INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO Y DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DE

MONTERREY

Modeling of Electrical Systems in Engineering (Gpo 201)

Activity: Final Report

Professors:
Juan Manuel Martínez Huerta
Julio César Ramírez San Juan

Team Members:
Ivan Alonso Peña /A01735908
Paola Acosta Torres / A01735892
Gerardo López Olvera / A01734710
Ana Jennifer Pérez Escobar / A01739178
Héctor González Hernández / A01739135
Carina Fernanda Sandoval Juárez / A01738603
Andres Antonio González Clemente / A01739147

Semestral January - June | 2025

May / 02 / 2025
 1.​ Work Plan:
-​ Challenge Activity 1: Initial Research (April 03, 2025)
-​ Challenge Activity 2: Characterization of an RC circuit

2.​ Theoretical Framework:

-​ Resistor: “A resistor is an electronic component designed for the specific purpose of
limiting the flow of current in an electrical circuit.” (Jacabrera, 2024)

-​ Capacitor: “A capacitor is a device used to store energy (electrical charge) in an

internal electric field. It is a passive electronic component and is frequently used in
electronic, analog, and digital circuits.” (Quartux, 2024)

-​ RC Circuit: “An RC circuit is composed of a resistor (R) and a capacitor (C), connected
in series or parallel within an electrical circuit. These components work together to filter,
store, and release energy.” (Matan, 2023)

-​ Charging and Discharging Time: "In an RC circuit, the time constant (τ) is the product
of resistance (R) and capacitance (C), and determines how quickly a capacitor charges
or discharges. A capacitor reaches 63.2% of its full charge after a time constant (τ = R ×
C). It is considered fully charged or discharged after approximately 5τ." (Administrador,
2020)

3.​ Problem Statement:

Today's electronic devices, such as mobile phones, computers, and wearables, often use
rechargeable batteries to power circuits, actuators, and data transmission systems. However,
when high currents, e.g. in the order of amps, are required to control actuators such as motors,
traditional batteries have significant limitations. This need has driven the development of
supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors (DLCs), which are often characterized by their fast
recharge time, high current density, and high cycle life, albeit with the disadvantage of operating
at low voltages.

The objective of this training unit is to study the process of charging and discharging a
supercapacitor through its modeling with an equivalent RC-type circuit. Throughout nine stages,
concepts such as resistance, capacitance, Kirchhoff's laws, second-order differential equations
and roots will be applied

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 4.​ Justification:
Why is Solving the Challenge Important?
To advance the design of power systems characteristic of modern electronic devices that require
high-current delivery for short periods, such as electric vehicles, drones, medical devices, or
industrial automation applications, it is necessary to understand the charge/discharge behavior of
supercapacitors. This is the role of traditional batteries, which are insufficient in these types of
applications due to their low output currents and slow charging rates. Including a supercapacitor
in a dynamic analysis with the help of an RC equivalent circuit model facilitates greater
efficiency when integrating these elements into a real-world application. This facilitates more
precise energy management, faster runtimes, and longer lifespans for electronic devices.

If necessary, field investigation could consist of studying commercial supercapacitors' data

sheets, simulation data loading requirements under high-current devices, and experimental
measurements compared with simulation results. This type of validation is essential to support
theoretical training and close the implementation gap between simulation and real-world
electrical engineering projects in industry.

5.​ State of the art:

Recently, RC circuit research and exploration, especially relevant to supercapacitor, have been
launched for the purpose of renewable energy storage, portable electronics and electric vehicle.
Among publications in this period, there has been an emphasis on modeling and optimization of
RC-based systems and their performance, particularly with respect to high-power applications.

Researchers (Zhang et al. (2021) and Wang & Lin (2022) have investigated the response time of
an RC circuit in energy storage modules and they demonstrated that when the resistance and
capacitance are jointly minimized, the power deliver at critical time slots becomes significantly
better in this burst-demand system. A noteworthy result has been the extraction of the proof that
a simplified RC equivalent model is enough to predict supercapacitor transient performance
under load, particularly in microcontroller based applications and robotics.

