Applied Electricity I
ELE 201 | RC CIRCUIT
T.O Fajemilehin
Lecture content
• Capacitive Reactance
• Capacitive circuits
• RC in series, in parallel
• Power in RC circuits
Capacitive Circuits
Capacitance
Only
If an ac voltage 𝑣 is applied across a circuit
having only capacitance (Fig. 1a), the
resulting ac current through the capacitance,
𝑖𝐶 , will lead the voltage across the
capacitance, 𝑣𝐶 , by 90◦ (Fig. 1b and 1c).
Quantities expressed as lowercase letters 𝑖𝐶
and 𝑣𝐶 . Voltages 𝑣 and 𝑣𝐶 are the same
because they are parallel. Both 𝑖𝐶 and 𝑣𝐶
are sine waves with the same frequency. In
Figure 1 Circuit with C only
series circuits, the current 𝐼𝐶 is the horizontal
phasor for reference (Fig. 1d) so the voltage
𝑉𝐶 can be considered to lag 𝐼𝐶 by 90◦
RC in Series
As with inductive circuits, the combination of
resistance and capacitive reactance (Fig. 2a) is
called impedance. In a series circuit containing R
and 𝑋𝐶 , the same current 𝐼 flows in 𝑋𝐶 and 𝑅.
The voltage drop across 𝑅 is 𝑉𝑅 = 𝐼𝑅, and the
voltage drop across 𝑋𝐶 is 𝑉𝐶 = 𝐼𝑋𝐶 . The voltage
across 𝑋𝐶 lags the current through 𝑋𝐶 by 90◦
(Fig. 2b). The voltage across 𝑅 is in phase with I
since resistance does not produce a phase shift
(Fig. 2b) Figure 2 𝑅 and 𝑋𝐶 in series
Voltage in RC Circuits
To find the total voltage 𝑉𝑇 , we add phasors 𝑉𝑅 and 𝑉𝐶 .
Since they form a right triangle: 𝑉𝑇 = 𝑉𝑅2 + 𝑉𝐶2
Note that the 𝐼𝑋𝐶 phasor is downward, exactly opposite from an
𝐼𝑋𝐿 phasor, because of the opposite phase angle.
The phase angle θ between 𝑉𝑇 and 𝑉𝑅 (Fig. 4) is expressed
according to the following equation:
Figure 3 Voltage-phasor triangle
Examples
In RC Series AC Circuit
Example 1
A RC series ac circuit has a current of 1 A
peak with 𝑅 = 50Ω and XC = 120Ω (Fig. 4).
Calculate 𝑉𝑅 , 𝑉𝐶 , 𝑉𝑇 , and 𝜃. Draw the
phasor diagram of 𝑉𝐶 and I . Draw also the
time diagram of 𝑖, 𝑣𝑅 , 𝑣𝐿 , and 𝑣𝑇 .
Figure 4 RC series ac circuit
Solution to Example 1
Figure 5 The phasor diagram (I leads 𝑉𝑇 by 67.40 )
In a series circuit since I is the same in R and 𝑋𝐶 , I is
shown as the reference phasor at 0◦ (Fig. 5)
Time diagram of
RC Series Circuit
Figure 6 The time diagram of RC series circuit (solution to example 1)
Impedance in series RC
The voltage triangle (Fig. 3) corresponds to the impedance triangle (Fig. 7) because
the common factor 𝐼 in 𝑉𝐶 and 𝑉𝑅 cancels
The impedance Z is equal to the phasor sum for R and 𝑋𝐶 :
Figure 7 Series RC impedance triangle
Example
Impedance in series RC circuit
Example 2
A 40Ω 𝑋𝐶 and a 30 Ω R are in series across a
120-V source (Fig. 8). Calculate 𝑍, 𝐼 , and 𝜃.
Draw the phasor diagram
Figure 8 RC Series Circuit
Solution to Example 2
Figure 9 Phasor diagram for example 2
RC in Parallel
In the RC parallel circuit (Fig. 10a), the voltage is the
same across the source, R, and 𝑋𝐶 since they are all in
parallel. Each branch has its individual current. The
resistive branch current 𝐼𝑅 = 𝑉𝑇 /R is in phase with 𝑉𝑇 .
The capacitive branch current 𝐼𝐶 = 𝑉𝑇 / 𝑋𝐶 leads 𝑉𝑇
by 90◦ (Fig. 10b). The phasor diagram has the source
voltage 𝑉𝑇 as the reference phasor because it is the
same throughout the circuit. The total line current 𝐼𝑇
equals the phasor sum of 𝐼𝑅 and 𝐼𝐶 (Fig. 10c)
Figure 10 Parallel circuits with 𝑅 and 𝑋𝐶
RC in Parallel R and 𝑋𝐶 in parallel
(Circuit and Phasor diagram)
Impedance in parallel RC
The impedance of a parallel circuit equals the total voltage 𝑉𝑇 divided by the total
current 𝐼𝑇
Example
RC in Parallel
Example 3
A 15Ω resistor and a capacitor of 20Ω capacitive reactance are placed in parallel
across a 120V ac line (Fig. 11). Calculate 𝐼𝑅 , 𝐼𝐶 , 𝐼𝑇 , and θ and 𝑍𝑇 . Draw the phasor
diagram
Figure 11 RC parallel circuit
Solution to Example 3
Figure 12 Solution to Example 3 (Phasor diagram)
Power in RC circuits
Power in RC Circuits
The power formulas given previously for RL circuits are equally applicable to RC circuits:
Real Power 𝑃 = 𝑉 𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 = VI cosθ
where 𝜃 is the phase angle between 𝑉 and 𝐼 , and cos 𝜃 is the 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 (PF) of the circuit.
𝑉2
Also applicable is this formula for real power: 𝑃 = 𝐼2 𝑅 = W where R is the total resistive component of the circuit
𝑅
Reactive power 𝑄 in voltamperes reactive (VAR), is expressed as follows:
𝑄 = 𝑉I sinθ
Apparent power 𝑆 is the product of 𝑉 × 𝐼 . The unit is volt amperes (VA). In formula form:
𝑆 = 𝑉𝐼
Capacitance, like inductance, consumes no power. The only part of the circuit consuming power is the resistance.
Reactive power 𝜃 in an 𝑅𝐶 circuit is capacitive and shown below the horizontal axis.
Summary
Relationships of current,
voltage, impedance, and
phase angle in RC circuits
Summary Table for Series and
Parallel RC Circuits
Questions
References
Schuam’s Outline of Basic Electricity
