Engineering Solving a Second Order Circuit for Capacitor Voltage

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around solving a second-order circuit for capacitor voltage, with a focus on deriving differential equations from scratch rather than relying on memorized equations. The user initially struggles with nodal analysis, leading to an incorrect final solution due to improper substitution of component values for capacitance and inductance. They later realize their mistakes in the substitutions, which contributed to the confusion about the roots of the equation. The correct approach reveals complex conjugate roots, indicating an underdamped circuit. Ultimately, the user successfully identifies and corrects their errors in the analysis process.
Vishera
Messages
72
Reaction score
1

Homework Statement



upload_2014-10-10_11-20-43.png

upload_2014-10-10_11-20-49.png

Homework Equations



Here is the technique I am using:

upload_2014-10-10_11-21-43.png


The Attempt at a Solution



img001.jpg

img002.jpg

[/B]
I understand how to solve the problem using the technique provided by the solution but I was wondering where I messed up in the technique that I used. I prefer the second technique because there is less memorization.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Did you have a question? The provided solution looks pretty thorough except that they didn't explicitly state the steady-state solution.
 
gneill said:
Did you have a question? The provided solution looks pretty thorough except that they didn't explicitly state the steady-state solution.

The problem is that the provided solution doesn't derive the differential equations from scratch. It uses equations that we are supposed to memorize. I would prefer to just solve the problem from scratch instead of plugging in and chugging. I am trying to derive the differential equations from scratch and I did so but my final solution is incorrect.
 
When I do nodal analysis I see:
$$\frac{v}{R} + \frac{1}{L} \int v\;dt + C \frac{dv}{dt} = 0 $$
Clear the integral by differentiating the whole thing:
$$\frac{1}{R} \frac{dv}{dt} + \frac{1}{L} v + C \frac{d^2 v}{dt^2} = 0$$
$$\frac{d^2 v}{dt^2} + \frac{1}{R C} \frac{dv}{dt} + \frac{1}{L C} v = 0$$
Plugging in component values and changing notation:
RC = 1
LC = 1/4

thus:

v'' + v' + 4v = 0

So you have complex conjugate roots, not a double real root. This makes sense since the circuit is underdamped.
 
gneill said:
When I do nodal analysis I see:
$$\frac{v}{R} + \frac{1}{L} \int v\;dt + C \frac{dv}{dt} = 0 $$
Clear the integral by differentiating the whole thing:
$$\frac{1}{R} \frac{dv}{dt} + \frac{1}{L} v + C \frac{d^2 v}{dt^2} = 0$$
$$\frac{d^2 v}{dt^2} + \frac{1}{R C} \frac{dv}{dt} + \frac{1}{L C} v = 0$$
Plugging in component values and changing notation:
RC = 1
LC = 1/4

thus:

v'' + v' + 4v = 0

So you have complex conjugate roots, not a double real root. This makes sense since the circuit is underdamped.

I just did it this way and it seems to be correct. Is there anything I did wrong with my method?

Actually, I think I figured out what I did wrong. I substituted C=0.25 instead of C=1 and I substituted L=1 instead of L=0.25. Opps.
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

Back
Top