James L. Kirtley Jr.

James L. Kirtley Jr. is an electrical engineer whose work concerns electric machines and electric power systems. MIT's departmental profile identifies him as a professor emeritus of electrical engineering, with energy and robotics among his research areas.^[ref]

The engineering problem is to match a motor's behaviour to its application. MIT reported in 2016 that Kirtley worked on customized electric motors for the MIT Cheetah robot, where brief peaks of torque serve running and jumping. The same interview describes his interest in electric motors interacting with microgrids, particularly their dynamic behaviour during supply disturbances.^[ref] A short burst and sustained operation place different demands on the system; the largest instantaneous output alone does not describe its operating role.

His AC Power Flow in Linear Networks by James L. Kirtley Jr. connects the phasor representation of electric potential difference and electric current to physical energy transfer. In its peak-amplitude convention, complex electrical power is $S=V_{\mathrm{pk}}{I}_{\mathrm{pk}}^{\ast }/2$. With RMS phasors $V=V_{\mathrm{pk}}/\sqrt{2}$ and $I=I_{\mathrm{pk}}/\sqrt{2}$, this becomes $S=V{I}^{\ast }$. The complex conjugate ensures that the relative phase enters the active power.^[ref]

For an original load example in sinusoidal steady state, take $V=20\mathrm{V}$ and electrical impedance $Z=(3+4i)\Omega$, using RMS phasors and the passive sign convention: electric current enters the positive-potential terminal. A series resistor and inductor realize this model at the specified angular frequency when $R=3\Omega$ and $\omega L=4\Omega$. ThenThus active power is 48 watts, reactive power is 64 vars, apparent power is 80 volt-amperes, and power factor is $48/80=0.6$. Write $\varphi =\arctan (4/3)$ and $x=\omega t$. The corresponding electric potential difference and electric current areMultiplying and applying a trigonometric identity gives instantaneous powerIts cycle average is 48 watts, while its range is $[-32,128]$ watts. The negative portions represent temporary return of stored energy from this ideal load; the electrical resistance still dissipates a positive average. A synchronized product of the two waveforms reveals this behaviour, whereas multiplying their root mean square magnitudes gives only the apparent power.