Module 4

Resonance in AC Circuits

Engr. Gerard Ang

School of EECE

Electrical Resonance
1. Resonance it is a condition existing in an R-L-C
circuit wherein the applied voltage is in phase with the
resulting current.
2. Resonance Curve it is the curve between circuit
current and the frequency of the applied voltage at
resonance.
3. Selectivity it is the ability of a resonant circuit to
separate a desired signal frequency from other signal
frequencies.
4. Half-Power Bandwidth of a Circuit (BW) it is
given by the band of frequencies which lies between
the points or either side of fR where current falls to
IR/2. It is also known as the -3 dB bandwidth.

Resonance Curve
At the half-power points A and B
I = IR/2 where IR = V/R
Impedance, Z = R2
Circuit phase angle, = 45
Quality Factor, Q = 1
P1 = P2 = PR/2 where PR = IR2R

Where:
IR
= current at resonant condition
PR = power at resonant condition
P1, P2 = power at half-power points

Q-Factor or Quality Factor

Q-factor or Quality Factor of a Coil (Q) it is the
reciprocal of power factor. It is also called as figure of
merit.

Series Resonance
Series Resonance or Voltage Resonance
Resonance in a series resonant circuit occurs when the inductive and capacitive
reactances are equal at the frequency of the applied voltage.

AA series
series resonant
resonant circuit
circuit since
since produces
produces
maximum
maximum current
current in
in the
the circuit,
circuit, itit is
is called
called an
an
acceptor
acceptor circuit.
circuit.

Frequency of a Series Resonant Circuit

The frequency of a series RLC circuit at resonant condition is given as:.
Where:
fR
= resonant frequency in Hertz
L
= inductance in Henry

Q-Factor or Quality Factor

Q-Factor it is a measure of the degree of sharpness of
the resonance curve which represents the degree of
selectivity of the circuit.

Where:
f1, f2 = frequencies at half power points
f1
= lower half-power
frequency
f2
= upper half-power
frequency

Series Resonance by Varying L or C

Series Resonance by Varying L
Series resonance of a series resonant circuit may be attained by varying its
inductance

Where:
L = value of inductance for maximum VL

Series Resonance by Varying C

Series resonance of a series resonant circuit may be attained by varying its
capacitance

Where:
C = value of capacitance for maximum VC

Resonant and
Off-Resonant Condition
Relationship between the Resonant Current and Off-Resonant Current
The relationship between resonant current (current at the resonant frequency)
and off-resonant current (current at any given frequency) can be derived as
Where:
IR = resonant current
I
= off-resonant current

Relationship between the Resonant Power and Off-Resonant Power

The relationship between resonant power (power at the resonant frequency)
and off-resonant power (power at any given frequency) can be derived as:
Where:
PR = resonant power
P = off-resonant power

Sample Problems
1. A series R-L-C circuit consists of R = 1000 , L =
100 mH and C = 10 picofarads. The applied
voltage across the circuit is 100 V.
a. Find the resonant frequency of the circuit
b. Find the quality factor of the circuit at resonant
frequency
c. At what angular frequencies do the half-power
points
occur?
d. Calculate the bandwidth of the circuit.
2. For a series R-L-C circuit the inductor is variable.
Source voltage is 2002 sin t V. Maximum current
obtainable by varying the inductance is 0.314 A
and the voltage across the capacitor then is 300 V.
Find the circuit element values.

Sample Problems
3. An R-L-C series resonant circuit has the following
parameters: Resonant frequency = 5000/2 Hz; impedance
at resonance = 56 and Q-factor = 25.
Calculate the
capacitance of the capacitor and inductance of the inductor.
Assuming that these values are independent of the
frequency, find the two frequencies at which the circuit
impedance has a phase angle of /4 radian.
4. A series R-L-C circuit is excited from a constant-voltage
variable frequency source. The current in the circuit
becomes a maximum at a frequency of 600/2 Hz and falls
to one-half the maximum value at 400/2 Hz. If the
resistance in the circuit is 3 , find L and C.

