Circuit Theory

(ECEG-1081)

Addis Ababa University

Addis Ababa Institute of Technology (AAiT)
School of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Instructor: Awraris Getachew
 Chapter One
Basic Concepts
Outlines
Systems of Units
Electric Charge
Current
Voltage
Power and Energy
Circuit Elements

2
Definition of Electric Circuit
 “An interconnection of electrical elements linked
together in a closed path so that an electric
current may flow continuously”
 “The path of flow for charge carriers”
 A circuit consists of source (energy) and/or drain
(device) elements.
 Electric circuits are broadly classified as Direct Current
(D.C.) circuits and Alternating Current (A.C.) circuits.

3
A Simple Electric Circuit
 System of Units
Measurements must be communicated in a standard
language that virtually all professionals can understand
Such a language is the International System of Units (SI)
Six basic units
Quantity Basic unit Symbol
Length meter m
Mass kilogram Kg
Time second s
Electric current ampere A
Thermodynamic kelvin K
temperature
Luminous intensity candela cd
4
System of Units…
The derived units commonly used in electric circuit theory

Decimal multiples and

submultiples of SI units 5
Electric Charges
Charge is an electrical property of the atomic particles of
which matter consists, measured in coulombs (C).
The charge e on one electron is negative and equal
in magnitude to 1.602  10-19 C which is called as
electronic charge. The charges that occur in nature
are integral multiples of the electronic charge.

Electric current due to flow of electronic

charge in a conductor.
6
Cont’d…
Charge, q, is measured in Coulomb (C)
1C = 6.24 x 1018 electrons
1 electron = -1.6 x 10-19C
Conservation of Charges
Charges can neither be created nor destroyed,
only transferred

7
Current
Electric current is the time rate of change of charge,
measured in amperes (A).
Mathematically, the relationship between current i,
charge q, and time t is
dq t

i q   i(  ) d
dt t o

The unit of ampere can be derived as 1 A = 1C/s.

The direction of current flow

Positive ions Negative ions

8
Current…
A direct current (dc) (I) is a current that remains constant
with time.

Direct Current(DC)
An alternating current (ac) (i) is a current that varies
sinusoidally with time. (reverse direction)

alternating current (ac) 9

Cont’d…
Example 1
A conductor has a constant current of 5 A.
How many electrons pass a fixed point on the conductor in one
minute?
Solution
Total no. of charges pass in 1 min is given by
5 A = (5 C/s)(60 s/min) = 300 C/min
Total no. of electrons pass in 1 min is given

300 C/min
19
 1 .87 x10 21
electrons/ min
1.602 x10 C/electron

10
Voltage, Potential Difference or EMF
Voltage (or potential difference) is the energy
required to move a unit charge through an
element, measured in volts (V).

Mathematically, vab  dw / dq (Volt)

w is energy in joules (J) and q is charge in coulomb

(C).

 Polarity of voltage

11
Cont’d…
Electric
  voltage, vab, is always across the circuit element or
between two points in a circuit.
 > 0 means the potential of a is higher than potential of b.
 < 0 means the potential of a is lower than potential of b.

  𝑣 𝑎𝑏 =− 𝑣 𝑏𝑎

Two equivalent representations of the

same voltage : (a) point a is 9 V above
point b, (b) point b is 9 V above point a.
12
Power and Energy
Power is the time rate of expending or absorbing energy,
measured in watts (W).
dw dw dq
Mathematical expression: p    vi
dt dq dt
 Energy, w, is the capacity to do work, measured in joules (J).
t t

w   p dt   vi dt
to to

The law of conservation of energy: the algebraic sum of power

in a circuit, at any instant of time, must be zero:

p0 13
Passive Sign Convention
 Passive sign conventionis satisfied when the current enters
through the positive terminal of an element and . If the
current enters through the negative terminal,
I R
VR

V V

Absorbing/consumption power Supplying/Generation power

p = + vi p = - vi
14
Cont’d…
Example 1
Using passive sign convention, calculate power
2A 2A 2A
2A

