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Grob Basic Electronics

Chapter 24
ALTERNATING CURRENT CIRCUITS
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Topics Covered in Chapter 24
AC Circuits with Resistance
but No Reactance
Circuits with X
L
Alone
Circuits with X
C
Alone
X
C
Only in Series
X
C
Only in Parallel
Opposite Reactances Cancel
Series Reactance and
Resistance
Parallel Reactance and
Resistance
Series-Parallel Reactance
and Resistance
Real Power
AC Meters
Wattmeters
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Combining Resistances
In series circuits, add the values of R.
In parallel circuits, use the reciprocal
formula to combine the values of R.
Resistances can be combined with other
resistances in ac circuits.
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Combining Like Reactances
In series circuits, add the values of like
reactance.
In parallel circuits, use the reciprocal
formula to combine the values of like
reactance.
Like reactances are reactances of same type:
all capacitive reactances or all inductive
reactances.
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Combining Unlike Reactances
In series circuits, the values of unlike
reactance are subracted.
In parallel circuits, subtract the currents for
the unlike reactances then divide the result
into the branch voltage. This gives the
combined reactance.
Unlike reactances are reactances of the
opposite types.
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Combining Resistances
and Reactances
All resistances can be reduced to a single
resistance.
All reactances can be reduced to a single
reactance.
In series circuits, the resistance and
reactance can be combined directly to
determine the total impedance, Z
T
.
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Determining Phase Angles
The arctangent function is used for
determining phase angles in ac circuits.

For series circuits:

For parallel circuits:
u
Z
L C
gent
X X
R
=

|
\

|
.
|
arctan
u
V
L C
R
gent
V V
V
=
|
\

|
.
|
arctan
u
I
C L
R
gent
I I
I
=
|
\

|
.
|
arctan
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Solving AC Series Circuits
Calculate the total impedance of the circuit
Determine total R.
Determine total X
Calculate Z
T
,
Calculate the total current by I
T
= V
T
/Z
T

Calculate the phase: u
Z
= arctan

X / R
Calculate the voltage drop across each
component by V = I
T
R or I
T
X.
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Solving AC Parallel Circuits
Determine the current through each branch:
Calculate the total impedance of the branch.
Calculate the current by I
EQ
= V
A
/ Z
EQ
.
Calculate the total current, I
T
.
Calculate the phase: u
I
= arctan

I
X
/ I
R
Calculate the total impedance: Z
T
= V
T
/ I
T

Calculate the voltage drop across each
component: V = I
EQ
R or I
EQ
X.
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Power in AC Circuits
Real power in ac circuits (P) is power
dissipated as heat in resistance.
In ac circuits containing resistance and
reactance:
P = I
2
R or P = VIcos u
In an ac circuit, cosu is known as the power
factor of the circuit.
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End of Chapter 24