Series Resonance Circuit

Resonance occurs in a series circuit when the supply frequency

causes the voltages across L and C to be equal and opposite in
phase

Thus far we have analysed the behaviour of a series RLC circuit whose
source voltage is a fixed frequency steady state sinusoidal supply. We
have also seen in our tutorial about series RLC circuits that two or
more sinusoidal signals can be combined using phasors providing that
they have the same frequency supply.
But what would happen to the characteristics of the circuit if a supply
voltage of fixed amplitude but of different frequencies was applied to
the circuit. Also what would the circuits “frequency response”
behaviour be upon the two reactive components due to this varying
frequency.
In a series RLC circuit there becomes a frequency point were the
inductive reactance of the inductor becomes equal in value to the
capacitive reactance of the capacitor. In other words, XL = XC. The
point at which this occurs is called the Resonant Frequency point,
( ƒr ) of the circuit, and as we are analysing a series RLC circuit this
resonance frequency produces a Series Resonance.
Series Resonance circuits are one of the most important circuits used
electrical and electronic circuits. They can be found in various forms
such as in AC mains filters, noise filters and also in radio and television
tuning circuits producing a very selective tuning circuit for the
receiving of the different frequency channels. Consider the simple
series RLC circuit below.
Series RLC Circuit

Firstly, let us define what we already know about series

RLC circuits.

From the above equation for inductive reactance, if either

the Frequency or the Inductance is increased the overall
inductive reactance value of the inductor would also
increase. As the frequency approaches infinity the
inductors reactance would also increase towards infinity
with the circuit element acting like an open circuit.
However, as the frequency approaches zero or DC, the
inductors reactance would decrease to zero, causing the
opposite effect acting like a short circuit. This means then
that inductive reactance is “Proportional” to frequency
and is small at low frequencies and high at higher
frequencies and this demonstrated in the following curve:
Inductive Reactance against Frequency

The graph of inductive reactance against frequency is a

straight line linear curve. The inductive reactance value of
an inductor increases linearly as the frequency across it
increases. Therefore, inductive reactance is positive and is
directly proportional to frequency ( XL ∝ ƒ )
The same is also true for the capacitive reactance formula
above but in reverse. If either the Frequency or
the Capacitance is increased the overall capacitive
reactance would decrease. As the frequency approaches
infinity the capacitors reactance would reduce to practically
zero causing the circuit element to act like a perfect
conductor of 0Ω.
But as the frequency approaches zero or DC level, the
capacitors reactance would rapidly increase up to infinity
causing it to act like a very large resistance, becoming
more like an open circuit condition. This means then that
capacitive reactance is “Inversely proportional” to
frequency for any given value of capacitance and this
shown below:
Capacitive Reactance against Frequency

The graph of capacitive reactance against frequency is a

hyperbolic curve. The Reactance value of a capacitor has
a very high value at low frequencies but quickly decreases
as the frequency across it increases. Therefore, capacitive
reactance is negative and is inversely proportional to
frequency ( XC ∝ ƒ -1 )
We can see that the values of these resistances depends
upon the frequency of the supply. At a higher
frequency XL is high and at a low frequency XC is high.
Then there must be a frequency point were the value
of XL is the same as the value of XC and there is. If we now
place the curve for inductive reactance on top of the curve
for capacitive reactance so that both curves are on the
same axes, the point of intersection will give us the series
resonance frequency point, ( ƒr or ωr ) as shown below.

Series Resonance Frequency

where: ƒr is in Hertz, L is in Henries and C is in Farads.
Electrical resonance occurs in an AC circuit when the two
reactances which are opposite and equal cancel each
other out as XL = XC and the point on the graph at which
this happens is were the two reactance curves cross each
other. In a series resonant circuit, the resonant
frequency, ƒr point can be calculated as follows.

We can see then that at resonance, the two reactances

cancel each other out thereby making a series LC
combination act as a short circuit with the only opposition
to current flow in a series resonance circuit being the
resistance, R. In complex form, the resonant frequency is
the frequency at which the total impedance of a series
RLC circuit becomes purely “real”, that is no imaginary
impedance’s exist. This is because at resonance they are
cancelled out. So the total impedance of the series circuit
becomes just the value of the resistance and
therefore: Z = R.
Then at resonance the impedance of the series circuit is at
its minimum value and equal only to the resistance, R of
the circuit. The circuit impedance at resonance is called
the “dynamic impedance” of the circuit and depending
upon the frequency, XC (typically at high frequencies)
or XL (typically at low frequencies) will dominate either
side of resonance as shown below.

Impedance in a Series Resonance Circuit

Note that when the capacitive reactance dominates the

circuit the impedance curve has a hyperbolic shape to
itself, but when the inductive reactance dominates the
circuit the curve is non-symmetrical due to the linear
response of XL.
You may also note that if the circuits impedance is at its
minimum at resonance then consequently, the
circuits admittance must be at its maximum and one of
the characteristics of a series resonance circuit is that
admittance is very high. But this can be a bad thing
because a very low value of resistance at resonance
means that the resulting current flowing through the circuit
may be dangerously high.
We recall from the previous tutorial about series RLC
circuits that the voltage across a series combination is the
phasor sum of VR, VL and VC. Then if at resonance the two
reactances are equal and cancelling, the two voltages
representing VL and VC must also be opposite and equal in
value thereby cancelling each other out because with pure
components the phasor voltages are drawn at +90o and -
90o respectively.
Then in a series resonance circuit as VL = -VC the
resulting reactive voltages are zero and all the supply
voltage is dropped across the resistor.
Therefore, VR = Vsupply and it is for this reason that series
resonance circuits are known as voltage resonance
circuits, (as opposed to parallel resonance circuits which
are current resonance circuits).

Series RLC Circuit at Resonance

Since the current flowing through a series resonance

circuit is the product of voltage divided by impedance, at
resonance the impedance, Z is at its minimum value,
( =R ). Therefore, the circuit current at this frequency will
be at its maximum value of V/R as shown below.

Series Circuit Current at Resonance

The frequency response curve of a series resonance
circuit shows that the magnitude of the current is a function
of frequency and plotting this onto a graph shows us that
the response starts at near to zero, reaches maximum
value at the resonance frequency when IMAX = IR and then
drops again to nearly zero as ƒ becomes infinite. The
result of this is that the magnitudes of the voltages across
the inductor, L and the capacitor, C can become many
times larger than the supply voltage, even at resonance
but as they are equal and at opposition they cancel each

other out.
As a series resonance circuit only functions on resonant
frequency, this type of circuit is also known as
an Acceptor Circuit because at resonance, the
impedance of the circuit is at its minimum so easily
accepts the current whose frequency is equal to its
resonant frequency.
You may also notice that as the maximum current through
the circuit at resonance is limited only by the value of the
resistance (a pure and real value), the source voltage and
circuit current must therefore be in phase with each other
at this frequency. Then the phase angle between the
voltage and current of a series resonance circuit is also a
function of frequency for a fixed supply voltage and which
is zero at the resonant frequency point
when: V, I and VR are all in phase with each other as
shown below. Consequently, if the phase angle is zero
then the power factor must therefore be unity.
Phase Angle of a Series Resonance Circuit

Notice also, that the phase angle is positive for frequencies

above ƒr and negative for frequencies below ƒr and this
can be proven by,

Bandwidth of a Series Resonance Circuit

If the series RLC circuit is driven by a variable frequency at
a constant voltage, then the magnitude of the current, I is
proportional to the impedance, Z, therefore at resonance
the power absorbed by the circuit must be at its maximum
value as P = I2Z.
If we now reduce or increase the frequency until the
average power absorbed by the resistor in the series
resonance circuit is half that of its maximum value at
resonance, we produce two frequency points called
the half-power points which are -3dB down from
maximum, taking 0dB as the maximum current reference.
These -3dB points give us a current value that is 70.7% of
its maximum resonant value which is defined as: 0.5( I2 R
) = (0.707 x I)2 R. Then the point corresponding to the
lower frequency at half the power is called the “lower cut-
off frequency”, labelled ƒL with the point corresponding to
the upper frequency at half power being called the “upper
cut-off frequency”, labelled ƒH. The distance between these
two points, i.e. ( ƒH – ƒL ) is called the Bandwidth, (BW)
and is the range of frequencies over which at least half of
the maximum power and current is provided as shown.

