Lesson 11

DC TRANSIENT ANALYSIS

1
 SUB - TOPICS
• INDUCTORS
• CAPACITORS
• NATURAL RESPONSE OF RL CIRCUIT
• NATURAL RESPONSE OF RC CIRCUIT
• STEP RESPONSE OF RL CIRCUIT
• STEP RESPONSE OF RC CIRCUIT

2
 OBJECTIVES
• To know the fundamentals of inductors
and capacitors.
• To investigate the behavior of currents and
voltages when energy is either released or
acquired by inductors and capacitors when
there is an abrupt change in dc current or
voltage source.
• To do an analysis of natural response and
step response of RL and RC circuit.

3
I. INDUCTORS

4
• Generally - coil of conducting wire
– Usually wrapped around a solid core.
– If no core is used, then the inductor is said to
have an ‘air core’.

http://bzupages.com/f231/energy-stored-inductor-uzma-noreen-group6-part2-1464/
 Symbols

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_15/1.html
Alternative Names for Inductors
 Reactor- inductor in a power grid

 Choke - designed to block a particular frequency

while allowing currents at lower frequencies or
d.c. currents through
 Commonly used in RF (radio frequency)
circuitry
Alternative Names for Inductors
 Coil - often coated with varnish and/or wrapped
with insulating tape to provide additional
insulation and secure them in place
 A winding is a coil with taps (terminals).

 Solenoid – a three dimensional coil.

 Also used to denote an electromagnet where
the magnetic field is generated by current
flowing through a toroidal inductor.

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 Energy Storage
 The flow of current through an inductor creates a
magnetic field (right hand rule).

B field

 If the current flowing through the inductor drops,

the magnetic field will also decrease and energy is
released through the generation of a current.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Circuit_Theory/Mutual_Inductance
 Sign Convention
• The sign convention used with an
inductor is the same as for a power
dissipating device.
• When current flows into the
positive side of the voltage across
the inductor, it is positive and the
inductor is dissipating power.
• When the inductor releases
energy back into the circuit, the
sign of the current will be negative.
II. CAPACITORS

11
 Capacitors
• Composed of two conductive plates
separated by an insulator (or dielectric).
– Commonly illustrated as two parallel metal
plates separated by a distance, d.

C = A/d
where = r o
r is the relative dielectric constant
o is the vacuum permittivity
 Effect of Dimensions

• Capacitance increases with

– increasing surface area of the plates,

– decreasing spacing between plates, and

– increasing the relative dielectric constant of

the insulator between the two plates.
 Types of Capacitors
1. Fixed Capacitors
– Nonpolarized
• May be connected into circuit with either terminal
of capacitor connected to the high voltage side of
the circuit.
– Insulator: Paper, Mica, Ceramic, Polymer
– Electrolytic
• The negative terminal must always be at a lower
voltage than the positive terminal
– Plates or Electrodes: Aluminum, Tantalum
 a. Nonpolarized Capacitors
• Difficult to make nonpolarized capacitors
that store a large amount of charge or
operate at high voltages.
– Tolerance on capacitance values is very large
• +50%/-25% is not unusual
PSpice Symbol

http://www.marvac.com/fun/ceramic_capacitor_codes.aspx
 b. Electrolytic Capacitors

Pspice Symbols Fabrication

http://www.digitivity.com/articles/2008/11/choosing-the-right-
capacitor.html
 2. Variable Capacitors
• Cross-sectional area is changed as one
set of plates are rotated with respect to the
other.

PSpice Symbol

http://www.tpub.com/neets/book2/3f.htm
 3. MEMS Capacitor
• MEMS (Microelectromechanical system)
– Can be a variable capacitor by changing the
distance between electrodes.
– Use in sensing applications as well as in RF
electronics.

http://www.silvaco.com/tech_lib_TCAD/simulationstandard/2005/aug/a3/a3.html
 Electric Double Layer Capacitor

• Also known as a
supercapacitor or
ultracapacitor
– Used in high voltage/high
current applications.
• Energy storage for alternate
energy systems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Supercapacitor_diagram.svg
Electrical Properties of a Capacitor
• Acts like an open circuit at steady state
when connected to a d.c. voltage or
current source.
• Voltage on a capacitor must be continuous
– There are no abrupt changes to the voltage,
but there may be discontinuities in the current.
• An ideal capacitor does not dissipate
energy, it takes power when storing
energy and returns it when discharging.
 Properties of a Real Capacitor
• A real capacitor does dissipate energy due
leakage of charge through its insulator.
– This is modeled by putting a resistor in
parallel with an ideal capacitor.
 Energy Storage
• Charge is stored on the plates of the
capacitor.
Equation:
Q = CV
Units:
Farad = Coulomb/Voltage
Farad is abbreviated as F
 Sign Conventions

