PHASOR

FUNDAMENTALS
Phasor Definitions
• A line used to represent a complex electrical quantity as a
vector.

• A rotating vector representing a quantity, such as an alternating

current or voltage, that varies sinusoidally.

• A vector that represents a sinusoidally varying quantity, as a

current or voltage, using a line rotating about a point in a plane,
the magnitude of the quantity being proportional to the length
of the line and the phase of the quantity being equal to the
angle between the line and a reference line.
Phasor Representation
 Phasor Rotation

• Here we can see a plot of an electrical quantity and its phasor representation.
• Note the phasor has a constant (usually RMS) magnitude that rotates while the
actual electrical quantity varies sinusoidally over time.
 Multiple Phasors

• Here we can see two phasors of the same frequency rotating.

• Note that their phase relationship to each other is constant – in this case, the
blue phasor leads the red phasor by some constant angle that does not change.
PLOTTING PHASORS

*
V

P
I

CARTESIAN COORDINATE SYSTEM

Phasor Representation

• Consider an example phasor ‘c’ having a magnitude of

120VRMS and a phase angle of 30 degrees:
• Rectangular Form: c = x + jy
• c = 104 + j60 V

• Polar Form: c = |c|θ

• c = 12030° V

• Complex Form: c = |c|(cosθ + jsinθ)

• c = 120(cos(30) + jsin(30)) V

• Exponential Form: c = |c|ejθ

• c = 120ej30 V
 Phasor Conversion

• Rectangular <> Polar Conversion:

• Rectangular Form: c = x + jy

• c = 104 + j60
• Polar Form: c = cθ

• c = 12030°

• Trig Functions (right triangles only):

• Sin(θ) = opposite / hypotenuse
• Cos(θ) = adjacent / hypotenuse
• Tan(θ) = opposite / adjacent

• Pythagorean Theorem
• c2 = a2 + b2
 Phasor Conversion

• Rectangular to Polar Conversion:

• Rectangular Form: c = x + jy
• c = 104 + j60
• c2 = a2 + b2
• c2 = 1042 + 602 >> c = 120

• Tan (θ) = opposite / adjacent

• Tan (θ) = 60 / 104 >> θ = 30°

• Converted: c = 12030°
 Phasor Conversion

• Polar to Rectangular Conversion:

• Polar Form: c = |c|θ

• c = 12030°
• Sin(θ) = o/h
• o = h* Sin(θ)

• o = 120 * Sin(30) = 60

• Cos(θ) = a/h
• a = h * Cos(θ)

• a = 120 * Cos(30) = 104

• Converted: c = 104 + j60

Operators

• Two ‘Operators’ related to phasors are commonly used in the

Power world: ‘j’ and ‘a’
• Mathematically ‘j’ is an imaginary number representing the imaginary
(reactive) portion of a phasor: j = -1
• Graphically, it is a ‘rotator’ constant with an angle of 90°
• It can also be viewed as a ‘unit phasor’ always having a value of 190°

• The ‘a’ Operator, commonly used when working with

Symmetrical Components.
• Graphically it is a ‘rotator’ constant with an angle of 120°
• It is also a ‘unit phasor’ with a value of 1120°
Combining Phasors
• Two common operations are performed with phasors:
• Adding / Subtracting
• Multiplying / Dividing

• It’s generally easier to add/subtract in rectangular form and easier to

multiply/divide in polar form.

• When adding/subtracting in rectangular form, add/subtract the real and

reactive components (respectively):
• Example: (2+j3) + (3+j4) = (5+j7)

• When multiplying/dividing in polar form, multiply/divide the magnitude, and

add/subtract the angle:
• Example: (1030°) * (545°) = 5075°)
 Adding Phasors Graphically

• You can also add vectors graphically by

connecting them head to tail.
• The resultant is the phasor originating
at the origin of the first arrow and
ending at the head of the last arrow.
• Here, if we have the following:
• Va = 1200°V
• Vb = 120-120°V
• Vc = 120120°V
• Va + Vb + Vc = 0
Adding Phasors Graphically
• In this example, the VAB voltage is VA-VB. We subtract VB
by reversing the VB phasor and adding it to VA.
• VAB = VA-VB = VA+(-VB)
 Sinusoidal Waveforms
• Note that adding or subtracting sinusoidal waveforms simply
produces a resultant sinusoidal waveform of the same
frequency.

150

100

50

VA
VB
0
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360 390 420 450 480 510 540 570 600 630 660 690 720 VAB
-VB

-50

-100

-150
 Which One is Easier?

150

100

50
VA
VB
0
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360 390 420 450 480 510 540 570 600 630 660 690 720 VAB
-VB
-50

-100

-150
Phasors – Conjugation

• Most commonly used in power calculation: P=EI where

the conjugate of I is sometimes used and shown as: P=EI*
• Conjugates:
• c = x - jy
• c = c-
• c = |c|(cos - jsin)
• c = |c|e-j
 Phasors – Conjugation

• Calculating: P = E * I we get:
• P = 1200°V * 0.42 -45°A = 50.9-45°VA
• Placing this phasor on one of our previous
Power Flow diagrams gives →→→

• But Blackburn and many others use +Q in

the 1st Quadrant.

• If we calculate P using the conjugate of the

current: P = E * I*
• P = 1200°V * 0.42 +45°A = 50.9+45°VA
• This places P in the 1st Quadrant.
 Phasors – Conjugation
• It’s extremely important to remember that phasor diagrams are
descriptors of circuit information. How they are placed on a diagram
does not change the electrical qualities of a circuit.
Phase Sequence
• Phase Sequence is the order in which phasors pass a reference
point.
• In Symmetrical Components, you will hear the terms: positive
sequence, negative sequence, and zero sequence.
• Positive Sequence = ABC
• Negative Sequence = ACB.
• Zero sequence is all 3 phases rotating together at the same angle.
Resistor AC Response
Unity Power Factor Waveform
60
50

Magnitude
40
30
20
10
0
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360
-10
-20
Angle in Degrees
Voltage Current Power

Phasor Diagram
Inductor AC Response
90 Degree Lagging Waveform
25
20
15
10
5

Magnitude
0
-5 0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360
-10
-15
-20
-25
Angle in Degrees
Voltage Current Power

Phasor Diagram
Capacitor AC Response
90 Degree Leading Waveform
30

20

10

Magnitude
0
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360
-10

-20

-30
Angle in Degrees
Voltage Current Power

Phasor Diagram
Phasor Nomenclature
Phasor Nomenclature
 Phasor Nomenclature
• Phasor diagrams can be drawn ‘open’ or ‘closed’.
 Polarity
• Current into the primary polarity
and out of the secondary polarity
are (essentially) in-phase.
• Voltage drop from polarity to
non-polarity on both windings are
(essentially) in-phase.
 Polarity and
Phasors
• When dealing with Phasors,
we make assumptions about
current and voltage polarity
on our circuit diagram so
polarity is also extremely
important.
• Consider the following circuit:
we’ll do ‘in-service’ checks of
the relays in the bottom
current circuit.

Chemawa
Substation