11I
FIGURING IT OUT
PART 1 -INTRODUCING
Here is a new series to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voItage, waveforms, and other aspects of the behaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a collection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We wiU explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, ren der some insights into the mathematics involved.
A network consists of two or
1"'"l.more impedances joined to-
gether by conductors so as to
perform a particular function. In
the network of Fig. 1 the impe-
dan ces comprise three resistcrs,
a capacitor, and an inductor.joined
in one ofthe many configurations
possible with this particular aa-
sortment of components. 'I'his
network happene to be a COID-
plete circuit so it also includes
a source of electromotive force
(emf, E). But this is not an es-
sential component of a network.
The emf may be derived from
another connected network.
Figure 1 iUustrates the more
irnportant terms we use for de-
scribing networks:
Elements:the resistors, capac-
itcrs and other itemsjoined into
the network.
Node (orjunction): a point where
two 01' more elements arejoined.
Branch: a connection between
one node and another, usually
containing one or more elements.
Loop: a closed path through
the network. In Fig. I, the dashed
lines indicate one of the many
Ioops in this network.
Mesh: a loopwhich does not have
any branches linking different
parts of it. In Fig. I, the dotted
lines in dicate all 4 meshesofthis
network.
Network analysis
The aim of analysing a rietwerk
is to predict the potential dif-
ferenees (pd) that develop be-
tweenits nodes and the currents
that flow in its branches under
the influenee of internal or ex-
ternal emfs. Unless it is stated
NETWORKS
By Owen Bishop
to the contrary, we assume that
element branch the conductors themselves have
negligible resistance. A conse-
quence of this is that the poten-
tial at one end ef a eonductor 1S
exactly equal to the potential at
its other end. We also assurne
that there are noincidentalsources
of ernf such as might occur by
"
r : electromagnetic induction from
:: -----'-il:~element
t:t..::.: :..:.:.•..:.''':' :..:..:.•..:.:..::.: :...:':" :.:.!.' '.:..:.: :.::..:.:..:. :.: :::.::.:. •..:. :':':".:.:J::
adjacent networks or from ther-
moelectrie effects at thejunctions
of dissimilar conductors. Ir any
mesh
such effects are thought to oeeur,
loop
they must be represented on the
---....-- node
network diagram as eurrent or
930010·1·11
voltage sources ofspeeified mag-
nitude.
We begin the study of ana-
Fig. 1. Terms used 10 describe a nelwork. lytieal techniques by confining
our attention to resistive im-
pedanee. Resistors are the most
usual origin of this; they are de-
liberately included in the net-
workbecause they have this prop-
a erty. Resistance may also be ex-
erted byotherdevicessuch as in-
ductors, diodes and cells.
930010·'·12
The more important equa-
tions relevant to reeistance are
i1lustrated in Fig. 2.
The definition of the ohm:
b R1
U/I=R, [Eq. 1]
930010·1·13
where U is the potential differ-
ence (in volts, V). I is the cur-
rent(in amperes, A),andR is the
resistance (in ohms, Q).
c Note that the arrow repre-
senting the potential difference
(pd) across the resistance is di-
rected towards the left. 'I'his in-
dicates that the leftend ofthe re-
sistance is at a higher potential
(more positive) than the right
end. Note, too, that the current
930010·1·14
1S shown flowing from the end
at higher potential to the end
at lower potential. In almost an
Fig. 2. lIIuslraling Ihe resislance equations. instances in this series eurrent
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JANUARY 1993
 FIGURING IT OUT - PART I

is taken to be conventional CUl'- Mesh-star

rent, from positive to negative, transformation
not electron flow from negative
to positive.

...
AJ}C ce...
"cO A)RAB c
In some networks it is useful to
be able to replace one configu-
Resistances in series:
., !Dia" (") ration of resistors with another
configuration thathas the same
[Eq.2] Bo-«........
------' B B resistive properties. A commonly
D D used tactic is torepIace the mesh
93001~1-15
Resistances in parallel: connection by the equivalent star
connection in Fig. 5. Both net-
lfR=lfR1+ lfRi+ lfR3+" .[Eq. 3] works have three terminals and
For two resistances in parallel Fig. 3. Network reduction. we have to replace Fig. 5a with
Eq. 3 simplifies to Fig. 5b while retaining the same
resistances between each pair
[Eq.4] ofterminals.
First of all consider the sim-
plest ca se where a11 three re-
Network reduction A
sistorsofFig. 5ahaveequal value,
If several resistances in a net- RM. and are to be replaced by

work can be represented by a
single rcsistance. the equ iva-
lent resistance, subsequent
calculations are made much sim-
pler. Reducing the complexity
ofa network by substitutingequiv-
alent resistances wherever pos-
sible is an important technique
in network analysis.
As an example, take the net-
work ofFig. 3a. The aim is to find
a single resistor which, connected
between terminals A and B, has
a resistance equivalent to that of
the three resistors shown. The
problem is solved in stages. The
first stage is to replace the 4 Q
and 2 Q resistors by a single
• •
three resistors of equal value
~
C
~
~
R
AB RS. Using the same equations
as in the previous paragraph, we
C find the equivalent resistance be-
0
~ "oE tween any pair of'terminals, say,
between A and B. Redrawing
B B B the mesh diagram. while keep-
E E
ingthe connections the same, we
93001~1-16
can see in Fig. 6 that there are
two resistors of value RM in se-
ries. Theirequivalentresistance
Fig. 4. Network reduction - another example. 1S 2RM. This pair 1S in parallel
with a single resistor and equa-
tion 4 gives:
MESH STAR
Ao-----., AO-----,

..
equivalent reaistor, ReD. Equa-
tion 2 gives In the star configuration, the
resistor connected to terminal
RCD=4+2=6 n. C may be ignored when we are
considering the resistance be-
The equivalent network in tween A and B. There are just
Fig. 3b at this stage has two 6 n two resistors in series between
B 0-----"'---,1
resistors in parallel. Equation 4 Aand B:
gives
CO-------------~ CO-------------~ [Eq. 6]
93001~1-17

If Fig. 5b is to be a replace-
Figure 3c shows the final re- Fig. 5. Mesh-star transformation with equal resistances. ment for Fig. 5a, the value of
sult: the equivalent resistance is
3n. For a range of p.d.s. applied
across A and B, tbe correspond-
ing currents flowing from A to
Bare unaffected by whether the
AO---, AO----_,
network conaists of the three AO-----,
original resistors or is replaced
by a single 3 Q resistor.
Another example is shown in
Fig. 4a. RDEis the equivalent of
10 n and 30 n in parallel (Eq. 4):

RDE=lOx30/(10+30)=7.5 n. B 0---4----f:=}----4 B~-"-

This gives Fig. 4b. The equiv- C 0----- __ ----' co----------'

alent resistance of this is 20 Q, Bo---~
Süfz and 7.5 nin series; by Eq. 2: cO-------' 93001~1-19

93001ß.1-18

Fig. 6. Redrawn version of Fig. 5a. Fig. 7. Mesh-star transformation with unequal resistances.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JANUARY 1993

 GENERAL INTEREST

RAB must be the same in both.

Combining equations 5 and 6:

Ao-~t----, Ao-------, AO----,

Since tbe networks ar-e sym-

metrical, the same result is ob-
tained when we take pairs of
terminale A and C or Band C.
Summing up, if the three re-
sistors are reduced to Olle third
their original value, the mesh
of Fig. 5a may be replaeed by
the star of Fig. 5b. Conversely,
a star network can be replaced B 0--...>----' Bo-----...J Bo-----'
bya mesh network in which the 930010-1·20
resistors have three times their
original value.
If the networks consist of re- Fig. 8. Using the mesh-star transformation.
sistors of unequal value, the
calculations becomerather more
involved, though the principle
of using equations 2 and 4 re-
mains the same. It 18 left to the C C
reader to show that, in Fig. 7: A A

The rille for RA is to multiply

together the two resistances eon-
nected to terminal A,then divide
by the surn of all three resis- Bo-~---+-----' Bo----...J BO------'
tances; RB and Re are calculated 930010-1-21
in a similar way.
The reverse transformation,
from starto mesh, uses equations Fig. 9. Another example of the mesh-star transformation.
ofthe form:

Note that the mesh network is u,

sometimes referred to as the delta, +-
or 6, network, and the star net-
work as the wye, er Y, network.
When we are given a network
to analyse, the calculaticns may
often be shortened by substitut-
inga star network for a mesh net-
work, or the other way about.
In this example, we use the 930010-1-22 930010-1-23
mesh-star transformation to ana-
lyse Fig. 8a. The three 12 n re-
sistors are not dt-awn in a tri- Fig. 10. Kirchhoff's Current Law. Fig. 11. Kirchhoff's Voltage Law.
angle, but it is easy to see that
this is really a mesh network
with three equal resistances. In
Fig. 8b this is replaeed bythe cor-
responding star network with re-
sistors of one third the value.
A
Replacing the resistors that are
in series, the network reduces
to Fig. 8e. The 12 n and 8 n re-
sistances are equivalent to
J I u,
12x8/(12+8)=3.6 n,
u
RJ
which, in series with 4.Q, gives
7.6 Q as the equivalent resis-
I u,
BO-4-'---'
tance for the wh ole network. 930010·1-24 930010-1-25
We consider the network of
Fig. 9a as a star network ofthree
6 .Qresistors in parallel with a Fig. 12. Current division. Fig. 13. Potential division.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JANUARY 1993

 FIGURING IT OUT - PART 1

mesh network of three 9 Q re- node D: 12+13+/4-[=0; node p1ication. 01' more resistanees in series have
sistors. Replaee the mesh with E: [1-[,[4=0. a pd aeross them, the surn ofthe
a star of 3 Q (cne third of 9 Q) pds across them equals the total
Current division
resistors as in Fig. 9b. This re- If the val ues of same of these pd across the whole ehain-see
duces to a star of2 Q resistors- eurrents are known, it 1S possi- It follows frorn KCL that, when Fig. 13. The same currentI flows
see Ftg. 9c. In calculating the ble to caleulate same ofthe others. a current arrives ata pointwhere through each resistance (KCL).
resistancefromA toB, weean ig- Kirchhoff's voltage law, two 01' more resistancs are con- Given a chain of two resistors:
nore the arm of the star leading 01' KVL, states that the sum of nected in parallel-see Fig. 12-
to C, so the equivalent resis- the branch voltages around a it divides into two or more cur-
tance of the whole network is loopis zero (1:U=O). In any branch rents. The total currentremains
4Q. of a network, there is a poten- unchanged. For the two resistors,
Both of the examples given tial difference (pd) across the Eq. 1 gives:
are based on networks with re- element. This may be the direct That is, the pds are directly
sistors of equal values, but the result of the element being a [Eq. 7] proportional to the resistanees.
same principle applies ifresistors souree of emf, or may be pro- For example, if U=lO V, RI=2 Q
are unequal. ducedwhena current flowsthrough and and R2=3 Q,
a resistive element. The arrows
in Fig. 11 indicate the polarity [Eq. 8]
Kirchhoff's laws
of each pd, pointing from low to
These two la ws have many ap- high potential. Ifwe travel round Equatingthe right -hand sides [Eq. 12]
plications in network analysis. a loop in one partieular direc- ofEq. 7 and Eq. 8 gives:
Kirchhoff's current law, tion (conventionally, clockwise), ByKVL,
known for short as KCL, states these pds may be taken as rises
that the sum ofthe branch cur- or falls of potential. By KVL, [Eq. 13]
rentsata nodeis zero (I1=0). Put the total of the rises minus the [Eq.9]
another way, it states that the total of the falls is zero for any From Eq. 12 and Eq. 13 we
total current flowinginto anode loop in the network. That is,thecurrents are inversely find that U1=4 V and U2=6 V.
equals the total current flowing Travelling areund the loop proportional to the resistances. Potential dividing networks of
out of it. If currents are vary- ABDE in Fig. 11 in the same di- As an example, suppose that this kind are in frequent use in
ing, KCL applies for every instant rection as the eurrent, there are [=6 A, R1=4 Q and Rj=8 Q. Then, circuits. •
oftime. three fallsofpotential: UJ, U2and by Eq. 9:
In Fig. 10, the currents are U3' As we pass through the volt-
given arbitrary directians; a cur- age source in the same direc- Nh=8/4=2,
rent that .is actually flowing in tion as the current, there is a rise
theopposite direction to its alTOW in potential, E. By KVL, frorn A [Eq. 10]
is regarded asa negative current. back to A:
The current flowing out of the But we are given that 1=6 A, so,
network must be equal to that byKCL:
flowing into it, so we show cur-
rent 1flowing in at A and out at By KVL, fro rn B back to B: [Eq.11]
B.
For the nodes in this figure, From Eq. 10 and Eq. 11, we find
KCL gives the following equali- thatIl=4 A and h=2 A.
ties: We shall cite KCL and KVL Next month: more applications
frequently in future diseussions Potential division ofKCL and KVL, and two pow-
of circuit behaviour. Below are erful theorems which aidnetwork
two simple examples oftheir ap- It follows from KVL that, iftwo analysis.

Testyourself
1. Find theequivalentreeistance
of each ofthe five networks of
Fig. 14.
2. Analyse Fig. 9abyconsidering
it as two mesh networks in
parallel, and show that the
result is the same as obtained
previously.
3. In Fig. 14e, given that [=2 A, Answers will be given in next
calculate 11 and 12' Then cal- month's instalment.
culate the pds aeross AB and
each of the resistors.

]J
A Ao-+---f

6 30 60-.+--I
930010-1-26 930010-1-30
6
A 6 A 6
93001~1-27 9300 10-1-28 930010-1-29

a b c d e
Fig. 14. Ne1we,ks tor TEST YOURSELF.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JANUARY 1993

 FIGURING IT OUT
PART 2 - CAPACITOR MATHS
This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voItage, waveforms, and other aspects of the behaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a collection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.
Correction
At the end of last month's in-
sta1mentit was stated erroneously
that this month's issue would con-
tain more app1ications of KCL
and KVL; these will be discussed,
however, in our March issue,
he fundamental relationship
T for capacitors is theequation
that defines the unit of capaci-
tance, C, which 1Sthe farad:
C=Q/U.
The capacitance in farad is the
electric charge, Q, expressed in
coulombs per volt potential dif-
ference, U, between the plates
of the capacitor. From this, we
obtain the equation for the charge
on a capacitor:
Q=Cu. [Eq. 14J
If a capacitor begins by being
uncharged, and a constant cur-
rent I passes to Olle plate for a
time L, the amount of charge on
the capa citor at the end of that
period is
o-u. [Eq. 15J
This equation defines the coulomb.
Combining Eq. 14 and Eq. 15
gives:
U=It/C. [Eq. 16J
Given the capacitance, the
constant cut-reut and the length
of time for which the current
has flowed, we can ca.lculate the
potential difference between the
plates. For example, if a current
of 2 A flows for 0.5 s into a ca-
pacitance of 0.01 F(arad), the
pd between its plates 1S:
U=2xO.5/001=100 (V).
By Owen Bishop
This area is the product of the
Answers to Test Yourself - Part 1 height(current) and width (time)
ofthe line. Theamountofcharge
a 1.875 Q; b 8.2 Q; c 3 Q; d 4 Q on the capacitor at any given
instant equals the area beneath
3 1[=1.5 A; 11=0.5 A; 11 V across AB; 0.5 V across 1 Q; the line.
3 V across 2 Q; 8 V across 4 Q; 2.5 V across 5 Q There is no difficulty in per-
forming such calculations when
the current IS constant. There
is certainly no need to draw a
1/ A graph. Complications arise, how-
ever, when the current is not
1=2 constant. Suppose that the cur-
2
rent is zero to begin with, but
increases stea+ily at a rate given
by the equation:
1=0.5
l=at,
where a 1S a constant express-
ing the rate of increase of current
o 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 1/5 in amperes per second, A 8-1.
9300 10-2-11 Figure 16 shows the situation
whenceü.a As+. Thegraph shows
Fig. 15. Capaeitor being eharged bya eonstant eurrent. thatI attainsa valueof1.2 Aafter
aperiod of 3 s. Calculating the
charge on the capacitor after 3 s
ia simply a matter of evaluat-
ing the area beneath the graph.
1/ A
We use the formula
1.2
1.0
0.8 to obtain the ans wer which is
1.8C(oulomb).Ifthecapacitance
0.' is 0.01 F as before, the pd between
t= 3 the plates is 1.8/0.01=180 V.
0.' In the calculation just com-
pleted, we were able to make
0.2 use of elementary geometry to
calculate the area and hence the
charge and pd. This method is
0 2 3 tl s
not practicable if the current is
930010-2·12
varying in some more compli-
cated way. Suppose the current
Fig. 16. Capaeitor being eharged bya ramping eurrent. is varying in an entirely ran-
dom manner as in Fig. 17. The
area has an irr egular upper
In Eq. 16, the term It is the the current I in A at each in- boundary and there is 00 sim-
product of the current and the stant oftime t in s(econds), this ple geometrical way of calculat-
length of time the current has product is represented by the ing it exactly. The best we can
flowed. In Fig. 15, which plots shaded area beneath the graph. do is to record the current at
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS FEBRUARY 1993

very short intervals oftime, short
enough for the current not to
varysignificantly duringeach in-
terval. This may be done by sam ~
pl ing the current at intervals
of say, 0.1 s with the aid of a
microcomputer. The result is a
series ofnarrow strips as in Fig. 18.
We calculate the area of each
strip and sum the areas to obtain
the total charge. This method has
an inherent error in that the
upper boundary of each strip 1S
horizontal, whereas with a con-
tinuously varying current it is
sloping. The area beneath the
curve is notquite the same as the
total area ofthe strips. The error
is reduced if we make the time
interval smaller. Ifwe could make
the strips infinitely narrow, the
error would disappear.
Mathematical solution
The technique of sampling the
current at very short time in-
tervals has practicallimitations,
but fortunately the integral cal-
culus comes to our aid. The term
integration means 'putting to-
getherto make a whole', and the
technique allows us to calculate
directly the area beneath any
curve thatcan be mathematically
defined. Itcannot,ofcourse, help
with irregular curves such as in
Fig. 17. but any curve that can
be written as a fu nct.ion is
arnenable to such treatment.
When we refer to 'a function'
in this context, we mean that
the way in which the current
varies wi th time can be expressed
in an equation. We have already
met two such functions. In Fig. 15
the function is
1=2.
Here I is a constant; its value is
independent oftime and the vari-
able t does not enter intc the
equation.
In Fig. 16, the function is
I=O.4t.
As already stated, we can solve
problems involving such ele-
mentary functions by drawing
(or imagining) the graph and
using simple geometry. But more
complex functions such as
and
1=2sin( 4+3t)
require the integration technique.
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS FEBRUARY 1993
FIGURING IT OUT· PART 2
Integration
11.
There is no space here to consider
the theoretical basis of integra-
1= ? tion. Instead, we shall statesome
ofthe more important results and
show how to use them in solv-
ing practical problems. The most
useful ofthe results are referred
to as the standard integrals.
0.5 A few ofthese are listed in Table l.
area=Q=?
Rather than expressing them in
.. t= 1 terms ofvariables x andy, as is
usual in maths texts, we have ex-
pressed them in terms of land
t so that they may be directly
applied to problems involvingca-
pacitors.
o 0.5 11. Before we go on to use the
9300tG-2·13 technique, there is the matter
of the symbols that we use. The
Fig. 17. Charging a capacitor with an irregular currenl. idea of integration is that we
are summing the areas of an in-
finitely large number ofnarrow
stri ps of infinitely small width.
The integral expression refers to
11.
this in symbolic form
1= 7 charge Q=area under curvee
The f,or'longs', is shortfor'sum-
0.5 area = Q = matlon'. Following this comes a
0.63 x 0.05 + 0.72 x 0.05 description of what we are to
+ 0.78 x 0.05 + ... ... 1= 1 sum: the productofI (the length
= J11dl ofthe strip) and dt (the width of
o the strip. The'd'is nota variable:
it means 'infinitely small incre-
ment', so the term 'de' means 'an
o 0.5 infinitelysmall incrementoftime'.
11,
The tl and t2 indicate the period
930011).2·14
of time over which summation
is to be done: the period start-
Fig_ 18. Finding the charge by integration. ing at tl and ending at t2. When
solving a problem, we replace I
in the expression above by the
function of t which defines how
Standard integrals I varies in time.
(a and bare constants) Wewill useintegration tosolve
Function of 1 f 1 dt
the problem of Fig. 16 in which
the function is I=O.4t:
tn+1 Q=area under the curve»
tn (n"-l)
n+l
)0.41 dt.
Int (n=-1)
According to the rules of in-
tegration, a constant coefficient
of t can be brought in front of
the integral sign. This makes
sense because any multiplier k
simply makes the strips k times
-1 longerand thearea k times greater.
sin(at+ b) -cos(at+b)
a Note that we have not included
tl and t2 at this stage, as we shall
first obtain an expression that
cos(at+ b) ~sin(at+ b) applies toany length oftime. The
integral to be evaluated now is
Table 1. Some standard integrals expressed in
terms 01 land t.
BI GENERAL INTEREST

t2both have c added to them. The

Now look at Table 1. The entry
which helps with this example 1I A
ist'l, where n=L. Since n-el ez, the 2 I,
integralis
of----r--~--=----,~------~
Substitutingthis in the equation
-,
-2
This expression tells us the amount
of charge at any given Instant, ale
t. This 18the indefinite Inte-
gral In the original problem we
wanted to know howrnuch charge
accumulated during the given
period, defined as 11=0to 12=3.
We fmd this by ca1culating the
definite integral as fol1ows
constants disappear when one
is subtracted from the other.
,. t e z srn St Putting it in terms of charge,
the amount of charge accumu-
lating during a given period 1S
not affected by whatever charge
happened to be on the capacitor
1
r
1
already.
Ifthe current functionis more
1
~ complex than those in Table 1,
900
phase lag I
,
special integrating techniques
are required, which will be found
,.. a = 2/3 (-cos 31 + cos 0) in advanced maths texts. How-
ever, the table covers most of
the situations commonly met in
electroniccircuits.ln particular,
the sine function is characteris-
charge I charge
increa.slng decreasing
tic of audio signals and is, there-
1
fore, a feature of many types of
1
circuit, including amplifiers, os-

Q=O.4 f: t d r =0.4(t2/2)3
Here we have written the be-
ginning and end of the time pe-
riod beside the integral sign.
The resultofintegratioD is writ-
ten in brackets with the begin-
ning and end times written after
the last bracket. The amount
accurnulating during the period
tl to t2 is the amount present at
t2 minus the amount present at
tlo so we ean say:
o
930010-2·15
cil1atars and filters, Wedeal with
this in the next section.
Fig. 19. At the top a sinusoidal eharging current Sinusoidal currents
and below the resulting charge on a capacitor.
It often happens that a capaci-
tor is being charged by a cur-
rent that is varied according to
a sine function. For example:
R
I=2sin3t.

