Chapter 1

Circuit Reduction Techniques

Ha Hoang Kha, Ph.D
Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology
Email: hhkha@hcmut.edu.vn
 Network Reduction Techniques

The purposes of these techniques and theorems are:

To provide alternate analysis methods
To provide methods for simplifying circuits
To provide methods for representing circuits in the simplest
possible form
To gain insight into circuit behavior

Topics to be covered
Source Transformations
Superposition
Thevenins and Nortons Theorems
Maximum Power Transfer Theorem

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 2 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 1. Source Transformations

There are two broad categories of voltage and current sources:

Ideal sources
Real sources (or practical sources)

So far in the course we have only considered ideal voltage and

current sources. We will now consider real sources.

Example:
The voltage supplied by an ideal 12V source will maintain 12V for any
current required by the circuit.
The voltage supplied by a real 12V source (such as a car battery) will
drop as the current required increases.

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 3 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Real Voltage Source
A real voltage source is modeled using an ideal voltage source,
VS and a series resistance, RS.

I Develop an expression for I as a

RS + function of V and put it in the form y =
+ mx + b.
VS _ V
_ I

Real Voltage Source

Plot the characteristics of a real

voltage source.
Also show the characteristics of an
ideal voltage source. V

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 4 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Example-Voltage Source

Example: A car battery has a voltage of 13V and a current of

0A when nothing is being powered by the battery, but the
voltage drops to 9V and the current is 300A while starting the
car.
A) Draw the characteristics for the battery.
B) Determine the resistance of the battery, RS.
C) Draw a model of the battery.

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 5 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Real Current Source

A real current source is modeled using an ideal current source, IP

and a parallel resistance, RP.

I Develop an expression for I as a

function of V and put it in the form y =
+ mx + b.
IP RP V
_
I

Real Current Source

Plot the characteristics of a real

current source.
Also show the characteristics of an
ideal current source. V

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 6 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Source Transformations

There are two types of source transformations:

Transform a real voltage source into a real current source
Transform a real current source into a real voltage source
I
I
+ +
RS
+ V Load RP V Load
VS _ IP
_
_

Real Voltage Source Real Current Source

In order for the two types of sources to be equivalent, they should provide the
same voltage and current to any load. This can be accomplished by equating
their characteristics. In particular, the x-intercepts, y-intercepts, and slopes
should be equal (actually equating any 2 of these 3 items fixes the remaining
item).
Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 7 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.
 Source Transformations
I I

VS /RS Slope = 1/RS IP Slope = 1/RP

V V
VS IP RP
Real voltage source characteristics Real current source characteristics

Equating the y-intercepts yields: VS/RS = IP

Equating the x-intercepts yields: VS = IPRP
Equating the slopes yields: RS = RP

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 8 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Source Transformation Formula

Converting a real voltage source Converting a real current source

to a real current source: to a real voltage source:
Vs Vs I p R p and R s R p
Ip and R p R s
Rs

Simple Example:

I I
Convert V-source to -I source
4 + +
+
20 V _ V 5A 4 V
_ _
Convert I-source to V-source

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 9 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Example

Determine VX in the circuit below using source transformations.

3 2 +
+
27 V _ 6 5 VX
_

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 10 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Example

Determine VX in the circuit below using source transformations.

+ VX _

20 10 100 _
+ 60 V
80 V _ 60 25 +

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 11 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Example

Determine VX in the circuit below.

10
+
40 4A 12 VX
60 V +
_
_

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 12 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Important notes on source transformations
1) Transformed sources are equivalent in that they provide the same terminal
voltage and terminal current (V and I) to any connected load.
2) Transformed sources are not equivalent internally. For example, the current
through or the voltage across RS and RP is not the same. To assume that
they are the same is a common error.
Example: In the circuit below, V1 V2.
+ V1 - I I
RS +
+ Load RP V2 Load
VS _ IP
_

3) All sources are not transformable. Note that a voltage source MUST have a
SERIES resistor to be transformable. Note that a current MUST have a
PARALLEL to be transformable.
4) Dependent sources can be transformed also.
Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 13 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.
 2. Superposition

The superposition theorem essentially states that independent

sources act separately. In particular, the current or voltage in
any part of the circuit can be calculated by determining the
current or voltage due to each independent source (with all
other independent sources killed) and then by adding the
results algebraically.
Independent sources are killed by:
Shorting voltage sources (which is equivalent to setting the voltage to zero)
Opening current sources (which is equivalent to setting the current to zero)

Notes:
Never kill a dependent source
Superposition applies to voltage and current, but not to power

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 14 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Example

Determine the current IX using superposition.

3 IX
+
18 V _ 6 2A

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 15 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Example

Determine the voltage VX using superposition.

5 6 12
+ _
2A 10 V +
_ VX 6 30 V
+
_

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 16 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Example

Determine the voltage VX using superposition.

