Title:

“To study the transient response of RLC Series Circuit”

Components:
DC Voltage source, resistor, capacitor, inductor, ground, ammeter, scope, powergui and connecting
wires.

Circuit Diagram:

Theory:
The transient response is the fluctuation in current and voltage in a circuit (after the application of a
step voltage or current) before it settles down to its steady state. 

Time Constant (t): It is a measure of time required for certain changes in voltages and currents in RC
and RL circuits. Generally, when the elapsed time exceeds five-time constants (5t) after switching
has occurred, the currents and voltages have reached their final value, which is also called steady-
state response.

The time constant of an RL circuit is the equivalent inductance divided by the Thevenin resistance as
viewed from the terminals of the equivalent inductor.

 Applying KVL,
V /S
I(s)=
R +1/SC
V
I(S)=
S 2 L+sR +1/C
Now,

Dividing by L;

V/L
I(s)= R
s 2+ . s+1/ LC
L
Finding the roots of denominator;
 R 1
S2+ + =0
L LC

s=
−R
2L
± (√ 2RL ) 2− LC1
Now, the discriminant will decide which type of system is the circuit based on. The 4 types of
systems are:

Case: 1

Discriminant is POSITIVE.

( 2RL ) > LC1

2

Under this case, the system is overdamped.

Case: 2

Discriminant is ZERO.

( 2RL ) = LC1
2

Under this case, the system is Critically damped.

Case: 3

Discriminant is NEGATIVE.

( 2RL ) < LC1

2

Under this case, the system is underdamped.

Case: 4

The resistance is zero.

( −R
2L )
=0

Under this case, the system is undamped. This case is not possible practically as resistance of a
system can never be zero.

Procedure:
 Make the circuit in SIMULINK according to the circuit diagram.
 Assign the values to components.
 Insert the measuring device i.e. Ammeter.
 Run the simulation and observe the scope for output results.
 Check for the system status out of the 4 systems discussed above and derive conclusions.
Block Diagram:

Results:

Conclusion:
Observed the response of RL transient Circuit and analyzed the graph for voltage and current
change. Moreover, gained hands on Simulink in MATLAB.