Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Experiment #3
Steady State RLC Circuit
Author: Adnan Farooq
Instructor: Professor Rassa Rassai
Objective:
In this experiment we will verify the concepts and principles behind a series RLC
network. We will also become familiar with using an oscilloscope and wave signal generator. We
will create a simple series circuit that consists of a resistor, an inductor and a capacitor. In this
experiment we will observe the steady state responses of this RLC circuit when driven by a sine
wave voltage, and verify the theory of these responses. We will verify Ohms law and
Kirchhoffs laws in a steady state AC circuit, which will consist of series RLC elements. First the
voltages within the circuit will be measured experimentally, and then we will analyze the circuit
Theory:
connected in series or in parallel. The circuit forms a harmonic oscillator for current and will
resonate in a similar way as an LC circuit will. The main difference that the presence of the
resistor makes is that any oscillation induced in the circuit will die away over time if it is not
kept going by a source. In a circuit excited by an AC source, under steady state conditions, the
currents and voltages of interest are determined by fundamental circuit analysis techniques with
impedance replacing resistance in the original laws. Complex algebra replaces classical algebra
based on the phasor construct for the source voltage or current. In a circuit of series RLC
elements excited by an AC source (VG), the following relations are applied, ZT = R + JwL +
1/JwC; i(t) = VG/ZT; VG = VR + VL + VC. In a circuit with parallel L & C elements, in series with
a load resistor, the corresponding relations are, ZT= R + ZC // ZL; i(t) = VG / Zt; VR = Ri(t); VP =
i(t) [ ZC //ZL].VP is the voltage across the parallel combination of Zc and ZL, resonance in an RLC
Materials:
Circuit:
Procedure:
3
03/17/2015 Adnan Farooq
Data:
NOM. R 470
MEAS. R 468.7
Experimental:
Frequency VR R VC C VL L
2 KHz 3.21 V +38.8 6.47 V -49.9 3.39 V +129.8
4 KHz 3.55 V -35.8 2.99 V +53.2 6.41 V -122.8
Calculated:
Frequency VR R VC C VL L
2 KHz 3.88 V +39.1 6.59 V -50.9 3.43 V +129.1
4 KHz 3.68 V -42.6 3.12 V +47.4 6.51 V -132.6
VR R VC C VL L
% Error 15.26% 0.77% 1.85% 2.00% 1.18% 0.54%
% Error 3.53% 18.9% 4.35% 10.9% 1.56% 7.98%
Calculations:
2 f
Z t RZ L Z C
Z LL
1
ZC
C
itV g Z T
4
03/17/2015 Adnan Farooq
5
03/17/2015 Adnan Farooq
V R Rit
V L Z Li t
V CZ Ci t
R
Rcos1
ZT
Sources of Error:
In this experiment there were a few sources that may have caused a slight error in our
measurements when compared to the theoretical values that we calculated. Some error could
have come from the improper calibration of the instruments that were used in this lab. The
uncertainty in our measurements are mainly due to human error. Some error could have come
from improperly reading the oscilloscope, when the scale was changed so did the amplitude of
the sine wave. Even though it was only a slight change this could have contributed to our percent
error to be as high as 18.9 %. There was also confusion as for if the scale was represented by a
single tic or the whole box. Most of these errors are random, but can be fixed by making real
accurate readings of the oscilloscope and voltage generator. Other factors that could have
affected our experimental values could have come from our equipment and surroundings. Some
error could have come from the improper calibration of the instruments that were used in this
lab. There is possibly a slight amount of internal resistance and internal voltage drop in the
oscilloscope and generator that has some contribution to the readings. Finally due to the
surroundings, we can have temperature variation that will lead to resistance variation, stray
6
03/17/2015 Adnan Farooq
magnetic and electric fields. Despite all these sources of error I believe that our measurements
were sound within the confines of this experiment. However, the experiment itself has a slight
amount of systematic error associated with the apparatus and the formulas given to calculate our
values.
Conclusion:
In this experiment were we able to properly use the signal generator and oscilloscope.
The use of these devices allowed us to observe the behavior of a resistor, capacitor and inductor
in different combinations within a series RLC circuit. A typical AC source produces a voltage, or
current, that varies sinusoidally with time. We are able to measure the voltage across the different
elements by viewing the amplitude of the sine wave that is generated on to the oscilloscope. We
examined a second order circuit, the RLC circuit, which contains two energy storage elements.
An important property of this circuit is its ability to resonate at a specific frequency, the
resonance frequency. Resonance occurs because energy is stored in two different ways: in an
electric field as the capacitor is charged and in a magnetic field as current flows through the
inductor. We were able to take these experimental values and compare them to theoretical values
from derived equations. In conclusion this experiment is consistent with the theory behind a
--> f2=4000
f2 =
4000
--> w1=2*pi*f1
w1 =
1.2566e+004
--> w2=2*pi*f2
w2 =
2.5133e+004
--> L=.033
L=
0.0330
--> C=.0000001
C=
1.0000e-007
--> ZL1=w1*L
ZL1 =
414.6902
--> ZC1=1/(w1*C)
ZC1 =
795.7747
--> R=468.7
R=
468.7000
--> ZT1=sqrt(R^2+(ZL1-ZC1)^2)
ZT1 =
604.0737
--> VG=5
VG =
5
--> VR=R*(VG/ZT1)
VR =
3.8795
--> VL=ZL1*(VG/ZT1)
VL =
3.4324
--> VC=ZC1*(VG/ZT1)
VC =
6.5867
--> ZL2=w2*L
ZL2 =
829.3805
--> ZC2=1/(w2*C)
ZC2 =
397.8874
--> ZT2=sqrt(R^2+(ZL2-ZC2)^2)
ZT2 =
8
03/17/2015 Adnan Farooq
637.0761
--> VR1=R*(VG/ZT2)
VR1 =
3.6785
--> VL1=ZL2*(VG/ZT2)
VL1 =
6.5093
--> VC1=ZC2*(VG/ZT2)
VC1 =
3.1228
thetaR=(acos(R/ZT1)*180)/pi
thetaR =
39.1134
--> thetaL=thetaR+90
thetaL =
129.1134
--> thetaC=thetaR-90
thetaC =
-50.8866
--> thetaR2=(acos(R/ZT2)*180)/pi
thetaR2 =
42.6332
--> thetaL2=thetaR2+90
thetaL2 =
132.6332
--> thetaC2=thetaR2-90
thetaC2 =
-47.3668
--> PercentError=(abs(VR-VRM)/VR)*100
PercentError =
15.2572