RLC circuit

An RLC circuit combines electrical resistance $R$, inductance $L$, and capacitance $C$. The capacitor stores energy in its electric field; the inductor stores energy in its magnetic field. Their exchange can produce an oscillation, while Joule heating removes energy. A series RLC circuit gives a particularly clear example: changing $R$ turns ringing into a direct return to equilibrium, and changing $L$ or $C$ tunes a resonance.

These circuits connect two useful viewpoints. In time, they describe how stored energy is released after switching. In frequency, they select a range of signals: the resonant series RLC response explains radio tuning and simple filters. The same mathematics describes a damped harmonic oscillator, so insight about mechanical ringing transfers directly to an electrical circuit. ^[ref]; ^[ref].

An ideal sinusoidal voltage source drives a series $R,L,C$ branch and a separate resistor $R$ in parallel. At the series resonance, the reactive stored energy is $L{V}_0^2/(2R^2)$, while both resistors together dissipate $2\pi V_0^2/({\omega }_{0}R)$ per cycle. Counting only the series resistor overestimates the stored-energy-to-dissipation ratio by a factor of two.

An ideal resistor, inductor and capacitor connected across the same voltage have admittance $Y=1/R+i(\omega C-1/(\omega L))$ in the $e^{i\omega t}$ convention. At ${\omega }_0=1/\sqrt{LC}$ the reactive branch currents cancel, giving minimum source current $V_0/R$ and maximum impedance $R$. This differs from a lossy series coil placed across a capacitor.

With no external current, Kirchhoff's current law is $C\dot{V}+V/R+I_L=0$, and $L{\dot{I}}_L=V$. Differentiating gives the title equation. For $4R^2>L/C$, its real solutions are $A{e}^{-t/(2RC)}\cos ({\omega }_{d}t+\varphi )$ with ${\omega }_d^2=1/(LC)-1/(4R^2{C}^2)$. The original current balance fixes the compatible initial inductor current. A single complex exponential represents a physical voltage through its real part; general complex solutions require both conjugate characteristic roots.

When $R_s$ is in series with a parallel RLC circuit, the ratio of parallel-network voltage to voltage across $R_s$ is its impedance divided by $R_s$. Its peak is $R/R_s$, and its phase passes from $+\pi /2$ through zero to $-\pi /2$ as angular frequency rises through $1/\sqrt{LC}$. This is not the transfer ratio relative to the total input voltage, which includes the additional series voltage drop and has peak $R/(R+R_s)$. Identifying voltage endpoints is necessary before using the voltage divider formula.

For the ratio of resistor-current amplitude to total-current amplitude to exceed $1/\sqrt{2}$, $|\omega C-1/(\omega L)|<1/R$. The exact positive endpoint difference is $\Delta \omega =1/(RC)$ and the quality factor is $Q=R\sqrt{C/L}$. Greater shunt resistance means weaker dissipation, unlike increasing a series resistance.

In a series RLC circuit, the same electric current $i=q^{\prime }$ flows through the resistor with electrical resistance $R$, the inductor, and the capacitor. Choose $q$ as the signed electric charge on the capacitor plate into which positive $i$ flows. With terminal drops measured in that direction, Kirchhoff's voltage law givesHere $V(t)$ is the applied electric potential difference; assume constant $L>0$, $C>0$, and $R>0$. With the applied source set to zero and the loop kept closed, the free response satisfiesThe angular frequency ${\omega }_0$ is the value for lossless free oscillation; $\alpha$ is the decay parameter. The three possibilities are underdamped RLC response for $\alpha <{\omega }_0$, critically damped RLC response for $\alpha ={\omega }_0$, and overdamped RLC response for $\alpha >{\omega }_0$. ^[ref].

For a fair comparison, start each circuit with the same electric charge $q(0)=q_0$ and zero electric current $q^{\prime }(0)=0$. Set $\tau ={\omega }_{0}t$ and $a=\alpha /{\omega }_0$; then $x=q/q_0$ obeys $d^{2}x/d{\tau }^2+2adx/d\tau +x=0$. The plot compares $a=0.5,1,2$. These dimensionless curves apply to any $L,C$ after rescaling time and electric charge.

