Notes

Network Theory
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UNIT-I

1.1 Active and Passive Devices-Independent and dependent

voltage and current sources are active devices; they normally
(but Not always) deliver power to some external device.
Resistors, inductors and capacitors are passive Devices; they
normally receive (absorb) power from an active device.
1.2 Independent and Dependent Sources-

1.2.(a) Ideal Independent Voltage Source

voltage regardless of the amount of current that flows through
it. Its value is either constant (DC) or sinusoidal (AC).

1.2.(b)Ideal Independent Current Source

current regardless of the voltage that appears across its
terminals. Its value is either constant (DC) or sinusoidal (AC).

1.2.(c)Dependent Voltage Source

voltage or current elsewhere in the circuit.

1.2.(d)Dependent Current Source

current or voltage elsewhere in the circuit.

3.Linear Devices
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4. Circuits and Networks

A network is the interconnection of two or more simple
devices as shown

A circuit is a network which contains at least one closed

path. Thus every circuit is a network but not all networks
are circuits. An example is shown

5.Active and Passive Networks

Active Network is a network which contains at least one
active device (voltage or current Source).
Passive Network is a network which does not contain any active device.

Basic Concepts and Definitions

1.3An ideal independent voltage source maintains the same voltage
regardless of the amount of current that flows through it.
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• An ideal independent current source maintains the same

current regardless of the amount of voltage that appears
across its terminals.
• The value of an dependent voltage source depends on
another voltage or current elsewhere in the circuit.
• The value of an dependent current source depends on
another current or voltage elsewhere in the circuit.
• Ideal voltage and current sources are just mathematical models.
• Independent and Dependent voltage and current
sources are active devices; they normally (but not
always) deliver power to some external device.
• Resistors, inductors, and capacitors are passive devices;
they normally receive (absorb) power from an active device.
• A network is the interconnection of two or more simple devices.
• A circuit is a network which contains at least one closed path.
Thus every circuit is a network but not all networks are circuits.
• An active network is a network which contains at least
one active device (voltage or current source).
• A passive network is a network which does not contain
any active device.
• To set up and maintain a flow of current in a network or
circuit there must be a voltage source (potential
difference) present to provide the electrical work which
will force current to flow and the circuit must be closed.
• Linear devices are those in which there is a linear
relationship between the voltage across that device and
the current that flows through that device.
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. loop is equal to the resultant

e.m.f. acting in that loop

Thus E1 - E2 = IR1 + IR2 + IR3 Problem

1Find the unknown currents marked in Figure as below-

Solution-Applying Kirchhoff’s current law:

For junction B: 50 = 20 + I1. Hence I1 = 30 A
For junction C: 20 + 15 = I2. Hence I2 = 35 A
For junction D: I1 = I3 + 120 i.e. 30 = I3 + 120. Hence I3
= −90 A (in the opposite direction)
For junction E: I4 + I3 = 15 i.e. I4 =15 –(-90). Hence I4 = 105 A
For junction F: 120 = I5 + 40. Hence I5 = 80 A
Problem 2 Determine the value of e.m.f. E
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Solution-Applying Kirchhoff’s voltage law and moving

clockwise around the loop of F starting at point A:
3 + 6 + E - 4 = I2 + I2.5 + I1.5 + I1
=I (2 +2.5 + 1.5 + 1) i.e. 5 + E = 2(7) since I
= 2 A Hence E = 14 - 5 = 9 V
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6.SUPERPOSITION THEOREM

superposition theorem states:-

‘In any network made up of linear resistances and containing more

than one source of e.m.f., the resultant current flowing in any
branch is the algebraic sum of the currents that would flow in that
branch if each source was considered separately, all other sources
being replaced at that time by their respective internal resistances.’

Problem 3 Determine the current in each branch of the

network by using the superposition theorem.

Solution-
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Problem-4 Use Th´evenin’s theorem to find the current

flowing in the 10 resistor for the circuit shown.

Solution-
Step-1
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Step-2

First of all The 10 resistance is removed from the circuit as shown

Step-3
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Problem-5
Use Norton’s theorem to determine the current I
flowing in the 4 resistance

\Solution-
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Problem-6
Find the value of the load resistor RL that gives maximum
power dissipation and determine the value of this power.

Solution-
Resistance RL is removed from the circuit
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Nodes, Branches, Loops and Meshes

A node is the common point at which two or more devices (passive

or active) are connected. An example of a node is shown

A branch is a simple path composed of one single device as shown

A loop is a closed path formed by the interconnection of

simple devices. For example, the network shown
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A mesh is a loop which does not enclose any other loops

Problem-6 Find the currents in all loops by Loop Analysis

Solution:
The network is divided into two loops as shown
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 Beyond Syllabus

Star Delta Transformation

We can now solve simple series, parallel or bridge type resistive networks
using Kirchoff´s Circuit Laws, mesh current analysis or nodal voltage analysis
techniques but in a balanced 3-phase circuit we can use different mathematical
techniques to simplify the analysis of the circuit and thereby reduce the
amount of math's involved which in itself is a good thing.

