Calculating Time for Inductor Voltage to Drop to 13 V in RL Circuit

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on calculating the time it takes for the voltage across an inductor in an RL circuit to drop to 13 V after a switch is flipped. The initial current in the circuit is established at 0.9 A, and the initial voltage across the inductor is calculated to be 1143.9 V. The user attempts to compute the time using the equation I= I_0 e^(-R/L)t and V= I_0 Re^(-R/L)t but arrives at an incorrect result of 7.64 ms. Clarifications are sought regarding the resistance value used in the calculations and the method for determining the initial voltage. The discussion highlights the importance of accurate values and equations in solving RL circuit problems.
Punchlinegirl
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One application of an RL circuit is the generation of time varying high-voltage from a low-voltage source as shown in the figure.
1257 ohms

14 ohms 2 H (switch) b
a
12.6 V.
Sorry, I couldn't get the picture, but here's a rough idea.. it's in a circuit.
What is the current in the circuit a long time after the switch has been in position "a"?
I got this part... it was 0.9 A
Part 2 says: Now the switch is thrown quickly from "a" to "b". Compute the initial voltage across the inductor.
I got this too.. it was 1143.9 V
Part 3 says: How much time elapses before the voltage across the inductor drops to 13 V? Answer in units of ms.

I used the equation I= I_0 e^ (-R/L)t
and then figured out that V= I_0 Re^(-R/L)t
so 13.0 V=(0.9)(1143.9)e^(1143.9t/2)
solving for t gave me 7.64 ms which isnt' right.. can someone please help me?
 
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You're putting in 1143.9 for the resistance in the last equation? Are you just a factor of 0.9 low on the correct answer?
 
I tried using just 1143, but it still isn't right.
 
Maybe show in a bit more detail how you got 1143V. A picture would definitely help, if you could just upload some simple DOC or PDF file.
 
https://hw.utexas.edu/tmp/mq389/1145320743Xuj.pdf
I don't know if this will work. I found the 1143 V by:
first I calculated the initial current with was 0.9 A.
then I figured out the voltage from the 14 ohm resistor by using IR.
V= (14)(0.9)= 12.6 V
then I did the same thing for the larger resistor
V= (1257)(0.9)=1131.3 V
Then to get the total voltage, I added these together..
1131.3+12.6=1143.9 V.
so that's why I was using it to find how much time it would take.
 
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