Resonance in AC Circuits

Electrical Resonance
1. Resonance – it is a condition existing in an R-L-C
circuit wherein the applied voltage is in phase
with the resulting current.
2. Resonance Curve – it is the curve between circuit
current and the frequency of the applied
voltage at resonance.
3. Selectivity – it is the ability of a resonant circuit to
separate a desired signal frequency from other
signal frequencies.
4. Half-Power Bandwidth of a Circuit (BW) – it is
given by the band of frequencies which lies
between the points or either side of fR where
current falls to IR/√2. It is also known as the -3 dB
bandwidth.
Resonance Curve
I
At the half-power points A and B
IR ➢ I = IR/√2 where IR = V/R
➢ Impedance, Z = R√2
A ➢ Circuit phase angle,  = 45°
B
➢ Quality Factor, Q = 1
➢ P1 = P2 = PR/2 where PR = IR2R

BW f

f1 fR f2
Where:
IR = current at resonant condition
PR = power at resonant condition
P1, P2 = power at half-power points
Q-Factor or Quality Factor
Q-factor or Quality Factor of a Coil (Q) – it is the
reciprocal of power factor. It is also called as figure of
merit.

𝟏 𝟏
𝐐 − 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 = =
𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝛉

𝐦𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝

𝐐 = 𝟐𝛑
𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞
Series Resonance
Series Resonance or Voltage Resonance
Resonance in a series resonant circuit occurs when the inductive and capacitive
reactances are equal at the frequency of the applied voltage.

R L C
𝐗𝐋 = 𝐗𝐂 𝐙=𝐑 𝐩. 𝐟. = 𝟏

A series resonant circuit since produces

maximum current in the circuit, it is called
an acceptor circuit.
AC Source

Frequency of a Series Resonant Circuit

The frequency of a series RLC circuit at resonant condition is given as:.
Where:
𝟏 fR = resonant frequency in Hertz
𝐟𝐑 = L = inductance in Henry
𝟐𝛑 𝐋𝐂
Q-Factor or Quality Factor
Q-Factor – it is a measure of the degree of sharpness
of the resonance curve which represents the degree
of selectivity of the circuit.

𝟐𝛑𝐟𝐑 𝐋 𝟏 𝐋 𝟏 𝐟𝐑 𝐟𝐑 𝐑
𝐐𝐑 = = = 𝐐𝐑 = = 𝐁𝐖 = 𝐟𝟐 − 𝐟𝟏 =
𝐑 𝐑 𝐂 𝟐𝛑𝐟𝐑 𝐑𝐂 𝐟𝟐 − 𝐟𝟏 𝐁𝐖 𝟐𝛑𝐋

𝐑 𝐁𝐖 Where:
𝐟𝟏 = 𝐟𝐑 − = 𝐟𝐑 − f1, f2 = frequencies at half power
𝟒𝛑𝐋 𝟐
points
f1 = lower half-power frequency
𝐑 𝐁𝐖 f2 = upper half-power frequency
𝐟𝟐 = 𝐟𝐑 + = 𝐟𝐑 +
𝟒𝛑𝐋 𝟐
 Series Resonance by Varying L or C
Series Resonance by Varying L
Series resonance of a series resonant circuit may be attained by varying its
inductance
R L C

VL
𝐋 = 𝐂 𝐑𝟐 + 𝐗 𝐂 𝟐

Where:
AC Source L = value of inductance for
maximum VL
Series Resonance by Varying C
Series resonance of a series resonant circuit may be attained by varying its
capacitance
R L C
𝐋
𝐂=
VC 𝐑𝟐 + 𝐗 𝐋 𝟐

Where:
AC Source C = value of capacitance for maximum VC
 Resonant and
Off-Resonant Condition
Relationship between the Resonant Current and Off-Resonant Current
The relationship between resonant current (current at the resonant frequency) and off-
resonant current (current at any given frequency) can be derived as

𝐈 𝟏 Where:
=
𝐈𝐑 𝟐 𝟏/𝟐 IR = resonant current
𝐟 𝐟𝐑
𝟏 + 𝐐𝐑 𝟐 −
𝐟𝐑 𝐟 I = off-resonant current

Relationship between the Resonant Power and Off-Resonant Power

The relationship between resonant power (power at the resonant
frequency) and off-resonant power (power at any given frequency) can
be derived as:

𝐏 𝟏 Where:
=
𝐏𝐑 𝟏 + 𝐐𝟐 PR = resonant power
P = off-resonant power
Sample Problems
1. A series R-L-C circuit consists of R = 1000 Ω, L = 100 mH
and C = 10 picofarads. The applied voltage across the
circuit is 100 V.
a. Find the resonant frequency of the circuit
b. Find the quality factor of the circuit at resonant
frequency
c. At what angular frequencies do the half-power points
occur?
d. Calculate the bandwidth of the circuit.
2. For a series R-L-C circuit the inductor is variable. Source
voltage is 200√2 sin πt V. Maximum current obtainable by
varying the inductance is 0.314 A and the voltage across
the capacitor then is 300 V. Find the circuit element
values.
 Sample Problems
3. An R-L-C series resonant circuit has the following
parameters: Resonant frequency = 5000/2π Hz;
impedance at resonance = 56 Ω and Q-factor = 25.
Calculate the capacitance of the capacitor and
inductance of the inductor.
Assuming that these values are independent of
the frequency, find the two frequencies at which the
circuit impedance has a phase angle of π/4 radian.
4. A series R-L-C circuit is excited from a constant-
voltage variable frequency source. The current in the
circuit becomes a maximum at a frequency of
600/2π Hz and falls to one-half the maximum value at
400/2π Hz. If the resistance in the circuit is 3 Ω, find L
and C.
Sample Problems
5. A coil of inductance 9 H and resistance 50 Ω in series
with a capacitor is supplied at constant voltage from
a variable frequency source. If the maximum current of
1 A occurs at 75 Hz, find the frequency when the
current is 0.5 A.

