2006-2007

A discussion about maximum power transfer

Outline: In this record, we will discuss the problem of maximum power transfer in resistor circuit and sinusoidal steady-state circuit. And for the cases of three-phase circuit, we will compare it with other circuits to show that it is the most efficient circuit for maximum power transfer. Finally, we will give some applications in maximum power transformation to verify that this issue is quite useful in real life. Key words: maximum power transfer, resistor circuit, sinusoidal steady-state circuit, three-phase circuit, Applications. Chapter One: Linear Circuit

The Thevenin equivalent is useful to find the maximum power a linear circuit can deliver to a load. As shown in the figure (1), the power delivered to the load is

V Th p = i RL = R +R L Th
2

RL

Figure

Figure (2)

For a given circuit , VTh and RTh are fixed .By varying the load resistance RL ,the power delivered to the load varies as sketched in figure(2).We can see that when RL is equal to

RTh ,the maximum power occurs. We take differential about p in Eq. with respect to RL
and set the result to zero. Then we can get RTh = R L , and the maximum power transferred is

p max =

2 VTh . 4 RTh

But if the domain of RL is limited and RL cant reach RTh (i.e. RL > RTh or

RL < RTh ), the result will change.

1

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Case 1:

RL [R1 , R2 ] Where R1 > RTh .

When RL = R1 , the power reaches to the maximum and p max Case 2:

V Th = R + R R1 . 1 Th

RL [R1 , R2 ] where R1 < RTh .

When RL = R2 ,the power reaches the maximum p max

V Th = R +R 2 Th

R2 .

The two cases above can also be solved from the figure (2).In a word, the smaller the difference between RL & RTh ,the the power is larger. There is another situation when the circuit is Norton equivalent, then we can use the similar process to solve the problems. As shown in figure (3). When

G L = G N ,the power of

GL

reaches the maximum.

Example:

Figure (3) Find the maximum power transferred to resistor R in the circuit of figure (4).

Figure (4) We need the Thevenin equivalent across the resistor R. below.

To find RTh, consider the circuit

22 k + vo

v1 30 k 3vo 1mA

10 k

40 k

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Assume that all resistances are in k ohms and all currents are in mA. 10||40 = 8, and 8 + 22 = 30 1 + 3vo = (v1/30) + (v1/30) = (v1/15) 15 + 45vo = v1 But vo = (8/30)v1, hence, 15 + 45x(8v1/30) v1, which leads to v1 = 1.3636 RTh = v1/1 = -1.3636 k ohms To find VTh, consider the circuit below.

10 k vo 22 k +
100V
+

v1 30 k 3vo + VTh

vo

40 k

(100 vo)/10 = (vo/40) + (vo v1)/22 [(vo v1)/22] + 3vo = (v1/30) Solving (1) and (2), v1 p = VTh2/(4RTh)

(1) (2)

= VTh = -243.6 volts = (243.6)2/[4(-1363.6)] = -10.882 watts

Chapter Two: Sinusoidal steady state Draw the Thevenin equivalent circuit like Figure 1, then VT
DC

Zt Zl

P=

1 2 RL I 2 VT VT I = = ZT + ZL ( R T + R L ) + j ( XT + XL )
VT ( RT + RL ) + ( XT + XL ) 2
2

=
Figure 1 So

RL VT 1 P= 2 ( RT + RL )2 + ( XT + XL )2
2

1. The common situation ( no restriction ) 1 RL VT Let XL = XT then P=

2 ( RT + RL) 2

From what has been discussed in chapter one ,we can simply let RL = RT To make sure that P reach its maximum So

RL = RT

X L = XT

ZL = ZT * .
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And the maximum average power is

PMAX

VT = 8RT

where

VT

is the peak amplitude of the Thevenin

equivalent circuit voltage source. 2. When the load is a resistor . At this situation,

X L =0 , then
2

1 RL VT P= 2 ( RT + RL) 2 + XT 2
2 1 2 ( RT + RL ) + X T 2 RL( RT + RL) P = VT =0 2 2 2 2 ( RT + RL) + XT 2 '

RL =
3. When Adjust

(R

+ XT 2 )

RL
XL

and

X L are restricted to a limited range of values

as near to

XT

and

P' =

dP dRL

2 2 1 2 ( RT + R L ) + ( XT + XL ) 2 RL ( RT + RL ) = VT =0 2 2 2 2 ( RT + RL ) + ( XT + XL ) ( R T + R L ) 2 + ( X T + X L ) 2 = 2 R L ( R T + RL )

RL = RT 2 + ( XT + XL ) 2
So in order to have the max power ,we should adjust

XL

as near to

X T , and

RL

as near to

R T 2 + ( X T + XL ) 2
ZL

4. When Z L = Z L L

can be changed but its phase angle cannot, which means

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L is a constant, then
I= VS ( RT + ZL cos ) + j ( XT + ZL sin )
2

P = I Re ( ZL )
=
So

VS ZL cos L
2

(R

+ ZL cos L ) + ( XT + ZL sin L )
2

dP 2 = 0 ZL = RT2 + X T2 d ZL

That is

2 2 ZL = RT + X T = ZT

Z L = ZT

Example 1: As in the figure below, Vrms=2120,Under the following 4 conditions , ask what value of ZL can make the maximum power of ZL, and P max= ? a). no restriction; b). ZL is a resistor; c). RL(1, 3) , XL(-1.5, -1); d). the phase angle of ZL is fixed to 45 but the magnitude can be changed. Sol:
2k

212<0 mA

2k

J4k Z

Figure 2 a).

