1

Experiment #3: Resonance in RCL Circuits

Experiment #3 emphasizes energy resonance
Simple energy resonance: two systems that can circulate their energies
at certain frequencies with a maximum energy
Resonance occurs at the maximum interchange of energy
The systems store the energies at rates which are out of phase.
At resonance, the maximum energies are equal.
The simple harmonic oscillator (SHO) is the most common
resonance system.
If driven at resonance, the driver has to work only to overcome
resistive forces. i.e. Im(Z
impedance
) = 0
For a SHO the maximum kinetic energy equals the maximum potential
energy: E
kmax
=
1
2
m x
2
max
= E
pmax
=
1
2
k x
2
max

And since v
max
= x
max

1
2
m (x
max
)
2
=
1
2
k x
2
max

m
2
= k
o
=
k
m
where
o
is the resonance frequency
The same approach works with simple RCL series circuits when the
maximum energy stored in the capacitor is equated to the maximum
energy stored in the inductor (using I
max
= Q
max
):
1
2
LI
2
=
1
2

Q
2
C

1
2
L(Q)
2
=
1
2

Q
2
C
L
2
=
1
C

and so
2
o
=
1
LC
and
o
=
1
LC

Examining the energy flowing into a two terminal electrical network with
a voltage V
in
across the terminals and a current I
in
into the terminals.
Note that is the phase angle between V
in
and I
in
. Assuming V
in
and I
i n
are sinusoids of frequency , the power into the network is:
2
P
in
= V
in
I
i n
=
( )
V
m
cos( t + )
( )
I
m
cos(t )
P
in
= V
m
I
m
cos(t + ) cos(t )
P
in
= V
m
I
m

( )
cos(t ) cos( ) - si n( t ) si n( ) cos(t)
rate of work rate of work
against resistance to circulate energy
Note that if sin() = 0, the impedance is purely resistive. But if sin() =
1, the impedance is purely reactive and no net work is done.
To simplify the notation, we will take advantage of the fact that cos(t
+ ) can be written in the imaginary exponential form as:
cos(t + ) =
e
i ( t +
) + e
- i ( t + )
2

OR, for further simplification, only one of the exponential terms need be
used with the requirement that the real part of all quantities must be
taken to get physically measureable quantities.
Note that engineers tend to select the positive expotential term while
physicists tend to use the negative expontential term. Engineers also use
j = - 1 instead of i = - 1 since in engineering, i is reserved for the
current (we will use j also).
Analysis by means of complex exponentials is a common technique in
physics. The graphical representation in the complex plane of a complex
exponential is called a phasor. As phasors behave much the same as
vectors, a graphical representation of electrical quantities is easy and
provides a great deal of insight.
Changing V & I into exponential form:
V = V
m
e
j
e
j t
and I = I
m
e
j t
Z =
V
I
=
V
m
e
j
e
j t
I
m
e
j t
=
V
m
I
m
e
j
3
Z
Im(Z)
Re(Z)
The impedance
triangle

So: sin() =
Im(Z)
|Z|
and cos() =
Re(Z)
|Z|

Assuming a driving voltage source, V, is placed across the series
combination of R, C, and L, the sum of the voltage drops across the
components must equal the driving voltage (Kirchoff's law):
V = L
dI
d t
+ IR +
Q
C

If the driving voltage is a pure sine wave (using complex notation):
V = L (jI) + IR +
1
C

I
j

V = I

_
R + j

_
L -
1
C

Which allows us to define the total impedance Z = R + j X where X is
called the reactance of the system. and X = X
L
- X
C
. Using X
L
= L and
X
C
= 1/C, resonance occurs at:
X
L
= X
C
L =
1
C

o
=
1
LC
f
o
=
1
2 LC


Experiment III uses a series RCL circuit set to a resonance frequency of
250 KHz.
At energy resonance, if V
m
is held constant, the power resonance curve
shown next is obtained. Holding V
m
constant is difficult because the
impedance of the driven RCL circuit drops to a minimum at resonance and
the generator internal resistance (about 600 ) produces an internal
generator voltage drop which is worst at resonance.
At resonance, Z is a minimum, I = I
max
, P
R
= I
2
max
R (max power).
4
Power
to
Resistor
1/2 Pmax
+90
-90
+45
-45
0
Phase
Shift

