Response of First-Order RL and RC Circuits

Text book:

Electric Circuits
James W. Nilsson & Susan A. Riedel 8th Edition. link: http://twitter.com/mlinh_ee

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Objectives Obj ti
Be able to determine the natural response of both RL and RC circuits. Be able to determine the step response of both RL and RC circuits. Know how to analyze circuits with sequential switching.

Outlines
The natural response of an RL circuit & an RC circuit The step response of RL & RC circuits Sequential switching Unbounded response

General Concepts
The natural response: The response that arise when stored energy in an inductor or capacitor is suddenly released. The step response: The response that arise when energy is being acquired by an inductor or capacitor due to sudden application of a dc voltage or current source source. First order circuits (RL or RC circuits): Circuits where voltages and currents are described by first-order differential equations.

Four possible first order circuits

L or C connected to a Thevenin equivalent

L or C connected to a Norton equivalent

The natural response of an RL circuit

The switch is closed for a long time and opened at t = 0

t0

di =0 dt

v=0

( (short circuit) )

All the source current I0 appears in the inductive branch

t0

Apply KVL:

di + Ri = 0 (first order differential equation) dt d

The natural response of an RL circuit

Since the current cannot change instantaneously in an inductor

i (t ) = I 0 e ( R / L )t

i 0 = i 0+ = I 0
t0

( ) ( )

The voltage across the resistor using Ohms law

v = iR = I 0 Re ( R / L )t v 0 = 0

( )

t 0+ v 0+ = I 0 R

The energy delivered to the resistor during any interval of time after the switch has been opened

( )

The power dissipated in the resistor

p = iv = I 02 Re 2 ( R / L )t

t 0+

The time constant ()

The time constant ( ) ()

Interpretation of the time constant of the RL circuit i = I0 when = t

Summary: 1) Find the initial current, I0 , through the inductor 2) Find the time constant of the circuit, = L/R 3) Use I0e- /t , to generate i(t) from I0 and .

Example 1 E l

Example 1 - S l ti E l Solution

Example 1 S l ti (cont) E l Solution ( t)

Example 1 S l ti (cont) E l Solution ( t)

Example 2 E l

a) b) c) d)

Find i1 , i2 and i3 . Calculate the initial energy stored in the parallel inductors. Calculate the energy stored in the inductor as t Show that the total energy delivered to the resistive network equals to the difference between the result obtained in (b) and (c).

Example 2 S l ti E l Solution

Example 2 S l ti (cont) E l Solution ( t)

Example 2 S l ti (cont) E l Solution ( t)

The natural response of an RC circuit

Assume the switch has been in position a for a long time:

t0
vC = Vg

dv =0 dt

i=0

( (open circuit) )

t0

Apply node voltage technique:

v(t ) = V0 e t /

t0

The natural response of an RC circuit

The current goes through the resistor
i(t ) = v(t ) V0 (t / ) = e R R t 0+

The power dissipated in the resistor

V02 2(t / ) p = vi = e R

t 0+

The energy delivered to the resistor

V02 2(t / ) 1 w = pdt = e dt = CV02 1 e 2(t / ) R 2 0 0

t0

Example 3
Find:

Example 3 ( E l (cont) t)

Example 4 E l

Example 4 ( E l (cont) t)
b) Calculate the initial energy stored in the capacitor C1 and C2

c) Calculate how much energy is stored in the Capacitors as t

d) Show that the total energy delivered to the 250 k resistor is the difference between the results obtained in (b) and (c)

The t Th step response of an RL circuit f i it

The step response of an RL circuit

The t Th step response of an RL circuit f i it

Example 5

Example 5 (cont)

The t Th step response of an RC circuit f i it

Apply KCL:

dv vC + = Is dt R d

vC (t ) = I s R + (V0 I s R )e t / RC ,
i (t ) = C dvC 1 t / RC = C (V0 I s R ) e dt RC

t0

V i (t ) = I s 0 e t / RC R

, t 0+

Example 6

Example 6 ( E l (cont) t)

Example 6 ( E l (cont) t)

A general solution for natural & step responses l l ti f t l t

A general solution for natural & step responses

x(t ) = x f + x(t 0 ) x f e

t t0

x(t) the unknown variable as a function of time xf the final value of the variable x(t0) the initial value of the variable t0 time of switching time constant

Procedure:
1) Identify the variable of interest of the circuit. For RC circuits, it is best to choose vC ; for RL circuit, it is best to choose iL. 2) Determine the initial value of the variable.(vc(t0) in case of RC circuit and iL(t0) in case of RL circuits) 3) Calculate the final value of the variable (value at t = ) ) 4) Calculate the time constant for the circuit.

Sequential Switching S ti l S it hi

Switching occurs more than once in a circuit. The time reference for switching cannot be t = 0 0.

Procedure for sequential switching problem

(1) Obtain the initial value x(t0) (2) Apply the techniques described previously to find current and voltage value. ( ) (3) Redraw the circuit that p pertains to each time interval and repeat step ( ) p p (1). Note: Since inductive current IL and capacitive voltage VC can change instantaneously at the time of switching, these value should be solved first for sequential switching problem.

Example 8

Example 8 (cont)

Example 8 (cont)

Example 8 (cont)

Unbounded Response U b d dR

A circuit response may grow, rather than decay, exponentially with time. This type of response is called an unbounded response. It may happen when the circuit contains dependent source. In thi I this case, th Th the Thevenin equivalent with respect t th t i i l t ith t to the terminals of either i l f ith an inductor or a capacitor may be negative, which resulting in a negative time constant. To l the i it hi h have unbounded response, we need t d i th T solve th circuit which h b d d d to derive the differential equation that describes the circuit containing the negative Rth.

Example 9