Topic 3

Fourier Series And Power Computations In NonSinusoidally Driven Circuits

Introduction
Active and reactive power expression - traditionally

P Vrms I rms cos

1.1

Q Vrms I rms sin

1.2

Where, V
rms Vm / 2

and

I rms I m / 2

= the phase angle between the voltage and the current.

Notes
It is important to understand that these expressions are well
suited to the study of circuits operating with sinusoidal
voltage and current, and that they do not apply in
cases where the voltage and current waveforms are
non-sinusoidal.
2

Introduction
Instantaneous Power

The product of the voltage and current represents the

instantaneous power delivered by the source.

p(t ) v(t )i(t )

1.3

where the voltage v(t) and current i(t) are periodic functions,
with period T.

Introduction
Average or Active Power

The active power P is defined as the instantaneous power

consumed in a period T.
T

1
P p(t )dt
T 0

1.4

where p(t) is instantaneous power consumed in a period T.

The instantaneous and average powers both have physical

meaning and satisfy the principle of conservation of energy. Other
power concepts, such as apparent power, and reactive power do
not have physical meaning and, in general, do not conform to the
principle of conservation of energy.
4

Introduction
Apparent Power
The apparent power S is defined as

S Vrms I rms

1.5

which has units of volt-amperes (VA).

Introduction
Power Factor

The power factor (PF) is the ratio by which the apparent power
must be multiplied to obtain the active power.

P
PF
S

1.6

The power factor gives the energy efficiency of an electric

circuit.

Fourier Series
Fourier Series
A non-sinusoidal periodic waveform which meets certain conditions
can be described by a Fourier series of sinusoids. The Fourier series
for a periodic function f(t) can be expressed in trigonometric form
as

f (t ) Ao An cosno t Bn sin no t

1.7

n 1

Where,

1
Ao f (t )dt
T0
T

2
An f (t ) cosn o t dt
T0

1.8

1.9

2
Bn f (t ) sin n o t dt
T0

1.10
7

Fourier Series
Fourier Series contd.
The term Ao is a constant which is the average value of f(t) and
represents a dc voltage or current in electrical applications.

Sines and cosines of the same frequency can be combined into one
sinusoid, resulting in an alternative expression for a Fourier series:

f (t ) Ao C n cosn o t n
Where,

1.11

n 1

Cn An jBn Cn n
Cn Cn

and

n argCn

1.12
1.13

Coefficient C1 is the amplitude of the term at the fundamental

frequency o. Coefficients C2 ,C3 are the amplitudes of the
harmonics which have frequencies 2o, 3o,

Fourier Series
Example 1

The output voltage of a single-phase inverter is a period waveform

given by the expression

vo (t )

0
250

0 t 7.5 ms
7.5 t 10 ms

0
250

10 t 17.5 ms
17.5 t 20 ms

for 0 < t < 20 ms. Obtain a Fourier series representation for

vo(t) up to the first 21 harmonics.

Fourier Series
Example 1 - Solution
A graphical plot of vo(t) is shown in Figure 1.
vo(t)

250 V

20
t (ms)
5

10

15

- 250 V

Figure 1
10

Fourier Series
Example 1 - Solution
Table 1 shows the results of the analysis that was performed using
the computer program Mathcad. Note that for n even, the analysis
gave An and Bn as zeros.
n

An

Bn

-112.54

46.615

121.812 -157.5o

-37.513

90.565

98.027 -112.5o

22.508

54.339

58.816 -67.5o

16.077

6.659

17.402 -22.5o

-12.504

5.179

13.535 -157.5o

11

-10.231

24.699

26.735 -112.5o

13

8.657

20.9

22.622 -67.5o

15

7.503

3.108

8.121 -22.5o

Cn

Cn

17

7.165 -157.5o

19

15.478 -112.5o

21

14.004 -67.5o

11

Fourier Series
Example 1 - Solution
Using the values given in the above table we obtain an expression
for the voltage vo(t) as follows.
vo(t) = 121.8cos(t 157.5o) + 98.0cos(3t 112.5o) + 58.8cos(5t - 67.5o)
+ 17.4cos(7t 22.5o) + 13.5cos(9t 157.5o) + 26.7cos(11t 112.5.5o)
+ 22.6cos(13t - 67.5o) + 8.1cos(15t 22.5o) + 7.17cos(17t 157.5o)
+ 15.5cos(19t 112.5o) + 14.0cos(21t - 67.5o)

