Experiment 3

APPLIED PHYSICS

EQUIVALENT INDUCTANCE IN SERIES AND PARALLEL COPULING; COUPLING

COEFFICIENT
3.1

OBJECTIVES:
1. Measure equivalent inductance of two coils, for series coupling with aiding current
and opposing current.
2. Measure equivalent inductance of two coils, for parallel coupling with aiding current
and opposing current
3. Determine Coupling Coefficient k as a function of distance and plot it.

3.2

SAFETY NOTES:
1. Power off LCR meter while making connections and after performing the lab.
2. Carefully handle the apparatus. Do not drop the helmholtz coils or LCR meter down
while performing the experiment.
3. Make connections carefully and call teacher to check the connections before starting
the experiment.

3.3

EQUIPMENTS/ REQUIREMENTS:
1.
2.
3.
4.

3.4

A Pair of coils.
LCR meter
1 meter scale.
4 connecting leads with banana connectors
THEORY:

Inductance:
According to Farradays law, The induced emf in a circuit is equal to the negative of the rate
at which the magnetic flux through the circuit is changing with time.
(1)
d ( N )

It is an ability of a conductor to
dt
induce voltage when the current
changes. the smbol for inductance is L and its unit is henry (H).

N
i

(2)

Mutual Induction:
When the current in a inductor changes, the varying flux can cut across an other inductor
nearby, producing induced voltage in both inductors. This is called Mutual induction. The unit
of mutual inductance is also henry (H).
Coefficient of Coupling:
The fraction of total flux from one coil linking another coil is the coefficient of coupling k
between the coils.

flux linkages between L1 andL2

flux produced by L1

(3)

If k <1 then there is loose coupling between the coils if k has high value than there is tight
coupling between them and if k=0 then there is no mutual inductance. In terms of mutual
inductance.

Lab Instructor Arshia Aijaz

M
L1 L2

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Experiment 3

APPLIED PHYSICS

Inductances in Series:
When two coils are joined in series then the equivalent inductance is influenced by their
mutual coupling as well as direction of current in the coils.
If current in the coils are in same direction (aiding current) then their flux are additive i.e. in
same direction. So the equivalent inductance increases.
La= L1 + L2 +2M
(5)
If current in the coils are in opposing direction (opposing current) then some amount of their
flux cancel each other. So the equivalent inductance decreases.
Lo= L1 + L2 -2M
(6)
Using equation 5 and 6 average mutual inductance is fount to be
M=( La - Lo)/4

(7)

Inductances in Parallel:
If current in the coils are in same direction (aiding current) then their flux are additive i.e. in
same direction. So the equivalent inductance becomes

La

L1 L2 M 2
L1 L2 2M

If current in the coils are in opposite direction (opposing current) then their
inductance becomes

Lo
3.5

L1 L2 M 2
L1 L2 2M

REFERENCES:
1. Basic Electronics, GROB
2. Physics by Halliday Resnick and Krane.
3. A text book of Electrical Technology by B.L.Theraja, A.K.Theraja

3.6

EXPERIMENTAL SETUP:

Lab Instructor Arshia Aijaz

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(8)
equivalent

(9)

Experiment 3

3.7

3.8

APPLIED PHYSICS

PROCEDURE:
1. Measure the inductance L1 and L2 of both coils.
2. Make connections for series coupling with aiding current as shown in figure 1.
3. Vary distance between coils from 5cm to 15cm through a step of 1cm and measure
inductance each time.
4. Repeat the above procedure for series coupling with opposing current and parallel
coupling with aiding and opposing current.
OBSERVATIONS:
L1 = ________mH,

L2 = __________mH

For Series:
Distance
'x'cm

Inductance (mH)
aiding opposing
current
current

Mutual
Inductance
m(H)

Coupling
Coefficient
'k'

Inductance (mH)
aiding opposing
current
current

Mutual
Inductance
m(H)

Coupling
Coefficient
'k'

For Parallel:
Distance
'x'cm

3.9

GRAPH:

Lab Instructor Arshia Aijaz

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Experiment 3

APPLIED PHYSICS

Plot graph between coupling coefficient k versus distance x using your

observations.
3.10

RESULT AND DISCUSSION:

Lab Instructor Arshia Aijaz

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