CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO NETWORK THEORY

1.1. Introduction
1.2. Concepts of analysis and synthesis
1.3. Some circuit elements used in an electric network
1.4. Network classification
1.5. First and second order networks
1.1: INTRODUCTION
 A network may be described as
 a connected arrangement of passive and/or active elements
 having an i/p & an o/p to perform a certain desired task and
 governed by certain physical laws.

 Examples:
 amplifiers, filters, equalizer, oscillator, integrators, etc

 Network theory is the study of the relationship among

four basic quantities – voltage, current, charge and flux
and the physical laws governing their behavior.
 1.1: INTRODUCTION…

 Network theory may be divided into three development parts :

I. The mathematical modeling of electromagnetic phenomenon
II. The mathematical analysis of models of individual elements
and systems and their signal processing capabilities
III. The synthesis and design of systems and devices
 Mathematical model of a system is always a compromise
between reality and simplicity. The model should adequately
describe the physical behavior of the system.
1.1: INTRODUCTION …
 Consider a wire coil to which a variable frequency signal is applied:

Circuit model
Signal frequency Description voltage across coil
range
DC to small We can safely ignore the Ldi/dt term
frequency and vT(t) = Ri
Intermediate vT(t) = Ri + Ldi/dt
frequency
Very high Bunching of charges in proximate
frequency spacing gives a capacitance across
the coil
1.1. INTRODUCTION …
 Thus, depending on the magnitude of the
frequency f, the component may be modeled as a
pure resistor, a series combination of R & L, or
a series parallel combination of R, L and C.
 For small frequency, using the complex model
simply makes analysis difficult without adding
any accuracy.
1.2. CONCEPTS OF ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS
 Analysis is the process of obtaining the constituent unknown
variables in a given system.
 Design or synthesis is the process of obtaining a physical
system that satisfies a certain input-output pair specification.
 The difference b/n analysis and design can be made clear with
the help of three terms: the network, excitation and response
1.2. CONCEPTS OF ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS . . .
 For linear networks, if any 2 of the 3 quantities (network,
excitation and response) are given, then the 3rd may be
found:

Excitation Network Response Problem type

Given Given Required Analysis

Required Given Given Analysis (not

common)
Given Required Given Design (Synthesis)
1.2. CONCEPTS OF ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS . . .
 While analysis and synthesis problems appear to be the
inverse of each other, there are actually two basic
differences:
 i) an analysis problem normally has a unique solution
whereas for a design problem several equivalent solutions
or even not one solution may exists.
 ii) Analysis uses a few basic methods (e.g. nodal, mesh,
state-space, etc) where as design employs a wide variety
of techniques.
1.3. SOME CIRCUIT ELEMENTS USED IN AN ELECTRIC
NETWORK
These include

 Resistor
 Capacitor
 Inductor (as in an isolated coil)
 Mutual inductance (as in transformers)
 Energy sources:
 are devices that generate electrical energy and
 can be independent or dependent.
 Independent sources: may be ideal or real voltage and current source
1.3. SOME CIRCUIT ELEMENTS …
 Independent voltage source:
 is a device whose output voltage remains constant (if ideal with
zero internal resistance and 0 power consumption) or
 drops (with non zero internal resistance) when o/p current is
larger.

Fig: Independent voltage sources (ideal and real) and their

characteristics
1.3. SOME CIRCUIT ELEMENTS …
 Independent current source:
 Is a device that produces a constant current (if ideal with infinite
internal resistance) irrespective of the value of the voltage across
it or
 drops (with non zero infinite resistance) when the o/p voltage is
larger.

Fig. Independent current sources (ideal and real) and their

characteristics
1.3. SOME CIRCUIT ELEMENTS …
 Dependent sources:
 Also called controlled sources in which the source voltage or current is not
fixed, but is dependent on a voltage or current at some other location in
the circuit.
 There are four types of dependent sources.

