Electrical & Electronics Engineering Department

Electrical Circuits 2 (Laboratory)

CIRCUIT2LAB – L093

Experiment No. 2

IMPEDANCE OF RL CIRCUITS: SERIES RL

CIRCUITS
Engr. Jomel R. Cristobal, R.E.E
Principal Engineer C
Grid Code Compliance and TDP Monitoring Department
National Transmission Corporation
jomelcristobal@ymail.com

Name Signature
1. Bandigan, Harvey Dominic C.
2. Bueta, Denzel Mark R.
3. Calara, Victor Emmanuel B.
4. Lubag, Patrick Angelo B.
5. Mansibag,George Jr D.
6. Pagarigan Andre Joseph
7. Pineda, Pauline H.
8. Trinidad, Paulo Isaac

Introduction
An RLC circuit is an electrical circuit consisting of a resistor (R), an inductor (L), and a
capacitor (C), connected in series or in parallel. The name of the circuit is derived from
the letters that are used to denote the constituent components of this circuit, where the
sequence of the components may vary from RLC. The circuit forms a harmonic oscillator
for current and resonates in a similar way as an LC circuit. Introducing the resistor
increases the decay of these oscillations, which is also known as damping. The resistor
also reduces the peak resonant frequency. Some resistance is unavoidable in real
circuits even if a resistor is not specifically included as a component. An ideal, pure LC
circuit exists only in the domain of superconductivity. The RLC Series Circuit is defined
as when a pure resistance of R ohms, a pure inductance of L Henry and a pure
capacitance of C farads are connected in series combination with each other. As all the
three elements are connected in series so, the current flowing in each element of the
circuit will be same as the total current I is flowing in the circuit.

RL circuits contain multiple resistors and inductors that are in series. The total
inductive reactance of a circuit is determined in much the same way as total
circuit resistance. When inductors are in series, the total inductive reactance (X LT)
is the sum of the individual reactance’s.
XLT = XL1 + XL2 + XL3 + …
The total inductive reactance increases as the number of inductors in series
increases. The result is lower circuit and higher circuit impedance. As in circuits with
resistors only, the current flowing through each component in a series RL circuit is the
same

Introduction
The analysis of a parallel RLC circuits can be a little more mathematically difficult than
for series RLC circuits. In the above parallel RLC circuit, we can see that the supply
voltage, VS is common to all three components whilst the supply current IS consisting
of three parts. The current flowing through the resistor, IR, the current flowing through
the inductor, IL and the current through the capacitor, IC. But the current flowing
through each branch and therefore each component will be different to each other and
to the supply current, IS. The total current drawn from the supply will not be the
mathematical sum of the three individual branch currents but their vector sum. Like the
series RLC circuit, we can solve this circuit using the phasor or vector method but this
time the vector diagram will have the voltage as its reference with the three current
vectors plotted with respect to the voltage. The phasor diagram for a parallel RLC
circuit is produced by combining the three individual phasors for each component and
adding the currents vectorially. Since the voltage across the circuit is common to all
three circuit elements we can use this as the reference vector with the three current
vectors drawn relative to this at their corresponding angles. The resulting vector IS is
obtained by adding together two of the vectors, IL and IC and then adding this sum to
the remaining vector IR. The resulting angle obtained between V and IS will be the
circuits phase angle as shown below.

III. Preliminary Data Sheet

ACTIVITY 2A
 IMPEDANCE OF RL CIRCUITS: SERIES RL CIRCUITS
Objectives of the Activity
The objectives of this activity are to:
 determine the characteristics of series RL circuits using calculated and
measured values.
 verify the results with the oscilloscope.

Materials/Equipment
 1 – F. A. C. E. T. Base unit
 1 – AC 1 FUNDAMENTALS Circuit Board
 Analog Oscilloscope, dual trace
 1- Generator, sine wave
 1- Multimeter

2A.7 Procedure/s
1. Turn off the power sources. Insert the AC 1 FUNDAMENTALS circuit board into the
base unit. Install the GENRATOR BUFFER if required. Turn on the power sources.
2. On the INDUCTANCE/ INDUCTIVE REACTANCE circuit block, connect the circuit
shown in Figure 2.1-3. Adjust the VGEN for a 10Vpk-pk, 20 kHz sine wave. What type
of circuit is shown in Figure 2.1-3? ___________________________.
3. Measure the voltage drops across R1 (VR1) and L3 (VL3). Record your results in
Table 2.1-1.
NOTE: Use the ADD-INVERT method to measure the voltage drop across Rr

VR1 VL3 VGEN VR1 + VL √(V ¿¿ R 1¿¿ 2+VR 1+V L

6.0 V pk-pk 8.0 V pk-pk 10V pk-pk 14V pk-pk 10V pk=pk

Table 2.1-1
 4. Add VR1 and VL3’ and record your results in Table 2.1-1. Does the sum of the
voltage drops equal the amplitude of the applied voltage (VGEN = VR1 and VL3)?
The sum of the voltage drops is greater than the amplitude of the applied
voltage, though It would be equal with Pythagoreans theorem.
5. Determine the square root of the sum of the squares of VR1 and VL3. Record your
result in table 2.1-3. Does this result equal the applied voltage of VR1 and VL3 [VGEN =
Ö(VR12 + VL32)]? YES, the square root of the sum of the squares of VR1 and
VL3 is equal to the applied voltage.
NOTE: Your result will not be exact. It will differ slightly due to the resistance of L3 and
typical measurement errors. _______________________________________________.

