Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

EEE 110: Electrical Circuit Simulation Laboratory

Experiment # 08: Steady-State AC analysis and Frequency response

Objectives
 Using PSpice to solve steady-state phasor problems
 Observing the frequency response characteristics of different types of analog filters

Part A: Steady-State AC Analysis in PSpice

In addition to DC circuit analysis and transient analysis, PSpice can be used to work steady-state phasor
problems.

AC Voltage and Current Sources

The syntax for an AC source is very similar to its DC counterpart. The AC source is assumed to be a
cosine waveform at a specified phase angle. Its frequency must be defined in a separate " .AC "
command that defines the frequency for all the sources in the circuit. The unique information for the
individual source is: the name, which must start with "V" or "I," the node numbers, the magnitude of the
source, and its phase angle. Some examples follow.

*name nodelist type value phase(deg)

Vac 4 1 AC 120V 30
Vba 2 5 AC 240 ; phase angle 0 degrees
Ix 3 6 AC 10.0A -45 ; phase angle -45 degrees
Isv 12 9 AC 25mA ; 25 milliamps @ 0 degrees

Here source type, AC, must be specified, because the default is DC. If the phase angle is not specified it
will be assumed as zero degrees. The units of the phase angle will be in degrees. For voltage source the
node on the left is the positive node and the node on the right is the negative node. Similarly, incase of
current source positive current flows into the source from the node on the left, passes through the source,
and leaves the source from the node on the right.

In some of your previous experiments you have used "SIN" type of source which is one of several useful
source types (also EXP, PULSE, PWL, etc) that are used for transient analysis. Do not attempt to use
SIN for steady-state (phasor) AC analysis nor for frequency sweeps. The SIN type is a time-based
function for time-based analysis, whereas the AC type is used in frequency-based modeling. Since phasor
analysis uses frequency-based models of circuit elements, always use the AC type as described in this
experiment.

Use of the .PRINT AC Command

To enable .PRINT command .AC command must be used. The .AC command was designed to make a
sweep of many frequencies for a given circuit. This is called a frequency response and will be discussed
in Part B of this experiment. Three types of ranges are possible for the frequency sweep: LIN, DEC and
OCT. At this time we only want a single frequency to be used so it does not matter which one we
choose. We will pick the LIN (linear) range to designate our single frequency.

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 * type #points start stop
.AC LIN 1 60Hz 60Hz; <== single frequency
.AC LIN 6 100 200; <== a linear range sweep
.AC DEC 20 1Hz 10kHz; <== a logarithmic range sweep

The first statement above performs a single analysis using the frequency of 60 Hz. Placing the units "Hz"
after the value is optional. The second statement would perform a frequency sweep using frequencies of
100Hz, 120Hz, 140Hz, 160Hz, 180Hz, and 200Hz. The third statement performs a logarithmic range
sweep using 20 points per decade over a range of four decades. This will be useful later for studying
frequency response of circuits.

Finally, we can discuss the actual .PRINT AC command. Printing the components of phasor values
(complex numbers) requires some options. There are four expressions needed for this: magnitude, phase
(angle), real part and imaginary part. In addition, we can print voltages or currents. For instance, to print
the magnitude of a voltage between nodes 2 and 3, we would specify "VM(2,3)." The phase angle of this
same voltage would be "VP(2,3)" and would be printed in degrees. If we need the current magnitude
through resistor Rload, we would specify "IM(Rload)." The real part of the voltage on node 7 would be
specified "VR(7)" and its imaginary part, "VI(7)." As with the .PRINT DC command, there is no limit on
the number of times it can be used in a listing; nor is there a limit on how many print requests can be on a
single line.

.PRINT AC VM(30,9) VP(30,9); magnitude & angle of voltage

.PRINT AC IR(Rx) II(Rx); real & imag. parts of current through Rx
.PRINT AC VM(17) VP(17) VR(17) VI(17); the whole works on node 17

Example Circuit
We will analyze the following circuit at a frequency of 60 Hz.

60 Hz AC Circuit
Vs 1 0 AC 120V 0
Rg 1 2 0.5
Lg 2 3 3.183mH
Rm 3 4 16.0
Lm 4 0 31.83mH
Cx 3 0 132.8uF
.AC LIN 1 60 60
.PRINT AC VM(3) VP(3)
.PRINT AC IM(Rm) IP(Rm)
.PRINT AC IM(Cx) IP(Cx)
.END

Figure 1
In the above listing, the .AC command sets up the analysis for a single solution at 60 Hz. The .PRINT
AC command tells PSpice to report on the voltage magnitude and phase angle at node 3, and the current
magnitude and phase angle for the current through resistor Rm and the current magnitude and phase angle
through capacitor Cx.

