Q Factor in Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Posted by: Electrical Technology 11/09/2013

in Basic Electronics, Basic/Impo
rtant Electrical Formulas, How To, Questions/Answers (Electrical), Single Phase
AC Circuits, Three Phase AC Circuits Leave a comment
Q Factor in Electrical and Electronics Engineering
In a Tuned Circuit, The ratio between Reactance and Resistance is called Q Facto
r or Quality Factor Or
Opposite of the Power factor is called the Q-Factor or Quality Factor of a Coil
or its figure of merit.
Q Factor = 1/ Power Factor=1/Cos= Z/R

(Where Power Factor Cos = R/Z)

If R is too small with respect to Reactance
Then Q factor = Z/R = L/R = 2fL / R

(L/R = 2f)
Also, Q Factor may be defined as the ratio bet een stored energy and Energy diss
i
ated
er cycle in a Circuit
Q = 2 x (Stored Energy/ Po er loss)
In a Resonator, Q is the ratio bet een stored energy in resonator and energy su


lied by generator to kee
signal am
litude constant
Q = 2 (Maximum Energy Stored/Energy dissi
ate
er Cycle) in the coil.
Good to Kno *1:
In Electrical System & Circuits, The stored Energy is the sum of stored energies
in lossless Inductors and Ca
acitors. And the lost energy is the sum of the ene
rgies dissi
ated in resistors (Heat, light etc)
er cycle
Whereas;
Ca
acitor absorbs Reactive Po er and Stores Energy in the form of Electric fiel
d
Inductor absorbs Reactive Po er and Stores Energy in the form of Magnetic Field
And
Resistor absorbs the real
o er and dissi
ates in the form of heat and light
Q Factor in Pure Ca
acitive (C) and Pure Inductive (L) Circuits
As e kno that the Po er in Pure Ca
acitive and Inductive Circuits are Zero. Th
us the Circuit Po er factor is also Zero. But the circuit Q factor is the inverse
of Po er factor, thus Q factor in both Pure Ca
acitive and Inductive Circuits are
infinite ().
Q Factor in a Series RL Circuit
In Series RL Circuit, Im
edance (Z) = the inductive Reactance = XL = 2fL, Therefo
re the Quality factor Q
= Z/ R = XL /R = 2frL /R
Q Factor in a Series RC Circuit
In Series RC Circuit, Im
edance (Z) = Ca
acitive Reactance = XC = 1/2fC, Therefor
e the Quality factor Q
= Z/ R = XC /R = (1/2frC) /R = 1 / 2frCR.
Where
Z = Im
udence = Resistance in AC Circuits (Z = XL2-XC2 )
R = Resistance in
C = Ca
acitance in Farads
L = Inductance in Hennery
XL = Inductive reactance in
XC = Ca
acitive Reactance in
fr= Resonance Frequency in Hz
Q Factor of a tuned circuit = resonance frequency / band idth
Q = fr / B
Q = fr / (f2 f1)
Where
fr = Resonance Frequency in Hertz
B = Band idth = the difference bet een the u

er and lo er frequencies in a cont
inuous set of frequencies = B = (f2- f1)

Q Factor in a Series RLC Circuit (Voltage in
ut resonance Circuit)

In an ideal series RLC circuit (Also in a (TRF) tuned radio frequency receiver)
the Quality Q factor is
Q = (1/R) x ( (L/C) = 0L/R
It is clear from the above equation that the larger the Series Resistance, the s
maller the Q factor of the Circuit i.e., the more energy lost and the ider band i
dth.
Good to kno *2: A high Q factor of resonant circuit has a narro band idth as co
m
ared to a lo Q factor
Q Factor in a Parallel RLC Circuit (Current in
ut resonance Circuit)
Q factor in a Parallel RLC circuit is just the inverse of the Q Factor in Series RLC
circuit
Q = R x ( (C /L) = R /0L
Where
R = Resistance in
C = Ca
acitance in Farads
L = Inductance in Henry
It is clear from the above equation that the lo er the Resistance, the larger th
e Q factor of the Circuit i.e. the less energy lost and the narro er band idth and
it ould be useful in filter design circuits to determine the band idth
Q Factor in a Circuit having Com
licated Im
edances
As e discussed above that In a Tuned Circuit, The ratio bet een Reactance and Re
sistance is called Q Factor or Quality Factor Or
O

osite of the Po er factor is called the Q-Factor or Quality Factor of a Coil.
Q Factor = 1/ Po er Factor=1/Cos= Z/R

(Where Power Factor Cos = R/Z)

These for; we can also determine the Q factor of a Circuit having Complicated Impe
dances if we know the Circuit Power factorwhere
Power factor= Cos = R/Z or
The Tangent of the phase angle () between current and voltage.
Good to know *3:
A high Q factor of resonant circuit has a narrow bandwidth as compared to a low Q
factor
A low Q factor gives a broad band (wide bandwidth)
A high Q factor gives a narrow band (small bandwidth)