Method of Circuit Analysis

Objectives
To gain the practical understanding of electrical circuits and solve circuit parameters by
using Nodal and Mesh Analysis
To gain experience in basic functionality of Oscilloscopes and Function Generators
Resources
E&CE 140 at learn.uwaterloo.ca
Part A: Mesh and Nodal Analysis
Nodal Analysis
The main purpose of nodal analysis is to find the voltage at each node with respect to a
reference, in the electrical circuit. To do so, KCL equation is written for each node in the circuit
in terms of the voltages at each node.
For example, the circuit shown in figure 1 has five nodes; one of them is the ground or
reference (zero voltage), and nodes 1, 2, 3 and 4 with voltages V1, V2, V3 and V4 respectively.


Figure 1: Sample circuit for Mesh and Nodal analysis

Out of the 4 nodal voltages, V1 and V4 are known because they are connected to voltage sources.
This leaves us with 2 unknown voltages V2 and V3, which means that to solve this circuit we
have to write KCL equations at nodes 2 and 3.

KCL at node 2: (V
2
V
1
)/ R
1
+ (V
2
0)/ R
2
+ (V
2
V
3
)/ R
3
= 0

KCL at node 3: (V
3
V
2
)/ R
3
+ (V
3
0)/ R
4
+ (V
3
V
4
)/ R
5
= 0
Mesh Analysis
The main purpose of mesh analysis is to find the currents in each mesh in the circuit. To do so,
KVL equation is written for each mesh in the circuit in terms of the currents in each mesh.
For example, the circuit in figure 1 has three meshes, which means we have three unknowns
I1, I2 and I3, which also means we have to write three KVL equations, one for each mesh.

KVL Mesh 1: -V
1
+ I
1
. R
1
+ (I
1
I
2
).R
2
= 0

KVL Mesh 2: (I
2
I
1
).R
2 +
I
2
. R
3
+ (I
2
I
3
).R
4
= 0

KVL Mesh 3: (I
3
I
2
).R
4 +
I
3
. R
5
+ V
4
= 0

We now have a system of 3 equations and 3 unknowns that we can solve.

Prelab Exercise
For the circuit shown in Figure 1, let V1 = 15V, V4 = 24V, R1 = R
3
= R4 = 20k and
R2 = R
5
= 10k.
o Use the nodal analysis method to find the voltages V2 and V3.
o Find the mesh currents to calculate mesh currents I
1
, I
2
and I
3
.
o Use the results from previous steps to calculate the currents in each resistor R1 to
R5. Please indicate the direction of current in each resistor ( right, left, up and
down)


Procedure (45 mins)
Build the circuit shown in figure below
V4
V1
R1 R3 R5
R2 R4
20k
20k
10k
10k 20k
24V
20V
Ground
1 2 3

Figure 2: Nodal & mesh analysis
15V

Use the Digital Multimeter to measure the voltages at nodes 2, 3.
Use the Digital Multimeter to measure the currents going through all resistors.

Report
1. Compare your measurements with the results from Exercise 3 in pre-lab section.

Part B Oscilloscopes and Function Generator
Prelab Exercise
1. Explain the difference between RMS (Vrms), Peak (Vpk) and Peak-to-Peak (Vp-p) Voltages.

2. Considering the Agilent 33220A function generator, state two methods for modifying the
signal amplitude
a) First method?
b) Second method?
c) Can these methods be used to change the signal frequency?

Refer to the Lab handout guide for the Agilent 33220A function generator to answer the
following question:
3. The output termination is set to 50, and the frequency set to 1 kHz sine wave. The
generator displays a voltage set to 8Vp-p and is connected to a 50 load;
a) Determine the actual peak to peak voltage measured at the load.
b) If the output termination is then reset to Hi Z while the 50 load still connected, what
will be the value of the voltage displayed on the screen of the generator and what is the
measured voltage at the load?


Procedure (1 hr)
Oscilloscope Basics

a) Turn the oscilloscope on. (Some front panel diagrams of the oscilloscope are included on
the last two pages). Locate and press the Default Setup button (DSO-X 2002A).
b) Adjust the voltage scale control (Y-axis) to 500mV per division. Adjust the time scale
control (X-axis) to 200s per division.
c) Connect channel 1 to the function generator output via breadboard. Connect channel 2
across the 2kohm resistor (as shown in figure 3).
d) Create a voltage divider as shown in figure 3 by connecting a 2kohm and 1kohm resistor
in series. Connect the Agilent 33220A function generator to the circuit using the BNC
cable.
e) Adjust the Agilent 33220A function generator as follows:
o Turn ON the function generator;
o Using the system menu, set the output termination to HI Z (press Utility select
output setup, select HIZ and press done );
o Set the output signal to be sinusoidal signal;
o Set the frequency to 1kHz;
o Set the output voltage amplitude to 2 Vp-p (this is the value that should be
displayed on the function generator display).
AC
Function
generator
(Agilent
33220A)
Oscilloscope
channel 2
Oscilloscope
channel 1
R1
R2
1k
2k

