EE 100 Notes

Solution of Differential Equation for Series RL

For a single-loop RL circuit with a sinusoidal voltage source, we can write the KVL equation
𝑑𝑖(𝑡)
𝐿 + 𝑅𝑖(𝑡) = 𝑉𝑀 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜔𝑡
𝑑𝑡

Now solve it assuming 𝑖(𝑡) has the form 𝐾1 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜔𝑡 − 𝜙) and 𝑖(0) = 0.
𝑑
𝐿 𝐾1 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙) + 𝑅𝐾1 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙) = 𝑉𝑀 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜔𝑡) (1)
𝑑𝑡
− 𝜔𝐿𝐾1 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙) + 𝑅𝐾1 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙) = 𝑉𝑀 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜔𝑡) (2)
𝐾1 [𝑅 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙) − 𝜔𝐿 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙)] = 𝑉𝑀 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜔𝑡) (3)
Use the trigonometric identity
𝐶𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝐴 + 𝐵) = 𝐶𝑐𝑜𝑠𝐴 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝐵 − 𝐶𝑠𝑖𝑛𝐴 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝐵
where for us
𝐶𝑐𝑜𝑠𝐴 = 𝑅
𝐶𝑠𝑖𝑛𝐴 = 𝜔𝐿
That gives
𝜔𝐿
( )
−1
𝐴 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛
𝑅
𝐵 = 𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙
√
𝐶 2 = 𝑅2 + (𝜔𝐿)2 → 𝐶= 𝑅 2 + 𝜔 2 𝐿2
Substituting into equation (3) we have
√ [
−1 𝜔𝐿
( )]
2 2 2
𝐾1 𝑅 + 𝜔 𝐿 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙 + 𝑡𝑎𝑛 = 𝑉𝑀 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜔𝑡)
𝑅
or
𝜔𝐿 𝑉𝑀
[ ( )]
𝐾1 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙 + 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 =√ 2 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜔𝑡)
𝑅 𝑅 + 𝜔 2 𝐿2
The magnitude of the current is
𝑉𝑀
𝐾1 = √ 2
𝑅 + 𝜔 2 𝐿2
and the phase is
𝜔𝐿
( )
𝜙 = −𝑡𝑎𝑛−1
𝑅
That gives us the following expression for the current
𝑉𝑀 −1 𝜔𝐿
[ ( )]
𝑖(𝑡) = √ 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜔𝑡 − 𝑡𝑎𝑛
𝑅 2 + 𝜔 2 𝐿2 𝑅