DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY-DASMARIÑAS

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

Electronics Engineering Program

Electrical Circuits 2 Laboratory

Experiment 2

Inductors

Group No. Date Performed:

Members: Signature:

Instructor
 Experiment 2: Inductors
Objectives
• Investigate the characteristics of inductor in ac circuits
• Describe the effect an inductor has on dc and ac circuits
• Measure voltage and current in inductive circuits
• Measure circuit parameters of inductors connected in series and in parallel

Theory
When dc is applied to an inductor, the only opposition to current flow is the resistance of
the wire in the coil. No electromotive force (emf) is produced because the current flow
remains relatively constant. When ac is applied, counter-emf (cemf) is produced in
proportion to the amount of inductance and to the frequency of the applied signal.

If inductance increases, opposition to current flow increases. Increasing the frequency of

the applied signal also increases opposition to current flow through an inductor. As a
result, in either case, total circuit current decreases. An increase or decrease in current is a
result of the changing impedance of the inductor.

Inductance also affects the phase relationship between the applied voltage and current. As
shown in the figure, the voltage across the inductor leads the current by 900.

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Instrument/Materials/Equipment

1 unit FACET Base Unit

1 unit AC 1 Fundamentals Circuit Board
1 unit Oscilloscope
1 unit Function Generator
1 unit Multimeter
1 set Probes and Connectors

Procedure
1. Turn off the power sources. Insert the AC 1 FUNDAMENTALS circuit board into the base
unit. Turn on the power sources.

2. Locate the INDUCTANCE/INDUCTIVE REACTANCE circuit block. Use the multimeter to

measure and record the coil resistance (RL) of the inductor L3.

RL = 44 ohms

3. Connect the circuit shown in the figure below and short out the current-sensing resistor
R2 with a two-post connector. Adjust the positive variable supply to 8 Vdc and measure
the voltage across R1 resistor using the multimeter. Calculate the current Idc using
Ohm’s Law.

Idc = VR1/R1; 7.39 V/470 Ω

Idc = 15.72 mA

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4. Measure and record the voltage across inductor L3 with the multimeter.

VL3 = 0.605 volts

5. Use the calculated value of Idc and the measured value of VL3 to calculate the resistance
of L3.

RL3 = VL3/Idc; 0.065 V/15.72 mA

RL3 = 38.49 ohms

Based on the measured coil resistance and the calculated coil resistance, is inductor
L3 producing cemf with constant dc current applied? No.

6. Disconnect the dc supply from the circuit and connect the signal generator for 10 Vpk-pk,
20 kHz sine wave. Measure and record the circuit current Iac using the oscilloscope and
current-sensing resistor R2 (remove the two-post connector to measure, then replace
it.)

Iac = VR2/R2; Iac = 11 mA

7. Measure and record the voltage drop across L3 with the oscilloscope.

VL3 = 6.8 V

8. Use the measured values of Iac and VL3 to calculate the impedance of L3.

Impedance, ZL3 = VL3/Iac; 6 . 8 V / 1 1 m A

ZL3 = 618.18 ohms

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 Is inductor L3 producing cemf with ac current applied? Yes

9. Monitor the circuit current on the oscilloscope by observing the voltage across current-
sensing resistor R2. Turn the CM switch 16 to the ON position to increase the inductance
of L3 to 14.7 mH. What do you observe about the current? Does the increase of
inductance increase or decrease circuit current? Answer: decrease.

10. Return CM switch 16 to OFF position. While observing the waveform on the
oscilloscope, slowly increase the frequency of the signal generator. Does an increase in
frequency causes an increase or decrease in the circuit current? Answer: decrease.

11. Connect the channel 1 probe of the oscilloscope to measure VL3 and channel 2 probe
to measure VR2. Using VL3 as reference, does the current lead or lag the inductor
voltage?

The current lag the inductor voltage.

Sketch the graph of the waveform and measure the phase shift.

Voltage-Curent Waveform of Inductive Circuit

Phase Shift = 82.5 degrees

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Inductors in Series and in Parallel

In circuits with more than one inductor, it is often best to

determine the total combined inductance. When
inductors are in series, total inductance (LT) is the sum if
inductor values.
Total inductance increases as the number of inductors in
series increases. This increase results in higher
impedance and lower circuit current.

For inductors in parallel, the total inductance is, as with

parallel resistors, determined from the reciprocal formula.

Total inductance decreases as the number of inductors in

parallel increases. This decrease results in lower impedance
and higher circuit current.

12. Connect the circuit as shown and measure the voltage drop across the inductor (VL)
and the current IL using current –sensing resistor R2. Calculate the impedance of the
inductor ZL using Ohm’s Law.

ZL = VL/IL; ZL = 589.09 ohms

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13. Connect the circuit as shown (essentially add an inductor in series). Calculate the total
inductance of the circuit.

LT = L1 + L2; LT = 9.4 mH

Did adding the inductor in series increase or decrease total circuit inductance? Increase

17. Measure circuit current IL and record the result in the given table. Did adding the
inductor in series cause the circuit current to increase or to decrease?
The circuit current decreases when adding inductor in series.

18. Measure the combined voltage drops across L1 and L2, VL. Using VL and IL, calculate
the inductor impedance, ZL. Record your result in the table. Did the added series inductor
cause the inductance impedance to increase or to decrease?
The inductance impedance increases when adding inductor in series.

19. Connect the circuit as shown (remove added series inductor and add an inductor in
parallel). Calculate the circuit inductance LT, and record your result in the table. Did
adding a parallel inductor cause the circuit inductance to increase or to decrease?
The inductance impedance decreases when adding inductor in parallel.

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20. Measure the voltage drop across the parallel inductors, VL. Calculate the inductor
impedance, ZL by using VL and IL measured in the previous step. Record your result in the
table. Did adding the parallel inductor increase or decrease the inductor impedance?
Adding the parallel inductor decreases the inductor impedance.

Inductor added Inductor added

Single Inductor
in series in parallel
4.7 mH 9.4 mH 2.35 mH
Total Inductance (LT)
11 mA 8.6 mA 20.8 mA
Circuit Current (IL)
589.09 Ω 893.02 Ω 238.46 Ω
Inductor Impedance (ZL)

21. Place CM switch 17 in the ON position. Readjust the generator voltage to 10 Vpk-pk if
necessary. Measure IL, VL, and ZL. Based on this measurements, was the new inductor
added to the circuit in series or in parallel with L3 and L4?
In series.

22. Return CM switch 17 to OFF position and turn off all equipment.

-End-