3
+ VX _
18 V _+ 2VX 2A
6

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 17 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 3. Thevenins & Nortons Theorems

Thevenins and Nortons theorems are two related theorems that

allow us to represent any circuit by a simple equivalent circuit.

The equivalent circuit is easier to understand than the original circuit

and gives us insight into circuit behavior.

Engineers often use equivalent systems to help them understand the

original system.

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 18 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Thevenins & Nortons Theorems
Any one-port network N may be represented by either of the following types of
equivalent circuits:
Thevenin Equivalent Circuit (TEC) consisting of a voltage source and a
series impedance
Norton Equivalent Circuit (NEC) consisting of a current source and a
parallel impedance
I I I
Network N + RTH + +
independent
sources, V Load VTH +_ V Load IN RN V Load
dependent sources, _ _ _
and resistors

TEC NEC
VTH VOC Thevenin voltage or open-circuit voltage
I N ISC Norton current or short-circuit current
VOC
R TH R N Thevenin or Norton resistance R EQ seen by the load with sources killed
ISC
Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 19 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.
 Illutration of Voc and Isc

+
Network N Load Network N VOC
_

Remove the load and the voltage across the open terminals is VOC
VTH VOC Thevenin voltage or open-circuit voltage

ISC
Network N Load Network N

Replace the load by a short circuit (wire) and the current through the
short is ISC
I N ISC Norton current or short-circuit cu rrent

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 20 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 3 Ways to find the TEC or NEC

1) Reduce the circuit into the form of a TEC or NEC using source transformations
Not possible with dependent sources, though a partial reduction may be useful
Recall that not all sources are transformable
2) Find Voc or I sc . Also find R Th R eq
Seen by theload with independent sources killed

For a simple circuit, this can often be done by combining series & parallel R' s.
If the circuit has dependent sources, R Th can be found by adding an external
voltage or current source (any value) to the output terminals and by finding :
VT Terminal voltage
R Th
I T Terminal current
Voc
3) Find Voc and I sc . Also calculate R Th . This is the most general method
Isc
and is probably the best choice for circuits with dependent sources.

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 21 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Finding Thevenin resistance by adding
external sources
As indicated in Method 2 for finding a TEC or NEC, RTH can also be found as
follows:
terminal voltage
R th
terminal current with independent sources killed and
any value source added to the terminals where R TH is to be measured

Case 1: Add an external voltage source Case 2: Add an external current source
IT

Dead Circuit Dead Circuit +

(independent +
_ 10V = VT (independent VT 2A = IT
_
sources killed) sources killed)

Add any value of voltage Add any value of current

source and solve for IT source and solve for VT

VT terminal voltage
In either case above, calculate R th =
IT terminal current
Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 22 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.
 Example

Find the TEC and the NEC seen by R in the circuit shown below.
Discuss which method to use.

3 2

18 V +
_ R
6

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 23 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Example

Find the TEC seen by R in the circuit shown below. Discuss which
method to use.

30 60
20
100 V _+

60 R

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 24 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Example

Find VL for R = 10, 20, 40, and 80 ohms in the circuit shown below.
Hint: Use the TEC instead of the original circuit.

30 60
20
100 V +
_
+
60 R VL
_

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 25 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Example

Find the TEC seen by R in the circuit shown below.

Discuss which method to use.

2 4
_ V +
X
12 V +
_ 2VX R
12

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 26 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Example

Find the RTH seen by R in the circuit shown below using Method 2
(i.e., add an external source). Compare the results to the value found
previously using Method 3.

2 4
_ V +
X
12 V +
_ 2VX R
12

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 27 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 4. Maximum Power Transfer Theorem

Suppose that a general network N has a resistive load as shown below.

Network N
independent
sources, RL
dependent sources,
and resistors
Now we might consider two questions:
For what value of RL is maximum power delivered to RL?
What is the maximum power that can be delivered to RL?
To answer these questions (see next page),
1) Replace N by a Thevenin Equivalent Circuit
2) Determine a general expression for power to RL
3) Solve dPL 0 to find where PL is maximum
dR L
Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 28 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.
 Maximum Power Transfer Theorem

Show that: R L R th for maximum power Vth2

Pmax
4R th

The relationship between PL and RL can be illustrated by the graph

shown below.
PL
Vth2
4R th

RL
RTH
Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 29 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.
 Example

A) For what value of R in the circuit below is maximum power

delivered to R?
B) Determine the maximum power that could be delivered to R.

300

150 V +_
600 R

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 30 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Homework

Thevenin: (Nilsson, p. 147)

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 31 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Homework

Norton: (Nilsson, p. 147)

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 32 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.

 Homework

Maximum power: (Nilsson, p. 149)

Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis 33 H. H. Kha, Ph.D.