NDSU 03: Phasors ECE 331

Phasors

Objective:
Find the forced response to a differential equation with a sinusoidal input using phasor analysis
Solve AC circuits using techniques from EE206 using phasor techniques

The goal of phasor analysis is to use all the techniques from EE206 for DC analysis with AC circuits which
include inductors and capacitors. To do this, we need to use complex numbers and phasors. With this tool, all
previous techniques, like current loops, voltage notes, etc work. The only catch is your coefficients are complex
numbers.

Phasor Representation of a Sinusoid:

A sinusoidal signal has three degrees of freedom: the amplitude, frequency, and phase shift:
y(t) = a ⋅ cos (ωt + θ)
Assuming the frequency is known and fixed, there are only two degrees of freedom: the amplitude and phase
shift. Phasor notation represents this as a complex number:
a ⋅ cos (ωt + θ) ≡ a∠θ

Another way to look at this uses Euler's identity:

e jωt = cos (ωt) + j sin (ωt)
With a complex exponential, you can create a cos() or sin() function by taking the real part:
cos (ωt) = real(e jωt )
sin (ωt) = real(−je jωt )
You can thus represent cos() and sin() with the coefficient:
cos (ωt) ⇔ 1∠0 0
sin (ωt) ⇔ −j = 1∠ − 90 0

The relatioship between sin() and cos() can be seen on the following phasor diagram:

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 NDSU 03: Phasors ECE 331

Imag +j
-sin(wt)

jwt
imag() e

-cos(wt) wt Real

-1 real() +1
cos(wt)

sin(wt)
-j

Phasor Diagram: +1 = cos(), -j = sin()

Solving Differential Equations Using Phasors:

One use of phasors is to solve differential equations with sinusoidal inputs. For example, find y(t):
d2y dy
dt 2
+ 6 dt + 10y = 4 cos(3t)

Solution:
Step 1: Assume all functions are in the form of
y(t) = a ⋅ e st
Differentiation then becomes multiplication by 's'
dy
dt
= s ⋅ ae st = sy
The LaPlace operator 's' thus translates to 'the derivative of'.

Step 2: Replace the derivatives with 's'

s 2 Y + 6sY + 10Y = 4 cos (3t)

Solve for Y

Y = ⎛⎝ s 2 +6s+10
4 ⎞ ⋅ cos(3t)
⎠
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 NDSU 03: Phasors ECE 331

The gain from the input to y() is ⎛⎝ 4 ⎞ for all 's'. The only point you care about is s = j3 :
s 2 +6s+10 ⎠

cos(3t) = real(1 ⋅ e j3t ) = 1∠0 0

Step 3: Evaluate at s = jω

Y = ⎛⎝ s 2 +6s+10
4 ⎞ ⋅1∠0 0
⎠ s=j3

Y = (0.2219∠ − 86.82 0 )
which means
y(t) = 0.2219 cos (3t − 86.82 0 )

Solving Circuits with Phasors:

Assume all signals are in the form of e st in general, or e jωt for the special case of sinusoidal inputs. The
impedance of a resistor is
v=R⋅i
The impedance of a capacitor is

v= 1
C ∫ (i)dt
If i(t) is in the form of e st , then integration becomes division by s or jω
i(t) = e st

∫ (i)dt = 1s e st = 1s ⋅ i(t)
Then

V = ⎛⎝ Cs
1 ⎞ ⎛ 1 ⎞
⎠ I = ⎝ jωC ⎠ I

The impedance of a capacitor is Z c = ⎛⎝ jωC

1 ⎞
⎠

The impedance of an inductor is

v = L di
dt

's' means derivative, so

V = (Ls)I

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 NDSU 03: Phasors ECE 331

The impedance of an inductor is 'Ls' or Z L = jωL

In summary:

Component Imedance
Input LaPlace Phasor Phasor @ 60Hz
R R R R
L Ls jwL j377L
C 1 / Cs 1 / jwC 1 / j377C

Note that phasor analysis applied whenever you are solving a differential equation (or a circuit with capacitors
and inductors) with a sinusoidal input. In this class, we are almost always dealing with 60Hz, however. Since the
frequency is known and fixed, it is often used.

Example 1: Find the voltage across the 10 Ohm resistor, y(t):

0.2H 10
j75.4

+ y(t) -
X
+ 0.001F
169 cos(377t + 20deg) I(t)
- -j2.65

First, convert to phaser notation. For this forcing function, x(t),

s = j377
Change the input to phaser notation:
X = 169∠20 0
Change RLC to phaser impedances:
R → R = 10Ω
L → jωL = j75.4Ω
C→ 1
jωC
= −j2.65Ω

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 NDSU 03: Phasors ECE 331

Now, use techniques from EE206 to find Y.

(a) Solve for the current:
−169∠20 0 + (j75.4 + 10 − j2.65)I = 0
(10 + j72.75)I = 169∠20 0
I = 2.30∠ − 62.17 0
The output voltage (Y) is
Y = (10)I
Y = 23.01∠ − 62.17 0
meaning
y(t) = 23.01 cos (377t − 62.17 0 )

(b) You could also use voltage division:

Y = ⎛⎝ 10+j75.4−j2.65
10 ⎞ ⋅ 169∠20 0
⎠
Y = 23.01∠ − 62.17 0

Example 2: Find the current Iin:

0.1H 0.1H 0.1H

Iin j37.7 j37.7 j37.7

X +
169 cos(377t) 50 50
- 50

First, convert to phaser notation. In this case, due to the input being a 377rad/sec sine wave (60Hz):
s = j377
The phaser impedances are then:
0.1H = j37.7 Ohms
Simplify this circuit by adding impedances in series and parallel:
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 NDSU 03: Phasors ECE 331

50 + j37.7 || 50 = 28.1111 + j8.2521

(28.1111 + j8.2521) + j37.7 = 28.1111 + j45.9521

(28.1111 + j45.9521) || 50 = 26.2232 + j13.9877

(26.2232 + j13.9877) + j37.7 = 26.2232 + j51.6877

The input sees an impedance of (26.2232 + j51.6877) Ohms. The current is then
169∠0 0 V
I in = X
Z in
= (26.2232+j51.6877)Ω

I in = 1.3192 − j2.6003 Amps

or if you prefer polar form:
I in = 2.9158∠ − 63.0996 0 Amps

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