Bandwidth of a Series Resonance Circuit

The frequency response of the circuits current magnitude

above, relates to the “sharpness” of the resonance in a
series resonance circuit. The sharpness of the peak is
measured quantitatively and is called the Quality factor,
Q of the circuit. The quality factor relates the maximum or
peak energy stored in the circuit (the reactance) to the
energy dissipated (the resistance) during each cycle of
oscillation meaning that it is a ratio of resonant frequency
to bandwidth and the higher the circuit Q, the smaller the
bandwidth, Q = ƒr /BW.
As the bandwidth is taken between the two -3dB points,
the selectivity of the circuit is a measure of its ability to
reject any frequencies either side of these points. A more
selective circuit will have a narrower bandwidth whereas a
less selective circuit will have a wider bandwidth. The
selectivity of a series resonance circuit can be controlled
by adjusting the value of the resistance only, keeping all
the other components the same, since Q = (XL or XC)/R.

Bandwidth of a Series RLC Resonance Circuit

Then the relationship between resonance, bandwidth,

selectivity and quality factor for a series resonance circuit
being defined as:
1). Resonant Frequency, (ƒr)

2). Current, (I)

3). Lower cut-off frequency, (ƒL)

4). Upper cut-off frequency, (ƒH)

5). Bandwidth, (BW)

6). Quality Factor, (Q)

Series Resonance Example No1
A series resonance network consisting of a resistor of 30Ω,
a capacitor of 2uF and an inductor of 20mH is connected
across a sinusoidal supply voltage which has a constant
output of 9 volts at all frequencies. Calculate, the resonant
frequency, the current at resonance, the voltage across the
inductor and capacitor at resonance, the quality factor and
the bandwidth of the circuit. Also sketch the corresponding
current waveform for all frequencies.

1. Resonant Frequency, ƒr

2. Circuit Current at Resonance, Im

3. Inductive Reactance at Resonance, XL

4. Voltages across the inductor and the capacitor, VL, VC

Note: the supply voltage may be only 9 volts, but at

resonance, the reactive voltages across the capacitor,
VC and the inductor, VL are 30 volts peak!
5. Quality factor, Q
6. Bandwidth, BW

7. The upper and lower -3dB frequency points, ƒH and ƒL

8. Current Waveform

Series Resonance Example No2

A series circuit consists of a resistance of 4Ω, an
inductance of 500mH and a variable capacitance
connected across a 100V, 50Hz supply. Calculate the
capacitance require to produce a series resonance
condition, and the voltages generated across both the
inductor and the capacitor at the point of resonance.
Resonant Frequency, ƒr
 Voltages across the inductor and the capacitor, VL, VC

Series Resonance Summary

You may have noticed that during the analysis of series
resonance circuits in this tutorial, we looked at bandwidth,
upper and lower frequencies, -3dB points and quality or Q-
factor. All these are terms used in designing and building
of Band Pass Filters (BPF) and indeed, resonance circuits
are used in 3-element mains filter designs to pass all
frequencies within the “passband” range while rejecting all
others.
However, the main aim of this tutorial is to analyse and
understand the concept of how Series Resonance occurs
in passive RLC series circuits. Their use in RLC filter
networks and designs is outside the scope of this particular
tutorial, and so will not be looked at here, sorry.
• For resonance to occur in any circuit it must have at least
one inductor and one capacitor.
• Resonance is the result of oscillations in a circuit as
stored energy is passed from the inductor to the
capacitor.
• Resonance occurs when XL = XC and the imaginary part
of the transfer function is zero.
• At resonance the impedance of the circuit is equal to the
resistance value as Z = R.
• At low frequencies the series circuit is capacitive
as: XC > XL, this gives the circuit a leading power factor.
• At high frequencies the series circuit is inductive
as: XL > XC, this gives the circuit a lagging power factor.
• The high value of current at resonance produces very
high values of voltage across the inductor and capacitor.
• Series resonance circuits are useful for constructing
highly frequency selective filters. However, its high
current and very high component voltage values can
cause damage to the circuit.
• The most prominent feature of the frequency response of
a resonant circuit is a sharp resonant peak in its
amplitude characteristics.
• Because impedance is minimum and current is
maximum, series resonance circuits are also
called Acceptor Circuits.
In the next tutorial about Parallel Resonance we will look at
how frequency affects the characteristics of a parallel
connected RLC circuit and how this time the Q-factor of a
parallel resonant circuit determines its current
magnification.