Lecture 13: Passive Circuit Elements: Inductors and RL Circuits

1. Inductors:

An inductor is a passive electrical component formed by a coil of wire and which exhibits the
property of inductance. When a length of wire is formed into a coil, as shown in Figure 1, it
becomes an inductor. The terms coil and inductor are used interchangeably. Current through the
coil produces an electromagnetic field, as illustrated. The magnetic lines of force around each
loop (turn) in the winding of the coil effectively add to the lines of force around the adjoining
loops, forming a strong electromagnetic field within and around the coil. The net direction of the
total electromagnetic field creates a north and a south pole. When there is current through an
inductor, an electromagnetic field is established. When the current changes, the electromagnetic
field also changes. An increase in current expands the electromagnetic field, and a decrease in
current reduces it. Therefore, a changing current produces a changing electromagnetic field
around the inductor. In turn, the changing electromagnetic field causes an induced voltage across
the coil in a direction to oppose the change in current. This property is called self-inductance but
is usually referred to as simply inductance, symbolized by L.

Fig.1: A coil of wire forms an inductor. When there is current through it, a three-dimensional
electromagnetic field is created, surrounding the coil in all directions.

The inductance (L) of a coil and the time rate of change of the current (di/dt) determine the induced
voltage (VL). A change in current causes a change in the electromagnetic field, which, in turn,
induces a voltage across the coil, as you know. The induced voltage is directly proportional to L
and di/dt, as stated by the following formula:

𝑑
𝑉𝐿 = 𝐿 𝐼 (1)
𝑑𝑡 𝐿

This formula indicates that the greater the inductance, the greater the induced voltage. Also, it
shows that the faster the coil current changes, the greater the induced voltage. The Unit of
Inductance The henry (H) is the basic unit of inductance. By definition, the inductance of a coil is
one henry when current through the coil, changing at the rate of one ampere per second, induces
one volt across the coil. The henry is a large unit, so in practical applications, millihenries (mH)
and microhenries (mH) are the more common units. The common inductor packages available in
the market are shown in Fig. 2.
 Fig.2: Common inductor packages available in the market.

The following parameters are important in establishing the inductance of a coil: permeability of
the core material, number of turns of wire, core length, and cross-sectional area of the core. Core

Material As discussed earlier, an inductor is basically a coil of wire that surrounds a magnetic or
nonmagnetic material called the core. Examples of magnetic materials are iron, nickel, steel,
cobalt, or alloys. These materials have permeabilities that are hundreds or thousands of times
greater than that of a vacuum and are classified as ferromagnetic. A ferromagnetic core provides a
better path for the magnetic lines of force and thus permits a stronger magnetic field. Examples
of nonmagnetic materials are air, copper, plastic, and glass. The permeabilities of these materials
are the same as for a vacuum. The permeability (µ) of the core material determines how easily a
magnetic field can be established, and is measured in (Wb/At.m), which is the same as H/m. The
inductance is directly proportional to the permeability of the core material. Physical Parameters
As indicated in Fig. 3, the number of turns of wire, the length, and the cross-sectional area of the
core are factors in setting the value of inductance. The inductance is inversely proportional to the
length of the core and directly proportional to the cross-sectional area. Also, the inductance is
directly related to the number of turns squared. This relationship is as follows:

𝑁 2 𝜇𝐴
𝐿= (2)
𝑙

where L is the inductance in henries (H), N is the number of turns of wire, µ is the permeability
in henries per meter (H/m), A is the cross-sectional area in meters squared, and l is the core length
in meters (m).
 Fig.3: Physical parameters of an inductor.

Inductors are added in series and in parallel same as a resistor. Because the inductor’s basic action
is to develop a voltage that opposes a change in its current, it follows that current cannot change
instantaneously in an inductor. A certain time is required for the current to make a change from
one value to another. The rate at which the current changes is determined by the RL time constant.
The RL time constant is a fixed time interval that equals the ratio of the inductance to the
resistance. The formula is given by:

𝐿
𝜏= (3)
𝑅
where 𝜏 is in seconds when inductance (L) is in Henries and resistance (R) is in ohms.

Fig.4: Illustration of the exponential buildup of current in an inductor.

Consider the circuit given in Fig. 4. It is composed of an Inductance L and a resistance R in series
with a DC voltage source VS or V. Fig. 4 (a) to (f) illustrates the exponential rise in the current. It
can be noticed that the current is zero initially since the inductor doesn’t let the instantaneous
current change. However, all the applied voltage will appear across the inductor terminals since
it is behaving as an open circuit in the beginning. Hence, VL will be at its maximum value. Fig. 5
indicates the exponential rise in the inductor’s current (charging) with respect to the time
constants values.

Fig.5: Increasing current in an inductor.

When the inductor is fully charged and if the DC power source shown in Fig. 4 is removed and
its terminals are short, the resistor R becomes the load of the inductor. Since, there is energy stored
in the inductor, it works like a current source. However, its current starts decaying. It can be
noticed that the direction is reverse of the charging cycle. The current continues on decaying with
time until the inductor is fully discharged.

Fig.6: Decreasing current in an inductor.

2. V-I characteristics of inductors

The relationship between the current and voltage of an inductor is shown in eq. (1). The circuit
diagram shown in Fig. 4 is called as R-L circuit. The switch completes the circuit. Let’s suppose
the energy stored in the inductor is zero, therefore the initial current in the inductor is also zero;
𝐼𝐿 (0) is equals to 0 V. Let the switch is switched on at time t = 0 sec, the circuit loop will be complete
and the current 𝐼𝐿 flows through the circuit. The voltage drops across R and L are VR and VL
respectively. From KVL, the equation can be written as:
𝑉 = 𝑉𝑅 + 𝑉𝐿 (5)
since,
𝑉𝑅 = 𝐼𝐿 𝑅
and
𝑑
𝑉𝐿 = 𝐿 𝐼
𝑑𝑡 𝐿

Eq (5) is written as:

𝑑
𝑉 = 𝐼𝐿 𝑅 + 𝐿 𝐼 (6)
𝑑𝑡 𝐿
𝐿 𝑑
𝑉= 𝐼 + 𝐼𝐿 (7)
𝑅 𝑑𝑡 𝐿
𝑑
𝑉 = 𝜏 𝐼𝐿 + 𝐼𝐿 (8)
𝑑𝑡

Eq (7) and (8) are general differential equations of R-L circuits. L/R in eq (7) is known as the time
constant for R-L circuits, generally represented by 𝜏 (𝑇𝑎𝑢) as shown in eq (8). It can be noticed in
eq (8) that the left hand side is the voltage supplied to R-L circuit and on the right hand side is
current through the inductor.
2.1 Natural response of R-L circuits (Circuit Analysis without a voltage source)

If the voltage source V shown in Fig. 4 is replaced with a short with the switch on state, and
assuming there is some current stored in the inductor, defining the initial condition as IL(0), the
resistor R becomes load of the inductor. The differential equation (8) would take a form:

𝑑
𝜏 𝐼 + 𝐼𝐿 = 0 (9)
𝑑𝑡 𝐿

Eq. (9) is a linear, first order homogeneous differential equation. Assuming its solution to be:

𝐼𝐿 (𝑡) = 𝐴𝑒 −𝑠𝑡 (10)

𝑑
𝐼 = −𝑠𝐴𝑒 −𝑠𝑡 (11)
𝑑𝑡 𝐿

where A is a constant. In order to find the value of s, putting the solution from (10) and (11) in (9):

𝜏(−𝑠𝐴𝑒 −𝑠𝑡 ) + 𝐴𝑒 −𝑠𝑡 = 0 (12)

𝐴𝑒 −𝑠𝑡 (−𝑠𝜏 + 1) = 0 (13)

Since 𝐴𝑒 −𝑠𝑡 cannot be equal to zero as it is the assumed solution of the equation. This implies the
other term is equals to zero.
 (−𝑠𝜏 + 1) = 0 (14)

1 (15)
𝑠=
𝜏

From eq. (15), equation (10) becomes:

𝐼𝐿 (𝑡) = 𝐴𝑒 −𝑡/𝜏 (16)

where A is found with the help of the initial conditions. Applying initial conditions:

𝐼𝐿 (0) = 𝐴𝑒 −0/𝜏 = 𝐴(1) ≫ 𝐼𝐿 (0) = 𝐴 (17)

Putting value of A from eq. (17) in (16);

𝐼𝐿 (𝑡) = 𝐼𝐿 (0)𝑒 −𝑡/𝜏 (16)

Example: In R-L series circuit of R=10 KΩ and L= 20 mH, what is the time constant of this circuit?
Let the inductor is storing a current of 4 A. Write the equation for the current through the
inductor. Plot the results as well.

Solution:

For an R-L circuit, the time constant is given by:

𝐿 20 × 10−3
𝜏= = = 0.2 (𝑠𝑒𝑐)
𝑅 10 × 103
The current through the inductor as shown in eq. (16) is given by:

𝐼𝐿 (𝑡) = 4𝑒 −𝑡/0.2 (𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠)

The time response of this R-L circuit is given by:
Exercise: In R-L series circuit of R=1 KΩ and L= 50 mH, how long it will take to fully discharge
(99.3%) the inductor? Let the inductor stored the current of 10A.

Exercise: In R-L series circuit of L=33 mH, what should be the value of R to fully discharge
(99.3%) the inductor? Let the inductor stored the current of 8 A.

2.2 Inductor’s voltage in R-L circuits during natural response:

Since,

𝐼𝐿 = 𝐼𝐿 (0)𝑒 −𝑡/𝜏
and:
𝑑
𝑉𝐿 = 𝐿 𝐼
𝑑𝑡 𝐿
This implies:
𝑑 𝑡 𝐼𝐿 (0)𝐿 −𝑡 𝑡
𝑉𝐿 = 𝐿 (𝐼𝐿 (0)𝑒 −𝜏 ) = − 𝑒 𝜏 (𝐴) = −𝐼𝐿 (0)𝑅𝑒 −𝜏 (𝐴)
𝑑𝑡 𝜏
Example: In RC series circuit of R=100 kΩ and L= 22 mH, what is the time constant of this circuit?
Let the inductor is fully charged with 7 A current. Write the equation for the voltage and current
of the inductor. Plot the results as well.

For an R-L circuit, the time constant is given by:

𝐿 22 × 10−3
𝜏= = = 0.22 (𝑠𝑒𝑐)
𝑅 100 × 103
The voltage across the inductor is given by:

7 × 22 × 10−3 − 𝑡 𝑡
𝑉𝐿 (𝑡) = − 𝑒 0.22 = −0.7𝑒 − 0.22 (𝐴)
0.22
The current through the inductor is given by:
𝑡
𝐼𝐿 (𝑡) = 7𝑒 − 0.22 (𝐴)

The time response of this R-L circuit is given by: