Circuit Theory

Titolo presentazione
Part I sottotitolo
Morris Brenna Milano, XX mese 20XX
 Electric charge

Electric charge: basic property of matter carried by some elementary particles. Electric
charge, which can be positive or negative, occurs in discrete natural units and is
neither created nor destroyed (charge conservation).
Electric charges are of two general types: positive and negative.
Two objects that have an excess of one type of charge exert a force of repulsion on
each other when relatively close together. Two objects that have excess opposite
charges, one positively charged and the other negatively charged, attract each other
when relatively near.
Many fundamental, or subatomic, particles of matter have the property of electric
charge. For example, electrons have negative charge and protons have positive charge,
but neutrons have zero charge.
The unit of electric charge in the meter–kilogram–second and SI systems is the
coulomb, equivalent to the net amount of electric charge that flows through a cross
section of a conductor in an electric circuit during each second when the current has a
value of one ampere. One coulomb consists of 6.24 × 1018 natural units of electric
charge, such as individual electrons or protons. One electron itself has a negative
charge of 1.602 × 10-19 coulomb.

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Electric current

Electric current is the rate of charge flow past a given point in

an electric circuit, measured in Coulombs/second which is
named Amperes.
Electric current is a scalar quantity
If Δq is the electric charge that flow trough a cross section in
the time interval Δt, then the electric current is:

∆q
i=
∆t

The instant value of the electric current is:

∆q dq
i(t) = lim =
∆t→ 0 ∆t dt

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 Electric current measurement unit

ampere symbol: A

The base SI unit of electrical current, equivalent to one

coulomb per second, formally defined to be the constant
current which if maintained in two straight parallel conductors
of infinite length, of negligible circular cross section, and
placed one meter apart in vacuum, would produce between
these conductors a force equal to 2 × 10 −7 newton per meter
of length.

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Typical current values

Typical values

Integrated circuit (microchip) 1 nA ÷1μA

Current felt by a human body 1 mA

Current fatal for a human body 100 mA

Domestic systems 1÷20 A

Electric train 1000 A

Primary distribution network fault 20000 A

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Base SI units

Quantity SI unit

name symbol

Length meter m

Mass kilogram kg

Time second s

Intensity of the electric current ampere A

Temperature kelvin K

Amount of substance mole mol

Luminous intensity candela cd

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 Voltage or potential difference

Each electric charge q has an energy w, as a mass in the

gravitational field.
Potential is equal to energy per unit charge :

w
V=
q

In a a positive charge assumes the energy w(a) and in b it

assumes the energy w(b).
Moving from a to b the energy variation is Δw = w(a) – w(b)

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Voltage or potential difference

The voltage between a and b is the total energy required

to move a small electric charge along that path, divided by
the magnitude of the charge:

∆w w(a ) − w(b)
vab = = = V (a ) − V (b)
q q

Potential difference vab depends only by the points a and b

neither by the charge moved nor by the path from a to b

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Voltage unit

volt symbol: V

Volt is a measure unit derived from the base SI units system.

Between two points A and B in a static electric field there is 1

V if the energy to move a unit of electric charge (1 C) from A
to B is equal to 1 J.

Therefore, the base unit of a volt is 1 J/C, or 1 W/A, or

1 m2 kg s-3 A-1.

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Typical voltage values

Typical values

Integrated circuit (microchip) 5V

Voltage felt by a human body About 20 V

Voltage fatal for a human body > 50 V

Domestic systems 110 ÷230 V

Electric train 3000 ÷

25000 V

High Voltage network up to 400 kV

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Electric power

The product of current and voltage is the rate of energy transfer. In other
words, the product of current and voltage is the electric power

∆w ∆q ∆w
p(t ) = v(t ) ⋅ i (t ) = ⋅ = [W ]
∆q ∆t ∆t

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Typical power values

Typical values

Integrated circuit (microchip) about 1μW

Domestic systems 100÷3000 W

Electric train Up to 12 MW
(high speed)

High voltage network about 500

MW

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Circuit elements

An electric circuit (network) is the interconnection of two

or more elements connected by electric conductors.
The elements are accessible from their terminal.
Depending on the numbers of terminals, the elements
are named:

bipole tripole

quadrupole

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 Connections

The wires that connects the various elements are considered ideal
conductors, so they are equipotential

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 Electric circuit

Lumped parameters circuits

All connections are equipotential.
The energy transformation are only inside the elements.
For the circuital analysis the space position of the elements is non
influential.
It is important only the circuit topology, i.e. the way in which
elements are interconnected.

