Finding Time Constant T Without L for an LR Circuit

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boysenbeary
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Homework Statement
Obtain the time constant of the circuit.

- Fill-in the third column of the table with appropriate calculated values which result in a graph vs.
time that we expect to be a straight line.

- Make a plot of your computed third column numbers vs. time, and insert a best-fit line.

- Use the best-fit line to extract the time constant of the circuit.
Relevant Equations
$$I = {I_0} {e^{\frac{-t}{T}}}$$

$$T = \frac {L}{R}$$

$$V = R*I$$

$$R = 295.3 \Omega$$

$$I_0 = 0.01765 A$$
Voltage against time plot of an RL circuit transient: voltage holds near -1.3 V, spikes to about 3.6 V near 0.4811 s, then decays toward 0 V; a dashed line marks -1.308 V at 0.479 s.
Table of time t in seconds against voltage difference ΔV in volts: t 0.0000 to 0.0007 s, ΔV 3.113, 2.376, 1.815, 1.388, 1.061, 0.813, 0.624, 0.478 V.
Equation I(t) = I_o e^(-t/τ), with τ defined as L/R, shown as typeset mathematics.


Edit: Picture of the Circuit (Simple RL circuit)

Two circuit schematics labelled before and after: each has a resistor R, a battery with EMF and internal resistance r_bat, an inductor L with resistance r_ind, and a voltmeter V. Currents I1 and I2 are marked before; after, a switch is open and the current I is unknown.

The value of L is not given.

Attempt to Solve for T by Rearranging Equation 1:

I rearranged the equation to solve for T, using Ohm's Law so solve for I = V/R at each time.

https://www.desmos.com/calculator/qlb2n6w4bg

This graph is non-linear, but the problem says to expect a linear graph?

Attempt to Use A Generic Ln(V) Graph:

https://www.desmos.com/calculator/ojvfgihyeq

This graph is linear but how do I know this is the right equation?

The point of this problem is to find the time constant T, then use that to solve for L

Would appreciate any guidance, thank you.
 
Last edited:
I=V/R ;I=Io*e^(-t/T); ln(I)=ln(Io)-t/T
-t/T=ln(I)-ln(Io)
T=t/((ln(Io)-ln(I))
However, the "constant" T is not so constant. See the attached no.1
That means something is wrong.
If we shall change the time t [let's to add a 0.2 msec in all position] then the error will be 1% from average. See attached no.2
 
Attachments
  • Spreadsheet table with columns t[msec], V, I[A], ln(I), T(ms), ln(Io) and T/Taverage, listing values for t from 0 to 0.7 msec and AverageT = 0.2342 msec.
    Constant T as gived.jpg
    55.2 KB · Views: 222
  • Spreadsheet table with columns t[msec], V, I[A], ln(I), T(ms), ln(Io) and T/Taverage, listing values from t = 0 to 0.9 msec, with computed T values near 0.377 to 0.382 ms and AverageT = 0.378 msec.
    ConstantT improved.jpg
    55.4 KB · Views: 208