Electrical Engineering Department

 
EE 202: Electric Circuits I
Second Semester, 2015 – 2016 (152)

Lecture (21)
Chapter 6: Inductance and Capacitance

Dr. Hussein Attia

1
 6.1 The Inductor

Inductor is a passive element ( can not generate energy)

Represented graphically as a coiled
wire
Symbolized by the letter
L
Measured in henrys
(H)
Inductor is a passive element ( can not generate energy)

However the inductor is capable of storing energy in the magnetic field which can be released

How does the inductor store magnetic fields?

Magnetic field lines

Inductance is a consequence of a conductor linking a magnetic

field
The voltage drop across the inductor and the current in the
direction of voltage drop are related as follows (current in
the direction of voltage drop)

Note from the above Eq. that the voltage across the terminals of an inductor
is proportional to the time rate of change of the current in the inductor.

We can make two important observations here.

First, if the current is constant, the voltage across the ideal inductor is zero. Thus the inductor behaves as a
short circuit in the presence of a constant, or dc, current.

Second, current cannot change instantaneously in an inductor; that is, the current cannot change by a finite
amount in zero time. Above Equation tells us that this change would require an infinite voltage, and infinite
voltages are not possible.

For example, when someone opens the switch on an inductive circuit in an actual system, the current initially
continues to flow in the air across the switch, a phenomenon called arcing.
The arc across the switch prevents the current from dropping to zero instantaneously.
Switching inductive circuits is an important engineering problem, because arcing and voltage surges must be
controlled to prevent equipment damage
 Example
6.1

(a) At what instant of time is the current

maximum ?
Solution

Since the maximum will occur where the derivative of the current is zero

>>
b) Sketch the current waveform.

Solution

>>> Instant of time when the current is maximum

When t approaches infinity, i approaches zero

(c) Find the voltage across the terminals of the inductor ?

Solution
 (d) Sketch the voltage across the terminals of the inductor ?

Solution

Note that when the current is

maximum, the voltage is zero
because di/dt is zero

For 0 < t < 0.2 S, the current is increasing >> di/dt is (+ve) >> Voltage = L di/dt is also (+ve)

For 0.2 < t , the current is decreasing >> di/dt is (-ve) >> Voltage = L di/dt is also (-ve)

When t approaches infinity, v approaches zero

(e) Are the voltage and the current at a maximum at the same time ?

Since the voltage across the inductor is

proportional to di/dt not i

the voltage maximum is not at the same time as

current maximum
(f) At what instant of time does the voltage change polarity ?

Answer:
At t = 0.2 s which corresponds to the
moment when di/dt is passing through
Zero and changing sign
g) Is there ever an instantaneous change in voltage
across the inductor? If so, at what time?

Answer
Yes, at t = 0.
Note that the voltage can change instantaneously across the terminals
of an inductor.
Current in an Inductor in Terms of the Voltage Across the Inductor

Since

Multiplying both side by the differential

dt

OR

Integrating both side with respect to the differentials di and dt we have

Note we used x and τ the variables of integration, were i and t

become limits on the integrals

( x and τ become dummy

variables )
Example 6.2 The voltage pulse applied to the 100 mH inductor is given by:
Assume i = 0 for t ≤0

(a) Sketch the voltage v(t) ?

You can calculate t of maximum voltage by equation dv/dt = 0

When t approaches infinity, v approaches zero
 b) Find the inductor current as a function of time.

Hint >>>
 (c) Sketch the current i(t) ?

Note the inductor current i(t) approaches a constant value of 2 A as t approaches infinity.
As v(t) is a always (+ve) as shown below >> the current should be always increasing (di/dt = +ve)