316 Lab 10 – RLC Circuit

Theory

In this lab, we will be taking a look at RLC circuits, which are complect circuits that involve not
only resistors, but also capacitors, and inductors. Furthermore, this specific RLC circuit will
involve an AC power supply. AC stands for alternating current, which essentially means that the
current will not remain constant and that it will change over time. This can be represented by
the equation:
𝐼 = 𝐼0 sin⁡(𝑤𝑡)
w=2*pi*f, where f is the frequency. This fluctuation in current also causes the voltages in the
other elements to vary, and what we are interested in is how changing the frequency of these
fluctuations affects the circuit.

We can calculate a total effective resistance called the impedence:

𝑍 = √𝑅 2 + (𝑋𝐿 − 𝑋𝑐 )2

XL is the inductive reactance, or the effective resistance associated with the inductor and XC is
the capacitive reactance. This can be found by using the average values of the fluctuation along
with Ohm’s law:
𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅

These values can be calculated directly by using the following relations:

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RLC LAB
Procedure

We will be using the following simulation to construct our RLC circuits:

https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/circuit-construction-kit-ac/latest/circuit-construction-kit-
ac_en.html

1. When you click the link, make sure you select the simulation that says “RLC”. You will
want to start by grabbing the circuit elements from the tool bar on the left and placing
them on the screen.
2. This circuit will include an AC Voltage supply, a resistor, capacitor, and inductor all
connected in series with one another. You will only need one of each and from there,
simply connect them by wires.
3. Take a screenshot of your circuit and put it in the analysis section
4. Set the battery voltage to 50 V and do not alter the values of any of the other elements!
5. Make sure the frequency on the AC source is set to 0.5 Hz to begin with (we will be
changing this later on)
6. Grab the voltage chart from the right hand side and place the two nodes on either side
of the resistor. You should see a graph that is constantly changing. If it is too small or
too big, use the + and – buttons to fit it to the screen.
7. Record the peak voltage for the specific frequency and put it in your data table and take
a screen shot of the circuit with your plot included and put it in the below section.
8. Next move the nodes to the capacitor (make sure the orientation is the same) and
record the peak voltage across it as well and take your screen shot.
9. Repeat this process for the inductor as well
10. Once you have recorded the voltage across each of the three circuit components, go
back to the AC voltage source and change the frequency to the next value specified in
the table below. Repeat this whole process for that frequency value as well and
continue for all of the values in the table. NOTE: Only take screen shots of the first trial
(0.5 Hz) I don’t want you to have to take 15 screen shots so the first trial will suffice.
11. Once you have recorded all of the voltages for all of the elements, grab the current
chart from the right hand side.

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RLC LAB
 12. Place this across the AC voltage source similarly to how you were putting the voltage
chart across the other elements.
13. Measure the peak current across the AC source for each of the 5 frequencies. Note that
it does not matter which element you put the current chart across, they will all have the
same current
14. Take a screen shot of the current chart and your circuit for the 0.5 Hz trial.

Data & Analysis

Data Table

Item Value

Inductance 50 H
Resistance 10 ohm
Capacitance 0.10 F
AC voltage 50 volts
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RLC LAB
Frequency (Hz) Resistor voltage Capacitor Inductor voltage AC battery
(V) voltage (V) (V) source current
(A)
0.5 3.23 V 0.9 V 48 V 0.32 A
0.75 0.1 V 0.01 V 49 V 0.26 A
1 0.01 V 0.001 V 50 V 0.001 A
1.5 0.0001 V 0V 50 V 0.001 A
2 0.0001V 0V 50 V 0.001 A

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Screen shots (4 in total)
Resistor (trial 1):

Inductor (trial 1):

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Capacitor (trial 1):

Current across circuit (trial 1):

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RLC LAB
Post Lab Questions

1. Calculate the theoretical resonant angular frequency using the values of the inductance
and capacitance:

Putting values in the above formula:

2. Using the voltage values from your data table (for 0.5 Hz), as well as the current going
through the battery, calculate the inductive and capacitive reactance values and use them
to find the total impedence of this circuit.

Frequency (Hz) Resistor voltage Capacitor Inductor voltage AC battery

Xc = 1/2*3.14*0.5*0.10
Xc=3.184

XL = 2*3.14*0.5* 50
XL= 157
Now,

𝒁 = √𝑹𝟐 + (𝑿𝑳 − 𝑿𝒄 )𝟐
Putting values in the eqution we get,
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 Z = 154.14 ohm
3. Verify that Ohm’s law holds by comparing the V/I ratio to the impedence you just
calculated.
Solution:
As V= 50 V
I = 0.34
So Z = 50/0.34
Z= 154.18 ohm

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