BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
LECTURE PART-3
NETWORK LAWS & THEOREMS
KIRCHHOFFS LAW
Named after the German Physicist, Gustav Robert Kirchhoff.
a. Kirchhoff's Current Law (KCL)
The algebraic sum of the currents at any node of an electric circuit is zero
(positive sign currents entering a node, negative sign currents leaving
a node) 1
or
The sum of all the currents entering a node is equal to the sum of all the
current leaving the node2.
i1+i2-i3+i4-i5 = 0
i1+i2+i4 = i3+i5
Node is a point where two or more circuit elements are connected
together.
b. Kirchhoffs Voltage Law (KVL)
The algebraic sum of the emfs and the resistance voltage drops in any
closed loop of an electric circuit is zero.
In a voltage source, if:
1. The loop enters on minus and goes out on plus, POSITIVE EMF.
2. The loop enters plus and goes out on minus, NEGATIVE EMF.
In a resistance, if:
1. The loop direction is the same as the current direction, NEGATIVE
RESISTANCE VOLTAGE DROP.
2. The loop direction is opposite to the current direction, POSITIVE
RESISTANCE VOLTAGE DROP.
Example:
By KCL @ node/junction b:
I1 + I 2 - I3 = 0
By KVL @ loop abef:
E1 - I1R1 - I3R3 = 0
By KVL @ loop bcde:
- E2 + I2R2 + I3R3 = 0
By KVL @ loop abcdef:
E1 - I1R1 + I2R2 - E2 = 0
SAMPLE PROBLEMS
Find i1 and i2.
Answer: i1 = 14 mA i2 = 7 mA
Find V2 , V3 and V4 if V1 is 10 volts and V5 is 2 volts.
Answer: V2 = 10 V V3 = 8 V V4 = 2 V
MAXWELLS MESH METHOD
This method involves a set of independent loop
currents assigned to as many meshes as it exist in
the circuit and these currents are employed in
connection with appropriate resistances when
the KVL equations are written.
Example:
By KVL:
for loop A:
E1 - IA (R1 + R3) - IB R3 = 0
for loop B:
E2 - IB (R2 + R3) - IA R3 = 0
Note: Mesh currents IA and IB are evaluated by simultaneous substitutions
of the equations formulated from each loop or mesh using KVL.
I1 = IA I2 = IB I3 = IA + IB
SUPERPOSITION THEOREM
In a network of resistors, the current in any
resistor is equal to the algebraic sum of the
currents delivered by each independent sources
assuming that each source is acting alone or
independently with respect to the others.
Example:
Note: If a source (either a current or a voltage source) is acting alone, the
other currents sources are open circuited while the other voltage sources
are short circuited.
STEP 1: If E1 is acting alone.
STEP 2: If E2 is acting alone.
Note: The currents I1, I2, I3, I1, I2 & I3 are
evaluated using basic electric circuit principles.
I1 = I1 - I1
I2 = I2 - I2
I 3 = I 3 + I 3
NODAL NODE METHOD
Using this method, a circuit with n nodes, has a
solution with only n 1 number of equations
needed.
Example:
Note: Since there are three (n = 3) nodes in this circuit,
therefore only two equations are needed to solve this
problem.
By KCL @ node a: By KCL @ node b:
I1 = I2 + I3 I4 = I3 + I5
E1Va Va VaVb Vb VaVb E2Vb
= + = +
R1 R2 R3 R4 R3 R5
MILLMANS THEOREM
When any number of voltage sources of arbitrary
generated voltage and finite internal resistance
different from zero are connected in parallel, the
resulting voltage across the parallel combination
is the ratio of the algebraic sum of the currents
that each source individually delivers when short
circuited to the algebraic sum of the internal
conductance.
Millmans equivalent circuit:
E 1 E2 En
+ + +
Vab = R 1 R 2 R n
1 1 1
+ + +
R 1 R2 Rn
Example: Solve I1, I2, I3.
Step 1: Draw the Millmans equivalent circuit and solve for Vab.
E1 E2
+
Vab = R 1 R 2
1 1 1
+ +
R1 R2 R3
Step 2: Solve for I1, I2, I3.
E1 Vab E2 Vab Vab
I1 = I2 = I3 =
R1 R2 R3
THEVENINS THEOREM
If a resistor of R ohms be connected between any
two terminals of a linear network, the resulting
steady state current through the resistor is the
ratio of the potential difference Eo (between the
two points prior to the connection) and the sum
of the values of the resistance Ro (resistance
between the two points) and the connected
resistance R.
Named after the French telegraph engineer,
Charles Leon Thevenin.
Thevenins equivalent circuit:
Eo
I=
Ro + R
Example: Solve for I3
Solution:
Step 1: Open circuit R3, and solve for the voltage across the open
circuited terminals.
Note: Eo is computed using any methods (Kirchhoffs, Maxwell,
Nodal, etc.) of analyzing network problems.
Step 2: Compute Ro (short circuit all independent voltage sources
and open circuit all independent current sources).
R1R2
Ro =
R1 + R2
Note: Ro is computed using the basic principles of finding the total
resistance of a given circuit.
Step 3: Construct the Thevenins equivalent circuit and solve the
resulting current
Eo
I3 =
Ro + R3
NORTONS THEOREM
This theorem is analogous to Thevenins theorem
except that instead of the open circuit test, this
theorem uses the short circuit test and the
equivalent circuit is a parallel circuit.
Named after the American engineer, E. L. Norton.
Nortons equivalent circuit:
Isc (Ro)
I=
Ro + R
Example: Solve for I1.
Solution:
Step 1: Short circuit R1, and solve the short circuit current that
flows towards the branch.
Note: ISC is computed using any methods (Kirchhoffs, Maxwell,
Nodal, etc.) of analyzing network problems.
Step 2: Compute Ro
R1R2
Ro =
R1 + R2
Note: RO is computed using the basic principles of finding the total
resistance of a given circuit.
Step 3: Construct the Nortons equivalent circuit and solve for I1.
Isc (Ro)
I1 =
Ro + R1
SOURCE TRANSFORMATION METHOD
This method simplifies the number of meshes in
the network and thus simplifies the number of
equations needed.
Voltage source to current source
Current source to voltage source
Example: Solve for I3.
Step 1: Transform the voltage and current sources to their
equivalents.
Step 2: Simplify the parallel branch and transform back the current
source to an equivalent voltage source.
Step 3: By KVL (using the given loop direction), I3 can then be
solved.
EgRa
I3 Ra + R3 + R4 IgR4 = 0
R1
EgRa
R1
IgR4
I3 =
Ra+R3+R4
MAXIMUM POWER TRANSFER THEOREM
Maximum power transferred to a load resistor
occurs only when the said resistor has a value
equal to the resistance (Ro) of the network
looking back from the load terminals.
Example: Find R if it is to absorbed maximum power.
Solution: Open circuit resistor R, short circuit all independent
voltage sources and open all independent current sources.
R1(R2 + R3)
Ro =
R1 + (R2 + R3)
Note: If the corresponding current or power drawn by resistor R is
to be solved, use either Thevenins or Nortons theorem to solve
the problem.
