Clifford Theory: A Geometrical Interpretation of Multivectorial Apparent Power

Abstract

In this paper, a generalization of the concept of electrical power for periodic current and voltage waveforms based on a new generalized complex geometric algebra (GCGA) is proposed. This powerful tool permits, in n-sinusoidal/nonlinear situations, representing and calculating the voltage, current, and apparent power in a single-port electrical network in terms of multivectors. The new expressions result in a novel representation of the apparent power, similar to the Steinmetz's phasor model, based on complex numbers, but limited to the purely sinusoidal case. The multivectorial approach presented is based on the frequency-domain decomposition of the apparent power into three components: the real part and the imaginary part of the complex-scalar associated to active and reactive power respectively, and distortion power, associated to the complex-bivector. A geometrical interpretation of the multivectorial components of apparent power is discussed. Numerical examples illustrate the clear advantages of the suggested approach.