Dependent sources Model Application example

Voltage controlled voltage Operational

source (VCVS) amplifier (OPAMP)

Voltage controlled current Field Effect

source (VCCS) Transistor (FET)

Current controlled voltage

source (CCVS)

Current controlled current Common base

source (CCCS) connected bi-junction
transistor (BJT)
1.3. SOME CIRCUIT ELEMENTS …

Dependent sources: …
 Dependent sources are unilateral, because for a VCVS ,
say, v2 = kv1, the output voltage v2 is controlled by the
input voltage v1, but the output current i2 has no influence
on the input v1.
1.4. NETWORK CLASSIFICATION
The behavior of a network leads to a number of
classifications:
 Lumped or distributed;

 Linear or non-linear
 Time invariant or time variant
 Passive or active
 Continuous or discrete
 Reciprocal
 Causal or non causal
 etc
1.4. NETWORK CLASSIFICATION . . .
Lumped network
 A network element is lumped if the instantaneous signal entering one
terminal equals the one leaving the other.
 Alternatively, if the dimension of a network element is very small
w.r.t. the wavelength of (the higher signal frequency) applied to the
system so that propagation of the signal in the system is
instantaneous (i.e. input and output occur at the same time) the
system is lumped.
 Example: A short segment network [Dim EL << λmin]

 Lumped ntks are analyzed with (lumped parameters ) circuit theory (KVL,
KCL, )
1.4. NETWORK CLASSIFICATION . . .

Distributed network
 Here, signal propagation takes a finite time to travel from
one point to another point in the system.
 The instantaneous signal entering one terminal is NOT
equal to the instantaneous signal leaving the other
terminal.
 Analyzed mainly with field theory based on Maxwell
equations.
 Example:
Antennas, wave guides, (RF) transmission line, etc
1.4. NETWORK CLASSIFICATION . . .

Distributed network . . .
Example: A dipole antenna
 Consider a dipole antenna of an FM broadcast receiver and the 300
ohm transmission line that connects it to the receiver
 The received signal has frequency of 100 MHz (sinusoidal)
 If the EM field is propagated at infinite speed, as soon as a voltage is
induced on the antenna, the same voltage appears simultaneously
everywhere down the line.
 Actually, speed of propagation equals approximately the speed of
light = 3 x 108 m/s
 Let the induced voltage at A
volts
where V0 = constant amplitude in volts and t is time in seconds
1.4. NETWORK CLASSIFICATION . . .
Example: A dipole antenna …
 At B, the voltage is delayed by
.
w.r.t A.
× /
 Therefore,
volts

= = !
 The difference between is due to the
propagation time which is not negligible which is 5 ns.

XAB = 1.5m = 3m
1.4. NETWORK CLASSIFICATION . . .

Example: A dipole antenna …

 For point C,

propagation time from A to C =

volts
=
 That is, VC lags behind VA by 0.025 rad or 1.3 Deg
 This implies for all t.
1.4. NETWORK CLASSIFICATION . . .

Linear and non linear networks

 Let a network be characterized by

 Then, the network is linear iff it satisfies the

superposition and the homogeneity principles:
 That is,

where :
 are arbitrary constants
 are two possible inputs
 are corresponding outputs
 Otherwise, the network it is non linear.
1.4. NETWORK CLASSIFICATION . . .
Linear and non linear networks …
Example:

a1) Linear network a2) Characteristics

a) Linear network

b1) Non-linear network b2) Characteristics

.
𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑣 > 0.6 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡
b) Non -linear network 𝑖 =
0 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑣 < 0.6 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡

 Suppose the two ntks are excited by two voltage sources v1 and v2
that may be connected in series. Then,
 For network N1: showing it is linear
 For network N2: showing it is non linear
1.4. NETWORK CLASSIFICATION . . .
Time invariant and time variant networks
 A network is said to be time invariant if it is composed of time
invariant elements.
 And it is characterized by constant coefficient equations.
 Otherwise the networks is said to be time variant.

Fig:
 Let the network be characterized by

 Then the network is time invariant if

 That is, the response (output) depends not on the shape of the
excitation but on the time of application.
1.4. NETWORK CLASSIFICATION . . .
Passive, active and lossless networks
 The pair of terminals of a network to which an input signal is applied or an
output signal is taken from is called a port.
 Thus, we have an input port and an output port.

 A pair of terminals qualifies as a port if the current in one terminal equals the
current in the other.
 A 1 port ntk (two terminal network) has only one accessible terminal pair.

A one port network, I = I’

 A 2 port network (four terminal network) has two accessible terminal pairs.

