KIoT

SECE

Chapter Three
Response of first order Transient circuit
Lecture # 3

Jemal H. ( Msc )
KIoT, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
jjemalassen@gmail.com

February, 2023

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 Chapter Contents

Capacitors and Inductors

Voltage-Current Relationship
Applications of capacitor and inductor
Mathematical development of response equation
The Source-Free RC and RL Circuit
The Source-Free Step Response of an RC Circuit
Step Response of an RL Circuit

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 Capacitors and Inductors

Capacitors
• A capacitor is a passive element designed to store energy in its electric field.
• They are used in the tuning circuits of radio receivers and as dynamic
memory elements in computer systems.
• A capacitor consists of two conducting plates separated by an insulator (or
dielectric).
Circuit symbols for capacitors

Variable capacitor
Fixed capacitor

A typical capacitor A capacitor with applied voltage v

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 Cont…

• Capacitance is the ratio of the charge on one plate of a capacitor to the

voltage difference between the two plates, measured in farads (F).
• However, capacitance depends on the physical dimensions of the
capacitor, which is shown in following equation
εA q = Cv
C
d
Three factors affecting the value of capacitance:
1. Area: the larger the area, the greater the capacitance.
2. Spacing between the plates: the smaller the spacing, the greater the
capacitance.
3. Material permittivity: the higher the permittivity, the greater the
capacitance.

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 Voltage-Current Relationship for a Capacitor

• Current-voltage relationship of the capacitor:

dq dv q  Cv
i C
dt dt
• When v is a constant voltage, then i=0; a constant voltage across a capacitor
creates no current through the capacitor, the capacitor in this case is the same as
an open circuit.
• If v is abruptly changed, then the current will have an infinite value.
• Voltage-current relationship of the capacitor
1 t 1 t
v (t ) 
C 

idt v (t ) 
C 
to
idt  v ( t o )

• The instantaneous power delivered to the capacitor is

dv
p  vi  Cv
dt
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 Cont…

• The energy stored in the capacitor is therefore

t dv t v (t ) 1 2
w   pdt  C  v dt  C  vdv  Cv v (t )
v (  )
  dt v (  ) 2

• Note v()  0, because the capacitor was uncharged at t  

1 q 2 (t )
w (t )  Cv 2
(t ) w (t ) 
2 2C

• Both represent the energy stored in the electric field that exits between the
plates of the capacitor

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 Example 3.1

a) Calculate the charge stored on a 3-pF capacitor with 20V across it.
b) Find the energy stored in the capacitor.
Solution:
(a) Since q  Cv ,
 12
q  3  10  20  60 pC

(b) The energy stored is

1 1
w  Cv  2
 3  10  12  400  600 pJ
2 2
c) What is the voltage across a 3F capacitor if the charge on one plate is
0.12mC? How much energy is stored?

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 Cont..

1. Determine the voltage across a 2-F capacitor if the current through it is

i ( t )  6 e  3000 t mA Assume that the initial capacitor voltage is zero.

1 t
v 0 idt  v (0 ) v(0)  0,
C
1 t 3  10 3  3000
v
2  10  6  6e  3000 t 3
.10 dt  e t t
 (1  e 3000t ) v
0  3000 0

2. The voltage across a 5- F capacitor is

v (t )  10 cos 6000 t V Calculate the current through it.

dv
Hint the current is i  C
dt
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 Series and Parallel Capacitors

• It is known that the series-parallel combination is a powerful tool for

reducing circuits.
• Note that the capacitor have the same voltage v across them. Applying KCL
i  i1  i 2  i 3  ...  i N

i  C1
dv
 C2
dv
 C3
dv
 ...  C N
dv  N
   CK  dv  C dv
 eq
dt dt dt dt  k 1  dt dt
Ceq  C1  C2  C3  ....  C N
• The equivalent capacitance of N parallel-connected capacitors is the sum of the
individual capacitance.

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 Series Capacitors

• Applying KVL to the loop v ( t )  v1 ( t )  v 2 ( t )  ...  v N ( t )

1 t 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1
Ceq id  ( C1  C2  C3  ...  C N )id  
C eq C1 C 2
q (t ) q (t ) q (t ) q (t ) C1C2
   Ceq 
Ceq C1 C2 CN
C1  C2
• The equivalent capacitance of series-connected capacitors is the reciprocal of
the sum of the reciprocals of the individual capacitances.

