Introduction to Circuit Elements

Electrical Properties of a Capacitor

 Acts like an open circuit at steady state when
connected to a d.c. voltage or current source.
 Voltage on a capacitor must be continuous
 There are no abrupt changes to the voltage, but there
may be discontinuities in the current.
 An ideal capacitor does not dissipate energy, it takes
power when storing energy and returns it when
discharging.
Properties of a Real Capacitor
 A real capacitor does dissipate energy due leakage of
charge through its insulator.
 This is modeled by putting a resistor in
parallel with an ideal capacitor.
Energy Storage
 Charge is stored on the plates of the capacitor.
Equation:
Q = CV
Units:
Farad = Coulomb/Voltage
Farad is abbreviated as F
Sign Conventions
• The sign convention used with a
capacitor is the same as for a power
dissipating device.
• When current flows into the positive side of
the voltage across the capacitor, it is positive
and the capacitor is dissipating power.
• When the capacitor releases energy back
into the circuit, the sign of the current will
be negative.
Charging a Capacitor
 At first, it is easy to store charge in the capacitor.
 As more charge is stored on the plates of the capacitor,
it becomes increasingly difficult to place additional
charge on the plates.
 Coulombic repulsion from the charge already on the
plates creates an opposing force to limit the addition of
more charge on the plates.
 Voltage across a capacitor increases rapidly as charge is moved
onto the plates when the initial amount of charge on the
capacitor is small.
 Voltage across the capacitor increases more slowly as it
becomes difficult to add extra charge to the plates.
Adding Charge to Capacitor
 The ability to add charge to a capacitor depends on:
 the amount of charge already on the plates of the
capacitor
and
 the force (voltage) driving the charge towards the plates
(i.e., current)
Discharging a Capacitor
 At first, it is easy to remove charge in the capacitor.
 Coulombic repulsion from charge already on the plates
creates a force that pushes some of the charge out of the
capacitor once the force (voltage) that placed the charge in
the capacitor is removed (or decreased).
 As more charge is removed from the plates of the capacitor,
it becomes increasingly difficult to get rid of the small
amount of charge remaining on the plates.
 Coulombic repulsion decreases as charge spreads out on the
plates. As the amount of charge decreases, the force needed
to drive the charge off of the plates decreases.
 Voltage across a capacitor decreases rapidly as charge is removed
from the plates when the initial amount of charge on the capacitor is
small.
 Voltage across the capacitor decreases more slowly as it becomes
difficult to force the remaining charge out of the capacitor.
Current-Voltage Relationships
q  CvC
dq
iC 
dt
dvC
iC  C
dt
t1
1
vC   iC dt
C to
Power and Energy
1
pC  iC vC wC  CvC
2

2
dvC
pC  CvC
2
q
dt wC 
2C
Capacitors in Parallel
Ceq for Capacitors in Parallel
iin  i1  i2  i3  i4
dv dv
i1  C1 i2  C2
dt dt
i
dv dv
i3  C3 i4  C4
dt dt
dv dv dv dv
iin  C1  C2  C3  C4
dt dt dt dt
dv
iin  Ceq
dt
C eq  C1  C2  C3  C4
Capacitors in Series
Ceq for Capacitors in Series
vin  v1  v2  v3  v4
t1 t1
1 1
v1 
C1  idt
to
v2 
C2  idt
to
t1 i t1
1 1
v3 
C3  idt
to
v4 
C4  idt
to
t1 t1 t1 t1
1 1 1 1
vin 
C1 t idt  C2 t idt  C3 t idt  C4  idt
to
o o o

t1
1
vin 
Ceq  idt
to

C eq  1 C1   1 C2   1 C3   1 C4 
1
General Equations for Ceq
Parallel Combination Series Combination
 If P capacitors are in parallel,  If S capacitors are in series,
then then:

1
P
 S
1 
Ceq   CP Ceq   
p 1  s 1 C s 
 Summary
Capacitors in dc circuits Vfinal

When a capacitor is charged

through a series resistor and dc
source, the charging curve is
exponential. 0 t
(a) Capacitor c harging voltage

R
Iinitial
C

0 t
(b) Charging current
 Summary
Capacitors in dc circuits
Vinitial
When a capacitor is discharged
through a resistor, the discharge
curve is also an exponential. (Note
that the current is negative.)

0 t

(a) Capacitor disc harging voltage

R
Iinitial
C

0 t

(b) Disc harging current

 Summary
Capacitors in dc circuits
VS
The same shape curves are seen
if a square wave is used for the
source.

