First-Order Circuits Contd.ppt

ECE201 Lect-20 First-Order Circuits Cont’d Dr. Holbert April 17, 2006 Introduction In a circuit with energy storage elements, voltages and currents are the solutions to linear, constant coefficient differential equations. Real engineers almost never solve the differential equations directly. It is important to have a qualitative understanding of the solutions. Important Concepts The differential equation for the circuit Forced (particular) and natural (complementary) solutions Transient and steady-state responses 1st order circuits: the time constant (?) The Differential Equation Every voltage and current is the solution to a differential equation. In a circuit of order n, these differential equations have order n. The number and configuration of the energy storage elements determines the order of the circuit. n ? # of energy storage elements The Differential Equation Equations are linear, constant coefficient: The variable x(t) could be voltage or current. The coefficients an through a0 depend on the component values of circuit elements. The function f(t) depends on the circuit elements and on the sources in the circuit. Building Intuition Even though there are an infinite number of differential equations, they all share common characteristics that allow intuition to be developed: Particular and complementary solutions Effects of initial conditions Differential Equation Solution The total solution to any differential equation consists of two parts: x(t) = xp(t) + xc(t) Particular (forced) solution is xp(t) Response particular to a given source Complementary (natural) solution is xc(t) Response common to all sources, that is, due to the “passive” circuit elements The Forced Solution The forced (particular) solution is the solution to the non-homogeneous equation: The particular solution is usually has the form of a sum of f(t) and its derivatives. If f(t) is constant, then vp(t) is constant The Natural Solution The natural (or complementary) solution is the solu