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 Example

• Find the equivalent capacitance seen between terminals a and b of the circuit
shown below.

20  5
20   F and 5  F Capacitors are in series   4 F
20  5

4 F Capacitors is in parallel with 6  F and 20 F

 4  6  20  30  F
30   F capacitor is in series with the 60   F capacitor

30  60
C eq   F  20  F
30  60
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 Inductor

• A passive element designed to store energy in its magnetic field.

• An inductor consists of coil of conducting wire.

N 2 A
L ,   r 0
l
0  4 107 (H/m)

N = Number of turns
l = Is the length
A = Is the cross-sectional area
= Is the permeability of the core

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 Cont…

• If current is allowed to through an inductor, it is found that the voltage across

the inductor is directly proportional to the time rate of change of the
current.
• The relation between the flux in inductor and the current through the
inductor is given as
d di
  Li v L
dt dt
• When the current through an inductor is a constant, then the voltage across
the inductor is zero, same as a short circuit.
• No abrupt change of the current through an inductor is possible except an
infinite voltage across the inductor is applied.
• The inductor can be used to generate a high voltage, for example, used as an
igniting element.

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 Voltage-Current Relationship for an Inductor

• The relation is given as follows

di 1 1 1 t
i   v (t ) dt  i (to )
t
v  L
dt
di  vdt
L
i 
L 
v ( t ) dt
L to
• Power delivered to the inductor is  di 
P  vi   L  i
 dt 
• The energy stored is t t  di 
w    pdt     L  idt
 dt 
i (t ) 1 2 1 2
 L i (  ) i di  Li ( t )  Li (  ) Since i (  )  0,
2 2
1 2
w(t )  Li (t )
2
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 Example 3.2

• The current through a 0.1-H inductor is i(t) = 10te-5t A. Find the voltage
across the inductor and the energy stored in it.

di
Since vL and L  0.1H,
dt
d
v  0 . 1 (10 te  5 t )  e  5 t  t (  5 ) e  5 t  e  5 t (1  5 t ) V
dt
• The energy stored is

1 2 1
w  Li  ( 0 . 1)100 t 2 e 10 t  5 t 2 e 10 t J
2 2

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 Example 3.3

• Consider the circuit below.

Under dc conditions, find:
(a) i, vc, and iL (b) the energy stored
in the capacitor and inductor
Under dc conditions , replace each capacitor
with an open circuit, and the inductor w ith
short circuit, as shown in figure (b).
12
i  iL   2 A, v c  5 i  10 V
1 5
1 1
wc   2
)  50 J ,
2
Cv c (1 )( 10
2 2
1 2 1
wL  L i  ( 2 )( 2 2 )  4 J
2 2
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 Series and Parallel Inductors

• The inductors have the same current through them.

• Applying KVL to the loop.

v  v1  v2  v3  ...  vN Substituting vk = Lk di/dt results in

di di di di di
v  L1  L2  L3  ...  L N  ( L  L  L  ...  L )
dt dt dt dt 1 2 3 N
dt
 N
 di di
   LK   L eq Leq  L1  L2  L3  ...  LN
 K 1  dt dt

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 Parallel Inductors

• Using KCL, i  i1  i2  i3  ...  iN

1 t 1 t 1 t
• But
ik 
Lk
t vdt  ik (t 0 )  i  L
o t 0
vdt  i1 (t0 )  t vdt  is (t0 )
L2 0
k
1 1 1  t
   ...   t vdt  i1 ( t 0 )  i2 ( t 0 )  ...  i N ( t 0 )
 L1 L 2 LN  0

N 1t N
1 t
    t vdt   ik (t0 )   vdt  i (t0 ) 1

1

1

1
....
1
 k 1 Lk  Leq
0 t 0
k 1 L eq L1 L 2 L3 LN

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 Summary

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 First order Circuit

• The analysis of RC and RL circuits can be performed by applying Kirchhoff’s

laws.
• However, by applying Kirchhoff’s laws produces differential equation.
• The differential equations resulting from analysing RC and RL circuits are of
the first order.
• Hence, the circuits are collectively known as first-order circuits.
• A first-order circuit can only contain one energy storage element (a capacitor
or an inductor).
• The are Two types of simple circuits ( First order circuit):
• A circuit comprising a resistor and a capacitor (RC circuit)
• A circuit comprising a resistor and an inductor (RL circuit)
• A first-order circuit is characterized by a first- order differential equation.