3V 3V 3V 3V
Figure a Figure b

Figure a Figure b Figure c Figure d

Question: What can you deduce from your answer? 15

Circuit Elements
An element is the basic building block of a circuit.
There are two types of elements found in electric circuits:
passive elements and active elements.
An active element is capable of generating energy while a
passive element is not.
Passive elements are resistors, capacitors, and inductors.
Active elements include generators, batteries, and operational
amplifiers.
• Voltage sources
INDEPENDENT • Current sources

SOURCES
• Voltage-controlled voltage source (VCVS)
• Current-controlled voltage source (CCVS)
DEPENDENT
• Voltage-controlled current source (VCCS)
• Current-controlled current source (CCCS)
Cont’d…
Active Elements Passive Elements

Ideal independent source

is an active element that
provides a specified
voltage or current that is
completely independent
Independent Dependant of other circuit elements.
sources sources

17
 Cont’d…
Ideal Independent Sources
 Voltage sources
 An active element, which provides a specified voltage independent of
the current through it and any other circuit variable.
 For example, v(t) = 10 cos 100t or v(t) = 9
i(t)

v(t)
+
~
Arbitrary v(t)
- circuit

+
~ v(t) = V sin ωt
-

DC voltage
AC voltage 18
Cont’d…
Current sources
 An active element, which provides a specific current independent
of other circuit variables for example voltage across the source.
 For example, i(t) = 4 sin 100t or i(t) = -0.1

i(t)

D.C. CURRENT SOURCE

A.C. CURRENT SOURCE

19
Cont’d…
An ideal dependent (or controlled) source is an active
element in which the source quantity is controlled by another
voltage or current
There are four possible types of dependent sources, namely:
1. A voltage-controlled voltage source (VCVS).
2. A current-controlled voltage source (CCVS).
3. A voltage-controlled current source (VCCS).
4. A current-controlled current source (CCCS).

Current Voltage
source source

20
Ideal Sources Symbols

Independent Independent DC Independent

voltage source voltage source current source

Dependent voltage Dependent

source current source 21
Cont’d…
Example 2
Obtain the voltage v in the branch shown in Figure
below for i2 = 1A.
 Solution
Voltage v is the sum of the current-
independent 10V source and the
current-dependent voltage source

Therefore, v = 10 + vx = 10 + 15(1) = 25 V

22
1.2 Basic Laws

Ohm’s
  Law.
 Nodes, Branches, Loops and Meshes.
 Kirchhoff’s Laws.
 Series Resistors and Voltage Division.
 Parallel Resistors and Current Division.
 Star(Y)-Delta() Transformations.

23
Ohms Law
Ohm’s law states that the voltage across a
resistor is directly proportional to the current I
flowing through the resistor.
Mathematical expression for Ohm’s Law is as follows:

V
v  iR
I R

I R V = - IR R I
VR VR

24
 Cont’d…
Two extreme possible values of R:
O (zero) and  (infinite) are related with two
basic circuit concepts: short circuit and open circuit.
Open Circuit
In open circuit condition, current i(t) through the resistor will be zero
irrespective of whatever be the voltage v(t) across it. To satisfy this, as
seen from equation (1.7), value of R must be infinity. Thus, in open
circuit condition, current i(t) through the resistor will be zero
irrespective of whatever be the voltage v(t) across it. To satisfy this, as
seen from equation (1.7), value of R must be infinity. Thus, in open circuit
condition i(t) = 0, R =

Short Circuit
In short circuit condition, voltage v(t) across the resistor will be zero
irrespective of whatever be the current i(t) flowing through it. To satisfy
this, as seen from eq. (1.7), value of R must be zero. Thus, in short circuit
condition v(t) = 0, R = 0 and G =
25
Cont’d…
Conductance is the ability of an element to conduct
electric current; it is the reciprocal of resistance R and is
measured in mhos or Siemens(S).