What is the shape of the VC

current curve?
R

C VR
VS

The current has the same shape

as VR.
 Summary
Universal exponential curves
100% 99%
98%
Specific values for 95%

current and voltage can 86%

80%
be read from a universal Rising

Percent of final value

curve. For an RC circuit, 63% exponential
the time constant is 60%

40%
37%
Falling
τ  RC 20%
14%
exponential
5%
2% 1%
0
0 1t 2t 3t 4t 5t
Number of time constants
Summary
 Capacitors are energy storage devices.
 An ideal capacitor act like an open circuit at steady state when a
DC voltage or current has been applied.
 The voltage across a capacitor must be a continuous function; the
current flowing through a capacitor can be discontinuous.
t1
dvC 1
iC  C vC   iC dt
dt C to
 The equations for equivalent capacitance for
capacitors in parallel capacitors in series
1
P
 S
1 
Ceq   CP Ceq   
p 1  s 1 s 
C
 Inductors
An inductor is a passive element that stores energy in its magnetic field.
Generally. An inductor consists of a coil of conducting wire wound around a core.
For the inductor

di (t ) i
v(t )  L +
dt
v L
where L is the inductance in henrys (H),
and 1 H = 1 volt second/ampere.
-
Inductance is the property whereby an inductor exhibits opposition to
the change of current flowing through it.
 Inductors
di (t )
v(t )  L
dt
1 t 1 t0 1 t
i (t )   v( x)dx   v( x)dx   v( x)dx
L  L  L t0
1 t
i (t )  i(t0 )   v( x)dx
L t0
where i(t0) = the total current evaluated at t0 and i()  0 (which is reasonable since
at some time there was no current in the inductor).
 Energy stored in an inductor
The instantaneous power delivered to an inductor is

di
p (t )  vi  Li
dt
The energy stored in the magnetic field is thus

di tt
wL (t )   p(t )dt  L  i dt  L  idi
 dt 

1 2
wL (t )  Li (t ) joules
2
An inductor has the following important properties:

1. An inductor acts like a short circuit to dc, since from

di (t )
v(t )  L
v = 0 when i = a constant. dt
2. The current through an inductor cannot change
instantaneously, since an instantaneous change in current would
require an infinite voltage, which is not physically possible.
 An inductor has the following important properties

3. Like the ideal capacitor, the ideal inductor does not dissipate energy.

4. A real inductor has a significant resistance due to the resistance of the coil,
as well as a “winding capacitance”. Thus, the model for a real inductor is
shown below.

RW L

CW
In this course, however, we will use ideal inductors and assume that an ideal
inductor is a good model.
 Series Inductors L1 L2 LN
+
i
+ v 1- + v2 - + vN - DC v Leq
DC v -
i
di di di
v1  L1 v2  L2 vN  LN
dt dt dt
di di
v  v1  v2    vN   L1  L2    LN   Leq
dt dt
N
Leq   Lk
k 1

The equivalent inductance of series connected inductors is the sum of the

individual inductances. Thus, inductances in series combine in the same
way as resistors in series.
 Parallel Inductors
+ i1 i2 iN + i
i v L1 L2 LN i v Leq
- -

1 1

1 iN 
i1   vdt
L1
i2 
L2  vdt
LN
vdt

1 1 1  1
i  i1  i2    iN         vdt   vdt
 L1 L2 LN  Leq
N
1 1

Leq k 1 Lk

The equivalent inductance of parallel connected inductors is the reciprocal

of the sum of the reciprocals of the individual inductances.
Transient Analysis
Introduction to Transients
 Applying Kirchhoff’s laws to purely resistive circuits
results in algebraic
 Applying the laws to RC and RL circuits produces
differential equations
 The differential equations resulting from analyzing RC
and RL circuits are of the first order.
 A first-order circuit is characterized by a first-order
differential equation.
Introdution
 In addition to there being two types of first-order
circuits (RC and RL), there are two ways to excite the
circuits.
 The first way is by initial conditions of the storage
elements in the circuits.
 In these so called source-free circuits, we assume that
energy is initially stored in the capacitive or inductive
element.
 The energy causes current to flow in the circuit and is
gradually dissipated in the resistors.
.
Introdution
 Although source free circuits are by definition free of
independent sources, they may have dependent
sources.
 The second way of exciting first-order circuits is by
independent sources.
 Here, the independent sources we will consider are dc
sources.
 The Simplest RC Circuit
R In the circuit shown at left, the
Q0
capacitor starts with charge Q0. At
C I time t = 0, the switch is closed.
What happens to the charge Q?
•Current begins to flow around the loop, so the
charge Q will change Q dQ
0   RI Q
 I  
C dt RC
•This is a differential equation, and therefore hard to
solvedQ dt dQ dt t
Q

RC  Q
 
RC
ln Q  
RC
k

Q  Q0e t RC Q  Q0et RC Qe t RC

Simple RC Circuit
Simple RC Circuit

 This shows that the voltage response of the RC circuit

is an exponential decay of the initial voltage.
 Since the response is due to the initial energy stored
and the physical characteristics of the circuit and not
due to some external voltage or current source, it is
called the natural response of the circuit.
Time Constant
 The natural response is illustrated graphically Note
that at t = 0, we have the correct initial condition.

