BE8253 Basic Electrical, Electronics and Instrumentation

UNIT I Electrical Circuits:

Basic circuit components -, Ohms Law - Kirchoff‟s Law – Instantaneous Power – Inductors -
Capacitors – Independent and Dependent Sources - steady state solution of DC circuits -
Nodal analysis, Mesh analysis- Thevinin‟s Theorem, Norton‟s Theorem, Maximum Power
transfer theoremLinearity and Superposition Theorem.

Basic circuit components:

The three basic elements used in electronic circuits are the resistor, capacitor, and inductor. They each
play an important role in how an electronic circuit behaves. They also have their own standard
symbols and units of measurement.

Resistor: A resistor represents a given amount of resistance in a circuit. Resistance is a measure of

how the flow of electric current is opposed or "resisted." It is defined by Ohm's law which says the
resistance equals the voltage divided by the current.

Resistance = voltage/current or R = V/I

Resistance is measured in Ohms. The Ohm is often represented by the omega symbol: Ω.

The symbol for resistance is a zigzag line as shown below. The letter "R" is used in equations.

Resistor Symbol
Capacitor: A capacitor represents the amount of capacitance in a circuit. The capacitance is the ability
of a component to store an electrical charge. You can think of it as the "capacity" to store a charge.
The capacitance is defined by the equation C = q/V ; where q is the charge in coulombs and V is the
voltage.

In a DC circuit, a capacitor becomes an open circuit blocking any DC current from passing the
capacitor. Only AC current will pass through a capacitor. Capacitance is measured in Farads.

The symbol for capacitance is two parallel lines. Sometimes one of the lines is curved as shown
below. The letter "C" is used in equations.

Capacitor Symbol
Inductor: An inductor represents the amount of inductance in a circuit. The inductance is the ability
of a component to generate electromotive force due to a change in the flow of current. A simple
inductor is made by looping a wire into a coil. Inductors are used in electronic circuits to reduce or
oppose the change in electric current. In a DC circuit, an inductor looks like a wire. It has no affect
when the current is constant. Inductance only has an effect when the current is changing as in an AC
circuit.

Inductance is measured in Henrys. The symbol for inductance is a series of coils as shown below. The
letter "L" is used in equations.

Inductor Symbol

Facts about Resistors, Capacitors, and Inductors:

 The resistance of a material is the opposite or the inverse of the conductivity.
 The Ohm is named after German physicist Georg Ohm.
 The Farad is named after English physicist Michael Faraday.
  The Henry is named after American scientist Joseph Henry.
 Combinations of capacitors, inductors, and resistors are used to build passive filters that will
only allow electronic signals of certain frequencies to pass through.

Ohms Law: Ohm‟s law is the fundamental law in the field of electricity. It was discovered by George
Ohm, and named after him. Ohm‟s law provides the relationship between current, voltage, and
resistance. It states that, the voltage across any resistance is equal to current times the resistance.

Ohm's law states that the current through a conductor between two points is directly proportional to
the voltage across the two points with respect to the resistance.

The mathematical expression is: I= V/R; V=I*R ; or R= V/I.

where I is the current through the conductor in units of amperes, V is the voltage measured across the
conductor in units of volts, and R is the resistance of the conductor in units of ohms.

Ex: The current through a resistor is measured to be 5 amperes. The resistance of the resistor is 10
ohms. What is the voltage across the resistor?

Solution: By using ohm‟s law relation: V = I*R = 5 * 10 = 50 volts

Kirchoff‘s Law:

This law states that, for any node (junction) in an electrical circuit, the sum of currents flowing into
that node is equal to the sum of currents flowing out of that node; or equivalently:

The algebraic sum of currents in a network of conductors meeting at a point is zero.

Instantaneous Power:
Electric power, like mechanical power, is the rate of doing work, measured in watts, and represented
by the letter P. The term wattage is used colloquially to mean "electric power in watts." The electric
power in watts produced by an electric current I consisting of a charge of Q coulombs every t seconds
passing through an electric potential difference of V is; P= VQ/t = VI; watts

where Q is electric charge in coulombs, t is time in seconds, I is electric current in amperes, V is

electric potential or voltage in volts.