The stored energy is the sum of magnetic energy and capacitor energy:Differentiating and using the circuit equation gives the complete power balance,In the free response, $E^{\prime }=-R{i}^2\le 0$: Joule heating accounts exactly for the lost energy. For the plotted initial conditions, $E(0)=q_0^2/(2C)$ and $E/E(0)=x^2+(dx/d\tau {)}^2$. Since every free solution tends to zero for $R>0$,In the lossless limit $R=0$, energy stays constant and shuttles between the capacitor and inductor. Thus an oscillation of electric charge and a decrease of total energy are compatible statements.

The analogy with a damped harmonic oscillator is exact within these ideal models: electric charge corresponds to displacement, electric current to velocity, inductance to mass, $1/C$ to spring constant, and $R$ to the coefficient of a resisting force proportional to velocity. The two stored energy terms play the roles of kinetic energy and elastic potential energy. ^[ref].

Differentiating the driven equation also gives $L{i}^{\prime \prime }+R{i}^{\prime }+i/C=V^{\prime }$. When using this equation to solve for electric current, retain the original constraint $L{i}^{\prime }(0)+Ri(0)+q(0)/C=V(0)$: the initial electric charge fixes the initial rate of change of electric current.

For series resistance $R$, inductance $L$ and capacitance $C$, with output measured across the inductor, the $e^{i\omega t}$ transfer function is $H_L=i\omega L/[R+i(\omega L-1/(\omega C))]$. At current resonance ${\omega }_0=1/\sqrt{LC}$ its modulus is ${\omega }_{0}L/R=Q$. Large and oppositely phased inductor and capacitor voltages nearly cancel in the loop sum. This is voltage magnification in a passive circuit, not power gain. The maximum of $|H_L|$ need not occur exactly at the current-resonance frequency.

Write ${\omega }_0^2=1/(LC)$ and $\gamma =R/L$ for a series RLC circuit. The squared charge response has denominator $D=({\omega }_0^2-{\omega }^2{)}^2+{\gamma }^2{\omega }^2$. Its nonzero resonance peak occurs at ${\omega }_r^2={\omega }_0^2-{\gamma }^2/2$. The two squared half-height frequencies, when both exist, areTheir difference in angular frequencies is only approximately $\gamma$ at large quality factor. The electric current instead has $|I{|}^2=|V{|}^2/[R^2+(\omega L-1/(\omega C){)}^2]$. Its exact half-power frequencies satisfy $|\omega L-1/(\omega C)|=R$, whose positive roots differ by $R/L$, independently of capacitance. Thus an exact capacitance-independent bandwidth applies to current or resistor-voltage output; capacitor-voltage output is a low-pass response with a possible resonant peak.

Drive a series RLC circuit with electric potential difference $V(t)=V_0\cos (\omega t)$, where $V_0>0$ and $\omega >0$. After the free transient decays, the electric current has the same angular frequency as the source:For fixed positive $R,L,C,V_0$, the electric current amplitude is largest exactly at $\omega ={\omega }_0=1/\sqrt{LC}$. The two electrical reactance contributions cancel there, leaving only the drop from electrical resistance. In particular,Every solution approaches this periodic response because its difference from the displayed solution is a decaying free response. The peak remains at ${\omega }_0$ even for an overdamped RLC response; free ringing is not required for a maximum of driven electric current. ^[ref].

For example, stipulate $L=10\mathrm{mH}$, $C=1\mu \mathrm{F}$, $R=20\Omega$, and $V_0=1\mathrm{V}$. Then ${\omega }_0=10^4{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$, $f_0={\omega }_0/(2\pi )\approx 1591.55\mathrm{Hz}$, and the peak electric current amplitude is $50\mathrm{mA}$. Holding the source amplitude fixed is essential when comparing responses at different frequencies.

Three frequencies must be distinguished. The free underdamped RLC response rings at ${\omega }_d=\sqrt{{\omega }_0^2-{\alpha }^2}$. Driven electric current peaks at ${\omega }_0$. Driven electric charge has amplitudewhose peak occurs at $\sqrt{{\omega }_0^2-2{\alpha }^2}$ only if $\alpha <{\omega }_0/\sqrt{2}$. Otherwise it decreases from its zero-frequency limit $C{V}_0$, with no positive-frequency peak. The different peak locations follow because electric current is the time derivative of electric charge, multiplying a sinusoidal amplitude by $\omega$. The limiting responses are $I_{\mathrm{amp}}\sim V_{0}C\omega$ as $\omega \to 0^{+}$ and $I_{\mathrm{amp}}\sim V_0/(L\omega )$ as $\omega \to \infty$.

