Capacitors and Inductors

EE 123N
Elementary Electrical Engineering
 Capacitors and Inductors

• Introduction
• Capacitors
• Series and Parallel Capacitors
• Inductors
• Series and Parallel Inductors

2
 Introduction

• Resistor: a passive element which dissipates

energy only
• Two important passive linear circuit
elements:
1) Capacitor
2) Inductor
• Capacitor and inductor can store energy
only and they can neither generate nor
dissipate energy.
3
Michael Faraday (1971-1867)

4
 Capacitors
• A capacitor consists of two conducting plates
separated by an insulator (or dielectric).

εA
C
d
   r 0
 0  8.854 10 12 (F/m)

5
 Capacitors

εA
C
d
• Three factors affecting the value of
capacitance:
1. Area: the larger the area, the greater the
capacitance.
2. Spacing between the plates: the smaller the
spacing, the greater the capacitance.
3. Material permittivity: the higher the permittivity,
the greater the capacitance.

6
 Capacitors

(a) Polyester capacitor, (b) Ceramic capacitor, (c) Electrolytic capacitor

7
Capacitors

Variable capacitors

8
Capacitors

9
Capacitors

10
 Charge in Capacitors

• The relation between the charge in plates and

the voltage across a capacitor is given below.
q  Cv
q
1F  1 C/V
Linear
Nonlinear

11
 Voltage Limit on a Capacitor
• Since q=Cv, the plate charge increases as the
voltage increases.
• The electric field intensity between two plates
increases.
• If the voltage across the capacitor is so large
that the field intensity is large enough to break
down the insulation of the dielectric, the
capacitor is out of work.
• Hence, every practical capacitor has a
maximum limit on its operating voltage.
12
I-V Relation of Capacitor

dq dv
+ i q  Cv, i  C
v C
dt dt

13
 Physical Meaning
+ i
dv
iC v C
dt
-
• when v is a constant voltage, then i=0; a constant
voltage across a capacitor creates no current through
the capacitor, the capacitor in this case is the same as
an open circuit.
• If v is abruptly changed, then the current will have an
infinite value that is practically impossible. Hence, a
capacitor is impossible to have an abrupt change in
its voltage except an infinite current is applied.
14
 Capacitors

• A capacitor is an open circuit to dc.

• The voltage on a capacitor cannot change
abruptly.

Abrupt change
15
 Capacitors

dv 1 t +
v(t )   idt  v()  0 
i
iC
dt C  v C

1 t
v(t )   idt  v(to)
C to
 v(to)  q(to) / C  -

• The charge on a capacitor is an integration of

current through the capacitor. Hence, the
memory effect counts.

16
 Energy Storing in Capacitor

dv
p  vi  Cv
dt
t dv t
v (t ) 1 2
w   pdt  C  v dt  C v (  ) vdv  Cv v (t )
v (  )
dt 2
1 ( v()  0)
w(t )  Cv 2 (t ) + i
2 C
v

q 2 (t )
w(t )  -
2C

Capacitors and Inductors 17

 Model of Practical Capacitor

Capacitors and Inductors 18

 Example 1

(a) Calculate the charge stored on a 3-pF

capacitor with 20V across it.
(b) Find the energy stored in the capacitor.

Capacitors and Inductors 19

 Example 1

Solution:
(a) Since q  Cv,
12
q  3 10  20  60pC

(b) The energy stored is

1 2 1 12
w  Cv   3  10  400  600pJ
2 2

Capacitors and Inductors 20

 Example 2

• The voltage across a 5- F capacitor is

v(t )  10 cos 6000t V
Calculate the current through it.
Solution:
• By definition, the current is
dv 6 d
i C  5 10 (10 cos 6000t )
dt dt
 5 10 6  6000 10 sin 6000t  0.3 sin 6000t A

Capacitors and Inductors 21

 Example 3
• Determine the voltage across a 2-F capacitor if the
current through it is
3000t
i (t )  6e mA
Assume that the initial capacitor voltage is zero.
Solution:
• Since v  1 idt  v(0) and v(0)  0,
t

C 0
v
1 t 3000 t 3  10 3000t t
3
6 0
3
6e dt 10  e
2  10  3000 0

3000t
 (1  e )V
Capacitors and Inductors 22
 Example 4

• Determine the current through a 200- F

capacitor whose voltage is shown in the figure.

Capacitors and Inductors 23

 Example 4

Solution:
• The voltage waveform can be described
mathematically as
 50t V 0  t 1
 100  50t V 1 t  3
v(t )  
 200  50t V 3t  4

 0 otherwise

Capacitors and Inductors 24

 Example 4

• Since i = C dv/dt and C = 200 F, we take the

derivative of to obtain

 50 0  t  1  10mA 0  t 1
6  50 1  t  3  10mA 1 t  3
i (t )  200  10   
50 3t  4 10mA 3t  4
 
 0 otherwise  0 otherwise

• Thus the current waveform is shown in

following figure.

