Electrical Circuits and Electronics

Part 1
Introduc3on and circuit analysis

Pearson Educa3on, Inc.

 ECE 3413 Course Overview
ECE 3413 :
• prerequisite for Power Electronics

• Course Objec3ve: An introduc3on to electrical circuit elements and electronic devices

and a study of circuits containing such devices.

• Course content:
– Fundamental circuit concepts and analysis techniques
– First and second order circuits, impulse and frequency response
– Filters
– Diode and Transistor: Device and Circuits
– Opera3onal Amplifiers

• Textbook: “Electrical Engineering: Principles and Applica3ons”, Allan R. Hambley,

Pearson Pren3ce Hall, 5th Edi3on
 Etymology

• The word electrics derived from the Greek elektron (La3n

electrum) deno3ng amber.

• It was discovered in ancient 3mes that when

amber is rubbed it aSracts feathers,
dried leaves, etc.

• This is due to the amber becoming charged

(discovered much later).

• These are the roots of our subject.

 Electrical quan33es
Electric Current
Defini3on: rate of posi3ve charge flow
Symbol: i
i = dq/dt; where q= charge (Coulombs) ; t= 3me (in seconds)
Units: Coulombs/second ≡ Amperes (A); (André-Marie Ampère 1775-1836 )
Note: Current has polarity.

Electric Poten3al (Voltage)

Defini3on: energy per unit charge
Symbol: v
v = dw/dq; where w= energy (in Joules); q= charge (in Coulombs)
Units: Joules/Coulomb ≡ Volts (V) ; (Alessandro Volta 1745–1827)
Note: Poten3al is always referenced to some point.

Electric Power
Defini3on: transfer of energy per unit 3me
Symbol: p
p = dw/dt= (dw/dq)(dq/dt) = vi
Units: Joules per second ≡WaGs (W) ; James WaG 1736 -1819
Concept: As a posiMve charge q moves through a drop in voltage v, it loses energy
 Power sign Conven3on

If p > 0, power is being delivered to the box.

– The element is generally a passive element.
If p < 0, power is being generated from the box.
– The element is an ac3ve element.
How can a circuit element absorb power?
– By conver3ng electrical energy into heat (resistors in toasters), light (light
bulbs), or acous3c energy (speakers); by storing energy (charging a
baSery).
 Circuit Elements

• Five ideal basic circuit elements:

acMve elements, capable of genera3ng electric energy:

– voltage source
– current source

passive elements, incapable of genera3ng electric energy:

– resistor
– inductor
– capacitor

• Many prac3cal systems can be modelled with just sources and

resistors

• The basic analy3cal techniques for solving circuits with inductors

and capacitors are similar to those for resis3ve circuits
 Resistance and conductance

Electrical Resistance
Resistance: the ra3o of voltage drop and current. The circuit element used to model
this behaviour is the resistor.

Circuit symbol:

Units: Volts per Ampere ≡ohms (Ω) ; Georg Simon Ohm 1789-1854

The current flowing in the resistor is propor3onal to the voltage across the resistor:
v = i R (Ohm’s Law); where v= voltage (V), i= current (A), and R= resistance (Ω)

Electrical Conductance
Conductance is the reciprocal of resistance.
Symbol: G
Units: siemens (S)
 Voltage Source
Circuit element that maintains a prescribed voltage across its
terminals, regardless of the current flowing in those terminals.
Voltage is known, but current is determined by the circuit to which
the source is connected.

The voltage can be either independent or dependent on a voltage or

current elsewhere in the circuit, and can be constant or 3me-varying.
Device symbols:
 Current Source
Circuit element that maintains a prescribed current through its
terminals, regardless of the voltage across those terminals.
Current is known, but voltage is determined by the circuit to which
the source is connected.

The current can be either independent or dependent on a voltage or

current elsewhere in the circuit, and can be constant or 3me-
varying. Device symbols:
Short Circuit and Open Circuit
Short circuit (“Wire ”):
• R= 0 no voltage difference exists
(all points on the wire are at the same poten3al)
Current can flow, as determined by the circuit

Open circuit(“Air ”):

• R= ∞ no current flows
Voltage difference can exist, as determined by the circuit
Headlight circuit
 Terminology

Node
A node: is a point where two or more
circuit elements are connected

Loop
A loop is formed by tracing a closed path in a
circuit through selected basic circuit elements
without passing through any intermediate node
more than once
 Kirchhoff’s Laws
• Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL):
– The algebraic sum of all the currents entering any node in a circuit equals zero.

• Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL):

– The algebraic sum of all the voltages around any loop in a circuit equals zero.

