CHAPTER 4: CIRCUIT THEOREMS

General objective

 Should be able to use circuit theorems to analyse electric circuits

Specific objective

 Should be able to apply the superposition theorem

 Should be able to add voltage sources and current sources, keeping in mind the
conditions necessary to do so.
 Should be able to apply the source transformation theorem
 Should be able to apply the thevenin and norton’s theorem
 Should be able to apply macimum power transfer theorem
INTRODUCTION
A major advantage of analyzing circuits using Kirchhoff’s laws as we did in Chapter 3 is that we
can analyze a circuit without tampering with its original configuration. A major disadvantage of
this approach is that, for a large, complex circuit, tedious computation is involved.
The growth in areas of application of electric circuits has led to an evolution from simple to
complex circuits. To handle the complexity, engineers over the years have developed some
theorems to simplify circuit analysis.
A. LINEARITY PROPERTY
Linearity is the property of an element describing a linear relationship between cause and effect.
Although the property applies to many circuit elements, we shall limit its applicability to
resistors. We say that a resistor is a linear element because the voltage-current relationship
satisfies both the homogeneity and the additivity properties.
The homogeneity property requires that if the input (also called the excitation) is multiplied by a
constant, then the output (also called the response) is multiplied by the same constant.

The additivity property requires that the response to a sum of inputs is the sum of the responses
to each input applied separately.

A linear circuit is one whose output is linearly related (or directly proportional) to its input.
B. THE SUPERPOSITION THEOREM
 Whenever a linear system is excited, or driven, by more than one independent source of
energy, the total response is the sum of the individual responses.
 An individual response is the result of an independent source acting alone.
 Because we are dealing with circuits made up of interconnected linear circuit elements,
we can apply the principle of superposition directly to the analysis of such circuits when
they are driven by more than one independent energy source
The superposition principle states that the voltage across (or current through) an element in a
linear circuit is the algebraic sum of the voltage across (or current through) that element due to
each independent source acting alone.
The principle of superposition helps us to analyze a linear circuit with more than one
independent source by calculating the contribution of each independent source separately.
However, to apply the superposition principle, we must keep two things in mind:
 We consider one independent source at a time while all other independent sources are
turned off. This implies that we replace every voltage source by 0 V (or a short
 circuit), and every current source by 0 A (or an open circuit). This way we obtain a
simpler and more manageable circuit.
 Dependent sources are left intact because they are controlled by circuit variables.
Step to apply:
1. Turn off all independent sources except one source. Find the required(voltage or current)
due to that active source.
Current Source to an open circuit(0 A)
Voltage Source to a short circuit (0 V)
2. Repeat step 1 for each other independent sources.
3. Find the total contribution by adding algebraically all the contribution due to the
independent source
Example 1
Use the superposition theorem to find v in the circuit in Figure below

Solution:
Since there are two sources, let v = v1 + v2, where v1 and v2 are the contributions due to the 6-V
voltage source and the 3-A current source, respectively. To obtain v1, we set the current source
to zero as shown.

To get v2, we set the voltage source to zero, as in Figure

 using current division, we have

Hence

Exercise 1
Use the principle of superposition to find the current i0 in the circuit shown.

Exercise 2
Use the principle of superposition to find v0 in the circuit shown.

Exercise 3
Find i0 in the circuit in Figure below using superposition.
C. SOURCE TRANSFORMATION
A source transformation is the process of replacing a voltage source vS in series with a
resistor R by a current source iS in parallel with a resistor R, or vice versa.

This theorem is also applicable to dependent sources.

Example
Use source transformation to find v0 in the circuit in Figure below

Solution

We use current division in Fig.(c) to get

And

Exercise 1
Use concept of source transformation to find the voltage Vm in the circuit shown in the figure
below
Exercise 2

THE THEVENIN’S AND NORTON’S THEOREMS

D. THE THEVENIN’S THEOREM
Thevenin’s theorem states that a linear two-terminal circuit can be replaced by an equivalent
circuit consisting of a voltage source VTh in series with a resistor RTh, where VTh is the open-
circuit voltage at the terminals and RTh is the input or equivalent resistance at the terminals when
the independent sources are turned off.
How to determine vth(t) and Rth for a particular circuit.
It is helpful to note that if we connect no load and therefore io(t) = 0, then we can determine vth(t)
from

where voc(t) is called the open circuit voltage

If we short circuit the two terminals to force vo(t) = 0, then we get

If the network has no dependent sources, we turn off all independent sources. RTh is the input
resistance of the network looking between terminals a and b
Example
Find the Thevenin equivalent circuit of the circuit shown in Figure below, to the left of the
terminals a-b. Then find the current through RL = 6, 16, and 36 ohms.

We find RTh by turning off the 32-V voltage source (replacing it with a short circuit) and the 2-
A current source (replacing it with an open circuit). The circuit becomes what is shown in figure.
Thus,
To find Vth, consider the circuit in Figure below.

Applying mesh analysis to the two loops, we obtain

Solving for i1, we get i1 = 0.5 A. Thus,

VTh = 12(i1 − i2) = 12(0.5 + 2.0) = 30 V
Alternatively, it is even easier to use nodal analysis. We ignore the 1ohm resistor since no
current flows through it. At the top node, KCL gives

Exercise
1. Find the Thevenin equivalent circuit at terminal pair a and b for the circuit shown.
 2. Find VX by first finding Vth and Rth to the left of A-B.

3. For the circuit below, find VAB by first finding the Thevenin circuit to the left of
terminals A-B.

E. NORTON’S THEOREM
Norton’s theorem states that a linear two-terminal circuit can be replaced by an equivalent circuit
consisting of a current source IN in parallel with a resistor RN, where IN is the short-circuit current
through the terminals and RN is the input or equivalent resistance at the terminals when the
independent sources are turned off.
We find RN in the same way we find RTh. In fact, from what we know about source
transformation, the Thevenin and Norton resistances are equal; that is,

To find the Norton current IN, we determine the short-circuit current flowing from terminal a to
b.

Example
Find the Norton equivalent circuit of the circuit in Figure below

We find RN in the same way we find RTh in the Thevenin equivalent circuit. Set the independent
sources equal to zero.

To find IN, we short-circuit terminals a and b, as shown in Figure below. We ignore the 5ohms
resistor because it has been short-circuited.
Applying mesh analysis, we obtain

F. MAXIMUM POWER TRANSFER

In many practical situations, a circuit is designed to provide power to a load. While for
electric utilities, minimizing power losses in the process of transmission and distribution is
critical for efficiency and economic reasons, there are other applications in areas such as
communications where it is desirable to maximize the power delivered to a load. We now
address the problem of delivering the maximum power to a load when given a system with
known internal losses.
The Thevenin equivalent is useful in finding the maximum power a linear circuit can deliver
to a load. We assume that we can adjust the load resistance RL.

Maximum power is transferred to the load when the load resistance equals the Thevenin
resistance as seen from the load (RL = RTh).
Example
Find the value of RL for maximum power transfer in the circuit of Figure below. Find the
maximum power.

From the diagram below

Applying mesh analysis,