Circuit Theorems:

Thevenin and Norton Equivalents,

Maximum Power Transfer
Dr. Mustafa Kemal Uygurolu
Thevenins Theorem
Any circuit with sources (dependent and/or
independent) and resistors can be replaced
by an equivalent circuit containing a single
voltage source and a single resistor.
Thevenins theorem implies that we can
replace arbitrarily complicated networks with
simple networks for purposes of analysis.
Independent Sources (Thevenin)
Circuit with
independent sources
R
Th
V
Th
Thevenin equivalent
circuit
+

No Independent Sources
Circuit without
independent sources
R
Th
Thevenin equivalent
circuit
Thevenin Equivalent Circuit
Basic steps to determining Thevenin
equivalent are
Find v
Th
R
Th
V
Th
+

i = 0 i = 0
+
V
oc
-
+
V
oc
-
Linear
Two-terminal
circuit
V
oc
= V
Th
Thevenin Equivalent Circuit
- Compute the Thevenin equivalent resistance, R
Th
(a) If there are only independent sources, then short
circuit all the voltage sources and open circuit the current
sources (just like superposition).
R
Th
Linear circuit with
all independent
sources set equal
to zero.
R
in
= R
Th
R
in
R
in
Thevenin Equivalent Circuit
(b) If there are only dependent sources, then must use a test
voltage or current source in order to calculate
R
Th
= V
Test
/I
test
R
Th
Linear circuit with
dependent sources
I
test
+
V
test
-
Linear circuit with
dependent sources
V
test
+
-
I
test
Thevenin Equivalent Circuit
(c) If there are both independent and dependent sources, then
compute
(i) R
Th
= V
Test
/I
test
(all independent sources set equal to zero)
(ii) compute R
Th
from V
OC
/I
SC
.
R
Th
+

Linear
Two-terminal
circuit
i = i
sc
i = i
sc
V
Th
i
sc
= V
Th
/ R
Th
Example
Example cont.
Example cont.
Ref.
5
3 5.5
2 2
oc oc
oc
V V
V V

+ = =
KCL at V
oc
:
Example cont.
Example cont.
Problem: for the following circuit , determine the
Thevenin equivalent circuit.
Solution:
Step 1: In this circuit, we have a dependent
source. Hence, we start by finding the open
circuit voltage V
oc
= V
ab
.
KCL at node C
(5 - V
oc
)/2 + V
oc
/4 = 0
V
oc
= 10 V
Step 2: We obtain the short circuit current Isc by
shorting nodes a-b and finding the current through
it.

5 = 2 Isc + 3 Isc => Isc = 5/5

Isc = 1 A
Step 3: Find the equivalent Thevenin Voltage
and Resistance
V
th
= V
oc
= V
ab
= 10V
R
th
= V
oc
/I
sc
=> R
th
= 10/1
V
th
= 10V
R
th
= 10
Norton Equivalent Circuit
Any Thevenin equivalent circuit is in turn
equivalent to a current source in parallel with
a resistor [source transformation].
A current source in parallel with a resistor is
called a Norton equivalent circuit.
Norton Equivalent Circuit
Finding a Norton equivalent circuit requires essentially the
same process as finding a Thevenin equivalent circuit.
V
Th
R
Th
I
N R
N
Th N N
V R I =
Th
N
Th
V
I
R
=
+

Th N
R R =
Thevenin/Norton Analysis
1. Pick a good breaking point in the circuit (cannot split a
dependent source and its control variable).
2. Thevenin: Compute the open circuit voltage, V
OC
.
Norton: Compute the short circuit current, I
SC
.
If there is not any independent source then both V
OC
=0 and
I
SC
=0 [so skip step 2]
Thevenin/Norton Analysis
3. Calculate R
Th
(R
N
) = V
oc
/ I
sc
4. Thevenin: Replace circuit with V
OC
in series with R
Th
Norton: Replace circuit with I
SC
in parallel with R
Th
Note: for circuits containing no independent sources the
equivalent network is merely R
Th ,
that is, no voltage (or
current) source.
Only steps 2 & 4 differ from Thevenin & Norton!
Maximum Power Transfer
I
Maximum Power Transfer
Power delivered to the load as a function of R
L
.
Maximum Power Transfer
Maximum Power Transfer
Example
Example cont.
Example
Example cont.
17 6 5 17
2 2 3
3 2 6 3
6 32 64
12.8
5 3 5
Th Th
Th
Th
V V
V
V V
+ +
+ = =

= = =


KCL at the supernode:
Example cont.
Example cont.
Example cont.