BASIC RL AND RC CIRCUITS

The Source-Free RL Circuit

The analysis of circuits containing inductors and/or capacitors is dependent upon the
formulation and solution of the integrodifferential equations that characterize the circuits. We
will call the special type of equation we obtain a homogeneous linear differential equation,
which is simply a differential equation in which every term is of the first degree in the
dependent variable or one of its derivatives. A solution is obtained when we have found an
expression for the dependent variable that satisfies both the differential equation and also the
prescribed energy distribution in the inductors or capacitors at a prescribed instant of time,
usually t=0.

We begin the study of transient analysis by considering the simple series RL circuits as
shown in the figure below. Let us designate the time-varying current as i(t)=I 0. Therefore

i(t)

+ +

vR R L vL

- -

di
Ri+ v L =Ri+ L =0
dt

di R
Or + i=0
dt L

The goal is an expression for i(t) which satisfies this equation and also has the value I 0 at t=0.
The solution may be obtained by several different methods.

A Direct Approach

One very direct approach of solving a differential equation consists of writing the
equation in such a way that the variables are separated, and then integrating each side of the
equation. The variables I and t, and its apparent that the equation may be multiplied by dt,
divided by I, and arranged with the variables separated:

di −R
= dt
dt L

Since the current I0 at t=0 and i(t) at time t, we may equate the two definite integrals which are
obtained by integrating each side between the corresponding limits:

i(t ) t
di ' −R
∫ =∫ dt '
I0 i' 0 L

Performing the indicated integration,

R '

ln i
|
' ¿− t|
L t
0

Which results in

−R
lni−ln I 0 = (t−0)
L

Then the current becomes,

−Rt
L
i ( t )=I 0 e

Properties of the Exponential Response

Let us consider the nature of the response in the series RL circuit. We have found that
the inductor current is presented by

−Rt
L
i ( t )=I 0 e

At t=0, the current has a value I 0, but as time increases, the current decreases and approaches
zero. The shape of this decaying exponential is seen by the plot of i(t)/I 0 versus t shown in the
− Rt
figure below. Since the function we are plotting is e L , the curve will not change if R/L remains
unchanged. Thus, the same curve must be obtained for every series RL circuit having the same

i
R/L or L/R ratio.
I0

0 t

If we double the ratio of L to R, then the exponent will be unchanged if t is also doubled.
In other words, the original response will occur at a later time, and the new curve is obtained by
moving each point on the original curve twice as far to the right. With this larger L/R ratio, the
current takes longer to decay to any given fraction of its original value.

The initial rate of decay is found by evaluating the derivative st zero time:

−Rt
d i
dt I 0 |
R
¿− e
L
L
|
t=0
=
−R
L

We designate the value of time it takes for i/I 0 to drop from unity to zero, assuming a constant
rate of decay, by the Greek letter τ (tau). Thus,

( RL ) τ =1
L
Or τ=
R

The ratio L/R has the units of seconds, since the exponent -Rt/L must be dimensionless. This
value of time Ƭ is called the time constant and is shown in figure below. The time constant of a
series RL circuit may be found graphically from the response curve; it is necessary only to draw
the tangent to the curve at t=0 and determine the intercept of this tangent line with the time
axis. This is often a convenient way of approximating the time constant from the display on an
oscilloscope.
 i
I0

0 τ t

An equally important interpretation of the time constant Ƭ is obtained by determining

i ( τ ) −1
=e =0.3679 or i ( τ )=0.3679 I 0
I0

The Source-Free RC Circuit

Circuits based on resistor-capacitor combinations are more common than their resistor-
inductor analogs. The principal reasons for this are the smaller losses present in a physical
capacitor, the lower cost, the better agreement between the simple mathematical model and
the actual device behavior, as well as smaller size and lighter weight, both of which are
particularly important for integrated circuit applications.