12

Fourier Series
Example 1 - Solution
A Fourier series approximation of vo(t) is shown in Figure 2.

30 0
18 0
60
w( t)

60 0

0.00 4 0.00 8 0.01 2 0.01 6 0.02

18 0
30 0
t
Figure 2

13

Fourier Series
Effective Value of f(t)
The effective or rms value of f(t) can be computed from the Fourier
series using the formula

Cn
A

n 1 2

2
o

1.14

14

Fourier Series
Example 3
Determine the effective value of current for the following nonsinusoidal current:

i(t ) 2 10 sin t 8 sin 3t 30 o 3 sin 5t 60 o 1.5 sin7t

Solution
By using Eq.(1.13),

I
I I o2 n
2
n 1
2

10 8 3 1.5
22

2
2
2
2

9.572 mA

15

Fourier Series
Example 4
Determine the value of the effective voltage drop across the 20
resistor in Figure 3.
20

vS(t) = 10sin(100t)

5V

Figure 3

16

Fourier Series
Example 4 - solution
Let v be the voltage drop across the 20 , as shown in Figure 4.
20

vS(t) = 10sin(100t)

5V

Figure 4

Application of KVL to the circuit leads to the voltage equation

Hence,

vs (t ) v(t ) 5 0
v(t ) 5 vs (t ) 5 10 sin 100t

Voltage v(t) can be interpreted as a Fourier series comprising a dc term

Ao = 5 V and a fundamental term C1 = - 10 V. Hence, using Eq.(1.14),
the effective value of v(t) is

C
10
Ao2 n 5 2
8.66 V
n 1 2
2

17

Fourier Series
Total Harmonic Distortion
One measure of distortion in waveforms is a figure known as the
total harmonic distortion, or THD, which is the ratio of the rms
value of all the non-fundamental frequency terms to the rms
value of the fundamental frequency term:

THD

I
n 1

2
n

2
1

I
n 1

2
n

1.15

I1

2
2
2
2
Using the relation I I 0 I1 I 2 ...... , the THD can be equivalently

expressed as

THD

I 2 I 12
I

2
1

I 2 I 12
I1

1.16

18

Fourier Series
Distortion Factor
The distortion factor (DF) is the ratio of the rms value of the
fundamental frequency to the total rms value of the current; i.e.

I1
DF
I

1.17

The distortion is related to the THD as follows:

1
DF
1 THD 2

1.18

19

Fourier Series
Example 2
A non-sinusoidal current is expressed in Fourier series form as

i(t ) 8 15 cos 377t 30 o 6 cos 2 377t 45o 2 cos 3 377t 60 o A

Determine (a) the distortion factor of the current, and (b) the total
harmonic distortion of the current.

20

Fourier Series
Example 2 - solution
(a) The rms value of the current is
2

I
15 6 2
I I o2 n 8 2


14.0 A
n 1 2
2 2 2

The distortion factor is

15

I1 2
DF
0.76
I
14.0

21

Fourier Series
Example 2 - solution
b) The total harmonic distortion of the current is

THD

I 2 I 12
I

2
1

15
2
14

2
15

0.86

Therefore,

THD 86%

22

Fourier Series
Form Factor and Crest Factor

Other terms that sometimes are also used for nonsinusoidal

current (or voltage) are form factors (FF) and crest factor (CF):

