Unit 2

R,L and C
• Pure Resistive AC Circuit

• The circuit containing only a pure resistance of R ohms in the AC

circuit is known as Pure Resistive AC Circuit. The presence of
inductance and capacitance does not exist in a purely resistive circuit.

• In the purely resistive circuit, the power is dissipated by the resistors

and the phase of the voltage and current remains same i.e., both the
voltage and current reach their maximum value at the same time.

• The resistor is the passive device which neither produce nor consume
electric power. It converts the electrical energy into heat.
Explanation of Resistive Circuit

• In an AC circuit, the ratio of voltage to current depends upon the

supply frequency, phase angle, and phase difference.

• In an AC resistive circuit, the value of resistance of the resistor will be

same irrespective of the supply frequency.

• Let the alternating voltage applied across the circuit be given by the
equation
• Then the instantaneous value of current flowing through the resistor
shown in the figure below will be:
• The value of current will be maximum when ωt= 90° or sinωt = 1
• Putting the value of sinωt in equation (2) we will get
Phase Angle and Waveform of Resistive Circuit

• From equation (1) and (3), it is clear that there is no phase difference
between the applied voltage and the current flowing through a purely
resistive circuit, i.e. phase angle between voltage and current is zero.

• Hence, in an AC circuit containing pure resistance, the current is in

phase with the voltage as shown in the waveform figure below.
• Therefore, the instantaneous power in a purely resistive circuit is
given by the equation shown below:
• Instantaneous power, p= vi
• The average power consumed in the circuit over a complete cycle is
given by

• So, putting the value of cosωt in equation (4) the value of power will
be given by
• Where,
• P – average power
• Vr.m.s – root mean square value of supply voltage
• Ir.m.s – root mean square value of the current
• Hence, the power in a purely resistive circuit is given by:

• The voltage and the current in the purely resistive circuit are in phase with
each other having no phase difference with phase angle zero. The
alternating quantity reaches their peak value at the interval of the same
time period that is the rise and fall of the voltage and current occurs at the
same time.
Pure inductive Circuit
• The circuit which contains only inductance (L) and not any other
quantities like resistance and capacitance in the circuit is called a Pure
inductive circuit. In this type of circuit, the current lags behind the
voltage by an angle of 90 degrees.

• When the current flowing through inductor changes then time-

varying magnetic field causes emf which obstruct the flow of current.
The inductance is measured in Henry. The opposition of flow of
current is known as the inductive reactance.
Explanation and Derivation of Inductive Circuit

• The circuit containing pure inductance is shown below:

• Let the alternating voltage applied to the circuit is given by the
equation:

• As a result, an alternating current i flows through the inductance

which induces an emf in it. The equation is shown below:
• The emf which is induced in the circuit is equal and opposite to the
applied voltage. Hence, the equation becomes,

• Putting the value of e in equation (2) we will get the equation as

• Integrating both sides of the equation (3), we will get
• where, XL = ω L is the opposition offered to the flow of alternating
current by a pure inductance and is called inductive reactance.

• The value of current will be maximum when sin (ωt – π/2) = 1

• Therefore,
• Substituting this value in Im from the equation (5) and putting it in
equation (4) we will get
Phasor Diagram and Power Curve of Inductive
Circuit

• The current in the pure inductive AC circuit lags the voltage by 90

degrees. The waveform, power curve and phasor diagram of a purely
inductive circuit is shown below:
Power in Pure Inductive Circuit

• Instantaneous power in the inductive circuit is given by:

• Hence, the average power consumed in a purely inductive circuit is
zero.

• The average power in one alteration, i.e., in a half cycle is zero, as the
negative and positive loop is under power curve is the same.

• In the purely inductive circuit, during the first quarter cycle, the
power supplied by the source, is stored in the magnetic field set up
around the coil. In the next quarter cycle, the magnetic field
diminishes and the power that was stored in the first quarter cycle is
returned to the source.

