Series RL, RC and RLC Circuit

Series Resistance-Inductance Circuit

The circuit above consists of a pure non-inductive resistance R is

connected in series with a pure inductance, L. In this RL series

circuit above the current is common to both the resistance and the

inductance while the voltage is made up of the two component

voltages, vR and vL. A sinusoidal driving voltage, v = Vm sinωt is

applied to a series combination of a resistive element (R is pure

resistor) and an inductive element (L is pure inductor), the voltage

balance equation is

v = vR + vL ……….(1)
This is Kirchhoff’s voltage law applied to instantaneous voltages. It

states that the instantaneous voltage drops across the resistive

element plus the instantaneous voltage drop across the inductive

element equals the instantaneous voltage drop across the RL

branch.

If it is assumed that the current i = Im sinωt, flows through a series

branch consisting of a resistive element, R and an inductive element,

L, then

Ri + L = voltage applied = v

Or

R Im sinωt + ωL Im cosωt = v ………..(2)

In the phasor diagram a reference or common component is the

current as the same current flows through the resistance and the

inductance. The individual vector diagrams for a pure resistance

and a pure inductance are given as:

 Individual phasor Diagram

Phasor Diagram of R-L series circuit

From the phasor diagram above, it is seen that the red line is the

horizontal current reference and VR is the voltage across the

resistive component which is in-phase with the current. The

inductive voltage VL which is 90o in front of the current therefore it

can l be seen that the current lags the purely inductive voltage by

90o. Blue Line gives the resulting supply voltage. Then:

 V equals the r.m.s value of the applied voltage.

 I equal the r.m.s. value of the series current.

 VR equals the I.R voltage drop across the resistance which is

in-phase with the current.

 VL equals the I.XL voltage drop across the inductance which

leads the current by 90o.

From equation (2) the RIm and ωLIm components may be

related as shown in the diagram below:

If both sides of the equation (2) are divided by , the

equation takes the following form

Im

Then

Im[sinωt cosφ + cosωt sinφ] =

From which

v= Im sin(ωt+φ) or v = Im Z sin(ωt+φ)

= Vm sin(ωt+φ)

It is thus shown that

 Z= = Vm / Im = √2V/ √2I = V/I

 φ = tan-1(ωL / R)

 v leads i in RL branch by φ°.

 Z= ∠ tan-1(ωL / R)
  Impedance depends upon the frequency, ω of the circuit as

this affects the circuits reactive components.

If R is expressed in ohms, ω is in rad/sec. and L is in henry in which

case is given in ohms.

Variation of Impedance and Phase Angle with Frequency

For a series RL circuit; as frequency increases:

– R remains constant

– XL increases

–Z increases

– φ increases
Alternative solution

Applying Pythagoras theorem to mathematically find the value of

the resultant voltage across the resistor/inductor (RL) circuit.

As VR = I.R and VL = I.XL the applied voltage will be the vector sum

of the two as follows:

The quantity represents the impedance, Z of the circuit.

Impedance, Z is the “TOTAL” opposition to current flowing in an

AC circuit that contains both Resistance, (the real part) and

Reactance (the imaginary part). Impedance also has the units of

Ohms, Ω’s. Impedance can also be represented by a complex

number, Z = R + jXL

The Impedance Triangle

Then: (Impedance)2 = (Resistance)2 + (Reactance)2. This means that

the positive phase angle φ between the voltage and current is given

as,
Power
The instantaneous power or the instantaneous volt-amperes,

delivered to the RL branch may be obtained as

p = vi = [Vm sin (ωt+φ)][Im sinωt]

=VmIm sinωt[sinωt cosφ + cosωt sinφ]

= VmIm sin2ωt cosφ + VmIm (sinωt cosωt) sinφ

= (VmIm/2) cosφ - (VmIm/2) [cos2ωt]cosφ + (VmIm/2)[ sin2ωt] sinφ

= (VmIm/2) cosφ - (VmIm/2) cos(2ωt-φ)

So, the instantaneous power in a single-phase circuit varies sinusoid

ally. The instantaneous power, p = constant term + sinusoidal

oscillating term.