 As t increases, the voltage decreases toward zero. The

rapidity with which the voltage decreases is expressed
in terms of the time constant, denoted by the lower
case Greek letter tau, τ .
Time Constant
 The time constant of a circuit is the time required for
the response to decay by a factor of 1/e or 36.8 percent
of its initial value.
Energy Stored
RC Circuit - Problem
 The K e y t o W o r k i n g w i t h a S o u r c
e - f r e e RC C i r c u i t i s F i n d i n g :
 The initial voltage v(0) = V0 across the
capacitor.
 The time constant τ .
RC Circuit - Problem
Problem
 The switch in the circuit in Fig. as been closed for a
long time, and it is opened at t = 0. Find v(t) for t ≥ 0.
Calculate the initial energy stored in the capacitor.
Problem
 In the circuit shown in Fig., find io, vo, and i for all
time, assuming that the switch was open for a long
time.
 RL Circuits
•An RL circuit has resistors and inductors
•Suppose initial current I0 before you open
the switch L

R
•What happens after you open the switch?

I
•Use Kirchoff’s Law on loop
–

+
•Integrate both sides of the equation
dI dI RI
0  L  RI 
dt dt L
dI R dI R
I
  dt
L  I L  dt
 

 Rt L
Rt
ln I    constant I e
L
t L R I  I 0 e t t
RL Circuits
Problems
 The switch in the circuit of Fig. 7.16 has been closed
for a long time. At t = 0, the switch is opened. Calculate
i(t) for t > 0.
SINGULARITY FUNCTIONS
 Singularity functions are functions that either are
discontinuous or have discontinuous derivatives.
 The three most widely used singularity functions in
circuit analysis are the unit step, the unit impulse, and
the unit ramp functions.
SINGULARITY FUNCTIONS
 The unit step function u(t) is 0 for negative values of t
and 1 for positive values of t.
Unit Step Input
 RC – Forced Response

Q I
In this circuit, the capacitor is initially +
uncharged, but at t = 0 the switch is R
C – E
closed. What happens?

dQ dQ Q E
I  
dt dt RC R
Q
0
C
 IR  E Q  EC 1  et RC 
STEP RESPONSE OF AN RC CIRCUIT
 The step response of a circuit is its behavior when the
excitation is the step function, which may be a voltage
or a current source.
 Consider the RC circuit in Fig., where Vs is a constant,
dc voltage source.
 We assume an initial voltage V0 on the capacitor,
although this is not necessary for the step response.
 Since the voltage of a capacitor cannot change
instantaneously
 v(0−) = v(0+) = V0
STEP RESPONSE OF AN RC CIRCUIT

where v is the voltage across the capacitor. Fort > 0, Eq.

becomes
Step Response
Step Response
Step Response
 It is evident that v(t) has two components.
Thus, we may write,

 The natural response or transient response is the

circuit’s temporary response that will die out with time.
 The forced response or steady-state response is the
behavior of the circuit a long time after an external
excitation is applied.
 The complete response of the circuit is the sum of the
natural response and the forced response. Therefore,
we may write Eq.) as,

 Thus, to find the step response of an RC circuit

requires three things:
 1. The initial capacitor voltage v(0).
 2. The final capacitor voltage v(∞).
 3. The time constant τ .
Problem
 The switch in Fig. has been in position A for a long
time. At t = 0, the switch moves to B. Determine v(t) for
t > 0 and calculate its value at t = 1 s and 4 s.
Problem
 In Fig., the switch has been closed for a long time and
is opened at t = 0. Find i and v for all time.
 STEP RESPONSE OF AN RL
CIRCUIT
Let the response be the sum of the
natural current and the forced
current

We know that the natural response is always a decaying exponential, that is,

The forced response is the value of the current a long time after he switch is
closed. We know that the natural response. At that time, the inductor
becomes a short circuit, and the voltage across it is zero. The entire source
voltage Vs appears across R. Thus, the forced response is
STEP RESPONSE OF AN RL
CIRCUIT
 Substituting gives

 We now determine the constant A from the initial

value of i.
 Let I0 be the initial current through the inductor,
which may come from a source other than Vs .

 Thus at t = 0, Eq. becomes

STEP RESPONSE OF AN RL
CIRCUIT
 From this, we obtain A as

 Substituting for A in Eq. we get,

 This is the complete response of the RL circuit. It is

illustrated in Fig. The response in Eq. may be written
as

 where i(0) and i(∞) are the initial and final values of i.
Step Response
 Thus, to find the step response of an RL circuit
requires three things:
 The initial inductor current i(0) at t = 0+.
 The final inductor current i(∞).
 The time constant τ .
Step Response RL - Problem
 Find i(t) in the circuit in Fig. for t > 0. Assume that the
switch has been closed for a long time.
Step Response RL - Problem
 At t = 0, switch 1 in Figis closed, and switch 2 is closed
4 s later. Find i(t) for t > 0. Calculate i for t = 2 s and
t = 5 s.
Questions?