6. Measure circuit current by using current-sensing resistor R2. Record your result in
the Table 2.1-2. (Be sure to remove the two post connectors shorting R2 only when
taking-the current measurement. Replace the two-post connector after measurement.)

SERIES RL CIRCUIT WITH SERIES RL CIRCUIT WITH

SINGLE INDUCTOR (L3) 2 INDUCTORS (L1 AND L2)
I
Z

7. Determine the value of Z from VGEN and IT[Z=VGEN / IT (measured)]. Record your
result in Table 2.1-2.
8. Connect the circuit shown in Figure 2.1-4 to essentially add an introductor in series.
Adjust VGEN if necessary, for a 10 Vpk-pk’ 20 kHz sine wave.
9. Calculate and XLT’ RT’ and Z(XLT’=XL1+XL2’ RT = R1’ Z = √(RT2 + XLT2).

NOTE: Because there are no other resistors in the circuit and because we are ignoring
coil resistance, RT=Rr
XLT=________ RT=________Ω, Z=________Ω
10. Calculate and record circuit current (I = VGEN / Z). I = ______A
11. Measure IT, and record your result in Table 2.1-2. Did the added series inductor
increase or decrease the circuit current?
IT = ________ A , ________
12. Determine the measured value of Z [Z (measured) = VGEN/ I (measured)]. Record
your result in Table 2.1-2. Did the added series inductor increase or decrease circiut
impedance?
Z=________ Ω , ________
13. Turn off the power sources and remove all circuit board connections.
REVIEW QUESTIONS:

Encircle the letter of the best answer.

1. An RL circuit containing three series inductors with reactances of 500Ω, 1000Ω, and
21,000Ω has a total inductive reactance of

a. 288Ω.

b. 3600Ω.

c. 3400Ω.

d. 500Ω.

2. As inductors are in series,

a. circuit current increases.

b. circuit impedance decreases.

c. circuit current decreases.

d. total inductive reactance decreases.

3. The total inductive reactance of inductors in series is..

a. the sum of individual reactances.

b. determines from the reciprocal formula.

c. the sum of the individual inductances.

d. the reciprocal of the individual inductances.

4. What is the total inductive reactance of the circuit in Figure 2.1-5?

a. 2.2Ω. c. 327Ω.

b. 3.6Ω. d. 10.2Ω.

5. If another inductor were added in series to the circuit in Figure 2.1-5, the..
a. circuit current would increase.

b. circuit impedance would increase.

c. total inductance would decrease.

d. circuit impedance would decrease.

 ACTIVITY 2B
IMPEDANCE OF RL CIRCUITS: PARALLEL RL CURCUITS
Objectives of the Activity
The objectives of this activity are to:
 determine the characteristics of parallel RL circuits by using calculated
and measured values.
 verify the result with an oscilloscope

1B.5 Materials/ Equipment

 1 – F. A. C. E. T. Base unit
 1 – AC 1 FUNDAMENTALS Circuit Board
 2 – Power supply, 15 Vdc
 1 – Oscilloscope, dual trace
 1 – Multimeter
 1 – AC Waveform Generator

2B.6 Procedure/s
1. Turn off the power sources. Insert the AC1 FUNDAMENTALS circuit board into
the base unit. Install the GENERATOR BUFFER if required. Turn on the power
sources.

1. On the INDUCTANCE/ INDUCTIVE REACTANCE circuit bock, connect the

circuit shown Figure 2.2-3(a). Adjust VGEN so that Vac’ the voltage across R3 and
L4’ equals as 3 Vpk-pk 20 kHz sine wave. Consider Vac as the input voltage to the
circuit so that the series resistor R1 can be ignored. With R1 ignored, the
circuit shown in Figure 2.2-3(b) results.
 Figure 2.2-3

3. Calculate XLT an RT (XLT = 2πfL4, RT = R3). Record your result in Table 2.2-1.
What type of circuit is shown in Figure 2.2-3(b)?
__________________________.

XLT RT IL4 IR3 IT IT

(CALCULATED) (MEASURED)

590.62 470 Ω 2.54 mA 3.19 mA 4.08 mA 3.7 mA

Ω
Table 2.2-1

4. Calculate the current flowing through L 4 (IL4 = Vac / XLT) and R3 (IR3 = Vac / RT).
Record your results in Table 2.2-1.

