Fundamentals of

Electric Circuits
Chapter 4
Transient Analysis
Second order circuit

Getnet B.
 Overview
• In this topic will expand on that with second order circuits: those that
need a second order differential equation.

• RLC series and parallel circuits will be discussed in this context.

• The step response of these circuits will be covered as well.

• Finally the concept of duality will be discussed.

2
 Second Order Circuits

• Only one storage element in first order cicuit the

equation is first order differential equations.

• However, when more than one “storage element”,

i.e. capacitor or inductor is present, the equations
require second order differential equations

• The analysis is similar to what was done with first

order circuits.

• This time, though we will only consider DC

independent sources

3
A second-order circuit is characterized by a second-order differential equation.
It consists of resistors and the equivalent of two energy storage elements.
 FINDING INITIAL AND FINAL VALUES

• What is the problem students face in handling second-order circuits?

• Finding the initial and final conditions on circuit variables.

• Usually comfortable getting the initial and final values of v and i:

• v(0), i(0), dv(0)/dt, di(0)/dt, i(∞), and v(∞).
• but often have difficulty finding the initial values of their derivatives:

dv d𝑖
• and
dt dt
• Where v denotes capacitor voltage, while i is the inductor current.
 • What are the two key points to determine the initial conditions?

 First: Must carefully handle the polarity of voltage v(t) across the
capacitor and the direction of the current i(t) through the inductor.
• Keep in mind that v and i are defined strictly according to the passive
sign convention
 Second, keep in mind that the capacitor voltage and the inductor
current are always continuous so that

v(0+) = v(0-) i(0+) = i(0-)

where
 t = 0- denotes the time just before a switching event and
 t = 0+ is the time just after the switching event,
 assuming that the switching event takes place at t = 0.
 THE SOURCE-FREE SERIES RLC CIRCUIT
Natural response of the series RLC circuit is a applicable for filter design
and communications networks.
series RLC circuit shown in Fig.
 The circuit is excited by the energy initially
stored in the capacitor and inductor.
 The energy is represented by the initial
capacitor voltage V0 and initial inductor
A source-free series RLC circuit.
current I0. Thus, at t = 0,
 Applying KVL around the loop in Fig. RLC Circuit

To eliminate the integral, we differentiate with respect to t and rearrange terms.

We get

This is a second-order differential equation and is the reason for calling the RLC circuits
in this chapter second-order circuits.
• To solve such a second-order differential equation requires that
we have two initial conditions, such as the initial value of i and its first
derivative or initial values of some i and v.
• first-order circuits suggests that
the solution is of exponential
form. So we let
 • Since i = A𝒆𝒔𝒕 is the assumed solution we are trying to find, only the
expression in parentheses can be zero:
• This quadratic equation is known as
the characteristic equation of the
differential Eq.
• Since the roots of the equation dictate the
character of i. The two roots of Eq. above are
 The roots s1 and s2 are called natural frequencies, measured in nepers per
second (Np/s),
 ω0 is known as the resonant frequency or strictly as the undamped natural
frequency, expressed in radians per second (rad/s); and
 α is the neper frequency or the damping factor, expressed in Np/s.
• The two values of s indicate that there are two possible solutions for i, each of
which is of the form of the assumed solution in Eq. ; that is,

• Thus, the natural response of the series RLC circuit is

• where the constants A1 and A2 are determined from the initial

values i(0) and di(0)/dt
 • we can infer that there are three types of solutions:

Overdamped Case (α > ω0)

• α > ω0 when, When this happens, both roots s1 and s2 are negative and real. The
response is
Critically Damped Case (α = ω0)

When α = ω0,
 Properties of an RLC network:

 The behavior is captured by the idea of damping, which is the gradual loss of
the initial stored energy, as evidenced by the continuous decrease in the
amplitude of the response.
 The damping effect is due to the presence of resistance R.
 The damping factor α determines the rate at which the response is damped.
 If R = 0, then α = 0, and we have an LC circuit with 1/√LC as the undamped
natural frequency.
 Since α < ω0 in this case, the response is not only undamped but also
oscillatory.
  The circuit is said to be lossless, because the dissipating or damping
element (R) is absent.
 By adjusting the value of R, the response may be made undamped,
overdamped, critically damped, or underdamped.