1 i
G 
R v
The power dissipated by a resistor:

2
v
p  vi  i 2 R 
R

26
Nodes, Branches and Loops
A branch represents a single element such as a voltage
source or a resistor.
A node is the point of connection between two or more
branches.
A loop is any closed path in a circuit.
A network with b branches, n nodes, and l independent
loops will satisfy the fundamental theorem of network
topology:
b  l  n 1

27
Cont’d…
Loops

 v1  R1  R5  R6  R4  v2
 v1  R1  I  R4  v2
 v1  R1  R7  R4  v2
 I  R5  R6

 Loop Meshes
-a closed path (8 loops)
 Mesh  v1  R1  R5  R3  R2
-a loop does not enclose any other loop (4  v2  R2  R3  R6  R4
meshes)
 R5  R7  R6
 R7  I 28
Cont’d…
Example 1:

Original circuit

Equivalent circuit

How many branches, nodes and loops are there? 29

Cont’d…
Example 2
Determine the number
R of branches, nodes
30and
V
meshes in the circuit below.
DC

2A R R R R

Branches = 7, nodes = 3, meshes = 4

30
Cont’d…
Two or more elements are in series if they exclusively
share a single node and consequently carry the same
current. i1 i2 i3
I

In series: I = i1 = i2 = i3
Two or more elements are in parallel if they are
connected to the same two nodes and consequently
have the same voltage across them.

V V1 V2 V3

In parallel: V = V1 = V2 = V3 31
Kirchhoff’s Laws
Kirchhoff’s current law (KCL) states that the
algebraic sum of currents entering a node (or a
closed boundary) is zero.

Mathematically, i
n 1
n 0
N N
 in (entering )   in (leaving )
n 1 n 1 32
Kirchhoff’s Laws…
Example
Determine the current I for the circuit shown in the
figure below.
I + 4-(-3)-2 = 0
Þ I = -5A

This indicates that

the actual current
for I is flowing
in the opposite
We can consider the whole direction.
enclosed area as one “node”.
33
Kirchhoff’s Laws…
Kirchhoff’s voltage law (KVL) states that the
algebraic sum of all voltages around a closed path
(or loop) is zero.

M
Mathematically, v
m 1
n 0

34
Kirchhoff’s Laws…
Example:
Applying the KVL equation for the circuit of the
figure below.
va-v1-vb-v2-v3 = 0

V1 = IR1 v2 = IR2 v3 = IR3

Þ va-vb = I(R1 + R2 + R3)

va  vb
I
R1  R2  R3
35
Series Resistors and Voltage
Division
Series: Two or more elements are in series if they
are cascaded or connected sequentially
and consequently carry the same current.

The equivalent resistance of any number of

resistors connected in a series is the sum of the
individual resistances. N
Req  R1  R2      R N   Rn
n 1

One path One path

i a b
i
R1= 3k R2= 7k R3= 15k Req= 25 k
36
Cont’d…
The voltage divider can be expressed as

Rn
vn  v
R1  R2      R N

 To determine the voltage across each resistor

37
Cont’d…
 Calculate voltage for series circuit only(across the two
resistors)
i R1= 3k R2= 7k
a v1 v2
vS= 10V

R1 R2
v1  vS v2  vS
R1  R2 R1  R2 38
Parallel Resistors and Current Division
Parallel: Two or more elements are in parallel if they are
connected to the same two nodes and consequently have
the same voltage across them.
The equivalent resistance of a circuit with N resistors in
parallel is:
1 1 1 1
    
Req R1 R2 RN

 The total current i is shared by the resistors in inverse

proportion to their resistances. The current divider can
be expressed as:
v iReq
in  
Rn Rn
39
Cont’d…
Calculate current for parallel circuit only
iS = 5A
a
a i1 i2
vS= 20V R1= 6 k R2= 12 k

b
b

R2 R1
i1  iS i2  iS
R1  R2 R1  R2 40
Cont’d…
Example
a 2

6 3 Figure (a)
Req 1
b

2 a

6 3
Figure b Req
1
b 41
 Wye(Y)-Delta( Transformations

Delta -> Star Star -> Delta

R1 R2  R2 R3  R3 R1
Rb Rc Ra 
R1  R1
( Ra  Rb  Rc )

Rc R a R1 R2  R2 R3  R3 R1
R2  Rb 
( Ra  Rb  Rc ) R2

Ra Rb R1 R2  R2 R3  R3 R1
R3  Rc 
( Ra  Rb  Rc ) R3

42