Power Electronics

Sinusoids and phasors

M. Eng. Loc Nguyen

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 Table of Contents

1. • Periodic Function

2. • The Sinusoidal Source

3. • Lagging and Leading

4. • Converting Sines to Cosines

5. • Average value

6. • rms value

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 Periodic Function
A DC voltage or current has a fixed
magnitude (amplitude) and a definite
direction associated with it. And do not
change their values with regards to time, they
are a constant values flowing in a continuous
steady state direction.

The term alternating indicates only that the

waveform alternates between two prescribed
levels in a set time sequence.

A periodic function is one that satisfies

f(t)=f(t+nT), for all tand for all integers n.
• The Period, (T) is the length of time in seconds that the
waveform takes to repeat itself from start to finish. This can
also be called the Periodic Time of the waveform.
• The Frequency, (ƒ) is the number of times the waveform
repeats itself within a one second time period. Frequency is the
reciprocal of the time period, ( ƒ = 1/T ) with the unit of
frequency being the Hertz, (Hz).
• The Amplitude (A) is the magnitude or intensity of the signal
waveform.
Mr. Loc Nguyen –VLUTE University
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Mr. Loc Nguyen –VLUTE University

 The Sinusoidal Source
A sinusoidal voltage source (independent or dependent) produces a voltage that
varies sinusoidally with time. A sinusoidal current source (independent or
dependent) produces a current that varies sinusoidally with time.

The function repeats it self every 2π radians, and its

period is therefore 2π radians. A sine wave having a
period T must execute 1/T periods each second; its
frequency f is 1/T hertz, abbreviated Hz. Thus,

The common relationship between frequency and

angular frequency.

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 Lagging and Leading
A more general form of the sinusoid.

The phase angle appears as the number of

radians by which the original sine wave
(shown in green color in the sketch) is
shifted to the left, or earlier in time.

We say that Vmsin(ωt + θ) leads Vmsinωt by θ rad. Therefore, it is correct to describe

sinωt as lagging sin(ωt + θ) by θ rad, as leading sin(ωt − θ) by θ rad.

In either case, leading or lagging, we say that the sinusoids are out of phase. If
the phase angles are equal, the sinusoids are said to be inphase.

Mr. Loc Nguyen –VLUTE University

 Converting Sines to Cosines

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 Examples
Example: Find the amplitude, phase, period, and frequency of the sinusoid

Example: Calculate the phase angle between v1=-10cos(ωt+50 o) and

v2=12sin(ωt-10o)State which sinusoid is leading.

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 Average value
Average value is defined as the area under the curve divided by the baseline of the
curve.

Example: find the average value for the curve shown in the figure?
The area under this curve can be computed as Area=(80×1)+(60×2)+(95×1)+(75×1)
Now divide this by the length of the base, namely 5.

Average={(80×1)+(60×2)+(95×1)+(75×1)}/5=74

Mr. Loc Nguyen –VLUTE University

 Average value
Theaveragevalueofawaveform: divide the area under the waveform by the
length of its base. Areas above the axis are counted as positive, while areas below
the axis are counted as negative. This approach is valid regardless of wave shape.

 Average values are also called dc values, because dc meters indicate average
values rather than instantaneous values. Thus, if you measure a non-dc
quantity with a dc meter, the meter will read the average of the waveform
Example:
1. Compute the average for the current waveform shown in the figure.
2. If the negative portion of the figure is ( 3 A ) instead of (1.5 A), what is the average?
3. If the current is measured by a dc ammeter, what will the ammeter indicate for each
case?

1. The waveform repeats itself after 7ms. Thus, T=7 ms and

the average is

2 ×3 )
= =

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 Average value
2. The waveform repeats itself after 7ms. Thus, T=7 ms and the
average is
2 ×3 − (3 × 4 )=−6
= =
−0.857
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3. A dc ammeter measuring (a) will indicate zero, while for (b)
it will indicate 0.857 A.
Example: Compute the average value for the waveforms of the figures. Sketch the
averages for each.

1- For the first waveform, T=6 s. Thus,

10 × 2 + 20 × 1 + (30 × 2 ) + (0× 1 ) = 100 .

= =
16.7

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Mr. Loc Nguyen –VLUTE University
 Average value
1- For the first waveform, T=8s. Thus,

× 3 − 20 × 2 − (40 × 2 ) = −60
= 0.5 40 =
−7.5
8 8

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 Sine wave average value
Because a sine wave is symmetrical, its area below the horizontal axis is the same
as its area above the axis; thus, over a full cycle its net area is zero, independent
of frequency and phase angle. Thus, the average of sinωt, sin(ωt±θ), sin2ωt,
cosωt, cos(ωt±θ), cos2ωt, and so on are each zero.

The average of half a sine wave, however, is not zero.

The area under the half-cycle can be found as

Two cases are important in electronics; full-wave average and

half-wave average. The area for full-wave case from 0 to 2π is
2(2Im) and the base is 2π. Thus, the average is

The area for half-wave case from 0 to 2π is (2Im) and the base
is 2π. Thus, the average is

Mr. Loc Nguyen –VLUTE University

 rmsvalue
An effective (rms) value is an equivalent dc value: it tells you how many volts or
amps of DC that a time-varying waveform is equal to in terms of its ability to
produce average power.
rms value is defined as the square root of
the area under the squared curve divided =
by the baseline of the curve.

To compute rms values using this equation, do the following:

Step 1: Square the voltage (or current ) curve.
Step 2: Find the area under the squared curve.
Step 3: Divide the area by the length of the curve.
Step 4: Find the square root of the value from Step 3.
Example: One cycle of a voltage waveform is
shown in the figure. Determine its (rms) value.

400 × 4 + 900 × 2 + 100 × 2 +

=
(0 × 2)
10
3600
= = 19
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 rmsvalue
The rms value of a periodic function is defined as the square root of the mean value
of the squared function.

 For any periodic function x(t), the rms value is given by

 For the sinusoid i(t)=Imcos(ωt+ࣘ),T=2π/ω, the rms value of i(t)is.

ω π/ω ω
= +
π ( +ࣘ =
π

For sinusoidal
current/voltage = =
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 rmsvalue
Example: Determine the rms value of the current
waveform. If the current is passed through a
resistor, find the average power absorbed by the
resistor.

The period of the waveform is T=4. Over a period,

the current waveform is

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 rmsvalue
Example: The waveform shown is a half-wave rectified sine
wave. Find the rms value and the amount of average power
dissipated in a 10 Ω resistor.
The period of the waveform is T=2π. Over a
period, the voltage waveform is

Q: Find the rms value of the

full-wave rectified sine wave.
Calculate the average power
dissipated in a 6 Ω resistor.

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 rmsvalue
Example 1:

Example 2:

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