INDUCTANCE

Introduction
So far two components have been looked at: the resistor and the capacitor. We will look at a third component called the
inductor. An inductor is basically a coil of a conductor. Often a ferromagnetic core is placed in the coil to improve the
inductance. Its primary quantity is inductance. An inductor is basically a coil of a conductor. Its primary quantity is called
inductance.

Faraday’s Law of Inductance

If a conductor cuts a magnetic flux, a voltage will be induced across its ends. Cutting involves either the conductor moving
in a magnetic field, a magnetic field moving across a conductor or the magnetic field changing in strength. The induced
voltage is proportional to the number of flux lines cut per unit time, i.e., the greater the speed or the faster the field changes,
the greater the voltage.

If a coil cuts the magnetic field, a voltage is likewise induced across its terminals. The induced voltage is given by the
expression , where e is the induced voltage, N is the number of turns in the coil and ϕ is the flux linking the coil.

Flux linking a coil means flux within the coil. As long as there is a change in flux linking the coil, a voltage will be induced
across its ends.

Lenz’s Law
It states that an induced effect is always such as to oppose the cause that produced it. Induced voltage in a coil moved
relative to a magnetic field will be such as to oppose the relative motion. Induced voltage in a coil placed in a changing
magnetic field will be such as to oppose the change in the magnetic field.

The Inductor Case

Current flowing in an inductor (coil) produces a flux line distribution around the coil. The flux depends on the current
flowing through the coil and is a constant distribution for a given current value. If current the changes, then flux will also
change. Changing flux causes induction of a voltage to counter the change in flux. Thus the induced voltage will be of such
a polarity to produce a current opposite to the initial change of current. This all happens instantaneously.

Thus an inductor opposes an “instant” change in current flowing through it. It is said to “choke” a change in current and
may also be referred to as a choke.

Note that a capacitor opposes a change of voltage across it.

Self-Inductance
It is a measure of the ability of a inductor to oppose any change in current through it. It is often simply called inductance.
The symbol is L and the units are Henries (H). Inductance can be calculated from the physical dimensions and properties of
materials making up the inductor. A formula that gives a close approximation is:
, where N is the number of turns in the coil, A is the cross sectional area of the coil, l is the
length of the coil and μ is the permeability of the core placed in the coil as illustrated in figure 7.1.

(a) (b)
Figure 7.1 (a) Physical dimensions of a coil (b) Inductor symbol.

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In the second expression, μr is relative permeability of the core and μo is the permeability of free space (approximately of
air). Hence the inductance can also be expresses as , where Lo is the inductance of a coil with an air core.

Inductors
An inductor is a component designed to offer inductance in a circuit. Inductors as fixed or variable with air core or
ferromagnetic core. An ideal inductor will only feature purely inductance. A practical inductor has a resistance because it is
made from a conductor as well as stray capacitance in addition to the inductance. Practically, an inductor is modelled as
shown in figure 7.2.

Figure 7.2 A practical inductor.

The primary quantity of an inductor is inductance. Resistance and capacitance are usually omitted so that the symbols given
in figure 7.3 are used for the various types of inductors.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 7.3 Symbols of inductors (a) air core (b) iron core (c) variable by moving core in coil

EXAMPLE 7.1
Figure E7.1 shows an air-core inductor
a) Determine the inductance
b) Determine the inductance if an iron core with relative permeability of 2000 is inserted in the coil.

Figure E7.1
SOLUTION
a)
Inductance,

b) The new inductance,

Induced Voltage
Inductance is also defined as the rate of change of flux linking a coil per unit current. Mathematically, .
Now the induced voltage across the inductor is given by

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The expression gives the voltage induced across an inductor. The polarity of the induced voltage will be opposite the source
that produced it.

EXAMPLE 7.2
Find the waveform for the average voltage across the coil if the current through a 4mH coil is as shown in figure E7.2.

Figure E7.2(a)

SOLUTION
From 0 to 2ms, the rate of change of current is 0, hence induced voltage is 0mV.
From 2 to 4ms, the rate of change of current is 5A/s, hence induced voltage is 20mV
From 4 to 9ms, the rate of change of current is -2A/s, hence induced voltage is -8mV
From 9ms to inifinty, the rate of change of current is 0, hence induced voltage is 0mV
The voltage waveform is shown in figure E7.22(b)

Figure E7.2(b)

Inductive Transients
Just like in capacitive networks, there are two kinds of transients in inductive networks connected to a dc network: charging
transient and discharging transient.

Storage Phase
Consider the circuit shown in figure 7.4.

Figure 7.4

When the switch is closed, current will begin to flow. The inductance of the circuit will prevent an instantaneous increase
of current so that iL will gradually rise from zero to the maximum given by . Likewise the voltage across the inductor will
drop from E to zero. The voltage across the resistor will rise from zero to the maximum E. The storage phase will end when
the values of current through and voltage across the inductor stop changing at which point the inductor will be storing some
energy in its magnetic field.

The expressions for the currents and voltages during the charging transient are derived using the Kirchhoff’s Laws.
Applying KVL:
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Hence
Substituting using gives
Using the initial conditions iL=0 at t=0, and solving the differential problem gives

( ⁄
) ( ), where and .