• This process continues in every cycle, and thus, no power is

consumed in the circuit.
Pure Capacitor Circuit
• The circuit containing only a pure capacitor of capacitance C farads is
known as a Pure Capacitor Circuit. The capacitors stores electrical power in
the electric field, their effect is known as the capacitance. It is also called
the condenser.

• The capacitor consists of two conductive plates which are separated by the
dielectric medium. The dielectric material is made up of glass, paper, mica,
oxide layers, etc.

• In pure AC capacitor circuit, the current leads the voltage by an angle of 90

degrees.
Explanation and derivation of Capacitor Circuit

• A capacitor consists of two insulating plates which are separated by a

dielectric medium. It stores energy in electrical form. The capacitor
works as a storage device, and it gets charged when the supply
in ON and gets discharged when the supply is OFF. If it is connected
to the direct supply, it gets charged equal to the value of the applied
voltage.
• Let the alternating voltage applied to the circuit is given by the
equation:

• Charge of the capacitor at any instant of time is given as:

• Current flowing through the circuit is given by the equation:

• Putting the value of q from the equation (2) in equation (3) we will
get:

• Now, putting the value of v from the equation (1) in the equation (3)
we will get:
• Where Xc = 1/ωC is the opposition offered to the flow of alternating
current by a pure capacitor and is called Capacitive Reactance.

• The value of current will be maximum when sin(ωt + π/2) = 1.

Therefore, the value of maximum current Im will be given as:

• Substituting the value of Im in the equation (4) we will get:

Phasor Diagram and Power Curve
• In the pure capacitor circuit, the current flowing through the
capacitor leads the voltage by an angle of 90 degrees. The phasor
diagram and the waveform of voltage, current and power are shown
below:
Power in Pure Capacitor Circuit

• Instantaneous power is given by p = vi

• Hence, from the above equation, it is clear that the average power in
the capacitive circuit is zero.

• The average power in a half cycle is zero as the positive and negative
loop area in the waveform shown are same.

• In the first quarter cycle, the power which is supplied by the source is
stored in the electric field set up between the capacitor plates. In the
another or next quarter cycle, the electric field diminishes, and thus
the power stored in the field is returned to the source. This process is
repeated continuously and, therefore, no power is consumed by the
capacitor circuit.
RL Series Circuit
• A circuit that contains a pure resistance R ohms connected in series
with a coil having a pure inductance of L (Henry) is known as RL Series
Circuit.
• When an AC supply voltage V is applied, the current, I flows in the
circuit.
• So, IR and IL will be the current flowing in the resistor and inductor
respectively, but the amount of current flowing through both the
elements will be same as they are connected in series with each
other. The circuit diagram of RL Series Circuit is shown below:
Where,
• VR – voltage across the resistor R
• VL – voltage across the inductor L
• V – Total voltage of the circuit
Phasor Diagram of the RL Series Circuit

• The phasor diagram of the RL Series circuit is shown below:

Steps to draw the Phasor Diagram of RL Series
Circuit
The following steps are given below which are followed to draw the
phasor diagram step by step:
• Current I is taken as a reference.
• The Voltage drop across the resistance VR = IR is drawn in phase with
the current I.
• The voltage drop across the inductive reactance VL =IXL is drawn
ahead of the current I. As the current lags voltage by an angle of 90
degrees in the pure Inductive circuit.
• The vector sum of the two voltages drops VR and VL is equal to the
applied voltage V.
Now,
• In right-angle triangle OAB
• VR = IR and VL = IXL where XL = 2πfL

• Where,

• Z is the total opposition offered to the flow of alternating current by an RL Series

circuit and is called impedance of the circuit. It is measured in ohms (Ω).
Phase Angle

• In RL Series circuit the current lags the voltage by 90 degrees angle

known as phase angle. It is given by the equation:

• The equation of current I is given as:

• Then the instantaneous power is given by the equation:

• Putting the value of v and i from the equation (1) and (2) in the
equation (3) we will get
• The average power consumed in the circuit over one complete cycle is
given by the equation shown below:

• Where cosϕ is called the power factor of the circuit.