In the case of resistive (Ohmic or linear) loads, Joule's law can be combined with Ohm's law (V = I·R)
to produce alternative expressions for the amount of power that is dissipated:

P=IV=I2 *R= V2/R; watts

In alternating current circuits, energy storage elements such as inductance and capacitance may result
in periodic reversals of the direction of energy flow. The portion of power flow that, averaged over a
complete cycle of the AC waveform, results in net transfer of energy in one direction is known as real
power (also referred to as active power). That portion of power flow due to stored energy, which
returns to the source in each cycle, is known as reactive power. The real power P in watts consumed
by a device is given by:

1
P  V p I p cos   VrmsI rms cos 
2

where

Vp is the peak voltage in volts

Ip is the peak current in amperes

Vrms is the root-mean-square voltage in volts

Irms is the root-mean-square current in amperes

θ is the phase angle between the current and voltage sine waves

The relationship between real power, reactive power and apparent power can be expressed by
representing the quantities as vectors:

Apparent power (VA)

Reactive power (VAR)

Real power (W)

2 2 2
(VA) = (VAR) + (W)

Independent and Dependent Sources:

An electrical supply or simply, “a source”, is a device that supplies electrical power to a circuit in the
form of a voltage source or a current source. Both types of electrical sources can be classed as a direct
(DC) or alternating (AC) source in which a constant voltage is called a DC voltage and one that varies
sinusoidal with time is called an AC voltage.

Sources can be either independent or dependent upon some other quantities.

An independent voltage source maintains a voltage (fixed or varying with time) which is not affected
by any other quantity. Similarly an independent current source maintains a current (fixed or time-
varying) which is unaffected by any other quantity; as in Fig. (a).
 + +
_ V I V I
_

(a) Independent source (b) Dependent source

Some voltage (current) sources have their voltage (current) values varying with some other variables.
They are called dependent voltage (current) sources or controlled voltage (current) sources, and their
usual symbols are shown in Fig. (b).

Electrical sources, both as a voltage source or a current source can be classed as being
either independent (ideal) or dependent, (controlled) that is whose value depends upon a voltage or
current elsewhere within the circuit, which itself can be either constant or time-varying.

When dealing with circuit laws and analysis, electrical sources are often viewed as being “ideal”, that
is the source is ideal because it could theoretically deliver an infinite amount of energy without loss
thereby having characteristics represented by a straight line. However, in real or practical sources
there is always a resistance either connected in parallel for a current source, or series for a voltage
source associated with the source affecting its output.

A Dependent Voltage Source or controlled voltage source provides a voltage supply whose magnitude
depends on either the voltage across or current flowing through some other circuit element. A
dependent voltage source is indicated with a diamond shape and is used as equivalent electrical
sources for many electronic devices, such as transistors and operational amplifiers.

Steady state solution of DC circuits:

In an R, L. C circuit; during the transient period, capacitors build up charge and stop the flow of
current (eventually acting like infinite resistors) Inductors build up energy in the form of magnetic
fields, and become more conductive. In other words, in the steady-state (long term behaviour),
capacitors become open circuits and inductors become short circuits. Thus, for DC analysis, you can
replace a capacitor with an empty space and an inductor with a wire. The only circuit components that
remain are voltage sources, current sources, and resistors.

DC steady-state (meaning the circuit has been in the same state for a long time), we've seen that
capacitors act like open circuits and inductors act like shorts. The above figures show the process of
replacing these circuit devices with their DC equivalents. In this case, all that remains is a voltage
source and a lone resistor.

Nodal analysis:
In electric circuits analysis, nodal analysis, node-voltage analysis, or the branch current method is a
method of determining the voltage (potential difference) between "nodes" (points where elements or
branches connect) in an electrical circuit in terms of the branch currents.

In analyzing a circuit using Kirchhoff's circuit laws, one can either do nodal analysis using Kirchhoff's
current law (KCL) or mesh analysis using Kirchhoff's voltage law (KVL). Nodal analysis writes an
equation at each electrical node, requiring that the branch currents incident at a node must sum to
zero. The branch currents are written in terms of the circuit node voltages. As a consequence, each
branch constitutive relation must give current as a function of voltage; an admittance representation.

Nodal Voltage Analysis finds the unknown voltage drops around a circuit between different nodes
that provide a common connection for two or more circuit components.

There are two basic methods that are used for solving any electrical network: Nodal
analysis and Mesh analysis. In this chapter, let us discuss about the Nodal analysis method. In Nodal
analysis, we will consider the node voltages with respect to Ground. Hence, Nodal analysis is also
called as Node-voltage method.
Procedure of Nodal Analysis: Follow these steps while solving any electrical network or circuit using
Nodal analysis.

Step 1 − Identify the principal nodes and choose one of them as reference node. We will treat
that reference node as the Ground.
Step 2 − Label the node voltages with respect to Ground from all the principal nodes except the
reference node.
Step 3 − Write nodal equations at all the principal nodes except the reference node. Nodal
equation is obtained by applying KCL first and then Ohm’s law.
Step 4 − Solve the nodal equations obtained in Step 3 in order to get the node voltages.

Now, we can find the current flowing through any element and the voltage across any element that is
present in the given network by using node voltages.

Example: Find the current flowing through 20 Ω resistor of the following circuit using Nodal
analysis.

Step 1 − There are three principle nodes in the above circuit. Those are labelled as 1, 2, and 3 in the
following figure.

In the above figure, consider node 3 as reference node (Ground).

Step 2 − The node voltages, V1 and V2, are labelled in the following figure.
In the above figure, V1 is the voltage from node 1 with respect to ground and V 2 is the voltage from
node 2 with respect to ground.

Step 3 − In this case, we will get two nodal equations, since there are two principal nodes, 1 and 2,
other than Ground. When we write the nodal equations at a node, assume all the currents are leaving
from the node for which the direction of current is not mentioned and that node‟s voltage as greater
than other node voltages in the circuit.
The nodal equation at node 1 is:
Step 4 − Finding node voltages, V1 and V2 by solving Equation 1 and Equation 2.
Substitute Equation 1 in Equation 2.

Substitute V1 = 20 V in Equation1.

So, we got the node voltages V1 and V2 as 20 V and 40 Vrespectively.

Step 5 − The voltage across 20 Ω resistor is nothing but the node voltage V2 and it is equal to 40 V.
Now, we can find the current flowing through 20 Ω resistor by using Ohm‟s law.

Substitute the values of V2 and R in the above equation.

Therefore, the current flowing through 20 Ω resistor of given circuit is 2 A.

Mesh analysis:
In Mesh analysis, we will consider the currents flowing through each mesh. Hence, Mesh analysis is
also called as Mesh-current method.

A branch is a path that joins two nodes and it contains a circuit element. If a branch belongs to only
one mesh, then the branch current will be equal to mesh current.
If a branch is common to two meshes, then the branch current will be equal to the sum (or difference)
of two mesh currents, when they are in same (or opposite) direction.

Procedure of Mesh Analysis:

Follow these steps while solving any electrical network or circuit using Mesh analysis.
Step 1 − Identify the meshes and label the mesh currents in either clockwise or anti-clockwise
direction.
Step 2 − Observe the amount of current that flows through each element in terms of mesh
currents.
Step 3 − Write mesh equations to all meshes. Mesh equation is obtained by applying KVL first
and then Ohm‟s law.
Step 4 − Solve the mesh equations obtained in Step 3 in order to get the mesh currents.
Now, we can find the current flowing through any element and the voltage across any element
that is present in the given network by using mesh currents.

Example: Find the voltage across 30 Ω resistor using Mesh analysis.

Step 1 − There are two meshes in the above circuit. The mesh currents I1 and I2 are considered
in clockwise direction. These mesh currents are shown in the following figure.

Step 2 − The mesh current I1 flows through 20 V voltage source and 5 Ω resistor. Similarly, the
mesh current I2 flows through 30 Ω resistor and -80 V voltage source. But, the difference of
two mesh currents, I1 and I2, flows through 10 Ω resistor, since it is the common branch of two
meshes.
Step 3 − In this case, we will get two mesh equations since there are two meshes in the given
circuit. When we write the mesh equations, assume the mesh current of that particular mesh as
greater than all other mesh currents of the circuit.

