EC100

Elements of ECE
Module - I: RLC Circuits

Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, NITK Surathkal

Topics we discuss in the lectures that follow:
• Introduce electrical/electronic circuits, in general circuits

• Identify and define circuit variables: currents, voltages, power, energy

• Recognize circuit elements: voltage sources, current sources, resistance,

capacitance, inductance

• Circuits having various combinations of circuit elements

• Laws obeyed by the circuit variables: Kirchhoff’s current and voltage laws,
Ohm’s law

• Circuit analysis: solving currents, voltages, powers in simple circuits

CIRCUITS, CURRENTS, AND VOLTAGES

Circuit theory is the electrical engineer’s fundamental tool.

Introduce the erminology of electrical circuits

Considering a simple example: the headlight circuit of an automobile.

This circuit consists of a battery, a switch, the headlamps, and wires

connecting them in a closed path
Chemical forces in the battery cause electrical charge (electrons) to flow through the circuit

The wires are made of an excellent electrical conductor (copper) and are insulated
from one another

The switch is used to control the flow of current

The headlamps contain special tungsten wires that can withstand high temperatures.

Electrons experience collisions with the atoms of the tungsten wires, resulting in
heating of the tungsten

The tungsten becomes hot enough so that light is emitted

Energy is transferred by the chemical action in the battery to the electrons and
then to the tungsten
Electrical Circuits

An electrical circuit consists of various types of circuit elements connected in

closed paths by conductors.

The circuit elements can be resistances, inductances, capacitances, and

voltage sources, among others.

As a result, energy is transferred between the circuit elements, resulting in a

useful function.

An electrical circuit consists of circuit elements, such as voltage sources, resistances,

inductances, and capacitances, connected in closed paths by conductors.
Electrical Current
Electrical current is the time rate of flow of electrical charge through a conductor
or circuit element. The units are amperes (A), which are equivalent to coulombs per
second (C/s). (The charge on an electron is −1.602 × 10−19 C.)

In concept, we obtain a record of the net charge in coulombs as a function

of time in seconds denoted as q(t).The electrical current flowing through the element
in the reference direction.

Current flow is the same for all cross sections of a circuit element.

The current that enters one end flows through the element and exits through the other
end.
A constant current of one ampere means that one coulomb of charge passes through
the cross section each second.

To find charge given current, we integrate

in which t0 is some initial time at which the charge is known.

Example

Plots of charge
and current
versus time
Direct Current and Alternating Current

When a current is constant with time, we say that we have direct current, abbreviated as dc.
On the other hand, a current that varies with time, reversing direction periodically,
is called alternating current, abbreviated as ac.

Figure: The values of a dc current and a sinusoidal ac current versus time.

The designation ac is used for other types of time-varying currents, such as the triangular and
square waveforms

Reference directions can be indicated by labeling the ends of

circuit elements and using double subscripts on current variables.
Voltages

When charge moves through circuit elements, energy can be transferred. In the case of
automobile headlights, stored chemical energy is supplied by the battery and absorbed
by the headlights where it appears as heat and light.

The voltage associated with a circuit element is the energy transferred per
unit of charge that flows through the element. The units of voltage are volts (V), which
are equivalent to joules per coulomb (J/C).

Notice that voltage is measured across the ends of a circuit element, whereas
current is a measure of charge flow through the element.

Energy is transferred
when charge flows through an
element having a voltage across it.
Reference Polarities

The boxes represent unspecified circuit elements.

If we do not know the voltage values and polarities in a circuit, we can start by
assigning voltage variables choosing the reference polarities arbitrarily.

If we find at the end of the analysis that the value of a voltage is negative,
then we know that the true polarity is opposite of the polarity selected initially.

The voltage vab has a reference polarity that

is positive at point a and negative at point b.
Voltages can be constant with time or they can vary.

Constant voltages are called dc voltages.

On the other hand, voltages that change in magnitude and alternate in polarity with
time are said to be ac voltages.

Example: is a dc voltage. It has the same magnitude and polarity for

all time.

is an ac voltage that varies in magnitude and polarity.

When v2(t) assumes a negative value, the actual polarity is opposite the reference
polarity.
POWER AND ENERGY

When current flows through an element and voltage appears across

the element, energy is transferred. The rate of energy transfer is p = vi.

Energy Calculations
To calculate the energy w delivered to a circuit element between time instants t1 and
t2, we integrate power:

power can be a function of time so using the notation p(t).

If the current reference enters the negative end of the reference polarity, we
compute the power as

A positive value for p indicates that energy is absorbed by the element,

and a negative value shows that energy is supplied by the element

In an electrochemical battery, positive power means that the battery is being charged.
The energy absorbed by the battery is being stored as chemical energy.

The negative power indicates that the battery is being discharged. Then the energy
supplied by the battery is delivered to some other element in the circuit.

Sometimes currents, voltages, and powers are functions of time.

To calculate the energy w delivered to a circuit element between time instants t1 and
t2, we integrate power:
Example:
To find an expression for the power for the voltage source

The current reference enters the positive reference polarity.

Thus, we compute power as

To compute the energy for the interval from t1 = 0 to t2 =∞.

Because the energy is positive, it is absorbed by the source.

Power Calculations

In element A, the current reference enters the positive reference polarity.

Because the power is positive, energy is absorbed by the device. If it is a battery, it is
being charged.

In element B, the current reference enters the negative reference polarity.

Since the power is negative, energy is supplied by the device. If it is a battery, it is
being discharged.

In element C, the current reference enters the positive reference polarity.

Since the result is negative, energy is supplied by the element. If it is a battery, it is
being discharged.
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