The Q factor measures selectivity:The average Joule heating power is $R{I}_{\mathrm{amp}}^2/2$. Its half-maximum angular frequencies and their separation are exactlyThese follow by setting $|\omega L-1/(\omega C)|=R$. In the numerical example, $Q=5$ and $\Delta \omega =2000{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$. Reducing $R$ makes a taller, narrower electric current peak; varying $C$ tunes the selected frequency. Measuring the drop $v_R=Ri$ gives a band-pass filter that suppresses very low and very high frequencies while passing a range near resonance. This is useful for selecting a radio signal, though the range must be broad enough to pass its modulation. ^[ref].

An overdamped RLC response is a free series RLC circuit response with $R>2\sqrt{L/C}$, equivalently $\alpha >{\omega }_0$. Put $\beta =\sqrt{{\alpha }^2-{\omega }_0^2}$. The distinct negative characteristic roots are $r_{\pm }=-\alpha \pm \beta$, so the general electric charge isFor initial conditions $q(0)=q_0$, $i(0)=0$,For $q_0>0$, this electric charge decreases to zero without reversing sign. In the dimensionless example ${\omega }_0=1$, $\alpha =2$, the characteristic roots are $-2\pm \sqrt{3}\approx -0.268,-3.732$. The slow term dominates late times. Stronger damping can therefore make the final return slower: for $\alpha \gg {\omega }_0$, $r_{+}\sim -{\omega }_0^2/(2\alpha )=-1/(RC)$. Nonoscillation alone does not imply a fast response, and monotonicity here uses the specified initial conditions.

A critically damped RLC response is the boundary between underdamped RLC response and overdamped RLC response. The free series RLC circuit has a repeated characteristic root $-{\omega }_0$, with general solutionFor initial conditions $q(0)=q_0$, $i(0)=0$,In the plotted normalization, $q(1)=2/e\approx 0.735759$ and $i(1)=-1/e\approx -0.367879$. The electric charge returns without ringing; the polynomial factor $1+{\omega }_{0}t$ matters, so a single exponential function does not give the whole response.

For fixed $L,C$ and these initial conditions, critical damping avoids ringing while giving a faster asymptotic return than any larger $R$: the overdamped RLC response has a root closer to zero. This makes critical damping a useful tuning target for settling after switching. An MIT laboratory exercise makes the distinction observable by asking students to compare all three cases with $L=47\mathrm{mH}$ and $C=47\mathrm{nF}$. Those values give $R_{\mathrm{crit}}=2\sqrt{L/C}=2000\Omega$ and ${\omega }_0\approx 21276.6{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$. ^[ref].

An underdamped RLC response is a free series RLC circuit response with $0<R<2\sqrt{L/C}$, equivalently $0<\alpha <{\omega }_0$. Its characteristic roots are $-\alpha \pm \mathrm{i}{\omega }_d$, and its general electric charge isFor initial conditions $q(0)=q_0$, $i(0)=0$,In the dimensionless example ${\omega }_0=1$, $\alpha =0.5$, the ringing angular frequency is ${\omega }_d=\sqrt{3}/2\approx 0.866025$, below the driven electric current resonance at ${\omega }_0=1$. The electric charge first crosses zero at $t=4\pi /(3\sqrt{3})\approx 2.41840$ and reaches its first negative extremum at $t=2\pi /\sqrt{3}\approx 3.62760$, where $q/q_0=-e^{-\pi /\sqrt{3}}\approx -0.163034$.

The sinusoidal factor changes sign while its envelope decays as $e^{-\alpha t}$. The total energy follows the exact balance $E^{\prime }=-R{i}^2$, rather than a pure exponential decay at every instant; in particular, its rate of loss is zero whenever $i=0$. As $\alpha \to 0$, the displayed solution tends to the lossless harmonic oscillator $q=q_0\cos ({\omega }_{0}t)$. As $\alpha \to {\omega }_0$ from below, $\sin ({\omega }_{d}t)/{\omega }_d\to t$, recovering the critically damped RLC response continuously. The overdamped RLC response reaches the same limit through $\sinh (\beta t)/\beta \to t$.