An additional avenue for improvement has been incorporating RC circuits in the hybridization of
energy systems, that is accompanying lithium-ion batteries with supercapacitors. As Patel &
Verma (2023) mentioned, this hybrid system not only provides rapid power flow, but also
enhances the cycle life of the conventional battery by avoiding high discharge peaks. However,

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although supercapacitors can be charged at very high rates, they have a typically lower energy
density and need additional material systems, such as graphene or porous carbon, to make
substantial progress.

6. Hypothesis:

If an RC model is employed to characterize the charge and discharge behavior of a

supercapacitor, the voltage-time response under different loading can be modeled with good
accuracy.

This assumption is based on the fact that by examining the time constant τ = R•C, and by
verifying it with experimental data, it may be possible to simulate the dynamic characteristics of
supercapacitors, rendering it suitable for energy storage applications in modern electronic
systems.

7. Objectives:

7.1 General Objective

●​ To study and understand the dynamics of charge and discharge of a supercapacitor
through the design, construction and modelling of an analogue RC circuit, incorporating
theoretical knowledge of electricity and electronics, the use of simulation tools, and
experimental validation, with the aim of applying these principles to electronic systems
that require high current demand.

7.2 Specific Objectives

●​ Design and build an Rc circuit representing the behavior of a supercapacitor, carefully
selecting the different values of resistance and capacitance based on real electrical
parameters and technical characteristics of commercial supercapacitors.

●​ Analyze the theoretical results obtained from the modeled circuit through an application
of different fundamental concepts such as Kirchhoff's Laws, resisting currents, capacitors,
voltage relations, among others.

8. Methodology:

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 8.1. Prototype Design

The prototype was designed for the simulation of the operation of a traffic light by using
supercapacitors in an Rc circuit. What is expected of the circuit is to store energy in capacitors
sequentially to activate 3 LED lights (green, yellow and red), imitating the operating logic of a
real traffic light.

The design was intended to be simple, replicable and functional. It was decided to build a basic
module with a single LED controlled by a capacitor and then replicate it in a chain three times to
generate this sequence of traffic lights. Similarly, the use of a 9V battery as a standard power
supply was considered.

Each of these stages consists of a resistor, a capacitor, a corresponding colored LED and
connections via jumpers. At the moment of pressing the button, the current will be allowed to
pass through to charge the cocoon, which will then discharge its energy through the LED,
managing to turn it on for a short period. This process is repeated sequentially three times.

8.2. Materials, software, hardware and record systems

The materials used were:

●​ Capacitors (Adapted to each LED)

●​ Resistances
●​ Leds
●​ Push buttons
●​ Jumpers
●​ Breadboard
●​ 9V battery
●​ Battery clip and connector

What we use to measure and record systems:

●​ Digital Multimeter

And the software used was:

●​ Tinkercad

8.3. Experimental procedure

About the experiment procedure:

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 1)​ A single circuit was initially built consisting of a resistor, a capacitor, a push button and
an LED. This module will allow us to observe how the energy stored in the capacitor
briefly fed the LED after being charged.

2)​ Afterwards, tests were carried out with the multimeter to measure the voltage levels
during the charge and discharge of the capacitor, managing to adjust values of resistances
and capacitors.

3)​ Once the operation of the first module was verified, the design was replicated for the
other LEDs, connecting the three modules in a chain to form the sequence of the traffic
light.

4)​ Each push button makes it possible to manually operate the ignition of each LED,
following the green → yellow → red sequence. Each capacitor was found to accumulate
the energy needed to illuminate its corresponding LED visibly before turning off.