Standard 3-phase circuits or networks take on two major forms with names
that represent the way in which the resistances are connected, a Star connected
network which has the symbol of the letter, Υ (wye) and a Delta connected
network which has the symbol of a triangle, Δ (delta). If a 3-phase, 3-wire
supply or even a 3-phase load is connected in one type of configuration, it can
be easily transformed or changed it into an equivalent configuration of the
other type by using either the Star Delta Transformation or Delta Star
Transformation process.

A resistive network consisting of three impedances can be connected together

to form a T or "Tee" configuration but the network can also be redrawn to
form a Star or Υ type network as shown below.

T-connected and Equivalent Star Network

As we have already seen, we can redraw the T resistor network to produce an

equivalent Star or Υ type network. But we can also convert a Pi or π type
resistor network into an equivalent Delta or Δ type network as shown below.
Pi-connected and Equivalent Delta Network.

Having now defined exactly what is a Star and Delta connected network it is
possible to transform the Υ into an equivalent Δ circuit and also to convert a Δ
into an equivalent Υ circuit using a the transformation process. This process
allows us to produce a mathematical relationship between the various resistors
giving us a Star Delta Transformation as well as a Delta Star
Transformation.

These transformations allow us to change the three connected resistances by

their equivalents measured between the terminals 1-2, 1-3 or 2-3 for either a
star or delta connected circuit. However, the resulting networks are only
equivalent for voltages and currents external to the star or delta networks, as
internally the voltages and currents are different but each network will
consume the same amount of power and have the same power factor to each
other.

Delta Star Transformation

To convert a delta network to an equivalent star network we need to derive a

transformation formula for equating the various resistors to each other between
the various terminals. Consider the circuit below.
Delta to Star Network.

Compare the resistances between terminals 1 and 2.

Resistance between the terminals 2 and 3.

Resistance between the terminals 1 and 3.

This now gives us three equations and taking equation 3 from equation 2
gives:
Then, re-writing Equation 1 will give us:

Adding together equation 1 and the result above of equation 3 minus equation
2 gives:

From which gives us the final equation for resistor P as:

Then to summarize a little the above maths, we can now say that resistor P in a
Star network can be found as Equation 1 plus (Equation 3 minus Equation 2)
or Eq1 + (Eq3 - Eq2).
Similarly, to find resistor Q in a star network, is equation 2 plus the result of
equation 1 minus equation 3 or Eq2 + (Eq1 - Eq3) and this gives us the
transformation of Q as:

and again, to find resistor R in a Star network, is equation 3 plus the result of
equation 2 minus equation 1 or Eq3 + (Eq2 - Eq1) and this gives us the
transformation of R as:

When converting a delta network into a star network the denominators of all of
the transformation formulas are the same: A + B + C, and which is the sum of
ALL the delta resistances. Then to convert any delta connected network to an
equivalent star network we can summarized the above transformation
equations as:

Star Delta Transformation

We have seen above that when converting from a delta network to an

equivalent star network that the resistor connected to one terminal is the
product of the two delta resistances connected to the same terminal, for
example resistor P is the product of resistors A and B connected to terminal 1.

By rewriting the previous formulas a little we can also find the transformation
formulas for converting a resistive star network to an equivalent delta network
giving us a way of producing a star delta transformation as shown below.

Star to Delta Network.

The value of the resistor on any one side of the delta, Δ network is the sum of
all the two-product combinations of resistors in the star network divide by the
star resistor located "directly opposite" the delta resistor being found. For
example, resistor A is given as:

with respect to terminal 3 and resistor B is given as:

with respect to terminal 2 with resistor C given as:

with respect to terminal 1.

By dividing out each equation by the value of the denominator we end up with
three separate transformation formulas that can be used to convert any Delta
resistive network into an equivalent star network as given below.

Star Delta Transformations allow us to convert one circuit type of circuit

connection to another in order for us to easily analyise a circuit and one final
point about converting a star resistive network to an equivalent delta network.
If all the resistors in the star network are all equal in value then the resultant
resistors in the equivalent delta network will be three times the value of the
star resistors and equal, giving: RDELTA = 3RSTAR

Circuit Analysis
In the previous tutorial we saw that complex circuits such as bridge or T-
networks can be solved using Kirchoff's Circuit Laws. While Kirchoff´s
Laws give us the basic method for analysing any complex electrical circuit,
there are different ways of improving upon this method by using Mesh
Current Analysis or Nodal Voltage Analysis that results in a lessening of the
math's involved and when large networks are involved this reduction in maths
can be a big advantage.
Mesh Analysis Circuit

One simple method of reducing the amount of math's involved is to analyse the
circuit using Kirchoff's Current Law equations to determine the currents,
I1 and I2 flowing in the two resistors. Then there is no need to calculate the
current I3 as its just the sum of I1 and I2. So Kirchoff's second voltage law
simply becomes:

 Equation No 1 : 10 = 50I1 + 40I2

 Equation No 2 : 20 = 40I1 + 60I2

therefore, one line of math's calculation have been saved.