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Constitutive equations

 In bipoles voltage and current values must obey a rule that depends
on the phenomenon which is excited by the terminals
 this equation is called constitutive equation and links together
current and voltage, it is often called volt-ampere characteristic

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 Topological laws

 in order to describe how components interact, another set of

equations able to describe in a mathematical way the possible
connections and thus a preliminary analysis of them must be made
 these equations will not deal anymore with components but with
their connections

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Electromagnetic components

how many components do we have?

 electromagnetic phenomena are very complex and so, in
principle, one can expect that also the number of
components would be very large
 in order to make an inventory of components different
criteria can be used
 since components are a mathematical model of a
phenomenon, in the end this process will give a list of
possible constitutive equations

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 Ideal/real components

theory and reality

 components defined in a mathematical way, can behave
differently from the real ones
 ideal components are the ones that represent a single
electromagnetic phenomenon and so they are an exclusive
model of that phenomenon
 real components are built with materials that can have laws
which are different from those of the theory and they are
usually characterized by parasitic effects

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Active and passive components

who is going to supply our components?

 passive components need an external power source to give
rise to some energy transformation (for instance a light bulb)
and are usually called loads
 active components are able to transfer power to their
terminals and this power can be transferred to loads
 active components take their power from some other form of
energy which they are able to convert in electromagnetic
form

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 Sign conventions

active/passive convention
different characteristic of components is important and thus it is
embedded in their sign conventions

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 Classification of passive components

how many kind of loads?

 the catalog of loads can be made according to their energy
behavior
 from the energetic viewpoint, passive components can be
subdivided in:
• components that are able to transform an electromagnetic form
of energy in another one
• components that are able to store energy in electric field
• components that are able to store energy in magnetic field

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 Resistor (R [Ω]) and Conductance (G [S])

 Joule effect states that an electric current flowing through a

conductor generates heat, thus this phenomenon belongs to the
first class of passive components
 for this kind of phenomena, physics define an algebraic
constitutive law that links together voltage and current values at
the same time instant

which is called first Ohm's law (1825)

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy
 Resistor (R [Ω]) and Conductance (G [S])

definitions
the component is called resistor
and its parameter R resistance its
physical dimension in SI units is
ohm [Ω].

It is often convenient to define the

conductance of a resistor as the
inverse of its resistance. The
symbol used to denote the
conductance of an element is G,
its physical dimension in SI units is
siemens [S]
Morris Brenna – Department of Energy
 Linear Time Invariant resistor

 under certain conditions parameter R is constant and

thus the v.i characteristic is linear
 since in this case R is independent of time, the
component is called Linear and Time Invariant (LTI)

v(t)= R ⋅ i(t)
i(t)= G ⋅ v(t)

G in this case v and i are linked at

each instant by a relation which
R can be plotted in a cartesian plane
with i and v axes if i→x and v→y
the slope of the line is R or G

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Linear Time Invariant resistor

 instantaneous power in a resistor can be computed from the Ohm

law as:

 in both cases power can be only positive which states that a

physical resistor (R > 0) is not able to generate power to the circuit
 energy dissipated by the component in the time interval (t1; t2)
can be computed from these formulas as

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 Active components: independent sources

independent sources
 independent sources are components able to supply power to
other components
 power is generated at the expenses of some other source like
electrochemical, electro-mechanical etc.
 ideal source: one source is ideal if it can supply infinite power to
other components
• Voltage Source
• Current Source
 actually no real source can do this so a model of real source will
be developed later

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Voltage sources (e [V])

Ideal voltage sources

 an ideal voltage source is a dipole which is able to supply a
defined voltage e(t) independently on the components
connected
= e(t) ∀i(t)
v(t) e = emf [V] electromotive force

 for any value of current, voltage at terminals of source is e(t):

voltage value is known but current value depends on the loads
connected to the source Graphic symbol

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 Voltage sources (E, [V])

Constant value
if the value of voltage is a constant e(t) =
E, its characteristic can be drawn in a v-i
plane

example
in first approximation a battery can be seen as a
constant voltage source

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Current sources (a, [A])

Ideal current sources

 an ideal current source is a dipole which is able to supply a
defined current a(t) independently on the components
connected
=
i(t) a(t) ∀v(t) a = internal current [A]

 for any value of current voltage at terminals of source is a(t):

current value is known but voltage value depends on the loads
connected to the source Graphic symbol

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Current sources (a, [A])

Constant value
if the value of current is a constant a(t) =
A, its characteristic can be drawn in a v-i
plane

Example
for any value of applied voltage at terminals of
source the current is A in nature a current
source is seldom found, but a lightning can be
approximated as an ideal current source

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Power in voltage/current sources

 instantaneous power in a source can be computed from they

constitutive law as:

pe =
(t) e(t) ⋅ i(t)
pa =
(t) v(t) ⋅ a(t)
 in both cases power can be positive or negative which states
that a source is able to generate power to the circuit and to
absorb power from the circuit