Voc =

2 2120 j 4 2 + 2 + j4 (2 + 2) j 4 = 2 + j 2k 2 + 2 + j4

= 30045 V ZT =

= 2 245 Z L = 2 j 2k Pmax = Voc 300 = = 11.25W 4 RT 4 2

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b). XL=0,

RT + RT 2 + 2 2 + 4 + 2 = = 1 + 6 = 1.45 RL = 2 2

c).

ZT = 2 + j 2 X L = 1.5 RL = RT 2 + ( X L + X T ) 2 = 4 + 0.25 = 2.06 RL 2 + X L 2 = 4 + 4 = 8 XL = tan L = tan 45 = 1 RL Z L = RL + X L = 2 j 2

Chapter Three: Three-Phase Circuits:

d).

Then we discuss the power in the special balanced three-Phase Circuits. Since all the balanced circuits can be converted to wye-connections, here we only discuss the Y-connected load. For a Y-connected load:

The phase voltages are:

VAN = 2Vp cos(wt )

VBN = 2Vp cos(wt

2 ) 3 2 ) 3

VCN = 2Vp cos(wt +

ia = 2 cos(wt )

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ib = 2 Ip cos(wt ic = 2 Ip cos(wt +

2 ) 3 2 ) 3

The instantaneous power: V P=Pa+Pb+Pc=VANia =VBNib =VCNic = 3 pIp cos Then we can see that the instantaneous power remains constant.By this, we can also get other powers(total): The total everage power: The total reactive power: The total complex power:

V P= 3 pIp cos = 3 LIL cos V

Q=3 Qp =3VpIp sin = S=P+jQ= 3 LIL V

3 LIL cos V

After so much has been done, we can discuss the advantage of the three-phase system by comparing it with the single-phase system. First, for the two-wire single-phase system, suppose the resister of each line is R, then we IL = PL /VL I have: So the power loss:

Ploss = 2 IL2 R = 2 RPL2 /VL2

Then for the three-wire three-phase system, we also suppose the resister of each line is

R ' IL ' = Ia = Ib = Ic = PL / 3 L V
So the power loss:
2

P ' loss = 3( IL ')2 R ' = 3R ' PL2 / 3 L2 = R ' PL2 /VL2 V

For R= pl / r ,for the same material and length of line, we have:

Ploss / Ploss ' = 2 R / R ' = 2 r '2 / r 2 ,

If the two types of system have the same power loss: Material for single-phase/Material for three-phase= 2 r / 3 r
2

'

=1.33.

From the above we can see that if the same power loss is tolerated in both system, then using three-phase system can reduce the material that we actually need. And if we use the material with the same R, the three-phase system can reduce half the power loss ! All in all, the three-phase circuit can save not only the power but also the material, thats why three-phase circuit is so popular in many fields today. Applications: 1. Microphone. The impedance of each microphone will be listed as a specification. According to the

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Maximum Power Transfer Theorem, when the load impedance matches the microphone impedance, the power transferred will reach the maximum. However, in most cases, the two impedances dont match each other. Despite of this , the microphone still can be used. If the micros impedance is lower than 600 , it is considered as low impedance; when its value is in a range from 600 to 10,000 , it is considered as middle impedance; if the value is greater than 10,000, it will be regarded as high impedance. 2. A model of pocket headphone.

e A3 There are several situations, where the pocket amp could benefit from a higher voltage power supply - when driving high impedance headphones, when the amplifier is being fed from a high gain equalizer or when the listener just wants more volume. With very high impedance headphones (600 ohms or more), the amp may not be able to develop sufficient voltage across the load for maximum power transfer. If the amp is fed from an equalizer or tone control with a high boost, the output of the pocket amp could be driven into clipping. (Refer to the net http://sandro0713.spaces.live.com/blog/) 3. Power consumed in Bluetooth. The bluetooth has low power consumption longevity for battery-powered devices. During data transfer the maximum current drain is 30mA. However during pauses or at lower data rates will be lower. References

[1] Fundamentals of Electric Circuits, Charles K. Alexander, Matthew N. O. Sadiku, Tsing Hua University Publishing [2] http://www.google.com [3] http://sandro0713.spaces.live.com/blog/