Experiment Report:

Characterizing Resonant Series RLC circuits

using LabView

Submitted by:
Yulia Preezant (ID 322071986)

Submission date:
December 29, 2002

Electronics Lab RLC project

Table of contents:
Introduction___________________________________________________________________3
Theoretical background__________________________________________________________3
Resonant RLC circuit__________________________________________________________3
Program architecture and VIs hierarchy______________________________________________5
SubVIs_______________________________________________________________________6
Prediction SubVI_____________________________________________________________6
Single Measurement SubVI_____________________________________________________7
Analysis SubVI_______________________________________________________________8
Main VI____________________________________________________________________10
Experimental data______________________________________________________________12
Conclusions__________________________________________________________________14

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Electronics Lab RLC project

Introduction
LabView is a power and flexible instrumentation and analysis software system. It is
graphical programming language G that uses icons instead of lines of text to create applications
(programs called virtual instruments) 1. LabView is integrated for communication with hardware
such as GRIB. In this project we had to analyze the properties of RLC circuit using LabView
software of National Instruments for data Acquisition via the GRIB Bus from Hewlett Packard
instruments.
As it was introductory project, the main purposes were:
Familiarization with basic components complex programming environment of LabView
To develop instruments for data acquisition, signal analysis, and instrument control
To measure resonant series RLC circuits using LabView software

Theoretical background
LabView programs are called virtual instruments (VIs).

VIs contains three main

components: the front panel, the block diagram, and icon of connector pane. The user interacts
with program through the front panel and we build the front panel with controls and indicators,
which are the interactive input and output terminals of VI2. Graphical source code called a block
diagram. The connector pane defines the inputs and outputs you can wire to the VI so you can
use it as a SubVI.

Resonant RLC circuit3

We have a series RLC circuit composed of an inductor L, a capacitor C, and a small
resistor R. The Inductor has its own resistance RL from the coil winding.

Robert Bishop, Learning with LabView 6i, 2001

Introductory course booklet (tutorials) from National Instruments
3
http://www.tau.ac.il/~electro/doc_files/micro/Resonant_LCR%20using_Function_Generator.doc
2

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Electronics Lab RLC project

A series RLC circuit exhibit a peak of the current when the driving frequency is equal to
the resonance frequency of circuit.
The magnitude of the total impedance of the RLC circuit:
2

1
Z R 2 fL
, Rtot Rs RL
2 fC

2
tot

At very low frequencies, the capacitor acts like an open circuit; thus the total impedance
Z

goes to infinity and there is no current flowing through the circuit and hence no voltage

across the series resistor, Rs. In the opposite limit of very high frequencies, the inductor acts like
an open circuit. Again there is no current in the circuit, and hence no voltage across the series
resistor, Rs. At the resonance frequency, the reactance of the capacitor Xc cancels the reactance of
the inductor XL leaving only the small resistance of Rs and the resistance of the coil windings,
RL. Now a large current flows through the circuit of magnitude

U0
and a large maximum
Rtot

voltage Umax now appears across the series resistor R s, namely U max

frequency f0 is found by setting XC = XL, yielding f 0

1
2 LC

U 0 Rs
. And the resonance
R tot

When we had measured the peak voltage Umax at the resonance frequency f0. We can also
measure the two frequencies where the voltage across our series resistor R s is only 70.7 % of
Umax. One frequency will be somewhat lower than the resonance frequency, which we will denote
as fLow. The second frequency will be somewhat higher than the resonance frequency, which we
will denote as fHi.
The Q of the RLC circuit is defined as Q

f0
.
f hi flow

Formulas for programming:

Rtot Rs RL Radd
1
Z R 2 fL

2 fC

2
tot

U out
f0

U in Rs
|Z|
1

2 LC

,Q

f0
f hi flow

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Electronics Lab RLC project

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Electronics Lab RLC project

Program architecture and VIs hierarchy

The art of successful programming in G is an exercise in modular programming. After
dividing a given task into a series of simpler subtasks, you then construct a virtual instrument to
accomplish each subtask. Modularity means that we can execute each SubVI independently, thus
making debugging and verification easier4. Furthermore, our SubVIs we can use in other
programs.
We dived our task on 3 parts:

Prediction (for scouring frequency only in required range)

Measurement

Analysis

Each of parts we divided according to comfortable and clear programming.

