SCHOOL OF INFORMATION, COMPUTER AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

(ICT), SIRINDHORN INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, THAMMASAT

UNIVERSITY

LAB REPORT

EES 204 BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

EXPERIMENT 05 Resonance RLC Circuit

By

Ms.Suthimon Boonpu ID. 6522771698

Ms.Phakwalan Phokrai ID. 6522780384

Group No. 02 (old Section 03

Date: 27 September 2024, Time: 09.00 – 12.00

OBJECTIVES
1. To examine an RC circuit with a voltage step input.
2. To identify the resonant frequency and analyze the frequency response of a series RLC circuit.

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In Part A, RC Circuit with Square-Wave Input, The experiment demonstrates the capacitor's
behavior in an RC series circuit when a square-wave input is applied. When there is a sudden
shift in input voltage, the capacitor opposes this change by either discharging stored energy
into the circuit when the voltage decreases or by absorbing energy when the voltage
increases. This response results in a smooth, characteristic exponential curve, with the time
constant, 𝛕, defining its shape. The experiment validates that different methods for calculating
this time constant yield consistent values for 𝛕.

The first method involves directly measuring 𝛕 as the time it takes for the capacitor's voltage
to drop to about 1/e (around 0.37) of its maximum. With a peak voltage of 4V, this
corresponds to approximately 1.48V, producing a measured 𝛕₁ of 108.0μs.

In the second method, 𝛕 is derived from measuring the half-life (t_half) of the voltage,
targeting half the peak value, approximately 2V. This approach results in t_half = 76μs, from
which 𝛕 is calculated as:

𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑓 76µ𝑠
τ2 = 𝑙𝑛2
​= 𝑙𝑛2
​≈103. 874 μ𝑠

Lastly, 𝛕 can also be computed theoretically from the values of R and C, with the formula:

τ = 𝑅 × 𝐶 = 1𝑘Ω × 0. 1µ𝐹 = 100 µ𝑠

The percentage errors between measured and calculated values of 𝛕 are determined by the
formula:
𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 − 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑
Error = ( 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑
) × 100%

For each value:

104.0 μ𝑠−100 μ𝑠​
%τ1​ = ( 104.0 µ𝑠
) × 100% ≈ 3. 85%

103.874 μ𝑠−100 μ𝑠​

%τ2​ = ( 103.874 µ𝑠
) × 100% ≈ 3. 73%

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In Part B, Series RLC Circuit, the total impedance of the circuit is determined by summing
the individual impedances of the resistor (R), inductor (L), and capacitor (C). The inductor’s
impedance (inductive reactance) includes a positive imaginary component, j𝑋𝐿, while the
capacitor’s impedance (capacitive reactance) has a negative imaginary component, -j𝑋𝑐 ​, with
both 𝑋𝐿​and 𝑋𝐶depending on the circuit’s frequency. At a specific frequency, the inductive
and capacitive reactances cancel each other out, leaving only the resistor’s impedance, R , as
the main opposition in the circuit. This frequency, known as the resonant frequency, 𝑓0​,
maximizes the voltage across RRR and can be calculated by the formula:

ω0 1
𝑓0 = 2π
=
2π 𝐿𝐶

In the first phase of this experiment, only the capacitor was changed, keeping all other
components constant. The frequency of the function generator was then adjusted until there
was no additional increase in the voltage across RRR, indicating the resonant frequency.
These measured resonant frequencies were then compared with theoretical values calculated
using the above formula.

The capacitors used included values of 0.01μF, 0.47μF, and 0.1μF, with actual measured
values of 0.01029μF, 0.488μF, and 0.099μF, respectively, while the inductor L was kept
constant at 22mH.

The resonant frequencies for each capacitor in the series RLC circuit are calculated as
follows:

For the 0.01029 μF capacitor:

1
𝑓0.01 = ≈ 10730 𝐻𝑧
2π 22 𝑚𝐻 × 0.01029 µ𝐹

For the 0.488 μF capacitor:

1
𝑓0.47 = ≈ 1565 𝐻𝑧
2π 22 𝑚𝐻 × 0.488 µ𝐹

For the 0.099 μF capacitor:

1
𝑓0.1 = ≈ 3393 𝐻𝑧
2π 22 𝑚𝐻 × 0.1 µ𝐹

The percentage errors are determined by the formula:

𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 − 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑
Error = ( 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑
) × 100%

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Let % denote the percentage error:

10490 − 10730
%𝑓0.01 = 10490
× 100 ≈ 2.29%

1460−1565
%𝑓0.47 = 1460
× 100 ≈ 7. 19%

3220−3393
%𝑓0.1 = 3220
× 100 ≈ 5. 38%

In the next part of the experiment, the capacitor and inductor values were held constant at
0.1 μF and 22 mH, respectively, while the frequency was varied in intervals around the
resonant frequency of 3.32 kHz. Voltages across ( R ), ( L ), and ( C ) were measured at each
frequency point to examine the relationship between voltage and frequency.

At the resonant frequency, the voltage across ( R ) reached its peak, while the voltages across
( L ) and ( C ) were nearly equal and close to their maximum values. As the frequency moved
away from resonance, increasing or decreasing the voltages across ( L ) and ( C ) showed
slight fluctuations, with a more pronounced decrease as the deviation grew larger. This trend
was also observed in the voltage across ( R ).

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Conclusion

This laboratory experiment consisted of Part A and Part B, each investigating different
characteristics of electrical circuits. In Part A, we examined the behavior of an RC circuit
using a square wave input, observing the voltage waveforms across both the function
generator and the capacitor. Through measurement and calculation, we determined the time
constant τ which characterizes the capacitor’s response to voltage changes. The experiment
validated the consistency among different methods used to calculate τ, confirming the
capacitor’s role in smoothing abrupt changes in voltage and producing an exponential
response.

In Part B, we studied a series RLC circuit to analyze the combined effects of resistance (R),
inductance (L), and capacitance (C) on impedance, which varies with frequency. At the
resonant frequency, 𝑓0, the inductive and capacitive reactances cancel each other out, leaving
only the resistive impedance (R) as the main opposition in the circuit. This results in a peak
voltage across the resistor, illustrating the resonance effect, where the circuit achieves
maximum efficiency at a specific frequency.

Overall, the experiment demonstrated that theoretical predictions closely match the practical
results, though there were slight deviations. The percent errors for the calculated values in
each part generally fell between 0.8% and 9%, primarily due to minor inaccuracies during
measurement. These discrepancies contributed to the percentage error, indicating areas where
improved measurement precision could enhance consistency between theoretical and
experimental values.