NED UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND

TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

Date: 14-07-17 Signal and System Roll No: EE-145
Lab # 02 Section ‘D’

LAB # 02
SIGNALS AND SYSTEM (EE-231)

OBJECTIVE: TO VERIFY THE CONCEPT OF THE

TIME CONSTANT OF THE RC CIRCUIT

MUHAMMAD QASIM
EE-145
SECTION “D”

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Date: 14-07-17 Signal and System Roll No: EE-145
Lab # 02 Section ‘D’

Q.1) Define the term time constant. Write its expression for a RC
circuit. Also calculate %change for 1Tau-5Tau.

The time required for the current or voltage in a circuit to rise or fall exponentially through
approximately 63 per cent of its amplitude. The time constant, usually denoted by the Greek
letter τ (tau), is the parameter characterizing the response to a step input of a first-order,
linear time-invariant (LTI) system. The time constant is the main characteristic unit of a
first-order LTI system.

The time constant of an RC circuit is equal to the product of the resistance in ohms
and capacitance in farads; that is

Τ = RC

• CALCULATION
% change = (1 – 1/et/T) x 100

For 1 Tau:
% change = (1 – 1/e1) x 100 = 63.2 %

For 2 Tau:
(1 – 1/e2) x 100 = 86.4 %

For 3 Tau:
(1 – 1/e3) x 100 = 95 %

For 4 Tau:
(1 – 1/e4) x 100 = 98.16 %

For 5 Tau:
(1 – 1/e5) x 100 = 99.326 %

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Date: 14-07-17 Signal and System Roll No: EE-145
Lab # 02 Section ‘D’

Q.2) Simulate RC circuit, calculate its time constant, input frequency

and verify the concept by attaching the plot.

• CALCULATION:

Resistance = 1 k ohms , Capacitance = 3.3 uf

Therefore
T = RC = 1000 x 3.3 x10-6 = 0.0033 seconds
5T = 5RC = 5(1000 x 3.3 x10-6 ) = 0.0165 seconds

Frequency = 1 / 5(1000 x 3.3 x10-6 )x2 = 30.30 Hz

• SIMULATION on MATLAB:

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Date: 14-07-17 Signal and System Roll No: EE-145
Lab # 02 Section ‘D’

• PLOT:

For capacitor

For resistor:

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