 )(10.6722.83 )

 47.7249.4 Vrms
The complex power absorbed by the line is
Sline  Vline I *  (47.7249.4 )(10.67  22.83 )

 509.226.57  455.4  j 227.7VA
or
2
Sline  I Zline  (10.67) 2 (4  j 2)  455.4  j 227.7VA

50
 (c) For the load , the voltage is
VL  (15  j10) I  (18.03  33.7 )(10.6722.83 )
 192.38  10.87Vrms

The complex power absorbed by the load is

S L  VL I *  (192.38  10.87 )(10.67  22.83 )

 2053  33.7  (1708  j1139)VA
The real power is 1708 W and the reactive power is 1139 VAR
(leading). Note that SS = Sline + SL ,as expected . We have used
The rms values of voltages and currents.
51
Example 11.14 In the circuit Z1  60  30and Z 2  4045 
Calculate the total: (a) apparent power, (b) real power
(c) reactive power , (d) pf
It

I1 I2

+
12010Vrms Z1 Z2
-

Solution
The current through Z1 is
V 12010 
I1   
 2 40 Arms
Z1 60  30
52
While the current through Z2 is

V 12010 
I2   
 3  35 A rms
Z 2 4045
The complex power absorbed by the impedance are
2
Vrms (120) 2
S1  *  
 240  30  207.85  j120VA
Z1 6030

2
Vrms (120) 2 
S2  *  
 360 45  254.6  j 254.6VA
Z2 40  45
The total complex power is
St  S1  S2  462.4  j134.6VA
53
(a) The total apparent power is
St  462.42  134.62  481.6VA
(b) The total real power is
Pt  Re(St )  462.4W or Pt  P1  P2
(c) The total reactive power is
Qt  Im(St )  134.6 VAR or Qt  Q1  Q2
(d) The pf  Pt / St  462.4 / 481.6  0.96(lagging )

We may cross check the result by finding the complex

power Ss supplied by the source.
54
It  I1  I 2  (1.532  j1.286)  (2.457  j1.721)
 4  j 0.435  4.024  6.21A rms

S S  VI t*  (12010 )(4.0246.21 )
 482.8816.21  463  j135 VA

Which is the same as before

55
Power Factor Correction
Most loads are inductive so the power factor can
be corrected by adding capacitor in parallel with loads

Power factor correction can be looked in the power

triangle aspect.
56
Power factor correction can be looked in the power triangle
aspect.
2
Vrms QC
QC  Ptan  1  tan  2    CVrms  C 
2

XC Vrms
2

2 2 2
Vrms Vrms Vrms
QL   L
XL L QL

57
Example 11.15 When connected to a 120-V (rms) ,60-Hz power
Line, a load absorbs 4 kW at a lagging power factor of 0.8.
Find the value of capacitance necessary to raise the pf to 0.95.
Solution
If the pf = 0.8, then
  cos1 (0.8)  36.87
Where 1 is the phase difference between voltage and
current . We obtain the apparent power from the real power
and the pf as
P 4000
S1    5000 VA
cos 1 0.8
58
 The reactive power is
Q1  S1 sin   5000sin 36.87  3000VAR
When the pf is raised to 0.95,
cos  2  0.95   2  18.19
The real power P has not changed. But the apparent power
has changed; its new value is
P 4000
S2    4210.5 VA
cos  0.95
The new reactive power is
Q2  S2 sin 2  1314.4 VAR
59
The reactive power due to the capacitor is
Qc  Q1  Q2  3000  1314.4  1685.6 VAR

and
Qc 1685.6
C   310.5 F
Vrms 2 x60 x120
2 2

60
 Summary
1. p  vi
1T
2. P   pdt
T 0
3. Maximum average power is transferred to load when Z L  Z th
T
1 2 X peak
4. X eff  X rms  
T0
x t dt ; X rms 
2

5. p. f .  cos v   i 

6. S  Vrms I rms  P 2  Q 2
1
7. Q  Vm I m sin v   i   Vrms I rms sin v   i 
2
61
8. Complex power
2
Vrms
S V I 
rms rms  Vrms I rms v   i  P  jQ  I 2
rms Z
Z
9. S  S1  S 2  S 3  ........  S N

10. Power factor is achieved by reducing the overall

reactive power
11. Wattmeter is used for measuring average power.
kWh meter is used for measuring energy consumed.

62