5. 5. Using the individual branch current (I L4 and IR3), calculate the total circuit [IT
2 2
(calculated) =√ I R 4 + I L 3 ]. Record your result in Table 2.2-1.

6. Measure IT by using current sensing resistor R 2 [IT (measured) = VR2/R2].

Record your result in Table 2.2-1. Do the calculated and measured values of I T
agree?
IT = 3.7mA

7. Copy the values for XLT and IT (measured) from Table 2.2-1 to Table 2.2-
2(under the column for parallel circuit with a single inductor).
 PARALLEL RL CIRCUIT WITH PARALLEL RL CIRCUIT WITH A
A SINGLE INDUCTOR TWO INDUCTORS
XLT 590.62 Ω 295.31 Ω
IT 3.7 mS 1.4 mA
Z 405.41 Ω 1071.48 Ω

Table 2.2-2

8. Determine the circuit impedance (Z = Vac/I T). Record your result in Table 2.2-
2.

9. Use a two-post connector to add inductor L to the circuit as shown in Figure

2.2-4. Readjust Vac to 3 Vpk-pk. Calculate the new value of XLT [XLT = XL3 XL4) / (XL3
+ XL4)]. Record your result in Table 2.2-2. Did the added parallel inductor cause
the total inductive reactance to increase or decrease? Z = 405.41 Ω

Figure 2.2-4

10. Measure the new IT, and record your result in Table 2.2-2 (IT = VR2/R2). Did IT
increase with the added parallel inductor? XLT = 295.31 Ω

11. Use Vac and the measue value of I T to determine the circuit impedance (X =
Vac/ IT). Record your result in Table 2.2-2. Did the added parallel inductor cause
the circuit impedance to increase or decrease? 1.4 mA. The added parallel
inductor cause the circuit to increase the impedance
V. Interpretation of Results
For this experiment, RLC circuit was used; a resistor with an inductor and capacitor.
In gathering the data for the table 2.1-1 the voltage needs to be at constant 10V pk-pk
Then the current was measured in each element, analyzing the results, with a constant
voltage, as the frequency increases, the current decreases. Also, the voltage across the
resistor and capacitor decreases.
As for table 2.1-2, the impedance of each element was to be compared using the data
in table 2.1-1. Three methods were used; Ohm’s law, equation impedance, and
Pythagorean theorem. And analyzing the data computed in table 2.1-2 the percentage
difference between Ohms law and Impedance equation depends on different factors
one of which is rounding off values, that might contribute to the final values or cause
errors. Also, in keeping the voltage 10V, some values that are used are just close to 10
V.

VI. Conclusion
We therefore conclude, that after performing the experiment, we can say that the
objectives were met. We were able to investigate and analyze the impedance of a
series and parallel RLC circuit and compare it with the impedance of its constituent
components. Also, when the voltage is constant, increasing the frequency increases the
impedance of an RLC circuit

As for the impedance of each element, as the frequency increases, the impedance of a
resistor remains constant, inductor impedance increases, and capacitor impedance
decreases. Lastly, the characteristics of parallel inductors in relation to the circuit's
impedance were also observed. Two branches of tests were executed; the first one only
had a resistor paralleled with an inductor while the other is a circuit with a resistor
paralleled with greater quantity of inductors. It can be concluded that an increase in the
number of parallel inductors is causing a lower equivalent value of parallel inductors
and is leading to the decreasing value of circuit's impedance.
VII. Latest Innovation on the topic
Energy balance in real electronic RLC circuits by Remote Experimentation
The elucidation of the charge transport by natural oscillations in real circuits by means
of remote experiment with RLC elements in the time domain “Transient phenomena in
RLC circuits”. Into the circuit are artificially inserted dissipative resistive elements
producing damping in a broad range enabling both energy balance evaluation, and the
determination of all individual circuit parameters. The experiment “Transient
phenomena in RLC circuits” is based on the time response to the step voltage, resulting
in the RLC circuit free oscillations with variable damping.
The schematically arrangement simple is resonant RLC circuits. The physical
background of the parallel RLC circuit may be started from the energy conservation law,
where the original energy from a power source, stored in the capacitor, is stored
alternatively in the capacitor electric field and inductor magnetic field and the rest is
transformed into the heat.
Overall, the concept of energy synchronizes with how the law of energy
conservation works in real passive RLC circuits, variable dissipative elements including.
The measurements of the responses in the time domain enable an easy measurement
of the damping and its evaluation in a broad range gives information on the elements of
the RLC circuit.

VIII. Recommendations

 Before you proceed to your experiment make sure that the equipment are
properly calibrated and in good condition.
 Members should familiarize the equipment’s for efficiency.