Electric Circuit Analysis I

EEE-121
Lab 10
VALIDATION OF NORTON’S THEOREM
VALIDATION OF THÉVENIN’S THEOREM

Objective

Determine the value of Norton’s current IN and the Norton’s resistance RN in a DC circuit
theoretically and experimentally
Determine the Thevenin Voltage VTH theoretically and experimentally

Find the Thevenin’s resistance RTH by various methods and compare values.

Verify that the values of current through and voltage across the load resistance are
comparable in original and Thevenin and Norton Equivalent circuits.

Demonstrate that maximum power is delivered to load when its value is equal to
RTH

Equipment Required

Resistors, DMM, breadboard, DC power supply, and connecting wires.

Knowledge Level
Before working on this lab, students should have good understanding of Norton’s and
thevenin’s method.

Students should be able to theoretically solve the circuit shown in circuit diagram.

Students should know how to simulate the electric circuit using LTSPICE.

Pre-Lab Task

Students should solve the circuits shown in figure 10.1 and figure 10.7 for the values of I N,
RN using Norton’s theorem and values of VTh, RTh using Thevenin’s theorem.
Part a) Norton’s theorem

Theory:
Norton’s theorem states that any linear two-terminal circuit can be replaced by an equivalent
circuit consisting of a current source IN in parallel with a resistance RN where

IN is the short-circuit current flowing through the terminals, and

RN is the equivalent resistance seen thru the terminals provided that all the independent
sources are turned off. RN is exactly the same as RTH.

Please note that the Thévenin’s and Norton’s equivalent circuits are related by a source
transformation.

Finding IN: Determine the short circuit current ISC flowing through the load terminals.
This is known as the Norton’s current IN.
IN = ISC (short-circuit current) (10.1)

Finding RN: Remove all sources from the circuit, i.e. replace all voltage sources with a
short-circuit and current sources with an open-circuit. Then with the help of a multimeter
find the resistance between the points ‘a’ and ‘b’, denoted by Req.
RN = Req (10.2)

Please note that RN is exactly the same as RTH and can be determined through many ways as
discussed in the last experiment [Thevenin’s Theorem].

Task 1: (Calculating and Measuring RNandIN)

Find the Norton’s equivalent circuit of the circuit shown in Fig. 10.1. Draw the Norton’s
equivalent circuit in the space provided in Fig. 10.2. Record the calculated values in
Table 10.1.

Connect on breadboard the circuit (Fig. 10.1). Remove the load resistance. Turn off all
the independent sources. Replace the voltage sources with short-circuits and current
sources with open-circuits. (Fig 10.4). Then using an ohmmeter find the equivalent
r e s i s t a n c e b e t w.3).eMeeansurelotheacdurrepntofloiwnintgsth‘roaug’h 4a7n0 d ‘b’. This is RN.
Short th e po in t s ‘ a ’ a nd ‘b ’ (F ig 1 0

resistance using ammeter. This is Norton current ‘IN’. Record the value in Table 10.1
 Figure10.1: Example circuit to test the validity of the Norton’s theorem

(a). RL = 470 (b). RL = 1000

Figure10.2: Norton’s equivalent circuit of the circuit shown in Fig. 10.1

Task 2: (Finding IL using the Norton’s equivalent circuit)

Calculate the current flowing through the load resistance RLshown in Fig. 10.1. Solve the circuit for R L=470 and R L=1000 and record
the values in Table 10.2. The values must coincide with the current values determined in task 1.
 Figure10.3: Finding IN

Figure10.4: Finding RN

Measurement Tables: (Part a)

Task 1

Norton Resistance RN (Ω)

Norton Current IN (A)
Calculated Measured Calculated Measured

4.82
993.81
Table 10.1

Task 2
RL Current through load resistance IL
(mA)
 () Norton Equivalent
Original circuit
circuit
3.9 4.82
470

9.1 8.2
1000

Table 10.2

Part b) Thevenin’s Theorem

Thevenin’s theorem states that any linear two-terminal circuit (Fig. 10.5a) can be
replaced by an equivalent circuit (Fig. 10.5b) consisting of a voltage source VTH in series
with a resistance RTH where

VTH is the open-circuit voltage at the terminals, and

RTH is the equivalent resistance seen thru the terminals provided that all the independent
sources are turned off.

Figure 10.5.a: A linear two-terminal circuit Figure 10.5b: Thevenin equivalent circuit

Task 1 (Measuring Thevenin Voltage VTH)

Connect onbreadboard the circuit shown in Fig. 10.6. The aim is to determine the current through and the voltage across the 1 k
resistance R1 connected between the two nodes A and B.

Remove the load resistor R1from the circuit on breadboard.

Calculate the voltage at nodes A and B (preferably using nodal analysis). Determine the
open-circuit voltage (voltage between points A and B i.e. VAB) using a voltmeter. The
voltage VAB is the Thevenin voltage calculated as VOC (open-circuit voltage) = VTH
=VAB =VA-VB. Record the value in Table 10.3.

Repeat the experiment for terminals C-D and record the values.
Task 2 (Calculating and Measuring RTH)

There are various methods to calculate the value of RTHas described below.

