2-Sinusoidal Waveform or Sine Wave in An AC Circuit

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Home / AC Circuits / Sinusoidal Waveforms
Sinusoidal Waveforms
When an electric current ows through a wire or conductor, a
circular magnetic eld is created around the wire and whose
strength is related to the current value.
If this single wire conductor is moved or rotated within a stationary magnetic eld, an “EMF”, (Electro-Motive Force) is
induced within the conductor due to the movement of the conductor through the magnetic ux.
From this we can see that a relationship exists between Electricity and Magnetism giving us, as Michael Faraday discovered
the effect of “Electromagnetic Induction” and it is this basic principal that electrical machines and generators use to generate
a Sinusoidal Waveform for our mains supply.
In the Electromagnetic Induction, tutorial we said that when a single wire conductor moves through a permanent magnetic
eld thereby cutting its lines of ux, an EMF is induced in it.
However, if the conductor moves in parallel with the magnetic eld in the case of points A and B, no lines of ux are cut and no
EMF is induced into the conductor, but if the conductor moves at right angles to the magnetic eld as in the case of points C
and D, the maximum amount of magnetic ux is cut producing the maximum amount of induced EMF.
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Also, as the conductor cuts the magnetic eld at different angles between points A and C, 0 and 90o
the amount of induced EMF will lie somewhere between this zero and maximum value. Then the
amount of emf induced within a conductor depends on the angle between the conductor and the
magnetic ux as well as the strength of the magnetic eld.
An AC generator uses the principal of Faraday’s electromagnetic induction to convert a mechanical

energy such as rotation, into electrical energy, a Sinusoidal Waveform. A simple generator consists of
a pair of permanent magnets producing a xed magnetic eld between a north and a south pole. Inside
this magnetic eld is a single rectangular loop of wire that can be rotated around a xed axis allowing it
to cut the magnetic ux at various angles as shown below.
Basic Single Coil AC Generator

As the coil rotates anticlockwise around the central axis which is perpendicular to the magnetic eld, 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 ow 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 ow 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 360o, 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 eld, 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 eld.
Strength – the strength of the magnetic eld.
Length – the length of the coil or conductor passing through the magnetic eld.
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 eld 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
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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.
Instantaneous Voltage
The EMF induced in the coil at any instant of time depends upon the rate or speed at which the coil cuts the lines of magnetic
ux between the poles and this is dependant upon the angle of rotation, Theta ( θ ) of the generating device. Because an AC
waveform is constantly changing its value or amplitude, the waveform at any instant in time will have a different value from
its next instant in time.
For example, the value at 1ms will be different to the value at 1.2ms and so on. These values are known generally as the
Instantaneous Values, or Vi Then the instantaneous value of the waveform and also its direction will vary according to the
position of the coil within the magnetic eld as shown below.
Displacement of a Coil within a Magnetic Field

The instantaneous values of a sinusoidal waveform is given as the “Instantaneous value = Maximum value x sin θ ” and this is
generalized by the formula.
Where, Vmax is the maximum voltage induced in the coil and θ = ωt, is the rotational angle of the coil with respect to time.
If we know the maximum or peak value of the waveform, by using the formula above the instantaneous values at various
points along the waveform can be calculated. By plotting these values out onto graph paper, a sinusoidal waveform shape can
be constructed.
In order to keep things simple we will plot the instantaneous values for the sinusoidal waveform at every 45o of rotation
giving us 8 points to plot. Again, to keep it simple we will assume a maximum voltage, VMAX value of 100V. Plotting the
instantaneous values at shorter intervals, for example at every 30o (12 points) or 10o (36 points) for example would result in a
more accurate sinusoidal waveform construction.
Sinusoidal Waveform Construction
Coil Angle ( θ ) 0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360
e = Vmax.sinθ 0 70.71 100 70.71 0 -70.71 -100 -70.71 -0