Practice Problem
Draw the circuit shown in figure 1 in schematic and analyze it for the source frequency of 50 Hz. Check
whether KCL is satisfied in node 3. Also check KVL for both loops.

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 Part B: Frequency Sweep
In this section we will discuss frequency sweeps over a range of frequencies. The purpose of this type of
analysis is to study the frequency response of different kinds of circuits.

Specifying frequency range for AC Sources

.AC command is used to specify one of the following three types of frequency ranges.

LIN Range Type

The LIN range type is linear. It divides up the range between the minimum and maximum user-specified
frequencies into evenly spaced intervals. This is best used to view details over a narrow bandwidth. The
first parameter after the keyword LIN is the number of points to calculate. This is followed by the lowest
frequency value in Hz, then the highest frequency value in Hz. As with all the range types, the unit "Hz"
is optional.

.AC LIN 101 2k 4k ; 101 points from 2 kHz to 4 kHz

.AC LIN 11 800 1000 ; 11 points from 800 Hz to 1 kHz

OCT Range Type

The OCT range is logarithmic to the base two. Thus each octave has the same number of points
calculated. This is somewhat useful for designing electronic equipment for musical applications.
However, the resulting graphs are very similar in appearance to sweeps made with the DEC range. The
first parameter after the keyword OCT is the number of points per octave to calculate. This is followed by
the lowest frequency value in Hz, then the highest frequency value in Hz.

.AC OCT 20 440Hz 1.76kHz; 20 points/octave over 2 octaves

.AC OCT 40 110Hz 880Hz ; 40 points/octave over 3 octaves

DEC Range Type

The DEC range is logarithmic to the base ten. Thus each decade has the same number of points
calculated. This is the most commonly used range for making Bode plots of a frequency response. The
first parameter after the keyword DEC is the number of points per decade to calculate. This is followed by
the lowest frequency value in Hz, then the highest frequency value in Hz.

.AC DEC 50 1kHz 100kHz ; 50 points/decade over 2 decades

.AC DEC 25 100k 100MEG ; 25 points/decade over 3 decades

Probe

The independent variable used by PROBE in a .TRAN analysis is time. But in a frequency sweep the
independent variable used by PROBE is frequency. When PROBE stores data in a transient (.TRAN)
analysis, the dependent variables are instantaneous voltages and currents; whereas in a frequency sweep
these dependent variables are real and imaginary components of phasor voltages and currents.

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Examples of Frequency Sweeps

First-order low-pass RC filter

Vin 1 0 AC 1.0V
R1 1 2 0.25
C1 2 0 50uF
.AC DEC 20 100Hz 100kHz
.PROBE
.END
Figure 2
The above circuit is a first-order low-pass filter. Since we want the gain of this filter, it is convenient to
make the input voltage 1 volt so the output voltage is numerically equivalent to the gain. However, the
post-processor within PROBE is fully capable of performing arithmetic such as dividing the input voltage
into the output voltage.

After running this in PSpice, start PROBE, choose "Add" from the "Trace" menu and plot the output
voltage. PROBE will provide the following graph.

Another option is to have PROBE plot the gain in decibels. To do this, choose "Add" from the "Trace"
menu in PROBE. Then select the "DB" function in the right-hand column and choose "V(2)" from the
left-hand column. After selecting "OK," you should see the following trace.

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Notice that the gain is -3db at a frequency of 1 kHz (the half-power frequency) and declines at
20 dB/decade thereafter. The remaining demonstration for this example is to have PROBE plot the phase
shift of the low-pass filter as a function of frequency. We simply specify "VP(2)" from the "Add Trace"
dialog box. Notice that this is the same format used in the .PRINT AC command in PSPICE. PROBE
automatically shows the angles in degrees.

Practice Problem

(1) Determine the cutoff frequency of the high-pass filter shown in figure 3 by analyzing it using Netlist.

Figure 3

(2) Cascade the low-pass and high-pass filters shown in figure 2 and figure 3. This arrangement will work
as what type of filter? What will the cutoff frequencies?

Input Low-pass High-pass Output

signal filter filter signal

Figure 4

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(3) Examine the following second-order high-pass filter using Schematic. From the output voltage vs
frequency plot calculate the cut-off frequency.

Figure 5

Pre Lab

1. For the circuit shown in figure 1 draw complete phasor diagram and show the
magnitudes and phases of all the voltages and currents.

2. For the circuits shown in figure 2 and 3 determine analytical expressions for the
magnitudes and phases of V(2) and sketch them quantitatively. Also calculate the V(2)
for source signal frequency of 500 Hz, 1 KHz and 15 KHz

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