Chapter7 INTRODUCTION Inductors and capacitors are components often found in electronic circuits. They react differently to voltage and frequency and are used in detection and control equipment. A coil has inductance and a capacitor has capacitance. However, inductance and capacitance are not restricted to small electronic components. As previously discussed, windings in @ motor create @ back EMF, which is a direct result of self-inductance. INDUCTANCE Inductance is the property of a coil that opposes a change in current flow by generating an internal voltage in opposition to the supply voltage. The voltage generated within the coil is due to selfinductance and is at a maximum when the current from the supply is changing rapidly. For this reason, if a constant DC voltage is applied to a coil, there is no variation in supply voltage and, therefore, no varying current to induce an internal voltage in the coil. In other words, no inductance will exist with a DC supply. The variation in voltage when an AC or un-stabilised DC supply are input to @ coil will create inductance. Other factors which influence the amount of inductance in a coil are the number of tums in it, and the cross-sectional area of the wire used, both of which are fixed values dependant on circuit or component requirements. ‘The unit of inductance is the Henry (H) and exists when a rate of change in current of 1 amp per second induces 1 volt in the coil. This usually results ina very small figure, so most often the value is expressed in mH (mill-Henrys) or Ht (micro-Henrys). The symbol for inductance in formulae is L. For instance, @ value of 15 mili-Henrys can be written as: L=15mH The following rules are instrumental to understanding inductance: > When current flows through a conductor, a magnetic field builds up around it. 0 UES OF i MAGNETIC FLUX Electrics THChapter 7 Inductance and Capacitance > When a conductor is moved through a magnetic field, an EMF is induced in it. SELF INDUCTION Imagine a situation where an AC current is flowing in a ‘live’ wire and next to this is another wire that has no current flow in it, which can be considered as the ‘dormant’ wire. The magnetic field will build around the live wire to a maximum in one direction before collapsing as the current falls to zero. It then builds to @ maximum in the other direction as current flow reverses and flows in the opposite direction. The dormant wire is lying in the influence of the magnetic field produced by the live wire and a voltage is therefore induced in it of an opposite polarity to that in the live wie. Picture a situation where two loops are side by side in a coil. Although they are both part of the same length of wire, the interaction between them is just lke the live wire/dormant wire situation described above. Each loop of wire in the coil will be inducing voltage in the adjacent loop which ‘acts to oppose the voltage at the supply. Now take the above process one step further. It has been established that the induced voltage ‘opposes the supply voltage, but such opposition is not always against a rising supply voltage. ‘Opposition can also exist against a falling voltage. A voltage induced in an adjacent loop opposes a tising voltage as the magnetic field strength is increasing. However, when the supply voltage reduces to zero the magnetic field collapses, and this induces a voltage in the adjacent loop of an ‘opposite polarity. This has the effect of maintaining the coil voltage when the supply voltage is reducing. It is easiest to consider the supply voltage and coil voltage as opposite forces, but that the coil voltage is always less than the supply. The interaction between the supply voltage and coil voltage means that current flow does not vary in direct proportion with the supply. The opposition of the coil to rising voltage delays the equivalent rise in current flow. As the supply voltage falls, the current flow is maintained by the collapsing magnetic field about the coil. The net effect of these opposing voltages is that current flow will lag behind the supply voltage. A side effect of the coil field collapsing is that as @ switch in the coil circuit opens, a spark occurs at the switch contacts. INDUCTORS Where using inductors in a circuit, they are chosen with a specific value of inductance. The inductance of a coil can be increased by either raising the number of turns on the coil, and/or by inserting a piece of permeable material, such as soft iron, into the coil 72 ElectricsInductance and Capacitance Chapter 7 iwoucTor ‘SUPPLY TIME CONSTANT OF AN INDUCTOR The time it takes for the current in an inductor to reach a steady value depends on the value of the inductance and the value of any resistance in series with it. ‘Switch Closed II! Steady Flux Pattery 11 Through Coit I AAs the voltage induced in an inductor opposes the supply voltage, if a DC supply is supplied to the coll, it takes a finite time for the current to reach a steady value. The time taken is the time constant and can be changed by either altering the value of inductance of the coil or by altering the resistance in series. Bear in mind that once the full supply voltage is reached, it remains steady. No further voltage is induced until the next change in voltage, which occurs when the circuit is switched off ‘The time constant is not linear because the induced voltage is dependent on a rate of change, which itself is not at a constant rate. As a supply to an inductor is initially switched on, the supply voltage rises rapidly from zero to full voltage in a sine wave curve. The initial rapid rise in supply voltage immediately induces @ high voltage in the inductor in opposition, but as the sine curve of the supply voltage flattens, the opposition reduces. The reverse ocours when switching off the supply The time constant is not measured from zero voltage to full voltage but to 63.2% on voltage rise and 36.8% on voltage fall. The time constant can be found by dividing the inductance (H) by the resistance (Q). The time for full current and voltage to be developed across the inductor is 5 times the time constant: 5XUR The time constant is inversely proportional to resistance. Electries 73