• The sign convention used with a

capacitor is the same as for a
power dissipating device.
• When current flows into the positive
side of the voltage across the
capacitor, it is positive and the
capacitor is dissipating power.
• When the capacitor releases
energy back into the circuit, the
sign of the current will be negative.
 Charging a Capacitor
 At first, it is easy to store charge in the
capacitor.
 As more charge is stored on the plates of the
capacitor, it becomes increasingly difficult to
place additional charge on the plates.
 Coulombic repulsion from the charge already on
the plates creates an opposing force to limit the
addition of more charge on the plates.
 Voltage across a capacitor increases rapidly as charge
is moved onto the plates when the initial amount of
charge on the capacitor is small.
 Voltage across the capacitor increases more slowly as
it becomes difficult to add extra charge to the plates.
 Adding Charge to Capacitor
• The ability to add charge to a capacitor
depends on:
– the amount of charge already on the plates of
the capacitor
and
– the force (voltage) driving the charge towards
the plates (i.e., current)
 Discharging a Capacitor

 At first, it is easy to remove charge in the

capacitor.
 Coulombic repulsion from charge already on
the plates creates a force that pushes some of
the charge out of the capacitor once the force
(voltage) that placed the charge in the
capacitor is removed (or decreased).
 Discharging a Capacitor
 As more charge is removed from the plates of
the capacitor, it becomes increasingly difficult
to get rid of the small amount of charge
remaining on the plates.
 Coulombic repulsion decreases as charge
spreads out on the plates. As the amount of
charge decreases, the force needed to drive the
charge off of the plates decreases.
 Voltage across a capacitor decreases rapidly as charge
is removed from the plates when the initial amount of
charge on the capacitor is small.
 Voltage across the capacitor decreases more slowly as
it becomes difficult to force the remaining charge out of
the capacitor.
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III. FIRST – ORDER CIRCUITS

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 FIRST – ORDER CIRCUITS
• A circuit that contains only sources, resistor
and inductor is called and RL circuit.
• A circuit that contains only sources, resistor
and capacitor is called an RC circuit.
• RL and RC circuits are called first – order
circuits because their voltages and currents
are describe by first order differential
equations.

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 R R

i i
Vs
+
L vs +
C
– –

An RL circuit An RC circuit

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 Review (conceptual)
• Any first – order circuit can be reduced to a
Thévenin (or Norton) equivalent connected to either
a single equivalent inductor or capacitor.
RTh

IN RN L +
VTh – C

- In steady state, an inductor behave like a short circuit.

- In steady state, a capacitor behaves like an open circuit.

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• The natural response of an RL and RC
circuit is its behavior (i.e., current and
voltage ) when stored energy in the
inductor or capacitor is released to the
resistive part of the network (containing no
independent sources)
• The steps response of an RL and RC
circuits is its behavior when a voltage or
current source step is applied to the
circuit, or immediately after a switch state
is changed.

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33
 NATURAL RESPONSE OF AN RL
CIRCUIT
• Consider the following circuit, for which the
switch is closed for t<0, and then opened at t =
0:
t=0 i +

Is Ro L R V
–

• The dc voltage V, has been supplying the RL

circuit with constant current for a long time
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 Solving for the circuit
• For t ≤ 0, i(t) = Io
• For t ≥ 0, the circuit reduce to

i +

Io Ro L R v
–

Notation:
 0 is used to denote the time just prior to switching.
 0 is used to denote the time immediately after switching.
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 Continue…
• Applying KVL to the circuit:
v(t ) Ri(t ) 0 (1)
di(t )
L Ri(t ) 0 (2)
dt
di(t )
L Ri(t ) (3)
dt
di(t ) R
dt (4)
i (t ) L
36
 Continue
• From equation (4), let say;
du R
dv (5)
u L
• Integrate both sides of equation (5);
i ( t ) du R t
dv (6)
i ( to ) u L to
• Where:
i(to) is the current corresponding to time to
i(t) ia the current corresponding to time t
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 Continue
• Therefore,
i (t ) R
ln t (7)
i (0) L
• hence, the current is

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

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 Continue
• From the Ohm’s law, the voltage across
the resistor R is:

( R / L )t
v(t ) i (t ) R I 0 Re
• And the power dissipated in the resistor is:

2 2( R / L )t
p vR i (t ) I Re
0

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 Continue

• Energy absorb by the resistor is:

1 2 2( R / L )t
w LI0 (1 e )
2

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 Time Constant, τ
• Time constant, τ determines the rate at which
the current or voltage approaches zero.

