Matthew Fearrington

Frequency Effects in Series RLC Circuits

Objective

The objectives of this lab were to examine the effects of frequency on the resistor voltage in a
series RLC circuit and to identify the resonant frequency and the bandwidth of the circuit.

Procedure

The circuit shown in Figure 1 was constructed. Every component was measured with a
multimeter to ensure accuracy. A function generator was attached to the circuit set with a sine wave, a
frequency of 10kHz and a peak to peak voltage of 10V. A oscilloscope was then attached at point A, to
confirm the peak to peak voltage and frequency. The oscilloscope was then attached to point B and the
peak to peak voltage across the resistor was measured at differing frequencies.

Figure 1, Schematic

Data

These are the recorded values for the voltage across the 1kΩ resistor, as well as the nominal and
measured values for all the components used in the circuit.
 Table 1 Nominal and Measured Values

Resistor (kΩ) Capacitor (pF) Source Voltagepp (V) Inductor(mH)

Nominal 1 1000 10 100
Measured .99 1036 10 94.2

Table 2 Recorded Voltages of Resistor

Frequency (kHz) Resistor (Vpp)

10 1
11 1.22
12 1.64
13 2.12
13.5 2.58
14 3.16
14.5 4.04
15 5.2
15.5 6.68
16 7.28
16.5 6.48
17 5.28
17.5 4.44
18 3.68
18.5 3.12
19 2.62
20 2.08
21 1.78
22 1.48
 Table 3 Graph of Resistor Voltage at differing Frequencies

Table 4 Resonant Frequencies

Frequency (kHz)
Graph 16
Calculated 16.134

Table 5 Bandwidth Frequencies

Frequency (kHz)
Graph 15.2 – 17.2
Theoretical 16.73

Analysis

The resonant frequency for a series RLC circuit is the frequency at which the inductor and the
capacitor in a circuit effectively cancel each other at. The impedance of the circuit is at a minimum and
the resistor is voltage and current are maximum as the inductor and capacitor have canceled each other
out. This value can be found by using a formula or by graphing the voltage of a resistor in an RLC
circuit and noting the frequency when the voltage is at a maximum.
 The bandwidth is the range of the frequency in an RLC circuit when the resistor voltage is
between 71% of the maximum value. While there is a formula for the theoretical bandwidth, the
bandwidth can be found by graphing the resistor voltage and noting where the voltage goes above 71%
of it's maximum value.
 Appendix

Appendix 1: Calculations