Q=0.4(t2/2)30=0.4[32/2H02/2)]
u, =2RS'"3,!n = 010
u
o

930010-2-16
How much charge accumu-
lates during 0.1 s? Integrating
accordingto the formula in Table L

1
=0.4[9/2~0]=0.4x4.5=1.8 C.
Fig, 20. Resistor-capacitor network,
Q= Jr0 2sin3t dz
O
This 18the same result as we
obtained more simply by geom- =2[ ~C~s3tr
etry but serves to demonstrate where c is the initial charge, if Q=j(2t+1) de-c.
thattheintegration methodgives any. In maths, c is referred to
Weintegrate each term ofthe =2{[ ~CO;03J~[ ~c;SOJ}
the correct result. Before we use as the constant ofintegration.
integration to solve problems In the example, c=ü, for this was expression individually,usingthe
more worthy of its capabilities, stated when the problem was standard integrals: = 2U -O.3181~ [-O.333]}
there is one point to be consid- set out. Being negative iroplies =0.03C
ered. that the initial charge is of op- Q=2jl dl+jI dr- c
posite polarity and that the cur-
=2(t2/2)+I+c. When evaluatingthe integrals
rent flowing into the capacitor
Initial charge will be acting to neutralize it oftrigonometric functions, we al-
Note that when integrating ways work in radi ans, not de-
The integral tells us how much and possibly recharge 'it in the
the constant '1' we consider it grees, since the standard inte-
charge has accumulated on the opposite direct.ion.
>

Unless some statement is to be !tO,so that we take n to be grals are derived on that basis.
capacitor. But there is nothingin Given the samecharging cur-
made about the initial charge, zero. The question states that
the equation to take account of rent, what is the charge that ac-
Q=10 wben 1=2. Substituting
any charge that might exist on or we are told the total charge at cumulates in 1 s? Substituting
the capacitor before the CUITent a given instant in time, we can- these values:
12=1:
began toflow. Ifthecapacitor had not take account ofinitial charge
acharge of 2C on its plates at in the calcu1ation-weonly know 1O=(2x4)12+2+c=6+c,
Q=2{[--cos3/3]~[-O.333]}
11=0,this wouldnotaffecttherate the amount that accumulates dur-
c=4. =210.330+0.333}
at which charge accumulates ing the given period. Often, tbe
=1.326 C.
subsequently. At t,=3, the total initial charge is known to be zero,
so it may be ignored. In other The initial charge, or constant
charge would be 2~1.8=3.8 C. N ow find the charge after
cases, additional information is ofintegration, is 4. Now we can
When calculating the indef- 2.094 s:
evaluate the charge after 5 s:
inite integral, we should allow given, as in this example.
for any possible charge by in- Current is flowing inta a ca-
Q=2{[ --cos6.282/3]-[ ~O.333]
cluding it in the equation. In the pacitor ata rategiven by 1=2t+l. =2{[~0.333]-[-O.333]}
example abovc,the modifiedequa- The charge on the capacitor at
time 2 s is 10 C. What is the The constant of integration =0 C.
tion is:
charge at time 5 s? The total is ignored when we are calcu-
lating definite integrals, as the Wh at has happened to the
charge is given by:
integrals at time tl and at time charge? Figure 19 showe that the

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS FEBRUARY 1993

 FIGURING IT OUT - PART 2

time t2=2.094 s is the point at In the network ofFig. 20, the equations above, developed by charge accumulates on the
which 31 equals 21<.This is the eherging current is provided by integration, show why a phase capacitor? Wh at is the po-
end of one complete cycle of the a sinusoidal voltage U, passing difference exists between input tential difference across it?
sinusoidal waveform. During the through a resistor: and output signals of such a fil- 2. A capacitor is charged by a
first half of this period (up to ter. In a later issue we shalllook current specified by the func-
1.047 s, which is elose to the sec- U;=IR=2Rsin3t. at the inverse situation in the tion 1=0.5+3t2• What charge
ond example above), the current high-pass filter and examine the accumulates on the capaci-
1S charging the capacitor. During This is the input voltage of the inverse mathematical routines tor during the penod 0.8 s to
the second half-cycle, the current network. The output voltage is of differentiation. • 1.0 s?
is reversed, removing a11 the ac- that developed across the plates 3. A currentI=-8sin4t is applied
cumulated charge. of the capacitor: to a capacitor which already
Figure 19 also shows that, has acharge of 2.45 C. At
since the function forthe current U.=Q I C=(-2cos3t)/3C. Test yourself what timeis the charge on the
is a eine function, and the func- 1. A 0.05 F discharged capacitor capacitor firstreduced to zero?
tion for the charge is a negative The input and output vol t- is charged by a constant cur-
cosine function, the curves are age are 90° out of phase, with rent of 1.5 A for 0.4 s. The
outofphase by 90° with the aine U, leading This network is u; current ia then reduced by Answers will be given in next
curve leading. that of a lew-pass filter and the 1 A s-l until it ia zero. What month's instalrnent.

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ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS FEBRUARY 1993

 FIGURING IT OUT
PART 3 - SIMPLlFYING NETWORK ANALYSIS
By Owen Bishop

This se ries is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voltage, waveforms, and other aspects of the behaviour of circuits.
Our ahn is to provide more than just a collection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.

T o begin with, we look at a

routine based on the super-
position law. This law applies
Answers to Test Yourself - Part 2
across the 3 Q resistor caused
by the voltage source is

only to circuits composed of Te- 1. 1.725 C; 34.5 V U'=3/(3+2)x12=7.2 V.

sistances and powered by ideal
current sources and ideal volt-
age sourees. There are many cir-
cuits thatcan be considered to be
ofthis type, provided that the en-
ergy SOUIces da not depart too far
from the ideal behaviour, so this
law is useful over a wide range
of problems.
Superposition lew
Briefly, the law states that, if
there are a number of current
and voltage sources in a circuit,
The polarity of this pd is indi-
cated by the arrow in Fig. 21b.
CurrentJ' through the resistors
caused by the the voltage source
T is
3. Q= 1-8Sin4t dt=(2coS4tlÖ = -2.45 C,
1'=12/(3+2)=2.4 A.
where T is the time in which the charge .isreduced by There is also a currentI" caused
2.45 C to becornezero. 4T = C08-1-O.225, and T =0.45 s. by the current source but, for
the moment, we are ignoring
this.
Step 2. Restore the current
source but remove the voltage

--
each of these contr-ibutes inde- source, replacing it with a short
pendently to the currents flow- a '0 circuit(Fig. 21c). Now thecircuit
ing 01' to the voltages developed.
The action of each source is su-
perposed on that of the other
sources. As a result of this law
t
Us=12V

we can simplify the analysis of
the circuit by assuming that one
or more of the sources has been
put out of action or eliminated.
This leaves us free to consider
the effects of the remaining ac-
tive sources, usually Olle at a
time.
Acircuitmay haveone or more
sources, which may be voltage
sources, currentsources, 01' both.
Acurrentsource 1Seliminated by
re-connecting it (in the imagi-
nation) so that no current can
flow from it. We simply break the
circuit at that point and replace
the curren t source wi th an open
circuit. By contrast, a voltage
source is put out of action by
connecting a wire across its ter-
minals, so that no potential dif-
ference can develop. We replace
it with a short circuit.
Consider the example in lern is tocaJculatethevoltageand
Fig. 21a. Thecircuithasonevolt-
age source, Ug=12 V, and one figure.
current source, Is=5 A. The prob-
+
U consists of two resistors in par-
allel across the current SOUTce.
Voltage U" across these caused
by the current source is
U"=-2x3/(2+3)x5=-6 V.
The negative sign indicates that
b Us=12V the voltage is opposed to U' de-
t OPEN
CIRCUIT
veloped by the voltage source.
Current J" is calculated from the
current division rule:
I"=(3/5)x5=3 A.
c The current flows in the same di-
rection as r, so both have a pos-
SHORT itive sign,
CIRCUIT Step 3. Superpose (sum) the
voltages and currents, taking
account of sign:
930010 -11I-11
U=u +U" =7.2+(-6)=1.2 V;
Fig. 21. lIIustrating the superposition technique. [=1'+1"=2.4+3=5.4 A.
Another example appears in
source wi th an open circuit Fig. 22a, where there are two CUT-
current shown as U and I in the (Fig. 21b). The circuit now con- rent sourees.
sists oftwo resistors in series witb Step 1. Eliminating source
Step 1. Replace the current the voltage source. The pd, U', Lgives the circuitofFig. 22b. This

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS MARCH [993


has two 1 Q. reaistors inseries,
shunted by a 2 Q. reeistor. This
1S equivalent to 2 .0. in paral1el
with 2 .0., so current I~divides
equally so that 1'=3 A.
Step 2. Eliminate source 2,
giving 1 n in parallel with 3 n.
Current [si divides in the ratio
1:3 with the larger current, l ",
flowing through the 1Q resistor.
Thus,
I"=(3/4)x8=6 A.
By superposition:
Given this result, it is possi-
ble to use KCL (see Part 1) to
calculate a11the other currents
in the network (Fig. 23a). We
then use Ohm's law to ca1culate
the voltages (Fig. 23b).
Ideal sources
It is irnportant toremember that
the superposition law applies
cnly to ideal sources. An ideal
voltage source maintains a spec-
ified pd across its terminals, 00
matter what current 1S drawn
from it. The specified pd may be
constant, vary steadily with time
(a ramp), be pulsed, 01' alternate
periodically. Varying pds make
the calculations more compli-
cated, but they do not alter the
application of' the law.
Unfortunately, few practical
voltage sources are ideal; alm ost
aBhave same internal resistance,
01' output impedance. The pre-
cision of the analysis depends
on the magnitude of this. If at
all feasible, we assurne that de-
partures from ideal behaviour
are small and can be ignored. Ir
it is known that they are tao
large to be ignored, we can allow
for them to a certain extent by
adding to the circuit diagram a
resistance of suitable value in
series with the souree.
Similar remarks apply in the
ease of an ideal current source.
Controlled sources
In certain circuits there may be
voltage or current sources whose
output depends on a eurrent or
pd existingin anotherpartofthe
same circuit. An example is the
collectorcurrentofa bipolar tran-
sistor, which is controlled by the
base eurrent. The equivalentcir-
cuit of a common-emitter am-
plifier (Fig. 24) shows the col-
lector current as the product of
the input voltage,Uin,atthe base
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS MARCH
FIGURING IT OUT - PART 3
thetical components into a eir-
a cuit in order to compensate for
recognized imperfections.
Controlled sourees must not
be eliminated when a network
is being analysed by superposi-
tion. Consider the circuit of
Fig. 25a, which includes a con-
trolled voltage source. The volt-
age produced by this source is
controlled by 11> the amaunt of
b OPEN current flowingthrough resistor
CIRCUIT RI' In this example, the voltage
equals 411 and must be added
into the equations at a11stages.
Step 1. Eliminats the CUT-
rent source, but leave UI and
the controlled source acti ve-see
Fig. 25b. The current now flow-
c OPEN ingis denoted by [I'. Incalculating
CIRCUlT the voltage from the control1ed
source we use this value. From
KVL (see Part 1) we find:
930010 - 111- 12
Fig. 22. Another example 01 superposition.
Step 2. Eliminate the voltage
BA 1A GA SOUl"Ce,but leave the current
a source and the controlled voltage
GA source active. Indicating CUl'-
rent and voltage at this stage
i by a double prime, and using
KCL at node A-see Fig. 26c:
=U"/2+W" -4[" )/1=
b 6A
=U"/2+U" -4(-U"/2).
i 7U"/2=3.5, so that U" =1 V.
930010- 11I·13 From this we find
Fig. 23. Complete analysis 01 Fig. 2a: By superpoaition:
(a) currents; (b) voltages.
BASE COLLECTOR This exampleshows how KVL
Ib • • le and KCL are used to solve the
problem when controlled sourees
are present.
hie Juout A further example
The network afFig. 26 does not
EMITTER
t 930010 - 111- 14
contain anycurrent sources, but
there are external sources sup-
plying 2 A and 1.5 A to nodes A
Fig. 24. Simplilied equivalent circuit 01 a and B respectively. As an exten-
cornmon-emltter arnplitier, sion of KCL, the total current
leaving any section of a network
equals the total currententering
and the transconductance, gm' tor characteristic. It corrects for it. Tbus, there must be 3.5 A
Resistor Rre, of value lIhre (h~ is the fact that this slope means leaving the network at node D.
the common-emitter output con- that thecontrolled current source The problem is to find the cur-
ductance), represents the the is not ideal, and 1S an example rent passing along branch AB.
effect of the slope of the collec- ofhow we may introduce hypo- We apply the superposition
,
1993
 GENERAL lNTEREST

technique by eliminating each
entering current in turn. With
tbe 1.5 A current eliminated, by
disconnecting the network from
the extern al circuit at B, 2 A
flows in at A and out at D. The
network consists of 15 Q in par-
allel with 15 Q, so the current
divides equally at A, and thus
I' is 1 A, flowing from A to B.
Eliminatingthe2Acurrentmeans
that 1.5 A enters at B and leaves
at D. Now the network consists
of25 Q in parallel with 5 Q. One
frornwhichweobtaintheThevenin so a11 we now have to do is to
resistance: calculate.Land divide as shown.
The example in Fig. 28 demon-
RTh=UWlsc. strates the procedure. The open-
circuit val tage ia the pd across
Since UThequalstheopen-circuit the voltage source and the 2 n
voltage, UOCJ resistor. Note that the 3 Q re-
sistor does not corne into the cal-
Rrn=U';I •. culation because there is na cur-
rent flowing along it when AB
We have already ca1culated Uoc• is an open circuit and, there-
a
fore, no pd develops across it.
Ignoring this resistor, the circuit
consists ofl0 n in series with the
source. There is a drop of 1 V
across the 2 n resistor, and a
rise of5 V across the source. The
open-circuit voltage is 4 V, so
that Urn=4 v.
The basis af calculating the
short-circuit current is clearer
ifwe re-draw the circuit, including

-
fifth of the current passes along
BCD. Thus, /" is 0.3 A flowing a 40
from B to A, or -0.3 A from A to
B. By superposition:
2V
I=I' +/" =1+(-0.3)=0.7 A. c
• i2V
Thevenin's theorem 5vi
This theorem states that any
L.......------<>-----{IB
2-terminal network consistingof b t
one or more voltage or current y x
sources and one 01' more resis- t
tances may be represented by a
single voltage source in series b
with a single resistance(Fig. 27).
If various external circuits are
connected to the two terminals, c
the behavicur of the complex 5vi A
Isc
network and the Thevenin equiv- SHORT
alent circuit are indistinguish- CIRCUIT
B
able. Replacing a complex net-
work by its Thevenin equiva- 930010 - 11I- 15
lentconsiderably simplifies sub-
sequent calculations.
The essential features of the Fig. 25. A circuil wilh a conlrolled vollage source.
Thevenin equivalent are
• the Thevenin voltage, UTb, and c
• the value of the Thevenin se
ries resistor, RTh.
Methods of calculating Urn and
Rn are as follows.
Thevenin voltage. Given
the Thevenin equivalent circuit
on the right of Fig. 27, let us L.......-:c------j B
930010 - 111- 18
suppose that terminals A and B
are not connected to any exter-
nal circuit. In this candition, no
current flows through the re- Fig. 28. Finding a Thevenin
sistor and there is no voltage equivalent circuit
drop across it, The open-circuit Fig. 26. Superimposed currents.
voltage across AB equals UTh.
Correspondingly, given a net-
work, we find UTh for its Thevenin
equivalent by calculating the
open-circuit voltage of the net-
work. We can use the superpo-
sition method or other methods
to do th.is. COMPLICATED
Thevenin resistance. Ima- NETWORK OF
girre that terminals A and B of RESISTORS "'UTh
the Thevenin equivalent are short-
circuited. A short-circuit cur-
rent, Ise, flows from A to B. The
AND SOUR CES

i
930010· 111- 19
magnitude of'this current is given B
930010 - 111- 17
by:
Fig. 29. Applying Ihe Thevenin
Fig. 27. Thevenin equivalent circuit. equivalenl melhod.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS MARCIl1993

 FIGURING IT OUT - PART 3

he short-circuit link AB-see culat.ion 1S to remove the 6 Q attach the 6 Q reeistor to the =4/(4.6+6)=0.38 A.
ig. 28b. The equivalent reeis- resistor. Then find theThevenin Thevenin equivalent at A and
anee of the fcur resistors is equivalent of the network re- Band calculate I: Summingup this method: to
6/11 Q. Current I is m ai n ing . This we di d in the find a voltage or current in a
previous seetion with the re- I=UTJ!(RTh+6}= branch of a network, 'remove'
1=5x11/46=55/46 A. sult shown in Fig. 28c. Fma lly, the rcsistor, reduee the rest of
the network to its Thevenin
By the rule of cur-rent divi- equivalent, 'conneet' the re-
ion, we find: sistor to this and calculate the
voltage or current.
1&=55/46x8/11=20/23 A. The method is applicable to
a +
more intrieate networks. To
Finally, we calculate RTh: find I in Fig. 30a, eonsider the
isv left and right sides of the net-
work separately, ignoring the
branch AB in each ease. It is
Figure 28c shows the The- left to the reader to eonfirm that
2Ai the equivalent of the left side
enin equivalent resulting from
he above calculations. is specified by UTh=6 V and
t RTh=3 Q. The equiva lent ofthe
B right side has UTh=4 V and
Alternative method
A RTh=1.8 Q. We now 'reassemble'
for Rrh t the network, but connect the
Reverting to Fig. 25a, replace equivalents to braneh AB-
the voltage source by a short b see Fig. 30b. Using KCL to cal-
circui t, and then find the equiv- eulate volta ge U at node A rel-
alent resistance of the circuit ative to node B which we eon-
by reduction , A eurrent source sider to be at 0 V:
would be replaced by an open
circuit. The two 4 Q resistors (6-U)/3+( 4-U)/1.8+U/3=0,
reduce to one 8 Q re si s tor in
parallel with 2 .0., which re- whence U=7.6 V.
duces to 1.6 Q. The 3 Q resistor t
B 930010 - 111·20
is in series with this, making From this resu1t, we find
a toal 'I'h everri n resistance of that
4.6 Q as obtained earlier. Fig. 30. A more complex example.
1=7.6/3=2.53 A.
Using the Thevenin The final example-see
equivalent Fig. 31a-has a controlled source,
The most obvious advantage of a but no independent source. Since
the equivalent is that it makes the voltage from the controlled
it very easy to predict how such source depends on current I,
a simple circuit will behave which is 0 when AB 1S an open
when connected to an extern al circuit. UTh=O. To calculate RTh,
circuit. Having calculated how we apply an arbitrary voltage
the equivalent will behave, we to AB. For convenience, make
k now that the original com- this voltage equal to 1 V. Applying
plicated network will behave I----{A KCL to the currents flowing
in exactly the same way. b in and out of node C:
An application ofthe method
is illust.rated by the network 1=1I5+C1-41)/2 A.
of Fig. 29a. It is required to
find current I. Ta shorten tbe The last term on the right ex-
explanation, we use the same presses the fact tha t th e pd
network as in Fig. 28a with a L---,"',OO=1O-.
"',,,-.
,'"',-{
B aeross the 2 Q resistor is the
6 n resistor conneeted aeross difference between the 1 Vap-
AB. The first step in the cal- Fig. 31. Thevenin equivalent of a controlled source. plied externally and the 41 V

L----~~--~-{B
930010·111 • 22

a b c
Fig. 32. Networks for Test Yourself.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS MARCH 1993

 Science & Technology
A sinusoidal alternative:
wave sine wave generators a goodbye

By Michael Soper, MA

I nlimited bandwidth circuits, any periodic

repeated waveform can more easily
01'
sinx~rrl4[sqs(x)--sqs(3x)/3-sqs(5x)-- .. ] base generated by logie ean have much
greater aecuracy and far greater 'repeata-
be made with square waves; the reason is and bility' from one manufactured device to an-
that from a clock at twice the frequency of other.
the upper bandwidth limit, and from the eosx~rrl4[sqe(x)-sqe(3x)/3-sqe( 5x)+ .. l, The triangular wave f(x)=rr.-2x, where
fundamental frequency, by the use oflogic n-cxcn, has the expansion
circuits, any hat-monie can be produced. where the coefficient of sqs(nx) is given by
[d(n)-3]ln when n<27 (and similarly for f(x )~rrl4[ sqe(x )-1/2sq e(2x) ]-1/, sq e(4x)
sqc(nx), and the forms for sin2y, sin3y, and -I/,sqe(8x)+ ....
Why move on this?
so forth, can be obtained by substituting
When a waveform is being constructed, for x=2y, x=3y, we know that by a method sim- Some mathematicallaws for these fune-
use in a synthesizer 01' any other use, there ilar to Fourier series any repetitive wave- tions are:
are many reasons for requiring form can be approximated by the requisite
• ease of generation of harmonics; infinite series in sqs and sqc. 1. sqs(nx)sqe(nx)~sqs(2nx);
• ease of modulation of one frequency by For example, the ramp function fix) for 2. [sqs(nx)J2~l;
another. -1t<X<1t can be represented by 3. [sqe(nx)]2~1;
Therefore, by using sqslx) to denote a 4. [sqs(nx)][(sqs(2nx)]~sqe(nx);
squared sine wave (maximum value 1; min- (4 n )f(x)~ sq s(x )-I/,sq s( 2x )--11, sq s(4x ) 5. [sqs(2nx)][sqe(nx)]~sqs(nx);
imum value-l),forexample, througha com- -1/8sqs(8x)- ... 6. sqs[sqs(nx)]~sqs(nx);
parater, and sqc(x) to denote a square eo- 7. sqs[sqe(nx)]~sqc(nx);
sine wave in the same fashion, a sine wave and this approximates far more rapidly 8. sqe[sqs(nx)]~l;
can be written than the equivalent Fourier series. Now, 9. sqclsqctnxjle L
1Sthere an application in the generation of
sinx~alsqs(x)+a3sqs(3x)+a5sqs(5x), precise time-bases here? Note that a time- These results are very dissirnilar to the
results for sinx and cosx and have some re-
where aj=O when j is even and aj=nfU)l4j markable features: the first point is that
whenj is odd [fU) is a funetion to deterrnine]. 11 multiplication by sqs(2nx) changes the phase
Thus, to synthesize a sine wave with of sqs(nx) by 90°, so that this becomes a
square waves requires the value of lai to -31 way of eonverting between sqs and sqc. To
a11and a top cut fiter as shown in the dia- perform this multiplication logicallyis very
gram, in whieh fis the fundamental fre- -51 easy by using XOR. Let us denote XOR by
queney. In the diagram, the proportions v and the function of a function by o. Then
are adjusted to produce a sine wave since
-71
the 'top hat' is successively rounded by sqs(nx) v sqc(nx)~sqs(2nx);
stages. The final 'top cut' rounds the wave- sqs(nx) v sqe(2nx)~sqe(nx);
form into a sine wave. -111 OUT sqs 0 sqsesqs;
sqc 0 sqcesqc;
sqc 0 sqse L;
No more troublesome sine
sqc 0 sqce l;
generators sqs 0 [sqsfx) u sqe(x)]~sqs(2nx);
Since sqs 0 sqs(x) v sqs 0 sqc(x)=sqs(2nx).

