Transient Analysis for RL Network

EE 225

Stuart K. Tewksbury
February 12, 1999

Contents

1 Transient Analysis Problem 1

2 Steady-State Conditions 1

3 Conditions Immediately After Input Voltage Transition 3

4 Solving the Differential Equation for the RL Circuit 4

1 Transient Analysis Problem

The transient analysis summarized here for the RL circuit shown in Figure 1a corresponds to
the case of a step function input, with the input voltage Vin (t) changing abruptly at t = 1 from
Vin (t < 0) = 0 volts at times less that t = 0 to Vin (t ≥ 0) = V0 at times t ≥ 0. This input voltage
is shown in Figure 1b.

2 Steady-State Conditions

First, consider the steady state values of the voltage Vr across the resistor with resistance R and
of the voltage VL across the inductor with inductance L. Before the voltage switches, the input
voltage Vin has been 0 volts “forever” and all currents and voltages are constant (i.e., in a “steady
state” rather than in a changing state). Long after the transition to Vin = V0 at t = 0, the currents
and voltages will again be in a steady state. Under such steady state conditions, no voltage appears
across the inductor (look at the symbol of the inductor, which represents a metal line, twisted into a

1
 Vin(t)

Vr
V0
+
R
Vin L VL
–

V=0, t=0 time t

(a) (b)
Figure 1: (a) RL network. (b) Step function input voltage.

+ +
R R
Vin L IL Vin L VL
– –

Figure 2: (a) At DC, no voltage can appear across the inductor and the inductor in Figure 1a is
replaced by a closed circuit. (b) At extremely high frequencies no no voltage can develop across the
inductor and the inductor in Figure 1a is replaced by an open circuit.

coil but remaining a metal wire of assumed zero resistance). We can therefore replace the inductor
by a “closed circuit” as shown in Figure 2a.1

Must Know.

* Under steady state conditions, no voltage can appear across an ideal inductor.
The perfect inductor is a perfectly conducting wire, bent in the shape of a coil.

Since no voltage appears across the inductor in the steady state, there input voltage appears
across the resistor and the voltage at the right hand end of the resistor is zero, i.e., the steady state
voltages Vr (ss) and VL (ss) are as follows.

Before the input voltage switches (i.e., for t < 0),

Vr (ss) = Vin = 0 fort < 0
VL (ss) = 0 fort < 0
1
As discussed in class, at very high frequencies there is insufficient time for a current to develop through the
inductance even though a voltage appears across the inductor. For the high frequency case, the inductor is replaced
by an open circuit, as shown in Figure 2b.

2
 Long after the input voltage has switched (i.e., for t À 0),

Vr (ss) = V0 fort À 0
Vc (ss) = 0 fort À 0

These steady state voltages are shown in Figure 3a and b. The steady state conditions establish
the boundary conditions used to complete some solutions of differential equations.

Must Know.

* The current through a capacitor can not change instantaneously. To determine

steady state conditions, replace the inductor with a closed circuit. An closed
circuit corresponds to a zero resistance wire between the nodes.

3 Conditions Immediately After Input Voltage Transition

We also need to easily see the initial value of the voltages Vr and VL immediately after the transition
(e.g., at time t = ² where ² > 0 is arbitrarily close to 0). The formal comment above means
IMMEDIATELY after, rather than after a few nanoseconds, the INSTANTANEOUS change in the
input voltage. The current-voltage behavior of a inductor is

V (t) = L · dIL /dt

and, by integrating this equation, the current is

1 Z T =t
IL (t) = IL (t = 0) + V (T )dT. (1)
C T =0
Equation 1 shows that the current can not instantaneously change, for a finite voltage, and therefore,
immediately after the input voltage Vin changes, the current IL through the inductor has not
changed. In particular,
IL (t + ²) = IL (t − ²).
Since the current can not change instantaneously through the inductor, all the voltage change
initially appears across the inductor, establishing the conditions at t + ² shown in Figure 3.

Must Know.

* The current through an inductor can not change instantaneously.

* The voltage across an inductor can change instantaneously.

In Figure 3, the trend in Vr and VL between the initial state immediately following the change
in Vin is shown as dashed, shaded lines. The change is not linear but instead, as we shown next by
solving the differential equation for the circuit in Figure 1a, exponential.

