P517/617 Lec3, P1

R-L-C AC Circuits
What does AC stand for?
• AC stands for "Alternating Current". Most of the time however, we are interested in the voltage at a point in the
circuit, so we'll concentrate on voltages here rather than currents. We encounter AC circuits whenever a periodic
voltage is applied to a circuit. The most common periodic voltage is in the form of a sine (or cosine) wave:
V(t) = V 0 cos wt or V (t) = V 0 sin w t

Vo amplitude

Volts

-Vo period

In this notation V0 is the amplitude:

V0 = Peak Voltage (VP)
V0 = 1/2 Peak-to-Peak Voltage (VPP)
V0 = ÷2 VRMS = 1.41 VRMS

Note: VPP is easiest to read off scope.

VRMS is usually what multimeters read.

In this notation w is the angular frequency:

w = 2pf, with f = frequency of the waveform.
The frequency (f) and period (T) are related by:
T (sec) = 1/f (sec-1)
Household line voltage is usually 110-120 VRMS (156-170 VP), f = 60 Hz.

It is extremely important to be able to analyze circuits (systems) with sine or cosine inputs since (almost) any
waveform can be constructed from a sum of sines and cosines. This is the "heart" of Fourier analysis (Simpson,
Chapter 3). The response of a circuit to a complicated waveform (e.g. a square wave) can be understood by
analyzing each of the individual sine or cosine components that make up the complicated waveform. Usually only
a few of these components are important in determining the circuit's response to the input waveform.
 P517/617 Lec3, P2
R-C Circuits and AC waveforms
• There are many different techniques for solving AC circuits, all of them are based on Kirchhoff's laws. When we
solve for the voltage and/or current in an AC circuit we are really solving a differential equation. The different
circuit techniques are really just different ways of solving the same differential equation.

• brute force solution to differential equation

• complex numbers (algebra)
• Laplace transforms (integrals)

• We will solve the following RC circuit using the brute force method and complex numbers method.
Let the input (driving) voltage be V(t) = V 0 cos wt and we want to find VR (t) and VC(t).

R
V(t )
C

Brute Force Method: Start with Kirchhoff's loop law:

V(t) = V R (t) + VC (t)
V 0 cos wt = IR + Q / C
= RdQ(t ) / dt + Q(t) / C
We have to solve an inhomogeneous D.E. The usual way to solve such a D.E. is to assume the solution has
the same form as the input:
Q(t) = a sin w t + b cos wt
Plug our trial solution Q(t) back into the differential equation:
V 0 cos wt = aR w cos w t - bR w sin w t + (a / C)sin w t + (b / C)cos w t
= ( aRw + b / C)cos wt + ( a / C - bRw )sin wt
V0 = aR w + b / C
a / C = bR w
RC 2 wV 0
a=
1+ ( RCw )2
CV0
b=
1+ ( RCw )2
We can now write the solution for VC(t):
V C (t) = Q / C
= ( a sin w t + b cos w t) / C
RCw V 0 V0
= 2 sin w t + cos wt
1+ (RCw ) 1 + (RCw )2
 P517/617 Lec3, P3

We would like to rewrite the above solution in such a way that only a cosine term appears. In this form we
can compare it to the input voltage. From the previous page we have:
RCw V 0 V0
V C (t) = 2 sin w t + cos wt
1+ (RCw ) 1 + (RCw )2

V0 È RCw 1 ˘
= Í sin w t + cos w t ˙
1+ (RC w )2 Î 1+ (RCw )2 1 + (RCw )2 ˚
We get the above equation in terms of cosine only using the following dirty trick from basic trig:
cos(q1 - q2 ) = sin q1 sin q 2 + cos q1 cos q 2
We can now define an angle such that:
1 RCw
cos f = , sinf = , tan f = RC w
1 + (RCw )2 1 + (RCw ) 2
Finally (!) we can write the desired expression for VC(t):
V0
V C (t) = cos(w t - f )
1+ (RC w )2
From the above expression we see that VC(t) and V0 (t) are out of phase.

Using the above expression for VC(t), we obtain:

V R (t) = IR
dQ
=R
dt
dV
= RC C
dt
- RCw V o
= sin(w t - f )
1+ (RCw )2
Again, we would like to have cosines instead of sines. We do this using:
- sin q = cos(q + p / 2)
Finally (!!) we have:
RC wV o
V R (t) = cos(w t - f + p2 )
2
1+ (RCw )
• Some things to note:
VC(t), VR (t), and I(t) are all out of phase with the applied voltage.
I(t) and VR (t) are in phase with each other.
VC(t) and VR (t) are out of phase by 900 .
The amplitude of VC(t) and VR (t) depend on w.
 P517/617 Lec3, P4
Example: RC Circuit
R1
1E3Ω

VSIN0 + C2
60 Hz + SIN 1E-5F
V out
-
Vp = 1 V

in

out

Solving circuits with complex numbers:

PROS: don't explicitly solve differential equations (lots of algebra).
can find magnitude and phase of voltage separately.
CONS: have to use complex numbers! No "physics" in complex numbers.

• What's a complex number? (see Simpson, Appendix E, P835)

Start with j ≡ -1 (solution to x 2 + 1 = 0 ).
A complex number can be written in two forms:
X = A + jB , with A and B real numbers
or
X = R e jf , with R = ( A2 + B2 )1/ 2 , and tan f = B / A (remember e jf = cos f + j sin f )
 P517/617 Lec3, P5
Define the complex conjugate of X as:
X* = A - jB or X* = R e - jf
The magnitude of X can be found from:
| X|= ( XX*)1/ 2 = (X * X)1/ 2 = (A2 + B 2 )1/ 2
Suppose we have 2 complex numbers, X and Y with phases a and b respectively,
X X e ja X j(a - b )
Z= = jb = e
Y Ye Y
The magnitude of Z is just |X|/|Y|, while the phase of Z is a - b.
• So why is this useful?
Consider the case of the capacitor and AC voltage:
V(t) = V 0 cos wt

(
= Re al V0 e jw t )
dV
I(t) = C
dt
= -Cw V 0 sin wt

(
= Re al j wCV 0 e jw t )
Ê V e jw t ˆ
= Re al Á 0 ˜
Ë 1 j wC ¯
Ê V ˆ
= Re al Á ˜ with V and X C complex
Ë XC ¯
We now have Ohm's law for capacitors using the capacitive reactance XC.
1
XC =
jw C
We can make a similar case for the inductor (V = LdI / dt ):
1
I(t) = Ú V 0 cos wt dt
L
V sin wt
= 0
Lw
Ê V e jw t ˆ
= Re al Á 0 ˜
Ë j wL ¯
Ê V ˆ
= Re al Á ˜ with V and X L complex
Ë XL ¯
We now have Ohm’s law for inductors using the inductive reactance XL:
X L = j wL
 P517/617 Lec3, P6
• XC and XL act like frequency dependent resistors. However they also have a phase associated with them due to
their complex nature.
XL fi 0 as w fi 0 (short circuit, DC)
XL fi • as w fi • (open circuit)
XC fi 0 as w fi • (short circuit)
XC fi • as w fi 0 (open circuit, DC)

• Back to the RC circuit. Allow voltages, currents, and charge to be complex

V i n = V 0 cos wt
= Re al V 0e jw t
( )
= Re al (V R + V C )
We can write an expression for the charge (Q) taking into account the phase difference (f) between applied
voltage and the voltage across the capacitor (VC).
Q(t) = CV C (t)
= Ae j (wt -f )
where Q and VC are complex, A and C real.

We can find the complex current by differentiating the above:

I(t) = dQ(t) / dt
= jw Ae j(w t- f )
= jw Q(t )
= jw CVC (t)
Vi n = V C + V R
= V C + IR
= V C + jw CV C R
Vi n
VC =
1 + jwRC
1
j wC
= Vi n
1
R+
jw C
XC
= Vi n
R + XC
The above looks like a voltage divider equation!!!!!
 P517/617 Lec3, P7
We can easily find the magnitude of VC
V X
VC = i n C
R + XC
1
V0
= wC
R + (1 wC)2
2

V0
=
1+ ( RCw )2
which is the same as the result on page 3.

Is this solution the same as what we had when we solved by brute force?
Ê Vi n ˆ
V C = Real Á
Ë 1 + j wRC ¯
Ê V 0 e jw t ˆ
= Real Á ˜
Ë 1 + j wRC ¯
Ê V 0e jw t ˆ
= Real Á ˜
Ë 1 + (w RC)2 e jf ¯
where f is given by tan f = w RC .
Ê V e j( wt -f ) ˆ
V C = Real Á 0 ˜
Ë 1 + (w RC)2 ¯
V 0 cos(w t - f )
=
1 + (wRC)2
YES the solutions are identical.

• We can now solve for the voltage across the resistor.

Start with the voltage divider equation in complex form:
V R
VR = i n
R + XC
Vi n R
VR =
R + XC
V 0R
=
R 2 + (1 wC)2
V 0 wRC
=
1 + (w RC) 2
This amplitude is the same as the brute force differential equation case!
 P517/617 Lec3, P8
• Important note:
When we add complex voltages together we must take into account the phase difference between them. Thus,
the sum of the voltages at a given time satisfy:
V 02 =|V R | 2 +|VC | 2 and not V 0 =|V R | +|VC |

R-C Filters
• Filters:
Allow us to select (reject) wanted (unwanted) signals on the basis of their frequency structure.
Allow us to change the phase of the voltage or current in a circuit.

Define the gain (G) or transfer (H) function of a circuit:

G( jw ) = H( jw ) = V out / Vi n (jw is often denoted by s).
G is independent of time, but can depend on w, R, L, C.

For an RC circuit we can define GR and GC:

VR R R
GR ≡ = =
R V in R+X C R + 1/j w C
V(t )
1/j w C
C GC ≡ V C = XC
=
V in R+XC R + 1/j w C

We can categorize the G's as follows:

GR GC
High Frequencies ª 1, no phase shift ª 1/jwCR ª 0, phase shift
high pass filter
Low Frequencies ª jwCR ª 0, phase shift ª 1, no phase shift
low pass filter
 P517/617 Lec3, P9

GR ≡ V R = R = R
R V in R + X CV(t)R + 1/j Vout
wC

V(t) 1/j wC
GC ≡ V C =
C XC =
V in R + XC R + 1/j wC

V(t) Vout
 P517/617 Lec3, P10

Phase vs frequency for capacitor

V(t)

• Decibels and Bode Plots:

Decibel (dB) describes voltage or power gain:
dB = 20 log(V out / Vi n )
= 10 log(Pout / Pi n)
Bode Plot is a log-log plot with dB on the Y axis and log(w) or log(f) on the X axis.

• 3 dB point or 3 dB frequency:
(also called break frequency, corner frequency, 1/2 power point)
At the 3 dB point:
V out 1
= since 3 = 20 log(V out / Vi n )
Vi n 2
Pout 1
= since 3 = 10log(Pout / Pi n )
Pi n 2
wRC = 1 for high or low pass filter