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Basics of Circuit Theory

The document covers fundamental concepts of electrical circuit theory, including the basics of voltage, current, and power. It explains Ohm's Law, circuit simplification techniques, and the Superposition Theorem for analyzing circuits with multiple sources. Additionally, it introduces Thevenin’s and Norton’s Theorems for simplifying complex networks into equivalent circuits.

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6 views26 pages

Basics of Circuit Theory

The document covers fundamental concepts of electrical circuit theory, including the basics of voltage, current, and power. It explains Ohm's Law, circuit simplification techniques, and the Superposition Theorem for analyzing circuits with multiple sources. Additionally, it introduces Thevenin’s and Norton’s Theorems for simplifying complex networks into equivalent circuits.

Uploaded by

gebruworku26
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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FUNDAMENTALS OF ELECTRICAL LAB I

Basics of Circuit Theory


 Electrical circuit theory and electromagnetic theory are the two fundamental theories in
all engineering applications.
 Electric circuit is an interconnection of electrical elements.
 A simple electric circuit is shown in Figure below.
 It consists of three basic elements: a battery (power source), a lamp (load), and
connecting wires (conductor).

Voltage and Current


 The work is performed by an external electromotive force (emf), typically represented by
the battery. This emf is also known as voltage or potential difference (V).
 The voltage between two points a and b in an electric circuit is the energy (or work)
needed to move a unit charge from a to b, and defined by Vab.

 Voltage (or potential difference) is the energy required to move a unit charge through an
element, measured in volts (V).
 A constant voltage is called a DC voltage, whereas a sinusoidally time-varying voltage is
called an AC.
 If external force is applied, electrons drift to same direction & there is flow of electrons
within given time t. This flow of electrons are called current.
Mathematically, I =∆Q/∆t
Electrical Power and Energy
 Power is the time rate of expending or absorbing energy, measured in watts (W). We
write this relationship as: p = ∂w/ ∂t
Where: p is power in watts (W),
w is energy in joules (J), and
t is time in seconds (s).
 Passive sign convention is satisfied when the current enters through the positive
terminal of an element and p= +vi. If the current enters through the negative
terminal, p= -vi.
 If p is +ve, the power is absorbed.
 If p is –ve, the power is supplied.
 Circuit element is the basic building block of a circuit.
 There are two types of elements found in electrical circuits elements as passive and
active.
 Passive elements:- cannot generate energy. Common examples of passive elements
are resistors, capacitors and inductors.We will see later that capacitors and inductors
can store energy but cannot generate energy.
 Active elements:- can generate energy. Common examples of active elements are
power supplies, batteries, operational amplifiers.
 The types of sources we consider are independent and dependent.


Ohm’s Law Applications
 To determine the
voltage, resistance or current of an
electric circuit.
 Ohm’s law maintains the desired voltage drop across the electronic components.
 Ohm’s law is also used in DC ammeter and other DC shunts to divert the
current.
Limitations of Ohm’s Law
 Ohm’s law is applicable for a fixed value of resistance.
 Ohm’s law is not applicable for unilateral electrical elements like diodes and
transistors.
 Ohm’s law is not applicable for non-linear electrical elements.
Circuit simplification:
 Depending on connection of devices, basically there are three types of circuits:-
1. Series connection
2. Parallel connection
3. Series-Parallel connection
Nodes, Branches and Loops

 Since the elements of an electric circuit can be interconnected in several ways, we need to
understand some basic concepts of network topology.

element such as a voltage source or a resistor.
 A node is the point of connection between two or more branches.
 A loop is any closed path in a circuit.
 A mesh is a loop which does not contain any other loops within it.
superposition
 superposition refers to the Superposition Theorem. This theorem is a technique used to
analyze circuits with multiple independent sources (voltage or current sources).
 The theorem simplifies the process of finding the current or voltage in a circuit when there
are more than one source by considering the effects of each source individually.
 states that in a linear circuit with multiple independent sources, the voltage or current at
any component can be found by:

Considering one source at a time:

Turn off all other sources (replace voltage sources with short circuits and current sources with
open circuits).

Analyze the circuit with just the active source.

Calculating the contribution of each source to the overall voltage or current in the circuit.

Adding the individual contributions: After finding the contribution of each source, you sum
them up to get the total voltage or current at that component.

Steps to Apply the Superposition Theorem

Turn off all sources except one:

 Replace each independent voltage source with a short circuit (a wire).


 Replace each independent current source with an open circuit (a break in the circuit).

Solve the circuit for the voltage or current caused by the active source.

Repeat the process for each independent source in the circuit, one at a time.
Add all the individual voltages or currents found for each source to get the total voltage or
current in the circuit.

Consider a circuit with two voltage sources, V1 and V2 and a resistor R.

1. First, turn off V2 (replace it with a short circuit), and find the voltage or current caused
by V1 alone.
2. Next, turn off V1(replace it with a short circuit), and find the voltage or current caused
by V2 alone.
3. Finally, add the contributions from V1 and V2 to find the total voltage or current.

Thevenin’s & Norton’s Theorem

Thevenin’s Theorem:

 Suppose Network 2 is detached from Network 1 and we focus temporarily only on


Network 1.

 Now place a voltmeter across terminals A-B and read the voltage. We call this the open-
circuit voltage.
 No matter how complicated Network 1 is, we read one voltage. It is either positive at A,
(with respect to B) or negative at A.
 We call this voltage Voc and we also call it VTHEVENIN = VTH
 We now deactivate all sources of Network 1.
 To deactivate a voltage source, we remove the source and replace it with a short circuit.
 To deactivate a current source, we remove the source and replace it with an open circuit.
How do we deactivate the sources of this circuit?

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