Sample Problems
5. A coil of inductance 9 H and resistance 50 in series
with a capacitor is supplied at constant voltage from a
variable frequency source. If the maximum current of
1A
occurs at 75 Hz, find the frequency when the current is 0.5 A.
6. An R-L-C series circuit is connected to a 20-V
variable
frequency supply. If R = 20 , L= 20 mH and C = 0.5 F, find
the following when the power drops to 4 W on either side of
the maximum power at resonance.
Calculate (a) circuit Q
(b) circuit phase angle (c) 4-W bandwidth B (d) lower
frequency f1 and upper frequency f2
7. A series R-L-C circuit consists of R = 15 , L = 0.15
H and a variable capacitor is connected across a 120
V, 60 Hz. Calculate the values of capacitance, current
and voltage of capacitor at (a) resonance condition
and (b) at maximum VC.

Sample Problems
8. An inductor having a resistance of 25 and a Q of 10 at
resonant frequency of 10 kHz is fed from a 100 V supply.
Calculate: (a) value of series capacitance required to produce
resonance with the coil (b) inductance of the coil
(c) voltage
across the capacitor (d) voltage across the coil.
9. A constant e.m.f. source of
variable frequency is connected to
a series R-L-C circuit of the figure
given. Calculate the following: (a)
frequency at which
maximum
power is consumed in
the 2
resistor (b) Q-factor of
the circuit
at the above
frequency (c)
frequencies at
which the power
consumed in 2
resistor is onetenth of its maximum value.

Parallel Resonance
Parallel Resonance or Anti-Resonance
Resonance in a parallel resonant circuit occurs when the inductive and
capacitive susceptances are equal at the frequency of the applied voltage.

AA parallel
parallel resonant
resonant circuit
circuit since
since produces
produces minimum
minimum current
current in
in
the
the circuit
circuit hence
hence itit is
is called
called aa rejector
rejector circuit.
circuit.

Parallel Resonance
Frequency of a Parallel Resonant Circuit
The frequency of a parallel RLC circuit at resonant
condition is given as:.

Comparison of Series and

Parallel Resonant Circuits
Quantity
Impedance at
Resonance
Current at Resonance
Effective Impedance
Power Factor at
Resonance

Series Circuit

Parallel Circuit

minimum

maximum

Maximum = V/R

Minimum = V/(L/RC)

L/RC

Unity

Unity

Voltage

Current

L/R

L/R

Resonant Frequency
It magnifies
Magnification is

Sample Problems
1. A capacitor is connected in parallel with a coil having L =
5.52 mH and R = 10 , to a 100-V, 50-Hz supply.
Calculate the value of the capacitance for which the current
taken from the supply is in phase with the voltage.
2. An inductive circuit of resistance 2 ohm and inductance
0.01 H is connected to a 250-V, 50-Hz supply. What
capacitance placed in parallel will produce resonance? Find
the total current taken from the supply and the current in the
branch circuits.

Sample Problems
3. A coil of resistance 20 and inductance 200 H is in
parallel with a variable capacitor. The combination is in
series with a resistor of 8000 . The voltage of the supply is
200 V at a frequency of 106 Hz. Calculate (a) the value of C
to give resonance (b) the Q of the coil (c) the current
in
each branch of the circuit at resonance.
4. Impedances Z2 and Z3 in parallel are in series with an
impedance Z1 across a 100-V, 50-Hz a.c. supply. Z1 = (6.25
+ j1.25) ohm; Z2 = (5 + j0) ohm and Z3 = (5 jXc) ohm.
Determine the value of capacitance of Xc such that the total
current of the circuit will be in phase with the total
voltage.
What is then the circuit current and power?

Sample Problems
5. Compute the value of
C which results in
resonance for the
circuit shown

6. Find the values of R1

and R2 which will
make the circuit shown
resonate
at
all
frequencies.

Sample Problems
7. Calculate the resonant frequency of the network
shown.