RC circuit shown in the figure below corresponds to that of the RL circuit. We will
assume an initial stored energy in the capacitor by selecting

v ( 0 )=V 0

C v R
 The total current leaving the node at the top of the circuit diagram must be zero, so we
may write

dv v
C + =0
dt R

Divided by C gives us

dv v
+ =0
dt RC

Thus, the response for RC circuit

−t −t
v ( t )=v ( 0 ) e RC =V 0 e RC

With the time constant of

τ =RC

General RL Circuits

To begin, we fix our attention on the two terminals of the inductor and determine the
equivalent resistance across these terminals. The circuit is thus reduced to the simple series
case. As an example, consider the circuit shown in the figure below. The equivalent resistance
the inductor faces is

R1 R 2
Req =R3 + R 4+
R1 + R2

And the time constant is therefore

L
τ=
R eq

The inductor current i L is

−t
τ
i L =i L (0) e
 R3 L iL

R1 R2 R4

i1 i2

And this represents what we might call the basic solution to the problem. It is quite possible
that some current or voltage other than i L is needed, such as the current i 2 in R2. We can
always apply Kirchhoff’s laws and Ohm’s law to the resistive portion of the circuit without any
difficulty, but current division provides the quickest answer in this circuit:

−t
i 2=
−R1
[
i (0)e τ
R 1+ R 2 L
]
It may also happen that we know the initial value of some current other than the inductor
current. Since the current in a resistor may change instantaneously, we will indicate the instant
after any change that might have occurred at t=0 by the use of the symbol 0+¿ ¿; in more
mathematical language, i 1 ¿ is the limit from the right of i 1 (t) as t approaches zero. Thus if we
are given the initial value of i 1 as i 1 ¿ , then the initial value of i 2 is

i2 ¿

From these values, we obtain the necessary initial value of i L (0):

iL ¿

And the expression for i 2 becomes

i 2=i 1 ¿

−t
τ
i 2= A e

Where

L
τ=
R eq

Example 1. Determine both i 1 and i L in the circuits shown in the figure below.
 120 Ω

60 Ω

iL

t=0 1 mH 50 Ω

18 V 90 Ω 2 mH 3 mH

i1

After t=0, when voltage is disconnected as shown in the figure below, we easily calculate an
equivalent inductance,

(2) (3)
Leq = + 1=2.2 mH
2+ 3

An equivalent resistance,

90 ( 60+120 )
Req = + 50=110 Ω
90+180

And time constant,

Leq 2.2 x 10−3

120 Ω

60 Ω

iL

1 mH

90 Ω 2 mH 3 mH

i1
Thus, the form of the natural response is A e−50,000t . With the independent source connected

18
(t <0), i L is amperes, or 360 milliamperes. At t=0+¿ ¿, i L must still be 360 milliamperes. Thus,
50

360 milliamperes (t<0)

18
For t <0, i 1 is amperes=200 amperes, but it will jump to anew value determined by i L ¿ . Using
90
current division,

i 1 ¿ milliamperes

Hence,

200 milliamperes(t <0)

General RC Circuits

Many of the RC circuits for which we would like to find the natural response contain
more than a single resistor and capacitor. Just as we did for the RL circuits, we first consider
those cases in which the given circuit may be reduced to an equivalent circuit consisting of only
one resistor and one capacitor.

Let us suppose first that we are faced with a circuit containing only one capacitor, but
any number of resistors. It is possible to replace the two-terminal resistive network which is
across the capacitor terminals by an equivalent resistor, and we then write down the
expression for the capacitor voltage immediately.

Example 2. For v ¿ and i 1 ¿ for the circuit shown below if v ¿.

i1
 R1 R2 R3

C v

We first simplify the circuit to a new circuit below, enabling us to write

−r
Req C
v=V 0 e

Where

R1 R3
v ¿ and Req =R2 +
R 1+ R 3

C R3

−t
Every current and voltage in the resistive portion of the network must have the form A e R eq
C ,

where A is the initial value of that current or voltage. Thus, the current in R1, for example, may
be expressed as

i 1=i 1 ¿

Where

R1 R 2
(
τ = R 2+
R1 + R2
C )
and i 1 ¿ remains to be determined from the initial condition. Any current flowing in the circuit at
t=0+¿ ¿ must come from the capacitor. Therefore, since v cannot change instantaneously,

i1 ¿