EXPERIMENT 7

FORCED AND NATURAL RESPONSE OF RL CIRCUITS WITH DC

EXCITATION

Inductance is used in many areas of electrical and electronic systems and circuits.
Components can be in a variety of forms and may be called by a variety of
names: coils, inductors, chokes, transformers, etc. Each of these may also have a
variety of different variants: with and without cores and the core materials may
be of different types.

The term inductance was coined by Oliver Heaviside in 1886. It is customary to

use the symbol L for inductors shown on circuit diagrams and inductance in
equations after the physicist Heinrich Lenz.
An Inductor, also called a choke, is another passive type electrical component
consisting of a coil of wire designed to take advantage of this relationship by
inducing a magnetic field in itself or within its core as a result of the current
flowing through the wire coil. Forming a wire coil into an inductor results in a
much stronger magnetic field than one that would be produced by a simple
coil of wire.
Inductors are formed with wire tightly wrapped around a solid central core
which can be either a straight cylindrical rod or a continuous loop or ring to
concentrate their magnetic flux.
The permeability of free space, μ0, is a physical constant used often
in electromagnetism. It is defined to have the exact value of 4π x 10-
7 N/A2 (newtons per ampere squared). It is connected to the energy stored in

a magnetic field.
RL Circuit refers to a circuit having combination of resistance(s) and inductor(s).
They are commonly used in chokes of luminescent tubes. In an A.C. circuit,
inductors help in reducing voltage, without the loss of energy. Due to the
inductive reactance, the higher the AC frequency, the greater the impedance
of the inductor. Under DC conditions, an inductor acts as a static resistance.
A resistor-inductor circuit (RL circuit), or RL filter or RL network, is one of the
simplest analogue infinite impulse response electronic filters. It consists of a
resistor and an inductor, either in series or in parallel, driven by a voltage source,
as shown below.
Tables:
Table 7.1 Charging (Complete response)
Time (µs) Current (mA)
0 0
10 0.301
20 0.602
30 0.904
40 1.189
50 1.470
60 1.751
80 2.254
100 2.742
120 3.230
140 3.664
160 4.064
180 4.461
Table 7.2 Disharging (Natural response)

Time (µs) Current (mA)

0 9.456
10 7.283
20 6.208
30 4.650
40 3.469
50 2.504
60 1.737
80 0.850
100 0.400
120 0.179
140 0.075
160 0.032
180 0

10
9
8
7
6
Current

5
Charging
4
Discharging
3
2
1
0
0 10 20 30
Time
Problems:
1. We can find the current by using I = I0e−t/τ, or by considering the decline in
steps. Since the time is twice the characteristic time, we consider the
process in steps.
In the first 2.50 ms, the current declines to 0.368 of its initial value, which is
I=0.368 I0=(0.368)(10.0 A)=3.68 A
at t=2.50 msI=0.368 I0=(0.368)(10.0 A)=3.68 A at t=2.50 ms.
After another 2.50 ms, or a total of 5.00 ms, the current declines to 0.368 of
the value just found. That is,
I′=0.368 I=(0.368)(3.68 A)=1.35 A at t=5.00 ms

2. What is the characteristic time constant for a 7.50 mH inductor in series

with a 3.00 Ω resistor? (b) Find the current 5.00 ms after the switch is
moved to position 2 to disconnect the battery, if it is initially 10.0 A.
Entering known values into the expression for τ given in τ = L/R yields
τ=LR=7.50 mH3.00
Ω=2.50 msτ=LR=7.50 mH3.00 Ω = 2.50 ms

3. Determine the time constant of an RL circuit with a resistance R=20 ohms

and a 500mH inductor connected in series with a 10V DC source.

𝐿 500𝑚𝐻
𝜏= = = 0.025𝑠
𝑅 20Ω
𝜏 = 25𝑚𝑠

4. Determine the time constant of an RL circuit with a resistance R=1.5k ohms

and a 220 mH inductor connected in parallel with a 25V DC source.

𝐿 220𝑚𝐻
𝜏= = = 0.00014667𝑠
𝑅 1.5𝑘Ω
𝜏 = 146.667𝜇𝑠
5. Three inductors of 60mH, 120mH and 75mH respectively, are connected
together in a parallel combination with no mutual inductance between
them. Calculate the total inductance of the parallel combination in
millihenries.

6. Two inductors whose self-inductances are of 75mH and 55mH respectively

are connected together in parallel aiding. Their mutual inductance is
given as 22.5mH. Calculate the total inductance of the parallel
combination.
7. Calculate the equivalent inductance of the following inductive circuit.

Calculate the first inductor branch LA, (Inductor L5 in parallel with

inductors L6 and L7)

Calculate the second inductor branch LB, (Inductor L3 in parallel with

inductors L4 and LA)

Calculate the equivalent circuit inductance LEQ, (Inductor L1 in parallel

with inductors L2 and LB)
8. Find the equivalent inductance when series connected 40mH and 150mH
inductors are connected in parallel with series connected 0.1H and 0.12H
inductors.
−1 −1
1 1 1 1
𝐿𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 =( + ) +( + )
40𝑚𝐻 150𝑚𝐻 0.1𝐻 0.12𝐻
(40𝑚 + 150𝑚)(100𝑚 + 120𝑚)
𝐿𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 =
(40𝑚 + 150𝑚) + (100𝑚 + 120𝑚)

𝐿𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 101.95𝑚𝐻

9. Determine the equivalent inductance when a 10mH inductor is placed in

parallel with series connected 12mH and 3mH inductors.
(10𝑚𝐻)(15𝑚𝐻)
𝐿𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 =
25𝑚𝐻
150𝑚𝐻
𝐿𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 =
25𝑚𝐻
𝐿𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 6𝑚𝐻

𝐿𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 6𝑚𝐻

10. Two coils connected in series have a self-inductance of 20mH and 60mH
respectively. The total inductance of the combination was found to be
100mH. Determine the amount of mutual inductance that exists between
the two coils assuming that they are aiding each other.
References

https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/inductor/lr-circuits.html
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/inductor/parallel-inductors.html
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/inductor/series-inductors.html
https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Permeability_of_free_space
https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Fundamental_Physics/Electronics/RL_Circuit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RL_circuit