Chapter 5

Copyright The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Transient Analysis


A steady-state region for 0 t
0.2 s; a transient region for 0.2 t
2 s (approximately); and a new
steady-state region for t > 2 s,
where the voltage reaches a
steady DC or AC condition.

The objective of transient analysis
is to describe the behavior of a
voltage or a current during the
transition between two distinct
steady-state conditions.
Examples of transient response
A general model of the transient analysis
problem
Regardless of how many resistors the circuit
contains, it is a first-order circuit. The
response of a first-order circuit to a switched
DC source will appear in one of the two
forms shown below, which represent, in
order, a decaying exponential and a rising
exponential waveform.
Decaying and rising exponential responses
Circuit containing energy storage element
x
1

Any circuit containing a single energy storage element
can be described by a differential equation of the form
DC Steady-State Solution

The term DC steady state refers to circuits that
have been connected to a DC (voltage or
current) source for a very long time, such that it
is reasonable to assume that all voltages and
currents in the circuits have become constant.
Figure 5.6 (Example 5.1)
At DC steady state, all capacitors behave as open
circuits and all inductors behave as short circuits.
Consider the defining equation for the capacitor
It would require an infinite amount of current for the
voltage across capacitor to change instantaneously. But,
this is equivalent to requiring an infinite amount of power,
since power is the product of voltage and current.
Abrupt change in capacitor voltage
The value of an inductor current or a capacitor voltage
just prior to the closing (or opening) of a switch is
equal to the value just after the switch has been
closed (or opened). Formally
Where the notation 0
+
signified just after t = 0
and 0
-
means just before t = 0.
FOCUS ON METHODOLOGY

FIRST-ORDER TRANSIENT RESPONSE

1. Solve for the steady-state response of the circuit before the switch changes state
(t = 0

) and after the transient has died out (t).We shall generally refer to these
responses as x(0

) and x().

2. Identify the initial condition for the circuit x(0
+
), using continuity of capacitor
voltages and inductor currents [v
C
= v
C
(0

), i
L
(0
+
) = i
L
(0

)].

3. Write the differential equation of the circuit for t = 0
+
, that is, immediately after the
switch has changed position. The variable x(t) in the differential equation will be
either a capacitor voltage v
C
(t) or an inductor current i
L
(t). It is helpful at this time
to reduce the circuit to Thvenin or Norton equivalent form, with the energy
storage element (capacitor or inductor) treated as the load for the Thvenin
(Norton) equivalent circuit. Reduce this equation to standard form (equation 5.8).

4. Solve for the time constant of the circuit: = R
T
C for capacitive circuits, = L/R
T
for
inductive circuits.

5. Write the complete solution for the circuit in the form x(t) = x() + [x(0) x()]e
t/
Figure 05.12
Figure 05.13
Continuity of Inductor Current
General Solution of First-Order Circuits



Let the initial condition of the system be x(t = 0) = x(0). Then
we seek to solve the differential equation
This solution consists of two parts: the natural response (or
homogeneous solution), with the forcing function set equal to
zero, and the forced response (or particular solution), in which
we consider the response to the forcing function. The complete
response then consists of the sum of the natural and forced
responses. Once the form of the complete response is known,
the initial condition can be applied to obtain the final solution.

Natural Response

Forced Response

Complete Response

Energy Storage in Capacitors and Inductors

Decay through a resistor of energy stored
in a capacitor
Decay through a resistor of energy stored
in an inductor
Example 5.8 Charging a Camera Flash Time Constants
A capacitor is used to store energy in a camera flash light. The camera
operates on a 6-V battery. Determine the time required for the
energy stored to reach 90 percent of the maximum. Compute this
time in seconds and as a multiple of time constant. The equivalent
circuit is shown below: V
B
= 6V; C = 1000 F; R = 1K.


Problem 5.35 Simple model of an automotive ignition system
The circuit of Figure P5.35 is a simple model of an automotive ignition
system. The switch models the points that switch electric power to
the cylinder when the fuel-air mixture is compressed. And R is the
resistance between the electrodes (i.e. the gap) of the spark plug.
V
G
= 12 V; R
G
= 0.37 ; R = 1.7 K.

Determine the values of L and R
1
so that the voltage across the spark
plug gap just after the switch is changed is 23 KV and so that this
voltage will change exponentially with a time constant =13 ms.