Capacitors and Inductors 25

 Example 4

Capacitors and Inductors 26

 Example 5

• Obtain the energy stored in each capacitor in

fig. (a) under dc condition.

Capacitors and Inductors 27

 Example 5

Solution:
• Under dc condition, we replace each capacitor
with an open circuit, in fig. (b). By current
division, 3
i (6mA )  2mA
3 2 4
 v1  2000 i  4 V, v 2  4000i  8 V
1 1 3
 w1  C1v1  (2  10 )(4)  16mJ
2 2

2 2
1 1 3
w2  C2 v2  (4  10 )(8)  128mJ
2 2

2 2
Capacitors and Inductors 28
 Parallel Capacitors

Ceq  C1  C2  C3  ....  C N

Capacitors and Inductors 29

 Parallel Capacitors

i  i1  i2  i3  ...  iN
dv dv dv dv
i  C1  C2  C3  ...  C N
dt dt dt dt
 N
 dv
   CK   Ceq
dv
 k 1  dt dt
Ceq  C1  C2  C3  ....  CN
• The equivalent capacitance of N parallel-
connected capacitors is the sum of the
individual capacitance.
Capacitors and Inductors 30
 Series Capacitors

1 1 1 1 1
    ... 
Ceq C1 C2 C3 CN

Capacitors and Inductors 31

 Series Capacitors
v(t )  v1 (t )  v2 (t )  ...  vN (t )
1 t 1 1 1 1 t
Ceq id  ( C1  C2  C3  ...  CN )id
q(t ) q(t ) q(t ) q(t )
  
Ceq C1 C2 CN
• The equivalent capacitance of series-
connected capacitors is the reciprocal of the
sum of the reciprocals of the individual
capacitances.
1 1 1 C1C2
  Ceq 
Ceq C1 C2 C1  C2
Capacitors and Inductors 32
Capacitors in Series & Parallel

• These results enable us to look the capacitor in

this way: 1/C has the equivalent effect as the
resistance. The equivalent capacitor of
capacitors connected in parallel or series can
be obtained via this point of view, so is the Y-
△ connection and its transformation

Capacitors and Inductors 33

 Example 6

• Find the equivalent capacitance seen between

terminals a and b of the circuit in figure.

Capacitors and Inductors 34

 Example 6

Solution:
 20  F and 5  F capacitors are in series :
20  5
  4F
20  5
 4  F capacitor is in parallel with the 6  F
and 20  F capacitors:
 4  6  20  30F
 30  F capacitor is in series with
the 60  F capacitor.
30  60
Ceq  F  20F
30  60
Capacitors and Inductors 35
 Example 7

• For the circuit in the figure, find the voltage

across each capacitor.

Capacitors and Inductors 36

 Example 7

Capacitors and Inductors 37

 Example 7
Solution:
• Two parallel capacitors:
1
 Ceq  1 1 1 mF  10mF
 
60 30 20
• Total charge
3
q  Ceq v  10  10  30  0.3 C
• This is the charge on the 20-mF and 30-mF capacitors,
because they are in series with the 30-v source. ( A
crude way to see this is to imagine that charge acts
like current, since i = dq/dt)

Capacitors and Inductors 38

 Example 7
q 0.3
• Therefore, v1   3
 15 V,
C1 20  10
q 0.3
v2   3
 10 V
C2 30  10
• Having determined v1 and v2, we now use KVL to
determine v3 by
v3  30  v1  v2  5V
• Alternatively, since the 40-mF and 20-mF capacitors
are in parallel, they have the same voltage v3 and their
combined capacitance is 40+20=60mF.
q 0.3
 v3   3
 5V
Capacitors and Inductors
60mF 60  10 39
 Joseph Henry (1979-1878)

Capacitors and Inductors 40

 Inductors
• An inductor is made of a coil of conducting wire

N A2
L
l

Capacitors and Inductors 41

 Inductors
N 2 A
L
l
   r 0
0  4 10 7 (H/m)

N : number of turns.
l :length.
A:cross  sectional area.
 : permeabili ty of the core

Capacitors and Inductors 42

 Inductors

(a) air-core
(b) iron-core
(c) variable iron-core

Capacitors and Inductors 43

 Flux in Inductors

• The relation between the flux in inductor and

the current through the inductor is given below.
  Li
ψ Linear
1H  1 Weber/A
Nonlinear

Capacitors and Inductors 44

 Energy Storage Form

• An inductor is a passive element designed to

store energy in the magnetic field while a
capacitor stores energy in the electric field.

Capacitors and Inductors 45

 I-V Relation of Inductors
i
• An inductor consists of
+
a coil of conducting
wire. d di
v L v
L
dt dt
-

Capacitors and Inductors 46

 Physical Meaning
d di
v L
dt dt
• When the current through an inductor is a constant,
then the voltage across the inductor is zero, same as a
short circuit.
• No abrupt change of the current through an inductor
is possible except an infinite voltage across the
inductor is applied.
• The inductor can be used to generate a high voltage,
for example, used as an igniting element.

