Circuit Analysis I

Chapter 6: Capacitors and Inductors

Dr. Saeed Abdallah

Chapter 6: Capacitors and Inductors
6.2 Capacitors
6.3 Series and Parallel Capacitors
6.4 Inductors
6.5 Series and Parallel Inductors
 Capacitance and Inductance
• So far we have talked about two types of elements:
– Energy Supplying Elements: voltage and current sources.
– Energy Absorbing/Dissipating Elements: Resistors.
• Now, we want to add a new type:
– Energy Storage Element: Capacitor, Inductor.
• Capacitors store energy when a voltage is applied
across their terminals.
• Inductors store energy when a current is passed
through their terminals.
• The energy can be retrieved at a later time.
 6.2 Capacitors
• A capacitor is a passive element designed to store energy in
its electric field.

• A capacitor consists of two parallel conducting plates

separated by an insulator (or dielectric).
• The dielectric material transmits electrical force without conduction.
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 6.2 Capacitors
• Capacitance C is the ratio of the charge q on one plate of a
capacitor to the voltage difference v between the two plates,
measured in farads (F).

q C v  A
and C
d
• Where  is the permittivity of the dielectric material between
the plates, A is the surface area of each plate, d is the
distance between the plates.
• Unit: F, pF (10–12), nF (10–9), and F (10–6)

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 6.2 Capacitors
• The convention is that the current i
is flowing into the +ve terminal of C
– Charging => i is +ve
– Discharging => i is –ve

• The current-voltage relationship of capacitor according to

above convention is

dv 1 t
i C
dt
and v
C i d t  v(t )
t0
0

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 6.2 Capacitors
•

dv
i C
dt

Voltage across a capacitor:

(a) allowed, (b) not allowable; an abrupt change is not possible.
 6.2 Capacitors
• The energy, w, stored in the
capacitor is

1 2
w Cv
2

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 6.1 Capacitors
Example 1
• (a) Calculate the charge stored on a 3-pF capacitor with 20 V
across it.
• (b) Find the energy stored in the capacitor

Solution 1
 6.1 Capacitors
Example 2

• The voltage across a 5-μF capacitor is v(t) = 10 cos 6000t Volt

Calculate the current through it.

Solution 2
By definition, the current is

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 6.2 Capacitors
Example 2

The current through a 100-F capacitor is

i(t) = 50 sin(120 t) mA.
Calculate the voltage across it at t =1 ms and
t = 5 ms. Take v(0) =0.

Answer:
v(1ms) = 93.14mV
v(5ms) = 1.7361V
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 6.2 Capacitors
Example 4

Under dc conditions, find the energy stored in the capacitors.

Answer:12 405 μJ, 90 μJ

 6.3 Series and Parallel
Capacitors
• The equivalent capacitance of N parallel-connected capacitors is
the sum of the individual capacitances.

++…+

C eq C1  C 2  ...  C N

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 6.3 Series and Parallel
Capacitors
• The equivalent capacitance of N series-connected capacitors is
the reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocals of the individual
capacitances.

1 1 1 1
   ... 
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C eq C1 C 2 CN
 6.3 Series and Parallel
Capacitors
Example 4
Find the equivalent capacitance seen at the terminals of the
circuit in the circuit shown below:

Answer:
Ceq = 40F
 6.3 Series and Parallel
Capacitors
Example 5
For the circuit in the figure, find the voltage across each
capacitor
 6.3 Series and Parallel
Capacitors
Example 6
Obtain the energy stored in each capacitor in the figure under
dc conditions.

Under dc conditions, we replace each

capacitor with an open circuit

by current division
 Important Rules for working with
Capacitors
• A capacitor looks like an open circuit with respect to dc.
• A finite amount of energy can be stored in a capacitor
even if the current through it is 0.
• It is impossible to change the voltage by a finite
amount in 0 time. That would require infinite current.
• The ideal capacitor never dissipates energy.

dv 1 t 1
w  C v2
i C
dt
v
C i dt  v(t )
t0
0 2
 6.4 Inductors
• An inductor is a passive element designed to store energy in
its magnetic field.

• An inductor consists of a coil of conducting wire.

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 6.4 Inductors
• Inductance is the property whereby an inductor exhibits
opposition to the change of current flowing through it,
measured in henrys (H).

di N2  A
v L and L
dt l
• L: inductance, N: number of turns, µ: permeability, A:
cross sectional area, : length
• The unit of inductors is Henry (H), mH (10–3) and H
(10–6).
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 6.4 Inductors
• The current-voltage relationship of an inductor:

1 t
i
L v(t ) d t  i(t )
t0
0

• The energy stored by an inductor:

1
w  L i2
2
• An inductor acts like a short circuit to dc (di/dt = 0) and its
current cannot change abruptly.

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 6.4 Inductors
Example 1
The terminal voltage of a 2-H inductor is
v = 10(1-t) V

Find the current flowing through it at t = 4 s and

the energy stored in it within 0 < t < 4 s.

Assume i(0) = 2 A.

Answer:
i(4s) = -18A

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w(4s) = 320J
 6.4 Inductors
Example 2

Solution

Alternatively,
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 6.3 Inductors
Example 3
Consider the circuit in the figure. Under dc conditions, find:
(a)
(b) the energy stored in the capacitor and inductor.
Solution
we replace the capacitor with an open circuit
and the inductor with a short circuit

vC is the same as the voltage across the 5- resistor

The energy in the capacitor is

The energy in the inductor is

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 6.4 Inductors
Example 4

Determine , , and the energy stored in the capacitor and inductor

in the circuit shown below under dc conditions.

Answer:
iL = 3A
vC = 3V
wL = 1.125J
25
wC = 9J
 6.5 Series and Parallel
Inductors

Leq L1  L2  ...  LN

• The equivalent inductance of series-connected inductors is

the sum of the individual inductances.
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 6.5 Series and Parallel
Inductors
• The equivalent capacitance of parallel inductors is the
reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocals of the individual
inductances.

1 1 1 1
   ... 
Leq L1 L2 LN

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 6.5 Series and Parallel
Inductors (3)
Example 5
Calculate the equivalent inductance for the inductive ladder
network in the circuit shown below:

Answer:
Leq = 25mH

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 Important Rules for dealing with Inductors
• An inductor acts like a short circuit for dc.
• Even though the voltage across an inductor is 0 for dc,
a finite amount of energy will be stored in it.
• It is impossible to change the current through an
inductor by a finite amount in 0 time. That would
require infinite voltage across the inductor.
• An ideal inductor never dissipates energy.

di 1 t 1
v L
dt
i
L v(t ) d t  i(t0 )
t0
w  L i2
2

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 6.5 Series and Parallel
Inductors
• Current and voltage relationship for R, L, C

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Integration and Derivation

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