The expression of instantaneous power has two components:

(i) (VmIm/2) cosφ, which contains no reference to ωt and

therefore remains constant in value.

 (ii) (VmIm/2) cos(2ωt-φ), the term 2ωt indicating that it varies

twice the supply frequency; thus, it is seen that the power

undergoes two cycles of variation for one cycle of variation

of voltage wave. Furthermore, since the average value of a

cosine curve over a complete cycle is zero, it follows that this

component does not contribute anything towards the

average value of the power taken from the alternator.

The average value of the power over complete cycle is given by

Pav = (VmIm/2) cosφ

or

Pav =

= = (VmIm/√2√2)cosφ = Vr.m.s.Ir.m.s.cosφ =VI cosφ

The waveform and power curve of the RL Series Circuit is shown

below
The various points on the power curve are obtained by the product

of voltage and current. If you analyze the curve carefully, it is seen

that the power is negative between angle 0 and φ and between 180

degrees and (180 + φ) and during the rest of the cycle the power is

positive.

It is seen that the instantaneous power is negative for a small time

and the negative area (below horizontal axis and above p curve)

represents energy returned from the circuit to the source

(alternator). The positive area (above horizontal-axis and below p

curve) during the time interval represents energy supplied from the

alternator to the circuit and the difference between the two areas

represents the energy absorbed by the circuit over half cycle. By

dividing this net area by the time interval T the average power (P)

is obtained.

Series Resistance-Capacitance Circuit

The series RC circuit above consists of a pure resistance R is

connected in series with a pure capacitance, C. The current flowing

into the circuit is common to both the resistance and capacitance,

while the voltage is made up of the two component voltages, v R and

vC. The resulting voltage of these two components can be found

mathematically but since vectors vR and vC are 90o out-of-phase,

they can be added vectorially by constructing a phasor diagram.

If it is assumed that the current i = Im sinωt, flows through a series

branch consisting of a resistive element, R and an capacitive

element, C, then

vR = Ri = RIm sinωt, and vC = q / C =

The voltage applied to the branch is, physically, the sum of the two

component voltages. In the form of equation

RIm sinωt ……………(3)

In a series AC circuit, the current is common and can therefore be

used as the reference source because the same current flows through

the resistance and into the capacitance. The individual phasor

diagrams for a pure resistance and a pure capacitance are given as:
 Phasor Diagrams for the Two Pure Components

Series RC circuit phasor diagram

From equation (3) the RIm and (-Im / ωC) components may be

related as shown in the diagram below:

If both sides of the equation (3) are divided by , the

equation takes the following form

Im

Then

Im [sinωt cosφ - cosωt sinφ] =

From which

v= Im sin(ωt+θ) or v = Im Z sin(ωt-φ)

= Vm sin(ωt-φ)

It is thus shown that

  Z= = Vm / Im = √2 V /√2 I = V / I

 φ = tan-1((1/ωC) / R)

 i leads v in RC branch by φ°.

 Z= ∠ tan-1((1/ωC) / R)

 Impedance depends upon the frequency, ω of the circuit as

this affects the circuit’s reactive components.

If R is expressed in ohms, ω is in rad/sec. and C is in farad in which

case is given in ohms.

Alternative Solution

Applying Pythagoras theorem to mathematically find the value of

the resultant voltage across the resistor-capacitor (RC) circuit.

As VR = I.R and Vc = I.XC the applied voltage will be the vector sum

of the two as follows:

The quantity represents the impedance, Z of the circuit.

Impedance, Z which has the units of Ohms, Ω’s is the “TOTAL”

opposition to current flowing in an AC circuit that contains both

Resistance, (the real part) and Reactance (the imaginary part).

The Impedance Triangle

Then: (Impedance )2 = (Resistance)2 + (Reactance)2. This means

then by using Pythagoras theorem the negative phase angle, φ

between the voltage and current is calculated as.