FIGURING IT OUT - The Thevenin equivalent is Fig.32a. What are land U now?
Part 3 (Cont'd) given in Fig. 31b. 2. Replace the 2 A source in 5. Find the Thevenin equiva-
There is another useful equiv- Fig. 32a with an 8 V source lent for the circuit of'Ftg. 32c.
alent circuit. the Nortonequiv- (positive to the top ofthe di- 6. Remove the 3 A source from
f'rom the controlled source. alent, wh ich we shall look at agram) and recalculate 1. Fig. 32a, leaving an open
Solving this equation gives in a future issue. • 3. Use the superposition method circuit. Find the Thevenin
to find land U in Fig. 32b. equivalent for the remein-
I~O.233 A, Wh at is the effeet on land ing circuit.
Test yourself U of replacing the 1 n re-
from which we obtain sistor with a short circuit?
1. U se the superposition method 4. Exchange the voltage and Answers will be gi ven in next
RTb~U/I~1/0.233~4.29 Q. to find the value of I in current sources in Fig. 32b. month's instalment.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS MARCH 1993

 FIGURING IT OUT
PART 4 - ANALYSING NETWORKS
This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voltage, waveforms, and other aspects of the behaviour of circuits.
Dur aim is to provide more than just a collection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, ren der some insights into the mathematics involved.
M any network problems ean
be solved by usingthe meth-
ods described in Parts 1 and 3,
particularly by superpositionand
by deriving Thevenin equiva-
lents. But some networks da not
yield to these techniques. Where
these fail, mesh current ana-
lysis may succeed. One point to
remember: mesh current ana-
lysis applies only to networks
with voltage sourees, not cur-
rent sourees.
The idea behind mesh CUT-
rent analysis is very simple.
Unfortunately, as the number
of rneshes increases, the calcu-
lations soon become tOD complex
and tedious to handle, and the
likelihood of arithmetical mis-
takes increases out of all pro-
portion. But, because the basic
idea is extremely simple, the
computations lend themselves to
a computer algorithm, whereby
arithmetical errors are .elimi-
nated. We conc1ude this part with
such an algorithm, transcribed
into BASIC, which should run on
almost any rnicroeomputer.
The principle ofmesh curent
analysis is illustrated by refer-
ence to the 2-mesh circuitin Fig. 33.
Normally, this circuit would be
analysed most easily by super-
position. To begin the analysis,
we specify two mesb currents,
11 and h These are hypotheti-
cal currents, flowing in a c1ock-
wise direction around each mesh.
Wecould have them flowing anti-
elockwise, but this would sim-
ply alter the signs, making no
other difference to the ca1cula-
tion.
Taking mesb 1 to begin with,
and ignorirtgmesh2, we note that
the voltage source is driving the
hypothetical eurrent 11 in the
direetion indicated by the arrow.
Passing around the mesh in the
direction of the arrow, we find a
By Owen Bishop
voltage drop, 01' negative pd,
aeross each resistor and a volt-
age rise, or positive pd, aeross
thevoltage souree. ApplyingKVL,
the sum ofthe voltage drops across
the resistors equaIs the voltage
rise aeross the voltage souree.
The total resistance of mesh
1 is 11 Q, so the voltage drop
caused by /) 1SIU). Lookingmore
closely at the circuit, we see that
mesh 1 shares branch CE with
rnesh 2. There is a voltage drop
across this branch caused by the
2 Q resistor through which CUf-
rent 12 is f1owing. This drop is
8 C
'0
"
:J
Fig. 33. A 2-mesh circuil.
29V
'0
,:)
mesll2
"V
Fig. 34a. Mesh current
212 but, since Zgflows through the opposite direction tc 12 and that
resistor in the opposite
tion toI], this is a negative
diree-
drop,
the polarity of the source tends
to drive the current in the oppo-
that is, a voltage rise. Summing si te direction to h.
the voltages according to KVL: We now have two unknown
variables, II and Ig and twoequa-
[Eq. 17] tions. Since these equations rep-
resent the voltages found in the
The same line of argument for circuit when botb sources are ac-
mesh 2 produces the equation: tive, the equations are both true
at tbe same time. They are si-
[Eq.18] multaneous equations. We have
to solve these to find values of Il
The negative signs in this equa- and 12 that satisfy both equa-
tion reflect the fact that I1 flows tions.
through the 2 Q resistor in the There are several methods of
solving simultaneous equations,
sorne ofwhich rely on a certain
Flair for navigating one's way
D
through the calculations. Tbe
30
benefits of personal Flair, if any,
mestl2
are to avoid the awkward frae-
tions that often arise, and to
C
N
~
+
" keep the numbers smalI. All of
these solution methods are Te-
ducible to relatively simple al-
gorithms. Consequently, a sei-
E entific formu1a caleulator often
930010·11
has such a rcutine as one of its
built-in programs. Using such a
ealeulator on equations 17 and
18, we find that the currents
through the resistors are:
, 0
and
Interpretingthese results as the
currents through individual re-
ststors:
3 n carries I2=--2.Ja A (opposite
direction to [1);
930010 • 12
2 Q carries 11-12=1/,-(-%)=1 A
(same direction as 11,
analysis: circuit.
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS APRIL 1993
 FIGURING IT OUT· PART 4

for 11 from Fig. 34b.

29 -2
-34 6
-5
-4 29 -2 -5 I : 4 - ~ I =+6x12-(-4)x(-4)
19 -4 12 850 -34 6 -4 =72-16=56.
11 = =5 Note thath is negative because 19 -4 12
8 -2 -5 170
it flows in the opposite direction Here, the co-factors are the sin-
-2 6 -4
to that Indiented by the arrow. Write outeach elementofthe top gle elements 12 and -4, so the
-5 -4 12 Without a programmed calcu- row, multiplied by its co-fac- products can be calculated and
Ia tor, the equations are solved by tor: summed without further ado.
the standard method but, with The rule for evaluating second-
8 29 -5
-2 -34 -4
three (and even more so with
four or more meshes and equa-
tiona), the calculations become
+29XI
-4
6
~I order determinants may be more
conveniently expressed as the
product of the elements on
-5 19 12 -340
12 =-2 a tangle. the leading diagonal minus

•
8 -2 -5
-2 6 -4
-5 -4 12
170 Tosystematiee the solution of
simultaneous equations ofthird
and higherorders, twomain arith-
-2x
1
-34
19 ~I the product of the elements
on the other diagonal. In a
similar way, we find that the
metical algorithms have been de- values of the other two deter-
veloped, which are usually fea- -5x -34 61 minants are:
8 -2 29 tured in textbooks of electrical 1 19 -4
and electronic engineering. One (-34)xI2-(-4)x19 =
-2 6 -34 =-408-(-76) =-332;
ofthese relies on determinants.
-5 -4 12 510 =3 This method, sometimes called
13 = Cramer's Rule, is illustrated in and
8 -2 -5 170 + + +

-2 6 -4 Fig. 34b and we shall discuss it + +

below. For circuits with four or (-34)x(-4)-6x19 =
-5 -4 12 + + +
more meshes, it is possible but = 136-114 = 22.
not desirable to write and solve + +
equations in volving 4th-order or We are now ready to substi-
Fig. 34b. Mesh current analy- higher order determinants. More tute these values into the equa-
sis: solution by determinants. about solution methods in a mo- tion for the value of the original
ment. 930010· 13 third-order determinan:
Another technique for sys-
Knowing these currents and tematizing the solution of si- Fig. 35. Place signs 01 29x56-{-2)x( -332)+(-5)x22 =
the resistances, we can also work multaneous equations 1S based co-factors. =1624-664-110 = 850.
out the voltages at each node. on matrix arithmetic. The most
This is an exercise for the reader commonly used method is the In the same way, we find the
(solution on pA7), 'I'his network augmented matrix in which The co-factor ofan elementis the values ofthe other determinants
can be solved by ueing superpo- the eoefficientsand constan ts are determinant written out again, listed in Fig. 34b and then cal-
sition instead-another exer- manipulated within a matrix but omitting the row and the culate the currents.
eise for the reader). according to a given set ofrules. column in which the element oc- We evaJuated the determi-
Ifthere are tWQ or more volt- While matrixarithmetic is a fas- curs. Thus, the co-factors of ele- nant by taking the elements from
age sources in the rnesh, these cinating branch of mathemat- ments of a third-order determi- the top row together with their
are summed, taking account of ies in its own right and has ap- nant are all second-order deter- co-factors. The same result is
polarity. plications in many field, it has minants. Prefix each product obtained if we take any other
onIy one important application with a plus or minus sign ac- row instead, or any column. This
More meshes in eIectrical and electronic en- cording to the position of the el- fact may be made use of where
gineering, which is the solution ement. Figure 35 shows the place a determinant contains any zeros.
'The network in Fig. 34a has three of simultaneous equations. The sign for the co-factor of each el- By basing the calculations on a
meshes, with three mesh CUT- matrix method is probably slightly ement; in the example, the signs row or eolumn containing one
rents. Itgives rise to these three easier to use than the determi- are +, -, +, so that: or more zeros, some of the ele-
mesh equations: nant method, but determinants ments are zero and the number

mesh 1: SI 1-2h-5Ia= 29;

lend themselves better to pro-
gramming.
+29XI
-4
6
of
~I
products to be summed is cor-
respondingly reduced.

Determinants Higher orders

Later in this article we provide
a computer program in BASIC for
-( - 2)x
1
-34
19 ~I
Evaluating a third-order deter-
rninant is lengthy enough, witb
The value of-34 for mesh 2 shows evaluating determinants up to ample opportunity for arithmetical
that the polarity of the source the fifth order. First we shall -34 errors. Evaluating a fourth-order
+(-5)x
is such as to drive the current look briefly at the usual evalua- 1
19 determinant is even more hor-
in the opposite direction to the tion technique, partly to help rendous. The original determi-
specified 12, the reader understand the pro- Now to evaluate these sec- nant is written out as the foul'
We now have three variables gram, and partly because mesh ond-order determinants. Therule elements of a row 01' column,
and three simu1taneous equa- equations may sometimes in- is the same as for third-order each multiplied by its third-order
tions. Bycalculator, usinga built- clude complex numbers, inte- determinants. Taking the first co-factor,Each ofthesefourthird-
in program for solving three si- grals or trig functions that are determinantasan example, write order co-factors has to be evalu-
multaneous equations, we dis- beyond the scope of the BASIC out each element ofthe top row, ated in the same way as third-
cover that: program. We demonstrate the multiplied by its co-factor and order determinants, giving al-
technique by example, evaluat- prefix each product by the ap- together 12 second-order deter-
ing the numerator determinant propriate place sign: minants to be evaluated. As the

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS APRIL 1993

 GENERAL INTEREST

number ofmeshes in the circuit The program consists mainly

increases, the computation be- of a set of nested sub-routines.
comes more and more unwieldy. At the heart of the nest, a sec-
This is why the BASTC program ond-order determinant is eval-
10 REM: DETERM INANTS *i(-*
in Fig. 36 is so useful. uated according to the 'leading 20 CLS;n=(l
The pogram is written in LO- diagonal minus other diagonal' 30 WHILE n<2 OR n>5
CQMOTNE BASIC, but we have Te- stated above (sub-routine 200) 40 INPUT"Or-der-";n
stricted it to its bare bones so that The co-factors of a third-orderde- 50 WEND
60 PRINT
it 1Sreadily convertible into other terminant are assernbled by sub-
70 FOR ;=1 TO n
BASIC dialects, such as GW/BASIC. routine 300. Each ofthese is eval- 80 PRINT "Row ";j
We leave it to the reader to re- uated in turn by repeatedly calJ- 90 FOR k=1 TO n
fine the program by addingerror- ing sub-routine 200. In sequence, 100 PRINT" Column ";k
trapping routines to the input these are multiplied by the ap- 110 INPUT d5(j,kl
lines and by formatring the dis- propriate element and sign. The 120 NEXT,NEXT
130 GOSUB 900
play to suit the machine. program takes the elements from 140 ON n GDSUB 10,200,300,500,'700
The program evaluates de- the top row of the determinant 150 PRINT:PRIN""Value~ \: "j z
terminants ofany order up to five. A fourth-order determinant is 160 FOR ;=1 TO 5, PRINT,NEXT
It 1S easy to add further sub- handled bysub-routine 500, which 170 PRINT"Any key for anothar-"
calls sub-routine 300 to evaluate 190 WHILE INKEV$=""IWEND
routines using the same algo-
190 GOTD 20
rithrn to cater for determinante the third-order co-factors, which 200 IF' n=2 THEN FDR j=l TD 2:F'OR k=
of the sixth, seventh, 01' even calls sub-routine 200 for the even- 1 TO 2:d2(j,kl=d5(j,k):NEXT:NEXT:RE
higher orders. It 18also feasible tual evaluation of the second- M SECOND ORDER H<·
to change the input routine and order co-factors. A fifth-order 210 v=d2(1,ll*d2(2,2)-d2(1,2)*d2(2,
1)
extend the program so that it determinant is evaluated by sub-
220 IF n=2 THEN z~v
accepts the coefficients of all the routine 700, which cal ls sub- 230 RETURN
mesh equations at one time, cal- routine 500 and ultirnately sub- 300 IF n=3 THEN FOR J=1 TO 3, FüR k=
culates the required determi- routines 300 and 200. 1 TO 3~d3(j,kl=d5(j,k) :NEXT,NEXT:RE
nants and then direct.ly calcu- Ta asist thereader in expand- M TH I RD OfmER ·IBoi(·
lates the currents. ing or adapting the program, 310 v=0Iw=01~i3=1
320 F'DF~m3=1 TC) 3: b3=1
here is a variable and array list: 330 FOR c3=1 TO 3
340 IF' c3(>m3 THEN d2(1,b3l=d3(2,c3
lld2(2,b3l~d3(3,cJ)=b3=b3+1
b3,b4,b5 The number ofthe column ofthe co-factor cur- 350 NEXT
rently being assembled. 360 GOSUB 200
370 v=v*d3(1,m3l*si3:w=w+v:si3=-si3
c3,c4,c5 Tbe number ofthe column of3rd, 4th or 5th order 380 NEXT
determinants currently being assem bled into 390 IF n=3 THEN z=w
a co-factor (one of these columns is cmitted 400 RETURN
from the co-factor, the column in which the cur- 500 IF n=4 THEN FOR j=l TO 4:FOR k=
rent element occurs), 1 TO 4:d4(j,kl=d5Cj,kl :NEXT:NEXT:RE
j, k Loop counters. M FOURTH ORDER ***
510 x==O:si4=1
m3,m4,m5 Tbe num ber oftbe column of3rd, 4th or 5th order 520 FOR m4=1 TO 4:b4=1
determinants, used to specify for which ele- 5::!.0 FOR c:4=1 TO 4
ment of the top row the co-factor is currently 540 IF c4(>m4 THEN d3C1,b4)=d4(2,c4
being assembled. l:d3C2,b4l=d4C3,c4):d3C3,b4)=d4(4,c
4), b4=b4+1
n Order ofthe determinant being evaluated.
550 NEXT
si3, si4, si5 + 1 or-. 1, thesign for eachelement/co-factor prod- 560 GOSUB 300
uct in 3rd-, 4tb- and 5th-order sub-routincs, 570 w=w*d4Cl,m4l*si4:x=x+w:si4=-&i4
v, w, x,y Output from aub-routines, sums of products of 580 NEXT
each element and ita co-factor; for ex.mple, re- 590 IF n=4 THEN z=x
turning from sub-routine 200, v holds the va1ue 600 RETURN
of the 2nd-order determinant; this ie multi- 700 y=O:si5=1:REM F'IF'TH ORDER ***
710 FOR m5=1 TO 5:b5=1
plied by the element and sign: succeseive values 720 FOR cS= 1 TO 5
of v are accumulated in w (see line 370); sirni- 730 IF c5<>m5 THEN d4(1,b5)=d5(2,c5
larly, in a 4th-order evaluation, successive values ): d4 <:2,b5l =d5 C3,c5l :d4 (3, b5l =d5 (4, c
of w are accumulated in x (see line 570). 5):d4C4,b5)=d5C5,c5) :b5=b5+1
Final value of determinant. 740 NEXT
z '750 GOSLJB 500
760 x=x*d5 C1 ,m5l *$.i5: y=y+)~:si5"-&i5
d20,d3(),d40,d50 Arrays to bold determinants of orders 2 770 NEXT
to 5(these are notDIMmed intheprogram, 780 IF n=5 THEN z=y
as that is unnecessary in this version of 790 RETURN
900 CLS,FDR ;=1 TO n,REM PRINT DET
BASIC; their dimensions are 2x2, 3x3, 4x4
and 5x5 respectively). ***
910 FOR k=l Ta n
920 PRINT d5<J ,k);" " .•
930 NEXT,PRINT,NEXT
Answers to Test Yourself - Part 3 940 PRINT,PRINT
950 RETURN
I. 2.2A
2. 3.5A
3. I=0.6A; U=4 V; no effect
4. 1= 1.125 A; U=-1.75 V
5. Urn= 2 V; Rrn= 3.2 Q
6. Urn= 0.8 V; Rrn= 1.2 Q Fig. 36. BASIC Ii.ting.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS APRIL 1993

 FIGURING IT OUT - PART 4
EIl
Test yourself
FOTeach of the circuits in Fig. 37. use the b d
mesh current rnethod to find I to three dec- '0 r--{I'o~-~---(- +
imal places or as fractions. Confirm your
resuJt by using superposition. C
Answers will be given in next month's +
N

instalment.
'0

a 3V -
+

c '0

'0
+ zv
L------1 + - )-------'
sv

930010· 14

Fig. 32. Networks for Test Yourself.