5)​ Maximum voltages achieved in capacitors, estimated charge and discharge intervals, and
any anomalies were documented

8.4. Data analysis

The experimental results were compared with the theoretical charge/discharge curves of RC
circuits, confirming the expected exponential behavior. The calculated time constant (τ) matched
the theoretical values, validating the τ = RC relationship. LEDs served as visual indicators of the
state of charge, showing a clear correlation with voltage measurements.
Larger capacitors (1000 µF) were observed to have longer charge/discharge times than smaller
capacitors (470 µF), as predicted by theory. The small discrepancies were attributed to practical
factors such as internal resistance or voltage drop.
The analysis confirmed that the RC model can effectively simulate supercapacitor behavior,
highlighting its potential for high-current applications. This opens up possibilities for future
studies with real supercapacitors or hybrid systems.

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​ ​ 8.4 Mathematical analysis
Input Data:
Input Voltage: 𝑉0 = 9𝑉

Resistance: 𝑅 = 330Ω
Capacitors:
𝐶1 = 1000𝑚𝐹 = 1𝐹
𝐶2 = 470𝑚𝐹 = 0. 47𝐹
𝐶3 = 680𝑚𝐹 = 0. 68𝐹
Capacitor calculations
I.​ 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑜𝑟 1 = 1000𝑚𝐹 = 1𝐹
Time constant: τ = 𝑅 · 𝐶
= 330 · 1
= 330𝑠
Total charge/discharge time: 5τ
= 5 · 330
= 1650𝑠
Charging equation:
−𝑡/τ
𝑉(𝑡) = 𝑉0 · (1 − 𝑒 )

−𝑡/330
= 9 · (1 − 𝑒 )
Discharge equation:
−𝑡/330
𝑉(𝑡) = 9 · 𝑒
Charging current:
𝑉0 −𝑡/τ
𝑖(𝑡) = 𝑅
·𝑒

9 −𝑡/330
= 330
·𝑒
−𝑡/330
= 0. 02727 · 𝑒 𝐴

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 II.​ 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑜𝑟 2 = 470𝑚𝐹 = 0. 47𝐹
Time constant: τ = 𝑅 · 𝐶
= 330 · 0. 47
= 155. 1𝑠
Total charge/discharge time: 5τ
= 5 · 155. 1
= 775. 5𝑠
Charging equation:
−𝑡/τ
𝑉(𝑡) = 𝑉0 · (1 − 𝑒 )

−𝑡/155.1
= 9 · (1 − 𝑒 )
Discharge equation:
−𝑡/155.1
𝑉(𝑡) = 9 · 𝑒
Charging current:
𝑉0 −𝑡/τ
𝑖(𝑡) = 𝑅
·𝑒

9 −𝑡/155.1
= 330
·𝑒
−𝑡/155.1
= 0. 02727 · 𝑒 𝐴

III.​ 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑜𝑟 3 = 680𝑚𝐹 = 0. 68𝐹

Time constant: τ = 𝑅 · 𝐶
= 330 · 0. 68
= 224. 4𝑠
Total charge/discharge time: 5τ
= 5 · 224. 4
= 1122𝑠
Charging equation:
−𝑡/τ
𝑉(𝑡) = 𝑉0 · (1 − 𝑒 )

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 −𝑡/224.4
= 9 · (1 − 𝑒 )
Discharge equation:
−𝑡/224.4
𝑉(𝑡) = 9 · 𝑒
Charging current:
𝑉0 −𝑡/τ
𝑖(𝑡) = 𝑅
·𝑒

9 −𝑡/244.4
= 330
·𝑒
−𝑡/244.4
= 0. 02727 · 𝑒 𝐴

Voltage verification over time

To do this, each function is evaluated at t=5τ, since at that time the capacitor is considered to be
practically fully charged or discharged.

Charge:
−5
​ 𝑉(5τ) = 9 · (− 𝑒 )
​ = 9 · (1 − 0. 0067)
​ = 8. 9397𝑉
Discharge
−5
​ 𝑉(5τ) = 9 · 𝑒
​ = 9 · 0. 0067
​ = 0. 0603𝑉
The theoretical model tells us that charging and discharging:
At 5τ, the capacitor is charged to more than 99%, and when discharging, less than 1% of the
initial voltage remains. This is confirmed by our calculations.

