Mapua Institute of Technology
School of EECE 
Department of Electrical Engineering 
 
Experiment No. 8 
FORCED AND NATURAL RESPONSE OF RL CIRCUITS WITH DC 
EXCITATION             
                                                                                            1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
Huerte, Leo Francis A. 
CPE - 2 
EE101L/B7 
 
 
_Engr. Ronaldo C. Cabuang_ 
Professor 
18 - 3  18 - 3 
GRADE 
 
 
WIRING DIAGRAM 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TinaPro schematic diagram of RL Circuit  
 
 
FINAL DATA SHEET 
Experiment 8: Forced and Natural Response of RL circuits with DC excitation 
Name: Huerte, Leo Francis A.                          Date: September 3, 2014 
Crs/Sec: EE101L/ B7                  Group no: 3 
 
Table 8.1 Charging (Complete response) 
TIME (ms)  CURRENT (A) 
30.81  256.7 
68.66  488.86 
84.51  562.64 
132.04  735.63 
172.54  826.24 
235.04  915.32 
261.44  936.12 
286.09  953.19 
320.42  967.88 
355.63  979.03 
394.37  987.14 
419.84  990.26 
470.45  994.79 
 
Table 8.2 Discharging (Natural response) 
TIME (ms)  CURRENT (A) 
8.80  902.73 
36.97  762.91 
49.30  701.59 
84.51  526.28 
98.59  466.74 
140.85  309.79 
163.73  252.70 
191.02  185.59 
223.59  134.79 
251.76  98.20 
291.37  61.66 
320.42  45.80 
389.96  19.52 
 
Approved by: 
 
Engr. R. C. Cabuang 
Instructor 
 
 
 
GRAPHS / CURVES 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
V
O
L
T
A
G
E
 
i
n
 
m
V
 
TIME in ms 
CHARGING (Complete Response) 
CHARGING
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
V
O
L
T
A
G
E
 
i
n
 
m
V
 
TIME in ms 
DISCHARGING (Natural Response) 
DISCHARGING
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
V
O
L
T
A
G
E
 
i
n
 
m
V
 
TIME in ms 
CHARGING & DISCHARGING of RC Circuit 
CHARGING
DISCHARGING
TinaPro output waveform of RL Circuit  
 
 
DATA ANALYSIS / INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS 
   
Experiment  8  deals  with  the  forced  and  natural  response  of  RL  (resistance 
inductor)  circuits  with  DC  (direct  current)  excitation.  In  this  experiment  an  element 
called inductor was used to obtain the result of the use of RL circuit. Also, the software 
TINAPro was utilized to perform the experiment. 
 
Like  a  capacitor,  an  inductor  stores  a  finite  amount  of  energy.  It  also  resists  an 
abrupt change in the current through it. Charging the inductor means storing current into 
it.  Note  that  even  if  the  voltage  of  the  inductor  is  zero,  energy  can  still  be  stored  in  it 
because it acts as a short-circuit in a DC.  
 
Table  8.1  shows  the  complete  response  of  charging  an  inductor  where  as  time 
increases, the current (in A) also increases. But at time=235.04 ms, the current is almost 
915.32 A up to time=470.45 ms where the current stays at 900+ A range, 994.79 to be 
exact.  This  means  that  approximately  235.04  ms  is  the  time  when  the  inductor  will  be 
fully  charged  having  a  maximum  current  of  900+  A  range.  Mathematically,  the  time 
when the inductor will be fully charged is equal to 5  where  =L/R . After 5  or at an 
infinite time, there would be constant current but no voltage,  meaning, the inductor will 
act as a short-circuit in DC. However, at time=0, there is voltage but no current and so, it 
is considered as an open-circuit in DC.  
 
If  one  switch  is  turned  off  such  that  no  current  flows  through  a  resistor,  the 
inductor can supply energy to it provided that it has been charged earlier. In table 8.1, we 
can  see  that  as  time  increases,  the  current  (in  A)  decreases  until  the  current  is  zero. 
Having a zero current  means that the current  in the  inductor is already  drained. And so, 
the resistor will stop working.  
 
 
 
This  experiment  also  observes  the  responses  of  a  DC  excited  RL  circuit.  Natural 
response corresponds to the transient response of the circuit from time 0 to 5  . And the 
forced  response  corresponds  to  the  steady-state  response  of  the  circuit  after  5  .  The 
combination of natural and forced responses corresponds to  the complete responses of a 
dynamic RL circuit. 
 
It can be noticed that the graph of the capacitance and inductance are the same, it 
is  for  the  reason  that  both  have  almost  the  same  characteristics  and  both  are  energy 
storing devices. 
 
For this experiment, the circuit below was used: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONCLUSION 
Experiment  8,  forced  and  natural  response  of  RL  circuits  with  DC  excitation,  an 
inductor  was  used  in  the  circuit  connection.  Inductor  is  basically  a  length  of  wire 
wounded into a coil that concentrates magnetic field around a given core. It stores a finite 
amount of energy in a magnetic field produced by a current through a wire coil. 
 
