Transient Circuit Analysis Contd.

Dr. Holbert November 27, 2001

ECE201 Lect-24

Introduction
In a circuit with energy storage elements, voltages and currents are the solutions to linear, constant coefficient differential equations. Real engineers almost never solve the differential equations directly. It is important to have a qualitative understanding of the solutions.
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Important Concepts
The differential equation for the circuit Forced (particular) and natural (complementary) solutions Transient and steady-state responses 1st order circuits: the time constant () 2nd order circuits: natural frequency (0) and the damping ratio ()
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The Differential Equation

Every voltage and current is the solution to a differential equation. In a circuit of order n, these differential equations have order n. The number and configuration of the energy storage elements determines the order of the circuit. n # of energy storage elements
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The Differential Equation

Equations are linear, constant coefficient:
d n x(t ) d n 1 x(t ) an an 1 ... a0 x(t ) f (t ) n n 1 dt dt

The variable x(t) could be voltage or current. The coefficients an through a0 depend on the component values of circuit elements. The function f(t) depends on the circuit elements and on the sources in the circuit.
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Building Intuition
Even though there are an infinite number of differential equations, they all share common characteristics that allow intuition to be developed: Particular and complementary solutions Effects of initial conditions Roots of the characteristic equation
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Differential Equation Solution

The total solution to any differential equation consists of two parts: x(t) = xp(t) + xc(t) Particular (forced) solution is xp(t) Response particular to a given source Complementary (natural) solution is xc(t) Response common to all sources, that is, due to the passive circuit elements
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The Forced Solution

The forced (particular) solution is the solution to the non-homogeneous equation:
d n x(t ) d n 1 x(t ) an an 1 ... a0 x(t ) f (t ) n n 1 dt dt

The particular solution is usually has the form of a sum of f(t) and its derivatives.
If f(t) is constant, then vp(t) is constant
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The Natural Solution

The natural (or complementary) solution is the solution to the homogeneous equation:
d n x(t ) d n 1 x(t ) an an 1 ... a0 x(t ) 0 n n 1 dt dt

Different look for 1st and 2nd order ODEs

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First-Order Natural Solution

The first-order ODE has a form of dxc (t ) 1 xc (t ) 0 dt The natural solution is
Tau () is the time constant
For an RC circuit, = RC For an RL circuit, = L/R
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xc (t ) Ke

t /

Second-Order Natural Solution

The second-order ODE has a form of 2 d x(t ) dx(t ) 2 2 0 0 x(t ) 0 dt 2 dt To find the natural solution, we solve the characteristic equation:

s 2 0 s 0
2 2 0

Which has two roots: s1 and s2.

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Initial Conditions
The particular and complementary solutions have constants that cannot be determined without knowledge of the initial conditions. The initial conditions are the initial value of the solution and the initial value of one or more of its derivatives. Initial conditions are determined by initial capacitor voltages, initial inductor currents, and initial source values.
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Transients and Steady State

The steady-state response of a circuit is the waveform after a long time has passed, and depends on the source(s) in the circuit.
Constant sources give DC steady-state responses
DC SS if response approaches a constant

Sinusoidal sources give AC steady-state responses

AC SS if response approaches a sinusoid

The transient response is the circuit response minus the steady-state response.
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Step-by-Step Approach
1. Assume solution (only dc sources allowed):
i. ii. x(t) = K1 + K2 e-t/ x(t) = K1 + K2 es t + K3 es t
1 2

2. At t=0, draw circuit with C as open circuit and L as short circuit; find IL(0) and/or VC(0) 3. At t=0+, redraw circuit and replace C and/or L with appropriate source of value obtained in step #2, and find x(0)=K1+K2 (+K3) 4. At t=, repeat step #2 to find x()=K1
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Step-by-Step Approach
5.
i. ii.

Find time constant (), or characteristic roots (s)

Looking across the terminals of the C or L element, form Thevenin equivalent circuit; =RThC or =L/RTh Write ODE at t>0; find s from characteristic equation Simply put the answer together. Typically have to use dx(t)/dtt=0 to generate another algebraic equation to solve for K2 & K3 (try repeating the circuit analysis of step #5 at t=0+, which basically means using the values obtained in step #3)
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6.

Finish up
i. ii.

Class Examples
Learning Extension E6.3 Learning Extension E6.4 Learning Extension E6.11

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