Oscillatory response is possible due to the presence of the two types of storage
elements.
 Having both L and C allows the flow of energy back and forth between the
two.
 The damped oscillation exhibited by the underdamped response is known as
ringing.
 It stems from the ability of the storage elements L and C to transfer energy
back and forth between them.
Source Free Parallel RLC Network

• Now let us look at parallel forms of RLC networks

• Consider the circuit shown

• Assume the initial current and voltage to be:

1 0
i  0   I 0   v  t  dt
L 
v  0   V0

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Source Free Parallel RLC Network
• Applying KCL to the top node we get:
v 1 t dv
  v   d  C 0
R L  dt
• Taking the derivative with respect to t gives:
d 2v 1 dv 1
2
  v0
dt RC dt LC

• The characteristic equation for this is:

1 1
s 
2
s 0
RC LC

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Source Free Parallel RLC Network

• From this, we can find the roots of the characteristic equation to

be:

s1,2       2 2
0

1 1
 0 
2 RC LC
• As in last time, there are three scenarios to consider.

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Step Response of a Series RLC Circuit
• Now let us consider what happens when a DC voltage is
suddenly applied to a second order circuit.

• Consider the circuit shown. The switch closes at t=0.

• Applying KVL around the loop for t>0:

di
L  Ri  v  Vs
dt
• but

dv
iC
dt
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Step Response of a Series RLC Circuit

• Substituting for i gives:

d 2 v R dv v Vs
2
  
dt L dt LC LC

• This is similar to the response for the source free version

of the series circuit, except the variable is different.

• The solution to this equation is a combination of transient

response and steady state

v  t   vt  t   vss  t 

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Step Response of a Series RLC Circuit

• The transient response is in the same form as the solutions

for the source free version.

• The steady state response is the final value of v(t). In this

case, the capacitor voltage will equal the source voltage.

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Step Response of a Series RLC Circuit

• The complete solutions for the three conditions of

damping are:
v  t   Vs  A1e s1t  A2e s2t (Overdamped)
v  t   Vs   A1  A2  e t (Critically Damped)
v  t   Vs   A1 cos d t  A2 sin d t  (Underdamped)

• The variables A1 and A2 are obtained from the initial

conditions, v(0) and dv(0)/dt.

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Step Response of a Parallel RLC Circuit
• The same treatment given to the parallel RLC circuit yields the
same result.
• The response is a combination of transient and steady state
responses:
i  t   I s  A1e1t  A2e 2t (Overdamped)
i  t   I s   A1  A2t  e t (Critally Damped)
i  t   I s   A1 cos d t  A2 sin d t  e t (Underdamped)

• Here the variables A1 and A2 are obtained from the initial

conditions, i(0) and di(0)/dt.

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Duality

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Example 1: The switch in Fig. below has been closed for a long time. It is
open at t = 0. Find: (a) i(0+), v(0+), (b) di(0+)dt, dv(0+)/dt, (c) i(∞), v(∞).
Solution:
(a) If the switch is closed a long time before t = 0, it means that the circuit
has reached dc steady state at t = 0. At dc steady state, the inductor acts
like a short circuit, while the capacitor acts like an open circuit, so we
have the circuit in Fig. (a) at t = 0-. Thus,

Equivalent circuit of that in Fig. 8.2 for: (a) t = 0-, (b) t = 0+, (c) t → ∞.
Example 2: Find i(t) in the circuit in Fig. below. Assume that the circuit has
reached steady state at t = 0−.

Solution:
For t < 0, the switch is closed. The capacitor acts like an open circuit
while the inductor acts like a shunted circuit. The equivalent circuit is
shown in Fig. above (a). Thus, at t = 0,
i(0) = 10/(4 + 6) = 1 A, v(0) = 6i(0) = 6 V
• where i(0) is the initial current through the inductor
and v(0) is the initial voltage across the capacitor.

The circuit in above: (a) for t < 0, (b) for t > 0.

 • For t > 0, the switch is opened and the voltage source is disconnected.
The equivalent circuit is shown in Fig. above (b), which is a source-
free series RLC circuit.

• The roots are calculated as

follows: