Question 04. What Is Form Factor and Peak Factor?: Answer
Question 04. What Is Form Factor and Peak Factor?: Answer
Question 04. What Is Form Factor and Peak Factor?: Answer
Answer : In an AC Generator the field is rotating and the armature is stationary whereas in DC Generator the field is
stationary and the armature is rotating.
Answer : A Generator is a machine which converts Mechanical Energy into Electrical Energy.
Answer : The ratio of rms value to average value of an ac quantity is called form factor.
Form Factor = RMS value/ Average value
The ratio of maximum value to the RMS value of an ac quantity is called as peak factor.
Peak Factor = Maximum Value/RMS value
Question 05. what is power factor? whether it should be high or low? why?
Answer :Power factor should be high in order to get smooth operation of the system. Low power factor means
losses will be more. it is the ratio of true power to apparent power. it has to be ideally 1. if it is too low then cable
over heating & equipment overloading will occur. if it is greater than 1 then load will act as capacitor and starts
feeding the source and will cause tripping.(if pf is poor ex: 0.17 to meet actual power load has to draw more
current(V constant),result in more losses if pf is good ex: 0.95 to meet actual power load has to draw less current(V
constant),result in less losses).
Answer : Firstly, the output of power stations comes from a rotary turbine, which by it’s nature is AC and therefore
requires no power electronics to convert to DC. Secondly it is much easier to change the voltage of AC electricity
for transmission and distribution. Thirdly the cost of plant associated with AC transmission (circuit breakers,
transformers etc) is much lower than the equivalent of DC transmission AC transmission provides a number of
technical advantages. When a fault on the network occurs, a large fault current occurs. In an AC system this
becomes much easier to interrupt, as the sine wave current will naturally tend to zero at some point making the
current easier to interrupt.
As the coil rotates anticlockwise around the central axis which is perpendicular to the magnetic field, the wire loop
cuts the lines of magnetic force set up between the north and south poles at different angles as the loop rotates. The
amount of induced EMF in the loop at any instant of time is proportional to the angle of rotation of the wire loop.
As this wire loop rotates, electrons in the wire flow in one direction around the loop. Now when the wire loop has
rotated past the 180o point and moves across the magnetic lines of force in the opposite direction, the electrons in the
wire loop change and flow in the opposite direction. Then the direction of the electron movement determines the
polarity of the induced voltage.
So we can see that when the loop or coil physically rotates one complete revolution, or 360 o, one full sinusoidal
waveform is produced with one cycle of the waveform being produced for each revolution of the coil. As the coil
rotates within the magnetic field, the electrical connections are made to the coil by means of carbon brushes and
slip-rings which are used to transfer the electrical current induced in the coil.
The amount of EMF induced into a coil cutting the magnetic lines of force is determined by the following three
factors.
Speed – the speed at which the coil rotates inside the magnetic field.
Strength – the strength of the magnetic field.
Length – the length of the coil or conductor passing through the magnetic field.
We know that the frequency of a supply is the number of times a cycle appears in one second and that frequency is
measured in Hertz. As one cycle of induced emf is produced each full revolution of the coil through a magnetic field
comprising of a north and south pole as shown above, if the coil rotates at a constant speed a constant number of
cycles will be produced per second giving a constant frequency. So by increasing the speed of rotation of the coil the
frequency will also be increased. Therefore, frequency is proportional to the speed of rotation, ( ƒ ∝ Ν ) where
Ν = r.p.m.
Also, our simple single coil generator above only has two poles, one north and one south pole, giving just one pair
of poles. If we add more magnetic poles to the generator above so that it now has four poles in total, two north and
two south, then for each revolution of the coil two cycles will be produced for the same rotational speed. Therefore,
frequency is proportional to the number of pairs of magnetic poles, ( ƒ ∝ P ) of the generator where P = the number
of “pairs of poles”.
Then from these two facts we can say that the frequency output from an AC generator is:
Where: Ν is the speed of rotation in r.p.m. P is the number of “pairs of poles” and 60 converts it into seconds.
Ans:- Amplitude The maximum positive or negative value attained by an alternating quantity in one complete
cycle is called Amplitude or peak value or maximum value. The maximum value of voltage and current is
represented by Em or Vm and Im respectively.
Cycle When one set of positive and negative values completes by an alternating quantity or it goes through 360 degrees
electrical, it is said to have one complete Cycle.
Instantaneous Value The value of voltage or current at any instant of time is called an instantaneous value.It is denoted
by (i or e).
Frequency The number of cycles made per second by an alternating quantity is called frequency. It is measured in cycle
per second (c/s) or hertz (Hz) and is denoted by (f).
Time Period The time taken in seconds by a voltage or a current to complete one cycle is called Time Period. It is
denoted by (T).
Peak Factor Definition: Peak Factor is defined as the ratio of maximum value to the R.M.S value of an alternating
quantity. The alternating quantities can be voltage or current. The maximum value is the peak value or the crest value or
the amplitude of the voltage or current.
The root means the square value is the amount of heat produced by the alternating current will be same when the direct
supply of current is passed through the same resistance in the same given time.
Mathematically it is expressed as
Where,
Im and Em are the maximum value of the current and the voltage respectively, and Ir.m.s and Er.m.s are the roots
mean square value of the alternating current and the voltage respectively.
Form Factor
Definition: The ratio of the root mean square value to the average value of an alternating quantity (current or
voltage) is called Form Factor. The average of all the instantaneous values of current and voltage over one
complete cycle is known as the average value of the alternating quantities. Mathematically, it is expressed as
Ir.m.s and Er.m.s are the roots mean square value of the current and the voltage respectively, and I av and Eav are the
average value of the alternating current and the voltage respectively.
Ans:- Beer analogy of active or true power, reactive power, apparent power and power factor.
Beer is active power (kW)—the useful power, or the liquid beer, is the energy that is doing work. This is the part
you want.
Foam is reactive power (kVAR)—the foam is wasted power or lost power. It’s the energy being produced that isn't
doing any work, such as the production of heat or vibration.
The mug is apparent power (kVA)—the mug is the demand power, or the power being delivered by the utility.
If a circuit were 100% efficient, demand would be equal to the power available. When demand is greater than the
power available, a strain is placed on the utility system. Many utilities add a demand charge to the bills of large
customers to offset differences between supply and demand (where supply is lower than demand). For most utilities,
demand is calculated based on the average load placed within 15 to 30 minutes. If demand requirements are
irregular, the utility must have more reserve capacity available than if load requirements remain constant.
Peak demand is when demand is at its highest. The challenge for utilities is delivering power to handle every
customer’s peaks. Using power at the very moment it is in highest demand can disrupt overall supply unless there
are enough reserves. Therefore, utilities bill for peak demand. For some larger customers, utilities might even take
the largest peak and apply it across the full billing period.
Utilities apply surcharges to companies with a lower power factor. The costs of lower efficiency can be steep—akin
to driving a gas-guzzling car. The lower the power factor, the less efficient the circuit, and the higher the overall
operating cost. The higher the operating cost, the higher the likelihood that utilities will penalize a customer for
overutilization. In most ac circuits there is never power factor equal to one because there is always some impedance
(interference) on the power lines.
To calculate power factor, you need a power quality analyzer or power analyzer that measures both working power
(kW) and apparent power (kVA), and to calculate the ratio of kW/kVA.
OR
PF = W/VA
Where watts measure useful power while VA measures supplied power. The ratio of the two is essentially useful
power to supplied power, or:
As this diagram demonstrates, power factor compares the real power being consumed to the apparent power, or
demand of the load. The power available to perform work is called real power. You can avoid power factor penalties
by correcting for power factor.
Ans: - Two Wattmeter Method can be employed to measure the power in a 3 phase, three wire star or delta
connected the balanced or unbalanced load. In Two wattmeter method the current coils of the wattmeter are
connected with any two lines, say R and Y and the potential coil of each wattmeter is joined on the same line, the
third line i.e. B as shown below in figure (A).
The total instantaneous power absorbed by the three loads Z 1, Z2 and Z3, are equal to the sum of the powers
measured by the Two wattmeters, W1 and W2.
Considering the above figure (A) in which Two Wattmeter W 1 and W2 are connected, the instantaneous current
through the current coil of Wattmeter, W1 is given by the equation shown below.
Instantaneous potential difference across the potential coil of Wattmeter, W1 is given as
The instantaneous current through the current coil of Wattmeter, W2 is given by the equation
Instantaneous potential difference across the potential coil of Wattmeter, W2 is given as
Therefore, the Total Power Measured by the Two Wattmeters W 1 and W2 will be obtained by adding the equation
(1) and (2).
Where P – the total power absorbed in the three loads at any instant.
The arrowheads on the emfs and current indicate direction and not their actual direction at any instant.Now
To find the vector sum of ENY and –ENR, we have to reverse the vector ENR and add it with ENY as shown in the
phasor diagram above.
Therefore,
Similarly,
The same current flows through phase winding as well as in the line conductor as it is connected in series with the
phase winding.
A three-wire three-phase circuit is usually more economical than an equivalent two-wire single-phase circuit at the
same line to ground voltage because it uses less conductor material to transmit a given amount of electrical power
The 3 Phase system is divided mainly into two types. One is Balanced three phase system and another one is
unbalanced three phase system.
Active Power is the actual power which is really transferred to the load such as transformer, induction motors,
generators etc and dissipated in the circuit.
In DC Circuits, power supply to the DC load is simply the product of Voltage across the load and Current flowing
through it i.e., P = V I because in DC Circuits, there is no concept of phase angle between current and voltage. In
other words, there is no frequency (f) or Power factor in DC Circuits.
But the situation in Sinusoidal or AC Circuits is more complex because of phase difference (θ) between Current
and Voltage. Therefore average value of power (Real Power) is P = VI Cosθ is in fact supplied to the load.
In AC circuits, When circuit is pure resistive, then the same formula used for power as used in DC as P = V I.
Related Post: Power Formulas in DC, AC Single Phase and and AC Three Phase Circuits.
P = 3 x VPh x IPhx Cosθ
P = √ (S2 – Q2)or
P =√ (VA2 – VAR2) or
kW = √ (kVA2 – kVAR2)
Where:
P = Power in Watts
V = Voltages in Volts
I = Current in Amperes
The powers that continuously bounce back and forth between source and load is known as reactive Power (Q)
Power merely absorbed and returned in load due to its reactive properties is referred to as reactive power.
Reactive Power represent that the energy is first stored and then released in the form of magnetic field or
electrostatic field in case of inductor and capacitor respectively.
Reactive power is given by Q = V I Sinθ which can be positive (+ve) for inductive loads and negative (-ve) for
capacitive load.
In more simple words, in Inductor or Capacitor, how much magnetic or electric field produced by 1A x 1V is known
as the unit of Reactive Power.
Q = V I Sinθ
Ans:- The Product of voltage and current if and only if the phase angle differences between current and voltage
are ignored Total power in an AC circuit, both dissipated and absorbed/returned is referred to as apparent power
The combination of reactive power and true power is called apparent power
In an AC circuit, the product of the r.m.s voltage and the r.m.s current is called apparent power which
is denoted by (S) and measured in units of Volt-amp (VA).
When the circuit is pure resistive, then apparent power is equal to real or true power, but in inductive or
capacitive circuit, (when Reactances exist) then apparent power is greater than real or true power.
S=VI
S = √ (P + Q2)
Thus far we have seen that the three basic passive components:
resistance (R),
inductance (L),
capacitance (C)
have very different phase relationships to each other when connected to a sinusoidal AC supply.
Example No1
A series RLC circuit containing a resistance of 12Ω, an inductance of 0.15H and a capacitor of 100uF are
connected in series across a 100V, 50Hz supply. Calculate the total circuit impedance, the circuits current,
power factor and draw the voltage phasor diagram.
Inductive Reactance, XL.
Capacitive Reactance, XC.
Circuit Impedance, Z.
Circuits Current, I.
Voltages across the Series RLC Circuit, VR, VL, VC.
Circuits Power factor and Phase Angle, θ.
Phasor Diagram.
Ans:- The Parallel RLC Circuit is the exact opposite to the series circuit we looked at in the previous tutorial
although some of the previous concepts and equations still apply
Since the voltage across the circuit is common to all three circuit elements we can use this as the reference vector
with the three current vectors drawn relative to this at their corresponding angles. The resulting vector IS is obtained
by adding together two of the vectors, IL and IC and then adding this sum to the remaining vector IR. The resulting
angle obtained between V and IS will be the circuits phase angle as shown below.
A 1kΩ resistor, a 142mH coil and a 160uF capacitor are all connected in parallel across a 240V, 60Hz supply.
Calculate the impedance of the parallel RLC circuit and the current drawn from the supply.
Impedance, ( Z ):
Objective Type
Qu. 05 The r.m.s. value of a sine wave is 100 A. Its peak value is
A. 70.7 A
B. 141 A
C. 150 A
D. 282.8 A
Ans: B
Qu 06 In a three-phase supply, floating neutral is undesirable because it may result in........across the load.
A. Unequal line voltages
B. High voltage
C. Low-voltage
D. None of the above
Ans: A
B. Have a high voltage developed across each inductive and capacitive section
C. Act like a resistor of low value
D. Have a high impedance
Ans: D