A two port network, I1 = I’1; I2 = I’2

1.4. NETWORK CLASSIFICATION . . .
Passive, active and lossless networks
 An m+n port network has m input ports and n output ports.

 A one port network is called passive network if,

(a) for all possible excitation waveforms v(t) and i(t), the net energy
delivered to the network E(t) is non-negative over time interval t.
 That is,

 and
(b) no voltages or currents appear between any two terminals before
an excitation is applied.
1.4. NETWORK CLASSIFICATION . . .
Passive, active and lossless networks …
 This definition can be extended to a general N- port network by
redefining the energy expression as

 If E(t) < 0 in either case for some values of v(t) and i(t), then
the network is said to be an active network.
 A network is said to be lossless if E(t) is zero for all values of
voltage and current waveforms.
1.4. NETWORK CLASSIFICATION . . .

Reciprocal network:
 A network is said to be reciprocal if when the point of
excitation and response are interchanged, the relation
between excitation and response remains the same.

Causal and non causal system

 A network is said to be causal if the response is zero
before any excitation is applied.
 That is, if e(t) = 0 for t < T then r(t) = 0 for t < T.
 1.5. FIRST AND SECOND ORDER NETWORKS
 A linear time invariant (LTI) system of an excitation e(t) and a
response r(t) shown below

is described by the generalized LODE of the form:

 ai’s are +ve, real coefficients dependent on network parameters.

 n = order of the ntk & is the highest derivative of the o/p r(t).
 if n = 0, the network is said to be a zero’s order system;
 if n = 1, the network is said to be a first order system;
 if n = 2, the network is said to be a second order system; etc
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS …..

 The general solution of the LODE has two parts

i) Homogenous solution, also called
 Zero Input Response (ZIR)
 Zero Input Solution
 Natural or free response
 Transient response or
 Complementary solution
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...

ii) Particular solution, also called

 Zero state response (ZSR)
 Forced response or
 Steady state response
 Since for an LTI system, the superposition principle holds,
The general solution (total response) =
Response due to IC’s (forcing functions set to 0) +
Response due to forcing functions (all IC’s set to 0)
 i.e. the total response is the sum of the transient and steady
state solutions.
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
1.5.1. First order network
 A 1st order network contains 1 energy storage element (C or L)
 It is described by a 1st order differential equation.
 Consider a 1st order LTI network of an excitation e(t) and a
forcing function/response r(t) to be determined.
 Then, the d.e. would be of the form:
;
where
 a1 and a0 are positive real constants representing network
parameters;
 is initial condition at t0.
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
 We can solve this d.e. using either time domain or
frequency domain method.
 Using Laplace transforming both sides:

Or

Or

 From which the time domain response is obtained as

1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
Impulse response of the 1st order LTI network
 If then E(s) = 1, and the impulse response becomes

 Thus, the time domain solution becomes

where

 and seconds is defined as the time constant of the

network and measures the speed of response of the network.
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
Step response of the first order LTI network
 If then E(s) = A/s, and the step response becomes

( )
=
( ) ( )

and the time domain solution becomes

1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
Step response ….
If r(0) = 0, then
where
and
seconds is again the time constant of the network.
 The steady state response,

 At t = r(t) = 0.632
 We observe as increases, the speed of response decreases
and vice versa.
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
First order network Example:
Consider a series R-L circuit of voltage excitation v(t),
response i(t) with initial value of i(0) = i0
 Obtain
a) the unit impulse response
b) the step response
c) the time constant in terms of R&L of the circuit
d)The steady state solution
Solution:
 Applying KVL to the circuit,

 or ;
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
First order network Example: …
a) Impulse response
 Referring the generalized 1st order d.e., a1 = L, a0 = R,
r(t) = i(t); e(t) = v(t)= δ(t)
 Thus,

 Or

where seconds
 The steady state current,
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
First order network Example: …
b) Step response e(t) = v(t) = Au(t), then

