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RL Series Circuit Analysis (Phasor Diagram, Examples & Derivation)
RL Series Circuit Analysis (Phasor Diagram, Examples & Derivation)
RL Series Circuit Analysis (Phasor Diagram, Examples & Derivation)
Contents
What is an RL Circuit?
Phasor Diagram for RL Circuit
Impedance of Series RL Circuit
Series RL Circuit Analysis
Power in an RL Circuit
Variation of Impedance and Phase Angle with Frequency
Expression for Current flowing in Series RL Circuit
What is an RL Circuit?
An RL circuit (also known as an RL filter or RL network) is defined as an electrical circuit consisting of the passive circuit x
elements of a resistor (R) and an inductor (L) connected together, driven by a voltage source or current source.
Due to the presence of a resistor in the ideal form of the circuit, an RL circuit will consume energy, akin to an RC circuit
or RLC circuit.
This is unlike the ideal form of an LC circuit, which will consume no energy due to the absence of a resistor. Although this
is only in the ideal form of the circuit, and in practice, even an LC circuit will consume some energy because of the non-
zero resistance of the components and connecting wires.
Consider a simple RL circuit in which resistor, R and inductor, L are connected in series with a voltage supply of V volts.
Let us think the current flowing in the circuit is I (amp) and current through resistor and inductor is IR and IL respectively.
Since both resistance and inductor are connected in series, so the current in both the elements and the circuit remains
the same. i.e IR = IL = I. Let VR and Vl be the voltage drop across resistor and inductor.
Applying Kirchhoff voltage law (i.e sum of voltage drop must be equal to apply voltage) to this circuit we get,
Before drawing the phasor diagram of series RL circuit, one should know the relationship between voltage and current
in case of resistor and inductor.
1. Resistor
In case of resistor, the voltage and the current are in same phase or we can say that the phase angle
difference between voltage and current is zero.
1. Inductor
In inductor, the voltage and the current are not in phase. The voltage leads that of current by 90o or in other
words, voltage attains its maximum and zero value 90o before the current attains it.
1. RL Circuit
For drawing the phasor diagram of series RL circuit; follow the following steps:
Step- I. In case of series RL circuit, resistor and inductor are connected in series, so current flowing in both the elements
are same i.e IR = IL = I. So, take current phasor as reference and draw it on horizontal axis as shown in diagram.
Step- II. In case of resistor, both voltage and current are in same phase. So draw the voltage phasor, VR along same axis
or direction as that of current phasor. i.e VR is in phase with I.
Step- III. We know that in inductor, voltage leads current by 90o, so draw VL (voltage drop across inductor) perpendicular
to current phasor.
Step- IV. Now we have two voltages VR and VL. Draw the resultant vector(VG) of these two voltages. Such as,
Step 1.Since the value of frequency and inductor are known, so firstly calculate the value of inductive reactance XL: XL =
2πfL ohms.
Step 2. From the value of XL and R, calculate the total impedance of the circuit which is given by
Step 3. Calculate the total phase angle for the circuit θ = tan – 1(XL/ R).
Step 4. Use Ohm’s Law and find the value of the total current: I = V/Z amp.
Step 5. Calculate the voltages across resistor R and inductor L by using Ohm’s Law. Since the resistor and the inductor
are connected in series, so current in them remains the same.
Power in an RL Circuit
In series RL circuit, some energy is dissipated by the resistor and some energy is alternately stored and returned by the
inductor-
So, total power in series RL circuit is given by adding the power dissipated by the resistor and the power absorbed by the
inductor.
The above diagram shows the impedance triangle. The base of this impedance triangle represents resistance. The
resistance is independent of frequency; so, if frequency increases or decreases, resistance remains constant. The
formula for inductive reactance is XL = 2πfL. So, if frequency increases, inductive reactance XL also increases and if
inductive reactance increases, total impedance of circuit also increases and this leads to variation in phase angle θ with
frequency. So, in series RL circuit if frequency increases,
So we get,
By applying limits we get,
Simplifying again,
The term L/R in the equation is called the Time Constant, (τ) of the RL series circuit, and it is defined as time taken by
the current to reach its maximum steady state value and the term V/R represents the final steady state value of current in
the circuit.
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