TRANSIENTS

PRESENTED BY
SHUVO DEV
LECTURER, DEPT. OF EEE
JASHORE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Syllabus
Covered

Shuvo Dev, EEE, JUST

 TRANSIENTS IN ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS

Figure 1.1: Lightning is an external source that generates transients in electrical

Shuvo Dev, EEE, JUST circuits
 TRANSIENTS IN ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS
• Whenever the electrical power supplied to a circuit changes momentarily
over a short duration of time, it is called transients. Transients invariably
affect the voltage and current
• AC and DC circuits are equally vulnerable to transients, and steady-state
values are reached after the transient period
• According to ANSI standards, transient duration is about 1/16 times the
time period of the voltage or current waveform, or about one millisecond.
The typical duration of voltage transients is 50 microseconds and current
transients occur for about 2 microseconds
Shuvo Dev, EEE, JUST
 TYPES OF TRANSIENTS IN ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS
• Impulsive transients - impulsive transients are sudden transient disturbances of non-power
frequency that are unipolar (either positive or negative) that enter electrical circuits. Lightning
induces impulsive type transients in electrical circuits. Impulsive transients are characterized by
their rise time, decay time, and spectral content. 
• Oscillatory transients - oscillatory transients are similar to impulsive transients, but they are
bipolar or bidirectional. The polarity of oscillatory transients can quickly vary from negative to
positive and vice versa. Oscillatory transients are characterized by their magnitude, duration, and
spectral content. 

Figure 1.2: Oscillatory transients 

Shuvo Dev, EEE, JUST

Both impulsive and oscillatory transients are further categorized based on frequency

Shuvo Dev, EEE, JUST

 SOURCES OF TRANSIENTS IN ELECTRICAL
CIRCUITS

Shuvo Dev, EEE, JUST

 THE EFFECTS OF TRANSIENTS IN
ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS
The effects of transients influence not only power lines but also signal and control lines. The effects of
transients can be divided into four types:
1. Intermittent interruptions - results in a loss of data or corrupted data in data lines or control lines.  
2. Chronic degradation - the repetitive occurrence of transient events degrades the components in an
electrical circuit and diminishes performance, ultimately causing complete circuit failure.
3. Latent failures - similar to chronic degradation, except the component continues to operate with derated
performance.
4. Catastrophic failures - the component stops working immediately.

The generation of transients in electrical circuits cannot be stopped until there are energy storing elements,
semiconductor switches, relays, circuit breakers, transformers, etc. Present in the circuit.
Shuvo Dev, EEE, JUST