Electric Circuits Session: 2019

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

Electric Circuits
ODL Lab Manual 2

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UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY, LAHORE

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Electric Circuits Session: 2019

Lab Title
To verify Thevenin’s theorem and Maximum power Transfer theorem for
DC circuits
Objective:
In this experiment we will be able to achieve following advantages
1. Connect circuits in the simulator
2. Plot traces for circuit parameters like voltage, current and power
3. Verify by comparing with theoretically calculated values

Theoretical Background
PART A: Verification of Thevenin’s Theorem

Thevenin's Theorem is used to simplify the analysis of complex network into a standard equivalent network.
Suppose that a complex network consists of number of sources and resistors connected in any manner, then
according to this theorem,

“Any network can be replaced by a single source Vth in series with a single resistance Rth.”

Vth or Voc is the open-circuit voltage across the terminals A and B i.e. find the voltage that the network
produces across the two terminals with an open-circuit between A and B. This voltage is called the
Thevenin Equivalent Voltage. Rth is the open-circuit resistance across the terminals A and B but with all the
sources killed in the network. This resistance is called the Thevenin Equivalent Resistance. For Rth, voltage
sources are replaced by short circuit and current sources are replaced by open circuit.

The output of the Thevenin and actual circuits is the same. This condition is called the “Terminal
Equivalency” from the viewpoint of the Two Output Terminals. Although Thevenin Equivalent circuit is
not the same as its original network, it acts as same in terms of the output voltage and current.

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Electric Circuits Session: 2019

Circuits to be patched on breadboard:

Lab Tasks:

For the circuit as shown in figure above use Thevenin’s theorem to calculate the values of Vth and
Rth

R2
V th = V
R 1 + R2
R 2 R1
Rth =R3 +
R 2 + R1

Patch the circuit in simulator. Measure the open circuit voltage and record this as Vth

Calculate the voltage across and current through a load (Use 3k as a load) that is to be placed
across the terminals A and B. Perform the calculations for both the actual circuit and its Thevenin
equivalent. The result should be identical

RL
V l= V
R L + Rth th

VL
I L=
RL

Connect the load resistance to the terminal A and B of the simulated circuit and measure the load
voltage and resulting load current and record them.

Patch the Thevenin’s circuit on the simulator (Don’t disconnect the original circuit). Now
connect a load resistance to the terminals A and B of this circuit. Measure the resulting load current
and voltage, and record them. They should agree closely with those in the adjacent columns.

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Electric Circuits Session: 2019

Observations & Calculations:

Thevenin Parameters
Calculated Simulated
Vth Vth

Loaded Circuit Parameters

Simulated
Calculated Thevenin
Actual circuit
(Node or Mesh Analysis) Equivalent circuit
IL IL IL
VL VL VL

PART B: Verification of Maximum Power Transfer Theorem

According to the maximum power transfer theorem:

“Maximum power will be delivered from a source to a load when the load resistance is equal to
the resistance of the network as viewed from the output terminals”.
i.e.
Total resistance of the network = Load Resistance

Power transfer efficiency is the ratio of power supplied to the load and the total power supplied by
the voltage source. To calculate power efficiency under max power transfer,

PL
%Effecinecy= ∗100 %
Ps

I L RL
%Effecinecy= ∗100 %
I L RT

RL
%Effecinecy= ∗100 %
Rs+ RL

If RL >> RS, RS  0, % Efficiency  100%

If RL << RS, RL  0, % Efficiency  0
If RL = RS, % Efficiency = 50%

This result is quite expected because the efficiency at maximum power transfer is 50% as one-half
of the total power generated is dissipated in the total resistance of the network. Since efficiency is
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Electric Circuits Session: 2019

low so this theorem is not used in high power circuits. It is normally used in low power circuits like
electronics.

Circuit to be patched in Simulator:

RS
3k

+ Vs RL
10V

Lab Tasks:

Given VS=10V & RS=3k. Find load voltage (V) and load current (I). Calculate Power dissipated (P)
for each value of the resistance given in the table.

In the simulator, setup the source voltage VS=10V and RS=3k. For each value of (R) measure and
record the load voltage (VL), load current (IL) and load power (PL). Complete the table with the
simulated data.

Plot a graph of load power (PL) versus load resistance (RL) from the simulated data.

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Electric Circuits Session: 2019

Observations & Calculations:

No.
of Calculated parameters Simulated parameters
obs.

RL VL IL (mA) PL RL VL IL PL
(kohms (volts) (mW) (kohms) (volts) (mA) (mW)
)
1. 1
2. 1.5
3. 2
4. 2.7
5. 3
6. 3.3
7. 4.3
8. 5.6
9. 7.5
10. 10

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