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Matlab Code

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Components used

Resistor (330 Ω)

Resistor controls how quickly the capacitor charges and discharges. In other words, it modifies
the time it takes for the LED to turn on and off. This is based on a mathematical relationship
called the time constant (τ), which is calculated by multiplying the resistance by the capacitance.
We chose a value of 330 ohms because it gave us a manageable time to observe the light changes
without it being too fast or too slow.

Capacitors (1000 mF, 680 mF, 470 mF)

Capacitors are the core of the circuit. They work by storing energy and then releasing it. When a
capacitor is charging, its voltage gradually increases, and when it discharges, it decreases again.
The interesting thing is that each capacitor has a different value, and therefore each one takes a
different time to charge or discharge, which is directly reflected in how long each LED stays on.
This was useful for simulating the behavior of a real traffic light.

LEDs (green, yellow, and red)

LEDs visually show us the charge status of the capacitors. When the capacitor begins to charge,
the LED lights up. As it discharges, the light decreases until it turns off. So, basically, the
intensity and duration of the light indicate the capacitor's voltage over time.

Push Buttons

We use the buttons to control when each part of the circuit is activated. When we press one, we
allow current to flow to the corresponding capacitor, initiating its charge. This allowed us to
manage each section of the traffic light independently and clearly observe what was happening at
each stage.

Jumpers and Breadboard

These elements do not directly affect the electrical behavior, but they are essential for connecting

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all the components without the need for soldering. Thanks to them, we were able to assemble,
disassemble, and modify the circuit easily, which was very useful during the testing phase.

9V Battery

The attery was the circuit's power source. It provided us with the 9 volts needed to charge the
capacitors and light the LEDs. Its voltage also defines the maximum level the capacitors can
reach, and therefore, the maximum light intensity the LEDs can achieve.

TinkerCad Circuit

9. Results:

The experiment successfully demonstrated the fundamental behavior of capacitors in RC circuits.

Each branch of the circuit provided a different timing response due to the variation in
capacitance. The LEDs served as effective visual indicators of the capacitors' state of charge.

Our Key results:

-​ The LEDs’ brightness increased gradually during charging, and decreased during
discharging, consistent with expected exponential behavior.
-​ Multimeter readings confirmed that voltage across each capacitor followed the theoretical
curve.

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 -​ Larger capacitors (1000 μF) charged and discharged slower than smaller ones (470 μF),
validating the τ = RC relationship.

9.1. Validation of Results

To verify these findings experimentally the experimentally determined multimeter voltages and
the observed LED behaviors were compared to those of the theoretical RC charge and discharge
curves. The measured voltages showed an exponential dependence on charge and the brightness
of the LEDs confirmed this dependence between the charge states, thus verifying the suitability
for the RC model.
Since we did not record data across multiple frequency ranges, different attempts under the same
conditions produced consistent results. The time constants of charge and discharge of these
capacitors were found to be very accurately reproduced and confirmed that an RC circuit can
mimic supercapacitor-like behavior by the τ = RC formula
Small disparities from the theoretical were assumed to be due to real world things, such as device
resistance from physical contact, through the breadboard or between components. These results
support the applicability of the model for educational and preliminary design purposes.

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References

References must be inserted in numerical format (also known as IEEE or Vancouver) and using
the Word tool.​More information: https://biblioguias.uam.es/citar/estilo_ieee

Jacabrera. (2024, 7 febrero). ¿Qué es un Resistor y Cómo Funciona? iElectel - Electrónica y

Telecomunicaciones. https://ielectel.com/que-es-un-resistor-y-como-funciona/

Quartux. (2024, 3 diciembre). ¿Qué es un capacitor o condensador eléctrico? - Quartux.

Quartux. https://quartux.com/blog/que-es-un-capacitor-o-condensador-electrico/

Matan. (2023, 21 septiembre). ¿Qué es un circuito RC? – Electricity – Magnetism.

https://www.electricity-magnetism.org/es/que-es-un-circuito-rc-2/

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