5/26/2015

Circuit built

For our lab today we supplied an AC supply to a resistor in series with a load that consisted of an inductor and a resistor. This lab was done to show the use of apparent power and power factor to quantify the AC power delivered to the load.

Results

Above are results and calculations. The resistance is series with the load was changed each time. we measured the voltage coming out of the load as well as the voltage across the resistor in series with the load.

With 10 Ω

With 47Ω

With 100 Ω

Modified Circuit

The next part of the lab required us to include a capacitor in parallel with the load. The main reason for this is to get the voltages being measured to be more in phase.

10Ω

47Ω

100Ω

Summary:

Today we learned about apparent power and power factor. We found that the apparent power is the product of the rms values of voltage and current and is in units of voltage amperes. We also found that the power factor is the cosine of the phase difference between voltage and current. It may also be found by the cosine of the angle of the load impedance. The purpose of this lab was to be able to calculate the AC power delivered to a load and the power dissipated from transmitting this power. Our initial circuit only contains an inductor but a capacitor is then implemented later on. By adding a capacitor, it increases the power factor of the load which will lead to a more efficient power delivery to the load. It is shown in the graphs that the phase difference becomes less apparent when a capacitor is added.