THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC

School of Information Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and

Physics (STEMP)
31st August, 2023

EE 102 – Lab 3
Superposition and Source Transformation

Submitted By:

Tapesh Narayan – S11219268

Manumalo Mesake Tofinga - S11226748

Session: Thursday 3-6

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1.0 – AIM
To prove that theorems such as superposition and source transformation are reliable.

2.0 – INTRODUCTION
An electrical circuit is made up of electrical elements or components, which serve as its
fundamental building blocks. These elements are connected in various ways to create
different types of circuits, such as linear and non-linear circuits[1].
In a linear circuit the value of parameters or elements remains constant, or in other words the
parameters of a linear circuit don't change with respect to the voltage and current in the
circuit. The current in the circuit is directly proportional to the voltage i.e., when the current
increases the voltage increases. The term 'linear' refers to a straight line which will be a
diagonal that describes a linear characteristic in between current and voltage in the circuit[1].
Whereas a non-linear circuit is an electric circuit whose parameters are varied with respect to
current and voltage. In other words, an electric circuit in which circuit parameters are not
constant. If drawn the circuit output characteristic curve in between current and voltage, it
will look like a curved or bending line[2].
Linear circuits are those which obey the principle of superposition, meaning that the response
to a combination of input signals is equal to the sum of responses for each input taken
separately. The superposition theorem states that the voltage or current in any part of a linear
circuit with multiple sources is equal to the sum of the voltages or currents caused by each
source acting alone[3]. The theorem does not apply to non-linear circuits. The requisite of
linearity indicates that the superposition theorem is only applicable to determine voltage and
current but not power. Power dissipation is a nonlinear function that does not algebraically
add to an accurate total when only one source is considered at a time [4].

3.0 – EQUIPMENT
 Digital Multimeter
 DC power supply
 Breadboard
 Resistors (10 kΩ, 2 kΩ, 1 kΩ)

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4.0 – PROCEDURE
PART 1 SUPERPOSITION

With the 3 resistors (10 kΩ, 2 kΩ, 1 kΩ) a circuit was constructed on a breadboard, using the
power supply’s two channels for voltage sources. Using the multimeter, the voltages and
currents of the circuit at specific points was measured and recorded in Table 1. The voltage
source v 1, was removed via short circuit and the new values for the voltages and currents of
voltage source v 2 was recorded. v 1was reconnected to the circuit whereas v 2 was short
circuited. The new voltage and current values were recorded in Table 1 along with the rest of
the values. Circuit Maker was used to verify values, procedure was repeated in it.

Table 1

Measurement 1 Measurement 2 Measurement 3

V1 20 V 0V 20 V

Vr1 18.75 V -4.375 V 14.36 V

Vr2 1.25 V 4.375 V 5.68 V

Vr3 -1.25 V 2.625 V 1.375 V

V2 0V 7V 7V

I1 1.875 mA -0.4375 mA 1.44 mA

I2 0.625 mA 2.1875 mA 2.81 mA

I3 1.25 mA -2.625 mA -1.38 mA

PART 2 SOURCE TRANSFORMATION

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

With the source transformation method, the circuit was analyzed in circuit maker

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 Figure 1.0

Figure 2.0

Figure 3.0

The values that were given by the Circuit Maker were as follows:
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 Table 2

Measurement 1 Measurement 2 Measurement 3

V1 20.00 0.00 20
Vr1 18.75 -4.38 14.38
Vr2 1.25 4.38 5.63
Vr3 -1.25 2.63 1.38
V2 0.00 7.00 7.00
I1 1.88 -0.44 1.44
I2 0.63 2.19 2.81
I3 -1.25 2.63 1.38

CALCULATIONS

Vr1 calculations
Using source transformation, the voltages across each resistor was identified by the following
steps:
Step 1: transform the independent sources where necessary

Figure 4.0

Step 2: add the values of other resistors

Figure 5.0

Step 3: Return the sources back into voltage source

Figure 6.0

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Step 4: Apply voltage division.

Figure 7.0

R1
V =V R 1
R 1+ R 2

( 10+0.667
10
)5.33=14.37 V
The other 2 resistors required similar calculations:
Vr2 calculation:

( 2
2+0.91 )
8.19=5.63V
Vr3 calculation:

( 1
1.67+1 )
3.67=1.37 V

5.0 – DISCUSSION
In the first part of the lab, short circuit was applied to the voltage sources to find the specific
values of currents and voltages that each voltage source has on the resistors and the circuit as
a whole. The results were recorded on Table 1 and Circuit Maker was used to verify the
results and the values were recorded in Table 2. The values in each table were nearly
identical aside from a few values that were off by 1 or 2 decimal places. These can be
attributed to the machine errors, human errors and the resistors not being the exact values.
Source transformation was later used in the later part of the lab and the values calculated
were again identical to the experimental values.

6.0 – CONCLUSION
The application the superposition and source transformation theorem in our experiment
shows clearly how essential it is to employ current and voltage calculation methods.
According to the superposition theorem, a circuit with multiple voltage and current sources

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can be simplified into separate circuits using only one source. To validate our findings, the
utilizing of the Circuit Maker Software confirmed the test results. Through the use of
Superposition and Source transformation, we were able to analyse the current and voltage
across a resistor. The fact that the theoretical and experimental values matched demonstrates
the accuracy and precision of our findings.

7.0 – REFERENCE

[1] B. K[1] “What are Linear and Non-Linear Circuits and It’s Differences,” Electrical
Deck - All about Electrical & Electronics, May 21, 2023.
https://www.electricaldeck.com/2023/05/linear-and-non-linear-circuits-with-
differences.html (accessed Sep. 07, 2023).
[2] E. Technology, “The Main Difference Between Linear and Nonlinear Circuit,”
ELECTRICAL TECHNOLOGY, Dec. 22, 2013.
https://www.electricaltechnology.org/2013/12/the-main-difference-between-linear-and-
nonlinear-circuits.html (accessed Sep. 07, 2023).
[3] “How do you explain the concept and logic of superposition theorem to a beginner or a
non-technical audience?” https://www.linkedin.com/advice/0/how-do-you-explain-
concept-logic-superposition (accessed Sep. 07, 2023).
[4] “Superposition Theorem - Explanation, Solved Example, Limitations,” BYJUS.
https://byjus.com/physics/superposition-theorem/ (accessed Sep. 07, 2023).

. Bose, “Power Electronics and Motor Drives Recent Progress and Perspective,” IEEE Trans.
Ind. Electron., vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 581–588, Feb. 2009, doi: 10.1109/TIE.2008.2002726.

[2] J. M. Erdman, R. J. Kerkman, D. W. Schlegel, and G. L. Skibinski, “Effect of PWM

inverters on AC motor bearing currents and shaft voltages,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol.
32, no. 2, pp. 250–259, Apr. 1996, doi: 10.1109/28.491472.

[3] J.-W. Choi, S.-C. Lee, and H.-G. Kim, “Inertia identification algorithm for high-
performance speed control of electric motors,” Electr. Power Appl. IEE Proc. -, vol.
153, pp. 379–386, Jun. 2006, doi: 10.1049/ip-epa:20050360.

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