τ is the time constant of the circuit. It has the same definition as the one used for capacitive networks, only differing on how
it is determined for inductive circuits. Just like in capacitive networks, transients virtually die down after five time
constants.

The voltage across the inductor is given by

( ( ))

The voltage across the resistor is given by

( )

The voltage across the inductor drops exponentially while the current through the inductor and the voltage across the
resistor rise exponentially. The behavior shares same aspects as that for capacitive networks. It seems the inductive circuit
response is the inverse of that of a capacitive network.

Plot of the transient period

The current through the inductor, voltage across the inductor and voltage across the resistor when plotted against time
appear as shown in figure 7.5.

Figure 7.5

EXAMPLE 7.3
Find the mathematical expressions for the transient behavior of i L and vL for the circuit shown in figure E7.3. Sketch the
resulting curves.

Figure E7.3(a)

SOLUTION

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By substitution into the general equations, the expressions are:
( )

( ), measured in mA.

( )

( )

The plot of the signals are shown in figure E7.3(b).

Figure E7.3(b)

Decay Phase
To study the decay phase of an inductive circuit we will use figure 7.6. The switch is initially closed until the inductor is
fully charged after which it is opened so that the inductor can discharge. Resistor R2 provides a closed path for the inductor
to discharge through and at a controlled rate.

(a) (b)
Figure 7.6 (a) Complete circuit (b) isolated circuit

When the switch is opened, in the resulting discharge circuit, .

Since the discharge circuit is a series circuit .

After the storage phase is complete, the inductor current will be given by . The current through an inductor cannot change
instantaneously but the voltage can. When the switch is opened, the current has to continue flowing but the inductor voltage
changes polarity. Thus at the start of the decay phase, the inductor voltage is given by:
( ).

This value is bigger than the supply voltage.

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The voltage across and the current through the inductor will then decay to zero in an exponential manner. The expressions
are also derived using the Kirchhoff’s Laws but noting that the initial voltage across the inductor is given by ( )
and the time constant is given by .

Current through the inductor is given by:

, where .

The voltage across the inductor is given by

The voltage across the resistor R1 is given by

The voltage across the resistor R2 is given by

Figure 7.7 shows the plots of the current through the inductor, the voltage across the inductor and the voltage across the
resistor during a decay phase.

Figure 7.7

EXAMPLE 7.4
Resistor R2 is added to the network of example 7.3 to give the circuit shown figure E7.4(a)
a) Find the mathematical expressions for iL, vL and vR2 after the storage phase has been completed and the switch is
opened.
b) Sketch the waveforms for each of voltage and current for both phases covered by this example and example 7.3 if
five time constants pass between phases. Use the polarities given.

Figure E7.4 (a)

SOLUTION
Time constant for the decay phase
The initial voltage across the inductor following opening of the switch, ( )

Hence

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The maximum current after charging up,

Hence , measured in mA.

It follows also that and

The plots are shown in figure E7.4 (b)

Figure E7.4(b)

Isolated Inductor
In an inductor, energy is stored in the magnetic field. Therefore, an isolated inductor cannot store energy unlike a capacitor.
This is so because there will not be any current to maintain the field. If a circuit containing a coil is abruptly broken, current
is forced to zero in a very short time. Energy in the inductor has to be also discharged within that very short instant. This
results in large voltages across the coil terminals and a spark as the as the circuit is broken. This concept is used in spark
plugs to ignite fuel in petrol engines. (You may be proved using the formula by substituting R 2 with a value of infinity for an
open circuit across the two inductor terminals.

Inductors in Parallel and in Series

The total of inductances in series is given by:

The total of inductances in parallel is given by

Series parallel connections of inductors can also be combined into a total inductance by using analysis similar to that for
resistors. Parallel combinations or series combinations are combined so that the network is simplified in stages.

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Energy Stored by an Inductor
An inductor capacitor stores the energy delivered to it. The amount of energy stored is given by the formula:
, where L is the inductance of the inductor, Im is the maximum current that resulted from the
storage phase.

R-L-C Circuits with dc Inputs

After all transients have died out, current through an inductor is constant and current through a capacitor is zero. Hence for
all practical purposes an inductor can be replaced by a short circuit and a capacitor can be replaced by an open circuit as
long as the transients have died out. These replacements can then be used to analyze circuits containing resistors, inductors
and capacitors in the steady state.

EXAMPLE 7.5
Find the current iL and voltage vC for the network shown in figure E7.5(a).

Figure E7.5(a) Figure E7.5(b)

SOLUTION
Figure E7.5(b) shows the circuit with the inductor replaced by a short circuit and the capacitor by an open circuit.
Using the normal analysis methods for dc circuits, iL =2A and vC = 6V.

EXAMPLE 7.6
Find the currents I1 and I2, and voltages V1 and V2 for the network shown in figure E7.6(a).

Figure E7.6(a) Figure E7.6(b)

SOLUTION
Figure E7.6(b) shows the circuit with the inductor replaced by a short circuit and the capacitor by an open circuit.
Using the normal analysis methods for the resulting dc circuits, I1 = I2 = 5A; V1 = 40V and V2 = 35V.

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