EEE1105: Circuit

Theorems – Direct
Current (DC)
CLO1: Apply different types of circuit
techniques and theorems in solving DC
circuits.
By Steven Khoo.
Circuit Theorems
 Kirchhoff’s Laws
 Kirchhoff’s Current Law
 Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law

 Nodal Analysis
 Superposition Theorem
 Thévenin’s Theorem
 Norton’s Theorem
 Star-Delta Transformation
 Maximum Power Transfer
Brain Teaser
 What is the total resistance measured between
points A and B?

 How about adding 2 more wires to the circuit

and what will be the new total resistance
between point A and B?
Series Circuits
 A series circuit is a closed circuit in which the current
follows one path.
 The current through each load is the same .
 The total voltage across the circuit is the sum of the
voltages across each load.

100 V

(a) (b)
 Series Circuit – Voltage Divider
 The ratio of the voltages depends on the
ratio of the resistances.
 A voltage divider is
to give an output
voltage of 10 V from
an input voltage of
30 V. Given that R2 =
100 , calculate the
resistance of R1.

R1 = 200 
Parallel Circuits
 A parallel circuit is a closed circuit in which the current
divides into two or more paths before recombining to
complete the circuit.
 Each load connected in a separate path receives the full
circuit voltage.
 The total circuit current is equal to the sum of the
individual branch currents.
 Parallel Circuit – Current Divider
 The current in one resistor is that portion
of the total given by the ratio of the other
resistance to the sum of the resistances.
 A current of 8 A is
shared between two
resistors in the
network. Calculate the
current in the 2 
resistor, given that
 R1 = 2 ;
 R1 = 4 .
I2 = 4 A, I2 = (16/3) A
Open Circuit and Short Circuit
 Open circuit means the wires are cut off
so there will be no current flow, but there is
voltage.
 Short circuit means the wires are
connected so there will be flow of current,
but there is no voltage.
 Self-Test 1
 Calculate the total resistance for Figure
1(a) and Figure 1(b).

Figure 1(a) Figure 1(b)

1(a) RT = 64 , 1(b) RT = 5 k
 Self-Test 2
 Calculate the total resistance for Figure
2(a) and Figure 2(b).

Figure 2(a) Figure 2(b)

2(a) RT = 20 , 2(b) RT = 30 
 Self-Test 3
 Calculate the total resistance for Figure
3(a) and Figure 3(b).

Assume: R = 100 

Figure 3(a) Figure 3(b)

3(a) RT = 100 , 3(b) RT = 333.3333 

 Self-Test 4
 Use voltage divider to determine the voltage, VO across
the 40  resistor.
 Using the VO obtained to determine the current through
the 40  resistor and use the current obtained to
calculate the current passing through the 30  resistor.
 How much power is absorbed by the 50  resistor?

Figure 4
VO = 20 V, I40 = 0.5 A, I30 = 0.1667 A, P50 = 0.3472 W
 Self-Test 5
 Find V1, V2 and V3 in Figure 5(a).
 Calculate i and VO in Figure 5(b).

Figure 5(a) Figure 5(b)

5(a) V1 = 1.7143 V, V2 = 1.6364 V, V3 = 1.0909 V, 5(b) i = 0.5 A, VO = 1.5 V

Kirchhoff’s Law
 Kirchhoff’s 1st Law – Kirchhoff’s
Current Law (KCL): At any
instant the algebraic sum of the
currents at a junction in a
network is zero.
 Kirchhoff’s 2nd Law – Kirchhoff’s
Voltage Law (KVL): At any
instant in a closed loop, the
algebraic sum of the e.m.f.s
acting round the loop is equal to
the algebraic sum of the p.d.s
round the loop.
 Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL)
 Determine I2, I4 and I5 for the circuit below.

I2 = 2 A, I4 = –1 A, I5 = 2 A
 Self-Test 6
 Determine I1 and I2 for Figure 6.

Figure 6
I1 = 1.5 A, I2 = 0.5 A
 Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL)
 Calculate the voltage V1 and the e.m.f, E2
for the circuit below.

V1 = 4 V, E2 = 14 V
 Self-Test 7
 Calculate VAB for Figure 7.

Figure 7
VAB = 3.5 V
 Self-Test 8
 Find I and Vab for Figure 8 using KVL.

Figure 8

I = 4 A, Vab = 28 V
 Self-Test 9
 Calculate the currents in Figure 9.

Figure 9

I1 = –2.85 A, I2 = 3.57 A, I1+I2 = 0.72 A

Nodal Analysis
 Also known as the Node Voltage method, is
based on the application of KCL at each junction
(node) of the circuit, to find the node voltages.
 The Node Voltage method:
 Step 1: Choose a reference node to which all node
voltages can be referred.
 Step 2: Assign currents in each connection to each
node, except the reference node.
 Step 3: Apply KCL at each node, obtaining as many
equations as there are unknown node voltages.
 Step 4: Solve the resulting equations to find the
node voltages.
 Nodal Analysis
 Using Nodal analysis, calculate the
voltages V1 and V2 for the circuit below.

