UNIT: ELECTRIC CIRCUIT ANALYSIS TOPIC 2: TRANSIENT

INTRODUCTION
A transient state will exist in a circuit containing one or more energy storage elements (i.e., capacitors and
inductors) whenever the energy conditions in the circuit change, until the new steady state condition is reached.
Transients are caused by changing the applied voltage or current, or by changing any of the circuit elements; such
changes occur due to opening and closing switches.
The sources of Transients
In general, transients’ disturbances are produced whenever;
 An apparatus or circuit is suddenly connected to or disconnected from the supply,
 A circuit is shorted,
 There is a sudden change in the applied voltage from one finite value to another

GROWTH IN R - C CIRCUIT
Charging a capacitor
A series R–C circuit is shown in Figure 1 (a). A step voltage of magnitude V is shown in Figure 1(b). The capacitor
in Figure 1(a) is assumed to be initially uncharged.

From Kirchhoff’s voltage law, supply voltage,

…………………………………………………… 1

Therefore, from equation (1)

……………………………………………. 2

This is a linear, constant coefficient, first order differential equation. Such a differential equation may be
solved, i.e., find an expression for voltage vC, by separating the variables
Rearranging equation (2) gives:

and integrating both sides gives:

…………………………... 3
where k is the arbitrary constant of integration

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UNIT: ELECTRIC CIRCUIT ANALYSIS TOPIC 2: TRANSIENT

Thus, from equation (3),

Rearranging gives:

by the laws of logarithms i.e.,

……………………………………………. 4

This is an exponential growth curve, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2

From equation (1),

(from equation 4)

……………………………………………………… 5
This is an exponential decay curve, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3
In the circuit of Figure 1 (a),

(from equation 4)

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UNIT: ELECTRIC CIRCUIT ANALYSIS TOPIC 2: TRANSIENT

……………………………………………………… 6

This is an exponential decay curve as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4
After a period of time, it can be determined from equations (4) to (6) that the voltage across the capacitor, vC,
attains the value V, the supply voltage, whilst the resistor voltage, vR, and current i both decay to zero.

Problem 1. A 500nF capacitor is connected in series with a 100 kΩ resistor and the circuit is connected to a 50
V, d.c. supply. Calculate
(a) the initial value of current flowing,
(b) the value of current 150ms after connection, (c) the value of capacitor voltage 80ms after connection, and
(d) the time after connection when the resistor voltage is 35 V.

(a) From equation (6), current,

(b) Current,

(c) From equation (4), capacitor voltage,

(d) From equation (5), resistor voltage,

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UNIT: ELECTRIC CIRCUIT ANALYSIS TOPIC 2: TRANSIENT

DECAY IN R - C CIRCUIT
Discharging a capacitor
If after a period of time the step input voltage V applied to the circuit of Figure 1 is suddenly removed, by opening
the switch, then from equation (1), or, from equation (2),

………………………………………………………….. 7

At time t = 0 (i.e., at the instant of opening the switch), vC=V Substituting t = 0 and vC = V in equation (7) gives:

Substituting k = lnV into equation (7) gives:

………………………………………………………………. 8
i.e., the capacitor voltage, vC, decays to zero after a period of time, the rate of decay depending on CR, which is the
time constant, .
Since vR + vC = 0 then the magnitude of the resistor voltage, vR, is given by:

………………………………………………………………………………… 9

……………………………………… 10
Problem 2. A d.c. voltage supply of 200V is connected across a 5μF capacitor as shown in Figure 5. When the
supply is suddenly cut by opening switch S, the capacitor is left isolated except for a parallel resistor of 2MΩ.
Calculate the p.d. across the capacitor after 20s.