The mesh equation of first mesh is:

Step 4 − Finding mesh currents I1 and I2 by solving Equation 1 and Equation 2.

The left-hand side terms of Equation 1 and Equation 2 are the same. Hence, equate the right-
hand side terms of Equation 1 and Equation 2 in order find the value of I1.
Thevinin‘s Theorem:
Thevenin‟s theorem states that any two terminal linear network or circuit can be represented with an
equivalent network or circuit, which consists of a voltage source in series with a resistor. It is known
as Thevenin‟s equivalent circuit. A linear circuit may contain independent sources, dependent sources,
and resistors.

If the circuit contains multiple independent sources, dependent sources, and resistors, then the
response in an element can be easily found by replacing the entire network to the left of that element
with a Thevenin‟s equivalent circuit.

The response in an element can be the voltage across that element, current flowing through that
element, or power dissipated across that element.

This concept is illustrated in following figures.

Thevenin‟s equivalent circuit resembles a practical voltage source. Hence, it has a voltage source in
series with a resistor.
  The voltage source present in the Thevenin‟s equivalent circuit is called as Thevenin‟s
equivalent voltage or simply Thevenin‟s voltage, VTh.
 The resistor present in the Thevenin‟s equivalent circuit is called as Thevenin‟s equivalent
resistor or simply Thevenin‟s resistor, RTh.

Methods of Finding Thevenin‟s Equivalent Circuit

There are three methods for finding a Thevenin‟s equivalent circuit. Based on the type of
sources that are present in the network, we can choose one of these three methods. Now, let us
discuss two methods one by one. We will discuss the third method in the next chapter.

Method: Follow these steps in order to find the Thevenin‟s equivalent circuit, when only the sources
of independent type are present.
 Step 1 − Consider the circuit diagram by opening the terminals with respect to which the
Thevenin‟s equivalent circuit is to be found.
 Step 2 − Find Thevenin‟s voltage VTh across the open terminals of the above circuit.
 Step 3 − Find Thevenin‟s resistance RTh across the open terminals of the above circuit by
eliminating the independent sources present in it.
 Step 4 − Draw the Thevenin‟s equivalent circuit by connecting a Thevenin‟s voltage VTh in
series with a Thevenin‟s resistance RTh.
Now, we can find the response in an element that lies to the right side of Thevenin‟s equivalent
circuit.

Example: Find the current flowing through 20 Ω resistor by first finding a Thevenin‟s equivalent
circuit to the left of terminals A and B.

Step 1 − In order to find the Thevenin‟s equivalent circuit to the left side of terminals A & B, we
should remove the 20 Ω resistor from the network by opening the terminals A & B. The
modified circuit diagram is shown in the following figure.

Step 2 − Calculation of Thevenin‟s voltage VTh.

There is only one principal node except Ground in the above circuit. So, we can use nodal
analysis method. The node voltage V1 and Thevenin‟s voltage VTh are labelled in the above figure.
Here, V1 is the voltage from node 1 with respect to Ground and V Th is the voltage across 4 A current
source.
Step 3 − Calculation of Thevenin‟s resistance RTh.
Short circuit the voltage source and open circuit the current source of the above circuit in order to
calculate the Thevenin‟s resistance RTh across the terminals A & B. The modified circuit diagram is
shown in the following figure.

Step 4 − The Thevenin‟s equivalent circuit is placed to the left of terminals A & B in the given
circuit. This circuit diagram is shown in the following figure.
Norton‘s Theorem:

Norton‟s theorem is similar to Thevenin‟s theorem. It states that any two terminal linear network or
circuit can be represented with an equivalent network or circuit, which consists of a current source in
parallel with a resistor. It is known as Norton‟s equivalent circuit. A linear circuit may contain
independent sources, dependent sources and resistors.
If a circuit has multiple independent sources, dependent sources, and resistors, then the response in
an element can be easily found by replacing the entire network to the left of that element with
a Norton‟s equivalent circuit.
The response in an element can be the voltage across that element, current flowing through that
element or power dissipated across that element.
This concept is illustrated in following figures.

