Course Overview
Upon completion of this course the learner will have a good understanding of the principles of DC and AC circuits, as well as the components that comprise them (resistors, capacitors and inductors). He/she will also have the requisite skills to analyze single phase and three phase AC circuits to calculate the currents as well as the power flowing to the electrical load from the electrical source. He/she will also be able to calculate the power factor in an AC circuit and suggest solutions to improve the power factor. The learner will be able to carry out manual calculations as well as employing computer simulation software to verify the values calculated manually. He/she will also be able to use measurement equipment to measure electrical quantities in DC and AC circuits.
Learning Outcomes
Explain the principle of operation of the basic electrical components: resistors, capacitors, and inductors.
Compare the three types of electrical components in terms of their maximum ratings as well as how they dissipate or store energy.
Analyze both simple DC circuits and AC circuits.
Represent electrical sinusoidal quantities as phasors on a phasor plane and explain the concept of lagging and leading currents with respect to voltage.
Find the values of voltage and current in DC and AC circuits theoretically and practically.
Calculate and use measuring equipment to find the value of power in AC electrical circuits including instantaneous power, active power, reactive power, and apparent power.
Explain the concept of the power factor in AC electrical circuits and carry out the necessary calculations to correct the power factor.
Apply computer simulation tools to solve and analyze DC and AC circuits.
Compare and explain the differences between the results obtained by manual calculations and those obtained by the of computer simulation.
Carry out simple electrical calculations on balanced three phase circuits, to find the value of current and power.