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Bingiey, Yorks, BOl6 4JH, England.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS APRIL 1993


FIGURING IT OUT
This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voltage, waveforms, and otber aspects of the bebaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a collection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.
nductors are in many ways
I the converse of capaeitere. An
obvious difference 15 that a ca-
pacitor has an insulating dielectric
between its plates, so that no
conduction 18 possible. In aetu-
ality, it is an open circuit. By
contraet., the coi! of an induc-
tors is often (though not neces-
sarily) of extremely low or neg-
1igible resistance. It 15virtually
a closed circuit. There ia a spe-
cial term in electronics for this
sort of correspondence between
two features of properties of a cir-
cui t or part of a circuit. The mern-
bers of such a pair are called
duals of each other. With re-
spect to the ability to conduct a
current, an open circuit is the
dual of a closed circuit, To this
extent, an inductor is the dual
of a capacitor. Tbe duality of in-
ductors and capacitors extends
to far more than the physical
ability to conduct a current. This
month we contrast the two types
of component and the mathe-
matics associated with them.
Although inductors as such
are not found in electronic cir-
cui ts as often as they used to be
(being replaced by opamps in
active fiJters, for example), most
components havea certain amount
of inductance. The self-induc-
tance of the leads of a capacitor
or resistor becomes ofmajor im-
• portance in high-frequency cir-
cuits, which is why lead-less sur-
face-mount resistors and capac-
itors are sooften used in such ap-
plications.
A recap on caps
We dealt with several aspeets
of eapacitor maths in Part 2, but
will brieflyquote the main points
again so that the duality of the
inductor may be better under-
stood. The basic equation for ca-
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS MAY 1993
m
PART 5 - INDUCTOR MATHS
By Owen Bishop t...-
pacitors is that by which the several ex am pIes in Part 2 to si ne curve tbat lags behind the
farad is defined: calculate charge on a capacitor
in various charging eonditions.
current curve by rr/2 rad (90°).
C=Q/U, [Eq. 19] Having found Q, we can easily Inductor equations
ealeulate U from Eq. 19:
where C is the capacitance in
farad, Q 1S the charge in coulomb, U = C1 ldt + C·
e f [Eq.21]
The basic equation which de-
fines the henry, the unit of in-
ductance, is
and U is the pd between the plates
in volts. (This equation was also An importantpropertyofaca-
pacitor 1S that, if aperiodic cur- L = N<1> (Eq.22]
given unnumbered in Part 2). I .
From Eq. 19, we derive an rent is supplied to it (typieally a
equation of the form current that varies sinusoidally), Referring to a single coil, its self-
the charge on the capacitor and inductance in henry is the flux
Q= fldt+e (Eq.20] the voltage ac ross 'it also vary linkage (the magnetie flux ~ in
sinusoidally. The charge or vclt- weber multiplied by the num-
where c is the Initial charge, if age curve 18 a negative ccaine ber of turns N, since the flux
any. This equation was used in curve, or we ean think of it as a threads through eaeh turn), when
a unit current flows through it
(1 = 1 A). A more useful defini-
38 tion may be derived from Eq. 22,
5 I
using Neumann's equation. This
I states that:
I
I
dlldl (A sec-u
I
U = Nd<P. [Eq.23]
I
dt
I
I{A} I
I What this equation says 15 that
I
I the e.m.f. induced in a coil is
I
I proportional t.o tberate of change
gradient '" J
I
offluxlinkage. The faster the!lux
----~
changes, the greater the induced
4
e.m.f. FOT exarnple, if the flux
through the coil is inereasing at
the rate of 2 mWb s+, and the
coil has 25 turns, then U = 25x2
3 = 50 V. The direction ofthee.m.f.
dlldl,,3 is such that it opposes the change
in flux according to Lenz's Law.
This fact is sometimes indicated
by preceding the right side of
theequation with a negative sign
but, provided that we state that
U is the back e.m.f., the sign
may be omitted.
We shall take up this discus-
sion again later, but next we
need to examine the equation
in more detail.
Differentials
_I{S)
The expression d<PIdt in Eq. 23
9JOO!O·5·" represents what we have termed
T GENERAL INTEREST

the rate of change offlux. The
expression is known as the dif-
ferential of <c witb respect to t,
and a whole branch of mathe-
matics is devoted to dealing with
expressions ofthis kind. The ex-
pression has the form of Olle quan-
tity(d<P) divided by another quan-
tity (dt). Differentials are used
to relate various pairs of quan-
tities: dyldx, for example, relates
quantities x and y. If a graph 18 ~ 4.95. Thiscan be seen in Fig. 39,
plotted with values ofx aJongthe
horizontal axis and values of y
along the verfical axis, dy/dx dl/dt (A sec-u
represents the steepness of the
slope, or gradient, ofthe grapb.
If U IS the gate-source voltage
of a FET, with I being the eorre-
spondingdrain current, then dIldU
speci.fies the amount by which I
changes for given changes in U.
In other words, dl/dU is the ta-ans-
conductance. In the context
ofinductors, d<l>/dt is the rate of
change of flux with time.
Calculating a differential is
the inverse operation to inte-
gration, which we described in
Part 2. There is not enough space
here to go into the theory of dif-
In other words, the slope or gra-
dient of the curve in Fig. 38 ia 3
at all instants oftime.
Figure 39 shows the curve
foranotherfunction,I = 4sin1.5t.
Referring to the table, a ~ 1.5
and b ~ Oin this function. According
tothetable,dIldt ~ 4x1.5eos1.5t
= 6cos1.5t. This teils us the rate
of change of I at any instant. For
example,att ~ O.4,dIldt ~ 6eosO.6
where the curve for 6 cosO.6t has
I(A)
/,
1",4.95
3
gradient
'" 4.95
o .•
~ 2
tbevalue4.95wbent ~ 0.4. Iteao and the current is changing at
also be seen that the slope ofthe maximum rate from positive to
CUTve4sinl.5t when t = 0.4, as negative, dI/dt ~ 6eos7t ~ -6, its
shown by the tangent to the curve maximum negative value, sbow-
at that point, is 4.95 (taking ae- ing maximum decrease of cur-
count of the different scales on rent.
the two axes). When t = 1t/3, a The practical advantage of
point at which the current is at differentials is that they rnake
its maximum and is neither in- it possible to calculate rates of
creasing nor decreasing, then change for functions much more
dIldt ~ 6cos(1.5x7t/3l ~ 0, corre- complicated than 1= 4sinL5t,
sponding to zero change of CUT- and without the need to plot the
rent. Conversely, when t = 2rr/3 eurves. We sball be looking fur-
ther into this in future issues.
39 Back to induction
Rearranging the terms ofEq. 22
gives
no change In current
-:
/:4sin 1.51
I "'-. I <I>~~I [Eq. 24]
N '
,
I I",2.09(=21t13}
,,
I whereLandN areconstant, but
I I
I <PandI rnay both vary with time.
I
I maxtrnum Differentiating both si des ofthis
I eecreese equation with respect to time:
I 01current
I
V _I(S)
d<P
dt
L
N
dI
dt
[Eq. 25]
2 I
,
,
Writng this equality into Eq. 23,
we obtain
,
I

ferentiation, but we can set out dlldl=6cos1.5t I

a table of frequently used ex-

pressions and their differentials.
~.
~3
.> :, I
U~N L
N
dI ~LdI.
dt dt
[Eq. 26]
I
Standard differentials I
~5 I
This is an alternative way of
Functionof I DifferentialdI I dt ,
I
defming the henry. In words, in
~ 6
at" a coil of self'-inductance 1 H, a
a change of current of 1 A s+ pro-
e ' 9lII01D·5· \2
duces a back e.m.f of 1 V.
sin(at+bl a eos(at+b) Given a function which de-
cos(at+bl -asin(at+b) terrnines how a current varies
with time, Eq. 26 alJowsus to cel-
The table uses land t as the U(V)
40a culate the back e.m.f at any in-
variables in place of the cus- stant. Here are some examples.
tomary x and y, so that its con-
tents are more directly applica-
ble to electronics. FOT example,
r A 1=3 (a constant current of
3 Al; dIldt ~ o. There is no
given that I ~ 3t+2, the way I change ofcurrent so the back
varies with time is shown in the e.m.f. is zero.
graph ofFig. 38. Th find tbe rate
of change of 1 at any given time, B I~2t (a Tamp current);
we calculate cU/dt, using the U"'O dl/dt = 2 A S-I. Given a coil
table. The first expression in the withL ~ 0.25H, thebaeke.m.f.
0 5 7 8
function is 3t or, to put it in the --------. t (s) is eonstant at 0.25x2 ~ 0.5 V.
form ofthe first line ofthe table, 93OO!O·~·I30
3t'. Ir n ~ 1, the differential is C I ~ 4sin1.5t (the sinusoidal
31'-'~ 3&. Sinee tO~ 1, the differ- current given in an earl ier •
ential is 3. The second expres- 40b example; dIldl ~ 6eos1.5t.
sion is 2, which can be written I (lJ.A) Given a eoil witb L ~ 0.1 H,
1=3C
as 2&. This makes n ~ 0, and the 300 the back e.m.f at any instant
value ofthe differential is zero. is 0.6 eos 1.5t. The baek e.m.f.
The differential of a constant is r 200

'00 8 follows the differential curve

always zero. Putting these two 0 of Fig. 39, but with ampli-
together, we have -100
tude 0.6 V instead of 6 A.
~ 200

dIldt~3. - 300
D We leave until a later issue
- 400
the interesting case of what
- 500
In this example the differential happens when a voltage is
~ 60'
does not contain t, so the differ- applied to a coil instantly by
ential is independent of time. 'l3OO10·5·1lb closing a switch.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS MAY 1993

 FIGURJNG IT OUT - PART 5

duals when applied tocapacitors For the third stage, when Uis de- But, given that the current 18
Duals again and inductors. creasing expcnential ly: sinusoidal, the expression in
Equations 21 and 26 are the volt- Ta complete tbe quartet of brackets must be equal to the
equations, we integrate both I=C. dU peak eurrent, 10:
age equations of a capacitor and dt
an inductor respectively: sides of Eq. 26 with respect to
= 12CHJ.5e2-O.S') 1= 10 sinmt. [Eq. 30]

U = C1 Idt+f c
C'
[Eq. 21]
time:

f U dz e c = LI.
= _600e2-05t j.tA.
A comparison ofEq. 29 and 30
Current flows away from the ca- shows that land U have the
U=L dl [Eq. 26] The integral of dI Idt is I. Re-ar- pacitor at an exponentially de- same frequency and that I lags
dt rangi ng terms gi ves creasingrate. Theflowofcurrent behind U by n/2. Their curves
They tell us the voltage produced is plottecl in Fig. 40b. are plotted in Fig. 42.
across the device by a CUTTent I=±fUdt+f [Eq. 28] Tbe relationship for the in-
duetor contrasts with that of
varying in time according to a Phase relationships the capaeitor as described in
given function. This has the same form as Eq. 21,
Let us see wh at happens if again illustrating the dual na- Part 2. In the inductor, the cur-
we differentiate both sides of ture of capacitance and induc- 41 rent lags the pd by n/2, but in
Eq. 21 with respeet to time: tance, and of pd and current. the capacitor it leads the pd,
I another manifestation of their
We now have a set of foul'
dU = -.!. I equations for solving problems duality.
dt C associated with capacitors and back e.m.f.
= L(dlldt)
Since differentiation and integra-
tion are inverse operations, dif-
inductors. Examples using Eq. 21
and Eq. 26 have already been
".~ Test yourself
ferentiating JI dz undoes the inte- given. Eq. 27 can beused to solve 1. The current in A at time t s
gration, leaving simply I. The dif- problems such as the fo11owing. 930010-5-14
through an inductor,L = 0.1 H,
ferential of the constant cl C ia is 1= 3-0.5t. Calculate the
zero. Rearranging terms gives: A voltage pulse applied to a back e.m.f. and state its di-
100 ~F capacitor has the shape In Fig. 41, an alternating pd is rection.
I =C dU. [Eq. 27] shown in Fig. 40a, and is de- applied to an inductor. Atany in-
dt scribed by this piecewise func- stant, the instantaneous applied 2. The current in A at time t s
'I'his tel1s us the current flow- tion: pd is: through an inductor,L = 0.2 H,
ing tnto or out of a capa ci tor U=O zs o isI= j -a-u.What is tbe back
when the applied voltage varies U=3t 0</,;4 u = Uo cosrut, [Eq. 29] e.m.f. after 2 s?
according to a given function. Ud2e2-O.& 4< t.
It isjust a mathematical way of Calculate the current flowing where U, is the peak value of 3. The voltage in ~V at time t
statingtheobvious: that the CUf- to or from the capacitor and plot the pd. Treating the circuit as a aeross an inductor,L = 100 ~H,
rent flowing into (or out of) a ca- its graph. Joop, by KVL in a clcckwise di- is defined by
pacitor equals the capacitance Solution: for the first stage, rectiou: U=O t,;O
multiplied by the rate ofincrease using Eq. 27: U = 2t 0< t.
dI
(or decrease) ofpd. Uocoscvt -L·- = 0, Calculate the current through
I = C· dU = O. dt the inductor after 3 s.
The interesting point is that
this currentequation forthe C8-
clt dI u,
:. - = _·cosrut.
pacitor has the same form as For the second stage, when U 1S dt L Answers to
the voltage equation (26) ofthe increrasing at a constant rate: Integrating both sides of this Test yourself (Part 4)
inductor. Capacitance and in- equation: a. -0.032 A (-1131)
dU b. 0.259 A (22/85)
ductance are duals. Likewise, pds 1= C·- = 3C = 300j.tA.
dt I = (~~) sinwt. c. 0.250 A (1/4)
and currents (and also rates of
change of pd and current) are This is a constant charging current. d. -0.166 A (-112/676)

42
Author's note
U(V) 1= 'oslnml
The last paragraph of Part 2

, I(A}

U = U,cosml
is misleading, since it implies
that the phase lag of a low-
pass Re filter is always 90°.
r This assumes that the re ac-
tance of the capacitor ts infi-
nite, which is tbe prectical sit-
,12 3rcf2
uation at high frequencies.
Although output lags input at
any frequeney, as impl ied in
that paragraph, the phase angle
is less than 90° at lower fre-
I quencies. I am sorry if I have
I
I mislead the reader. The action
I I
of filters will be discussed in
"','~-----"I:
Q = nf2 more detail in next month's isaue.
!l3OO10-5·15

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS MAY 1993

 FIGURING IT OUT
PART 6 - FREQUENCIES AND FILTERS
By Owen Bishop

This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voItage, waveforms, and other aspects of the behaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a collection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.

Capacitive reactance tance of a capacitor, 10 jlF, given

I nPart 5 we looked at what
happens when an alternating
equations above, we derived
equation for I, in which
an

In Part 5 we also showed that,

pd is applied to ao inductor. In
Fig. 43, the applied pd is given
by
U = U,cos wt, [Eq. 31]
where U, 1S is the peak pd and
rois the angular frequency(more
about this in amoment). We then
showed that the current through
the inductor 1S given by
1 = (UIOlL)sin wt.
At the time we said that the ex-
pression i.n brackets represents
the peak value, 10,ofa sinusoidally
varrying cut-reut, immediately
replacing the expression by 10 to
produce Eq. 32. Now we will take
time to look at this bracketed
expression more closely. The ex-
if a eapacitor is being charged
with a sinusoidally varying pd
(Fig. 44), the current flowing
into the capacitor is:
1= C(dUldt).
a signal of'(a) 100 Hz, (b) 1 MHz.
(a)ül= 628 rad 5-1, as above.
Xc= 1I(628xIOx1Q-l) = 15911.
(b)ül= 6.28x106.
Xc= 1J(6.28x106x10xlO-'=
0.015911.
Total impedance
The ca.lcu.lations above are for

We compared these equations

[Eq.32]

to demonstrate the facts that I

pression gives the value of the
peak current as

1,= U/OlL. u=uo?_nw_,

1
6 ~_-...lT pu.rely inductive and purely ca-
pacitive circuits, as illustrated
by Fig. 43 and 44. Now, to ex-
amine wh at happens in a cir-
has the same frequency as U, but cuit in which all three elements
lags behind U by rr/2 radi an. This has the same form as the 930010-VI·12 arepresentin series, as in Fig. 45.
well-known equation for resis-
tance: Fig.44
1 R
lelo.sln WI:
1= UIR Differentiating Uosinrot as one
ofthe standard differentiale, we ~R
L

L and demonstrates that OlL 1S the find: ueuo-sfnoit U~

ueuo-cosrot equivalent of resistance. It is 1 = C(ülU.COSwt).
the inductive reactance of the As C, ro andUo are all constants, 9~
inductor and has the symbol XL: we ean replace theirproduct with ~ I
930010-vr-11 a single constant. The equation 930010-Vt·13

[Eq. 33] for current is, in fact, a eosine

Fig.43 equation, where the single con- Fig.45
Like resistance, inductive re- stant is 1a, the peak current. In
First to clarify the quantity ül. actance is one of the elements other words, Two facts are c1ear:
This is related to frequency by ofthe total impedance of a cir- (a)The instantaneous current,
the equation cuit and is expressed in ohm (Q). 1.= ülCU e- i, througheachofL,C,R, and the
Equation 33 shows that induc- source is the same. Ir it were
ül = 2n(, tive reactance is proportional to The argument follows the same not, it would imply that curre.nt
inductaoce, as would beexpected. lines as that above, leading to the was leaking out of, or intö, the
where (t) 1Sin radian per second. Th.eequation also shows that, un- conc1usion that the capacitive circuit at some pcint.
Equation 31 could equally well like resistance, it is proportional reactance is given by (b)KVL applies to tbe instanta-
be written as U=U,cos2n(t. In to frequency: as the frequency in- neous pds. The equation fOTthe
manyinstaoces, particularlywhen creases, so does the inductive Xc= 1I0lC. [Eq.34] loop is:
dealing with audio circuits, fis reactance.
a more convenient quantity to Example: caleulate the reac- Equation 34 shows that Xc has
use. However, it is often eaaier to tanee of a coil, L=O.l roH, given features that are the opposite
deal with the single symbol ro a signal of(a) 100 Hz; (b) 1 MHz. ofthose ofXL.lt is inversely pro- Thereare several ways ofanalysi:ng
then the multiple 2n( when in- portional to both capacitance thechangingpds and currents in
tegrating 01' differentiating, so (a)w=2n(=200n=628 rad s+. and frequency. The high er the thecircuit, Techniques usingcom-
we shalJ use either way of ex- XL =628xO.1x1Q-l= 0.0628 11. frequency, the lower the capaci- plex numbers or differential equa-
pressing frequency, depending tive reactanee. 'I'his is another tions will be considered in a later
on circumstances. Cb)ül=2nx106=6.28x106 rad e-t. example of a pair of duals. issue. Here we adoptan approa.ch
During the discussion of the XL= 6.28xlO6x0.lx1Q-l= 62811. Example: calcuJate the reae- that relies on geometry. The dif-

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JUNE 1993


Fig.46
ficulty witb analysing this cir-
cuit is that the cbanging pds are
usually not in phase with each
other. The graphs ofFig. 46 show
their relationships, with UL lead-
ing UR by JTi2 and Uc lagging UR
by the same amount.
The current 1S in phase with
UR, since the pd across a resistor
and thecurrent through it are al-
ways in phase. The three vec-
tors on the left represent the
pds at the instantcorresponding
to the extreme left of the graph.
Tbe relative lengths of the vec-
tors depend on the impedances
found in a particular circuit at
a given frequency. Their rela-
tive directions, however, are al-
ways as shown in the figure.
Comparison with the graph
shows that these vectors repre-
sent peak pds. As time passes,
that is, as we move toward the
right-hand end ofthe graph, we
can imagine this array ofvectors
rotating anticlockwise (with an-
gular velccity 00), each vector re-
maining the same length and
the angles between them re-
mainingunchanged. The pds peak
in order: UL, then UR,and finally
Ue. This can be seen by examin-
ing the curvea in Fig. 46. Since
the three vectors retain their
relative magnitude and keep in
phase with each other, we can
add them for the poeition shown
on the left of Fig. 46, knowing
that rotation does not affect the
result.
Figure 47 shows the pds added
by vector addition. The first step
is to add UL and Ue, which is
easy because they lie in exactly
opposite direction (Uc is nega-
tive). Call their resultant the
reactance voltage, Ux. This
leaves usjust two vectore, UR and
UX=UL-UC
Fig.47
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JUNE 1993
Vx, which are summed by draw-
ing the diagonal of the vector
rectangle. Since the vectors rep-
resent peak pds, the length of
U represents the peak pd of the
SOUTce.UR is in phase with the
current (as always), so it is clear
frorn Fig. 47 that U is not in
phase with 1. This is the effect
ofthe action ofthe capacitor and
inductor. Tbe phase angle, $,
in this example ts positive (a
lead) but, ifUc had been greater
than UL, it wouJd have been neg-
ative (a lag).
Looking again at Fig. 46, it
can be seen that UR is the dom-
inant pd in this particular cir-
cuit. UL and Uc are very similar
in magnitude and, since they
are out ofphase with each other
(leading and lagging UR by 90°)
they almostcancel each otherout.
The U,,* curve in Fig. 46 is plot-
ted by summingthe point values
calculated for the other three
curves. Its peak value is sligbtly
greater than that of UR, and it
leads UR by a small phase angle,
both features confirming the re-
sults ofFig. 47.
Since a11the quantities are
represented geometrically, it 1S
easy to disco ver tbe equations
tbat relate thern. Figure 48 is the
key diagram for all such calcu-
lations. In this diagram, the vec-
tors represent impedances, not
pds. Because the current is the
same for all elements, a diagram
of impedance vectors has the
same proportions and angles as
a diagram ofpd vectors. The dif-
ference 1S just a matter of scale.
In Fig. 48 the relative lengths
of vectors differ from those in
Fig. 47, which represent a circuit
with different values of R, L,
andC.
9300HI-VI-16
Fig.48
Given the values of R, L, and
C, the first step is to calculate
XL and XC, using equations 33
and34. Then wecan draw a sketch
ofthe vectors (as in Fig. 48) and
find:
1. TbetotaIimpedance,Z:apply
the Pythagoras theorem to the
triangle enclosed by the vectors
R, (XL-XC), and their resultant
Z.
2. The phase angle, ~.
~ = tan-I[(XL-Xc)IR). [Eq.36)
Note that since the calculations
depend solelyon the proper-
tions of the rectangle, not on
its absolute dirnensions, the equa-
tions are independent ofthe mag-
nitudes of the pds or the CUT-
rent. The circuit behaves the
same, irrespective of the mag-
nitude of the signal.
Example. Given R=100 11, L=
100 mH, and C=22 ~F, connected
in series, calculate their total
impedance and the phase angle
when the signal frequency is
500 Hz.
w=2n(=10001t=3141.6 rad s+;
R = 100 11;
XL= 3141.6x100xl0~= 314.1611;
XC= 1I(3141.6x22xlO-')=
1/0.069115=14.46911;
XL-XC= 299.69 11.
:. Z = ~(1002+299.I2)=315.411;
~ = tan-1299.1I100 = 1.25 rad.
What about j?
If you are reading this article in
conjunction with an electrical
or electronics textbook, you may
have found that the text quotes
the reactance of an inductor as
jooL and that ofthe capacitor as
-j1wC. The symbolj is used when
expressing complex n umbers and
th is will be explained in a fu-
ture issue. For the moment, take
+j to indicate that inductive re-
actance leads the current, and-j
to indicate that cepacitive reac-
tance lags it. At present we are
using the geometrical technique
in which lead and lag are clear
from the sketch of the vectors.
Sinusoidal or not?
All the discussions so far have
assumed that the source pd or
the current varies in time ac-
cording to a sine (or cosine) func-
tion. What happens if the wave-
form is notsinusoidal?Whatabout
FIGURJNG IT OUT (6)
square waves or sawtooth waves,
for example? As we shall see
later in the scrics, all periodic
waves can be treated as if they
were the sum of a number of
sine waves ofvarious amplitudes
with related frequencies. For
example, the sawtooth wave of
Fig. 49 is tbe surn of a sequence
of terms which goes like this:
y = 31t-6sint-3sin2t-2sin3l-
...-{6In)sinnt
U IV]
Fig.49
The greater the numberofterms
summed, the more accurately the
curve comes to look like a saw-
tooth wave. If we want to know
how a circuit will behave with a
sawtooth input, we analyse the
waveform intoits sinusoidal COID-
ponents, and calculate the im-
pedances and phase angles for
each component separately, as
above. Then we surn the results.
This may involve a lot of calcu-
lations, but it can be done, es-
pecially with the aid of a com-
puter.
Simpler circuits
Equations 35 and 36 cater for cir-
cuits in which all three kinds of
impedance are present. If one
source ofimpedance 18absent, or
so small that it can be ignored,
we use the same two equations
putting the absent impedance
equal to zero. Consider the net-
work ofFig. 50.
Since L equals zero (ass um-
ing that the self-inductance of
the connecting wires and the
leads ofthe capacitor is so small
U=Uo·sin2000 TC t
f=lkHz
?--"~1-9-3-0010-VI-le
Fig.50
that it can be ignored), the equa-
tions simplify to ~M
1.' .- __

u 0.9
:::-------------,
On
-10
0r-----------~~~--~----
0.8 -20

'.7
.. ~_~._ .. _. .. .. --.0_-------_ .. =-_ ... -30
$ = tan-l -XC/R.
0.' -40
-45 ----------_ .••• --_ ••••• -._ .•• --- ----.-- ••••• --- •••••• --
Given the values shown in Fig. 50: 0.5 -50
w=2000n=6283.2 rad s-l:
'.4 -<.
Xc= 1/(6283.2x470x1o-9)=338.6 n
0.' -70
.. Z=;I(3302+338.62)=472.8 n.
0.' -80

