Chapter 4: Series & Parallel Circuits

4.1 CONSTANT-CURRENT SOURCES Circuits so far used voltage sources as the means of providing power, however, certain circuits is easier to analyze with current rather than with voltage. Unlike a voltage source, a constantcurrent source maintains the same current in its branch of the circuit regardless of how components are connected external to the source.

Figure 4.1: Constant-current source The direction of the current source arrow indicates the direction of current in the branch. The magnitude and the direction of current through a voltage source varies according to the size of the circuit resistances and how other voltage sources are connected in the circuit. For current sources, the voltage across the current source depends on how the other components are connected. 4.2 SOURCE CONVERSIONS If the internal resistance of a source is considered, the source, whether voltage or current, is easily converted to the other type.

Figure 4.2: Source Conversion Equivalent voltage and current sources. 4.3 CURRENT SOURCES When several current sources are placed in parallel, the circuit may be simplified by replacing the current sources with a single current source. The magnitude and direction of this resultant source is determined by adding the currents in one direction and then subtracting the currents in the opposite direction. Example 4.1: Simplify the following circuit and determine the voltage V ab.

Solution: Since all of the current sources are in parallel, they can be replaced by a single current source. The equivalent current source will have a direction which is the same as both I 2 and I3, since the magnitude of current in the downward direction is greater than the current in the upward direction. The equivalent current source, as shown in figure (a) below, has a magnitude of I=2A+6A3A=5A The circuit is further simplified by combining the resistors into a single value: RT= 6||3||6 = 1.5 The equivalent circuit is shown in Figure (b) below.

The voltage Vab=(5A)(1.5)=7.5V Example 4.2: Reduce the following circuit into a single current source and determine the current through the resistor RL. Solution: The voltage source in this circuit is converted to an equivalent current source as shown. The resulting circuit may then be simpified to a single current source where ls= 200 mA+ 50 mA= 250mA and Rs = 400||100 = 80 The simplified circuit is shown below.

The current through RL is: IL = 80 250mA= 200mA 80 + 20

4.5 MESH (LOOP) ANALYSIS The previous section used Kirchhoff's laws to solve for current in each branch of a circuit. Branch-current analysis is awkward because the number of equations may be prohibitively large even for a relatively simple circuit. A better approach to analyzing linear bilateral networks is called mesh (or loop) analysis. This technique is similar to branch-current analysis but the number of linear equations is less. The principal difference between mesh analysis and branch-current analysis is a need for only KVL around closed loops without the need for KCL. The steps for mesh analysis are: 1. Arbitrarily assign a clockwise current to each interior closed loop in the network. The assigned current may be in any direction, a CW direction will make later work simpler. 2. Using the assigned loop currents, indicate the voltage polarities across all resistors in the circuit. For a resistor which is common to two loops, the polarities of the voltage drop due to each loop current should be indicated on the appropriate side of the component. 3. Applying KVL, write the loop equations for each loop in the network. Resistors which are common to two loops will have two voltage drops, one due to each loop. 4. Solve the resultant simultaneous linear equations. 5. Branch currents are determined by algebraically combining the loop currents which are common to the branch. EXAMPLE 4.5: Find the current through each resistor.

Solution: Loop 1: I1(R1 + R2) I2 (R2) = 6V 4V I1(2 + 2) I2 (2) = 6V 4V 4I1 2I2 = 2V (1) Solving the simultaneous linear equations: 4I1 2I2 = 2V (1) 2I1 + 6I2= 6V (2) IR1= 1.2A

Loop 2: I2(R2 + R3) I1 (R2) = 2V + 4V I2(2 +4) I1 (2) = 2V + 4V 2I1 + 6I2= 6V (2)

yields, I1= 1.2A &

I2 = 1.4A IR3= 1.4A

IR2 = I1 I2 = 1.2A 1.4A = 0.2A

EXAMPLE 4.6: Find the current through each resistor.

Solution: Loop 1: I1(R1 + R2) I2 (R2) = 10V 8V I1(2 + 3) I2 (3) = 18V 5I1 3I2 = 18V (1)

Loop 2: I2(R2 + R3) I1 (R2) = 8V 6V I2(3 +1) I1 (3) = 2V 3I1 + 4I2= 2V (2)

Solving (1) & (2) yields: I1= 6A & I2= 4A IR2= 2A IR3= 4A IR1 = 1A (KCL original circuit IR1= (2A + 4A) 5A = 1A)

EXAMPLE 4.7: Find the current through each resistor.

Solution:

Loop 1: I1(6k+R1+R2) I2 (R2) = 12V 10V I1(6k+10k+5k) I2(5k) = 22V 21kI1 5kI2 = 22V (1)

Loop 2: I2(R2+R4 + R5) I1 (R2) = 8V +10V I2(5k+12k+4k) I1(5k) = 18V 5kI1 + 21kI2= 18V (2)

Solving (1) & (2) yields: I1= 0.894mA & I2= 0.644mA IR1 = 0.894A IR2= 0.894A+0.644mA =1.54mA IR3= 2mA 0.894mA = 1.106mA (KCL from original circuit) IR4= 0.644mA IR5= 0.644mA