6. An R-L-C series circuit is connected to a 20-V variable

frequency supply. If R = 20 Ω, L= 20 mH and C = 0.5 μF,
find the following when the power drops to 4 W on either
side of the maximum power at resonance. Calculate
(a) circuit Q (b) circuit phase angle Φ (c) 4-W
bandwidth B (d) lower frequency f1 and upper
frequency f2

7. A series R-L-C circuit consists of R = 15 Ω, L = 0.15 H

and a variable capacitor is connected across a 120 V, 60
Hz. Calculate the values of capacitance, current and
voltage of capacitor at (a) resonance condition and (b) at
maximum VC.
Sample Problems
8. An inductor having a resistance of 25 Ω and a Q of 10 at
resonant frequency of 10 kHz is fed from a 100 V supply.
Calculate: (a) value of series capacitance required to
produce resonance with the coil (b) inductance of the coil
(c) voltage across the capacitor (d) voltage across the coil.

9. A constant e.m.f. source of

variable frequency is 2Ω 40 μH 160 pF
connected to a series R-L-C
circuit of the figure given.
Calculate the following: (a) VR VL VC
frequency at which maximum
power is consumed in the 2 Ω 10 V
resistor (b) Q-factor of the
circuit at the above
frequency (c) frequencies at
which the power consumed
in 2 Ω resistor is one-tenth of its
maximum value.
 Parallel Resonance
Parallel Resonance or Anti-Resonance
Resonance in a parallel resonant circuit occurs when the inductive and
capacitive susceptances are equal at the frequency of the applied voltage.

𝐋
𝐁𝐋 = 𝐁𝐂 𝐙 = 𝐑𝐋 = 𝐑𝐜 =
𝐂
AC Source

RL RC

XL XC
𝐗𝐋 𝐗𝐂
= 𝐩. 𝐟. = 𝟏
𝐑 𝐋 𝟐 + 𝐗 𝐋𝟐 𝐑 𝐂 𝟐 + 𝐗 𝐂𝟐

A parallel resonant circuit since produces minimum

current in the circuit hence it is called a rejector circuit.
Parallel Resonance

Frequency of a Parallel Resonant Circuit

The frequency of a parallel RLC circuit at resonant
condition is given as:.
AC Source

RL RC
𝟏
𝟏 𝟐𝐂
𝐑𝐋 − 𝐋 𝟐
𝐟𝐑 =
𝟐𝛑 𝐋𝐂 𝐑 𝐂 𝟐𝐂 − 𝐋
XL XC
Comparison of Series and
Parallel Resonant Circuits

Quantity Series Circuit Parallel Circuit

Impedance at Resonance minimum maximum

Current at Resonance Maximum = V/R Minimum = V/(L/RC)

Effective Impedance R L/RC

Power Factor at Resonance Unity Unity

Resonant Frequency

It magnifies Voltage Current

Magnification is L/R L/R

Sample Problems

1. A capacitor is connected in parallel with a

coil having L = 5.52 mH and R = 10 Ω, to a 100-
V, 50-Hz supply. Calculate the value of the
capacitance for which the current taken from
the supply is in phase with the voltage.

2. An inductive circuit of resistance 2 ohm and

inductance 0.01 H is connected to a 250-V, 50-
Hz supply. What capacitance placed in parallel
will produce resonance? Find the total current
taken from the supply and the current in the
branch circuits.
 Sample Problems
3. A coil of resistance 20 Ω and inductance 200 μH is in
parallel with a variable capacitor. The combination is in
series with a resistor of 8000 Ω. The voltage of the supply is
200 V at a frequency of 106 Hz. Calculate (a) the value of C
to give resonance (b) the Q of the coil (c) the current in
each branch of the circuit at resonance.

4. Impedances Z2 and Z3 in parallel are in series with an

impedance Z1 across a 100-V, 50-Hz a.c. supply. Z1 = (6.25
+ j1.25) ohm; Z2 = (5 + j0) ohm and Z3 = (5 – jXc) ohm.
Determine the value of capacitance of Xc such that the
total current of the circuit will be in phase with the total
voltage. What is then the circuit current and power?
 Sample Problems
5. Compute the value
6Ω 4Ω
of C which results in AC
resonance for the Source
j8 Ω C
circuit shown

6. Find the values of R1

and R2 which will AC R1 R2
make the circuit Source
shown resonate at 4 mH 160 μF

all frequencies.
Sample Problems

7. Calculate the resonant frequency of the network

shown.

R1 R2

A C B
L