Copyiight Rene Baiiientos Page 1

RL CIRCUITAND RC CIRCUITS
The RL Circuit
An RL circuit is one which contains a resistor and an inductor. Resistors are the load placed in a circuit and some
examples are a light-bulb or a hair dryer. An inductor is essentially a coil (solenoid) whose function is to impede
changes in current.
The science behind these electrical components is covered in a second semester in introductory physics. For our
purposes, we just need to know that charge moves because it is acted upon by an electric field created by the power
source (e.g. a battery or electric outlet). As the circuit is transverse in the direction of the current, work is done by
the field at each component and manifests itself as a voltage drop. In the case of inductors, a changing current
gives rise to self-inductance. The mathematics of this phenomenon is described by Faradays Law
1

_E

. Jl

= -
J
B
Jt
= -I
Ji
Jr

where
B
is the magnetic flux induced by the changing current in the coil. Consider then the circuit shown below
composed of a power source (say a battery delivering voltage V), a resistor of resistance R (ohms) and an inductor
with inductance L (henrys):








When the switch is closed, Faradays Law tell us that
Ri - I = -I
Ji
Jt

Rewriting this differential equation in standards form,
I
Ji
Jt
+Ri = I
and we may assume that i(u) = u.
This equation can be solved by separation of variables (if I is constant), by using an integrating factor, or even
using the Laplace transform. Using an integrating factor, for example, gives the following result:
Ji
Jt
+
R
I
i =
I
I
; p = c
RtL

Thus,
J
Jt
_c
Rt
L
i(t)] =
I
I
c
RtL

Integrating from u to t:
c
Rt
L
i(t) - c
R0
L
i(u) =
I
I
_ c
RuL
Ju
t
0

Since i(u) = u,
c
Rt
L
i(t) =
I
I

I
R
c
RuL
_
u=0
u=t

c
Rt
L
i(t) =
I
R
(c
RtL
- 1)

1
Michael Faraday (1791-1867) was an English physicist and chemist who contributed substantially to the fields of
electromagnetic and electrochemistry. He established the basis for electromagnetic field concept, which was central to the work
of James Clerk Maxwell.
V
R
L
i

+
Copyiight Rene Baiiientos Page 2

Solving for i(t)
|(t) =
F
R
(1 - e
-RtL
)
As expected, when the current builds up, self-induction ceases to play a role and the solenoid becomes just another
conducting portion in the circuit. Then, the current is given by Ohms Law
2
:
i(t) =
I
R
; t -
Example 1 Find the current at t = IR for the circuit shown below. Assume i(u) = u.






Solution
Substituting the values in the solution for i(t):
i(t) =
12
4
(1 -c
- 20t
)
= S(1 -c
- 20t
)
When t = IR, i(t) =
v
R
(1 -c
-1
). Thus,
i(t) = S_1 -
1
c
] = S u.6S
That is, at t = IR i(t) is 63% of its steady state value.
The RC Circuit
An RC circuit is composed of a power supply, a load (resistor) and a capacitor. A capacitor consists of two parallel
plates and is represented by the symbol


and we use the letter C (for capacitance) to identify them in circuits. Its unit is the farad (but more often the
microfarad).
When a current flows in the circuit, the capacitor stores charge in its plates. If the circuit is interrupted, the capacitor
discharges thus maintaining a current for a some time (until it is fully discharged). Let q(t) be the charge in the
capacitor at time t. Then the magnitude of voltage drop across a capacitor is given by
I
C
=
1
C
q(t)
where q(t) is the charge in the capacitor at time t.









2
Georg Simon Ohm (1789 1854) was a German physicist who worked on the theory of electricity.
12 volts
4
u.2 h
i

+
R
C
+
V
Copyiight Rene Baiiientos Page S

The differential equation governs the current and charge in a circuit can be obtained from Kirchhoffs Law
3
:
Ri +
1
C
q - I = u
This equation involves both the current i(t) and the charge in the capacitor q(t). We can correct this by noting that
current is flow of charge per unit time:
| =
dq
dt

Thus,
R
Jq
Jt
+
1
C
q - I = u
This may be written as
R
dq
dt
+
1
C
q = F; q() = q

Let us first consider a simple example in which a circuit, originally opened, has an initial charge in its capacitor and
contains no source of emf (no battery). When it is closed, the capacitor discharges and a current will appear in the
circuit. Let us find an expression for that current.
The differential equation for this case is a linear, homogeneous equation with constant coefficients:
R
Jq
Jt
+
1
C
q = u; q(u) = q
0

The characteristic equation is
Rm +
1
C
= u
whose roots are
m = -1RC
Thus, q(t) = c
1
c
-tRC
is the general solution. Applying the initial condition q(u) = q
0
,
q(t) = q

e
-tRC

Therefore, the current decays exponentially and has a value of (1c)q
0
at t = RC. Notice that q - u as t - .
where did the charge that was in the capacitor go? Research this question.
Example 2 A circuit is hooked to a 30 volt battery and has a 112u resistor, and a 12 pf capacitor. Assume
q(u) = 4uu p coul.
Solution
The equation governing this system is
1
12u
Jq
Jt
+
1
12 1u
-6
q = Su; q(u) = 4uu 1u
-6
coul
or
Jq
Jt
+ 1u
7
q = S6u; q(u) = 4uu 1u
-6
coul
An integrating factor fir the last equation is c
10

t
. Thus,
J
Jt
(c
1u
7
t
q(t)) = S6uc
1u
7
t
; q(u) = 4uu 1u
-6
coul
Integrating,
c
10

t
q(t) -c
10

0
q(u) = S6u _ c
10

u
t
0
Ju

3
Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824 1887) was a German physicist. His Laws of Electric Circuits state that the algebraic sum of all
voltage drops (potential differences) along a closed loop in a circuit is u and that the algebraic sum of currents at a node is zero.
Copyiight Rene Baiiientos Page 4

c
10

t
q(t) -4uu 1u
-6
= S6u _ c
10

u
t
0
Ju
q(t) = 4uu 1u
-6
+S6u 1u
-7
(1 - c
-10

t
)
= u.uuu4 +u.uuuuS6(1 -c
-10

t
)
Since i(t) = JqJt,
i(t) = u.uuuuS6(1u
7
c
-10

t
)
= S6uc
-10

t

The current decrease to u very quickly. Notice that the terminal charge in capacitor is u.uuu4 +u.uuuuS6
or 4S6 p coul so the current added to the charge already stored in the capacitor.



Exercise Solve examples 1 and 2 using the Laplace transform
5. 10
-8
1. 10
-7
1.5 10
-7
2. 10
-7
2.5 10
-7
3. 10
-7
0.000405
0.000410
0.000415
0.000420
0.000425
0.000430
0.000435
5. 10
-8
1. 10
-7
1.5 10
-7
2. 10
-7
2.5 10
-7
3. 10
-7
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
The charge in the capacitor increases until
it reaches a terminal value of 4S6 p coul
The current in the circuit decrease until it
reaches a terminal value of u amps.