• The power factor is defined as the ratio of resistance to the
impedance of an AC Circuit.

• Putting the value of V and cosϕ from the equation (4) the value of
power will be:

• From equation (5) it can be concluded that the inductor does not
consume any power in the circuit.
Waveform and Power Curve of the RL Series
Circuit
• The waveform and power curve of the RL series circuit is shown
below:
• The various points on the power curve are obtained by the product of
voltage and current.

• If you analyze the curve carefully, it is seen that the power is negative
between angle 0 and ϕ and between 180 degrees and (180 + ϕ) and
during the rest of the cycle the power is positive. The current lags the
voltage and thus they are not in phase with each other.
RC Series Circuit
• A circuit that contains pure resistance R ohms connected in series
with a pure capacitor of capacitance C farads is known as RC Series
Circuit.

• A sinusoidal voltage is applied and current I flows through the

resistance (R) and the capacitance (C) of the circuit.

• The RC Series circuit is shown in the figure:

Where,
• VR – voltage across the resistance R
• VC – voltage across capacitor C
• V – total voltage across the RC Series circuit
Phasor Diagram of RC Series Circuit
Steps to draw a Phasor Diagram

• The following steps are used to draw the phasor diagram of RC Series
circuit
• Take the current I (r.m.s value) as a reference vector
• Voltage drop in resistance VR = IR is taken in phase with the current
vector
• Voltage drop in capacitive reactance VC = IXC is drawn 90 degrees
behind the current vector, as current leads voltage by 90 degrees (in
the pure capacitive circuit)
• The vector sum of the two voltage drops is equal to the applied
voltage V (r.m.s value).
Now,
• VR = IR and VC = IXC
• Where XC = I/2πfC
• In right triangle OAB,

• Where,

• Z is the total opposition offered to the flow of alternating current by an RC

series circuit and is called impedance of the circuit. It is measured in ohms (Ω).
Phase angle

• From the phasor diagram shown above, it is clear that the current in
the circuit leads the applied voltage by an angle ϕ and this angle is
called the phase angle.
Power in RC Series Circuit

• If the alternating voltage applied across the circuit is given by the

equation

• Then,

• Therefore, the instantaneous power is given by p = vi

• Putting the value of v and i from the equation (1) and (2) in p = vi
• The average power consumed in the circuit over a complete cycle is
given by:
• Putting the value of V and cosϕ from the equation (3) the value of power will be

• From the equation (4) it is clear that the power is actually consumed by the
resistance only and the capacitor does not consume any power in the circuit.
Waveform and Power Curve of the RC Series
Circuit
• The waveform and power curve of the RC circuit is shown below:
• The various points on the power curve are obtained from the product of the
instantaneous value of voltage and current.

• The power is negative between the angle (180° – ϕ) and 180° and between
(360° -ϕ) and 360° and in the rest of the cycle, the power is positive. Since the
area under the positive loops is greater than that under the negative loops,
therefore the net power over a complete cycle is positive.
RLC Series Circuit

• When a pure resistance of R ohms, a pure inductance of L Henry and

a pure capacitance of C farads are connected together in series
combination with each other then RLC Series Circuit is formed.

• As all the three elements are connected in series so, the current
flowing through each element of the circuit will be the same as the
total current I flowing in the circuit.
• The RLC Circuit is shown below:

In the RLC Series circuit

XL = 2πfL and XC = 1/2πfC
• When the AC voltage is applied through the RLC Series circuit the resulting
current I flows through the circuit, and thus the voltage across each element
will be:

• VR = IR that is the voltage across the resistance R and is in phase with the
current I.

• VL = IXL that is the voltage across the inductance L and it leads the current I by
an angle of 90 degrees.