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UNIT: ELECTRIC CIRCUIT ANALYSIS TOPIC 2: TRANSIENT

Figure 5
From equation (8),

GROWTH IN R – L CIRCUIT
A series R–L circuit is shown in Figure 6. When the switch is closed and a step voltage V is applied, it is assumed
that L carries no current. From Kirchhoff’s voltage law,

………………………………………………………………………. 11

Figure 6
This is a linear, constant coefficient, first order differential equation. Again, such a differential equation may be
solved by separating the variables. Rearranging equation (11) gives:

……………………………………………………….. 12

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UNIT: ELECTRIC CIRCUIT ANALYSIS TOPIC 2: TRANSIENT

in equation (12) gives:

…………………………………………………………. 13

This is an exponential growth curve as shown in Figure7. The p.d. across the resistor in Figure 6,

Figure 7

from equation 13,

…………………………………………………………………. 14
which again represents an exponential growth curve. The voltage across the inductor in Figure 6

……………………………………………………………………….…. 15
Problem 3. A coil of inductance 50mH and resistance 5Ω is connected to a 110 V, d.c. supply. Determine (a) the
final value of current, (b) the value of current after 4ms, (c) the value of the voltage across the resistor after 6ms,
(d) the value of the voltage across the inductance after 6ms, and (e) the time when the current reaches 15 A.
(a) From equation (13), when t is large, the final, or steady state current i is given by:

(b) From equation (13), current,

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UNIT: ELECTRIC CIRCUIT ANALYSIS TOPIC 2: TRANSIENT

(c) From equation (14), the voltage across the resistor,

(d) From equation (15), the voltage across the inductance,

(e) When current i reaches 15 A,

from equation (13)

DECAY IN R – L CIRCUIT
If after a period of time the step voltage V applied to the circuit of Figure 6 is suddenly removed by opening the
switch, then from equation (11),

……………………………………………………………………………….. 16

Substituting k = ln I into equation (16) gives:

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UNIT: ELECTRIC CIRCUIT ANALYSIS TOPIC 2: TRANSIENT

, ,

…………………………………………….. 17
i.e., the current i decays exponentially to zero.
From Figure 6,

from equation (17)

…………………………………………………………………… 18

from equation (17)

…………………………… 19

Problem 4. In the circuit shown in Figure 8, a current of 5A flows from the supply source. Switch S is then opened.
Determine (a) the time for the current in the 2H inductor to fall to 200mA, and (b) the maximum voltage appearing
across the resistor.

Figure 8
(a) When the supply is cut off, the circuit consists of just the 10Ω resistor and the 2 H coil in parallel. This is
effectively the same circuit as Figure 6 with the supply voltage zero.
From equation (17),

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UNIT: ELECTRIC CIRCUIT ANALYSIS TOPIC 2: TRANSIENT

(b) Since the current through the coil can only return through the 10Ω resistance, the voltage across the resistor
is a maximum at the moment of disconnection, i.e.,

REVISION KNEC QUESTIONS

KNEC JULY 2014
Question 5
(a) Sketch the variation of voltage against time during the discharge of a capacitor. (2 marks)
(b) The windings of an electromagnet has an inductance of 2H and a resistance of 20Ω and is connected to a
100V d.c, supply.
Determine the:
i) Value of the induced e.m.f after 0.2s.
ii) Time for current to rise to 90% of its final value. (6 marks)

KNEC JULY 2015

Question 4c
i) Sketch a graph of voltage against time during the charging of a capacitor.
ii) Figure 3 is used to analyze the transient in a C-R circuit. If the switch is moved to position B at time – 0
seconds, determine;
I. The voltage across the capacitor at t=1.5 seconds;
II. Time taken for the voltage to fall to 80% of its final value if the switch is placed at C. (7
marks)

KNEC JULY 2017

Question 2
i) Define ‘time constant’ as used in transients.
ii) A 10μF capacitor is connected in series with a 10KΩ resistor and the circuit connected to a 40Vd.c supply.
Determine;
I. Initial value of current flowing;
II. Time constant of the circuit;
III. Capacitor voltage two seconds after supply has been switched ON
IV. Time after supply has been switched ON when capacitor voltage is 20V. (10 marks)
KNEC JULY 2016
Question 1b
A vector is given by (3 + j4):
i) Write the equivalent exponential and polar form;

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UNIT: ELECTRIC CIRCUIT ANALYSIS TOPIC 2: TRANSIENT

ii) Sketch the vector diagram for b(i). (4 marks)

Question 1b
An 8Ω resistor, 16Ω inductive reactance and unknown capacitor are connected in series across a 240V, 50Hz
supply. The current drawn by the circuit is 30A. Determine the:
i) value of capacitor;
ii) voltage across the capacitor. (6 marks)
iii) Outline three causes of transient in electric circuits. (3 marks)

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