$= tarr! (-338.6t.330)=--{).80rod. 0.1 -90

0 -1001"------=_....,.,,,,.. ....,,1
'00 50. 1000 100 500 1000 5000
'iHl] f [Hz] 93ODIII-Y~2tb

XC=338.60:
Fig.53

or Rearranging gives: ber of different frequencies in the

930010-VI-19 UclU = 0.716. range 100 Hz to 10 kHz, to ob-
f= 1/2nRC. serve tbe response, and say what
Fig.51 Redraw Fig. 50 as in Fig. 52; type of filter this is. (Answer
call the total pd the input pd, Example. Find tbe -3 dB pcint next month).
Figura 51 shows tbe vectors. The Uin; and call tbe pd aeross the for a low-pass filter in which
current lags 0.80 rad (about 45') capacitor the output pd, Uout• U'" R=150 n and C=2.2 ~F.
behind the pd. Since the same is about 0.7 cf Ui", The network Test yourself
current flows through all com- attenuated the signal byroughly f= 1/(2nx150x2.2x1Q-<)=482Hz. 1. Calculate the angular veloc-
ponents, the impedance vectors 0.3. Thecalculation assumes that ity 0) for a signal offrequency
are proportional to the pd vec- the current drawn from the riet- 350 Hz.
Other filters
tors. Thus, Z is proportional to work by any load 15 insign ifi- 2. What 1S the reactance of a
the total pd applied to the net- cant. 'I'he filter ofFig. 52 is converted 33 ~H inductor at (a) 50 Hz,
work atany instant. The pd across to a high-pass filter simply by in- (b) 10 MHz?
the capacitor is proportional to terchanging the resistor and ca- 3. Wh at is the reactance of a
Frequency dependence
Xc , and it can be seen that this pacitor. Tbe vector diagram re- 120 ~F capacitor at (a) 2 Hz,
pd lags about 45' behind tbe pd Tbe calculations for F'ig. 50 can mains uncbanged, but Uout is now (b) 10 kHz?
applied to the network. be repeated far lower and high er the pd across the resistar. Thus, 4. Draw the vector diagram for
We can also ca1culate the peak frequencies and graphs plotted output leads input by 45' when the circuit ofFig. 47, given
value of the alternating signal to relate phase lag and signal R andXC areequal and by greater thatR=680n,L=0.3H, C=l~,
across the capacitor. Consider attenuation tofrequency. As these or lesser amounts when the fre- and the signal frequency is
Fig. 50 to be that of a potential graphs show (Fig. 53), phase lag quency is lower or higher. The 250 Hz.
divider circuit. The current approaches zero at low frequency -3 dB point or cut-offfrequency 5. Calculate thecut-offfrequency
through Rand C are equal (of and approaches -90' at high fre- is calculated as for the low-pass- for a lew-pass filter in which
course, no current actually passes quencies. Remember that here filter. R=12 kn and C=2.2 ~F.
through C, but current tlow- we are considering the angle be- A high-pass filter may alsc 6. Given a 10 kO resistor, what
ing to one plate is matched by tween U and Uc (or between Z be constructed by substituting value capacitor is needed to
current flwoing from the other). and Xc), not the ang1e between an inductor for the capacitor in form high-pass filter with its
Thus, the pd developed across U and UR.Attenuation approaches Fig. 52. The -3 dB point of such -3 dB point at 500 kHz?
R and across C is proportional zero at low frequencies and grad- a filter occurs when R=XL, so
to their impedances. The pd aeross ually becomes moreimportantat that at that point f=l/2RL. Answers will be given in next
C is calculated as for a poten- high frequencies. In fact, this net- A resistor, inductor and ca- montb's instalment.
tial divider. Taking pds at their work is a low-pass filter. The pacitor may be combined in a
peak vaJues: frequency chosen forthe worked filter network such as that in
example (1000 Hz) is very close Fig. 54. The output is the pd
Uc= U(XC/Z) = U(338.6I472.8)= to what is known as the -3 dB across the resistor.It is left to the
0.716U., point, This is the frequency reader to ca1culate Uoutforanum- Answersto
(1026 Hz for the specified com- Test yourself (Part 5)
ponent values) at which theout-
put is 0.707 of the input (equiv- 1. U=L(-0.5)=-0.05 V. A COD-
alent to apower attenuation of L C stant back e.rn.f. in the di-
-3 dB or 50%), and tbe phase rection opposing the reduc-
lag is exactiy 45'. It is the fre- ~1,1"~m~R----~ tionof current.
quency at which Xc is equal to
R, giving us the approximately Uin ~ Uout 2. U=0.2x-2e-"=7.33 mA
45' triangle of Fig. 51. We can
find a formula for this frequency 3. l=10000x[t2J30=0.09A. Thecon-
930010-VI-20 by equating R and XC: 930010·VI·22 stant of integration eIL can-
cels outs when we evaluate
Fig.52 Fig.54 the definite integral.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JUNE 1993

 FIGURING IT OUT
PART 7 - MORE DUALS
By Owen Bishop

This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voItage, waveforms, and other aspects of the behaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a collection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.

T hiS month we exarnine the

converse of several topics dealt
with in previous parts. Although
[Eq. 39]

nothingfundamentally new is in-
volved, since we are looking at
familiar topics upside-down or
back-ta-front, a change of ap-
proach often turns an intractable
problern into a solvable one.
Nodal analysis
In Part 4 we saw how to ana-
lyse a netwcrk by applying furch-
hoff's Voltage Law and caIcu-
lati ng the currents circulating in
the meshes oftbe network. This
1Smesh current analysis. Now
we look at the dualofthis tech-
nique. We apply Kirchhoff's Cur-
rent Law, ca.lculate the currents
flowing into and out ofthe riodes
of the network, and thus find
the node voltages. This method,
known as node voltage analy-
sis, is more appropriate when a
circuit is powered mainly by cur-
reut sources rather than by volt-
age sources.
We begin with a very simple
circuit (Fig. 55) that has only
two nodes. Apply KCL to node A:
NodeD:
(Un- UB)I4 = 2 + 3;
if +
ff
[Eq. 40]
This provides a set offour si-
B 930010-VII- 11
multaneous equations for cal-
culating the four unknown volt-
Fig.55 ages. In Part 4, we solved such
equations by usingdeterminants
10 (and a computer program), but
this technique does not work
5A
+
t here. If you try, you obtain one
or more determinants with zero
value. The potantials are inde-
ac
B terminate under this technique.
C
This makes sense, for we can
2A 3A
take any one of the potentials
<; to be 0 V (er any other volta ge
~ ~ that we care to choose) and a11
other potentials are relative to
0 this. For example, adding 100 V
930010-VII- 12
to all the potentials makes no dif-
ference to the currents flowing
Fig.56 in thecircuit. In particular, if one
node 18said to be at 0 V, one col-
umn of the determinant bas all
zero elements, and its value is
zero.

...
U sually, we can evaluate the
potentials by solving the equa-
total current entering A::::: COMPUCATED
tions one at a time, beginniug
NETWORK OF
total current Jeaving A, or with the simplest. Let us take Un
RESISTORS
1/3 + 2/3 = I, so that as the zero level. Eq. 40 gives:
AND SOURCES
t ; lA.

Taking the potential at node B

to be 0 V, the pd across the 2 Q 930010-VII·13 Putting this value into Eq. 37:
resistor is lx2:::::2 V. Thus, the
potential at node A is 2 V. This -20-UA=14, so that
is the one ofthe circuits that we Fig.57
analysed in Part 4, but with the
voltage 80UTcesreplaced by CUT- unknown potentials at nodes A-D Node B:
reut sources. are denoted by UA-Un. Applying (Uc-Un)/5+5 =(UB-UA)/2; Similarly, with Eq. 39:
InFig. 56 (anothercircuit mcd- KCL to each node:
ified from Part 4), there are three -20-UC=-1O, so that
current sources and four nodes. Node A:
Currents are determined either (UrUA)/2=5+2; Node C:
by the current sources or by the (UC-UB)/5-3;
pds across resistors (l = UR). The [Eq. 37]

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JULY/AUGUST 1993


As acheck, we evaluate Eq. 38:
5x-34-7x-20+2x-lO=
-170+ 140-20=-50.
Summing up nodal analysis:
on the circuit diagram. note cur-
rents provided bycurrent.sources;
evaluate other currents by ref-
erence to known potential dif-
ferences and resistances. At each
node, equate the sums ofthe en-
tering and leaving currents. Salve
the set of equations obtained for
the nodes. It is not always nec-
essary to work at every node
and solve every equation to ob-
tarn the Information required.
Norton equivalent
Tbe Norton equivalent is the
dual of the 'l'hevenin equiva-
lent. In Part 3 of this series we
showed how a 2-terminal net-
work ofvoltage 01' current sources
and resistors could be replaced
bya sing!e volta ge saurce in
series with a resistance. This
is the Thevenin equivalent and
1S a very useful concept for sim-
plifying the analysis ofnetworks.
When we drive the Norton equiv-
alent of a network, we obtain a
single current souree in par-
allel with aconductance. Note
the three sets of duals: valtage-
current, series-parallel, resis-
tance-conduetance. Pigure 57
contrasts the two equivalents.
lf the Norton equivalent cir-
cuit is short-circuited, all of tbe
current from the internal current
generator flOW5through the ex-
ternal short circuit:
[Eq.41]
w here 'sc' stands for short cireuit. eonductanee, divide the short-
Wecan calculate Zgby finding out circuit CUTTentby the open-cir- eis and solving three simulta- ealeulate the value of current I
what eurrent flows when termi- cuit pd.
nals A and Bare connected to-
gether.
When the NOTtonequivalent equivalent quoted in Part 3, we
is an open circuit, the current
from the generator flowsthrough
the Norton conductanee and pro-
duces an open-circuited pd across
lt:
giving
Substituting from Eq. 37:
[Eq.42] in Part 3. We are required tc In mesh 2:
Ta find the NOTton equivalent
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JULYIAUGUST
FlGURING IT OUT 7
Solvingequations 45 and 46 gives:
~ 11=2.208 A and 12= 1.458 A.
+
tn
10V The pd across the 5 n resistor
+
a
t is 5x2.208=l1.04 V. Tbus, the
potential atA=10-11.04=-1.04 V.
This teils us that UTh=-1.04 V.
Note that the 3 n resistor does
not enter into the ealeulations
~
+ sinee this branch is considered
tn
'" to be an open circuit and 00 CUT-
10V
+ A
MESH 1 MESH 2 rent flows through that resistor,
b
t UTH
B
S) '!) Figure 58e, in which voltage
sources are replaeed by sb ort
circuits, is used for ealculating
RThby network reduction (see
Part 1). Resistcrs of6 Q aod 1 Q
in parallel result in 0.8571 Q.
so 10 ~....--------,
In series witb 1 Q, this makes
A the rigbthand side of the figure
equ.ivalent to 1.8571 Q. In par-
c RTH
B allel with 5 Q, the network is
equivalent to 1.354 n. In other
words, RTh=1.354Q.
, We ncw have the quantities
,----r----,A required for using equations 43
and 44 to calculate the NOTton
d ,-,
,, ,, equivalent:
,-, IN=-1.04/1.354=-O.768 A
'-----+---4B 930010-VII-14
G~1I1.354=0.739 S.
Fig.58 Figure 58d shows the Norton
equivalent. The 3 Q reststor is
drawn in dashed 1ines across
BASE CQLLECTOR
AB as a load. Its admittanee is
'. , ,f-+....--~---,
'c 113=0.333S. The current flowing
20mV
through the 3 Q resistor is pro-
+
t portional to its admittance:
1 =-O.768xO.333/(0.739+0.333J=
-0.239 A.
930010·VII-1S An applicable example
The network of Fig. 59 is in two
Fig.59 parts but, as they share only one
eommon line, they ean be treated
could be tackled by rnesh analy- separately. The problem is to
neaus equations, but we will cal- and then pd U across the 750 Q
Comparing Eq. 42 with the culate the Nortonequivalent in- resistar.
equations for the Thevenin stead. The 1 kQ and 250 Q resistors
Figure 58b shows the situa- in parallel are equ.ivalent to 200 Q,
see that: tion: we wish toobtain the equiv- SQ the total current Ilowing from
alent of the whole network ex- the soureeis 20x1<r1/200=0.1mA.
[Eq. 43] ceptforthe brancb thatcontains This is split between the resistors
the 3 Q resistor. Tbe pd across in inverse proportion to their
Also, AB is U~= UTh' To find this, we resistance, so
need to know the current flow-
[Eq.44] ingthrough the 5 Q resistor, and
this is found by mesh analysis.
The following example (see Mesh 1 includes the 10 V end Movingon tothe other side ofthe
Fig. 58) shows how the Norton 4 V sourees as weil as the 5 Q and diagram, the eontrolled current
equivalent is used for solving two 1 n resistors, so: souree produces a CUITentof
network problems. Its use may
be contrasted with the way we [Eq.45] 1001=100x80x10~=8x10~A.
used the Thevenin equivalen t
The three resistore in parallel are
find thecurrentlflowingthrough equivalent to 410.96 Q. Tbe pd
the 3 n resistor. 'I'his problem [Eq. 46] aeross them is
1993
-m GENERAL INTEREST

alterthe output from the voltage stead of pds or impedances, le gentsofvery 1arge values and ap-
R
source, U vat-ies in proportion. leads the applied pd and h lags proach 90°. We are back to Fig. 61
The ratio between source voltage it. The technique for analysing again. In practical circuits, the
c and Uis: the currents is the same as for working is not as simple. We can
pds 01' impedances. analyse the circuit graphically
A = 3.288/20xlO~= 164. More often than not, we con- by making scale drawings like
nect a capacitor and an in duc- Fig. 63 and measuring I. This is
The circuit has a voltage gain of tor in parallel, but without a nota precise technique. We need
U=Uo stnrot 164. 'I'his 18 not suprising, for the parallel resistor. Even so, resis- a non-graphic technique for adding
930010-VII-16
circult of Fig. 59 is the equiva- tance plays a part in the circuit, veetors when they are not con-
lent of a common-emitter am- a small resistance being inher- veniently perpendicular to each
Fig.60 plifier. The 20 mV source repre- ent in the construetion of prac- other. 'I'his 1S to be the subject
sents the input to the am- tical capacitors and inductors. of next month's instalment.
plifier, perhaps from a mi- Figure 62 shows the more prac-
crophone. The 1 kQ resistor tical situation. Ifwe think ofthe
'e Testyourself
represents the biasing re- branch that contains the capac-
sistors in parallel. The 250 11 itor as aseries Re circuit with L By using nodal analysis, cal-
resistor represents the input an applied pd ofUosinoot,we cal- culate the potential at each
resistance, hie, at the base culate the phase angle as we did of the nodes in Fig. 64a, tak-
ofthe transistor. Since this last month for pds, except that ingnode C to be at 0V. Calculate
resistance varies with base this now has a lead instead of a thecurrent.alongeach branch.
current, it would be better lag (duals again!). Similarly, the 2. Calculate the Norton equiva-
represented by a controlled induetor current lags the ap- lentofthe networkin Fig. 64b.
IC;IL voltage source. Current Tb plied voltage. omitting the 4 Q resistor on
is the base current, node B For the capacitor: the right. Hence, calculate
is the base terminal, and the current,I, through this re-
node E 1S the emitter ter- sistor.
minal. On the other side, 3. Figure 64c is the equivalent
the controlled current source and for the inductor circuit of a common emitter
represents the amp1ifying amplifierin which bias is pro-
action ofthetransistorwith vided by a feedback resistor,
a small signal guin, hre' of RF• connected between the col-
100. The 10 kl1 resistor rep- The vectors are shown in Fig. 63. lector and base of the n-p-n
930010-VIII·17 resents the output admit- The total current, I, is the vec- transistor. Given the values
Fig.61 tance, hre, the 1 kQ is the col- tor sum of'Jgand Ij. Iftherewere shown in the figure, calcu-
lector resistor, and the 750 Q a third branch in the network, late the voltage gain ofthe cir-
is the load. with pure reaistance, its vector cuit for smaU signals.
c This fairly simple example would lie in the same direction
has been included to al1ay the as U and could be added to the Answers will be given in next
L
suspicions ofthose who may be- other two currents to obtain the month's instalment.
lieve that network analysis is con- total current. If Re or RL is very
cerned with resistances and sources small (ideal components), the
U=Uo sinwt connected in unlikely configu- phase angles are the inverse tan-
93001 O-VII-1 e rations. Figure 59 1S a repre-
sentation ofan entirely practical
circuit and, drawn in this form, 2.
Fig.62 it immediately becomesamenable
to the techniques ofnetwork ana-
lysis descrfbed here and in pre-
a i
vious issues.

LCR in parallel
In the sense that the parallel
J"-
40
+
u connection is the dual of the se-
ries connection, we now examine ,v +
the dual of the LCR circuit de-
scribed in Part 6, Fig. 45. Figure
60 shows the classic LCR cir-
b
i
cuit with a sinusoidal pd applied
to it. At any instant, the same
pd appears across all three
branches. KCL applies to the
instantaneous currents through
10mV
the branches and I is the surn +
Fig.63 of these. To determine the cur-
rents, we use a technique simi-
c i
lar to that employed in Part 6
U=8xl0~x410.96=3.288 V. for theLCR seriescircuit. Figure
61 shows the vector diagram,
An examination of the stages of which ia similar to Fig. 48 ex-
this calculation shows that, if'we cept that, showing currents in- Fig.64

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JULY/AUGUST 1993

 FIGURING IT OUT (7)

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SENO S.A.E. FOR LIST OF EOUIPMENT

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!P'cmlses sllualed erese 10Easlem bypass In Covenlry Wllh easy access 10 MI, M5. M42. M65)

Fax: 0203 650773

Answer to problem set by Fig. 54. 2.5 kHz. 4. See Fig. 66

UoulUm 18low at most frequencies, peaking 5. 6.03 Hz.
sharply at 2 kHz (Pig. 65). This is a band- Answers to 6. 3L8 pF.
pass filter with a narrow pass band. Phase Test yourself (Part 6)
angle is a lag of 80° or more at frequencies L 2199 rad s+
below L5 kHz, zero at 2000 Hz, and Iead- 2. (a) 0.010 Q; n»
2073 Q.
iug by 80° or more at frequencies above 3. (a) 663 Q; (b) 0.133 Q.

~1r-------------------------~~------------'
Uin
0.9

0.8
-3dB
0.7

0.6
I. XL =471.20

0.5
I. R=680n

0.4
III XL -Xc=
-165.411
q>=-13.7~

0.3
III
0.2
III XC=-636.60

0.1

0
100 500 5,000 10,000 930010-VI·2.4
f [Hz] 930010-Vl.23

Fig.65 Fig.66

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JULY/AUGUST 1993

 FIGURING IT OUT
PART 8 - COMPLEX NUMBERS
By Owen Bishop

This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voItage, waveforms, and other aspects of the hehaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a coUection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.