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 The Source-Free RC Circuits

• A source-free circuit is one where all independent sources have been

disconnected from the circuit after some switch action.
• A source-free RC circuit occurs when its dc source is suddenly disconnected.
• The energy already stored in the capacitor is released to the resistors.

• Since the capacitor is initially charged, at

time t=0, the initial voltage is: • Applying KCL at the top node:

• But, iC = C dv/dt and iR = v/R. Thus,

• Then the energy stored:

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 Cont…

• Taking powers of e produces:

• This is a first-order differential
equation, since only the first
derivative of v is involved. This shows that the
voltage response of the
• Rearranging the terms: RC circuit is an
exponential decay of the
initial voltage.
• This shows that the voltage response of the
RC circuit is an exponential decay of the
• Integrating both sides: initial voltage.
• The natural response of a circuit refers to
the behavior (in terms of voltages and
currents) of the circuit itself, with no
• ln A is the integration constant.Thus external sources of excitation.
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 Cont…

• The time constant  of a circuit is the time required for the response to
decay by a factor of 1/e or 36.8% of its initial value.
• v decays faster for small t and slower for large t.
• This implies that at t= 
• In term of time constant, voltage
an d power of the RC circuit can
be written as

Decays more slowly

Decays faster

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 Cont…

The Key to working with a source-free RC circuit is to find:

1. The initial voltage V(0)= V0 across the capacitor
2. The time constant ( =RC, R is usually the Thevenin equivalent
resistance)
3. With these 2 items, we obtain the capacitor voltage
t
Vc (t )  V (t )  V (0)e 

• Once vc is found, ic , vR and iR can be determined

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 Example

• Let vc(0) =15V. Find vc, vx and ix for t >0

1st: Convert the circuit into standard RC circuit
2nd: Find the equivalent resistance
3rd: Goal is to find vc 1st the solve vx and ix

8 and 12 are in series = 20

20 and 5 are in parallel = 20x5 =4
20+5

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 Source-Free RL Circuit

• A source-free RL circuit occurs when its dc source is suddenly

disconnected. Integrating both sides,

This shows that the natural

• At time t  0, it is assumed that the response of the RL circuit is an
inductor has an initial current I0 exponential decay of the initial
current.

• As t increases, the current decreases to zero and

the rapidity with which the current decreases is
expressed in term of the time constant (τ).
• It is evident that from above equation that the
time constant for the RL circuit is

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 Cont…
t / 
i(t)  I 0 e
Voltage across the resistor is
t /
vR (t)  iR  I 0 e R
The power dissipated in the resistor is
2 2t /
p  vRi  I 0 e R
The energy absorbed by the resistor is
t t
wR (t)  ∫ pdt  ∫ I 0 e 2t / Rdt
2
0 0
t
1 2
 - I 0 e 2t /
2 0

1
 LI 0 (1 e 2t / )
2

1
Note as t  , w R ()  LI 0 2 which is the same the initial energy stored in th inductor.
2
The energy initially stored in the inductor is eventually dissipated in the resistor

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 Applications of Capacitors and Inductors

• Capacitors and inductors possess the following three special properties

that make them very useful in electric circuits:
• The capacity to store energy makes them useful as temporary voltage or
current sources.
• Thus, they can be used for generating a large amount of current of voltage
for a short period of time (DC).
• Capacitors oppose any abrupt change in voltage, while inductors oppose any
abrupt change in current.
• This property make inductors useful for spark or arc suppression and for
converting pulsating dc voltage into relatively smooth dc voltage. (DC)
• Capacitors and inductors are frequency sensitive. This property makes
them useful for frequency discrimination. (AC)

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 End of Slide
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