ECTE202 Circuits and Systems

Autumn Session 2018

Wollongong Campus

Week 2
Dr Jeff Moscrop
Email: jeffm@uow.edu.au
Room: 35.G40

Course Outline - Section 1

✤ DC Circuits (Weeks 1-7)

✤ Review of fundamental quantities, concepts and basic laws - This Week;
✤ Node Analysis and fundamental Mesh Analysis - Week 2;
✤ Further Mesh Analysis, Superposition, Thévenin and Norton’s Theorems, and
Source Transformations - Week 3;
✤ Energy Storage Elements (capacitors and inductors) and first order circuits -
Week 4;
✤ Second Order Circuits, source-free series and parallel circuits, step-responses -
Week 5;
✤ No Lecture in Week 6;
✤ General Second Order Circuits and mid-session exam - Week 7;

✤ Note that the main objective of this course is the development of circuit theory skills. This
cannot be achieved by just reading - it requires sustained problem solving exercises.

Circuits and Systems Week 2 2

This Week:

Node Analysis and Fundamental Mesh Analysis

Cramer’s rule, node analysis with independent current sources, node analysis with dependent and
independent voltage sources, method of super-node, method of mesh analysis, mesh analysis with
dependent voltage sources, mesh analysis with dependent and independent current sources.

Chapter 3 of Text.

Methods of Analysis

✤ There are two basic techniques that we are interested in using:

✤ Node Analysis
✤ Mesh Analysis
✤ Node Analysis is based on the systematic application of KCL;
✤ Mesh Analysis is based on the systematic application of KVL;

✤ Node analysis techniques were introduced in first-year circuit

theory courses;
✤ First though, we will quickly revise how to solve simultaneous
equations using Cramer’s Rule.

Circuits and Systems Week 2 4

Solving Simultaneous Equations - Cramer’s Rule

✤ Circuit analysis will often require the solution of simultaneous

equations of the form:
a 1 x + b1 y = c 1
a 2 x + b2 y = c 2

✤ These may be expressed in matrix form as:

  
a1 b1 x c1
=
a2 b2 y c2
✤ Consider the determinant:
a1 b1
D= = a 1 b2 a 2 b1
a2 b2

Circuits and Systems Week 2 5

Solving Simultaneous Equations - Cramer’s Rule

✤ Using Cramer’s Rule x and y can be calculated via:

c1 b1 a1 c1
c2 b2 a2 c2
x= y=
D D
✤ Note that the determinants shown on each numerator are formed by replacing
the column of D that relates to the variable of interest with the solution vector.
✤ Hence: x = (c1b2 - c2b1)/D and y = (a1c2 - a2c1)/D
✤ This approach can be extended to higher order equations (such as those in the
tutorials).
✤ For orders higher than 3 though, a spreadsheet or Matlab should be used.
✤ Appendix A1 of the textbook presents an overview of Cramer’s Rule and matrix
inversion.
Circuits and Systems Week 2 6
Node Analysis

✤ Node Analysis provides us with a mechanism for determining the

voltages of the nodes in the circuit being analysed.

✤ Steps to determining node voltages:

✤ Select a node as the reference node - you should always try to use
a node with v = 0 V.
✤ Assign voltages v1, v2, … , vn-1 to the remaining n-1 nodes.
✤ Apply KCL to each of the n-1 non-reference nodes. Use Ohm’s law
to express the branch currents in terms of the node voltages
(labelling the currents and voltages can often help.).
✤ Solve the resulting simultaneous equations to obtain the unknown
node voltages.

✤ Both independent and dependent sources will be encountered.

Circuits and Systems Week 2 7

Node Analysis

✤ Expressing branch currents in terms of node voltages:

✤ You can choose the direction of current from one node to
another. If you choose incorrectly, you will just get an answer
with the opposite sign.
✤ The value of the current depends on the difference between
the two node voltages and the branch resistance.
✤ The voltage difference is also influenced by any other sources
that may be in the branch.

Circuits and Systems Week 2 8

Node Analysis Example 1: What are the node voltages?

Circuits and Systems Week 2 9

Node Analysis Example 2: Solve for ix using nodal analysis.

Circuits and Systems Week 2 10

Node Analysis with Voltage Sources
✤ If a voltage source appears between the reference node and a non-
reference node, then we use the value of the voltage source to
determine the voltage at the non-reference node.