W e begin this month's dis-

cussion with a simple and
apparently innocuous equation:
[Eq. 47]
The first stage of finding the
value of x 18easy:
x2 = -1,
but now comes the ostensibly
impossible part:
It 18 a fact of elementary arith-
metic that twa positive numbers
multiplied together give a posi-
tive product. Further, two neg- .-._~_~_-.'-n-i.-_~_~_~~_~_-*n-"--~_~_>-j~~ If this were a point on a graph,
ative numbers when rnultiplied
together also yield a positive
product. There is no way ofmul-
tiplying twa numbers with the
same sign to obtain a negative
product. Yet, here we are ex-
pected to multiply two identical
numbers together and obtain
-1. The way out of this impasse
is to recognize that the value of
x does not belong to the set of real
numbers. It is an imaginary
number. Mathematicians give
it the symbol I, but, since this is
likely to be confused with the
symbol for electric current, elec-
trical and electronics engineers
use the symbol j instead. Thus,
we define j by the equation:
j = -i-I. [Eq.48]
Althoughj belongs to the realms
oftheimagination, it helps to un-
derstand it and to work with it
ifwe represent itin diagrammatte
form. All real numbers can be
represented as points on a con-
tinuous line, the number line
(see Fig. 67). We have marked
the positions of the points that
represent integers -5, -2, 0, 4,
7, ... ; the points between these
represent real numbers of vari-
ous other kinds, including spe-
tha t the term is imaginary.
Note that we can have nega-
tive imaginary numbers as well
imaginarynurnbers. Points within
the four quadrants are defined
by quoting their two coordinates,
cial numbers such as 1L To rep- as positive ones. For example: just as we would on an ordinary
resent imaginary numbers, we graph. Each point in the fignre
construct an imaginary num- j = --1-25. is defined by two numbers, one
her line which is perpendicu- of which is real and the other of
lar to the real number Iine (see The perpendicular lines of which is imaginary. A number so
Fig. 68). The points marked on Fig. 68 take us a stage further, defined is known as a complex
this represent the integral mul- since they can be taken to be the number. The area ofthe fignre
tiples ofj. Forexample, thepoint axes by which any point in the is the complex numberplane.
j3 is three times j: whole area of the figure can be Sometimes it is referred to as the
defined. Points that are on the Argand plane, and the fignre is
j3 = 3""-1 = -I(9x-1) = -1-9. hori zontal axis (known as the known as an Argand diagram.
real axis) are real numbers.
By convention, we wr ite j3 in Points which are on the vertical Working with complex
preference to 3j to make it clear axis (the imaginary axis) are
numbers
Consider the pointA in Fig. 68.
-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 2 3 4 5 6 we would say that its coordi-
930010-8-11 nates are (2, 3). Since this is an
Argand dia gram, we say that
Fig.67. this point represen ts the complex
number(2+j3). Wecannever ac-
tually add 2 toj3, because these
;6 numbers represent distance in
perpendiculardirections. Because
;5 • these distances are both positive,
G
we know that the point is in the
'" j4
~
,. first quadrant. Valuesrepresented
by other points in Fig. 68 are:
~ j3
z •
A
c <l
• « B=2-j4 E=O-j2
;;;1 ·2
C=-3 +j2 F=3 -s jü
11 D = -4 - j3 G = 4.6 + j5.2
F
Each complex number has areal
-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 2 3 4 5 6
partand an imaginary part. Either
-j1 REAL AXIS
part may sometimes be zero, in
which event the number is rep-
-j2 E
resented by a point on one ofthe
axes.
• -j3
Addition of complex numbers
0
follows the ruJes ofalgebra in that
-j4 •B we are allowed to add a's to a's
-j5 and b's to b '5, but not a's to b's.
With complex numbers, we may
-j6 add the real parts and may add
the imaginary parts, but the two
930010- 8· 12
parts must be kept separate.
Fig.68. For example, add (4 +j6) and

ELEKTOR ELECTRONlCS SEPTEMBER 1993

 FlGURING IT OUT 8

(5 + j2): pedance (and with other veetor

4 +j6 quantities besides).
+ 5 +j2 j10

Answer 9 +j8
i' The meaning of j
Another example, add (3 + j2) R=P+Q Before we go on to use complex
;8 •
aod (2 - j4): numbers to analyse practieal
3 +j2 ;7 circuits, let us look agam at that
+ 2 -j4 symbol j. We have given it a
p
Answer 5 -j2 value (Eq. 48), though this is
x'"
;. • not a value like the value ofareal
Subtraction is similar: for ex- "><r- ;5 n umber. There is another way
am ple, subtract (3 + j5) from -c of thinking of j, particularly in
z
(7 + j9): Ci ;4 the context of the Argand dia-
7 +j9 "
;;
;3
gram. We may thiok of j as the
3 + j5 imaginary operator. An op-
Answer 4 +j4 erator symbolizes an operatton.
;2 •
Q For example, the symbol J sym-
Addition and subtraction of ;1
bolizes the operation ofintegra-
complex numbers presents no tion. In logie and in digital elec-
surprises and it might be WOTI- tronics, the operator + symbol-
dered how these operations could -1 2 3 45. 7 8 s 10 izes the OR operation. In the
be relevant to electronics. Figure -j1 REAL AXIS Argand diagram. j symbolizes
69 helps to show the connection. the cperation of a quarter turn
T 930010-8-13 (90°) io the anticlockwise direc-
Fig.69. tion. The convention of writing
Vector addition
j first in an imaginary number
In Fig. 69, there are two points, reinforees the idea that it is an
j10
P and Q, representing the two operator,
complex numbers added in the Given the complex number
first of the three examples in ;' (4 + j3), for example, we inter-
the previous section. The aum ;8 pret this as the following se-
of these tWQ numbers is repre-
.",.
....
.",. I
,," quencecfinstructions, illustrated
sented by point R. In Fig. 70, in Fig. 71:
;7 ,," /
we have the same three points, ,," / 1. Startattheoriginfacingalong
but now these are seen to be the '"x-e ;. "...
/
I the real axis in the positive di-
finishing points of three vec- >- I rection.
<r /
tors, all ofwhich begin at the ori- -c ;5 I
2. Move 4 units forward.
z
gin. Not only can complex num- Ci I 3. Turn 90° antielockwise.
-c
;; ;4
/
bers be drawn as vectors, hut it I 4. Move 3 units forward.
is clear that the vector R is the I This take us to the point in the
;3 I
complex number plane which
surn of the vectors P and Q. I
Complex numbers are a way of I represents (4 + j3).
;2
representing vectors and adding A negative value ofj is inter-
complex numbers is a way of ;1 preted as a 90° clockwise turn.
adding vectors. Now we are re- For example, (5 - j2) means:
ally conneeting with eleetron- 1. As above.
ies. In Parts 6 and 7 we used -1 0 2 3 4 5 • 7 8 s 10 2. Move 5 units forward.
veetors (or phasors) to show -j1 REAL AXIS 3. Turn 90° clockwise.
the relationships between vari- 4. Move 2 units forward.
930010-8-14
ous currents, pds or impedances
in circuits that have sinusoidal Fig.70. A 90° turn anticloekwise fol-
currents or pds applied to them. lowed by another 90° turn anti-
Itwas often necessary to sum two clockwise equals a turn of 180°.
or more vectors. Application of We are facing in the opposite di-
Pythagoras' Theorem makes this 4+ j3
reetion, along tbe real axis, but
relatively easy when the vectors in the negative direction. This
are perpendicular. When they " corresponds to the value of j2:
are not, the calculations may in- j2=j xj = ~-1 x ~-1 =-1.
volve some elaborate trigonorn- Similarly, j3 = -j ( a three quar-
etry. To help us keep the trig ters turn) and j4 = 1 (a complete
under control, we make use ofthe turn).
conventions of imaginary num-
bers and the Argand diagram. Using j
Usingimaginary numbers by no
means implies that thecurrents, Figure 72 shows an LCR par-
pds or impedances themselves allel eircuit to which a sinusoidal
are imaginary. It isjust that the voltage ia applied. This figure is
graphicalrepresentationofimag- o .. REAL AXIS the same as Fig. 60, discussed in
0) start facing
inarynumbers is a useful tool fOT this way 930010·8·15 Part 7. At any instant, equal
dealing with vector quantities voltage is app1ied aeross each
such as current, voltage and im- Fig.71 branch of the circuit. For each

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1993

 GENERAL INTEREST
branch of the circuit, the CUT-
rent at any instant is calculated
by dividing the voltage by the
resistance er impedance of that
branch. Weconsidereach branch
in turn.
I, R Aß mentioned earlier, real num- terfuge involves what is known
u:uOsinwt
930010·8·16
Fig.72.
The current through the re-
sistor is
IR = UIR.
The current is in phase with the
voltage, so we represent it in an
Argand diagram by a vector lying
along the real axis in the posi-
tive direction (Fig. 73).
The current through the ca-
pacitor is
Ie = UlXe· [Eq.49]
Owing to the properties of ca-
pacitors, this current leads the
resistor current by 90°. There are
two ways oftakingthis phase dif-
ference into aecount. One way
is to state that fact, as we have
justdone, and then draw the vec-
tor in the appropriate direction
as we did in Fig. 61 ofPart 7. The
other way is to say that the re-
aetance of a capacitor is
Xe = -jlwC. [Eq. 50]
Eq. 50 is the same as Eq. 34
Part 6), except that we have in-
corpora ted the phase düference
into it. Eq. 50 expresses Xc as
an irnaginary quantity, lagging
90 behind the applied voltage.
0
This hypothetical quality of the
impedance is related only to its
representation in an Argand di-
agram. The current passing into
or out of the capacitor contin-
ues to be subjected to a substantial
opposition to its ftow!
Similarly, Eq. 33 (Part 6) can
now be modified to take phase
into account:
XL =jwL. [Eq. 51]
Inductive impedance leads the
applied voltage.
If we substitute the new ex-
pression for capacitive impedanee
(Eq. 50) into the equation for
calculating current (Eq. 49), we becauseofsquaringj. Subtracting nominator:
are in the position of dividing a this, weobtain theanswer: (6+j17).
real number by an imaginary (4+ j5)(3 - j2)
number: Division (3 + j2)(3 - j2)
Ie = UlXe ~ UwGl-j. [Eq. 52] This is rather more difficult, but = 22 + j7
a simple trick helps. This sub- 13
bers and imaginary numbers do as the conjugate eomplex nUID- = 1.69 + jO.54.
not mix. Ifweare to solveEq. 49, ber. In Fig. 74, there is a point
we must diseuss how to perform A in the first quadrant. Its con-
multiplication and division with jugate is A·, in the fourth quad- Reciprocals
complex numbers. rant. It is clear that if for ex- In circuit calculations, we often
ample, Ais (4 + j2), then A' is arrive at the expressions Vj and
(4 - j2). The conjugate is formed V-j. It is useful to know wh at
Multiplication
by inverting the sign ofthe imag- to substitute for these. Following
Multiplication follows the usual inary part. the rules of division give above,
routines ofalgebra. Forexample, Now eonsider the problem of di- we first note that the j and -j
multiply (4 + j3) by (3 + j2). Set viding (4 + j5) by (3 + j2): are conjugates ofeaeh other, and
this out in the usual format for so:
multiplication: 4 +j5
3 +j2 lIj = (lx-j)/(jx-j) = -jll=-j.
4 +j3 [Eq. 53]
x 3 +j2 The trick is to multiply both nu-
12 +j9 merator and denominator by the Similarly,
j8 + j26 eonjugate of the den omina tor.
12 +jI7-6. This does not affect the result lI-j = (lxj)/(-jxj) = jll = j.
of division, but gets rid of the [Eq. 54]
The third term has become real imaginary component ofthe de-
Continuing the
analysis
Substituting the result ofEq. 53
into Eq. 52:
I,
Ic= UwCI-j =j(UwC).
The result has no real part and
~ its imaginary partis positive. The
x
-c I,
current vector of the capacitor
0 lies along the imaginary axis
REAL AXIS
and leads the applied voltage by
,.cc 90°, as shown in Fig. 73. Drawing
veetor diagrams helps us to un-
"a
z derstand what is happening (it
« is usually worthwhile to draw a
;;;
sketch at least), but the magni-
1 , tude and direetion of the cur-
rent vector has been obtained
solely by calculation using com-
plex numbers,
930010·8·17
Similar-ly, we calculate the
eurrent vector for h:
Fig.73.
h=UljwL = -jUlwL.
6=-4 + j3
This ealeulation by-passes what
• j3
happens to the factors wand L
A=4+j2
in the denominator. The conju-
j2 •
gate of jwL is -jwL, so wand L
j1 appear temporarily in the nu-
merator and appear squared in
the denominator; these caneel
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 2 3 4 5
out to leave 0) and L in the de-
-tt nomina tor, as at the beginning
ofthe caleulation. The overall ef-
-j2 • feet is that j disappears from
A' =4-j2
the denominator and -j appears
• -j3
in the numerator, as in Eq. 54.
B' =-4-j3
930010·8·18 The outeome of this calcula-
tion is that the eurrent veetor
Fig.74. for the inductor lies along the
ELEKTOR ELECTRON1CS SEPTEMBER 1993

imaginary axis and tags the ap-
plied voltage by 90°, as shown in
Fig.73.
Resulting vectors
Ifwe give some numeric values
toL, CandR, andconsiderone
particular frequency and a par-
ticular instant in time, the ex-
pressions become simpler. Suppose
that R = 250 n, C = 1.2 ~F and
L = 0.2 H. Also suppose that
f = 500 Hz, and that we evalu-
ate the currents when U = 2 V.
The value of co is
W= 2rr{= 3142 rad sol.
Now calculate the currents:
IR = 21250 = 0.0080 A;
Ie =jUmC =jO.0075 A;
Ir = -jU/wL = -j2l628.4
= -jO.0032 A.
Express currents in milliamps
for convenience: IR = 8.0 mA;
Ie =j7.5 mA and jj, =-j3.2 mA.
Finding the resultant of Ie
andh is straightforwardas they
are both complex numbers with
only imaginary parts:
Ie+h = j(7.5-3.2) = j4.3.
The resultant has magnitude
4.3 mAandleadsIRby90°. Adding
the resultant to IR gives:
I = 8.0+j4.3 [mAl
Figure 75 is an Argand dia-
gram ofthese results. The mag-
nitude of the total current I is
obtained by Pythagoras'Theorem:
I = ~(8.02+4.32) = 9.1 mA.
The phase angle is
<jl = tan-l(4.3/8.0) = 28.3°.
Analysing LCRcircuits
As a final example, we TUn through
the analysis ofa typicalLCR cir-
cuit. Ftgure 76 sets the prob-
lem, which is to calculate the
magnitude and phase angle of
the total currentI when the fre-
quencyis 1ooHzattimet= o.ons.
In Fig. 76b, the impedances
are wri tten inthe form which in-
corporates the infbrmation about
phase, that is to say, in the form
of complex nurnbers. Given that
f = 100 Hz, we calculate that:
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1993
w = 21tf = 628 rad s-l
Using (J) to evaluate the im-
pedances at the given frequency,
we arrive at Fig. 76c.
At time t = 0.001 s,
U = 5sin(628xO.001)= 2.938 V,
remembering to work in radi-
ans.
IR = 2.938/200 = 14.7 mA;
Ie = 2.938/-j72.4 =j40.7 mA;
h = 2.938/j157 = -j18.7 mA.
o REAL AXIS
U = 5"06281
{O = 628
U= 2.94V
FIGURING IT OUT 8
The resultant of le and lt. is lIX = 1I200+lIj157+1I-j72.4
j21.9 mA. Tbe resultant oftbis = 0.005-jO.00637 +jO.0381
and IR is (14.7+j21.9) mA. The = 0.005+jO.00744.
magnitude of the resultant is
~(14. 72+21.92) = 26.4 mA. The Then:
phase angleis <jl = tao-1(21.9/14. 7)
= 56.1". I = UIX = 2.938/(0.005+jO.00744)
Ifweare notinterested incal- =0.0147+jO.0219.
culating IR, Ie and ti. individu-
ally, we can simply find the total In milliamps,1 = 14.7+j21.9, as
impedance by applying tbe rules above.
for impedances in parallel: The compleximpedanees can
be used in any ofthe network re-
duetion techniques described
in Parts 1, 3 and 4.
In the foregoing examples,
the final stages rely on trigonom-
etry. Next month we shall show
how to calculate the magnitude
and direction ofthe resultant di-
rectly from the complex num-
bers. TO BE CONTINUED
Test yourself
1. Add (3+j2) to (6+j3).
2. Add (7+j) to (3-j4).
3. Add (5.2-jO.3) to (-3.6-j2.3).
4. Subtract (4-j2) from (5+j6).
5. Multiply (3+j4) by (7+j3).
6. Multiply (5-j3) by (3+j).
7. What is the complex conju-
gate of(4+j5)?
8. Divide (3+j2) by (7+j3).
9. In an LCR circuit (Fig. 74),
R=120 n.z-o.i H; C=47 ~F,
930010·8·19
{=50 Hz and U=2sina:t. Cal-
culate the current vectors
and their resultants.
Fig.75. 10. Recalculate the current vec-
tors and resultants in the
circuitof question 9when the
frequency is increased to
150 Hz. What are the mag-
nitudesofU andlwhent=2 s?
Answers to
Test yourself (Part 7)
1. UA = 3.074 V
UB = -2.272 V
Un = 1.185 V
IAC = 0.741 A
C lAD = 1.259 A
<:'o~ Inc = 0.395 A
m ~::
~
__
-l
w(221f10)
-s 0 InB = 0.864 A
ICB= 1.136A
.s,
2. IN = -1.262 A
GN = 0.4309 S
I = -0.463 A
3. Perform nodal analysis at B
c and C; calculate UB and UC;
:
l~ ~: -j72.4Q
UB = 232.1x1Q-9 V
UC=-O.l72V
voltage gain = -0.17210.01
= 17.2
930010·8·20
Fig.76.
 FIGURING IT OUT J~~/O-j
PART 9 - REACTIVE NETWORKS
By Owen Bishop

This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voItage, waveforms, and other aspects of the behaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a coUection of rule-of-thurnb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.

L ast month we used complex

numbers for circuit analysis,
but reverted to using Pythagoras
and inverse tangents for evalu-
ating the final result. What we
need to da next 15 to formalize
this process. We represent a given
complex number z by a point in
the complex number plane, quot-
ing its coordinates (a, b) in the
form
z=a+j6. [Eq.55]
These are reetangular coordi-
nates, and the complex number
is said to be expressed in reet-
angular form. Anotber way of
specifying the position of a point e as the argument of the com- gent. These are 1800 apart. Asim- to the other and back again sev-
in a plane is to give its polar co- plex number.
ordinates. The relationship be-
tween the two kinds of coordi-
nate 15 shown in Fig. 77. In this
figure:
a=rcos(J; [Eq.56]
b = r sin (). [Eq.57]
Substituting in Eq. 55 we find:
z = r cos e + jr sin e,
or
z = r (cos 8 + j sin 8). [Eq. 58] and write the result in the form
This is the polar form of z. Tbe lern, which is that there are two
only essential pieces of infcr- possible values ofan inverse tan- Converting from polar form to ment to subtract from which, but
mation in this formula are the
radius r and the angle 6.We adopt
a shorter way ofwritingout the
polar form by quoting rand e,
but leavingout tbe 'coe' and '[sin',
which are taken as understccd.
all complex numbers having the
same format. This leaves us with:
z = r L8, [Eq.59]
which rneans the same thing as
Eq. 58, but is much quicker to
write and much easier to com-
prehend. In this expression, we
refer to r as the modulus and to
/
Z
reetangular form uses Eq. 56 and
57, the result being written in
/ the form ofEq. 55.
/ Example: convert z = 50 L36°
/ into reetangular form
/
./ a = 50 cos 36° = 40.45;
,/ b b = 50 sin 36° = 29.39.
/ Result: z = 40.45 + j29.39.
/
Most scientific calculators have
./ both conversions as built-in pro-
/ ' grams. Their usefulness depends
a on the fact that adding and sub-
o ~ REAL AXIS
tracting complex numbers is eas~
930010 ·IX· n
ier when they are in rectanguJar
form, but multiplying and dividing
Fig.77. is easier when they are in polar
form. In the course of an analy-
sis we may convert from one form
ple sketch OT inspection of the eral timcs, according to which
signs ofa and b teils us the quad- operation is currently required.
rant in which Z 1Ssituated. Tbe rule for multiplicationis:
Conversions
Example: convert z = -4 -j5 multiply the moduli, sum the
The two final examples last month into polar form. First find arguments.
showed how to convert from rect- r = (42 + 52)112 = 6.40. Example: multiply 4 L60° by
angular form to polar form. Given Next, find 2 LlO°. Multiplymoduli: 4 x 2 = 8.
z = a + jb, we calculate: tan-I (-51-4) = 51.34°. Sum the arguments:
But both a and barenegative, so 60° + 10° = 70°. Result: 8 L70°.
r = (a2 + 62)112 tbe point must be in the third Conversely, the rule for divi-
and quadrant. This means that sion is: divide the moduli, find
6 = tan-I (bla), 6 = 180 + 51.34 = 231.34°. The tbe difference between the
result: arguments. This short, easily
remembered form ofthe rule does
ofEq. 59. There is a slight prob- z = 6.40 L231.24°. not specify which modulus to di-
vide by which, or which argu-
commonsense applies, as in this
example: divide6 L85°by2L400.
Divide moduli: 612 = 3. Difference
A ofarguments: 85 -40 = 45. Result:
3 L45°.
"
U=200rot
Network analysis
Figure 78 shows a reactive net-
work in which we are required
to find the voltages and currents
B for all components. The applied
o 930010 - IX - 78 signal has a peak value of200 V
and thefrequencyis3183 Hz. We
begin by rewriting the capaci-
Fig.78. tance as a complex impedance:

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS OCTOBER 1993


Xc = -jo:.C = -j50.
Taking node B to be at 0 V, and
considering node A at U A V, by
KCL:
UA-200+UA+ UA =0
40 20 -j50
stnce I == U / X for each com po-
nent. This equation is simplifled:
UA(~+_I_) =5
40 -j50
U (-jI50+40) =5
A -j2000
U -jl0000
A 40-jI50·
Here we have to divide one com-
plex number by another: convert
to polar form and divide:
U _ 10000 L -90'
A - 155.24L75.07'
= 64.416L-14.93'.
Having found UA. we know
the pd across the 20 Q resistor
and the capacitor, but need to
find the pd across the 40 Q re-
sistor. Since we are, as usual, tak-
ing the applied voltage as the ref-
erence for phase angle, the polar
formofthis is 200LO".Calculating
U'O:
U'O=200LO"- 64.416L-14.93".
Hefe we have to subtract: con-
vert to reetangular form:
U4D = (200+jO)-(62.241- jI6.596)
=137.759 + jI6.596.
Convert the result back to polar
form to express it as a phasor:
U'O= 138.755 L6.869".
Nowthat we havethepdacross
all components, we calculate the
currents:
11= (138.755 L6.869")/40
= 3.4689 L6.869";
T2= (64.416 L-14.93")/20
= 3.2208 L-14.93";
13= (64.416L-14.93")/50
= 1.2883 L75.07".
If you try to convert a num-
ber such as -j50 into polar form
with a calculator, you will prob-
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS OCTOBER 1993
Fig, 79,
ably get an error message. This
is because you are asking the cal-
culator to eval uate tan-I (-50/0).
But we know that the '-j' means
'turn 90° clockwise', so the con-
version rnay be written out di-
rectly as 50 L-90°, as in the equa-
tion for Ja.
j in determinants
Simultaneous equations that in-
clude complex numbers can be
solved by determinants with the
method explained in Part 4.
Figure 80 is an exam ple of mesh
analysis in which we are required
to find the value of 11. The com-
plex impedances are stated be-
side each component.
As usual, we write an equa-"
tion for each rnesh, includ.ing the
complex impedances of the ca-
pacitor and the inductor:
lj (8 - j5) - 12(8) = 50 + jO;
-lj (8) + 12 (8 +j4) = O.
The righthand side of the first
equation expresses the applied
L-90"
Fig.80
930010 -IX -19a
I,
93OQ10-IX·79b
voltage in reetangular form. This
almplifies to just 50.
Following the technique de-
scribed in Part 4, we write the
determinant equat.ion for 11:
15~ -81
8+j~
Tl
8-j5
-8
-81·
8+ j4
1
Tbe value ofthe determinant
the numerator is
50 (8 + j4) - 0 = 400 + j200.
The value ofthe determinant
the denominator is
(8 - j5) (8 + j4) - 64
= 84 - j8 - 64 = 20 - j8.
Multiplying (8 - j5) by (8 + j4)
could be done after converting
them to polar form but, with such
small coefficients, a straightfor-
ward algebraic multiplication Is
easier. The equation for 11 sim-
plifies to a quotient:
930010 . IX . 80
FIGURING lT OUT 9
1 400+ j200
20-j8
447.214L26.5651'
21.5407L-2l.801'
~20. 76L48.37°
Weconvert to polar form toeval-
uate the quotient and state the
result in polar form. The peak
current in Mesh 1is 20.76A, clock-
wise, leading the applied voltage
by 48.37".
The complex numbers in the
determinants ofthis example are
few and simple, but they illus-
trate the point that detenninants
may include eomplex numbers
without altering the essential
routine of the mesh analysis.
Thevenin equivalent
The complex Thevenin equiva-
lent is calculated in the same way
as described in Part 3, but using
complex numbers. As an exam-
ple, we calcuJate the Thevenin
voltage, UTH, and impedance, ZTH,
between terminals A and B ofthe
network of Ftg, 81. In this fig-
ure, Um, defined as the open-eir-
cuit voltage, is the voltage aeross
the 4 .Q resistor and the induc-
tor; there is no pd aeross the 2 Q
resiator, because the circuit be-
in tween A and B is open. If I is the
eurrent circulating in the loop:
UTH =1(4+ j3)
in
10 LO' x (4+ j3)
4-j2+j3
= 12.127 L22. 8350
The reader may Iike to verifythe
intermediate stages of this eal-
culation.
The Thevenin impedance is
calculated with the second method
from Part 3, in which we replace
the voltage source by a short cir-
cuit and then apply the technique
of network reduction. The net-
work is then equivalent to 4 Q
andj3Qinseries, in parallel with
-j2 n, and this 1S in series with
2Q.
Z (4+j3)(-j2) 2
TH 4'3'2+
+J -J
6-j8
=--+2
4+j
6- j8+8+j2
4+j
14- j6
4+j
~ 3.694 L -37.235'.
 GENERA L INTEREST
L---------+-----------t~
Filters
Of all types of circuit, filters are
those most concerned with the
effects of varying frequency.
Consequently, complex numbers
are invaluable for analysing fil-
ter circuits. We begin with the
simplest possible example, a low-
pass RC passive filter (Fig. 82).
Treating this as a potential di-
vider, and assuming that the load
current is negligible, we arrive
at the ratio
UoutlUin~XCI(R + XC)· [Eq.60]
Writing the capacitor reactance
as a complex number:
U IU = l/jwC
out In R+ l/jmC
Multiplyingthroughout
Uout!Uin= 11(jwRC + 1).
[Eq.61]
FOT example, given that Cl) = 105
(f = 15,915 Hz), R = 1 kQ, and is affected if there is an appre-
C = 10 nF, we find that wRC = 1. ciable load on it. In Fig. 83, the
The expression reduces to
UoutlUin ~ 1/(j + 1)
= 1/1.414 L45°
= 0.707 L-45°.
The output voltage is reduced to
0.707 of the input voltage and Substituting Eq. 62 in Eq. 60:
there is a phase lag of 45°. The
frequency on which this exam-
pie is based is the -3 dB point of
R
UINQ
pa
B keep other values unaltered and
930010 -IX - 81
Fig.81.
the filter. Let us see what hap-
pens if we double tbe frequency
but keep component vaJues un-
cbanged. Now, wRC ~ 2 and:
UoutlUin = 1/(j2 + 1)
= 1/2.236 L63.43°
~0.447 L-63.43°.
The output voltage is smaller,
showing that this is a low-pass
fllter, and the phase lag is in-
creased. Note that when the fre-
quency becomes high er, the ef-
feet ofthe '1' in the denominator
becomes relatively less. Doubling
offrequency approximately halves
the output voltage; in other words,
output falls at the rate of 6 dB
per octave.
This technique is for calcu-
lating output and phase lag for
by jmC: any passive Re filter at any fre-
quency.The same principles are
applicable to a high-pass filter
(witb Rand C interchanged) or
to an LC filtel'.
The performance of the filter
load resistor is in parallel with
the capacitor. Their parallel im-
pedance 1S
ZCL = XCi RLI (Xc + RL)·
lEq. 62]
930010 ·IX - 83
Fig.83.
Omitting intermediate steps, we
arrive at a useful result:
Uout!Uin= 11(1+ RIRL + jwRC).
lEq. 63]
IfRLis infinitely large, thisequa-
tion reduces to Eq. 61, which is
to be expected. As an example,
make RL = 10 kQ, with ca = 105,
as in the first filter example:
Uoutl Uin = 1/ (1 +0.1 + j)
=1/(1.1+j)
~ 1/1.487 L42.27°
= 0.672 L-42.27°.
The output voltage and phase lag
are botb reduced sJightly by a
10 kQ load.
The approach used above may
be applied to tbe analysis of ac-
tivefilters, in which oparational
amplifiers are employed. Tbe anal-
ysis is more involved than that
for a passive filter, but the same
principles apply and, as far as
the topic of complex numbers is
concerned, there is nothing new
to add.
R
Fig.82.
Exponential form
While on the subject of repre-
senting complex numbers, the
exponential form is useful in
some applications. The relation-
ship between this and the polar
form is:
r L8 = reiß.
In this equation, e
must be ex-
pressed in radians. One advan-
tage of the exponential form is
that it makes it possible to take
logarithms of complex numbers.
Another advantage, more im-
portantfrom the eleetronic point
ofview, is that this form is more
amenable to the Laplace trans-
formation. This is a topic that we
shall deal with in later issue.
TO BE CONTINUED
ELEKTOR
Test yourself
1. Multiply (2 +j3) by (5 - j4) in
reetangular form. Then con-
vert them both to polar form
and multiply them in tbis form.
Convert the product back to
the reetangular form to COD-
firm tbat the 'multiplylsum'
rule 1S true.
2. Divide (4 + j7) by (2 - j3) in
reetangular form. Convert to
polar form and divide. Convert
back to reetangular form to
confirm that the 'divideldif-
ference' rule is true.
3. Confirm the correctness ofthe
analysisofFig.76byconverting
the currents into reetangular
form and checking that
Il~I2+Ja.
4. Find the current passing
through the resistor in Fig. 78
(beware inverse tangents).
5. Given a low-pass filter as in
Fig. 81, but with R ~ 100 Q,
C = 10 ~F andf= 400Hz, cal-
culate Uoutl Uin and the phase
angle. What is the effect of
feeding the output to a resis-
ti ve load of 4 kn?
Answersto
Test yourself (Part 8)
1. 9 + j5.
2. 1O-j3.
3. 1.6 - j2.6.
4. 1 + j8.
5. 9 + j37.
6. 18-j4. •
7.4-j5.
8. 0.466 + jO.086.
9. m = 314.2; XL = j31.42 Q;
XC=-j67.72Q;IR~0.00833U;
lt.~ -jO.0318U;Ic ~jO.0148U;
I ~ 0.0189U, lagging by 63.9°.
Currents in amperes.
10.m = 942.5; XL = j94.25 Q;
Xc = -j22.59 Q;IR ~ 0.00833U;
lt. = -jO.0106U;Ic ~jO.0443U;
I ~ 0.0337U, leading by 76.1°.
Wben t = 2 s, U = 88.8 mV,
1= 2.99 mA.
ELECTRONICS OCTOßER 1993
 FIGURING ITOUT
PART 10 - POWER
By Owen Bishop

This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voItage, waveforms, and other aspects of the behaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a collection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.

I na11 Dur analyses ofnetworks

and circuits, we have been con-
JQ
'"
This adds up to a total resistor
power of 4.672 W, that is, the re-
sistors are converting electrical
cerned with currents and poten-
tial differences, but have never
considered their joint effect, ,{ f)
"

f)
ii
"
energy into thermal energy at
the rate of 4.672 J s-1 Note that
power. Given a circuit element the direction in which the cur-
with a pd U across it and a CUT- + rent is flowing through the re-
10
rent I flowing through it, the In- sistor makes no difference to the
stantaneous power, Pi, is the "
----.;vI> amount ofenergy being converted.
product of U and 1:

P;= Ul. [Eq.64]

f) lt follows from the Principle
of Conservation of Energy that ~
no energy is created or lost dur- tII
rn
ing this process. The energy is
Instantaneous poweris measured 930010 - X - 84 coming from the power sources
in watts. It 'is the rate of conver- supplyingthis network. The total
SiOD from one form to another at Fig.84. energy supplied must equal the
a given instant of time. In the total energy converted to heat.
case of resistance, electrical en- by the method of mesh analysis Tz = -0.688 A; This is a good check on the cor-
ergy is being converted into heat described in Part 3. First, we write rectness ofthe currentand power
energy. In a capacitor being out the equations for the three 13 = 0.496 A. calculations. We caJculate the en-
charged, energy is being used to meshes: ergy being converted from chem-
build up a charge on the plates Figure 85 shows the currents in ieal form (ifit is a battery) or from
against the opposition ofthe charge 8h - 412 - Ja = 2; each branch ofthe netwcrk, com- 'mechantcal form (if it is a gen-
already existing there. In terms -4h + 612 = -4; bining the currents for two meshes erator) by the 4 V source. Use
of energy, the watt (W) is equiv- -I, +813 = 4. where an element is part oftwo Eq.64: •
alent to the expenditure of en- meshes. We use Eq. 65 to calcu-
ergy at the rate of 1 joule (J) per These are solved as three simul- late the power being dissipated P; = 4x1.184 = 4.736 W.
second: taneous equations, aided if pos- in each resistor:
sible by a scientific calculator or This is more than the energy
1 W = 1 J sec-I. the computer program for de- 3 >2: P = 0.0322x3 = 0.003 W; being dissipated by the resistors!
terminants (Part 4). The results 2 >2: P = 0.6882x2 = 0.947 W; But let us look at the 2 V souree.
With a resistor or reaietive el- are: 4 >2: P = 0.6562x4 = 1.721 W; The energy being converted there
ement, we also have the rela- 1 >2: P = 0.5282x1 = 0.279 W; is:
tionships U = IR and 1 = U I R. 11 = -0.032 A; 7 >2: P = 0.4962x7 = 1.722 W.
Substituting these in Eq. 64, we P; = 2x-0.032 = -0.064 W.
obtain two more equations for in-
stantaneous power: Here the direction ofthe current
does matter. The calculations
P; =[2R, [Eq. 65] showed that that 11 is negative,

and
,{ so that it flows anticlockwise
around rnesh 1 (Fig. 84), that is,
against the polarity of the 2 V
Pi = []2/R. [Eq. 66] + source. The current is supplying
1.184A~ power to the source. Ifthe source
As an exarnple ofthe application <V were a rechargeable cell, the cur-
ofthese equations, let us analyse rent would be charging it. This
a purely resistive network with fact makes the power equations
a steady voltage applied to it. In 0.496A
balance correctly:
such conditions, instantaneous
930010 - x - 85
power is constant. Figure 84 is P"'t=4.672 + 0.064=4.736W
an example of a purely resistive and
network that may be analysed Fig.85. Ps4 = 4.736 W,

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS NOVEMBER 1993

 UN
'-
"
FIGURING IT OUT 10
m
P ~ 12.5,as indicated by the shaded
V. \
PIW
areas in Fig. 86. Note that the
zs instantaneous power oscillates
, with a frequency which 1Stwice
that ofV and/. Currentand volt-
age are both positive together
ac
from (jj; = 0 to n and also from n
to 21[. Thus,S is always positive.
This is anotherwayofsayingthat
the direction in which the cut-
reut flows through the resistor
makes no difference to the amount
of power dissipated.
Another wayof calculating av-
erage power is
I" 2.5 slnwt

1
üll In this example,

Vrrn, ~ lOd2,
Irrn, ~ 2.5d2, and
-, S ~ (lOx2.5)1d2d2) ~ 25/2
~ 12.5.

-w 930010·K·a~ This is the same result as ob-

tained by the earlier ealculation.

Fig.86.
Capacitive circuit
Ifthe same sinusoidal voltage is
wherePtotis the total power sup- The current through the resistor which gives: appl ied aeross a eapacitor, the
plied to the resistors and the 2 V has the same frequency and is in eurrent is also sinusoidal an d of
source, andPs4 18the power sup- phase with the voltage: sinä 8 ~ (1- cos 28)/2. the same frequency, butleads the
plied by the 4 V source. voltage by 90° (see Parts 2 and 5).
In general, the total power 1 ~ V/R ~ (10 sin 01)/4 Substituting this in Eq. 67: We say that 1 ~ 10 sin(u.t+ 90°).
supphed must equal the total = 2.5 sin Cd, Or we ean eonsider the eurrent
power absorbed. From a practi- Pi ~ 25x(1- cos 20Jt)/2 eurve is a eosine eurve and that
cal point ofview, it is interesting The instantaneous power 18, as ~ 12.5 - 12.5 cos 20Jt. 1 = 10 cos rot, which is trigono-
to note that the power dissipa- before, the product ofthe pd and [Eq. 68] metrically the same thing. The
tion varies widely between re- the current: value 10• that is, the amplitude
sistcrs. Calculations ofthis kind Figure 86 shows the graphs for of the current curve, is deter-
point to the components thatneed . Pi = VI = 10 sin (t.tx2.5 sin ui U, I and Pi plotted on the same mined by the reactanee ofthe ca-
to be higWy power rated. ~ 25 sinä 0Jt. [Eq. 67] scale; U and 1 are in phase, 08- pacitor:
cillating about zero. The graph
AC power We make use ofthe trigonomet- for Pi oscillates about 12.5 W. This 10 ~ Vo/XC ~ VowC.
rie identity: level ia the average or appar-
A sinusoidaJ voltage, V ~ 10 sin 01, ent power, S, since the curve is In this example, Uo = 10 V, and
is applied across a 4 Q resistor. eos 28 == 1 - 2 sin2 S, symmetrical about the line let us assume that C ~ 1000 ~F
and w ~ 400. This makes 10 ~ 4,
and 1= 4 cos ox, The curves fOT
UN
V and Lere plotted in Fig. 87.
11. The instantaneous power is,
PIW
as before, the product of U and
I:
Pi = 10 sin ox x4cos wt
=40 sin ox». cos ox.
u = 1(1 sin"'"
.....--_.1 Onee aga in. we make use of a
trigonometriea:1 identity:
",I
sin 2e = 2 sin 9 cos 9.

The power equation then becomes

Pi ~ (40 sin 201)/2 ~ 20 sin 201.

930010-~-Sl
This equation is also plotted in
-w
Fig. 87: the cxurve has ampli-
tude 20 and frequency twiee that
of V and I. In general, the am-
Fig.87 plitude may be calculated with
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS NOVEMBER 1993
 GENERAL INTEREST

tg networks that are purely ca-

.4 1",1,857 ~acitive or purely inductive, so
" s: 68.2'
, ~hat the voltage and current are
~Ooout of phase. Ifthe phase angle
,, "5 other than this, a different sit-
,
UR = 3.714 w-rtton arises. Consider the ex-
u = 10 "-- 68.2
I
0
-

am,'le of Fig. 88. The applied

T_" T,n '"" voltage lind the impedance ofthe

capacitor ai e expressed as com-
plex nurnbers t!<:ieeParts 8 and
9). The total imp'edance,
930010· X . 88a ,
Z = 2 - j5 = 5.385 ""_68.2 0
n
in polar form. From this, W<s',"'~l-
Uc =9.285:
"--_ 21.8°;' culate I, which is the same for-,
: 93OD10· x - 5Ub both components:

1= U / Z
Fig.88. = 10 LO° I 5.385 L-68.2°
= 1.857 L68.2° A.
the equation: an jnductor, except that being
the dual (Part 5) of a capacitor, We have been preoccupied with Now look at the power developed
Pi = Urmsxlrmsxsin 2liX same of the praperties are in- sinusoidal signals, but voltage or in the individual impedances.
= [(uo l)/("2x"2)]x sin 2<d verted. Following the same lines current may vary in other ways. For this we need to know the pds
= 1/2 Vo 10 sin 2cd. of argument, ifthe applied pd is The voltage may be a r-amp, for across them:
as befare: example, U = 3t. If such a volt-
One point to notice in Fig. 87 is age is applied to an inductor, the UR = RI = 2 x1.857 L68.2°
that the power curve is sym- U = Uo sin wt. current may be calculated from = 3.714 L68.2° V.
metrical about thex-axis. In other Eq. 28 (Part 5).
words, average power 1Szero. Current lags the valtage: Assuming there is no initial Uc = XCI = -j5I
Instantaneous power 1Szero when current: = 5 L-90° x 1.857 L68.2°
either U or I is zero. Power is pos- 1= -10 cas ca, = 9.285 L-21.8° V.
itive and energy 1Sbeing trans-
ferred to the capacitor when both Instantaneaus power is: The phasor diagram in Fig. 88
U andI are ofthe same sign. Work If L has the value 0.5 H, then shows the relationship between
ie being done against the repul- P. = -Uolo sin 2wt 1= 3t2. At any instant, these quantities. Current in the
sive force due to the charge al- = -1!2 Urms lrms sin M, network is in phase with the pd
ready present: the charge on the Pi = UI = 3t x 3t2 = 9t3. across the resistar. It is 90° out
capacitoris increasing. Power is The instantaneous power as- of phase with the pd across the
negative and energy is heing trans- cillates at twice the frequency, Conversely, we can calculate capacitor.
ferred from the capacitor to the and average power is zero. Since powerwhen we are given the ap- As far as the capacitor is con-
circuit when U and I are of op- the power curve is a negative sine plied current. For instance, given cerned, the voltage-current re-
posite sign. The charge ofthe ca- curve, it is the inverse ofthe power that the current through a 0.1 H lationship is the same as in
pacitor is decreasing. curve afFig. 87. Energy is being inductorisI = 4e2t, we useEq. 26 Fig. 87, in which we saw that
Example. A pd ofU = 3 sio 4OO0t stored when U and I are of op- to calculate that the average power is zero. During
is applied across a 22 ~F capaci- popsite sign (power positive) and a whole number of cycles, the
tor. What 18the instantaneous is returned to the circuit when U U = Ldlldt = 8Le21 = 0.8e2/, capa ci tor neither absorbs nor
power when t = 1 ms? From the andl are ofthe same sign (power and supplies energy.
equation, we identify the values negative). P = UI = 0.8e21 x 4e21 = 3.2e41. For the rcsistor; the power may
of Uo = 3 and OJ = 4000 (the fre- Example. A pd U = 4 sin 5000t be calculated as in Eq. 64.
quency is 637 Hz). Calculate 10: 1S applied across a 15 J..l,H induc- The power after 0.5 s is 3.2e2 In a phasor diagram, all pha-
tor. What is the instantaneous =23.6W sors must have the same angu-
10 = U; I Xc = tt; I oe power when t = 1ms? From the Calculations such as these as- lar frequency. Since power has
= 31 (4000 x 22 x 10-6) equation, we identify the values sume that the network is in a double the angular frequency, we
= 34.09 A. ofUo = 4 and (0= 5000. Calculate steady state, by which we mean cannot show it in Fig. 88, nei-
10: that the function for U or I 1S con- ther can we calculate it by vec-
Thus, the current equation is: 10 = Uo/XL = Uol cd: tinuous, not piecewise. If there tor multiplication. However, since
= 41 (5000 x 15 x 10-6) are abrupt changes in U or 1, a we are concerned with only two
1= 34.09 cos 4000t. = 53.33A. reactive impedance, as might be vectors, I and UR, which have the
expected from its name, reacts same direction, ordinery scalar
Instantaneous power is: Thus, the current equation is: to cushion or even to oppose the multiplication is applicable. We
change. In passing from one steady do not use the moduli ofthe com-
Pi = 1/2x3 x 34.09 x sin(2x4000t) 1= -53.33 cos 5000t. state to another there is a tran- plex numbers directly, since these
= 51.14 sin 8000t. sient period. The analysis of what equal the amplitudes ofthe cur-
Instantaneous power is: happens in such briefperiods is rent and voltage. For a.c. power
Whent= 1ms, a fescinating cne which we shall calculations, we need to use r.m.s.
Pi = 51.14 sin 8 = 50.6 W Pi = -1f2 x 4 x 53.33 x sin(2x5000)t leave until a later issue. values as noted above:
= -106.7 sin 10000t.
U,ms = mod UR d2
Inductive circuit Mixed impedance
When t = 1ms, = 3.7141 "2 = 2.626 V.
Similar behaviour is shown by Pi = -106.7 sin 10 = 58.0 W The examples above apply only