Robert Bishop, Learning with LabView 6i, 2001

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Electronics Lab RLC project

SubVIs
Prediction SubVI

This SubVI executes 2 independent procedures:

Calculation theoretical values of resonant parameters
Calculation theoretical value of responsive voltage for given frequency
Input Cluster
Output Cluster
Frequency
Voltage

We united all required input data (resistance, inductance,

capacity and etc.) to the cluster for simplifying internal
structure of block diagram
We united all output data
Given frequency in the given range
Corresponding voltage

Front panel

We have to note that we set up voltage on HP arbitrary waveform generator in regime

Vpp (Peak-to-Peak). But the data that we need we acquire from HP multimeter in Vrms (Root
Mean Square) regime. For matching data we have to divide theoretical voltage by

2.

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Electronics Lab RLC project

Block diagram

Single Measurement SubVI

This SubVI is a main measurement unit. It consists of 2 SubVIs:

Write_SubVI. It prepares an instrument (HP arbitrary waveform generator) to establish
required signal
Read_SubVI. It accommodates another instrument (HP multimeter) to data accepting.
A final output of SubVI voltage in numeric and string formats.
Signal Frequency
Signal Amplitude
Timeout Value
In Error
Measured Voltage Numeric
Measured Voltage String
Out error Message String
Out Error

Required characteristics of signal

Delays between measurements
Input Error report
Voltage in different formats
Output Error report

Front panel

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Electronics Lab RLC project

Block diagram

Block diagrams of internal SubVI

We have to note that it was useful to insert timeout delay between measurements. The
instruments have definite time for accepting and realizing a command. This time interval limits
celerity but it necessary for normal execution5.

Analysis SubVI

About this property of program execution we was informed by instructor Oren Zarcin

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Electronics Lab RLC project

In this SubVI we used a Sequence with 2 steps for serial operations of searching maximal
value of voltage in file that formatted into 2 columns and searching frequencies corresponding to
the 70,7% of maximal voltage (that found in the first operation).
Front panel

Block diagram

Searching for maximal voltage in the data file

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Electronics Lab RLC project

Searching 2 frequencies with voltage equal to 70.7% of maximal value

Maybe this SubVI can be made easier if we have Mathlab Programming Environment on
computer using Mathlab Script.

Main VI

This VI concatenates all of SubVIs and exhibits complete task. At start point of program
SubVI creates a new/replace old file for data that will be measured, and during process of
measurement SubVI writes data in string format into the file. FOR_loop that has N steps
performs the process of multimeasurement. We can alter N in accordance with required
precision. Data from theoretical prediction and from measurements are performed in 2 formats:
Graph
2 clusters of values, which summarize theoretical and measured characteristics

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Electronics Lab RLC project

Front panel

Block diagram

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Electronics Lab RLC project

Experimental data
1. We measured directly some input parameters of RLC circuit (resistance of resistor Rs,
resistance of inductor RL) using HP34401A Multimeter, which has accuracy6:
Accuracy
+Temperature variation to each 1C
Resistance
0.003%
0.003%
Voltage (AC: 1750V)
0.04%
0.02%
10Hz20kHz
0.1%
0.04%
20Hz50kHz
0.55%
0.08%
50Hz100kHz
2. Values of C and L were written on plastic basis of RLC circuit. Seeing them as an ideal
without deviation from denoted values.
3. Additional resistance includes output resistance of HP 33120A Function arbitrary
waveform generator (50 Ohm) and does not include resistance of wires. HP 33120A Function
arbitrary waveform generator creates voltage waveform signal with accuracy of the amplitude 1%7.
We studied 2 RLC circuits.
Experiment 1:

Experiment 2:
6
7

HP34401A Multimeter Users guide

HP33120A Function/arbitrary Waveform Generator Users Guide

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Electronics Lab RLC project

Form the experimental data we can see that:

Measured peak of voltage (resonant peak) is shifted from theoretical peak site. It can be
explained by inexact values of L and C (that we used without verification)
Measured resonant peak of voltage lower that theoretical
Theoretical Q and experimental Q differ. It can be explained by additional resistance that
we did not take to consideration.
For precise results estimation we have to know all sources of error. Seeing on graph we
can say only that curves look tenable.

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Electronics Lab RLC project

Conclusions
We developed first virtual instrument
We can manage and control measurements in RLC circuits by our own driver
We can immediately compare theoretical and measured data
We can use our SubVIs in another different projects
We notified some nice properties of LabView:
Intuitively clear block diagram provides easy scheme understanding
Excellent debugging modes (step by step, probe)
Colors
Compatibility with MathLab
Great collection of examples
Also we descried some not good properties of LabView:
Not comfortable, undeveloped help libraries

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