Mesh Analysis

Objective of Lecture
• Provide step-by-step instructions for mesh
analysis, which is a method to calculate
voltage drops and mesh currents that flow
around loops in a circuit.
 Mesh Analysis

• Technique to find voltage drops around a

loop using the currents that flow within the
loop, Kirchoff’s Voltage Law, and Ohm’s Law
– First result is the calculation of the mesh currents
• Which can be used to calculate the current flowing
through each component
– Second result is a calculation of the voltages
across the components
• Which can be used to calculate the voltage at the
nodes.
 Definition of a Mesh
• Mesh – the smallest loop around a subset of
components in a circuit
– Multiple meshes are defined so that every
component in the circuit belongs to one or more
meshes
 Steps in Mesh Analysis

Vin
 Step 1
• Identify all of the meshes in the circuit

Vin
 Step 2
• Label the currents flowing in each mesh

i2

i1
Vin
 Step 3
• Label the voltage across each component in
the circuit

+ + V2 - +
+ V4 - +
V1 V3 i2 V5
_ _ _
i1
Vin +
V6
_
 Step 4
• Use Kirchoff’s Voltage Law

+ + V2 - +
+ V4 - +
V1 V3 i2 V5
_ _ _
i1
Vin +  Vin  V1  V2  V3  V6  0
V6
_

 V3  V4  V5  0
 Step 5
• Use Ohm’s Law to relate the voltage drops
across each component to the sum of the
currents flowing through them.
– Follow the sign convention on the resistor’s voltage.

VR  I a  I b R
 Step 5

V1  i1 R1
V2  i1 R2
+ + V2 - +
+ V4 - + V3  i1  i2 R3
V1 i2 V5
V4  i2 R4
V3
_ _ _
i1
Vin +
V6
V5  i2 R5
V6  i1 R6
_
 Step 6
• Solve for the mesh currents, i1 and i2
– These currents are related to the currents found
during the nodal analysis.

i1  I 7  I1  I 2  I 6

i2  I 4  I 5

I 3  i1  i2
 Step 7
• Once the mesh currents are known, calculate
the voltage across all of the components.
12V
 From Previous Slides
V1  i1 R1
 Vin  V1  V2  V3  V6  0
V2  i1 R2
V3  i1  i2 R3
 V3  V4  V5  0
V4  i2 R4
V5  i2 R5
V6  i1 R6
 Substituting in Numbers
V1  i1 4k 
 12V  V1  V2  V3  V6  0
V2  i1 8k 
V3  i1  i2 5k 
 V3  V4  V5  0
V4  i2 6k 
V5  i2 3k 
V6  i1 1k 
 Substituting the results from Ohm’s
Law into the KVL equations

 12V  i1 4k  i1 8k  i1  i2 5k  i1 1k  0

 i1  i2 5k  i2 6k  i2 3k  0

 Chugging through the Math

Mesh Currents (mA)

i1 740
i2 264

• One or more of the mesh currents may have a

negative sign.
 Chugging through the Math
Voltage across (V) • The magnitude of any
resistors
voltage across a resistor
VR1 = -i1R2 -2.96
must be less than the
VR2 = i2 R2 5.92
sum of all of the voltage
VR3 =(i1 – i2) R3 2.39 sources in the circuit
VR4 = i2 R4 1.59 – In this case, no voltage
VR5 = (V4 – V5) 0.804 across a resistor can be
VR6 = (V5 – 0V) 0.740 greater than 12V.
 Chugging through More Math
The currents through each component in the
circuit.
Currents (mA)
IR1 = i1 740
IR2 = i1 740
IR3 = i1- i2 476
IR4 = i2 264
IR5 = i2 264
IR6 = i1 740
I Vin = i1 740
 Check
• None of the mesh currents should be larger
than the current that flows through the
equivalent resistor in series with the 12V
supply.
Req  4k  8k  5k 6k  3k   1k

Req  16.2k

I eq  12V Req  740mA

 Summary
Steps in Mesh Analysis
1. Identify all of the meshes in the circuit
2. Label the currents flowing in each mesh
3. Label the voltage across each component in the circuit
4. Write the voltage loop equations using Kirchoff’s Voltage
Law.
5. Use Ohm’s Law to relate the voltage drops across each
component to the sum of the currents flowing through
them.
6. Solve for the mesh currents
7. Once the mesh currents are known, calculate the voltage
across all of the components.