Or

 If i(0) =0, then

 The steady state current,

→
 At t = i(t) = 0.632
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
First order network Exercises
Obtain a) the unit impulse response b) the step response c) the time
constant in terms of R, L and/or C d) The steady state responses of the
networks stated below:
i) a series RC circuit where the excitation is a voltage v(t) and the response
is the voltage across the capacitor vc(t) having an initial value of vc(0).
ii) a parallel RC circuit with a current source excitation i(t) and the
response is the voltage across the capacitor vc(t) having an initial value
of vc(0).
iii) a parallel RL circuit with a current source excitation i(t) and the
response is the current in the inductor having an initial value of iL(0).
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
1.5.2. A second order network
 Second order networks are studied because
 Their characteristic resemble that of most higher order networks and is
possible to approximate higher order systems by them
 Higher order systems may be analyzed or modeled as a combination of 2nd
order networks/modules
 2nd order ntks have 2 energy storage elements & are described by a
2nd order ODE.
 The general form of a 2nd order network with excitation e(t) and response r(t) is
described by:

;
with and
where a0 and a1 are real positive constants.
A SECOND ORDER NETWORK . . .
 A more standard and more informative form of expression is given as:

where damping ratio (the rate at which the response decays)

= un-damped natural frequency of the response
and and
 Laplace transforming both sides:

or

 The time domain response is:

1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
1.5.2. A second order network . . .
Unit step response of a second order system
 For a unit step input e(t) = u(t), 𝐸 𝑠 = and after partial fraction expansion

and

 The quadratic term of the transient part has the ch. equation given by:
=0
whose roots become

,
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
1.5.2. A second order network . . .
Unit step response of a second order system …
 and are ch. roots or natural freq. of the transient
response.
   j    jd
 If < 0, then ,
where
= damping factor (or time constant)
= = damped natural freq. of oscillation of response.

 , n, & d are very important parameters used to characterize

a second order system.
 Though the system may be electrical, mechanical, EM,
pneumatic, thermal etc, these quantities provide a common
platform for analysis, design and comparison of such systems.
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
1.5.2. A second order network . . .
Response modes of a second order system
 The unit step response of a 2nd order network has 4 forms.
 i)  > 1 , over-damped case
 For  > 1, the ch. roots (poles of ) are both real & distinct:
s1   n   n  2  1; s 2   n   n  2  1

 The corresponding response looks like r (t )  1  A1e  s1t  A2 e  s2t

and is called an over-damped response.
 ii)  = 1, critically damped case
 For  = 1, the ch. roots are double and real: s1   n s 2   n
 The response looks like

 and is called a critically damped response.

1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
1.5.2. A second order network . . .
Response modes of a second order system …
 iii) 0 <  < 1, under-damped case
 For 0 <  < 1, the ch. roots are complex conjugates:
s1   n  j n 1   2    j d ; s 2   n  j n 1   2    j d
 The response becomes
 1
r (t )  1  n e t sin(d t  cos 1  )  1  e nt sin(n 1   2 t  cos 1  )
d 1  2
and is called an under-damped response.
 iv)  = 0, un-damped case
 For  = 0, the ch. roots are : s1  j n  s 2   j n
 The response becomes
r (t )  [1  sin(n t  1)]u (t )
and is called an und-damped response.
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
1.5.2. A second order network . . .
Response modes of a second order system …
 Fig. below shows a family of response curves r(t) of a 2nd order system
for a unit step input e(t) = u(t) with abscissa is the dimensionless
variable n
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
1.5.2. A second order network . . .
Response modes of a second order system …
We see that
 for  > 1, r(t) does not exceed 1.0, has no over shoot but very
slow to approach e(t) = 1.
 for  = 1, r(t) does not exceed 1.0, has no over shoot but
approaches e(t) = 1 relatively faster w,r,t  > 1.
 for 0 <  < 1 r(t) exceeds 1.0, have overshoots and under-
shoots, faster to cross the e(t) = 1 line.
 As  approaches 0, both overshoot magnitudes and speeds of
crossing e(t) =1 line increase.
 for  = 0, the overshoot reaches 100% and r(t) will be a
sustained sinusoid.
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
1.5.2. A second order network . . .
A second order system with  = 0 is called lossless.
 E.g. : a series or parallel LC circuit, a spring-mass system without
friction etc.
 The presence of R in an LC circuit (i.e. a RLC circuit) and a friction b/n
the mass in a spring-mass system will be lossy.
 This continuously dissipate energy in the dynamics.
 It is desired theoretically that r(t) should approach the steady state
value very faster which requires  => 0.
 However, it is also desired that the overshoot should be zero which
requires   1 or more.
 This shows speed and undesired overshoot are in conflicting
requirements.
 In practice thus, a compromised value of  is selected so that the
overshoot should not exceed 25% of the steady state value.
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
1.5.2. A second order network . . .
Specification values of a second order unit step
response
 These include
 peak/max. overshoot;
 peak time;
 rise time;
 settling time; and
 steady-state error
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
1.5.2. A second order network . . .
The max./peak overshoot, Mp, is measured w.r.t. unity.

