Iavg

Iavg is the average value of a time-varying current i(t) over a specified interval. It is widely used in electrical engineering to describe the mean current flowing through a conductor, component, or circuit when the instantaneous current varies with time, such as in AC signals or pulsed waveforms. For a periodic signal with period T, Iavg = (1/T) ∫_0^T i(t) dt. For discrete measurements with equal sampling intervals Δt, Iavg ≈ (1/N) ∑ i[k], or more generally Iavg ≈ (1/(NΔt)) ∑ i[k] Δt. If the current is a pulse train with amplitude Ip during the on-time of duty cycle D, and zero otherwise, then Iavg = D·Ip for a rectangular waveform.

In practice, Iavg is obtained with current probes, shunt resistors, or power analyzers, and the averaging interval must be chosen to match the signal’s periodicity or the desired time window. The concept is distinct from and frequently contrasted with Irms, which measures the effective heating value, and from peak current Ipk.

Iavg is used to assess heating, thermal design, and efficiency in power electronics, battery charging/discharging, and signal processing, as well as to relate control signals to expected current in PWM-driven circuits. It is related to, but not identical to, instantaneous current i(t) and RMS current, and it depends on the waveform shape and duty cycle.