The RLC Circuit.

Transient Response

Series RLC circuit

The circuit shown on Figure 1 is called the series RLC circuit. We will analyze this
circuit in order to determine its transient characteristics once the switch S is closed.

S + vR - + vL -
R L
+
Vs C vc
-

Figure 1

The equation that describes the response of the system is obtained by applying KVL
around the mesh

vR + vL + vc = Vs (1.1)

The current flowing in the circuit is

dvc
i=C (1.2)
dt

And thus the voltages vR and vL are given by

dvc
vR = iR = RC (1.3)
dt

di d 2 vc
vL = L = LC 2 (1.4)
dt dt

Substituting Equations (1.3) and (1.4) into Equation (1.1) we obtain

d 2 vc R dvc 1 1
2
+ + vc = Vs (1.5)
dt L dt LC LC

The solution to equation (1.5) is the linear combination of the homogeneous and the
particular solution vc = vc p + vch

The particular solution is

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 vc p = Vs (1.6)
And the homogeneous solution satisfies the equation

d 2 vch R dvch 1
2
+ + vch = 0 (1.7)
dt L dt LC

Assuming a homogeneous solution is of the form Ae st and by substituting into Equation

(1.7) we obtain the characteristic equation

R 1
s2 + s+ =0 (1.8)
L LC

By defining

R
α= : Damping rate (1.9)
2L
And

1
ωο = : Natural frequency (1.10)
LC

The characteristic equation becomes

s 2 + 2α s + ωο2 = 0 (1.11)

The roots of the characteristic equation are

s1 = −α + α 2 − ωο2 (1.12)

s 2 = −α − α 2 − ωο2 (1.13)

And the homogeneous solution becomes

vch = A1e s1t + A2 e s 2t (1.14)

The total solution now becomes

vc = Vs + A1e s1t + A2 e s 2 t (1.15)

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The parameters A1 and A2 are constants and can be determined by the application of the
dvc(t = 0)
initial conditions of the system vc (t = 0) and .
dt

The value of the term α 2 − ωο2 determines the behavior of the response. Three types of
responses are possible:

1. α = ωο then s1 and s2 are equal and real numbers: no oscillatory behavior

Critically Damped System

2. α > ωο . Here s1 and s2 are real numbers but are unequal: no oscillatory behavior
Over Damped System
vc = Vs + A1e s1t + A2 e s 2 t

3. α < ωο . α 2 − ωο2 = j ωο2 − α 2 In this case the roots s1 and s2 are complex
numbers: s1 = −α + j ωο2 − α 2 , s 2 = −α − j ωο2 − α 2 . System exhibits
oscillatory behavior
Under Damped System

Important observations for the series RLC circuit.

• As the resistance increases the value of α increases and the system is driven
towards an over damped response.

1
• The frequency ωο = (rad/sec) is called the natural frequency of the system
LC
or the resonant frequency.

R
• The parameter α = is called the damping rate and its value in relation to ωο
2L
determines the behavior of the response
o α = ωο : Critically Damped
o α > ωο : Over Damped
o α < ωο : Under Damped

L
• The quantity has units of resistance
C

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Figure 2 shows the response of the series RLC circuit with L=47mH, C=47nF and for
three different values of R corresponding to the under damped, critically damped and
over damped case. We will construct this circuit in the laboratory and examine its
behavior in more detail.

(a) Under Damped. R=500Ω

(b) Critically Damped. R=2000 Ω

(c) Over Damped. R=4000 Ω

Figure 2

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The LC circuit.

In the limit R → 0 the RLC circuit reduces to the lossless LC circuit shown on Figure 3.

S + vL -
L
+
C vc
-

Figure 3

The equation that describes the response of this circuit is

d 2 vc 1
+ vc = 0 (1.16)
dt 2 LC

Assuming a solution of the form Ae st the characteristic equation is

s 2 + ωο2 = 0 (1.17)
1
Where ωο =
LC

The two roots are

s1 = + jωο (1.18)

s 2 = − jωο (1.19)

And the solution is a linear combination of A1e s1t and A2e s 2t

vc(t ) = A1e jωot + A2e − jωο t (1.20)

By using Euler’s relation Equation (1.20) may also be written as

vc(t ) = B1cos(ωο t ) + B 2sin(ωο t ) (1.21)

The constants A1, A2 or B1, B2 are determined from the initial conditions of the system.

