AC Circuits | Three-Phase Circuits

Polyphase systems are ac circuits with more than one phase. In these systems, ac sources operate at the same frequency
but with different phases. A two-phase system is produced by a generator with two coils placed perpendicular to each
other. This results in the voltage generated by one coil lagging the other by 90°. Similarly, a three-phase system is
produced by a generator with three sources having the same amplitude and frequency but out of phase by 120°. The
three-phase system is the most common and cost-effective type of polyphase system.

Balanced Three-Phase Voltages

Balanced three-phase voltages are equal in magnitude, with the phase angles of the three phases varying from each
other by 120°.

The three-phase ac generator below produces three-phase voltages. The three coils with terminals a-a′, b-b′, and c-c′ are
separated by 120° around the stator. Induced voltages in the coils as the rotor rotates are therefore equal in magnitude
but out of phase by 120°. A three-phase system can be thought of as three single-phase circuits; each coil can be
regarded as a single-phase generator by itself, and the three-phase generator is capable of powering both single-phase
and three-phase loads. The voltage sources are either wye-connected as shown in Figure 2a or delta-connected as in
Figure 2b. Voltage and current values in this study guide are in rms values unless otherwise specified.

Figure 1: Three-phase generator

Figure 2: Three-phase voltage sources: (a) Y-connected source, (b) ∆-connected source

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Wye-connected Voltages

In Figure 12.6a, Van, Vbn and Vcn are the phase voltages. The voltages are balanced if

Two combinations are possible:

Figure 3: (a) abc or positive phase sequence, (b) acb or negative phase sequence

Figure 3a shows the abc or positive sequence where the rotor in Figure 1 rotates counterclockwise: Van leads Vbn, and Vbn
leads Vcn. The phasor sequence could be abc, bca, or cab.

Figure b shows the acb or negative sequence where the rotor rotates clockwise: Van leads Vcn, and Vcn leads Vbn. The
phasor sequence could be acb, cba, or bac.

The sequence in which the phase voltages reach their peak values with respect to time is called the phase sequence.
Just as the direction of the motor rotation determines the phase sequence, we can conversely determine the direction of
the rotation through the phase sequence.

Balanced Load

Loads can also be either wye-connected or delta-connected, depending on the application. When phase impedances are
equal in magnitude and phase, the three-phase load is balanced.

Let ZY be the load impedance per phase. A balanced wye-connected load satisfies

Let be the load impedance per phase. A balanced delta-connected load satisfies

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From the ∆-Y and Y-∆ transformations, we recall that

Three-phase sources and loads can be either Y or ∆-connected and therefore, there are four possible connections: Y-Y
connection, Y-∆ connection, ∆-∆ connection, and ∆-Y connection.

Balanced Wye-Wye Connection

Any balanced three-phase system can be simplified to an equivalent Y-Y connection. A balanced Y-connected source and
a balanced Y-connected load make up a balanced Y-Y system.

Figure 4: A balanced Y-Y system

In Figure 4, Zs is the source impedance, Zl is the line impedance, ZL is the impedance of each load phase, and Zn is the
neutral line impedance.

ZY, which was introduced earlier as the load impedance per phase, is also the sum of Zs , Zl and ZL.

When no Zs or Zl is given as both are often negligible when compared to ZL, it is safe to assume that ZY = ZL and the Y-Y
system is simplified to Figure 5.

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 Figure 5: Simplified Y-Y connection

Van, Vbn, and Vcn are the line-to-neutral voltages or simply the phase voltages. In the positive sequence,

Vab, Vbc, and Vca are the line-to-line voltages or simply called the line voltages (VL) and

The line voltages (VL) are the phase voltages multiplied by , or

where Vp is the phase voltage and

VL also leads the corresponding Vp by , as shown in Figure 6.

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 Figure 6: The phasor relationship between line voltages and phase voltages

Applying KVL to each phase in Figure 5,

we conclude that the sum of the line currents is zero.

This shows that the voltage across the neutral wire is zero and thus, the neutral line can be removed to reduce the
system further.

Figure 7: Single-phase equivalent circuit

Another way of looking at the balanced Y-Y system is to consider one phase, and examine the single-phase equivalent
circuit. From the analysis, we can see that the line current is

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Using the phase sequence can yield other line currents from Ia. When the system is balanced, it is possible to analyze
only one phase.

Balanced Wye-Delta Connection

A balanced Y-connected source and a balanced -connected load make up a balanced system. Assuming the
positive sequence,

Figure 8: Balanced connection

The line voltages are equal to the voltage across the load impedances:

And the phase currents are

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Applying KCL at A, B, and C to get the line currents,

or

which shows that the line current is times the phase current where

The line currents lag the corresponding phase currents by 30° when assuming the positive sequence.

Figure 9: Phasor relationship between phase currents and line currents

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We can also transform the -connected connected load to an equivalent Y-connected load using

We end up with a Y-Y system as in Figure 12.10. The system can now be analyzed as its single-phase equivalent
in Figure 12.16 and the line currents can be calculated.

Figure 10 : Single-phase equivalent of a balanced wye-delta circuit

Once the line currents are obtained, the phase currents can be calculated from the fact that each phase current leads the
corresponding line current by .

Balanced Delta-Delta Connection

A balanced ∆-connected source and a balanced ∆-connected load make up a balanced ∆-∆ system.

Figure 11: A balanced connection

The phase voltages are

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The line voltages are the same as the phase voltages

And the phase currents are

Applying KCL at nodes A, B, and C yields the line currents

As in other systems, the line currents lag the corresponding phase currents by and

The source and load can also be converted to their Y equivalents.

Balanced Delta-Wye Connection

A balanced -connected source and a balanced Y-connected load make up a balanced system.

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 Figure 12: A balanced connection

Assuming positive sequence,

The phase voltages are the same as the line voltages. One way to obtain the line currents is to apply KVL to the loop
aANBba which yields

From Ia, we can obtain the other line currents:

The phase currents are also equal to the line currents.

Another method to determine the line currents is by replacing the source with its Y-connected equivalent. The phase
voltages of the equivalent source are obtained by dividing the delta-connected line voltage by and shifting the
phase by -30°:

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The circuit then becomes a wye-wye system and an equivalent single-phase circuit can be used.

Figure 13: Single-phase equivalent circuit

In Figure 13, Ia is given by

We can also transform the wye-connected load to an equivalent delta-connected load which results in a
system.

Table 1: Phase and line voltages/currents of three-phase systems

System Phase voltage/currents Line voltages/currents

Y-Y connection

the same as line currents

connection

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 the same as phase voltages
-connection

the same as phase voltages

connection

the same as line currents

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