Method A: (By measuring ISC – short-circuit current)

Short the points ‘a’ and ‘b’, then measure the short-circuit current ISC using an ammeter.
Calculate RTH using equation 10.3
RTH = VTH / ISC (10.3)

Method B: (By measuring the equivalent resistance)

Remove all sources from the circuit, i.e. replace all voltage sources with a short-circuit and
current sources with an open-circuit. Then with the help of a multimeter find the resistance
between the points ‘a’ and ‘b’, denoted by Req.
RTH = Req (10.4)

Method C: (By applying known voltage/ test source and measuring source current)

Apply a known DC voltage (1V) between points A and B. Then using an ammeter find
the current ‘I’ through the test voltage source. Suppose 1 Vis applied as the test voltage
then, use equation 10.5 to find RTH.

RTH = Vtest / I (10.5)

Method D: (By inserting two different resistors and measuring current)

Insert resistors R1 and R2 (between points A and B) one by one, write expression for the
current (measured) through the resistors as given below,and substitute values in
equations (10.6)-(10.7).Simultaneously solving these two resultant equations will give
the value of RTH.

Current through the resistor R1 :-

I1 = VTH / (RTH + R1)
(10.6)
Current through the resistor R2 :-
I2 = VTH / (RTH + R2) (10.7)

Simultaneously solving equations (10.6)-(10.7) will give the value of RTH.

 Figure10.6: Example circuit to test the validity of the Thevenin’s theorem

Figure10.7: Finding VTH

Determine the Thevenin resistance at terminals A-B and C-D using the four methods mentioned
above. Fill the table 10.4 with calculated and measured values.

Compare the values of RTH being found using different methods. Do they agree?

Task 3
Simulation Task

Simulate theoriginal circuit shown in figure 10.6 and note the value of current
through and voltage across the load resistance w.r.t. terminals A-B and C-
D (denote them by IL’ and VL’).
 Simulate the Thevenin equivalent circuit consisting of voltage source ‘VTH’,
resistance ‘RTH‘ and load resistance. Note the value of current through and
voltage across the load resistance w.r.t. terminals A-B and C-D.

(denote them by ILand VL). Record the values in table 10.5.

Compare the corresponding values.

Measurement Tables: (Part b)

Task 1:

Node Voltages Node Voltages

VA/ VC VB/ VD
(volts) (volts)
Terminals VTH =
Ca VA-VB/
lcu Me VC-VD
Simu Calc
lat asu Measu Simula (volts)
ed lated ulate
red red ted
Value dVal
Va Val Values Values
s ues
lue ues
s
5V 5V 0V 0V
A–B 1.11V

0V 0V 4.1V 4.52V
C–D
Table 10.3

Task 2

Thevenin Resistance RTH ( )

Termin
als Measured Values
 Calculated
Method A Method B Method C Method D
Values
A-B 0.8KΩ 0.96KΩ 0.8KΩ 0.9KΩ 1.01KΩ

C-D 2KΩ 2.25KΩ 2KΩ 1.8KΩ 1.72KΩ

Table 10.4

Task 3

Current through load Voltage across load resistance

Terminals resistance (mA) (volts)
IL IL’ VL VL’
A-B 0.47mA 0.47mA 5V 5V

C-D 2mA 2mA 4.5V 4.5V

Table 10.5
Questions:

1).What is the theoretical and practical advantage of using Thevenin and Norton
theorem in circuit analysis?
Thevenin's & Norton's Theorem are used where the load can be varied .

So basically these methods reduce the big linear circuit into 1 source & 1 resistor
(or impedance in AC). Later we can put any kind of load & measure the variations
of current & voltages across the load.

The load can be a Fan, bulb, etc. So you can determine which component will be suitable
to use.

Also where maximum power is required from source, these theorems are used to calculate
required load impedance or present source impedance for max power.
 Which theorem is typically used to determine the range of output voltages for a
series-parallel circuit with a variable load?

Thevenin's Theorem is typically used to determine the range of output voltages for a series-
parallel circuit with a variable load.

3. A circuit has a voltage source of 15 volts and three 15 resistors connected in parallel across the source.
What Thevenin resistance (RTH) would a load"see" when connected to this circuit? The Result is 5
Ohms

4. Which theorem could be used (along with Ohm's law) to calculate the bridge
current in a Wheatstone bridge?
Thevenin theorem is the best way to be used to calculate the bridge current in the Wheatstone
bridge

5. Briefly describe a practical application of Norton theorem.

The Norton e Theorem is used to highlight the network of any linear sources and
Independence at a particular frequency. This theorem can be applied to any reactive
resistances and impedance.

6. Which of the following statements is true?

RN acts as a voltage divider with the load resistance

RN acts like a current divider with the load resistance.
RTH acts like a current divider with the load resistance
RN acts as a voltage divider with the load resistance.

Conclusion:

From this experiment it has made my concepts about thevinin and

nortons very clear , how to apply these theorems practically and
what are their uses . I obtained the values of theveinin resistance and
I also compare them. By doing this experiment it has broad my
vision about thevins and nortons and about their applications. The
values obtained practically and by calculations that was just due to
some random errors.