MAKERERE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, DESIGN, ART AND TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

END OF SEMESTER I 2022/2023 EXAMINATIONS

MEC1103: Electrical Engineering for Mechanical Engineers I

AEN1107: Electrical Engineering I

Wednesday January 18, 2023

Duration: 3 Hours (1400 – 1700 hours)

Solutions
Instructions:
 The Examination paper contains five (5) questions.
 Attempt any four (4) questions of your choice.
 Each question carries 25 marks, and marks for individual sections are indicated
in parentheses.
 Indicate the attempted questions on the top page of the answer booklet
provided.
 Start each question on a fresh page.
 Do not write any text on the question paper. Rough work can be done in the
provided answer booklet.
 Use legible handwriting.
Question 1 [ 25 Marks]
1.1 In relation to electrical networks and circuits, write brief notes on your
understanding of each of the following: (6 Marks)
(i) Magnetic Flux density
Magnetic flux density is the amount of flux per unit area
perpendicular to the magnetic field or
Magnetic flux
Magnetic Flux density =
Area
(ii) Electrostatic field
Is a region in which electrostatic forces act. Lines of force in an
electrostatic/electric field begin from a positive charge and end in
a negative charge. These line leave the conducting surface in a
direction normal to the surface.
(iii) Short circuit
A short circuit occurs when the current finds a way to bypass the
appliance/load on a path that has little or no resistance. Or
Zero resistance, zero voltage; the current in the short is determined
by the rest of the circuit.
(iv) Root mean Square (rms) value
The effective value of an alternating current is that current which will
produce the same heating effect as an equivalent direct current.
The effective value is called the root mean square (rms) value. or

(v) Kirchhoff’s current law

At any junction in an electric circuit the total current flowing towards
that junction is equal to the total current flowing away from the
junction
(vi) Ohm’s law
Ohm’s law states that the current I flowing in a circuit is directly
proportional to the applied voltage V and inversely proportional to
the resistance R, provided the temperature remains constant. Thus,

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1.2 An electric heater consumes 3.6 MJ when connected to a 250 V supply for
40 minutes. Find the power rating of the heater and the current taken from
the supply. (3 Marks)

1.3 The current in an a.c. circuit at any time 𝑡 seconds is given by:
𝑖 = 120 sin(100𝜋𝑡 + 0.36) amperes (where the 0.36 is in radians).
Find: (4,1,1,2,2 Marks)
(i) the peak value, the periodic time, the frequency and phase
angle relative to 120 sin 100𝜋𝑡.

4 marks
(ii) the value of the current when 𝑡 = 0

1 mark
(iii) the value of the current when 𝑡 = 8 ms

1 mark
(iv) the time when the current first reaches 60 A

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 2 marks
(v) the time when the current is first a maximum.

2marks

1.4 Find the equivalent resistance between points A and B in the circuit in Fig.1.
(6 Marks)

Fig. 1

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 The external resistors at the edges are in parallel with the respective resistors
of the square as shown in figure 1 Let us first merge those resistors together.

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Question 2 [25 Marks]
2.1 State the maximum power transfer theorem for an alternating current circuit.
(2 Marks)
A Thévenin equivalent circuit with source internal impedance, z=(r+jx)Ω and complex
load Z=(R+jX)Ω;

or

or

or

or
Maximum power is delivered to the load when the load impedance is the
complex conjugate of the source impedance.
Any statements similar to any the above, 2 marks

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2.2 Using equations prove that the maximum power transfer for a DC circuit, with
load resistance 𝑅𝐿 and Thevenin equivalent resistance 𝑅𝑇𝐻 as seen from the
load, takes place when the load resistance 𝑅𝐿 equals the Thevenin resistance
𝑅𝑇𝐻 . (4 Marks)

The power delivered to the load is

For maximum power transfer

Which yields,

2.3 Find 𝑅𝐿 for maximum power transfer and the maximum power that can be
transferred to the load in Fig. 2 below. (6 Marks)

Fig. 2

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 The independent current source is removed and a 5mA (or 1mA) current
source is given at the output terminal. The voltage across the terminals, i.e V1
has to be found to calculate the Thevenin's resistance.

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2.4 Briefly describe Superposition theorem as applied to electric circuits. Explain
the limitations of the superposition theorem. (4 Marks)
In any linear circuit containing multiple independent sources, the current or
voltage at any point in the network may be calculated as the algebraic sum
of the individual contributions of each source acting alone.
When determining the contribution due to an independent source, any
remaining voltage sources are made zero by replacing them with short circuits,
and any remaining current sources are made zero by replacing them with
open circuits.
 Limitations
Although superposition can be used in linear networks containing
dependent sources, it is not useful in this case since the dependent
source is never made zero

 Superposition is a fundamental property of linear equations and,

therefore, can be applied to any effect that is linearly related to its
cause. In this regard it is important to point out that although
superposition applies to the current and voltage in a linear circuit, it
cannot be used to determine power because power is a nonlinear
function

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2.5 Find the value of 𝑰𝟎 in the circuit in Fig.3 using Source transformation
(3 Marks)

Fig. 3

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 3 marks

2.6 Find the value of 𝑰𝟎 in the circuit in Fig.4 using loop Analysis. (6 Marks)

Fig. 4

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I1 = −2mA
I2 − I1 = 2Ix
I1 − I4 = Ix
𝑉𝑥 = 1000𝐼3

If we solve the equations, we have

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Question 3 [25 Marks]
3.1 List three differences between ideal and practical operational amplifiers (op-
amp). (3 Marks)

Ideal OPAMP Practical OPAMP

Infinite voltage gain, so that it can Voltage gain is not infinite, but typically 10^5
amplify input signals of any amplitude. to 10^8, so it is not able to amplify input signals
smaller than 100 uV.

Infinite input resistance, so that almost Input resistance is typically 10^6 to 10^12 ohm
any signal source can drive it and there (for FET input Op-Amps such as uAF771), so still
is no loading of preceding stage. it draws some current and not all source can
drive it.

Zero output resistance, so that output Output resistance is typically 75 ohm for
can drive an infinite number of other standard Op-Amps, so it has limit to deliver
devices. current to output devices.

Zero output voltage when input voltage It is not able to give zero at output when input
is zero. is zero, due to mismatching of input transistors.

Infinite bandwidth, so that any Op-Amp has its own Gain-Bandwidth product,
frequency signal can be amplified so input frequency should not exceed from
without attenuation. that particular frequency range at desired
gain.

Infinite common-mode rejection ratio, so CMRR is typically 90 dB, so still it gives output
that the output common-mode noise voltage even if both input terminals are
voltage is zero. shorted.

Infinite slew rate, so that output voltage Slew rate is typically 0.5 to 90 V/uS(for
changes occur simultaneously with input improved Op-Amp such as LM318), so output
voltage changes. cannot be change simultaneously with input,
there is some delay.

Any 3, 1 mark@

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3.2 Assuming an ideal op-amp in Fig. 5, determine the output voltage 𝐕𝟎 .
(6 Marks)

Fig. 5

3.3 Design an op-amp-based circuit to produce the function.

𝑽𝟎 = 𝟓𝑽𝟏 − 𝟕𝑽𝟐 . (10 Marks)

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3.4 If the total energy stored in the DC circuit shown in Fig. 6 below is 80 mJ, what
is the value of the inductance L? (6 Marks)

Fig. 6

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Question 4 [25 Marks]
4.1 Explain the concept of reactive power in a.c. circuits. What is the
disadvantage to the power utility of having a large amount of reactive power
flowing in the network? (3 Marks)
In ac circuits, energy flows into and out of energy storage elements
(inductances and capacitances).
• when the voltage magnitude across a capacitance is increasing, energy
flows into it, and when the voltage magnitude
decreases, energy flows out. Similarly, energy flows into an inductance when
the current flowing through it increases in magnitude.
• Although instantaneous power can be very large, the net energy transferred
per cycle is zero for either an ideal capacitance or inductance as seen.
• The peak instantaneous power associated with the energy storage elements
contained in a general load is called reactive power.

Although reactive power does no useful work, it cannot be ignored. Extra

current is required to create react current must be supplied by the source; this
also means that conductors, circuit breakers, switches, transformer equipment
must be made physically larger to handle the extra current. This increases the
cost of a system.

4.2 Three loads, each of resistance 50 Ω and inductance 127.3 mH are

connected in star to a 415 V, 3-phase supply at a frequency of 50 Hz.
Determine:

(i) the system phase voltage,

(ii) the phase current. (1,2 Marks)
(i)

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 (ii)

4.3 A single-phase industrial load is supplied through a transmission line that has a
line impedance of 0.1 + 𝑗0.2 Ω. The 60-Hz line voltage at the load is 480 <
0∘ 𝑉 𝑟𝑚𝑠. The load consumes 124 kW at 0.75 pf lagging. What value of
capacitance when placed in parallel with the load will change the power
factor to 0.9 lagging? (5 Marks)

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4.4 Find the equivalent impedance Z of the network in Fig. 7 below.
(5 Marks)

Fig. 7

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4.5 If 𝑰0 = 4 < 0° 𝐴 in the circuit in Fig. 8 below, find 𝑰𝑥 . (9 Marks)

Fig.8

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Question 5 [25 Marks]
5.1 Briefly explain what you understand by second-order Circuits. (1 Mark)
Circuits where both an inductor and a capacitor are present simultaneously,
and the network is described by a second-order differential equation.

5.2 In general, the complete response of a first-order circuit can be represented

as the sum of two parts, the natural response and the forced response.
Describe briefly the difference between the two responses. (2 Marks)
The natural response is the general/complementary solution of the differential
equation representing the first-order circuit, when the input is set to zero (with
no external sources of excitation) whereas the forced response is a particular
solution of the differential equation representing the circuit response due to an
input excitation or source.

5.3 The voltage 𝑣1 (𝑡) in a network is defined by the equation

Find:
(i) the characteristic equation of the network in the form

(ii) the circuit’s natural frequencies (roots of the characteristic equation)

(iii) the expression for 𝑣1 (𝑡). (2,2,2 Marks)

(i)

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 (ii)

(iii)

5.4 The switch in the first-order circuit in Fig.9 has been closed for a long time and
is moved at 𝒕 = 𝟎. Find 𝒗𝟎 (𝒕) for 𝒕 > 𝟎.
(7 Marks)

Fig. 9

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5.5 The switch in the second-order circuit in Fig. 10 has been closed for a long
time and is moved at 𝒕 = 𝟎. Find 𝓥𝟎 (𝒕) for 𝒕 > 𝟎. (9 Marks)

Fig. 10

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