38 8. RLC circuits 8.1. Series RLC Circuits. Electric circuits provide an important ex-ample of linear, time-invariant differential equations, alongside mechan-ical systems. We will consider only the simple series circuit pictured below. Resistor Voltage Source Capacitor Coil Figure 5. Series RLC Circuit The Mathlet Series RLC Circuit exhibits the behavior of this sys-tem, when the voltage source provides a sinusoidal signal. Current flows through the circuit; in this simple loop circuit the cur-rent through any two points is the same at any given moment. Current is denoted by the letter I, or I(t) since it is generally a function of time. The current is created by a force, the “electromotive force,” which is determined by voltage differences. The voltage drop across a com-ponent of the system except for the power source will be denoted by V with a subscript. Each is a function of time. If we orient the circuit consistently, say clockwise, then we let VL(t) denote the voltage drop across the coil VR(t) denote the voltage drop across the resistor VC (t) denote the voltage drop across the capacitor V (t) denote the voltage increase across the power source39 “Kirchoff’s Voltage Law” then states that (1) V = VL + VR + VC The circuit components are characterized by the relationship be-tween the current flowing through them and the voltage drop across them: Coil : VL = LI˙ (2) Resistor : VR = RI Capacitor : V˙C = (1/C)I The constants here are the “inductance” L of the coil, the “resistance” R of the resistor, and the inverse of the “capacitance” C of the capac-itor. A very large capacitor, with C large, is almost like no capacitor at all; electrons build up on one plate, and push out electrons on the other, to form an uninterrupted circuit. We’ll say a word about the actual units below. To get the expressions (2) into comparable form, differentiate the first two. Differentiating (1) gives V˙L + V˙R + V˙C = V˙, and substituting the values for V˙L, V˙R, and V˙C gives us (3) LI ¨+ RI˙ + (1/C)I = V˙This equation describes how I is determined from the impressed voltage V . It is a second order linear time invariant ODE. Comparing it with the familiar equation (4) mx¨ + bx˙ + kx = F governing the displacement in a spring-mass-dashpot system reveals an analogy between the two types of system: Mechanical Electrical Mass Damper Spring Driving force Displacement Coil Resistor Capacitor Time derivative of impressed voltage Current40 8.2. A word about units. There is a standard system of units called the International System of Units, SI, formerly known as the mks (meter-kilogram-second) system. In terms of those units, (3) is cor-rect when: inductance L is measured in henries, H resistance R is measured in ohms, � capacitance C is measured in farads, F voltgage V is measured in volts, also denoted V current I is measured in amperes, A Balancing units in the equation shows that henry ampere ohm ampere ampere volt · = · = = sec2 sec farad sec Thus one henry is the same as one volt-second per ampere. The analogue for mechanical units is this: mass m is measured in kilograms, kg damping constant b is measured in kg/sec spring constant k is measured in kg/sec2 applied force F is measured in newtons, N displacement x is measured in meters, m Here kg m newton = · 2secso another way to describe the units in which the spring constant is measured in is as newtons per meter—the amount of force it produces when stretched by one meter.MIT OpenCourseWare http://ocw.mit.edu 18.03 Differential Equations�� Spring 2010 For information about citing these materials or our Terms of Use, visit:
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