V1 = (10/3) V, V2 = (7/3) V
 Self-Test 10
 Using the Nodal analysis method, calculate the
voltages V1 and V2 in Figure 10 and hence
calculate the currents in the 8  resistor.

Figure 10
V1 = 2.88 V, V2 = 2.55 V, I = 0.32 A
Superposition Theorem
 The Superposition theorem
states that in any network
containing more than one
source, the current in, or the
p.d. across, any branch can
be found by considering
each source separately and
adding their effects: omitted
sources of e.m.f. are
replaced by resistances
equal to their internal
resistances.
 Superposition Theorem
 By means of the Superposition theorem, calculate the
currents for the circuit below.

I1 = –2.85 A, I2 = 3.57 A, I1+I2 = 0.72 A

Superposition Theorem
 Considering the effect of each source
independently require that sources to be
removed and replaced without affecting the final
result.
 Voltage Source:
Short circuit

 CurrentSource:
Open circuit
 Superposition Theorem
 Use Superposition theorem to find v for the
circuit below.

V1 = 2 V, V2 = 8 V, V1+V2 = 10 V
 Self-Test 11
 Determine the voltage VO across 8 
resistor for Figure 11 using Superposition
theorem.

Figure 11

VO = 3.2 V
Thévenin’s Theorem
 An active network having two terminals A and B
can be replaced by a constant-voltage source
having an e.m.f. E and an internal resistance r.
 The value of E is equal to the open-circuit p.d.
between A and B with the load disconnected and
the sources of e.m.f. replaced by their internal
resistances.
Thévenin’s Theorem
 Thévenin’s theorem method:
 Step 1: Remove the load from the circuit.
 Step 2: Label the resulting two terminals.
 Step 3: Set all sources in the circuit to zero. Voltage
sources are set to zero by replacing them with short
circuits (0V). Current sources are set to zero by
replacing them with open circuits (0A).
 Step 4: Determine the Thévenin equivalent resistance,
RTH between the two terminals.
 Step 5: Replace the sources removed in Step 3, and
determine the open-circuit voltage, VTH between the
two terminals.
 Step 6: Draw the equivalent circuit with the load
removed.
Thévenin’s Theorem
 Figure below points C and D represent the
two terminals of an active network.
Calculate the current through R3.
 Thévenin’s Theorem
 Step 1 & Step 2:  Step 3 & Step 4:

 Step 5 & Step 6:

I = 0.46 A
 Self-Test 12
 Calculate the voltage across 4  resistor
for Figure 12 using Thévenin’s theorem.

Figure 12

RTH = 2.57 ,VTH = 6.43 V, V4 = 3.0 V

Norton’s Theorem
 Any linear circuit with an identified terminal pair
can be represented by a parallel combination of
an ideal current-source, IN and a resistance RN
where:
 INis the short circuit current at the terminals
 RN is the internal resistance which is the same as
RTH.
Norton’s Theorem
 Calculate the potential difference across
the 2  resistor for the circuit below.
 Norton’s Theorem
 Short-circuiting the branch containing the 2  resistor.

 Finding IN and RN.

I1 = 2.5 A, I2 = 2.5 A, I1+I2 = 5 A, RN = 2.67 , V = 2.1 V

 Self-Test 13
 Calculate the current flowing through 5 
resistor for Figure 13 using Norton’s
theorem.

Figure 13
IN = 8 A, RN = 5 , I5 = 4 A
Star-Delta Transformation
 Circuit configurations are encountered in which
the resistors do not appear to be in series or
parallel; it may be necessary to convert the
circuit from one form to another to solve for the
unknown quantities.
 Two circuit configurations that often account for
these difficulties are the Star or Wye () and
Delta () configurations.
Star-Delta Transformation
 Delta-to-Star transformation:
Star-Delta Transformation
 Star-to-Delta transformation:
Star-Delta Transformation
 A network is arranged below, calculate the
equivalent resistance between
 (a) A and B.
 (b) A and N.
 Self-Test 14
 Determine total resistance, RT and i for
Figure 14.

Figure 14
RT = 9.631 , i = 12.459 A
Maximum Power Transfer
Theorem
 When a source, E is connected to a load, the
power transferred from the source to the load is
a maximum when the resistance of the load, R is
equal to the internal resistance, r of the source.
 This condition is referred to as resistance
matching.
 Maximum Power Transfer
Theorem
 Find the value for R such that maximum
power transfer occurs.

R = RTH = 4.8 , VTH = 1.333 V, P = 92.592 mW

Self-Test 15
 A certain generator has an open-circuit voltage
of 12 V and an internal resistance of 40 .
Calculate:
 (a) the load resistance for maximum power transfer.
 (b) the corresponding values of the terminal voltage
and of the power supplied to the load.
 If the load resistance were increased to twice the
value for maximum power transfer, what would
be the power absorbed by the load?