Capacitors and Inductors 47

 Inductors

• An inductor are like a short circuit to dc.

• The current through an inductor cannot change
instantaneously.

Capacitors and Inductors 48

 Inductors
1 1 t
di  vdt i   v(t )dt
L L  +

v
1 t
i   v(t )dt  i(to)
L

L to -

The inductor has memory.

Capacitors and Inductors 49

 Energy Stored in an Inductor
 di 
P  vi   L  i +
 dt 
t  di
t
w   pdt    L idt  v
L

 dt  -
i (t ) 1 2 1 2
 L i (  ) i di  Li (t )  Li () i ()  0,
2 2
• The energy stored in an inductor
1 2
w(t )  Li (t )
2
Capacitors and Inductors 50
 Model of a Practical Inductor

Capacitors and Inductors 51

 Example 8

• The current through a 0.1-H inductor is i(t) =

10te-5t A. Find the voltage across the inductor
and the energy stored in it.
Solution:
di
Since v  L and L  0.1H,
dt
d
v  0.1 (10te 5t )  e 5t  t (5)e 5t  e 5t (1  5t )V
dt
The energy stored is
1 2 1
w  Li  (0.1)100t 2 e 10t  5t 2 e 10t J
2 2
Capacitors and Inductors 52
 Example 9

• Find the current through a 5-H inductor if the

voltage across it is
30t , t  0
2
v(t )  
 0, t0
Also find the energy stored within 0 < t < 5s.
Assume i(0)=0.
Solution: 1 t
Since i  t v(t )dt  i (t0 ) and L  5H.
L 0

3
1 t 2 t
i  0 30t dt  0  6   2t 3 A
5 3
Capacitors and Inductors 53
 Example 9
The power p  vi  60t 5 , and the energy stored is then
6
5 t 5
w   pdt  0 60t dt  60 5
 156.25 kJ
60
Alternatively, we can obtain the energy stored using
1 2
w  Li
1 2 1 2
w(5)  w(0)  Li (5)  Li (0)
2 2
1
 (5)(2  5 )  0  156.25 kJ
3 2

2
as obtained before.
Capacitors and Inductors 54
 Example 10

• Consider the circuit in

Fig (a). Under dc
conditions, find:
(a) i, vC, and iL.
(b) the energy stored
in the capacitor and
inductor.

Capacitors and Inductors 55

 Example 10

Solution:
(a ) Under dc condition : capacitor  open circuit
inductor  short circuit
12
i  iL   2 A, vc  5i  10 V
1 5
(b) 1 1
wc  Cvc  (1)(10 )  50J,
2
2

2 2
1 2 1
wL  Li  (2)(2 2 )  4J
2 2
Capacitors and Inductors 56
 Inductors in Series

Leq  L1  L2  L3  ...  LN

Capacitors and Inductors 57

 Inductors in Series

• Applying KVL to the loop,

v  v1  v2  v3  ...  vN
• Substituting vk = Lk di/dt results in
di di di di
v  L1  L2  L3  ...  LN
dt dt dt dt
di
 ( L1  L2  L3  ...  LN )
dt
 N
 di
   LK   Leq
di
 K 1  dt dt
Leq  L1  L2  L3  ...  LN
Capacitors and Inductors 58
 Inductors in Parallel

1 1 1 1
  
Leq L1 L2 LN

Capacitors and Inductors 59

 Inductors in Parallel

• Using KCL, i  i1  i2  i3  ...  iN

• But ik  1 tt vdt  ik (t0 )
Lk o

1 1 t 1 t
vdt  i1 (t0 )  t vdt  is (t0 )  ...  t vdt  iN (t0 )
t
i  t
Lk 0
L2 0 LN 0

1 1 1 t
    ...   t vdt  i1 (t0 )  i2 (t0 )  ...  iN (t0 )
 L1 L2 LN  0

N 1t N
1 t
    t vdt   ik (t0 )  t vdt  i (t0 )
 k 1 Lk  k 1 0
Leq 0

Capacitors and Inductors 60

 Inductors in Series & Parallel

• The inductor in various connection has the

same effect as the resistor. Hence, the Y-Δ
transformation of inductors can be similarly
derived.

Capacitors and Inductors 61

 Table 1

Capacitors and Inductors 62

 Example 11

• Find the equivalent inductance of the circuit

shown in the figure.

Capacitors and Inductors 63

 Example 11

• Solution:
Series : 20H, 12H, 10H
 42H
7  42
Parallel :  6H
7  42
 Leq  4  6  8  18H

Capacitors and Inductors 64

 Practice Problem 1

Capacitors and Inductors 65

 Assignment
10t
• For the circuit below, let i(t )  4(2  e )mA.
If i2 (0)  1 mA, find : (a) i (0)
1

(b) v(t ), v1 (t ), and v2 (t ); (c) i1 (t ) and i2 (t )

Capacitors and Inductors 66