• VC = IXC that is the voltage across capacitor C and it lags the current I by an
angle of 90 degrees.
Phasor Diagram of RLC Series Circuit
• The phasor diagram of the RLC series circuit when the circuit is acting as an
inductive circuit that means (VL>VC) is shown below and if (VL< VC) the circuit will
behave as a capacitive circuit.
Steps to draw the Phasor Diagram of the RLC
Series Circuit
• Take current I as the reference as shown in the figure above
• The voltage across the inductor L that is VL is drawn leads the current
I by a 90-degree angle.
• The voltage across the capacitor c that is Vc is drawn lagging the
current I by a 90-degree angle because in capacitive load the current
leads the voltage by an angle of 90 degrees.
• The two vector VL and VC are opposite to each other.
Where,

• It is the total opposition offered to the flow of current by an RLC

Circuit and is known as Impedance of the circuit.
Phase Angle
• From the phasor diagram, the value of phase angle will be
Power in RLC Series Circuit

• The product of voltage and current is defined as power.

• Where cosϕ is the power factor of the circuit and is expressed as:
The three cases of RLC Series Circuit
• When XL > XC, the phase angle ϕ is positive. The circuit behaves as RL
series circuit in which the current lags behind the applied voltage and
the power factor is lagging.
• When XL < XC, the phase angle ϕ is negative, and the circuit acts as a
series RC circuit in which the current leads the voltage by 90 degrees.
• When XL = XC, the phase angle ϕ is zero, as a result, the circuit
behaves like a purely resistive circuit. In this type of circuit, the
current and voltage are in phase with each other. The value of the
power factor is unity.
Impedance Triangle of RLC Series Circuit
• When the quantities of the phasor diagram are divided by the
common factor I then the right angle triangle is obtained known as
impedance triangle. The impedance triangle of the RL series circuit,
when (XL > XC) is shown below:
• Impedance triangle is shown below when the circuit acts as an RC
series circuit (XL< XC)
Applications of RLC Series Circuit
The following are the application of the RLC circuit:

• It acts as a variable tuned circuit

• It acts as a low pass, high pass, bandpass, bandstop filters depending
upon the type of frequency.
• The circuit also works as an oscillator
• Voltage multiplier and pulse discharge circuit
• This is all about the RLC circuit.
Resonance in series RLC Circuit

• In a series RLC circuit there becomes a frequency point were the

inductive reactance of the inductor becomes equal in value to the
capacitive reactance of the capacitor. In other words, XL = XC. The
point at which this occurs is called the Resonant Frequency point,
( ƒr ) of the circuit, and as we are analysing a series RLC circuit this
resonance frequency produces a Series Resonance.
• Firstly, let us define what we already know about series RLC circuits.
• Inductive Reactance against Frequency

• The graph of inductive reactance against frequency is a straight line

linear curve. The inductive reactance value of an inductor increases
linearly as the frequency across it increases. Therefore, inductive
reactance is positive and is directly proportional to frequency ( XL ∝ ƒ )
• Capacitive Reactance against Frequency

• The graph of capacitive reactance against frequency is a hyperbolic

curve. The Reactance value of a capacitor has a very high value at low
frequencies but quickly decreases as the frequency across it
increases. Therefore, capacitive reactance is negative and is inversely
proportional to frequency ( XC ∝ ƒ -1 )
• Series Resonance Frequency

• Electrical resonance occurs in an AC circuit when the effects of the two

reactances, which are opposite and equal, cancel each other out as XL = XC.
• The point on the above graph at which this happens is were the two
reactance curves cross each other. In a series resonant circuit, the resonant
frequency, ƒr point can be calculated as follows.
• We can see then that at resonance, mathematically the two
reactances cancel each other out as XL – XC = 0. This makes the series
LC combination act as a short circuit with the only opposition to
current flow in a series resonance circuit being the resistance, R.

