Laplace transform in Circuit analysis - Using Symbolic Toolbox with Live Script in MATLAB Online
Summary
This activity is designed to help 2nd year Electrical Engineering students enhance their mathematical connecting skills. Symbolic Math Toolbox with Live Script in MATLAB Online is used to solve a basic RLC circuit using the Laplace Transform. The student can follow the problem-solving procedure step by step.
Students will learn to convert an electrical circuit problem into a mathematical expression, solve differential equations using the Laplace transform by hand and verify the results with MATLAB, and examine current and voltage by plotting these variables vs time.
Students can learn how to utilize mathematics to solve real-world problems and how to use MATLAB as a tool to do so.
CollapseLearning Goals
The primary learning objective of this activity is to improve the ability to connect the mathematical concept to the electrical circuit problem. Student should be able to create the mathematical expression of the circuit and solve the problem. Student not only student understand the connection of Mathematics to the real-world problems, but they also understand the coding as a tool for solving the problem effectively.
Context for Use
This assignment was designed as an introduction to studying electrical circuits using the Laplace transform for second-year Electrical Engineering students. The activity takes 3 hours to complete, including manual calculations. Students should be familiar with circuit analysis and the Laplace transform, but no prior MATLAB skills are required.
Description and Teaching Materials
The activity is based on the students' insights that 1) they have a challenging attitude toward mathematics since they don't understand the meaning of mathematical expressions and lack problem-solving skills.2) Most students struggle with coding as a result of their high school experience and English language barriers.
The activity starts with a quick introduction of why mathematical connection skills and a problem-solving mindset are necessary for Electrical Engineering students. The introduction of MATLAB as a tool for tackling Electrical Engineering problems follows.
Students can prepare themselves before beginning the assignment by watching the video clip that introduces MATLAB Online and MATLAB Livescript in Thai.
The livescript of solving simple RLC circuits is stored in my MATLAB drive. Students can add the template script to their MATLAB drive and run the script through MATLAB Online.
How to analyze RCL circuit using Laplace transform (MATLAB Live Script 89kB Nov30 21)
Teaching Notes and Tips
This lesson is based on MATLAB Online because some students in the online class do not have access to a computer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students can use their mobile phone to open and run the livescript using the MATLAB mobile application.
Assessment
Each student is assigned a different RCL circuit to complete. They must use the Laplace transform to solve the problem and explain how they did so.
The assignment can be submitted as a handwritten file or as a MATLAB livecript file (.mlx).