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Short Circuit

Short Circuit
 null voltage source: voltage source with null e=0
constant value
 zero resistance component : resistance with null
constant value R =0
In these cases for any current value, the voltage at
v(t)= 0 ∀i(t)
the terminals is zero.
The power is zero. Graphic symbol p(t) = 0

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Open Circuit

Open Circuit
 null current source: current source with null a=0
constant value
 zero conductance component : conductance with
null constant value G=0
In these cases for any voltage value, the current at
i(t)= 0 ∀v(t)
the terminals is zero.
The power is zero. Graphic symbol
p(t) = 0

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy
 Capacitor (C [F])

physical phenomenon
 capacitors are components able to store energy in electric
field, so that they belong to the second class of passive
components
 electric field is created in the region between two insulated
conductive parts subject to a difference of potential

charge conservation
|+Q| =|-Q| = Q
Charge conservation
phenomenon is
conservative

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy
 Capacitor (C [F])

physical phenomenon
 The capacitor charge increase proportionally to the applied
voltage

 the coefficient of proportion C is called capacitance of the

component and depends on:
- geometrical shape of the structure C ∝ 1/distance
- materials present in the domain C ∝ ε

Graphic symbol definition

capacitance is expressed in
farad F technical values of
capacitance are usually
expressed in mF, µF, etc.

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Capacitor: v-i characteristic

 Equation Q = CV is not a valid constitutive equation since

current i does not appear
 Current i can be obtained using a charge differential

under the hypothesis that C does not depend on t

 constitutive equation is a first order differential equation and it
does not link instantaneous value of v and i
 constitutive equation contains a derivative operator that links i
to v:
dv(t)
i(t)= C ⋅
dt

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Capacitor: v-i characteristic

 inverse equation must use an integral operator

 integral domain can be subdivided in two intervals:

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 Capacitor: energy

 instantaneous power in a capacitor can be computed from its

constitutive law as:

 depending on signs of v(t) and of dv/dt, instantaneous power

can be either positive or negative, so there are cases when C
can give power to the circuit
 energy associated to a transformation of infinitesimal duration
dt is given by:

 the last expression represents an exact differential which

implies a reversible or conservative energy transformation

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Capacitor: energy

 by integrating from zero initial state until a given value of

voltage the energy becomes:

 thus energy stored in one capacitor depends on the value of v at

its terminals and thus voltage is an indicator of the energy state
of the component
 voltage in one capacitor is thus called a state variable
 any variation of voltage at C terminals means that the external
circuit must supply or receive a given amount of power to
balance the time variation of stored energy

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy
 Inductor (L [H])

definition
 Inductor is able to store energy in magnetic form, thus it
belongs to the third class of component
 a current flowing through a coil creates a magnetic field in
the region of space around it and the magnetic flux is linked
with the coil

Current-flux
Linked magnetic flux is
related to current by the
relation ϕ = Li often L =
L(i)

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy
 Inductor (L [H])

v - i characteristic
 as in the case of capacitor, ϕ = Li is not a valid constitutive
equation since voltage v does not appear
 voltage v can be obtained using the electromagnetic induction
law

under the hypothesis that L does not depend on t

 constitutive equation is a first order differential Graphic symbol
equation
 C and L have similar v - i characteristic where v
and i change their role (duality)
 inductance is expressed in henry H usually expressed in mH,
µH, etc.

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 Inductor (L [H])

v - i characteristic
di(t)
 as in the C case, constitutive equation contains v(t)= L ⋅
dt
a derivative operator that links v to i
 inverse equation must use an integral operator voltage v can
be obtained using the electromagnetic induction law

 integral domain can be subdivided in two intervals:

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 Inductor: energy

 instantaneous power in a inductor can be computed from its

constitutive law as:

 depending on signs of i(t) and of di/dt, instantaneous power can

be either positive or negative, so there are cases when L can
give power to the circuit
 energy associated to a transformation of infinitesimal time dt is
given by:

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

 Inductor: energy

 in the case of an inductor, stored energy is proportional to the

current flowing through it
 again as for the voltage in a capacitor, current in an inductor is
an indicator of the energy state of the component
 Current in one inductor is thus called a state variable
 the current in an inductor is constrained to have a continuous
behavior with respect to time

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy
 Summary

Series Components Shunt Components

Components
No power/energy for i = 0 No power/energy for v = 0

Voltage Source Current Source ACTIVE

Resistance Conductance PASSIVE

Inductor Capacitor PASSIVE

Short Circuit Open Circuit PASSIVE

Morris Brenna – Department of Energy