UNIVERSITY OF WEST ATTICA
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER ENGINEERING AND INFORMATICS

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Circuit Theory

RLC Component Connections to AC Power Supply

Vasileios Evangelos Athanasiou
Student ID: 19390005

GitHub · LinkedIn

Supervisor: Christos Kampouris, Laboratory Teaching Staff

UNIWA Profile

Co-supervisor: Georgios Antoniou, Laboratory Teaching Staff

UNIWA Profile

Athens, June 2022

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Project Overview

This laboratory project explores the behavior of RLC components (Resistor, Inductor, Capacitor) when connected to an alternating current (AC) power supply.
The project was conducted as part of the Circuit Theory course at the University of West Attica.

The primary objective is to analyze the theoretical, simulated (using Multisim), and experimental behavior of RC and RL components in both series and parallel configurations under AC voltage.

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Table of Contents

Section	Folder	Description
1	assign/	Assignment material for the Circuit Theory course
1.1	assign/circuit theory rev2021_EXERCISE_3rd.pdf	Assignment description in English
1.2	assign/θεωρία κυκλωμάτων rev2021_ΑΣΚΗΣΗ_3η.pdf	Assignment description in Greek
2	docs/	Documentation on RLC components connected to AC power supply
2.1	docs/RLC-Component-Connections-to-AC-Power-Supply.pdf	English documentation
2.2	docs/Συνδεσμολογίες-Εξαρτημάτων-RLC-σε-AC-Τάση.pdf	Greek documentation
3	multisim/	Circuit simulation files for AC RLC systems
3.1	multisim/OscilloscopeRCParallel.ms14	RC parallel circuit with oscilloscope
3.2	multisim/OscilloscopeRCSerial.ms14	RC series circuit with oscilloscope
3.3	multisim/OscilloscopeRL2Parallel.ms14	RL parallel circuit with oscilloscope
3.4	multisim/OscilloscopeRLSeirial.ms14	RL series circuit with oscilloscope
4	README.md	Repository overview and usage instructions

Key Modules

• RC Component in Series
  Analysis of capacitor charging and discharging behaviors as frequency increases.

• RL Component in Series
  Investigation of coil active resistance (Xₗ) and voltage fluctuations across a 3.3 mH inductor.

• RC Component in Parallel
  Detailed analysis of parallel capacitor behavior.

• RL Component in Parallel
  Detailed analysis of parallel inductor behavior.

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Laboratory Equipment Used

• Breadboard for circuit assembly
• AC Power Supply (1 Vrms, 1 Hz – 100 kHz)
• Oscilloscope (dual-channel) for measuring sine waves and phase differences
• Multimeters
  • Digital (voltmeter)
  • Analog (ammeter)
• Components
  • Resistors: 1 kΩ, 2.2 kΩ
  • Capacitor: 470 nF
  • Inductor: 3.3 mH
  • Connection cables

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Key Findings

Frequency Response (RC Series)

• As frequency (f) increases, the capacitor's active resistance (Xc) decreases:

$$ X_c = \frac{1}{2\pi f C} \quad (\text{capacitive reactance}) $$

• Resulting in an increase in current (I) through the circuit.

Frequency Response (RL Series)

• As frequency increases, the current remains relatively constant.
• The coil's active resistance (X_L) increases:

$$ X_L = 2\pi f L \quad (\text{inductive reactance}) $$

Phase Difference

• Oscilloscope readings confirmed phase differences between source voltage and component voltage.
  Example: 10 ms difference at 100 Hz for the capacitor.

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Installation & Setup Guide

This repository contains laboratory simulations and analysis for Circuit Theory, focusing on RLC series and parallel circuits and their resonance behavior.

All simulations are implemented in NI Multisim.

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Prerequisites

Required Software

• NI Multisim 14 (or later)
  Ensure your system meets the requirements for running .ms14 files.
  Download from NI Multisim.

Optional Software

• PDF Viewer for documentation: RLC-Component-Connections-to-AC-Power-Supply.pdf / Συνδεσμολογίες-Εξαρτημάτων-RLC-σε-AC-Τάση.pdf

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Installation Steps

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/Circuit-Theory/RLC-AC.git

2. Navigate to Project Directory

cd RLC-AC

Ensure the following folder structure exists:

assign/
docs/
multisim/

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3. Open a Simulation in Multisim

• Launch NI Multisim.
• Select File → Open.
• Navigate to the multisim/ folder.
• Open the desired .ms14 file (series or parallel circuit).
• Wait for the circuit topology to load.

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Open the Documentation

1. Navigate to the docs/ directory
2. Open the report corresponding to your preferred language:
   • English: RLC-Component-Connections-to-AC-Power-Supply.pdf
   • Greek: Συνδεσμολογίες-Εξαρτημάτων-RLC-σε-AC-Τάση.pdf