Figure 3: Voltage divider using Oscilloscope

f) Press Run/Stop button on the oscilloscope and adjust the intensity of the oscilloscope grid
by accessing the Display Menu (display button), then selecting the Intensity (Grid soft
key for DSO5012A) soft key and using the entry knob to adjust the intensity such that
the grid lines are clearly visible. Using the grid, estimate the peak to peak voltage for
channel 1 and 2. (You can adjust the position of the signal on screen for easier reading).
Capture (save) the image for recording your data. See instructions for capturing
oscilloscope images in the appendix of this lab manual.

g) Using the cursors, measure the peak to peak voltage and period of the signal for channel
1 and 2. (For using cursors press the cursor button on the oscilloscope, select Y from the
screen. Select Y1 and Y2 and adjust the cursors using the knob. Y on the screen
displays the difference between Y1 and Y2).
h) Press the Ch 1 vertical scale knob to select fine vertical adjustment (for DSO5012A
press channel 1 and select fine soft key) and adjust using the vertical knob to determine
the minimum voltage per division settings that can be used to measure this signal? To get
correct measurements, the displayed signal should not be clipped on the oscilloscope
screen. (Note: you can adjust the vertical offset to move the reference level up or down as
needed). Capture the scope image, insert it into your data file and deselect fine vertical
adjustment after the measurement is made. Repeat this step for Ch2.
i) Determine the minimum time division scale that you can use to measure the signal period
using the cursors (To obtain the correct measurements, at least one complete cycle should
be displayed on the oscilloscope screen). Capture the image from the oscilloscope, insert
it into your data file and deselect the fine horizontal adjustment after the measurement
is made.

Report
1. What is the advantage of using the cursor measurements over the grid measurements?

Function Generator

AC
Function generator
(Agilent 33220A)
Oscilloscope
R1 R2 100 100
Ground

Figure 4: Output termination test
a) With the function generator turned off, connect the circuit shown in Figure 4. Connect the
Agilent function generator and the oscilloscope to the circuit on the breadboard.
b) Adjust the Agilent 33220A function generator as follows:
Turn ON the function generator;
Using the system menu, set the output termination to 50 (press Utility select output
setup, select 50 ohms and press done);
Set the output signal to be sinusoidal signal;
Set the frequency to 1kHz;
Set the output voltage amplitude to 8 Vp-p (this is the value that should be displayed on
the function generator display)


c) In the oscilloscope, set the voltage (vertical) scale to 5v/div and set the time (horizontal)
scale to 200 sec/div. Record the peak to peak voltage measured with the oscilloscope. You
can use the measure button in the Measure to obtain the peak to peak voltage displayed on
the right edge of the display screen. Normally we will be using the Cursors function for
measurements in this lab.
d) Disconnect the 50 load connected:
What is the displayed voltage of the function generator? What is the measured peak to peak
voltage at the output on your oscilloscope?
e) Reconnect the 50 load, Set the output termination to Hi Z:
What is the displayed voltage of the function generator? What is the measured peak to peak
voltage at the output on your oscilloscope?
f) Disconnect the 50 load: What is the displayed voltage on the generator? What is the
measured peak to peak voltage on the oscilloscope?

Report
1. Why is the measured peak to peak voltage different from the displayed voltage at the function
generator for d and e?





Figure 5. Oscilloscope front control panel DSO-X 2002A


Figure 7. Horizontal Controls


Figure 8. Vertical Controls
Appendix
Capturing Oscilloscope Images

Before You Start:.
ALWAY BACKUP YOUR FILES REGULARLY THROUGHOUT THE LAB!!

How to Capture:
Using a USB memory stick
1) Place memory stick in the USB port on the front panel
2) Press the [Save/Recall] key.
3) In the Save/Recall Menu, press Save.
4) In the Save Trace and Setup Menu, press Format, then, turn the Entry knob
to select 8-bit Bitmap image (*.bmp).
5) Press the Save to softkey and use the Entry knob to select USB stick to
navigate to the save location.
6) The default name will be 1 for the first file, 2 for the second and so on
7) Press the Settings softkey.
8) Select Invert Grat with appropriate softkey.
9) Confirm That the Palette softkey is set to Color.
10) Finally, press the Press to save softkey.
A message indicating whether the save was successful is displayed.