RLC Circuit - Voltage Across Resistor

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around analyzing an RLC circuit to find the voltage across the resistor. The original poster is exploring the relationships between voltage and current in the circuit, particularly focusing on the setup involving a resistor, capacitor, and inductor under a DC source.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the arrangement of components in the circuit and the implications of moving the resistor's position. There are attempts to set up differential equations based on the relationships between voltages and currents in the circuit. Questions arise regarding the nature of the source (DC vs. AC) and the validity of certain assumptions about current flow and oscillations.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided guidance on the setup of the circuit and the formulation of differential equations. There is acknowledgment of the challenges faced by the original poster in establishing the correct relationships and equations. Multiple interpretations of the circuit setup and differential equations are being explored without a clear consensus on the best approach.

Contextual Notes

Participants note that the original poster has not yet learned Laplace Transforms, which may limit some approaches to solving the differential equations. There is also mention of the original poster's struggle to express the equations in a manageable form.

DrummingAtom
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Homework Statement



Find the voltage across the resistor.

Homework Equations



V = L*di/dt
I = C*dv/dt

The Attempt at a Solution



I'm not too worried about the differential equation part but I need some help setting up the circuit for me to start the process.

Since the current through the capacitor/inductor block will equal the resistor's current can I put the resistor *before* the capacitor/inductor block which I can then setup a source transformation with the voltage source and resistor?

I'm feeling that I can't do this because the capacitor/inductor will cause some oscillations to go through the resistor but wanted to check.

Thanks.
 

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Is that a DC source or an AC source?
 
DC and I know what the answer to my question is now, I can't move that resistor. I'm really having trouble setting this one up.. I know VC = VL and the current iS= iC + iL = iR. I keep getting things in terms of VC for the differential equation.
 
You CAN move the resistor to the top rail if you wish, just take note of the direction of current flow to determine the direction of potential drop across it.

Perhaps you can show one of your attempts to set up the differential equation?
You don't happen to be familiar with Laplace Transforms I suppose...?
 
Unfortunately, we haven't learned Laplace yet. Here was one attempt:

Starting with VS = VC + VR and i = iC + iL = iR

Which after a little work leads to:

VS = VC + RC*d2VC/dt2 + R/L*VC.

Now I know this is in terms of VC so I plugged it back into VS = VC + VR which then gave:

VR = LC*d2VC/dt2 + L/R*dVC/dt - VS

Does that seem right? Thanks for helping me by the way, I really appreciated it.
 
DrummingAtom said:
Unfortunately, we haven't learned Laplace yet. Here was one attempt:

Starting with VS = VC + VR and i = iC + iL = iR

Which after a little work leads to:

VS = VC + RC*d2VC/dt2 + R/L*VC.

Now I know this is in terms of VC so I plugged it back into VS = VC + VR which then gave:

VR = LC*d2VC/dt2 + L/R*dVC/dt - VS

Does that seem right? Thanks for helping me by the way, I really appreciated it.

It looks like you have a correct equation for VR.

My own choice might have been to just solve for Vc(t) and then afterwards subtract Vs which is a constant. Then the differential equation to be solved will be in the more compact form:
$$ \frac{d^2 V_C}{dt^2} + \frac{1}{R C}\frac{dV_C}{dt} + \frac{1}{L C} V_C = 0$$
 
I finally solved it correctly late last night. Here's what I did:

Starting with VS = VC + VR and i = iC + iL = iR

Which after a little work leads to:

VS = 1/C[itex]\int[/itex]iC + i*R

VS = 1/C[itex]\int[/itex]iC + (iC+ iL)R

[itex]V_S = \frac{RCd^2V_C}{dt^2} + \frac{dV_C}{dt}+ \frac{RV_C}{L}[/itex]

Then I used the characteristic equation which showed that it's an underdamped solution. After that I subtracted the solution from VS to get the voltage over the resistor.

Again, thanks for your help.
 

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