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 dvc (t = 0)
For vc(t = 0) = Vo and for = 0 (no current flowing in the circuit initially) we
dt
have from Equation (1.20)

A1 + A2 = Vo (1.22)
And

jωo A1 − jωo A2 = 0 (1.23)

Which give

Vo
A1 = A2 = (1.24)
2
And the solution becomes

Vo jωot − jωο t
vc(t ) =
2
(
e +e ) (1.25)
= Vo cos(ωot )
The current flowing in the circuit is

dvc
i=C
dt (1.26)
= −CVoωο sin(ωο t )

And the voltage across the inductor is easily determined from KVL or from the element
di
relation of the inductor vL = L
dt

vL = −vc
(1.27)
= −Vo cos(ωot )

Figure 4 shows the plots of vc (t ), vL(t ), and i (t ) . Note the 180 degree phase difference
between vc(t) and vL(t) and the 90 degree phase difference between vL(t) and i(t).

Figure 5 shows a plot of the energy in the capacitor and the inductor as a function of
time. Note that the energy is exchanged between the capacitor and the inductor in this
lossless system

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 (a) Voltage across the capacitor

(b) Voltage across the inductor

(c) Current flowing in the circuit

Figure 4

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 (a) Energy stored in the capacitor

(b) Energy stored in the inductor

Figure 5

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Parallel RLC Circuit

The RLC circuit shown on Figure 6 is called the parallel RLC circuit. It is driven by the
DC current source Is whose time evolution is shown on Figure 7.

iC(t)
iR(t) iL(t)
+
Is R L C v
-

Figure 6

Is

0 t
Figure 7

Our goal is to determine the current iL(t) and the voltage v(t) for t>0.

We proceed as follows:

1. Establish the initial conditions for the system

2. Determine the equation that describes the system characteristics
3. Solve the equation
4. Distinguish the operating characteristics as a function of the circuit element
parameters.

Since the current Is was zero prior to t=0 the initial conditions are:

⎧iL(t = 0) = 0
Initial Conditions: ⎨ (1.28)
⎩ v(t = 0) = 0

By applying KCl at the indicated node we obtain

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 Is = iR + iL + iC (1.29)

The voltage across the elements is given by

d iL
v=L (1.30)
dt

And the currents iR and iC are

v L d iL
iR = = (1.31)
R R dt

dv d 2iL
iC = C = LC 2 (1.32)
dt dt

Combining Equations (1.29), (1.31), and (1.32) we obtain

d 2iL 1 d iL 1 1
2
+ + iL = Is (1.33)
dt RC dt LC LC

The solution to equation (1.33) is a superposition of the particular and the homogeneous
solutions.

iL (t ) = iL p (t ) + iLh (t ) (1.34)

The particular solution is

iL p (t ) = Is (1.35)

The homogeneous solution satisfies the equation

d 2iLh 1 d iLh 1
2
+ + iLh = 0 (1.36)
dt RC dt LC

By assuming a solution of the form Ae st we obtain the characteristic equation

1 1
s2 + s+ =0 (1.37)
RC LC

Be defining the following parameters

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 1
ωο ≡ : Resonant frequency (1.38)
LC

And

1
α= : Damping rate (1.39)
2RC

The characteristic equation becomes

s 2 + 2α s + ωο2 = 0 (1.40)

The two roots of this equation are

s1 = −α + α 2 − ωο2 (1.41)

s 2 = −α − α 2 − ωο2 (1.42)

The homogeneous solution is a linear combination of e s1t and e s 2 t

iLh (t ) = A1e s1t + A2 e s 2 t (1.43)

And the general solution becomes

iL(t ) = Is + A1e s1t + A2 e s 2 t (1.44)

The constants A1 and A2 may be determined by using the initial conditions.

Let’s now proceed by looking at the physical significance of the parameters α and ωο .

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The form of the roots s1 and s2 depend on the values of α and ωο . The following three
cases are possible.

1. α = ωο : Critically Damped System.

s1 and s2 are equal and real numbers: no oscillatory behavior

2. α > ωο : Over Damped System

Here s1 and s2 are real numbers but are unequal: no oscillatory behavior

3. α < ωο : Under Damped System

α 2 − ωο2 = j ωο2 − α 2 In this case the roots s1 and s2 are complex numbers:
s1 = −α + j ωο2 − α 2 , s 2 = −α − j ωο2 − α 2 . System exhibits oscillatory behavior

Let’s investigate the under damped case, α < ωο , in more detail.