o
o

Upper half-power
(or corner) frequency
Lower half-power
(or corner) frequency
On the frequency graph, the distance between the half power points is
called the full width at half max or FWHM.
To measure the phase shift on an oscilloscope:
1 Switch to dual trace operation
2 Use the variable control knob on one of the traces to adjust
the height to match the other trace.
3 Use the variable cntrol knob on the horizontal time base to put
1 complete (360) wave across 10 horizontal divisions (usually
cm.)
5
4 Measure the phase shift between the traces in horizontal
divisions and then convert to degrees using 36 per div.
A good measure of the degree of resonance attained is the quality
factor, Q. The quality factor shows up in many places. It is a unitless
ratio with a minimum value of about 3 and a maximum value of hundreds
for electrical circuits and about 10
10
for a recently, designed laser. The
older designs gave Q's of around 10
8
.
The most general way to describe the quality factor for a system is to
define Q as the ratio between energy transfered over a complete cycle to
energy lost during the same cycle. For a high Q system, the energy
stored may be much, much greater than the energy lost per cycle.
Q =
Maxi mum energy stored i n a system
Average energy l ost per cycl e

Note also that Q = tan() for an element
The average energy lost per cycle for an electrical system is:
P
in
= V
m
I
m

( )
cos(t ) cos( ) - si n( t ) si n( ) cos(t)
P
in
= V
m
I
m

( )
cos
2
(t ) cos( ) - cos( t ) si n(t ) si n( )
<
dW
d t
> =
<
P
in
>


= V
m
I
m

_

1
2
c o s ( ) - ( 0) s i n()
since the average value of cos
2
(t) over a cycle is one-half while
the average value of cos(t) sin(t) over a cycle is 0.
<
P
in
>


=
1
2
V
m
I
m
cos()
For a series circuit, Q =
X
s
R
s
, and , for a parallel circuit, Q =
R
p
X
p
.
Considering power versus frequency for a series RCL circuit:
P
R
= I
2
R =
|V
m
|
2
R
Z
2
=
|V
m
|
2
R
R
2
+ X
2

At the half-power points:
6
P
R
=
|V
m
|
2
2R

| V
m
|
2
2R
=
|V
m
|
2
R
R
2
+ X
2
X = R
L -
1
C
= R L

_
1 -
1

2
LC
= R L

_
1 -

2
o

2
= R
L

,
_

2
-
2
o
= R
L

( )
-
o

( )
+
o
= R
And, for a high Q circuit, at a half power point is almost
o

L

( )
-
o
2 = R L
( )
2 ( -
o
) = R
Note that -
o
is half of (when is at a half-power point)
L = R =
R
L
Q =

o

R
L

=

o
L
R


Experiment III uses a set of 4 custom made blue boxes, only one of
which is directly driven by the AC generator.
V
m
Current Link
(0.1 )
C
L
R
Blue Box
Watch out for
Voltmeter
Line Ground
7
Measure the voltages with the Hewlett Packard Vacuum Tube
Voltmeters (VTVMs)
8
Resonance in RCL Circuits
Using an AC bridge to determine circuit L, Q and R at 1KHz and DC.
D
a
AC
or
DC
b
c
d
Z
1
Z
x
Z
3
Z
2
The bridge is balanced by varying Z
2
to reduce the signal seen by the
detector. After a preliminary minimum is found, the signal level of the
source and the sensitivity of the detector are increased and the balancing
procedure is repeated. Eventually a null is reached and the values of L, Q,
and R can be read off the scales. WARNING: When you are finished with
the bridge, reduce the signal level and detector sensitivity before
removing the coil under test. Otherwise the sudden removal of the coil
will damage the detector.
At balance: V
bd
= 0, V
ab
= V
ad
, and V
bc
= V
dc
. Thus:
I
1
Z
1
= I
2
Z
3
& I
2
Z
x
= I
1
Z
2

I
1
I
2
=
Z
3
Z
1
=
Z
x
Z
2

Z
x
=
Z
2
Z
3
Z
1
Z
x
= Re

_
Z
2
Z
3
Z
1
+ j Im

_
Z
2
Z
3
Z
1

Note that Q =
L
R
and so the value of Q is dependent on frequency.
At the bridge oscillator frequency of 1 KHz, the Q obtained will be
proportionally less than that at 250 KHz. In fact typical values of L, Q,
and R are L 650 H, Q 1, R 4.5 .
9