Circuits and Systems Week 2 11

Node Analysis with Voltage Sources

✤ If the voltage source is connected between two non-reference nodes
(like the 5 V source is), the two non-reference nodes form a supernode.
✤ The supernode also encloses any elements connected in parallel with
the voltage source.
✤ Both KCL and KVL are then applied to the supernode to determine
the node voltages.

Circuits and Systems Week 2 12

Properties of the Supernode

✤ The voltage source inside the supernode provides a constraint

equation needed to solve for the node voltages.
✤ A supernode has no voltage of its own.
✤ The application of both KCL and KVL is required when a supernode
exists.

Applying KCL to the

supernode:

i1 + i4 = i2 + i3
v1 v2 v1 v3 v2 v3
+ = +
2 4 8 6

Circuits and Systems Week 2 13

Properties of the Supernode

✤ To apply Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law to the supernode, the circuit can be
redrawn thus:

✤ Applying KVL in the direction shown gives v2 - v3 = 5

✤ If two or more supernodes appear side-by-side, combine them into
one supernode.

Circuits and Systems Week 2 14

Node Analysis with VS - Version 1

✤ Determine i and v in the following circuit:

Circuits and Systems Week 2 15

Node Analysis with VS - Version 2

✤ Arbitrary current assignment

Circuits and Systems Week 2 16

Node Analysis with VS

✤ Determine v1 and v2 in the following circuit:

Circuits and Systems Week 2 17

Node Analysis with VCVS

✤ Determine vx in the following circuit:

Circuits and Systems Week 2 18

Node Analysis with CCVS

✤ Determine i in the following circuit:

Circuits and Systems Week 2 19

Method of Mesh Analysis

✤ Mesh Analysis provides another general procedure for analysing

circuits.
✤ provides a means of calculating the mesh currents;
✤ is based on the application of Kirchhof’s Voltage Law
(KVL) to determine the unknown mesh currents.
✤ Recall that a ‘loop’ (in a circuit) is a closed path with no node
passed more than once (Week 1).
✤ A mesh is a loop that doesn’t contain any other loop.
✤ Mesh analysis is only applicable to planar circuits!!

Circuits and Systems Week 2 20

Planar versus Non-Planar Circuits

(a) Non-planar (b) Planar

Circuits and Systems Week 2 21

Mesh Analysis

✤ In the figure abefa and bcdeb

are meshes, but abcdefa is not.

✤ The currents i1 and i2 are

known as mesh currents.

The Mesh Analysis Method:

1. Assign mesh currents i1, i2, … , in to the n meshes.

2. Apply KVL to each of the n meshes, using Ohm’s law to express the
voltages in terms of the mesh currents.
3. Solve the n simultaneous equations.

Circuits and Systems Week 2 22

Mesh Analysis Example 1

✤ Determine i1 and i2 in the following circuit:

Circuits and Systems Week 2 23

Mesh Analysis with Current Sources

✤ If a current source appears in one mesh, we set the mesh current

to the value of the current source and solve in the usual way.

✤ Here we set i2 = -5A and write out the KVL equation for Mesh 1:
10 = 4i1 + 6 (i1 i2 )
✤ Hence: i1 = -2A and i2 = -5A

Circuits and Systems Week 2 24

Mesh Analysis with Current Sources
✤ When a current source exists between two meshes, we create a super-
mesh by excluding the common current source and any elements in
series with it.

✤ Applying KVL to the super-mesh gives:

20 = 6i1 + 10i2 + 4i2
✤ Note that: i2 - i1 = 6 A.
✤ Hence: i1 = -3.2 A and i2 = 2.8 A.

Circuits and Systems Week 2 25

Properties of the Super-Mesh

✤ The properties of the super-mesh are:

✤ The current source in the super-mesh provides the
constraint equation.
✤ The super-mesh has no current of its own.
✤ A super-mesh requires the application of both KVL and
KCL.
✤ If a circuit has two or more super-meshes that intersect, they
should be combined to form a larger super-mesh.

Circuits and Systems Week 2 26

Mesh Analysis with CS
✤ Determine i1, i2 and i3 in the following circuit:

Circuits and Systems Week 2 27

Mesh Analysis with CS

✤ Determine I0 in the following circuit:

Circuits and Systems Week 2 28

Mesh Analysis with CCCS
✤ Determine v0 and i0 in the following circuit:

Circuits and Systems Week 2 29

Mesh Analysis with VCCS

✤ Determine vx in the following circuit:

Circuits and Systems Week 2 30