4.6 NODAL ANALYSIS Mesh analysis used KVL to solve loop currents in a network. Nodal analysis will apply KCL to determine the voltage at any node with respect to some arbitrary reference point in a network. Once the potentials of all nodes are known other quantities (i.e.; current and power) are easily determined. The steps used in solving a circuit using nodal analysis are: 1. Arbitrarily assign a reference node within the circuit and indicate this node as ground. The reference node is usually located at the bottom of the circuit, although it may be located anywhere. 2. Convert each voltage source in the network to its equivalent current source. This step, although not absolutely necessary, makes further calculations easier to understand. 3. Arbitrarily assign voltages (V1, V2, V3, , Vn) to the remaining nodes in the circuit. (These voltages will all be with respect to the chosen reference.) 4. Arbitrarily assign a current direction to each branch in which there is no current source. Using the assigned current directions, indicate the corresponding polarities of the voltage drops on all resistors. 5. With the exception of the reference node (ground), apply KCL at each of the nodes. If a circuit has a total of (n + 1) nodes (including the reference node), there will be n simultaneous linear equations. 6. Rewrite each of the arbitrarily assigned currents in terms of the potential difference across a known resistance. 7. Solve the resulting simultaneous linear equations for the voltages (V 1, V2, V3, , Vn).

EXAMPLE 4.8: Determine the Vab.

Solution: V1: Iin = Iout

200mA+ 50mA= I1 + I2
I1 = V1 20
I2 = V1 V2 40 I3 = V2 30

V2 : Iin = Iout 200mA+ I2 = 50mA + I3

200mA+ 50mA=

V1 V V2 + 1 20 40 1 1 1 V1 250mA + = V2 20 40 40 1 1 2 V1 + = 250mA V2 40 40 40 1 3 V1 V2 =250mA 40 40

200mA+

V V1 V2 = 50mA+ 2 30 40 -V1 1 1 + V2 + = 150mA 30 40 40 -V1 3 4 + V2 + = 150mA 120 120 40 -V1 7 + V2 =150mA 120 40

Solving these two simultaneous equations yields: V 1=4.889V & V2=4.667V Thus, Va = V2 = 4.667V = Vab + 6V Vab = 4.667V 6V = 1.333V Vab =1.333V

EXAMPLE 4.9: Determine the voltage across each resistor.

Solution:

V1: Iin = Iout 2 A= I1 + I2

I1 = V1 5 I2 = V1 V2 3 I3 =

V2 : Iin = Iout 3A+ I2 = I3 + I4

V2 4 I4 = V2 6

2A=

V1 V1 - V2 + 5 3

1 1 V V1 + 2 = 2A 5 3 3 5 V2 3 V1 + =2A 15 15 3 8 V V1 2 = 2A 15 3

V -V V V 3A+ 1 2 = 2 + 2 3 4 6 1 1 1 1 V1 + + + V2 = 3A 3 4 6 3 3 2 1 4 V1 + + + V = 3A 12 12 12 2 3

1 9 V1 + V2 = 3A 12 3 3 1 V1 + V2 = 3A 3 4 Solving these two simultaneous equations yields: V 1=8.654V & V2=7.8467V

Thus, VR1 = 8.654V VR2 = V1 V2 = 8.654V 7.8467V =0.808V VR3 = V2=7.8467V V2= VR4 + 18V VR4 = 7.8467V 18V = 10.154V

EXAMPLE 4.10: Determine the voltage across each resistor.

Solution:

V1: Iin = Iout 1A+ IR2 = IR1 + 6A

IR1 = V1 3 IR2 = V2 V1 5

V2 : Iin = Iout IR3 = 2 A+ 1A+ IR2

IR3 = -V2 4

1A+

V2 V1 V1 = + 6A 5 3 1 1 V V1 + 2 = 5 5 3 5 5 V2 3 5 V1 = + 15 15 5

- V2 V V1 = 2 A+ 1A+ 2 4 5 V1 1 1 V2 + = 3 4 5 5 V1 4 5 V2 + =3 20 20 5 V1 9 =3 V2 20 5

2 V V1 + 2 =5 15 5

Solving these two simultaneous equations yields: V 1=14.25V & V2=-13.0V Thus, VR1 = V1 = 14.25V VR2 = V2 V1 = 13.0 (14.25V) =1.25V VR3 = V2=13.0V

EXAMPLE 4.11: Determine the voltage across each resistor and the current through R 1.

V2 : Iin = Iout 2mA= IR3 + IR4

Solution:

V1: Iin = Iout 2mA+ IR1+ IR3 = 3mA+ IR2

-V1 5k V1 3k V2 V1 4k V2 2k

IR1 =

IR2 =

IR3 =

IR4 =

V -V V - V 2mA+ 1 + 2 1 = 3mA+ 1 5k 4k 3k 1 1 1 1 V1 + V2 =1mA 5k 4k 3k 4k 1 1 1 1 -V1 + + + V2 = 1mA 5k 4k 3k 4k 15 20 12 1 -V1 + + + V2 = 1mA 60k 60k 60k 4k 47 1 -V1 + V2 = 1mA 60k 4k

2mA=

V2 V1 V + 2 4k 2k 1 V1 1 + V2 + = 2mA 4k 2k 4k V1 2 1 + V2 + = 2mA 4k 4k 4k V1 3 + V2 =2mA 4k 4k

Solving these two simultaneous equations yields: V 1=0.476V & V2=2.508V Thus, V1 =0.476V = 10+VR1 VR1 =10.476V VR2 = V1 = 0.476V VR3 = V2 V1 =2.508V (0.476V) = 2.984V VR4= V2=2.508V 10

V1=0.476V 5k 10V 10V 0

10V - ( V1) 10. 476V = = IR1 5k 5k 10V - ( -0.476) IR1 = 5k 10. 476V IR1 = 5k = 2. 095mA IR1

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