Phase Angle

Power in RC Series Circuit

If the alternating voltage and current applied across the circuit is given by the

equation
v = Vm sin(ωt-φ) and I = Imsinωt

Therefore, the instantaneous power is given by p = vi

Putting the value of v and i

p = Vm sin (ωt-φ) Imsinωt

= VmIm sin (ωt-φ) sinωt

=VmIm sinωt[sinωt cosφ - cosωt sinφ]

= VmIm sin2ωt cosφ - VmIm (sinωt cosωt) sinφ

= (VmIm/2) cosφ - (VmIm/2) [cos2ωt]cosφ + (VmIm/2)[ sin2ωt] sinφ

= (VmIm/2) [cosθ – cos (2ωt + φ)]

The Average power consumed in the circuit over a complete cycle is

given by

Pav or P = average of (VmIm/2) cosφ – average of (VmIm/2) cos(2ωt +

φ) = (VmIm/2) cosφ – zero = (VmIm/√2√2)cosφ = VIcosφ

Where, cosφ is called the power factor of the circuit.

cosφ = R/Z
Waveform and Power Curve of the RC Series Circuit

The waveform and power curve of the RC Circuit is shown below

The various points on the power curve are obtained from the

product of the instantaneous value of voltage and current. The

power is negative between the angle (180◦ – ϕ) and 180◦ and between

(360◦ -ϕ) and 360◦ and in the rest of the cycle the power is positive.

Since the area under the positive loops is greater than that under the

negative loops, therefore the net power over a complete cycle is

positive.
Series RLC Circuit

The series RLC circuit above has a single loop with the

instantaneous current, i, flowing through the loop being the same

for each circuit element. Since the inductive and capacitive

reactance’s XL and XC are a function of the supply frequency, the

sinusoidal response of a series RLC circuit will therefore vary with

frequency, ƒ. Then the individual voltage drops across each circuit

element of R, L and C element defined by:

 i = Im sinωt

 The instantaneous voltage across a pure resistor, v R is “in-

phase” with the current.

  The instantaneous voltage across a pure inductor, v L “leads”

the current by 90o

 The instantaneous voltage across a pure capacitor, v C “lags”

the current by 90o

 Therefore, vL and vC are 180o “out-of-phase” and in opposition

to each other.

For the series RLC circuit above, this can be shown as:

The amplitude of the source voltage across all three components in a

series RLC circuit is made up of the three individual component

voltages, vR, vL and vC with the current common to all three

components. The vector diagrams will therefore have the current

vector as their reference with the three voltage vectors being plotted

with respect to this reference as shown below:

Individual Voltage Phasors

To find the supply voltage, v, the Phasor Sum of the three

component voltages combined together vector ally.

Kirchhoff’s voltage law (KVL) states that around any closed loop

the sum of voltage drops around the loop equals the sum of the
EMF’s. Then applying this law to these three voltages will give the

amplitude of the source voltage, v as

vR+ vL + vC = v

Now, vR = Ri = RIm sinωt, vL= L(di/dt) = ωL Im cosωt and vC= q/C =

RIm sinωt + ωL Im cosωt =v

RIm sinωt + (ωL - Im cosωt = v

Phasor Diagram for a Series RLC Circuit

Alternative solution

Using Pythagoras’s theorem to obtain the value of v as shown

The instantaneous voltage across each of the three circuit elements

can be expressed as

VRmax is the maximum voltage across the resistor and VRmax = ImaxR

VLmax is the maximum voltage across the inductor and VLmax =

ImaxXL.
VCmax is the maximum voltage across the capacitor and VCmax =

ImaxXC.

The r.m.s. value of the voltages across each element

VR is the r.m.s. voltage across the resistor and VR = IR

VL is the r.m.s. voltage across the inductor and VL = IXL.

VC is the maximum voltage across the capacitor and VC = IXC.

The sum of these voltages must equal the voltage of the AC source.

