Mapúa University - Intramuros Last Name: CRUZ

School of Electrical, Electronics and Computer First Name: CEDRIC ARCEL

Engineering Middle Name: MARQUILENCIA

EE21L-2 – Basic Electrical Engineering, Lab. Student No: 2016131915

Laboratory Experiment 4
Maximum Power Transfer

I. Objectives:

1. To learn and verify the principles and concepts of electrical power and maximum power transfer.
2. To demonstrate and verify the corresponding responses produced by practical sources.
3. To be able to learn how power is measured and calculated.
4. To demonstrate how to attain maximum power transfer and its effect to varying load resistance.
5. To be able to demonstrate the graphical response of power produced by practical sources.

II. Theoretical Discussion:

The reduction of any linear resistive circuit to its equivalent practical voltage source (similar to the
Thevenin equivalent form) or practical current source (similar to the Norton equivalent form) is a very
convenient conceptualization as far as the computation of load related quantities are concerned. The
practical voltage and current source models simply imply that some of the power generated by the practical
source will necessarily be dissipated through the internal circuits within the source. Given unavoidable
power loss this topic discusses how much power can be transferred to the load from the source under the
most ideal conditions. The topic eventually relates to a given value of the load that will ideally absorb the
most amount of power from the source and the internal resistance that limits the amount of power
absorbed.

The general problem of power transfer can be discussed in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.
Power utility systems are designed to transport the power to the load with the greatest efficiency by
reducing the losses on the power lines. Thus, the effort is concentrated on reducing internal resistances in
the system. While in the case of signal transmission, as in electronics and communications industries, the
problem is to attain the maximum signal strength at the load. Consider the signal received at the antenna of
an FM radio receiver from a distant station. Thus, the goal is to design a receiver circuit so that the
maximum power ultimately ends up at the output of the amplifier circuit connected to the antenna of the
FM radio.

In reference to a practical voltage source,

Ri
n

+
VS
V RL
1 L

-
 Fig. 1

The amount of power that can be absorbed at any value of RL can be given by the following formula,

VS
I L=
R ¿+ R L

V S RL
V L=
R¿ + R L

2
V S RL
P L=V L∗I L = 2
( R ¿+ R L)

To obtain maximum power, which will be transferred to the load, apply the differentiating technique
Maxima-Minima.

d PL
=0
d RL

Hence,

[ ]
2
d PL 2 ( R ¿ + R L ) −2 ( R ¿ + R L ) R L
=V S =0
d RL ( R¿ + R L )
4

The derivative is zero when,

R L=R ¿

During this condition then,

VS
I L=
2 R¿

I L= [ ]
1 VS 1
= I
2 R ¿ 2 SC

VS 1
V L= = V
2 2 OC

Maximum power can then be computed as

V 2S R¿
P L(max)= 2
( 2 R ¿)
 The power transfer efficiency is then defined as,

2
Po PL IL RL
η= = = 2
Pi P L + PS I L R L + I 2L R ¿

RL
η=
R ¿+ R L

Hence during maximum power transfer the efficiency is,

R¿ 1
η= = =50 %
2 R¿ 2

This means that maximum power transfer only occurs when the load voltage has increased to 50% of
its maximum value (V OC ) and the load current has decayed to 50% of its maximum value ( I SC ).
 PRELIMINARY DATA SHEET
LABORATORY EXPERIMENT 4
MAXIMUM POWER TRANSFER

1. Draw and simulate the circuit diagram in Fig. 2 in MATLAB Simulink. Take a screenshot of your
schematic in MATLAB Simulink and insert in Fig. 3.

Consider R¿ =¿ sum of your student number in Ω and R L=470 Ω .

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

2. Start with VS1 at 1V DC. Find the simulated values of the voltage (V L) across the load resistor (R L)
and using the ammeter, measure the current (I L) flowing through the load resistance. Take a
screenshot of the schematic showing the values and insert it in Fig. 4.
 Fig. 4

3. Make 10 trials by varying the source voltage from 1 Vdc to 20 Vdc (Use the appropriate table
depending on your last name. Record the readings in Table 1a or Table 1b and compute for the
load power consumed in the circuit by the formula, PL = VLIL to complete the table.

Internal Resistance (Rin):

Load Resistance (RL):

Table 1a: For last name ending in A-L:

Trials Voltage Source Load Voltage Load Current Load Power

(VS) (VL) (IL) (PL)
1 1V
2 3V
3 5V
4 7V
5 9V
6 11V
7 13V
8 15V
9 17V
10 19V

Table 1b: For last name ending in M-Z:

Trials Voltage Source Load Voltage Load Current Load Power

(VS) (VL) (IL) (PL)
1 1V 0.94 V 0.002 A 1.88 X 10−3 W
2 2V 1.88 V 0.004 A 7.52 X 10−3 W
3 4V 3.76 V 0.008 A 0.03008 W
4 6V 5.64 V 0.012 A 0.06768 W
5 8V 7.52 V 0.016 A 0.12032 W
 6 12 V 11.28 V 0.024 A 0.27072 W
7 14 V 13.16 V 0.028 A 0.36848 W
8 16 V 15.4 V 0.032 A 0.4928 W
9 18 V 16.92 V 0.036 A 0.60912 W
10 20 V 18.8 V 0.04 A 0.752 W

4. Plot the curves of load voltage against the load current and the load power using Excel. Properly
label, take a screenshot and insert it in Fig. 5.

Load Current (Il)

0.045
0.04
0.035
0.03
0.025
0.02
0.015
0.01
0.005
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Fig. 5

Load Power (Pl)

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Fig. 6
Questions and Problems

1. How much internal resistance does an ideal voltage source have?

-The internal resistance of an ideal voltage source is zero; it can supply or absorb any amount of
current. The current through an ideal voltage source is completely determined by the external
circuit.
2. How much internal resistance does an ideal current source have?
-Unlike an ideal voltage source that has zero internal resistance, an ideal current source has
infinite internal resistance; this allows it to act as a 100% efficient source of current.
3. When is maximum power delivered from a practical source to a load?
-Maximum power is transferred to the load when the load resistance equals the Thevenin
resistance as seen from the load
(RL = RTh).
4. What are the practical applications of the theory maximum power transfer? Briefly discuss the
different applications.
-In car engines, the power delivered to the starter motor of the car will depend upon the
effective resistance of the motor and the internal resistance of the battery. If the two
resistances are equal, maximum power will be transferred to the motor to turn to the engine.
Another application is in radio electronics such as antenna signal amplifiers for radio and
television to boost the signal. The theory is used in fields where maximum performance is
required but the maximum efficiency is not desired.
5. Determine the maximum power that can be dissipated from the figure below.