The points on the sinusoidal waveform are obtained by projecting across from the various positions of rotation between 0o
and 360o to the ordinate of the waveform that corresponds to the angle, θ and when the wire loop or coil rotates one
complete revolution, or 360o, one full waveform is produced.
From the plot of the sinusoidal waveform we can see that when θ is equal to 0o, 180o or 360o, the generated EMF is zero as
the coil cuts the minimum amount of lines of ux. But when θ is equal to 90o and 270o the generated EMF is at its maximum
value as the maximum amount of ux is cut.
Therefore a sinusoidal waveform has a positive peak at 90o and a negative peak at 270o. Positions B, D, F and H generate a
value of EMF corresponding to the formula: e = Vmax.sinθ.
Then the waveform shape produced by our simple single loop generator is commonly referred to as a Sine Wave as it is said to
be sinusoidal in its shape. This type of waveform is called a sine wave because it is based on the trigonometric sine function
used in mathematics, ( x(t) = Amax.sinθ ).
When dealing with sine waves in the time domain and especially current related sine waves the unit of measurement used
along the horizontal axis of the waveform can be either time, degrees or radians. In electrical engineering it is more common
to use the Radian as the angular measurement of the angle along the horizontal axis rather than degrees. For example,
ω = 100 rad/s, or 500 rad/s.
Radians
The Radian, (rad) is de ned mathematically as a quadrant of a circle where the distance subtended on the circumference of
the circle is equal to the length of the radius (r) of the same circle. Since the circumference of a circle is equal to 2π x radius,
there must be 2π radians around the 360o of a circle.
In other words, the radian is a unit of angular measurement and the length of one radian (r) will t 6.284 (2*π) times around
the whole circumference of a circle. Thus one radian equals 360o/2π = 57.3o. In electrical engineering the use of radians is
very common so it is important to remember the following formula.
De nition of a Radian

Using radians as the unit of measurement for a sinusoidal waveform would give 2π radians for one full cycle of 360o. Then
half a sinusoidal waveform must be equal to 1π radians or just π (pi). Then knowing that pi, (π) is equal to 3.142, the
relationship between degrees and radians for a sinusoidal waveform is therefore given as:
Relationship between Degrees and Radians
Applying these two equations to various points along the waveform gives us.


The conversion between degrees and radians for the more common equivalents used in sinusoidal analysis are given in the
following table.
Relationship between Degrees and Radians
Degrees Radians Degrees Radians Degrees Radians
3π 3π
0o 0 135o 270o
4 2
π 5π 5π

30o 150o 300o
6 6 3
π 7π
45o 180o π 315o
4 4
π 7π 11π

60o 210o 330o
3 6 6
π 5π
90o 225o 360o 2π
2 4
2π 4π
120o 240o
3 3
The velocity at which the generator rotates around its central axis determines the frequency of the sinusoidal waveform. As
the frequency of the waveform is given as ƒ Hz or cycles per second, the waveform also has angular frequency, ω, (Greek
letter omega), in radians per second. Then the angular velocity of a sinusoidal waveform is given as.
Angular Velocity of a Sinusoidal Waveform
and in the United Kingdom, the angular velocity or frequency of the mains supply is given as:

in the USA as their mains supply frequency is 60Hz it can be given as: 377 rad/s
So we now know that the velocity at which the generator rotates around its central axis determines the frequency of the
sinusoidal waveform and which can also be called its angular velocity, ω. But we should by now also know that the time
required to complete one full revolution is equal to the periodic time, (T) of the sinusoidal waveform.
As frequency is inversely proportional to its time period, ƒ = 1/T we can therefore substitute the frequency quantity in the
above equation for the equivalent periodic time quantity and substituting gives us.

The above equation states that for a smaller periodic time of the sinusoidal waveform, the greater must be the angular
velocity of the waveform. Likewise in the equation above for the frequency quantity, the higher the frequency the higher the
angular velocity.
Sinusoidal Waveform Example No1

A sinusoidal waveform is de ned as: Vm = 169.8 sin(377t) volts. Calculate the RMS voltage of the waveform, its frequency and
the instantaneous value of the voltage, (Vi) after a time of six milliseconds (6ms).
We know from above that the general expression given for a sinusoidal waveform is:

Then comparing this to our given expression for a sinusoidal waveform above of Vm = 169.8 sin(377t) will give us the peak
voltage value of 169.8 volts for the waveform.
The waveforms RMS voltage is calculated as:

The angular velocity (ω) is given as 377 rad/s. Then 2πƒ = 377. So the frequency of the waveform is calculated as:

The instantaneous voltage Vi value after a time of 6mS is given as:

Note that the angular velocity at time t = 6mS is given in radians (rads). We could, if so wished, convert this into an equivalent
angle in degrees and use this value instead to calculate the instantaneous voltage value. The angle in degrees of the
instantaneous voltage value is therefore given as:
Sinusoidal Waveform
Then the generalised format used for analysing and calculating the various values of a Sinusoidal Waveform is as follows:
A Sinusoidal Waveform

In the next tutorial about Phase Difference we will look at the relationship between two sinusoidal waveforms that are of the
same frequency but pass through the horizontal zero axis at different time intervals.
85 Comments
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SUBMIT
Isaac
So helpful.
Posted on February 03rd 2020 | 3:02 am  Reply
Manikumar
Sir/madam I have a doubt that by varying voltage current also varying. But ampere of current means charge /time where charge per second.
But in ac current in one second there is one positive and one negative and also 50 or X no of cycles per second. How can I understand the how
much current is passing… Please help me.
Posted on October 27th 2019 | 9:04 am  Reply
Wayne Storr
In an AC circuit, impedance determines how much ac current is passing.
Posted on October 27th 2019 | 3:02 pm  Reply
Siva
I need a solution for a problem…
Posted on October 21st 2019 | 5:43 pm  Reply
ROMAN
Parallel with magnetic eld are C&D points
Posted on October 13th 2019 | 10:11 am  Reply
SULTAN
yes
Posted on September 04th 2019 | 11:08 am  Reply
Thejaswi
Nothing
Posted on August 28th 2019 | 3:18 pm  Reply
christopher
con rm is this statement Is correct, reference to this gure.
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/accircuits-acp15.gif
However, if the conductor moves in parallel with the magnetic eld in the case of points A and B, no lines of ux are cut and no EMF is induced
into the conductor, but if the conductor moves at right angles to the magnetic eld as in the case of points C and D, the maximum amount of
magnetic ux is cut producing the maximum amount of induced EMF.
Posted on May 22nd 2019 | 7:40 pm  Reply
Wayne Storr
We do not have to con rm anything, the tutorial is correct as given.
Posted on May 22nd 2019 | 7:57 pm  Reply
PK
The formula between Radian and Degrees is wrong. The names are backwards.
Posted on May 14th 2019 | 5:28 pm  Reply
More
Hadassah Tinamamaleen Apwaka

It’s helpful.
Posted on May 05th 2019 | 8:03 am  Reply
maina mumbi
am learning a-lot
Posted on April 21st 2019 | 11:56 pm  Reply
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Home / AC Circuits / Sinusoidal Waveforms

An AC generator uses the principal of Faraday’s electromagnetic induction to convert a mechanical

Basic Single Coil AC Generator

Displacement of a Coil within a Magnetic Field

Sinusoidal Waveform Construction

e = Vmax.sinθ 0 70.71 100 70.71 0 -70.71 -100 -70.71 -0

Relationship between Degrees and Radians

Relationship between Degrees and Radians

Degrees Radians Degrees Radians Degrees Radians

π 5π 5π

π 7π 11π

Angular Velocity of a Sinusoidal Waveform

Sinusoidal Waveform Example No1

The waveforms RMS voltage is calculated as:

Join the conversation

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Posted on February 03rd 2020 | 3:02 am  Reply

Posted on October 27th 2019 | 9:04 am  Reply

Posted on October 27th 2019 | 3:02 pm  Reply

Posted on October 21st 2019 | 5:43 pm  Reply

Posted on October 13th 2019 | 10:11 am  Reply

Posted on September 04th 2019 | 11:08 am  Reply

Posted on August 28th 2019 | 3:18 pm  Reply

Posted on May 22nd 2019 | 7:40 pm  Reply

Posted on May 22nd 2019 | 7:57 pm  Reply

Posted on May 14th 2019 | 5:28 pm  Reply

Hadassah Tinamamaleen Apwaka

Posted on May 05th 2019 | 8:03 am  Reply

Posted on April 21st 2019 | 11:56 pm  Reply

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