I rms
FF
I dc

1.19

and

Crest Factor

I peak
I rms

1.20

23

Fourier Series
Exercise 1
A sinusoidal voltage source is applied to a nonlinear load, resulting
in a current A. Determine
(a) the THD of the load current,
(b) the distortion factor of the load current, and
(c) the crest factor of the load current

24

Active and Reactive Power Calculations Using Fourier Series

This section will discuss the power conveyed by these voltages and
currents and express it in terms of the components of the Fourier
series.
Power computations involving a non-sinusoidal source and
a nonlinear load
Consider, for example the nonlinear load in Figure 5 where the
application of a non-sinusoidal periodic voltage v(t) at its terminals
results in the flow of a non-sinusoidal periodic current i(t). If the
non-sinusoidal periodic voltage and current waveforms are
represented by the Fourier series
i(t)

v(t ) Vo Vn cosn o t n

1.21

n 1

v(t)

Nonlinear load

i(t ) I o In cosn o t n
n 1

1.22

Figure 5
25

Active and Reactive Power Calculations Using Fourier Series

then the average power delivered to the load is
T

1
P v(t )i (t )dt
T 0

1.23

Vn In
cos n n
Vo I o

n 1 2

Note that the total average power is the sum of the power at the
frequencies in the Fourier series.

26

Active and Reactive Power Calculations Using Fourier Series

If the voltage and currents have no dc components, then the
expression can be simplified to the form

Vn In
P
n 1 2

cos n n

1.24

The power associated with each harmonic is

Vn In
Pn
2

cos n n

1.25

27

Fourier Series
Example 3

Analysis of the current into, the voltage at, the supply terminals to
a controlled rectifier load gave the following phase values:

i(t ) 100 sint 0.53 20 sin5t 0.49 14 sin7t 0.57 8 sin11t 0.45
6 sin13t 0.61 3 sin17t 0.41 sin19t 0.65
v(t ) 340 sint 10 sin5t 1.16 15 sin7t 2.32 30 sin11t 1.47
20 sin13t 1.31 8 sin17t 2.16 4 sin19t 1.01
Determine the power associated with each harmonic, its direction of flow,
the net power delivered to the load, the rms value of the supply voltage,
and the rms value of the current.
28

Fourier Series
Example 3 - Solution
The power (P) associated with each harmonic is
Vn In
Pn
2

cos n n

If (n n) is less than /2, P is positive and by the passive sign convention

power flow is into the load; on the other hand, if (n n) greater than /2,
P is negative and the power flow is reversed.
For the fundamental component,
V1 I1
cos1 1 100 340 cos0 0.53 14.668 W
P1

2
2
For the fifth harmonic,
V5 I5
cos 5 5 20 10 cos1.16 0.49 7.91 W
P5

2
2

29

Fourier Series
Example 3 - Solution
For the seventh harmonic,

V7 I7
P7
2

cos 7 7 14 15 cos2.32 0.57 18.72 W

Values for the other components are:

Harmonic
number

Power
(W)

n = 11

P11 = - 41.06

n = 13

P13 = - 20.53

n = 17

P17 = - 2.14

n = 19

P19 = - 0.18
30

Fourier Series
Example 3 - Solution
Note that only power at the fundamental frequency is being
delivered to the load, acting in part as a harmonic generator
feeding power back into the supply system at the harmonic
frequencies.

The net power to the load is the sum of the above , giving
P = P1 + P5 + P7 + P13 + P17 + P19
= 14.668 -7.91 18.72 41.06 20.53 2.14 0.18
= 14, 577 W

The rms value of the supply voltage is

340 10 15 30 20 8 4
Vs
2

1
2

242.2 V

31

Fourier Series
Example 3 - Solution
The rms value of the current is

100 20 14 8 6 3 1
I s
2

1
2

273.2 A

32

Fourier Series
Power computations involving a sinusoidal source
and a nonlinear load
From 01_fourier Series and Power Computations in
Nonsinusoidally Driven circuits

33