 
 
Based  on  the  graph  of  the  inductor  with  respect  to  the  current  and  time  it  can  be 
therefore conclude that in charging response, current, I, is directly proportional to time, t 
or I < t. while, when in discharging response, current, I, is inversely proportional to time, 
t or I < 1/t. 
 
Furthermore,  based  on  the  data  gathered  it  can  be  therefore  conclude  that  an 
inductor, when connected to a direct current supply, is considered short circuit to a direct 
current wherein the time is equal to infinity. Also a finite amount of energy can be stored 
in an inductor even if the inductor voltage across it is zero. An inductor can also resist an 
abrupt change in the current through it (proven in the graph). In the graph, it can be seen 
that  before  the  peak  voltage  of  the  charging  response  is  reach,  the  capacitor  need  some 
time to reach it, same goes in the discharging response.   
 
Lastly,  an  inductor  is  also  similar  to  capacitor  since  it  also  demonstrates  some  of 
the characteristics of a capacitor wherein when connected to a dc supply, inductor never 
dissipates energy but only stores it. 
 
 
The figure below is a simple RL Circuit;  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANSWER TO QUESTION AND PROBLEM 
 
1.  What are the factors governing inductance? 
 
  NUMBER  OF  TURNS  IN  THE  COIL-  the  inductance  can  be  increased  by 
increasing the number of turns of coil. 
  COIL  CROSS-SECTIONAL  AREA-  increasing  the  cross-  sectional  area  will 
increase the inductance. 
  COIL LENGTH- reducing the length of the coil will increase the inductance. 
  PERMITIVITY  OF  THE  MATERIAL-  using  material  with  higher  permeability 
as the core will make the inductance increase. 
 
 
 
2.  What are the characteristics of the inductor when connected a DC source? 
 
An inductor exhibits the following characteristics when connected to a dc supply: 
  An inductor is considered short-circuit to dc ( t =   ). 
  A finite amount of energy can be stored an inductor even if the inductor voltage is 
zero. 
  An inductor resists an abrupt change in the current through it. 
  The inductor never dissipates energy but only stores it. 
 
3.  What are the basic applications of an RL circuit? 
 
The  frequency-dependent  behavior  of  the  series  RL  circuit  can  be  very  useful. 
Consider  what  would  happen  if  a  complex  audio  signal,  such  as  music  or  speech  were 
applied to a series RL circuit. The signal appearing across R would contain primarily the 
lowest  frequency  components.  If  we  took  our  output  across  R,  the  RL  circuit  would 
behave like a low-pass filter. 
 
4.  Define the time constant of an RL circuit. 
 
The time constant of an RL circuit is an exponential decay of the initial current. It 
could be obtained by getting the quotient of the inductance divided by the resistance. 
 
5.  Discuss briefly the different types of inductors. 
  Coupled Inductors 
-  exhibit magnetic flux that is dependent on other conductors to which they are linked 
-  used when mutual inductance is needed 
  Multi-Layer Inductors 
-  consists of a layered coil, wound multiple times around the core 
-  have a high inductance level. 
  Ceramic Core Inductors 
 
 
-  unique in having a dielectric ceramic core, meaning it cannot store a lot of energy but has 
very low distortion and hysteresis 
  Molded Inductors 
-  molded using plastic or ceramic insulation 
-  often  used  in circuit  boards,  they  can  assume  either  a  cylindrical  or  bar  formation,  with 
windings featuring terminations at each end 
 
6.  Determine  the  equivalent  inductance  when  a  10mH  inductor  is  placed  in  parallel  with 
series connected 12mH and 3mH inductors. 
GIVEN: 
Series: 12 mH and 3 mH 
Parallel: 10 mH with 12 mH and 3 mH 
SOLUTION: 
equivalent inductance = 
( )(   )
      
 
 
 
 
7.  Find  the  equivalent  inductance  when  series  connected  40mH  and  150mH  inductors  are 
connected in parallel with series connected 0.1H and 0.12H inductors. 
GIVEN: 
Series: 40 mH and 150 mH; 0.1 H and 0.12 H 
Parallel: 40 mH and 150 mH with 0.1 H and 0.12 H 
 
SOLUTION: 
equivalent inductance = 
(  
 )(   )
  
     
 
 
 
 
8.  Determine the time constant of an RL circuit with a resistance R=20 Ohms and a 500mH 
inductor connected in series with a 10V DC source. 
GIVEN: 
  R = 20 | 
equivalent inductance = ^6 mH 
equivalent inductance = ^.102 H 
 
 
  L = 500 mH 
SOLUTION: 
  = 
 
 
 
 
 
9.  Determine  the  time  constant  of  an  RL  circuit  with  a  resistance  R=1.5K   and  a  220mH 
inductor connected in parallel with a 25V DC source. 
GIVEN: 
  R = 1.5 K| 
  L = 220 mH 
SOLUTION: 
  = 
 
 
 
 = 0.025  s 
 = 0.147 s