Norton‟s equivalent circuit resembles a practical current source. Hence, it is having a current source
in parallel with a resistor.
The current source present in the Norton‟s equivalent circuit is called as Norton‟s equivalent current
or simply Norton‟s current IN.
The resistor present in the Norton‟s equivalent circuit is called as Norton‟s equivalent resistor or
simply Norton‟s resistor RN.
Method:
 Step 1 − Find a Thevenin‟s equivalent circuitbetween the desired two terminals. We know
that it consists of a Thevenin‟s voltage source, VTh and Thevenin‟s resistor, RTh.
  Step 2 − Apply source transformation technique to the above Thevenin‟s equivalent circuit.
We will get the Norton‟s equivalent circuit. Here,

Example: Find the current flowing through 20 Ω resistor by first finding a Norton’s equivalent
circuit to the left of terminals A and B.
Step 1 − In previous chapter, we calculated the Thevenin‟s equivalent circuit to the left side of
terminals A & B. We can use this circuit now. It is shown in the following figure.

Step 2 − Apply source transformation technique to the above Thevenin‟s equivalent circuit.
Substitute the values of VTh and RTh in the following formula of Norton‟s current.
Maximum Power transfer theorem:

The amount of power received by a load is an important parameter in electrical and electronic
applications. In DC circuits, we can represent the load with a resistor having resistance of R Lohms.
Similarly, in AC circuits, we can represent it with a complex load having an impedance of ZL ohms.
Maximum power transfer theorem states that the DC voltage source will deliver maximum power to
the variable load resistor only when the load resistance is equal to the source resistance.
Similarly, Maximum power transfer theorem states that the AC voltage source will deliver maximum
power to the variable complex load only when the load impedance is equal to the complex conjugate
of source impedance.
Linearity and Superposition Theorem:
Superposition theorem is based on the concept of linearity between the response and excitation of an
electrical circuit. It states that the response in a particular branch of a linear circuit when multiple
independent sources are acting at the same time is equivalent to the sum of the responses due to each
independent source acting at a time.
In this method, we will consider only one independent sourceat a time. So, we have to eliminate the
remaining independent sources from the circuit. We can eliminate the voltage sources by shorting
their two terminals and similarly, the current sources by opening their two terminals.
Therefore, we need to find the response in a particular branch „n‟ times if there are „n‟ independent
sources. The response in a particular branch could be either current flowing through that branch or
voltage across that branch.

Procedure of Superposition Theorem: Follow these steps in order to find the response in a particular
branch using superposition theorem.
Step 1 − Find the response in a particular branch by considering one independent source and
eliminating the remaining independent sources present in the network.
Step 2 − Repeat Step 1 for all independent sources present in the network.
Step 3 − Add all the responses in order to get the overall response in a particular branch when all
independent sources are present in the network.

Example: Find the current flowing through 20 Ω resistor of the following circuit
using superposition theorem.

Step 1 − Let us find the current flowing through 20 Ω resistor by considering only 20 V voltage
source. In this case, we can eliminate the 4 A current source by making open circuit of it. The
modified circuit diagram is shown in the following figure.

There is only one principal node except Ground in the above circuit. So, we can use nodal
analysis method. The node voltage V1 is labelled in the following figure. Here, V1 is the voltage from
node 1 with respect to ground.
Step 2 − Let us find the current flowing through 20 Ω resistor by considering only 4 A current source.
In this case, we can eliminate the 20 V voltage source by making short-circuit of it. The modified
circuit diagram is shown in the following figure.

In the above circuit, there are three resistors to the left of terminals A & B. We can replace these
resistors with a single equivalent resistor. Here, 5 Ω & 10 Ω resistors are connected in parallel and
the entire combination is in series with 10 Ω resistor.
The equivalent resistance to the left of terminals A & B will be:
Step 3 − We will get the current flowing through 20 Ω resistor of the given circuit by doing
the addition of two currents that we got in step 1 and step 2. Mathematically, it can be written as; I=
I1+I2
Substitute, the values of I1 and I2 in the above equation.
I=0.4+1.6=2A

Therefore, the current flowing through 20 Ω resistor of given circuit is 2 A.