M p  exp( / 1   2 )

 The peak time, Tp: time for response to reach the 1st peak of the
overshoot. The system is said to be more responsive when the peak
time is smaller.  
tp  
d n 1   2

 The rise time, Tr, : time required for response to go from 0% to 100%
(or 10% to 90%) of its final value. It is a measure of the responsiveness
of a system.   tan

1 d
n
tr 
d
 The settling time, Ts, is the time required for the response curve to
reach and stay within a range about the final value.
3
ts 
4
( for 2% settling time) t  ( for 5% settling time)
 n
s
 n
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
1.5.2. A second order network . . .
Unit impulse response of a second order system
 Considering

 For a unit impulse input e(t) = δ(t), and

 The time domain response is:

 The impulse response w.r.t. to the various values of  would be:

 i)  > 1 , over-damped case

Here, s1   n   n  2  1; s 2   n   n  2  1 and r (t )  A1e  s1t  A2 e  s2t

1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
1.5.2. A second order network . . .
Unit impulse response of a second order system ….
 ii)  = 1, critically damped case

Here, s1   n s 2   n and

iii) 0 <  < 1, under-damped case
Here, s1   n  j n 1   2    j d ; s 2   n  j n 1   2    j d

 n t 1
and r (t )   e sin( d t  cos 1  )   e  t sin( n 1   2 t  cos 1  )
n

d 1  2

iv)  = 0, un-damped case

Here, s1  jn  s2   jn and r (t )   sin(nt )u (t )
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
Example 1: A practical 2nd order system
 Consider a series RLC circuit to which an input voltage of ei(t) is
applied and the output voltage eo(t) is taken across the capacitor

 Applying KVL, vL + vR + vC = ei (a) and vC = eo (b)

 Or eqn (a) can be written as
di (c )
L  Ri  vC  ei
dt
dv C
 Since , iC
dt
d 2 vC dvC
 eqn (c ) can be written as LC 2
 RC  v C  ei (d)
dt dt
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
Example 1: A practical 2nd order system …
 Laplace transforming eqn (d) we get

LCV C ( s ) s 2  RCVC ( s ) s  VC ( s )  E i ( s )

Or Ei(s) = (LC s2 + RCs + 1)VC(s) …(e)

and Laplace transforming eqn. (b) Eo(s) = VC(s) ….(f)
 Thus the transfer function relating the input and out
1 put of the RLC
circuit becomes Eo ( s) 1 LC
H ( s)   
Ei ( s) LCs  RCs  1
2
R 1
s2  s
L LC

which is a second order transfer function

 Comparing H(s) with the generalized 2nd order transfer function
n2
s 2  2n s  n2
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
Example 1: A practical 2nd order system …
 We see that,
1 1
n 
2
or n 
LC LC

and R R R R C
2 n  
2 n L

2L
LC 
2 L
L

from which

 Thus for the 2nd order series RLC circuit,

1
n  and   R C
LC 2 L
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
Example 1: A practical 2nd order system …
 Now choose the R, L, and C values to generate the four modes of
responses for a unit step input as follows
Unit response L, C, R, R C   1
 n 𝒅=
2 L LC
mode Henery Farads Ohms 𝒏
𝟐

[ rad/s] [rad/s]
Overdamped 1 1 5 2.5 1.0 --
Critically 0.1 0.1 2 1.0 10.0 0
damped
Underdamped 0.1 0.1 1 0.5 10.0 8.66
Undamped 0.1 0.1 0 0 10.0 10
1.5. FIRST & SECOND ORDER NETWORKS ...
Example 1: A practical 2nd order system …
% MATLAB code to plot the impulse and unit step responses of H
L = 1; C = 1; R = 5;
numRLC= [1/(L*C)]; denRLC =[1 (R/L) 1/(L*C)];
H = tf(numRLC,denRLC);
%impulse(H);
step(H);
grid;