• Time constant,
L (sec)
R

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• The expressions for current, voltage, power
and energy using time constant concept:

t/
i (t ) I 0e
t/
v(t ) I 0 Re
2 2t /
p I Re
0

1 2 2t /
w LI 0 (1 e )
2
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 Switching time
• For all transient cases, the following instants of
switching times are considered.
 t = 0- , this is the time of switching between -∞ to
0 or time before.
 t = 0+ , this is the time of switching at the instant
just after time t = 0s (taken as initial value)
 t = ∞ , this is the time of switching between t = 0+
to ∞ (taken as final value for step response)

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• The illustration of the different instance of
switching times is:

-∞ ∞

t 0 t 0

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 Example
• For the circuit below, find the expression of
io(t) and Vo(t). The switch was closed for a
long time, and at t = 0, the switch was
opened. 2Ω
i0
t=0 +
20A 0.1Ω 2H 10Ω 40Ω V
i L

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 Solution :
Step 1:
Find τ for t > 0. Draw the equivalent circuit. The
switch is opened.

RT (2 10 // 40 ) 10
So;
L 2
0.2 sec
RT 10

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Step 2:
At t = 0- , time from -∞ to 0-, the switch was closed for
a long time. 2Ω

20A 0.1Ω 10Ω 40Ω

i (0-)
L

The inductor behave like a short circuit as it being

supplied for a long time by a dc current source.
Current
20A thus flows through the short circuit until the switch
is opened.
Therefore; iL(0-) = 20A 47
Step 3:
At the instant when the switch is opened, the time t = 0+,

2Ω
io(0+)
+
20A 2H 10Ω 40Ω vo(0+)
iL(0+)
The current through the inductor remains the– same (continuous).
Thus, which is the initial current.
iL (0 ) iL (0 ) 20 A
Only at this particular instant the value of the current through the
inductor is the same.
Since, there is no other supply in the circuit after the switch is
opened, this is the natural response case.

48
By using current division, the current in the 40Ω
resistor
10
is: io iL 4A
10 40

So, 5t
io (t ) 4e A

Using Ohm’s Law, the Vo is:

Vo (t ) 4 40 160
5t
So, V0 (t ) 160 e
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 NATURAL RESPONSE OF AN RC
CIRCUIT
• Consider the following circuit, for which the switch is
closed for t < 0, and then opened at t = 0:

Ro t=0
+ +
Vo R
C v
–
Notation:
 0- is used to denote the time just prior to switching
 0+ is used to denote the time immediately after switching.

50
 Solving for the voltage (t ≥ 0)
• For t ≤ 0, v(t) = Vo
• For t > 0, the circuit reduces to
i

Ro +
+
Vo C v R
–

51
 Continue
• Applying KCL to the RC circuit:
iC iR 0 (1)
dv(t ) v(t )
C 0 (2)
dt R
dv(t ) v(t )
0 (3)
dt RC
dv(t ) v(t )
dt RC
(4)
dv(t ) 1
v(t ) RC
dt (5)
52
 Continue
• From equation (5), let say:
dx 1 (6)
dy
x RC
• Integrate both sides of equation (6):

v (t ) 1 1 t
du dy (7)
Vo x RC 0

• Therefore:
v(t ) t
ln (8)
Vo RC

53
 Continue
• Hence, the voltage is:

t / RC t / RC
v(t ) v(0)e Vo e
• Using Ohm’s law, the current is:

v(t ) Vo t / RC
i(t ) e
R R

54
 Continue
• The power dissipated in the resistor is:
2
V o 2 t / RC
p(t ) viR e
R
• The energy absorb by the resistor is:

1 2 2t / RC
w CVo (1 e )
2

55
 Continue
• The time constant for the RC circuit equal the
product of the resistance and capacitance,

• Time constant, RC sec

56
• The expressions for voltage, current, power and
energy using time constant concept:
t/
v(t ) Vo e
Vo t /
i (t ) e
R
Vo2 2t /
p (t ) e
R
1 2 2t /
w(t ) CVo (1 e )
2

57
• For the case of capacitor, two important
observation can be made,

1) capacitor behaves like an open circuit when

being supplied by dc source
(From, ic = Cdv/dt, when v is constant, dv/dt = 0.
When current in circuit is zero, the circuit is open
circuit.)

2) in capacitor, the voltage is continuous / stays

the same that is, Vc(0+) = Vc(0-)

58
 Example
The switch has been in position a for a long time.
At
Time t = 0, the switch moves to b. Find the
expressions
for the vc(t), ic(t) and vo(t) and hence sketch them
5kΩ a b 18kΩ
for t =
0 to t = 5τ. t=0 +
90V + 10kΩ 12kΩ Vo
60kΩ
0.1μF –

59
 Solution
Step 1:
Find t for t > 5τ that is when the switch was at a.
Draw 18kΩ
the equivalent circuit.
0.1μF 60kΩ 12kΩ

RT (18 k 12 k ) // 60 k 20 k
3 6
RT C 20 10 0.1 10 2ms
60
Step 2:
At t = 0, the switch was at a. the capacitor behaves
like
An open circuit as it5kΩ
is being supplied by a
constant
source. +
90V + 10kΩ Vc(0-)
–

10
vc (0 ) 90 60V
15
61
Step 3:
At t = 0+, the instant when the switch is at b.