• In complex form, the resonant frequency is the frequency at which

the total impedance of a series RLC circuit becomes purely “real”,
that is no imaginary impedance’s exist. This is because at resonance
they are cancelled out. So the total impedance of the series circuit
becomes just the value of the resistance and therefore: Z = R.
• Then at resonance the impedance of the series circuit is at its
minimum value and equal only to the resistance, R of the circuit.

• The circuit impedance at resonance is called the “dynamic

impedance” of the circuit and depending upon the
frequency, XC (typically at high frequencies) or XL (typically at low
frequencies) will dominate either side of resonance as shown below.
Impedance in a Series Resonance Circuit
Series RLC Circuit at Resonance
• Since the current flowing through a series resonance circuit is the
product of voltage divided by impedance, at resonance the
impedance, Z is at its minimum value, ( =R ). Therefore, the circuit
current at this frequency will be at its maximum value of V/R as
shown below.
• Series Circuit Current at Resonance
Phase Angle of a Series Resonance Circuit
Series RLC Circuit Example No1

• A series RLC circuit containing a resistance of 12Ω, an inductance of

0.15H and a capacitor of 100uF are connected in series across a 100V,
50Hz supply. Calculate the total circuit impedance, the circuits
current, power factor and draw the voltage phasor diagram.
• Inductive Reactance, XL.

• Capacitive Reactance, XC.

• Circuit Impedance, Z.
• Circuits Current, I.

• Voltages across the Series RLC Circuit, VR, VL, VC.

• Circuits Power factor and Phase Angle, θ.

• Phasor Diagram.
• Since the phase angle θ is calculated as a positive value of 51.8o the
overall reactance of the circuit must be inductive.
• As we have taken the current vector as our reference vector in a
series RLC circuit, then the current “lags” the source voltage by
51.8o so we can say that the phase angle is lagging.
Bandwidth of a Series Resonance Circuit

• In the series RLC ,at resonance the power absorbed by the circuit
must be at its maximum value as P = I2Z.

• If we now reduce or increase the frequency until the average power

absorbed by the resistor in the series resonance circuit is half that of
its maximum value at resonance, we produce two frequency points
called the half-power points which are -3dB down from maximum,
taking 0dB as the maximum current reference.
• These -3dB points give us a current value that is 70.7% of its
maximum resonant value which is defined as:
• These -3dB points give us a current value that is 70.7% of its
maximum resonant value which is defined as:
0.5( I2 R ) = (0.707 x I)2 R.

• Then the point corresponding to the lower frequency at half the

power is called the “lower cut-off frequency”, labelled ƒL with the
point corresponding to the upper frequency at half power being
called the “upper cut-off frequency”, labelled ƒH.

• The distance between these two points, i.e. ( ƒH – ƒL ) is called

the Bandwidth, (BW) and is the range of frequencies over which at
least half of the maximum power and current is provided as shown.
• The frequency response of the circuits current magnitude above,
relates to the “sharpness” of the resonance in a series resonance
circuit.
• The sharpness of the peak is measured quantitatively and is called
the Quality factor, Q of the circuit.

• The quality factor relates the maximum or peak energy stored in the
circuit (the reactance) to the energy dissipated (the resistance) during
each cycle of oscillation meaning that it is a ratio of resonant
frequency to bandwidth and the higher the circuit Q, the smaller the
bandwidth, Q = ƒr /BW.
• As the bandwidth is taken between the two -3dB points,
the selectivity of the circuit is a measure of its ability to reject any
frequencies either side of these points.

• A more selective circuit will have a narrower bandwidth whereas a

less selective circuit will have a wider bandwidth.

• The selectivity of a series resonance circuit can be controlled by

adjusting the value of the resistance only, keeping all the other
components the same, since Q = (XL or XC)/R.
• Then the relationship between resonance, bandwidth, selectivity and
quality factor for a series resonance circuit being defined as: