ECE 2113

Lab 06 RC, RL, and RLC Transients

Introduction

This lab introduces the concept of transients in circuits containing capacitors and
inductors in series and parallel configurations. Students will examine how voltage
across capacitors varies as a function of time and will learn to calculate time constant of
series R-C circuit, energy stored in the capacitor. Students will also learn how to
analyze transient characteristics of the circuit, plot graphs and collect data using NI
LabVIEW in which NI ELVIS II will be used for data acquisition. Similar experiments will
also be done for R-L and R-L-C circuits.

Transient response of R-C, R-L and R-L-C circuit actually depends on how transients
begin. For example, switching on a voltage source in a circuit will cause transients that
will eventually settle down after some time. Likewise, switching off a voltage source, or
even a sudden change of a resistor can cause transient variations in voltage and
current in the rest of the circuit.

In this experiment, we shall observe two types of transients- first due to switching-on of
a voltage source, and secondly, due to switching off aa voltage source. For
mathematical analysis, we shall use only the switching-off transients, which is call
source-free transient.

RC Transients
Capacitor is an important electrical element that stores energy in terms of an electric
field. Parallel plate capacitors are the most common type of capacitors. Dry air, Mica are
some examples of common dielectric materials used in the capacitors. A fundamental
property of the capacitor is that its voltage doesn’t change instantly when there is a
sudden change in the circuit. As such, a fully discharged capacitor works as short
circuit when a voltage is suddenly applied and a fully charged capacitor acts as an open
circuit at steady state.

Basic Equations
C Eq=C 1 +C2 +C 3 +… parallel equivalent capacitance
1 1 1 1
= + + +… Series equivalent capacitance
C Eq C 1 C2 C 3

1
W= C V2 Energy (J) stored in a capacitor
2
τ =RC Time constant tau of RC circuit
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Charging of a capacitor:
−t
Vc=Vs(1−e RC ) (RC series) Voltage in the capacitor at time t
−t
Vs RC (RC series) Current through the capacitor at time t
ic= (e )
R
Discharging of a capacitor:
−t
Vc=V 0 e RC V0 is the initial voltage of the capacitor
−t
−V 0 RC
ic= e
R

Experiments
Part 1: RC Transients
Build the circuit below using R1 = 470Ω, R2=91Ω and C = 100µF. The objective is to
investigate the transients of both charging and discharging phases of the RC circuit.
Apply a square wave input supply with voltage varying from 0V to 10V at a frequency of
10Hz at 30% duty cycle. Measure the values of all circuit components using DMM.
Pay attention to the capacitor connection. The capacitor that you are going to use in
this experiment is a polarized capacitor which must be connected maintaining the
correct polarity as marked on it.
Connect the input voltage to Channel 1 (Channel A0 in ELVIS board) of oscilloscope
and the capacitor voltage to Channel 2 (Channel A1 in ELVIS). You should see two
waveforms on the oscilloscope screen. Capture the screen image and also save the
data by clicking the LOG tab in the oscilloscope window.
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Figure 1: Charging circuit (left), discharge circuit (right)

For mathematical analysis, use only the discharge portion of the datafile. Plot the
discharge data in Matlab for the capacitor voltage as a function of time. Make sure that
the time axis is recalibrated and starts at t=0. Note that for the discharging portion of
the plot, the circuit consists of R2 and C in series with no source but the capacitor is
initially charged to a certain voltage.
Measured Calculated
(oscilloscope data)
I (at start)
I (steady state)
VC (at start)
VC (steady state)
W (at start)
Tau
R
C
Report Part 1:
1. What is the time constant (Tau) of the (discharge) circuit? How long did it take to
completely charge the capacitor? Is it equal to 5-time constants (5* Tau). Why
or why not? [A better way of estimating the time constant (tau) is to plot the
voltage in a logarithmic scale. Use the Matlab plot command “semiology” to plot
the discharge voltage. Then you will see a straight-line plot. The slope of this
line is the time constant tau.]
2. Using the result of the transient plot, estimate the value of C and compare with
the measured value using DMM.
3. How would you analyze the charging circuit? Would it give you the same time
constant as with the discharge circuit? Why or why not?
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Part 2: Series Capacitors

Repeat the above experiment by connecting two 100µF capacitors in series. Complete
the table below. Experimental procedure for this part of the experiment is same as that
of the previous part except that you now connect two capacitors in series (by careful
about their polarity when connecting them to the circuit.) Capture the screenshot and
also download the data.

Figure 2

Table 2

Measured (from Calculated

oscilloscope data)
I (at start)
I (steady state)
VC (at start)
VC (steady state)
W (at start)
Tau
R
Ceq

For calculation of tau, use only the discharging portion of the data which is due to the
closed circuit of R2, C1, and C2 in series with no source, and the capacitors are initially
charged. Plot the data in Matlab and follow the same procedure as above for analysis.
Report Part 2:
1. Calculate the equivalent capacitance using the series capacitor formula and
compare with that obtained using DMM.
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2. Estimate the time constant of the discharging circuit and estimate the
equivalent capacitance using the transient plot and compare with the DMM-
measured value.
3. Compare the transient responses of Part 1 and Part 2 experiments. Give
reasons. Based on your experiments in Part 1 and Part 2, could you
comment on the transient response if the capacitors C1 and C2 were
connected in parallel?
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RL Transients
Inductors, like capacitors, are also energy storing devices. Whereas the capacitor stores
energy in an electric field, the inductor stores energy in a magnetic field. Inductors are
easily constructed by wrapping a wire around an iron core, much like a spring. The
value of the inductance depends on the number of turns and the permeability of iron
core. A fundamental property of the inductor is that current through the inductor doesn’t
change instantly when a sudden change occurs in the circuit. An inductor acts as an
open circuit at the time of switching and a short circuit at steady state.

Basic Equations
L Eq=L1+ L2 + L3 +… series equivalent inductance
1 1 1 1
= + + +… Parallel equivalent inductance
LEq L1 L2 L3

1
W = L I2 Energy (J) stored in an inductor
2
L
τ= Time constant tau of RL circuit
R
Inductor charging:
−Rt
E
i= (1−e L
) (RL series) Current through inductor at time t
R

Inductor discharging:
−R t
i=Io e L (RL series) Current through inductor at time t

Part 3: RL Transients
Build the circuit below using R1=470Ω, R2=22Ω, R3=6.8Ω and L=10mH. Measure all
values using the DMM. The objective of this experiment is to observe the transients in
the inductor current. Note that oscilloscope probe cannot be used for any current
signal. So, use the voltage across R3, which can be divided by R3 (Ohm’s law) to get
the current signal.
Connect Channel 1 of the oscilloscope to the applied voltage waveform and Channel 2
to the voltage across R3. Apply a voltage with the square waveform at 200Hz at 30%
duty cycle with the voltage varying from 0V to 10V. Turn ON the power supply and
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capture the transients. Change the source frequency and duty cycle if necessary to
obtain a good discharge transient response. Capture the screenshot and also
download the data. Complete the table below.

Figure 3: Charging circuit (left), discharge circuit (right)

Table 3

Measured (from Calculated

oscilloscope data) (Assume RL =0)
I (at start)
I (steady state)
W (at start)
L (inductor)
R(inductor)
Tau

In this experiment, the discharge portion of the transient waveform should be used for
all analytical work. The discharge circuit consists of the resistors R2 and R3 and the
inductor L.
Plot the discharge data in Matlab. Recalibrate the time data so that it starts at t=0. Find
the time constant of the circuit.
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Report Part 3:
1. Using the discharge data, estimate the time constant of the circuit. Is it same as
the time constant obtained from DMM data of R2+R3 and L? Why or why not?
2. Why would an inductor have an internal resistance? Is it possible for an inductor
(in the real world) to have RL=0? Why or why not?
3. Discuss why the rising and decaying profiles of the transients are different. How
would you analyze the charging portion of the transient response? Would you
obtain the same time constant?
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Part 4: RLC Transients-1

Build the circuit below using R1= 220Ω, R2 = 22 Ω, R3=6.8Ω, L=10mH, and C=10µF.
Connect the applied voltage to Channel 1 and capacitor voltage to Channel 2. Apply a
square waveform at a frequency of 200Hz at 50% duty cycle. (Use a different frequency
and duty cycle if necessary to obtain a good discharge transient plot.) Repeat the
experiment by connecting Channel 1 to input voltage and Channel 2 to capacitor
voltage. Repeat the experiment by connecting Channel 1 to input voltage and Channel
2 across R3 which gives the inductor current. Capture the screenshot and also
download the data.
As before, the charging circuit and the discharging circuits are different. The figure
below shows the charging circuit. The discharging circuit consists of R2, R3, L and C
with no source.

Figure 4

Measured (from Calculated

oscilloscope data) (Assume RL=0)
IL (at start)
IL (steady state)
Vc (at start)
Vc (steady state)
Tau
R2
R3
L
C
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Report Part 4: RLC Transients - 1

1. Based on the observation of transients, is the circuit ‘underdamped, overdamped
or critically damped’? Justify your answer by calculating the roots of the
characteristic equation.

Part 5: RLC Transients - 2

Repeat the experiment R2= 50Ω (which you can make up using two 100Ω is parallel)
and all other circuit parameters remaining same.
Measured (from Calculated
oscilloscope data) (Assume RL=0)
IL (at start)
IL (steady state)
Vc (at start)
Vc (steady state)
Tau
R2
R3
L
C

Report: Part 5
1. Based on the observation of transients, is the circuit ‘underdamped, overdamped
or critically damped’? Justify your answer by calculating the roots of the
characteristic equation.
2. For what value of R2 would the transients be critically damped? Show all
calculations.
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Part 6: RLC Transients - 3

Repeat the experiment using R2=91Ω and all other circuit parameters remaining
unchanged.

Measured (from Calculated

oscilloscope data) (Assume RL=0)
IL (at start)
IL (steady state)
Vc (at start)
Vc (steady state)
Tau
R2
R3
L
C

Report Part 6
1. Based on the observation of transients, is the circuit ‘underdamped, overdamped
or critically damped’? Justify your answer by calculating the roots of the
characteristic equation.
3. The properties of this circuit have many similarities with automobile suspension
system. From a design point of view, which type of transient would be more
comfortable to the automobile riders? Explain why?
4. If you were the designer of automobile suspension system, discuss how you
would select the shock absorber and suspension spring for better riding
experience.