12/27/23, 12:52 PM Series RLC Circuit: Analysis and Example Problems
Series RLC Circuit: Analysis and Example Problems
Electronics & Electrical Electron Digital Electronics
Consider the circuit consisting of R, L and C connected in series across a supply voltage of V
(RMS) volts. The resulting current I (RMS) is flowing in the circuit. Since the R, L and C are
connected in series, thus current is same through all the three elements. For the convenience
of the analysis, the current can be taken as reference phasor. Therefore,
Voltage acorss R, VR = IR
Voltage acorss L, VL = IXL
Voltage acorss C, VC = IXc
Where,
XL = jωL = Inductive Reactince,
Xc = 1/jωC = Capacitive reactance.
VR is in phase with I.
VL is leading the current I by 90°.
VC is lagging the I by 90°.
The total voltage is the phasor sum of VR, VL and VC, i.e.,
V = VR + VL + VC
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12/27/23, 12:52 PM Series RLC Circuit: Analysis and Example Problems
2 2
Magnitude of voltage, |V| = √V + (VL − VC )
R
2 2 2 2
⇒ |V| = √(IR) + (IXL − IXC ) = I√(R) + (XL − XC )
VL − VC XL − XC
−1 −1
Phase angle of voltage, Φ = tan ( ) = tan ( )
VR R
Therefore,
|V|∠Φ
Circuit current, I =
2 2
√(R) + (XL − XC )
Where, (√(R)
2
+ (XL − XC ) )
2
is the opposition offered to the current flow and is known as
Impedance of the circuit. It is denoted by Z, thus,
1
Z = R + XL + XC = R + j(ωL − )
ωC
2 2
Magnitude of impedance, |Z| = √(R) + (XL − XC )
XL − XC
−1
Impedance angle, θ = tan ( )
R
Circuit Power Factor
The power of an AC circuit is defined as the ration of active power to the total power. i.e.
Active power
Power Factor, CosΦ =
Total Power
2
I R R R
⇒ CosΦ = = =
2
I Z Z √(R)
2
+ (XL − XC )
2
Power Consumed
The power is consumed in the circuit only by the resistor, the inductor and capacitor does
consume any power. Therefore,
R
2
P = VICosΦ = (IZ) × I × = I R
Z
Three cases of series RLC circuit
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12/27/23, 12:52 PM Series RLC Circuit: Analysis and Example Problems
Case 1 – When XL > XC, i.e. (XL - XC) is positive, thus, the phase angle φ is positive, so the
circuit behaves as an inductive circuit and has lagging power factor.
Case 2 – When XL < XC, i.e. (XL - XC) is negative, thus, the phase angle φ is negative, so
the circuit behaves as an inductive circuit and has lagging power factor.
Case 3 – When XL = XC, i.e. (XL - XC) is zero, thus, the phase angle φ is zero, so the circuit
acts as a purely resistive circuit and has unity power factor.
Now, if the applied voltage is given by,
u = Vm sin(ωt)
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12/27/23, 12:52 PM Series RLC Circuit: Analysis and Example Problems
Then, the equation of the circuit current will be,
i = Im sin(ωt ± Φ)
The value of φ will be positive or negative depending upon which reactance (XL or XC)
predominates.
Series Resonance
The resonance occurs in a series RLC circuit, when the reactive component of the impedance
becomes zero, i.e.
(XL − XC ) = 0
1
⇒ (ωL − ) = 0
ωC
1
⇒ ωL =
ωC
Therefore, the resonant frequency is
1
ω0 =
√LC
Effects of series resonance
XL = XC,thus ω0 = 1/√LC
ZR = R = Minimum
Circuit current at resonance, Ir = V/R =Maximum.
Circuit power factor is unity. Hence, circuit is purely resistive.
The voltage across inductor and capacitor being equal, i.e. VL= VC.
Resonance Curve
The curve between current and frequency is known as resonance curve.
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12/27/23, 12:52 PM Series RLC Circuit: Analysis and Example Problems
Since,
R R 1
2
Lower Cut of f f requency, ω1 = − + √( ) +
2L 2L LC
R R 1
2
Upper Cut of f f requency, ω2 = + √( ) +
2L 2L LC
Therefore, the bandwidth of the circuit is
R
BW = ω2 − ω1 =
L
Q – Factor of Series Resonant Circuit
The Q-factor (Quality Factor) of the circuit is defined as the ratio of reactive power to the
active power, i.e.
ReactivePower
Q − f actor =
ActivePower
2 2
I XL I Xc
⇒ Q − f actor = =
2 2
I R I R
ωL 1
⇒ Q − f actor = =
R ωCR
At resonance,
1
ω0 =
√LC
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12/27/23, 12:52 PM Series RLC Circuit: Analysis and Example Problems
ω0 L L 1 L
⇒ Q0 − f actor = = = √
R R C
R√LC
Numerical Example
A 240 V, 50 Hz AC supply is applied a coil of 0.08 H inductance and 4 Ω resistance connected
in series with a capacitor of 8 μF. Calculate the following −
Impedance,
Circuit current,
Phase angle between voltage and current,
Power factor,
Power consumed,
Q-factor of the circuit at resonant frequency.
Solution
Here,
XL = ωL = 2πfL = 2π × 50 × 0.08 = 25.12Ω
1 1 1
XC = = = = 398.09 Ω
−6
ωC 2πfL 2π × 50 × 8 × 10
Thus,
Impedance of the circuit
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12/27/23, 12:52 PM Series RLC Circuit: Analysis and Example Problems
2 2 2 2
Z = √(R) + (XL − XC ) = √(4) + (25.12 − 398.09) = 372.99 Ω
Circuit current
V 240
I = = = 0.643 A
Z 372.99
Phase angle between voltage and current
XL − XC 25.12 − 398.09
−1 −1
Φ = tan ( ) = tan ( ) = −89.38°
R 4
The negative sing of phase angle shows that current is leading the voltage.
Power Factor
R 4
cosϕ = = = 0.01072(leading)
Z 372.99
Power consumed
P = VIcosΦ = 240 × 0.643 × 0.01072 = 1.654 W
Q-factor of circuit at series resonance
1 L 1 0.08
Q − factor = √ = √ = 25
0 −6
R C R 8 × 10
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