FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

Mechanical Engineering

Electrotechnology Tut 1
SURNAMES & NAMES STUDENT NUMBERS
Mkhwanazi Siyabonga 219110174
Mazaleni Anathi 221803475
Tofile Singalakha 220611297
Mphahlele TL 221168509
Morris Enrique 220068224
QUESTION 1
A friend wants to buy a 12V, 144 W kettle to boil 0.5 litters of water during the times when there are load
shedding. This device would operate from a car battery. Having passed Physics you are seen as an expert
in the basics of electricity, thus you are asked to comment on the suitability of this device. Your final
answer should be either “Suitable” or “Not suitable”, followed by a two-line motivation. Your motivation
will be based on the calculations that you have decided to make to determine the suitability of this device.
You will have to make, and state, various assumptions for your calculations.

Given :V =12 V ; P=144 W

P=VI
P
I=
V
144
¿
12
¿ 12 A
Energy needed to boil water

∆ E t=Mass × Heating Capacity ×Cange∈Temp

¿ 0.5 × 4187 × ( 100 −20 )
¿ 167.48 kJ
Energy produced by the kettle
E
P=
t
E
144=
3600
E=518.4 kJ

The device is suitable because the energy needed to boil water is 167.48kJ and the energy the
device can produce is 519.4 kJ, which is more than enough. Now because the person wants to
use the device during load shedding this means that it will not be used for a long time and thus
will be able to last for a longer period of time because it can be recharged. Again, the current the
device produces is low and that can save money and electricity.

1.2.
Water is pumped to a height of 170 m at a rate of 400 litres per minute. The efficiencies of the
pump and the 200 V driving motor are 73 % and 82 % respectively. Determine:
a. The rating of this motor
mgℎ
Power Pump=
t
400 ×9.81 ×170
¿
60
¿ 11118 W
 11118
Power Motor=
0.73 ×0.82
¿ 18.570 kW
b. The current drawn by the motor
P=VI
P
I=
V
18573.338
¿
200
¿ 92.864 A

c. The cost of running the motor for 14 hours per day (Note: 1kWh cost R2,98c)
Energy =Power ×Time
¿ 18573.338 ×14
¿ 260026.729 W . H
¿ 260.027 kW . H

Cost =Terif × Energy

¿ 2.98 ×260.027
c
¿ R 774.88 0

QUESTION 2

Calculate the length of the resistor of a circular wire used in a heater element connected to a
240V supply and the heater consumes 8 joules of energy in 0,25 seconds. The resistor element
is made of aluminium and it has a uniform cross-sectional area with a diameter of 0,00016
inches.
Hints: 1inch = 25,4 mm, resistivity of aluminium = 2,825 x 10- 6 cm
E
P=
T
8
¿
0.25
¿ 32W

P=IV
P
I=
V
32
¿
240
I =0.133 A
 V
R=
I
240
R=
0.133
R=1800

0.0006 × 25.4
Diameter=
1000
0.004064
¿
1000
0.000004064
¿
2

Radius=0.00000 .2825 cm

A×R
L=
p
3.14 × ( r ×r )
p
¿ 3.14 × ¿¿
¿ 82.652 cm
¿ 0.82652 m

QUESTION 3

A dc shunt motor after running for several hours on constant mains of 350 V takes a field current
of 1,6 A. If the temperature rise is known to be 40°C, what value of extra circuit resistance is
required to adjust the field current to 1,6 A when starting from cold at 20°C?
The temperature coefficient of the motor’s armature material is 0,0043/K at 20°C.

R=R0[1+α[T+T0]
R0=R/(1+α[T-T0]
R0=(350/1.6)/(1+0.0043(40-20))
R0=186.646
EXTRA VALUE OF RESISTANCE =(350/1.6) -186.646
=32.10

[5]
QUESTION 4

4.1 Calculate the branch currents using Kirchoff law

4.1
E1 =I1R1 +(I1+I2)R3
10=2I1 +(I1+I2)8
10=2I1 +8I1 +8I2
10=10I1 +8I2
10 − 8 I 2
I 1= ………………………(1)
10
E2=I2R2 +(I1+I2)R3
6=4I1 +(I1+I2)8
6=4I1 +8I1+8I2
6=12I1 +8I2
6− 12 I 2
I 1= ……………..(2)
8

I 1=I 1
10− 8 I 2 6 −12 I 2
=
10 8
1− (
8
10 )
× I2 = −
8 (
6 12
8
× I2 )
8 I 12 I 2 6
− 2+ = −1
10 8 8
7I2 1
=−
10 4
5
I 2=−
14
¿ stitude I 2 into … .. (1 )

I 1=
10 − 8 ( )
−5
14
10
 9
I 1=
7
¿ 1.286 A

4.2

Figure 8

The questions below refer to figure above.

a) Given that IT = 2A, find the total resistance RT.
VT =IT *RT
30V/2A=RT
RT=15
b) Show that IT is the sum of IR1, IR2 and IR3.
V
I 1=
R1
30
¿
60
¿ 0.5 A
V
I 3=
R3
30
¿
60
¿ 0.5 A

RT =15 Ω ( Calculated )
V
I 2=
R2
30
¿
30
¿1 A

∴ I T =I R1 + IR 2+ IR 3
 ¿ 0.5+0.5+ 1
¿2 A

QUESTION 5

Determine the current through the 8 ohm resistor.

 1 1
R PC = +
19 7

133
¿ Ω
26

133
R BCD= +5
26

263
¿ Ω
497

R BC =
( 26 )
263
×9

263
+9
260
 2367
¿ Ω
497

8.5 ×1
R BF=
8.5+ 1

17
¿ Ω
19

R BF =
( 19 497 )
17 2367
×

17 2367
+
19 497

¿ 0.7532290068+2

¿2.753229007 Ω

VT 12
I T= = =4.35851866 A
R T 2.753229007

V EB=12 − ( 4.35851866 )( 2 )=3.2829626681V

( ( 133
)
26 )
3.2829626681×
V BC =V F =1.660 V
263
26

VF
I F=
7

1.660
¿
7

¿ 0.237 A

[12]
Total Marks = 50 = 100%