For α < ωο , α 2 − ωο2 = j ωο2 − α 2 ≡ jωd the solution is

iL(t ) = Is + eN−α t
(
A1e jωd t + A2 e− jωd t )
 

(1.45)
Decaying
Oscillatory

By using Euler’s identity e ± jωd t = cos ωd t ± j sin ωd t , the solution becomes

iL(t ) = Is + eN−α t
(
K1 cos ωd t + K 2 sin ωd t )
 

(1.46)
Decaying
Oscillatory

Now we can determine the constants K1 and K 2 by applying the initial conditions

iL(t = 0) = 0 ⇒ Is + K1 = 0
(1.47)
⇒ K1 = − Is

diL
= 0 ⇒ −α K1 + (0 + K 2ωd ) = 0
dt t =0
(1.48)
−α
⇒ K2 = Is
ωd

And the solution is

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 ⎡ ⎤
⎢ ⎞⎥
−α t ⎛ α
iL(t ) = Is ⎢1 − eN ⎜ cos ωd t + sin ωd t ⎟ ⎥ (1.49)
⎢ Decaying ⎝ 
ωd ⎠⎥
⎢⎣ Oscillatory ⎥⎦

⎛ B ⎞
By using the trigonometric identity B1 cos t + B2 sin t = B12 + B22 cos ⎜ t − tan −1 2 ⎟ the
⎝ B1 ⎠
solution becomes

ωο −α t ⎛ α ⎞
iL(t ) = Is − Is e cos ⎜ ωd t − tan −1 ⎟ (1.50)
ωd ⎝ ωd ⎠

Recall that ωd ≡ ωο2 − α 2 and thus ωd is always smaller than ωo

Let’s now investigate the important limiting case:

As R → ∞ , α << ω0
α
ωd ≡ ωο2 − α 2 ≈ ωο and tan −1 ≈ 0 , e −α t ≈ 1
ωο
And the solution reduces to iL(t ) = Is − Is cos ωot which corresponds to the response of
the circuit

Is L C

The plot of iL(t) is shown on Figure 8 for C=47nF, L=47mH, Is=5A and for R=20kΩ and
8kΩ, The dotted lines indicate the decaying characteristics of the response. For
convenience and easy visualization the plot is presented in the normalized time ωο t / π .
Note that the peak current through the inductor is greater than the supply current Is.

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 (a) For R=8kΩ

(b) For R=20kΩ

Figure 8.

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 (a) R=20kΩ

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 (b) R=8kΩ
Figure 9

The energy stored in the inductor and the capacitor is shown on Figure 10.

Figure 10. Energy as a function of time

Figure 11 shows the plot of the response corresponding to the case where α << ω0 . This
shows the persistent oscillation for the current iL(t) with frequency ω0 .

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 Figure 11

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The Critically Damped Response.

When α = ωο the two roots of the characteristic equation are equal s1=s2=s. And our
assumed solution becomes

iL(t ) = A1e st + A2e st

(1.51)
= A3e st

Now we have only one arbitrary constant. This is a problem for our second order system
since our two initial conditions can not be satisfied.
The problem stems from an incorrect assumption for the solution for this special case.
For α = ωο the differential equation of the homogeneous problem becomes

d 2iLh d iLh
2
+ 2α + α 2iLh = 0 (1.52)
dt dt

The solution of this equation is1

iL (t ) = A1te −α t + A2 e −α t (1.53)

Which is a linear combination of the exponential term and an exponential term multiplied
by t.

d 2i di d ⎛ di ⎞ ⎛ di ⎞
1
The equation 2
+ 2α + α 2i = 0 may be rewritten as ⎜ + α i ⎟ + α ⎜ + α i ⎟ = 0 , by
dt dt dt ⎝ dt ⎠ ⎝ dt ⎠
di dξ
defining ξ = + α i the equation becomes + αξ = 0 whose solution is ξ = K1e−α t . Therefore
dt dt
di d
eα t + eα tα i = K1 which may be written as (eα t i ) = K1 . By integration we obtain the solution
dt dt
−α t −α t
i = K1te + K 2 e

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 Summary of RLC transient response

Series Parallel
1 1
ωο ωο = ωο =
LC LC
R 1
α α= α=
2L 2RC

Critically α = ωο
Damped Response: A1te −α t + A2 e −α t

α < ωο
Under Response: eN ( K1 cos ωd t + K 2 sin ωd t )
−α t

Decaying
 

Damped Oscillatory

Where ωd ≡ ωο2 − α 2

α > ωο
Over Response: A1e s1t + A2 e s 2t
Damped
Where s1, 2 = −α ± α 2 − ωο2

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Problem

For the circuit below, the switch S1 has been closed for a long time while switch S2 is
open. Now switch S1 is opened and then at time t=0 switch S2 is closed.
Determine the current i(t) as indicated.

S1 R1 S2 R2

i(t)
Vs C L

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