Nota3on: Node Voltages

Use one node as the reference (the “common” or “ground” node)
The voltage drop from node x to the reference node is called the node voltage Vx.
The voltage across a circuit element is defined as the difference between the node
voltages at its terminals
 Using Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL)
Consider a node connec3ng several branches:

Use reference direc3ons to determine whether

currents are entering or leaving the node, with no
concern about actual current direc3ons

Sum of currents entering node = Sum of currents leaving node

A Major Implica3on of KCL

• KCL tells us that all of the elements in a single branch carry the same current.
• We say these elements are connected in series.
 Using Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL)
Sum of voltage drops around loop = Sum of voltage rises around loop

A Major Implica3on of KVL

• KVL tells us that any set of elements which are connected at
both ends carry the same voltage.
• We say these elements are connected in parallel.
 Resistors in Series and Voltage Divider
Consider a circuit with mul3ple resistors
connected in series.

• KCL tells us that the same current (I) flows

through every resistor
• KVL tells us the sum of the voltage drops
across the resistors equals V
The equivalent resistance of resistors in
series is the sum of the individual resistances

Voltage divider
Resistors in Parallel and current divider
Consider a circuit with three resistors connected in parallel.
• KVL tells us that the same voltage is dropped across each resistor
• KCL tells us that i= i1+ i2+i3

Current divider
 Nodal Analysis
1. Choose a reference node (“ground”)
Look for the one with the most connecMons! Set its voltage to zero.
2. Define unknown node voltages
(the number of these will be one less than the total number of nodes).
3. Write KCL at each unknown node, (aWer expressing link currents in terms of the
node voltages by using the I-V relaMonships of the circuit elements)
4. Solve the set of independent equa3ons
n-1 equaMons for n-1 unknown node voltages where n is the total number of nodes.

Example:
 Nodal Analysis with “Supernode”
A “floa3ng” voltage source is one for which neither terminal is connected to the
reference node .

Since V1 is determined by V2 and vice versa we need to treat this pair of

nodes as a “supernode”. We will write KCL for this node and complete our
needed set of equa3ons by using KVL.

Supernode
V1 V2 V3
 Dependent Sources
Treat each dependent source (of any of the four kinds) as a new variable,
associated to a ”known” source and proceed as before. At the end, you get an
extra equa3on from the dependency that defines the source, for each
dependent source.
These extra equa3ons will allow you to complete the solu3on.

Examples:
 Mesh Analysis
Apply KVL to each loop defined by each mesh current. You will need to use the
defining rela3ons of each circuit element encountered in this loop to write the
voltage across it in terms of the current through it. For elements that have
mul3ple mesh currents through them you will need to use the net current
through that element for this.

KVL KCL
 Mesh Analysis with “Supermesh”

- If you choose mesh currents

so that some current source
falls in more than one mesh
loop you will need to replace
some of the mesh KVL
equa3ons by supermesh
equa3ons.

- You will also need to write

one equa3on for each current
source, which expresses it in
terms of the mesh currents.
 Superposi3on
Procedure:
1. Determine contribu3on due
to one independent source
Set all other sources to 0:
Replace independent voltage
source by short circuit,
independent current source by
open circuit
2. Repeat for each independent
source
3. Sum individual contribu3ons
to obtain desired voltage or
current
- Valid only for linear circuits
- Dependent sources cannot be
turned off in analysis using
superposi3on.

Example:
 Thévenin Equivalent Circuit
•When viewed across a pair of terminals, a por3on of a circuit of voltage sources,
current sources, and resistors can be replaced by any equivalent circuit which
has iden3cal terminal proper3es .
•The only restric3on is that for dependent sources within the por3on being
replaced, the variables on which they depend should also be in the por3on being
replaced.
Unless it is equivalent to a current source, a linear2-terminal (1-port) network of
voltage sources, current sources, and resistors can be replaced by an equivalent
circuit consis3ng of an independent voltage source in series with a resistor
without affec3ng the opera3on of the rest of the circuit.
 Thévenin Equivalent Circuit
Find Vt as the open circuit voltage across the terminals.
Find Rt by sevng all independent sources to 0 and measuring the resistance across
the terminals. (Remember that “sevng to 0” shorts an independent voltage source
and makes an independent current source an open circuit.)
Thévenin Equivalent Circuit: example
Thévenin Equivalent Circuit: example
 Norton Equivalent Circuit
Unless it is equivalent to a voltage source, any linear2-terminal (1-port) network
of voltage sources, current sources, and resistors can be replaced by an
equivalent circuit consis3ng of an independent current source in parallel with a
resistor without affec3ng the opera3on of the rest of the circuit. (This assumes
the condi3on regarding dependent sources men3oned earlier.)

Find In as a short circuit current across the terminals.

Find Rt by sevng all independent sources to 0 and
measuring the resistance across the terminals.
- Valid only for linear circuits
 Rela3onship between Norton and
Thévenin equivalent circuits
If both exist, we can derive the Norton equivalent circuit from a Thévenin
equivalent circuit and vice versa simply by making a source transforma3on:
Maximum Power Transfer Theorem