18kΩ

+
60V +
0.1μF 60kΩ 12kΩ Vo
–
–

The voltage across capacitor remains the same at

this
particular instant.

vc(0+) = vc(0-) = 60V

62
Using voltage divider rule,
12
Vo (0 ) 60 24V
30
Hence;
500 t
vc (t ) 60 e V
500 t
vo (t ) 24 e V
500 t
ic (t ) 0.03 e A
63
 Summary

No RL circuit RC circuit
1 L
RC
R
2 Inductor behaves like a Capacitor behaves like an
short circuit when being open circuit when being
supplied by dc source for a supplied by dc source for a
long time long time
3 Inductor current is Voltage across capacitor is
continuous continuous
iL(0+) = iL(0-) vC(0+) = vC(0-)

64
 Step Response of RL Circuit
• The switch is closed at time t = 0.
i
t=0 +
+ R
Vs L v(t)
–

• After switch is closed, using KVL

di
Vs Ri(t ) L (1)
dt
65
 Continue
• Rearrange the equation;
di(t ) Ri (t ) Vs R V
i (t ) s (2)
dt L L R

R Vs
di i dt (3)
L R
R di
dt (4)
L i (t ) Vs R
R t i (t ) du
dv (5)
L 0 0 u (Vs R) 66
 Continue
• Therefore:
R i (t ) (Vs R)
t ln (5)
L I 0 (Vs R)

• Hence, the current is;

Vs Vs ( R / L )t
i (t ) Io e
R R

• The voltage;
( R / L )t
v(t ) (Vs I o R )e
67
 Example
The switch is closed for a long time at t = 0, the
switch
opens. Find the expressions for iL(t) and vL(t).
t=0

2Ω 3Ω
10V +
1/4H

68
 Solution
Step 1:
Find τ for t > 0. The switch was opened. Draw the
equivalent circuit. Short circuit the voltage source.

2Ω 3Ω
1/4H

RT (2 3) 5
L 1
s
RT 20
69
 Continue
Step 2:
At t = 0-, the switch was closed. Draw the
equivalent
circuit with 3Ω shorted and the inductor behaves
like a 2Ω
+
short circuit. 10V iL(0-)

iL (0 ) 10 / 2 5 A

70
 Continue
Step 3:
At t = 0+, the instant switch was opened. The current in
inductor is continuous.

I0 iL (0 ) iL (0 ) 5A
Step 4:
At t =∞, that is after a long time the switch has been left
opened. The inductor will once again be behaving like a
short circuit.

71
 Continue

2Ω 3Ω
10V +
iL(∞)

iL ( ) Vs / RT 2A
Hence:
Vs Vs ( R / L )t
iL (t ) Io e
R R
20t
iL (t ) 2 3e A
72
 Continue
• And the voltage is:

( R / L )t
vL (t ) (Vs I o R )e
20 t
vL (t ) 15 e V

73
 Step Response of RL Circuit
• The switch is closed at time t = 0

t=0 +
Is R C vc(t)
i –

• From the circuit;

dvc vc
Is C (1)
dt R
74
 Continue
• Division of Equation (1) by C gives;
Is dvc vc
(2)
C dt RC
• Same mathematical techniques with RL, the
voltage is:
t / RC
vc (t ) I s R (Vo I s R )e
• And the current is:

Vo t / RC
i (t ) Is e
R 75
 Example
The switch has been in position a for a long time. At t
= 0,
the switch moves to b. Find Vc(t) for t > 0 and
calculate its
value at t =3kΩ
1s and t = 4s. a b 4kΩ

+ t=0
+ +
24V 5kΩ Vc 30V
– 0.5mF

76
 Solution
Step 1:
To find τ for t > 0, the switch is at b and short circuit
the
4kΩ
voltage source.

0.5mF

RC 2s

77
 Continue
Step 2:
The capacitor behaves like an open circuit as it is
being
supplied by a constant
3kΩ dc source.

+
24V + 5kΩ Vc (0-)
–

From the circuit, 5

Vc (0 ) 24 15V
8 78
 Continue
Step 3:
At t = 0+, the instant when the switch is just moves
to b.
Voltage across capacitor remains the same.
Vc (0 ) Vc (0 ) 15V

Step 4:
At t = ∞, the capacitor again behaves like an open
circuit since4kΩ
it is being supplied by a constant
source. c V ( ) 30V
+
Vc(∞) +
30V
–
79
 Continue

Step 5:
Hence,
0 .5 t 0 .5 t
Vc (t ) 30 (15 30 )e 30 15 e V

At t = 1s, Vc(t) = 20.9V

At t = 4s, Vc(t) = 28 V

80
THE END

81