Determination of Q when the coil or capacitor are ideal parts.
V
in
C
C
L
R
V
The voltage gain with the output across the capacitor is found
using the voltage divider relationship.
V
C
V
i n
=
Z
C
Z
T
=
-jX
C
R + j ( X
L
- X
C
)

At resonance, X
L
= X
C
, so:
V
C
V
i n
=
-jX
C
R
=
-jX
L
R
= -jQ
Note that, among other expressions for Q, it is also equal to the
magnitude of the voltage gain at resonance. Here the Q is for the
circuit if C and L are supplied by perfect components. But in the
real world, C is probably close to the ideal, but the coil that
produces the inductance L has a winding resistance which
ultimately serves to limit the Q of the circuit to the Q of the coil.

Determination of the circuit Q with a lossy (poor quality) capacitor.
First, find Z
C
for the parallel combination of R
C
and C. Among the above
expressions for Q is: Q = X
C
/R, so Q
C
= CR
C
Z
C
=
R
C
(-jX
C
)
R
C
- jX
C
=
-jX
C
1 - j
X
C
R
C
=
-jX
C
1 - j
1
Q
C
= -jX
C

_
1 + j
1
Q
C

assuming 1/Q
C
is very small and using the binomial theorem.
1 0
V
in
C
C
L
R
V
R
C
L
Z
C
= -jX
C
+
X
C
Q
C
and
V
C
V
i n
=
Z
C
R
L
+ j X
L
+ Z
C


V
C
V
i n
=
-j X
C
+
X
C
Q
C
R
L
+ j X
L
- j X
C
+
X
C
Q
C
=
-j X
C
+
X
C
Q
C

_
R
L
+
X
C
Q
C
+ j
( )
X
L
- X
C

And, for Q
C
large (the normal case) and at resonance:

V
C
V
i n
=
-j X
C
+
X
C
Q
C

_
R
L
+
X
C
Q
C
=
-j
R
L
X
C
+
1
Q
C
=
-j
1
Q
L
+
1
Q
C
= -j Q
Note that the Q's add, as do parallel resistors, in a reciprocal of the
sum of reciprocals rule. The system Q is thus limited by the Q's of
the coil and capacitor. However, under normal circumstances, the
capacitor Q
C
is much larger than the coil Q
L
. So that, to a good
approximation, the circuit Q is normally equal to the coil Q
L
and
|
V
C
V
i n
|
max
= Q
L

Determination of the circuit Q with a normal coil supplying the
inductance. In addition to the winding resistance in a coil, there is also an
associated parallel capacitance C
P
. This capacitance arises due to the
closeness of adjacent loops of the coil. The loops are made of copper
wire (a conductor) and at slightly different voltages. Thus a series of
1 1
loop to loop capacitances is created. This distributed winding
capacitance is usually treated as a lumped capacitance in parallel with the
coil inductance and resistance. This leads to a self-resonance frequency
for the coil, above which the coil looks capacitive. Thus the Q of a coil
(and the circuit of which it is a part) rises with frequency until it reaches
a maximum and then drops off.
C
R
L
L
P
Q
Theoretical
Q with no Cp
Actual Q
Frequency
Equivalent Circuit for a Coil
1
Z
=
1
Z
C
+
1
R
L
+ j X
L
=
j
X
C
+
R
L
- jX
L
R
2
+ X
2
L
=
R
L
R
2
L
+ X
2
L
+ j

_
1
X
C
-
X
L
R
2
L
+ X
2
L

But the imaginary part of Z (and thus 1/Z) must equal 0 at
resonance. So one way to find the self resonance frequency is to
set the imaginary part of 1/Z to 0 and solve for the self resonance
frequency.
C -
L
R
2
L
+
2
L
2
= 0 CR
2
L
+
3
L
2
C - L = 0
CR
2
L
+
2
L
2
C - L = 0
2
L
2
C = L - CR
2
L

2
=
L - CR
2
L
L
2
C
=
1
LC
-
R
2
L
L
2
=
1
LC
-
R
2
L
L
2

Alternately, letting
o
= 1/ LC

2
=
2
o

_
1 -
CR
2
L
L
=
o
1 -
1
Q
2
L

And looking back at the impedance Z at resonance:
1 2
Z =
R
2
L
+ X
2
L
R
L
= R
L

_
1 +
X
2
L
R
2
L
= R
L

,
_
1 + Q
2
L

And if Q 1, at resonance:
Z = Z
max
= R
L
Q
2
o
and so

I
C
I
i n
= Q
L
Lest you think that a larger value of R
L
will raise Z
max
:
Z
max
= R
L
Q
2
o
= R
L

2
L
2
R
2
L
=

2
L
2
R
L

So actually a smaller value of R
L
leads to a larger Z
max
.

