Topic 3 Resistive Circuit calculations (Continued)

Lesson objectives

By the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to

(i) Apply Thevenin’s theorem in solving resistive circuits

(ii) Calculate resistance, current and voltage drop using Nortons’ theorem.

Thevenin’s theorem

Thevenin's Theorem states that it is possible to simplify any linear circuit, no matter
how complex, to an equivalent circuit with just a single voltage source and series
resistance connected to a load. The qualification of “linear” is identical to that found in
the Superposition Theorem, where all the underlying equations must be linear (no
exponents or roots). If we're dealing with passive components (such as resistors, and
later, inductors and capacitors), this is true. However, there are some components
(especially certain gas-discharge and semiconductor components) which are nonlinear:
that is, their opposition to current changes with voltage and/or current. As such, we
would call circuits containing these types of components, nonlinear circuits.

Thevenin's Theorem is especially useful in analyzing power systems and other circuits
where one particular resistor in the circuit (called the “load” resistor) is subject to
change, and re-calculation of the circuit is necessary with each trial value of load
resistance, to determine voltage across it and current through it. Let's take another look
at our example circuit:

Let's suppose that we decide to designate R2 as the “load” resistor in this circuit. To use
in determining voltage across R2 and current through R2, but each of these methods are
time-consuming.
Imagine repeating any of these methods over and over again to find what would
happen if the load resistance changed (changing load resistance is very common in
power systems, as multiple loads get switched on and off as needed. the total resistance
of their parallel connections changing depending on how many are connected at a
time). This could potentially involve a lot of work!

Thevenin's Theorem makes this easy by temporarily removing the load resistance from
the original circuit and reducing what's left to an equivalent circuit composed of a
single voltage source and series resistance. The load resistance can then be re-connected
to this “Thevenin equivalent circuit” and calculations carried out as if the whole
network were nothing but a simple series circuit:

. . . after Thevenin conversion . . .

The “Thevenin Equivalent Circuit” is the electrical equivalent of B1, R1, R3, and B2 as
seen from the two points where our load resistor (R2) connects.

The Thevenin equivalent circuit, if correctly derived, will behave exactly the same as the
original circuit formed by B1, R1, R3, and B2. In other words, the load resistor (R2)
voltage and current should be exactly the same for the same value of load resistance in
the two circuits.
The load resistor R2 cannot “tell the difference” between the original network of B1, R1,
R3, and B2, and the Thevenin equivalent circuit of EThevenin, and RThevenin, provided that
the values for EThevenin and RThevenin have been calculated correctly.

The advantage in performing the “Thevenin conversion” to the simpler circuit, of

Next, the voltage between the two points where the load resistor used to be attached is
determined. Use whatever analysis methods are at your disposal to do this. In this case,
the original circuit with the load resistor removed is nothing more than a simple series
circuit with opposing batteries, and so we can determine the voltage across the open
load terminals by applying the rules of series circuits, Ohm's Law, and Kirchhoff's
Voltage Law:
The voltage between the two load connection points can be figured from the one of the
battery's voltage and one of the resistor's voltage drops, and comes out to 11.2 volts.
This is our “Thevenin voltage” (EThevenin) in the equivalent circuit:

To find the Thevenin series resistance for our equivalent circuit, we need to take the
original circuit (with the load resistor still removed), remove the power sources (in the
same style as we did with the Superposition Theorem: voltage sources replaced with
wires and current sources replaced with breaks), and figure the resistance from one
load terminal to the other:

With the removal of the two batteries, the total resistance measured at this location is
equal to R1 and R3 in parallel: 0.8 Ω. This is our “Thevenin resistance” (RThevenin) for the
equivalent circuit:
With the load resistor (2 Ω) attached between the connection points, we can determine
voltage across it and current through it as though the whole network were nothing
more than a simple series circuit:

Notice that the voltage and current figures for R2 (8 volts, 4 amps) are identical to those
found using other methods of analysis. Also notice that the voltage and current figures
for the Thevenin series resistance and the Thevenin source (total) do not apply to any
component in the original, complex circuit. Thevenin's Theorem is only useful for
determining what happens to a single resistor in a network: the load.

The advantage, of course, is that you can quickly determine what would happen to that
single resistor if it were of a value other than 2 Ω without having to go through a lot of
analysis again. Just plug in that other value for the load resistor into the Thevenin
equivalent circuit and a little bit of series circuit calculation will give you the result.

 REVIEW:
 Thevenin's Theorem is a way to reduce a network to
an equivalent circuit composed of a single voltage
source, series resistance, and series load.
 Steps to follow for Thevenin's Theorem:
 (1) Find the Thevenin source voltage by removing
the load resistor from the original circuit and
 calculating voltage across the open connection
points where the load resistor used to be.
 (2) Find the Thevenin resistance by removing all
power sources in the original circuit (voltage sources
shorted and current sources open) and calculating
total resistance between the open connection points.
 (3) Draw the Thevenin equivalent circuit, with the
Thevenin voltage source in series with the Thevenin
resistance. The load resistor re-attaches between the
two open points of the equivalent circuit.
 (4) Analyze voltage and current for the load resistor
following the rules for series circuits.

Norton’s theorem

Norton's Theorem states that it is possible to simplify any linear circuit, no matter how
complex, to an equivalent circuit with just a single current source and parallel resistance
connected to a load. Just as with Thevenin's Theorem, the qualification of “linear” is
identical to that found in the Superposition Theorem: all underlying equations must be
linear (no exponents or roots).

Contrasting our original example circuit against the Norton equivalent: it looks
something like this:

. . . after Norton conversion . . .

As with Thevenin's Theorem, everything in the original circuit except the load
resistance has been reduced to an equivalent circuit that is simpler to analyze. Also
similar to Thevenin's Theorem are the steps used in Norton's Theorem to calculate the
Norton source current (INorton) and Norton resistance (RNorton).

As before, the first step is to identify the load resistance and remove it from the original
circuit:

Then, to find the Norton current (for the current source in the Norton equivalent
circuit), place a direct wire (short) connection between the load points and determine
the resultant current. Note that this step is exactly opposite the respective step in
Thevenin's Theorem, where we replaced the load resistor with a break (open circuit):
With zero voltage dropped between the load resistor connection points, the current
through R1 is strictly a function of B1's voltage and R1's resistance: 7 amps (I=E/R).
Likewise, the current through R3 is now strictly a function of B2's voltage and R3's
resistance: 7 amps (I=E/R). The total current through the short between the load
connection points is the sum of these two currents: 7 amps + 7 amps = 14 amps. This
figure of 14 amps becomes the Norton source current (INorton) in our equivalent circuit:

Remember, the arrow notation for a current source points in the direction opposite that
of electron flow. Again, apologies for the confusion. For better or for worse, this is
standard electronic symbol notation. Blame Mr. Franklin again!

To calculate the Norton resistance (RNorton), we do the exact same thing as we did for
calculating Thevenin resistance (RThevenin): take the original circuit (with the load resistor
still removed), remove the power sources (in the same style as we did with the
Superposition Theorem: (voltage sources replaced with wires and current sources
replaced with breaks), and figure total resistance from one load connection point to the
other:
Now our Norton equivalent circuit looks like this:

If we re-connect our original load resistance of 2 Ω, we can analyze the Norton circuit as
a simple parallel arrangement:

As with the Thevenin equivalent circuit, the only useful information from this analysis
is the voltage and current values for R2; the rest of the information is irrelevant to the
original circuit. However, the same advantages seen with Thevenin's Theorem apply to
Norton's as well: if we wish to analyze load resistor voltage and current over several
different values of load resistance, we can use the Norton equivalent circuit again and
again, applying nothing more complex than simple parallel circuit analysis to
determine what's happening with each trial load.
  REVIEW:
 Norton's Theorem is a way to reduce a network to
an equivalent circuit composed of a single current
source, parallel resistance, and parallel load.
 Steps to follow for Norton's Theorem:
 (1) Find the Norton source current by removing the
load resistor from the original circuit and calculating
current through a short (wire) jumping across the
open connection points where the load resistor used
to be.
 (2) Find the Norton resistance by removing all
power sources in the original circuit (voltage sources
shorted and current sources open) and calculating
total resistance between the open connection points.
 (3) Draw the Norton equivalent circuit, with the
Norton current source in parallel with the Norton
resistance. The load resistor re-attaches between the
two open points of the equivalent circuit.
 (4) Analyze voltage and current for the load resistor
following the rules for parallel circuits.

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