3
4 Solving the Differential Equation for the RL Circuit

The Kirchoff voltage equation around the RC circuit in Figure 1a is given by

di(t)
Vin (t) = i(t) · R + L . (2)
dt

Following division by L), (2) becomes

di(t) R
+ i(t) = V (t). (3)
dt L
We will use the parameter α = R/L in (3), giving the final equation that we will solve, namely,
di(t)
+ α · i(t) = V (t). (4)
dt

The solution i(t) to (4) is obtained using the standard approach for first order differential
equations. In particular,
i(t) = ip (t) + in (t), (5)
where

ip (t) is ANY solution to the inhomogeneous equation (i.e., V (t) 6= 0 in (4) and

VL (t = 0 + ε) Vr (t = ∞)

ses al
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dec Indu e in ffe es
Voltage

dif reas ctor l t ag ve di chang

f e v
fin erent s to z oltag vo Sol it
d h ial ero e i s tor ue. how
s l
ow equ .So
it c atio lve Re al va o find
han n t f i n nt
ges o to uatio
. eq

Vr, VL VL (t = ∞)

t=0 Time t
Vr (t = 0 + ε)

Figure 3: Illustration of voltages in RL circuit including (i) voltages appearing before the input
voltage (Figure 1b) changes, (ii) voltages immediately after (t = 0 + ²), and (iii) steady state
voltages long after (t = ∞) the input voltage changes. The dashed, shaded lines represent the
unknown behavior of the voltages between the initial and final states, requiring solution to the
differential equation.

4
 in (t) is the general solution to the homogeneous equation (i.e., V (t) ≡ 0 in (4).

For the step function voltage input considered here, V (t) = V0 = constant for t > 0. Therefore,
instead of solving (4), we are solving

di(t)
+ α · i(t) = V0 . (6)
dt

Since ip (t) is ANY solution to the inhomogeneous equation, we can chose the case αip (t) = V0 ,
with ip , a constant given by
V0
ip (t) = K1 ≡ , a constant. (7)
α

The solution in (t) to the homogeneous equation is the same as obtained in the discussion of
capacitances and the transient response of RC circuits. That result is simply restated here.

in (t) = K2 e−αt (8)

where α ≡ R/L2 . The general solution to the inhomogeneous equation is therefore i(t) = ip (t)+in (t)
or
i(t) = K1 + K2 e−αt . (9)
Boundary conditions at t = 0 and t = ∞ can be used to establish the values of the constants K1
and K2 . Using (9),

i(t = 0+) = K1 + K2
i(t → ∞) = K1 (10)

The current through an inductor can not change instantaneously. Therefore, i(t = 0) is the same
as the value of the current before the input voltage changes, i.e.,

i(t = 0) = 0.

Long after the input voltage has changed, the current will become constant and, since VL =
Ldi/dt → 0,
i(t → ∞) = V0 /R.
Using (??), we obtain the values of K1 and K2 , i.e.,

i(t = 0+) = K1 + K2 = 0
i(t → ∞) = K1 = V0 /R
giving
K2 = −K1 = −V0 /R.
2
In the case of the RC network, α ≡ 1/RC.

5
using these values for K1 and K2 in (9) gives

V0 h i
i(t) = 1 − e−αt
R
V0 h i
i(t) = 1 − e−t/(L/R) (11)
R

In (11), the term L/R is the time constant τ for the RL circuit, i.e.,

• The decay time constant τ for an RL circuit is τRL = L/R.

• The decay time constant τ for an RC circuit, obtained earlier, is τRC = RC.

From (11), the voltage VR across the resistor and the voltage VL across the inductor are readily
obtained.
h i
VR (t) = i(t) · R = V0 1 − e−t/(L/R)
VL (t) = Ldi/dt
= V0 e−t/(L/R)

The number “e“ is equal to 2.72 (approximately). The voltage across the resistor decreases to
1/e of its initial value at t = RC (i.e., to 37% of its initial value in one time constant). In two time
constants (t = 2 · RC, the voltage has decayed to 13% of its initial value. In four time constants,
it has dropped to a little under 2% of its initial value. Figure 4 shows the voltages Vr (t) and Vc (t),
showing the exponential characteristic shown earlier by the unknown dashed, shaded lines in Figure
3.

Must Know.

* The time dependence of the changes of voltages and currents in the simple RL
circuit of 1a is exponential, of the form exp(−t/τRL ), where τRL = L/R is the
circuit’s “time constant.”

* Initially, all the voltage is dropped across the inductor

* After a long time (relative to τ = L/R), all the voltage is dropped across the
resistor.

6
 Voltage V/V0

1.0

Vr
0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2
VL

t=0 1 2 3 4
Time t/(L/R)
Figure 4: Exponential decay of voltage across resistor and exponential growth of voltage across
capacitor of simple RC circuit in Figure 1a.