Mesh Current Analysis

A more easier method of solving the above circuit is by using Mesh Current
Analysis or Loop Analysis which is also sometimes called Maxwell´s
Circulating Currents method. Instead of labelling the branch currents we
need to label each "closed loop" with a circulating current. As a general rule of
thumb, only label inside loops in a clockwise direction with circulating
currents as the aim is to cover all the elements of the circuit at least once. Any
required branch current may be found from the appropriate loop or mesh
currents as before using Kirchoff´s method.

For example: : i1 = I1 , i2 = -I2 and I3 = I1 - I2

We now write Kirchoff's voltage law equation in the same way as before to
solve them but the advantage of this method is that it ensures that the
information obtained from the circuit equations is the minimum required to
solve the circuit as the information is more general and can easily be put into a
matrix form.
These equations can be solved quite quickly by using a single mesh impedance
matrix Z. Each element ON the principal diagonal will be "positive" and is the
total impedance of each mesh. Where as, each element OFF the principal
diagonal will either be "zero" or "negative" and represents the circuit element
connecting all the appropriate meshes. This then gives us a matrix of:

Where:

 [ V ] gives the total battery voltage for

loop 1 and then loop 2.
 [I] states the names of the loop
currents which we are trying to find.
 [ R ] is called the resistance matrix.

and this gives I1 as -0.143 Amps and I2 as -0.429 Amps

As : I3 = I1 - I2

The current I3 is therefore given as : -0.143 - (-0.429) = 0.286 Amps

which is the same value of 0.286 amps, we found using Kirchoff´s circuit law
in the previous tutorial.

Mesh Current Analysis Summary.

This "look-see" method of circuit analysis is probably the best of all the circuit
analysis methods with the basic procedure for solving Mesh Current Analysis
equations is as follows:
1. Label all the internal loops with circulating currents. (I1, I2, ...IL etc)

2. Write the [ L x 1 ] column matrix [ V ] giving the sum of all voltage

sources in each loop.

3. Write the [ L x L ] matrix, [ R ] for all the resistances in the circuit as

follows;

R11 = the total resistance in the first loop.

Rnn = the total resistance in the Nth loop.

RJK = the resistance which directly joins loop J to Loop K.

4. Write the matrix or vector equation [V] = [R] x [I] where [I] is the list of
currents to be found.

As well as using Mesh Current Analysis, we can also use node analysis to
calculate the voltages around the loops, again reducing the amount of
mathematics required using just Kirchoff's laws. In the next tutorial about DC
Theory we will look at Nodal Voltage Analysis to do just that.

Nodal Voltage Analysis

As well as using Mesh Analysis to solve the currents flowing around complex
circuits it is also possible to use nodal analysis methods too. Nodal Voltage
Analysis complements the previous mesh analysis in that it is equally
powerful and based on the same concepts of matrix analysis. As its name
implies, Nodal Voltage Analysis uses the "Nodal" equations of Kirchoff's first
law to find the voltage potentials around the circuit.

So by adding together all these nodal voltages the net result will be equal to
zero. Then, if there are "n" nodes in the circuit there will be "n-1" independent
nodal equations and these alone are sufficient to describe and hence solve the
circuit.

At each node point write down Kirchoff's first law equation, that is: "the
currents entering a node are exactly equal in value to the currents leaving the
node" then express each current in terms of the voltage across the branch. For
"n" nodes, one node will be used as the reference node and all the other
voltages will be referenced or measured with respect to this common node.

For example, consider the circuit from the previous section.

Nodal Voltage Analysis Circuit

In the above circuit, node D is chosen as the reference node and the other three
nodes are assumed to have voltages, Va, Vb and Vc with respect to node D.
For example;

As Va = 10v and Vc = 20v , Vb can be easily found by:

again is the same value of 0.286 amps, we found using Kirchoff's Circuit Law
in the previous tutorial.

From both Mesh and Nodal Analysis methods we have looked at so far, this is
the simplest method of solving this particular circuit. Generally, nodal voltage
analysis is more appropriate when there are a larger number of current sources
around. The network is then defined as: [ I ] = [ Y ] [ V ] where [ I ] are the
driving current sources, [ V ] are the nodal voltages to be found and [ Y ] is the
admittance matrix of the network which operates on [ V ] to give [ I ].

Nodal Voltage Analysis Summary.

The basic procedure for solving Nodal Analysis equations is as follows:

1. Write down the current vectors, assuming currents into a node are positive.
ie, a (N x 1)
matrices for "N" independent nodes.

2. Write the admittance matrix [Y] of the network where:

Y11 = the total admittance of the first node.

Y22 = the total admittance of the second node.

RJK = the total admittance joining node J to node K.

3. For a network with "N" independent nodes, [Y] will be an (N x N) matrix

and that Ynn will be
positive and Yjk will be negative or zero value.

4. The voltage vector will be (N x L) and will list the "N" voltages to be
found.

We have now seen that a number of theorems exist that simplify the analysis
of linear circuits. In the next tutorial we will look at Thevenins Theorem which
allows a network consisting of linear resistors and sources to be represented by
an equivalent circuit with a single voltage source and a series resistance.