By substituting the above values into Pythagoras’s equation

Z is called the impedance of the circuit and it plays the role of

resistance in the circuit,

here

Z  R2   XL  XC 
2

 Impedance has units of ohms.

 Impedance of the circuit which ultimately depends upon

the resistance and the inductive and capacitive

reactance’s.

 The Impedance Triangle for a Series RLC Circuit

Phase Angle
The phase angle, φ between the source voltage, V and the

current, I is the same as for the angle between Z and R in the

impedance triangle. This phase angle may be positive or negative in

value depending on whether the source voltage leads or lags the

circuit current and can be calculated mathematically from the

ohmic values of the impedance triangle as:

cosφ = R / Z, sinφ = (XL- XC) / Z and tanφ = (XL- XC) / R.

Determining the Nature of the Circuit

If φ is positive

 XL> XC (which occurs at high frequencies)

  The current lags the applied voltage.

 The circuit is more inductive than capacitive.

VL is greater than VC so the circuit behaves like an inductor/inductive circuit,

and current lags the applied voltage.

If φ is negative
  XL< XC (which occurs at low frequencies)

 The current leads the applied voltage.

 The circuit is more capacitive than inductive.

When VC is larger than VL the circuit is capacitive and current leads the
applied voltage.

If φ is zero

 XL = X C

 The circuit is purely resistive.

When VL and VC are equal the circuit is purely resistive.
Series Circuit with R, L and C: Effect of variation of

Frequency

Figure above shows the effect of frequency upon the inductive and

capacitive reactance and upon the resultant reactance and the

impedance of a circuit having R, L and C. In general, it is

convenient to take inductive reactance as positive and capacitive

reactance as negative. These positive and negative signs are merely

conventions. It is only the phase of the current that is affected.

For frequency at point A, the inductive reactance AB and the

capacitive reactance AC are equal in magnitude so that their

resultant is zero. Consequently, the impedance is then same as

resistance (R) AD of the circuit. Furthermore, as the frequency is

reduced below point A or increased above point A, the impedance

increases and therefore the current decreases.

Figure below shows the behavior of the series RLC circuit

graphically below and above the value of frequency at point A. The

frequency at point A is denoted by fo.

Problem 1
A choke coil takes a current of 2 A lagging 60° behind the applied

voltage of 200 V at 50 Hz. Calculate the inductance, resistance and

impedance of the coil. Also, determine the power consumed when it

is connected across 100-V, 25-Hz supply.

Solution:

(i) Zcoil = 200/2 = 100 ohm;

R = Z cos  =100 cos60° = 50 ohm

XL = Z sin = 100 sin 60° = 86.6ohm XL = 2 π fL = 86.6 ohm

L= 0.275 H

(ii) Now, the coil will have different impedance because the supply

frequency is different but its resistance would remain the same i.e.,

50ohm. Since the frequency has been halved, the inductive reactance

of the coil is also halved i.e., it becomes 86.6/2 = 43.3ohm.

Zcoil = 502 + 43.32 = 66.1 ohm

I = 100/66.1 = 1.5 A, power factor = cos  = 50/66.1 = 0.75

Power consumed by the coil = VI cos  = 100 × 1.5 × 0.75 = 112.5 W

Problem 2

A coil of 0.8 p.f. is connected in series with 110 micro-farad

capacitor. The supply frequency is 50 Hz. The potential difference

across the coil is found to be equal to that across the capacitor.

Calculate the resistance and the inductance of the coil. Calculate the

net power factor.

Solution:

XC = 1/(3.14 × C) = 28.952 ohms

∴ Coil Impedance, Z = 28.952 Ω

Coil resistance = 28.952 × 0.8 = 23.162 Ω

Coil reactance = 17.37 ohms

Coil-inductance = 17.37/314 = 55.32 milli-henrys

Total impedance, ZT = 23.16 + j 17.37 − j 28.952 = 23.162 − j 11.582 =

25.9 ohms

Net power-factor = 23.162/25.9 = 0.8943 leading