In the context of AC (alternating current) fundamentals, the peak value refers to the maximum value that an AC waveform reaches during one cycle. AC is characterized by its periodic variation in voltage and current over time, typically in a sinusoidal waveform.
For a sinusoidal AC waveform, the peak value (also known as the peak amplitude) is the absolute maximum value that the waveform reaches from its baseline or zero-point. It's important to note that the peak value is different from the amplitude, which is half of the peak value.
Mathematically, if we represent a sinusoidal waveform as:
(
)
=
β
sin
β‘
(
+
)
V(t)=V
m
β
β
sin(Οt+Ο)
Where:
(
)
V(t) is the instantaneous voltage at time
t
V
m
β
is the peak value (maximum value) of the voltage waveform
Ο is the angular frequency of the waveform (equal to
2
Γ
2ΟΓ frequency)
t is time
Ο is the phase angle of the waveform
The peak value (
V
m
β
) is simply the absolute maximum value of the sinusoidal waveform. For a standard sinusoidal waveform, the peak value is related to the amplitude (
A) as follows:
=
2
Γ
V
m
β
=
2
β
ΓA
Where
A is the amplitude of the waveform.
For example, if you have an AC waveform with an amplitude of 10 volts, the peak value would be:
=
2
Γ
10
β
14.14
β
volts
V
m
β
=
2
β
Γ10β14.14volts
Understanding peak values is important for various electrical calculations and design considerations, such as determining voltage ratings for components, calculating power and current in AC circuits, and more.