Summary of resonance properties of a series RCL circuit vs. properties
of a parallel RCL circuit, both driven by voltage sources:
SERIES RCL CIRCUIT PARALLEL RCL CIRCUIT
(at resonance) (at resonance)
Z minimum Z maximum R(1+Q
2
)
I maximum I minimum
P maximum P minimum
0 0

o
=
1
LC
=
o
1 -
1
Q
2

Hi-V across reactances V
in
across reactances

V
C
V
i n
= Q

I
C
I
i n
= Q

1 3
Coupling of coils through their magnetic fields. Self- and mutual-
inductance.
I
1
#1 #2
The self inductance of coils #1 and #2 is given by (where
mn
is the
magnetic flux through coil m due to the current in coil n):
L
1
=
N
1

11
I
1
and L
2
=
N
2

22
I
2

The mutual inductance M between the two coils is:
M =
N
1

12
I
2
M =
N
2

21
I
1

12
= k
22

21
= k
11
where k is the coupling coefficient between coils #1 & #2. The
constant k varies from 0 (no coupling) to 1 (complete coupling) so
0 k 1 . In Exp. III, k 0.2. Substituting the expression for
12
into the first M equation above and factoring out N
2
:
M =
kN
1
N
2

_
N
2

22
I
2
=
N
1
N
2
kL
2
or M =
kN
2
N
1

_
N
1

11
I
1
=
N
2
N
1

kL
1
so M
2
= k
2
L
1
L
2
1 4

Analysis of Coupled Coils in Electrical Circuits
V
m
C
L
C
I
1
I
2
1
1
1
R
R
2
2
2
L
in
V
V
in
= I
1
Z
1
+ I
2
Z
M
where Z
M
= jM and Z
1
= R
1
+ j(X
L1
- X
C1
)
0 = I
1
Z
M
+ I
2
Z
2
so
I
2
I
1
= -
Z
M
Z
2
and Z
2
= R
2
+ j(X
L2
- X
C2
)
Z
in
=
V
i n
I
1
= Z
1
+ Z
M

I
2
I
1
= Z
1
- Z
2
M

Z
*
2
|Z
2
|
2
= Z
1
+
2
M
2

Z
*
2
|Z
2
|
2

Letting X
1
= X
L1
- X
C1
and X
2
= X
L2
- X
C2
:
Z
in
=

'

R
1
+
2
M
2

R
2
|Z
2
|
2
+ j

'

X
1
-
2
M
2

X
2
|Z
2
|
2

and, if matched, X
1
= X
2
= X, and, at resonance, Im(Z
i n
) = 0
X -
2
M
2

X
|Z
2
|
2
= 0 X =
2
M
2

X
|Z
2
|
2

which can be satisfied if X = 0 (by purely resistive circuits), OR if
1 =
2
M
2

1
|Z
2
|
2
|Z
2
|
2
=
2
M
2
R
2
2
+ X
2
2
=
2
M
2
But since we are using matched circuits, the subscripts can be
dropped: R
2
+ X
2
=
2
M
2
and substituting into Z
in
above:
Z
in
= 2R and From above:

I
2
I
1
=
M
|Z
2
|
= 1
1 5

The Effects of Strong and Weak Coupling.
Weak: X = 0
I
2
I
1
-j
M
R
2
90phase relationship
Strong: assuming X >> R
At overcoupled 's X 0, so X > 0 or X < 0
I
2
I
1
= -
Z
M
Z
2
=
-jM
R
2
+jX
2
=
-M
X
in phase if X<0, 180if X>0

2
M
2
= X
2

2
k
2
L
2
= X
2
=

_
L -
1
C
2

M = X kL =

_
L -
1
C
k = 1 -
1

2
LC

k = 1 -

2
o

2

2
=

2
o
1 - / + k
=

o
1 - / + k