Lecture 01: Solving dierential equations in R L and R C

circuits
Vijay Singh

January 19, 2003

Abstract
In this lecture, we will nd the steady state solution for the current in an R L circuit
that has a sinusoidal forcing function. We motivate the concepts of complex impedences and
phasors.
Phasor circuits utilize the fact that:
exponential forcing function is easier to handle mathematically;
exponential response allows us to translate dierential equations into algebraic equa-
tions with complex numbers.
The text referred to in these notes is .
1 R L Circuit Example (p.313)
Suppose that we want to nd the forced current response of a R L ckt. to a sinusoidal
excitation.
+
-
v = V
m
cos(wt)
L
R
i
Figure 1: R L circuit.
1.1 One way to do this
1. Write the dierential equation.
L
di
dt
+ Ri = V
m
cos t (1)

Professor and Chairman, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lex-
ington, KY, USA. E-mail: vsingh@engr.uky.edu. Typeset in L
A
T
E
X
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2. Assume a trial solution
i
f
= Acos t + B sin t (2)
3. Find constants A and B by plugging Equation (2) into Equation (1).
L(Asin t + B cos t) + R(Acos t + B sin t) = V
m
cos tLB + RA = V
m
Equate the coecients of the cosine terms on both sides of the equation. Similarly, equate
the coecients of the sine terms. We get:
LB + RA = V
m
LA + RB = 0
These equations give:
A =
V
m
R
R
2
+
2
L
2
; B =
V
m
L
R
2
+
2
L
2
Thus,
i
f
= V
m
_
R
R
2
+
2
L
2
cos t +
L
R
2
+
2
L
2
sin t
_
(3)
We know that
Acos t + B sin t =
_
A
2
+ B
2
cos(t ), where, = arctan
B
A
Then,
i
f
=
V
m

R
2
+
2
L
2
cos(t ) (4)
where,
= arctan
L
R
(5)
The natural response would be
i
n
= A
1
e
t/
(6)
where,
=
L
R
Note that,
i
n
0; t
Steady state response is given by i
f
in Equation (3), with same frequency as the ex-
citation voltage. Frequency does not change in linear circuits. But, phase changes.
Example: Let,
= 10
3
radians/sec
L = 1 H
R = 1000
V
m
= 10 V
2
0
pi/2
pi 3pi/2
2pi
5pi/2
V
m
I
m
wt
Figure 2: v(t) and i(t).
Excitation:
v = V
m
cos t = Re
_
V
m
e
jt

Response (steady state):

i = I
m
cos(t ) = Re
_
I
m
e
jt
e
j
_
where,
I
m
=
V
m

R
2
+
2
L
2
Note that frequency is retained.
Frequency is the same in the response as in the stimulus.
So, why carry it throughout the circuit analysis? We just carry it in the back of our head.
v(t) = V
o
cos(t + ) Time-domain voltage
= Re
_
V
o
e
jt
e
j
_
V = V
0

This is the phasor representation or frequency-domain representation of v(t). It is a

function of frequency .
i(t) = I
o
cos(t ) may be the repsonse.
1.2 Alternate Method
The procedure of the previous section is long, especially if RL C ckt. was involved. There
is a shorter, more elegant way.
1. We replace the source (forcing function) by an exponential
V
m
cos t V
m
e
jt
Note that
Re
_
V
m
e
jt
_
= V
m
cos t
3

V
0 V
I
I
0
Figure 3: Phasor diagram showing V = V
o
and I = I
o
.
2. Find the forced current response (I
f
) of the circuit in frequency domain (phasor).
3. Convert I
f
back to i

f
in time domain.
4. Take the real part of i

f
which is i
f
.
Going back to the R L circuit of Fig 1,
1. Equation (1) becomes
L
di
dt
+ Ri = V
m
e
jt
= V
where V = V
m

0 is the phasor representation.

Then,
L
di
dt
+ Ri = V e
jt
(7)
Here V is the phasor, and the e
jt
term is silent.
2. Try a solution i
1
= Ie
jt
, where I is a phasor.
Note that i = Re[i
1
].
Then, substituting in Equation (7), we get:
jLI e
jt
+ RI e
jt
= V e
jt
Thus,
I =
V
R + jL
=
V
m

0
R + jL
(8)
So,
I =
V
m

R
2
+
2
L
2

where,
tan =
L
R
4
3. Thus, going back to time domain:
i
1
=
V
m

R
2
+
2
L
2
e
jt
e
j
4. Thus,
i
f
= Re[i
1
] =
V
m
R
2
+
2
L
2
cos(t )
This procedure does not appear to have saved time. But, what if we could jump from the
circuit to Equation (8)?
2 Phasor circuits
Time Domain
V
I
Frequency Domain
i(t)
v(t)
R R
v = Ri
v(t) = V
m
cos(wt+a)
i(t) = I
m
cos(wt+a)
V = RI
i(t)
v(t) =
L di/dt
L
+
-
I
V
jwL
+
-
i(t) = C dv/dt
v(t)
C
+
-
I = jwCV
V
1/(jwC)
+
-
V = jwLI
Figure 4: Phasor circuits.
Here are some notes with reference to Figure 4.
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For the inductor, let i = I
m
cos t + . Then,
v = L
di
dt
V = L
d
dt
_
I
m
e
jt+
_
= jLI
But, I = I
m

. Therefore,
V = IL

( + 90

)
So,
v(t) = LI
m
cos(t + + 90

)
For the capacitor, let v = V
m
cos(t + ) in time domain. We know that i = C
dv
dt
.
In frequency domain, we have:
I = C
d
dt
_
V
m
e
jt+
_
= jCV
Thus, we have:
V = V
m

I = CV
m

( + 90

)
Then,
i(t) = CV
m
cos(t + + 90

)
2.1 Impedance
Impedance Z is as follows:
Z =
V
I
If
V = V
m

I = I
m

Then,
Z =
V
m
I
m

( )
= R + jX
Here, R is resistance and X is reactance.
We have:
Z
R
= R
Z
L
= jL = L

90

Z
C
=
1
jC
= fracjC =
1
C

90

Y =
1
Z
is called admittance.
Y = G + jB, where G is called conductance and B is called susceptance.
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