College of Engineering and Applied Sciences,

American University of Kuwait

P. O. Box 3323, Safat, 13034
Kuwait

Electrical Circuits Laboratory

ELEG 220L
(Spring 2024)
Lab#: 2
Lab(s) Title(s): Nodal Analysis
Student Name: Dana Alhabib ID #: 56620
Student Name: Alia Almandeel ID #: 58566
Submission Date: 11/3/2023

Introduction / 10

Experiment Details and Discussion / 40

Questions / 20

Conclusion / 10

Report Quality and Format / 20

Total / 100

Check List:
 Cover Page
 Objectives (bullet points of the specific targets of the lab experiments)
 Introduction (two to three paragraphs about the theory related to the experiments with at
least one figure)
 Experiment Details and Discussion (pictures and/or screenshots of the circuits, discussion
of the steps followed to conduct the experiments, tables and/or graphs, and verification
and discussions of the results).
 Conclusion (one paragraph summarizing the experiment, what you learned, and any faced
difficulties)
 Questions
 References (if any)

Instructor’s Comments:

Amal Alateyah
 1) Objectives
• Introduce the nodal analysis technique.
• Measure the voltage at any node in a circuit using nodal analysis.
• Build a circuit on the assembly board.
• Apply nodal analysis method on a circuit using Multisim.
• Conduct parameter sweeps on Multisim.

2) Introduction
Accurate study and analysis of complex circuits with several loops, elements, power
sources, and nodes needs the use of numerous mathematical equations. This lab introduced
the nodal analysis method, a new approach to solve complex circuits. A mathematical
method for determining the voltage at the nodes of circuits is called nodal analysis. The
node voltages are measured in relation to ground, the reference node. In nodal analysis,
there are two types of nodes, the non-reference node and the reference node which is the
ground as shown in Figure 1 that has a potential voltage equal to 0V.

Figure 1: A ground node.

To solve an electric circuit using nodal analysis, some steps must be followed. First,
select a reference node and label the node voltages. Then, apply nodal equations obtained from
KCL and then Ohm’s law to all non-reference nodes. Finally, find the node voltages using the
nodal equations. Hence, the current and the voltage across any element can be determined[1].

The circuit shown in Figure 2 has 4 nodes including the ground. With the help of the
nodal analysis technique, the voltages V1, V2, and V3 can be measured. Then, Va can be
calculated as Va = V2 – V1 . Other parameters can also be obtained.

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 Figure 2: Nodal analysis circuit example [1].

Two identical circuits will be constructed in this lab using both the assembly board and
Multisim; the only thing that will differ is where the ground is placed. It will prove how altering
the location of the ground, or the reference, influences the nodal voltages but has no effect on
the branch voltages. In addition, the potential difference across various resistors will be
computed using the recorded nodal voltages to demonstrate that these branch voltages are
unaffected by relocating the ground's location. A parameter sweep will be implemented on
Multisim to show how the voltage is decreased at a node when the resistance is increased.

3) Experiment Details and Discussion

Circuits shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4 were given in the lab sheet. Two
experiments were done in the lab, a practical experiment on the assembly board for both
circuits as shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6 and a simulation experiment on Multisim for
both circuits as well as shown in Figure 7 and Figure 8.

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 Figure 3: Circuit (A) for nodal analysis.

Figure 4: Circuit (B) for nodal analysis.

Task 1: Practical Experiments

Experiment 1:
Circuit (A) and circuit (B) are the same, the only difference is the location of the ground.
A 2.2kΩ resistor, two 1kΩ resistors, a 4.7kΩ resistor, a 10kΩ resistor, and a 10kΩ

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potentiometer using 50% of its value were used to construct the circuits. Resistors were
connected using jumpers. After that a 10V was generated to the circuit using the DC Power
Supply. We confirm that the Power Supply's positive and negative terminals are connected as
given in the circuit. Then, the nodal voltages at nodes 1,2,3, and 4 were measured with respect
to the ground’s location.

As shown in Figure 5, by positioning the multimeter's negative terminal to the location

of ground and moving its positive terminal to the required nodes, the voltages in circuit (A)
were measured across different nodes.

Figure 5: Circuit (A) on the assembly board.

As shown in Figure 6, In measuring the nodal voltages of circuit (b), the only thing that
changed was the placement of the negative terminal of the multimeter. The nodal voltages
measurements of both circuits were recorded in Table 1.

Figure 6: Circuit (B) on the assembly board.

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 Table 1: Measured nodal voltages in circuits (A) and (B).

In Table 1, The values of V1 in both circuits were the same but with a different sign,
which is the value of the power supply and that is because in circuit (A) the voltage was
measured at node 0 and in circuit (B) the voltage was measured at node 1 which is on opposite
sides of the power supply.

Other voltages across different resistors were calculated using the measured voltages in
Table 1 and the results were recorded in Table 2.

Table 2: Calculated branch voltages in circuits (A) and (B).

In Table 2, it is clear that although the ground's location is changing, the voltages across
the resistors in circuits (A) and (B) remain the same. In contrast to nodal voltages, which vary
when the location of the ground changes, this shows that the voltages across the resistors are
independent of the ground's location. Additionally, Table 2 demonstrates the significance of
the Nodal Analysis method since it allowed us to calculate the voltages across the resistors
depending solely on the Nodal Voltages.

Task 2: Simulation Experiments

Experiment 1:
Multisim was used to build the circuits shown in Figure 7 and Figure 8. Then, the
nodal voltages were measured with respect to the grounds’, the reference nodes’, location in
both circuits.

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 Figure 7: Simulation of circuit (A) on Multisim.

Figure 8: Simulation of circuit (B) on Multisim.

Parameter sweep was applied to R6 using Multisim to observe how the node voltages
change as R6 goes from 0% to 100%, or from 0 to 10kΩ as shown in Figure 9.

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 Figure 9: Parameter sweep for R6 with outputs of V2, V3, and V4 on Multisim.

The parameter sweep makes it evident that, when R6 is increased, the voltage on nodes
2, 3, and 4 will decrease while node 1 remains stable.

4) Conclusion
In conclusion, this lab was useful and helped us understand the concept of nodal
analysis technique which helps in solving complex circuits. We also learned the steps of
solving a circuit using nodal analysis and what are the two types of nodes, which are non-
reference and reference node. We implemented two circuits on both the assembly board
and Multisim to determine the voltages at any node. Furthermore, We discovered that as
the grounds’ location changes, the nodal voltages change. Conversely, the potential
differences among the circuit elements remain the same when the ground's position
changes. The parameter sweep also showed us how lowering the voltage at the nodes can
be achieved by raising the resistance.

5) Questions
1. In the first table of task 1, are the values of V2, V3, and V4 in Circuit (a) different from
(b)? Why?
Yes, they are different because the ground node is placed in different places.
2. In the second table of task 1, are the branch voltages V R6, VR1, VR2, and VR3 for Circuit
(a) different from (b)? Why?

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No, they are the same because the resistors’ positions are fixed and changing the position.
of the ground which is the reference node does not change the voltages values across each
resistor.
3. In task 2, use Multisim simulation to obtain V 2, V3, and V4, when R3 is shorted (short
circuit).

Figure 10: Measured nodal voltages when R3 is shorted.

4. In task 2, use Multisim simulation to obtain V2, V3, and V4, when R3 is removed
(open circuit).

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 Figure 11: Measured nodal voltages when R3 is removed.

6) References
[1] https://byjus.com/physics/nodal-analysis/

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