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS NOVEMBER 1993


{nng = modI! ~2
=1.857 d2 = 1.313 A.
From Eq. 64:
P = 2.626 x 1.313 = 3.45 W.
This is the true(or active) power
dissipated in the network.
There ia another way of'Iook-
ing at tbe power calculation.
Knowing U, we can calculate I
and the phase angle 'P. Then:
P=Scos <p,
where P is the active power, S
the apparent power (Unnslrms),
and cos <p the power factor. If
U andI are in phase, as in a purely
resistive network, q> =
cos <p= 1. The whole ofthe ap-
parent power, S, is dissipated
in the network. If U and I are
90° outofphase, as in purely ca-
pacitive 01' inductive circuits,
= 90° and cos ({J = 0, and none
Cf>
ofthe power i5 dissipated in the
network.
With mixed networks, when
U and I are neither whol1y in
phase nor wholly out of phase,
the power factor teIls us wh at
proportion of S 18 being dissi-
pated. We call the dissipated
tion the active power, P, and
the non-diesipated portion the
reactive power, Q.
The apparent power 1Snot ex-
pressed in watts, as there may
be no or little actual conversion
of energy, but in volt-amperes
(VA). With reactive power, some-
times known as the wattless
component, there is no con-
version of energy; it is expressed
in volt-ampere reactive (VAr).
Power factor
We shall now see how to calcu-
late the power factor of a circuit
as in Fig. 89. If you have a cir-
cuit with impedances marked in
ohms, henrys and farads, the
first step 1Sto calculate the corn-
U = 10
/"0"
930010·
Fig.89.
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS
FIGURING IT OUT 10 Im
plex impedances for the given the total power dissipated Answersto
frequency. These impedances have equals the total power sup- Test yourself (Part 9)
already been marked in the di- plied.
agram. Next, we calculate the 2. Wh at is the average power 1. Product is (22+j7). Conversion
total impedanee, Z, summing for dissipated by a 5 Q resistor gives: 3.606 L56.31" x 6.403
the two branches and then using connected aeross a source L-38.66" = 23.089 L17.65"
the standard formula for im- U = 20 sin rot? = 22 + j7.
pedanees in parallel. 3. A voltage U = 4 ein 2000t is 2. Quotient is (-1 + j2). Conver-
applied aeross a 100 JlF ca- sion gives: 8.062 L60.255° di-
(10+ j3)(5- j12) pacitor. What 1S (a) the in- vided by 3.606 L-56.310"
Z = 2.236 L116.565" = -1 + j2.
(10+ j3)+(5- j12) stantaneous power when
1 = 5 ms, and (b) the average 3. /1 = 3.444 - j0.415; /2 = 3.112
86-j105
power? - jO.830; /3 = 0.332 + j1.245.
15-j9
4. A voltage U = 2.5 sin 30001 is 4. /z= 18.570L21.801". Thecur-
135.7L-50.68° applied across a 100 rnH in- rent through the resistor is
17.49L-30.964° ductor. What 1S the instan- h- 12 clockwise. Its value is
taneous powerwhen t = 1.5 ms? -3.448 + j8.6204 or 9.2845
=7.758L-19. 716' [Q] L111.803°. The conversionat
5. A40 Q resistor and a 100 roH
N ow we calculate the current inductor are connected in se- the laststep maygive theangle
{=U/Z ries across a voltage source as -68.197", but the negative
0° and U = 5 sin 2000t. CalcuJatethe sign ofthe real part ofthe rec-
= lOLOo /7. 758L-19. 716' active power (i.e., that dissi- tangular form shows the re-
=1.289L-19.716 ° [Al pated in the resistor). sultant to be in the 2nd quad-
6 Given the circuit of Fig. 89, rant ..
The angle between the voltage calculat.e the power factor when 5. Without load: 0.37 L-68.3°.
phasor and the current phasor the frequency 1S doubled. With load: 0.356 L-63.6".
is 19.719". The power factor, pr,
is the eosine of the angle:
p{ = cos 19.716 = 0.941.
Another way of art-iving at the
same result is to proceed as fol- To be published in November 1993
lows. After ealculating Z as be-
por- fore, convert it to reetangular 305 Circuitsdemonstrates the practical aspects ofelec-
form: tronies through projects that can be built at horne, in a
small workshop, or in the physies or scienee depart-
Z = 7.758 L-19.716" ment of schooIs and colleges. There are projects for every-
=7.303 - j2.617. [Q] one, covermgAudto &Hi-fi; Computers & Mieroprocessors;
Music and Electrophontcs: Radio, Television and
The real part of Z is the resis-
Communlcatlons: and Test and Measurement.
tive part ofthe total impedance:
ISBN 0 905705 36 X Price 1:14·95*
R = 7.303 Q.
SMT Projects by Owen Bishop. This book describes
Having found I as above, we ig- the special features of Surface Mount Technology and
nore the argument (the phase how to work with Surface Mount Devtces on the work-
angle) and take only the modu- beneh. It includes over 20 constructtonal projects, all
lus, since current and pd are in ofwhieh have many useful applications in and around
phase for resistive elements. Using the horne and workshop. The projects are se1ected and
this, we ealculate the true power destgned to take advantage of the dtsttncttve features
from Eq. 65: of SMT. They introduce the beginner to SMT in a prac-
tical 'hands-on' way wtthout requtnng expensive spe-
P = [2R = 1.2892 x 7.303 cial equipment.
= 12.134 W.
The book is for those who want to know more about
surfaee mount devices and to gain practical expert-
The ratio between the true power
and the apparent power gives
ence of handling thern.
the power factor:
ISBN0 905705 35 1 Price 1:9-95*
p{=PlS *Prices for orders received at Dur Dorchester office be-
= 12.134/ (10 x 1.289) fore 15 November 1993 are: 305 Circuits j;12·95: SMT
= 0.941. Projects j;8·25.
TO BE CONTINUED Orders otherthan frorn private custorners, forinstance,
bookshops, schools, colleges, should be sent to:
Gazelle Book Services Ltd, Falcon House, Queen
Test yourself Square, Lancaster LAllRN, England_
1. Calculate the power dissipated
x- 89
in each resistor of Fig. 84 if
Elektor Electronics (Publisbing), PO Box 1414, Dorchester,
the two voltage sources are
Dorset, England, DT2 SYH'II
interchanged. Confirm that
NOVEMBER 1993
 :'

FIGURING IT OUT
PART 11 - QUADRIPOLES
By Owen Bishop

This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voltage, waveforms, and other aspects of the behaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a collection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.

Quadripoles, otherwise known

as 4-terminal networks, or 2- .....
I,
+-
I,
usually da, 11 is clockwise and
12 is anticlockwise. This elimi-
nates negatives from the equa-
port networks, are the final ex-
cursion into network analysis tions. Comparingthe coefficients
in the present series. The es- in the mesh equations with those
sential features of a quadripole
are illustrated in Fig. 90. The
.....
I,
Port 2
in Eq. 69 and 70, we see that:

network ia linear, its output being 930010-XI-26

Zu = 5 Q;
directly proportional to its input Z12 = Z2l = 2 12;
and varying continuously with Figure 90 Z22 = 6 12.
it. Current.Jj entersPort 1 byane
terminal and leaves by the other. All z-parameters are expressed
Current.Z; enters and leaves Port2. in ohms.
The behaviour of the network
at any given frequency, and as z-parameter model
seen from the outside, may be
eompletely specified by refer- Based on the z-parameters, a
ence to four impedanees, known Port 1 Port 2 quadripole may be represented
as the open-ctrcuit impedance 930010 - XI-tl by the model of Fig. 92, eu and
parameters, 01' z-parameters. Z22 are represented as imped-
Figure 91
Current 11 produces a pd aeross ances in series with the ports. Ul,
Port 1 as the result of its flow- the pd produced at Port 1 as a
ing through z jj.It also produees I,~
Z,
result of 12, is represented by a
a pd aeross Port 2, for which the controlled voltage source, zlzh
relevant irnpedance is Z21. Simi- accounting for the last term of
larly,I2 produces pds across Ports Eq. 69. Similarly, the last term
1 and 2, as the result of flowing of Eq. 70 is represented by the
through 212 and Z22 respectively.
Summingthesepdsateaeh port: "1Port 1 Port 2
controlled voltage souree z21h.
Figure 93 shows the T-network
afFig. 91 as az-paratneter model.
VI = Znl1 + zJ2l2 [Eq. 69J 930010-XI-12
This model can be used to pre-
V2 = Z21h + z21/2 [Eq. 70J dict the behaviour of the net-
Figure 92 work when connected to exter-
These two equations define the nal circuits. Ifwe know the volt-
z-parameters. With Port 2 open- ages at the ports, we use Eq. 69
circuited, so that 12 = 0, we find: and 70 to calculate the currents.
Conversely, given the currents,
From Eq. 69: Z11 = V11I1 we can calculate the voltages.

From Eq. 70: z21 = V21I1

[Eq.

[Eq.

With Port 1 open-circuited.

71J
72J
so
"1:J Example. In the network of
Fig. 91,I1 = 2A,h=3A. Calculate
VI and V2·
From Eq. 69:
VI = 5 x 2 + 2 x 3 = 16 V.
930010·XI-16
that Zj = 0, we find:
Figure 93 From Eq. 70:
From Eq. 69: Z12 = V1/12 V2 = 2 x 2 + 6 x 3 = 22 V.
[Eq. 73J
From Eq. 70: Z22 = V2112 Fig. 91. Mesh current analysis Mesh 1: VI = (3+2)11 + 2h Determining parameters
[Eq.74J (Part 4) provides equations from Mesh 2: U2 = 211 + 6h
which the z-parameters may be If the circuit of the quadripole
As an illustration, consider the calculated: Note that, instead of defining is known, z-parameters may be
T-section resistance network of a11eurrents as cIockwise, as we ca1cuJated by the usual network

ELEKTOR ELECTRON1CS DECEMIlER 1993

 FIGURING IT OUT - 11

techniques, as we did for Fig. 91. pass filter network.

Theseare open-circuitparameters, "'
ron
which means that the ports can
be considered in turn as open cir-
Practical technique
cuits to simplify the calculations. ; Rl
The a-parameters of a eompli-
As an example, take the 1t-net- eated network may be measured
work of Fig. 94. With Port 2 indirectly. By leaving the ap-
open-circuited, 12ftows through Port 1 Port 2 propriate port open-circuit, we
Rl in parallel with R3 and R2. 930010· XI·15 can make either 11or 12equal to
Their combined resistance is zero. Then, measurements ofthe
4.167 Q. From Eq. 71: Figure 94 othercurrentand thevoltage are
substituted in Eq. 71-74. Onee
these values are obtained, we use
c
them to predict the behaviour
The current flowing through R2 of the quadripole under other
is: input and output eonditions.
IR = h x Rl/(Rl + R2 + R3)
w, ,,~'
radi,
iI Example. At a given frequency,
and with Port 2 open-eireuited
= 5h 1 30 = h 1 6. t "" 1.6 K Hz 0---_>__---- --<> (so thatI2 = 0) and 10 V applied
Port 1 Port 2
to Port 1, measurements made
This generates a pd across R2: on an unknown network are:
930010· XI· 13
Ul = 10 V;
U2 = 5 V;
Figure 95 a
11 = 0.25 A.
Now we can calculate Z21, using With Port 1 open-cireuited (so
4.031..:1.12
Eq.72: that h = 0) and 10 V applied to
Port 2, measurements made are:
Z21 = U21 11 = 2.5 Q. U1 = 0.2 V;
U2 = 10 V;
With Port 1 open-circuited, sim- 12 = 0.02 A.
ilar calculations show that: u·l
w"" 10'
radis
With Port 2 open-cireuited, sub-
stituting in Eq. 69 and solving
Z12 = 2.5 Q; for zll:
Port 1
Z22 = 7:5 Q.
930010· XI· 14 Zn = 1010.25 = 40 Q.
Now suppose that R3ie replaced Figure 95b
bya 10 ~F capacitor (Fig. 96a). Substituting in Eq. 70 and solv-
If co = 104, then Xc = -1 1jwC ing for Z21:
= -j 10 Q. Wecan use this in plaee ao c
ofthe resistance of'Rgin the cal- '21 = 5.0/25 = 20 Q.

"1'J cl"
eulations above. The eornbined
impedanee of R2 and Xc is Similarly, with Port 1 open-cir-
(15 - j10) Q. In parallel with . euited:
5 n, the total resistance is
Z12 = 0.2 10.02 = 10 Q;
5 (15 - jlO) 1 (5 + 15 - jlO) Port 1 Port 2 Z22 = 1010.02 = 500 Q.
=(15-jlO)/(4-j2) 930010· XI· 17
=18.03 L-33.69" /4.47 L-26.57" Figure 96 shows these results
= 4.03 L-7.12". Figure 96
in corpora ted in the z-parame-
Zl1 = 4.03 L-7.12" Q. tel' model. The parameters may
now be used to predict network
Techniques for handl ing corn- behaviour with other values of
plex numbers are described in pd or current at the same fre-
Part 8. queney.
Current flowing through R2
i5:
IR = 11 x 5 1(20 - j10).
Other parameters
Port 1
The z-parameters show how the
Port 2
The pd aeross R2 is: voltages are determined by the
930010- XI· 18
currents and impedances as de-
U2 = IRR2 = 75h 1 (20 - j10) Figure 97 fined in Eq. 69 and 70. We ean
= h x 75 1 22.36 L-26.57" write a corresponding pair of
equations showing how the cur-
Z21 = U2 1 t, rents are determined by the volt-
= 75 122.36 L-26.57" The Port 1 vo1tage source, The output pd is 0.83 times the agesand another setof parameters,
= 3.35 L26.57" Q Z1212. and z22 may be omitted input pd and there is a phase lead the y-parameters. This is an-
from the model(Fig. 95b). Then, of 33.69". other instanee ofduals (seePart5),
From these two parameters we from Eq. 69 and 70: Repeatingthis ealeulation with so it should eome as no surprise
can ealeulate the ga in of this 00 = 2 x 104 gives a gain of to find that they-parametermodel
network,assmingthatitis lightly gain = U21 Ul = Z21 1 Z11 0.95 L18.43°. Gain is increased of a quadri pole has an admit-
loaded. With a high-impedance = 3.35 L26.57" 1 4.03 L-7.12" and phase lead is reduced, as tance in parallel with each port,
load,I2 = O. = 0.83 L33.69". might be expeeted with a high- and a pair ofcontrolled current

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS DECEMßER 1993

 GENERALINTEREST

sourees (Fig. 97). As might be ex- Wenowhave all the parameters

peeted from the duality, y-par- and can setup themodel (Fig. 99).
ameters are calculated er mea- Use this to make predictions.
sured by short-circuiting Olle For example, evaluate the CUT-
'0 40
or the other of the ports. The rents if U1 = 10 V and U2 = 5 V.
equations for y-parametera are: On the Port 1 side, the current
c through the resistor is the re-
"
1) = YUU1 + Y12U2: '; t sult of the pd across it, which
is:
12 = Y21U1 + Y22U2· I,
10 - h12U2 = 10 - U2/3
Port 1 Port 2
They-parameters are admittances, 't---' = 10 - 5 1 3 = 8.333
93OO'O·)(j·'9
so their unit is the siemens (8).
They are used in calculations 930010· XI ·20
11 = 8.333 1 4.333 = 1.923 A.
similar to those above, if work-
ing with admittances is more Figure 98 On the Port 2 side, the eurrent
convenient. through the6-ohmresistor(equiv-
A third setofparameters con- alent to])6 S admittanee) is 5/6A.
+-1,
sists of the h-parameters. The The current from the controlled
h stands for 'hybrid', because souree is -111 3 = -1.923 1 3 =
these parameters are based on -0.641 A. 12 equals the eurrent
through the 6-ohm resistor plus

"1 'J~
a mix O[UI and Jg, the pd across
Port 1 and the eurrent through
Port 2:
U1 = hUl1 + h12U2 (Eq. 75]
12 = h2111 + h22U2 (Eq. 76]
We will find the h-parameters for
the eireuitofFig. 91. With Port 2
short-circuited, as in Fig. 98a,
(so that U2 = 0), from Eq. 75:
But VI / /1 equals the resistance
of the network when Port 2 is
short-circuited: this is 3 Q in se-
ries with 2 Q and 4 Q in paral-
leL This gives a total resistance
of 4.33 Q. Thus, hu = 4.33 Q.
The unit of h11 is ohms.
From Eq. 76, we have:
Figure 98b shows the shorled
network redrawn to make ftow
the current producedbythe source,
which, being negative, flows in
the opposite direction to the arrow:
Port 1 P~!.
9Jool0·XI·21 12 = 5/6 -0.641 = 0.1923 A.
Figure 99
The current gain of this net-
work is 121 h = 0.1.
r--------------., This simple example has the
I h" I merit thatits results can be ehecked
easily by mesh analysis ofFig. 91,
with applied vo!tages of 10 V
and 5 V. The reader may care to
work this as an exercise, and
confirm that the h-parameter
technique gives the correct re-
L J
sults.
Port 1 Port 2
930010·XI·22 Extending h-parameters
Figure 100 Consider the model afFig. 100,
the circuit details of which are
not relevant for the moment. It
receives input UI from a variable
pd source and its output U2 is fed
to load resistor R. The h-par-
ameters are marked on the fig-

tu, -
of current easier to visualise. I,
The pd across AB is: b ure. By Ohm's law:
lu,
U = 2(11 + 12) = --412: 12 =-U21 R = -U2/1OOO
(Eq. 77]
11 = -3h
930010· XI· 24

Substituting in the equation for Also, from Eq. 76:

Figure 101 a
h21'
12 = h21I1 + h22U2
h21=-1/3. h. C
=1012 + 0.0012U2·
b

h21 'is a ratio between two CUT- Substituting the value of/2 from

+
rents: it is a pure number with- Eq.77:
out units. R

With Port 1open-circuited, -U2/1000 = lOh + 0.0012U2

as in Fig. 91, so that h = 0, we
have from Eq. 75:
1" .. I1 =-{0.0012U2+ U2/1000)/1O
Port 1 e Port 2 = -U2 (0.0012 + 0001) 110
h12 = U11 U2 = 216 = 1/3.
930010· XI· 23
= -U2 (0.0022) 110
Figure 101 b = -0.00022U2·
Here, the 4-ohm and 2-ohm re-
sistors act as a potential divider, Substituting this value and the
and U2 is divided by 3 to pro- From Eq. 76: This is the admittance of the values of the h-parameters in
vide UI. Again, this is a ratio 4-ohm and 2-ohm resistars in Eq.75:
with no units. series; its unit is the siemens.

ELEKTORELECTRONICSDECEMBER1993
 FIGURING IT OUT - 11 m
Ul = -D.00022U2hll nal is in phase with the input
=-0.00022U2x
+ h12U2
50 + 0.005U2.
, ? signaL Typieally, hib is small,
.. Uv t U2 = -0.011 + 0.005
1" around 20-30 o.
1"
= -D.006.
r
u," hr• ~
t S
h;. ~
r
Uou1 ~
•
A
In the common-collector(emit-
ter-follower) mcdel, hic is large
The pd gain ofthe network is the (1 k.Q or more), and hfc is typi-
reciprocal of this:
I I cally -100, giving large current
gain with no phase shift (one of
U2/ Ul = -1 / 0.006 = -167. 9JOOIO·Xl·25
the main purposes of using a
c-c amplifier). b« is 1, giving
That is, the pd gain is -167. Figure 102 unity voltage gain, as required
The network is an inverting volt- in an emitter folIower, while hoc
age amplifier. It has the fea- has a moderate value.
tures of a common-emitter arn pli- the collector current is virtu- TO BE CONTINUED
fier based on an n-p-n bipolar ally independent of supply volt- Voltage gain = Uout / Uin
junction transistor (Fig. IOla). age. Thecurrent 1S split between =-hreIbR/hie1b Test yourself
In the figure we sbow a pd source hoe and R, which are in paral- = -hre R / hie·
U, but omit biasing resistors, lel. By the rules of current divi- 1. Calculate the z-parameters
which can be considered to be sion: In Fig. 102, the voltage gain is for Fig. 91, given Rj ~ 100,
partofthe pd source. Comparing R2 = 140 and R3 = 6 o.
the two parts of this figure, we 1 ~_h_ 1 x l/hoe (-150 x 103) /103 = -150. 2. Calculate Z11 and Z21 for
L ,", b l/h +R
see that 11 i8 the base current oe Fig. 95a, given that Rj = 100,
Ib, while h Is the collector cur- The output signal is 180 out of 0
R2 = 12 0, C = 1 ~F and
rent, I c-The h- parameters are = -hre1b / (1 + hoeR). phase with the input signaL w= 1()4radis. Whatisthevolt-
given special subscripts to relate age gain ofthis network?
them to the operation ofthetran- Current gain is Other amplifiers 3. In an unknown quadripole
sistor: circuit, Ul = 1 V, U2 = 3 V,
h / IB = -hre / (1 + hoe RL)) The models for common-base 11 = 20 ~ and h = 2.5 mA
h1l becomes hie, the iriput re- [Eq.78] and eommon-collector ampli- Calculate the h-parameters.
sistance; fiers have the same layout as
h21 becomes hfe, the forward Given the values of Fig. 102 thatofthe eommon-emitterampli- Answers to
current ratio, or gain; (hoe = 10-5), the eurrent gain is fier. The subscripts on the par-
h 12becomes hre• the reverse ameters end in 'b' or 'c', but oth- Test yourself (Part 10)
feedback voltage ratio; -150/ (1 + 10-5 X 103) erwise the diagrams are the same. 1. I} = 0.56 A; 12 = 0.04 A;
h22 becomes hoe, the output = -150 / 1.01 = -148.5. The typieal values of the par- 13 = 0.32 A In 3 0: 0.9408 W;
admittanee. ameters are not neeessarily the in 2 0: 0.0032 W; in 4 0:
This is a large current gain, as same as in the common-emit- 1.0816 W; in 1 0: 0.0576 W;
The 'e' in each subscript refers is typical of a common-emitter ter model. For example, the ab- in 7 0: 0.7168 W 4 V source:
to the fact that the transistor amplifier. The negative sign in- solute value of hfbis a little less 2.24 W; 2 V source: 0.56 W
is in the eommon-emitter con- dieates that it is 1800 out of than unity, typieally -0.99. Total for resistors = total for
figuration. Eaeh of these par- phase with the input signal. Tagether with the fact that hob sources = 2.8 W.
ameters is measurable fora given In practiee, it is reasonahle is exceedingly low (a few hun- 2. 40 W
transistor, or ean be obtained . to simplify the model further dred nano siemens, equivalent 3. (a) 0.547 W; (b) 0 W
from a data sheet. hie and hfe without undue loss ofpreeision. to over 1 Mn), this means that 4. 1.627 mW
are measured with the transis- The output admittanee is small current gain is very slightly less 5. 12 mW
tor output short-eireuited; hre (only a few microsiemens), sohoe than 1 in any practieal com- 6. XL = j6; Xc = -j6. Power fac-
end hoe are measured with an can usually beomitted, too.Given mon-base amplifier. Also, sinee tor = 0.944.
open-cireuit input. Given these that hoe is very smalI, the term hfb is negative, the output sig-
parameters, the behaviour ofthe hoeRcanbeomittedfromEq.78,
amplifier ean be predicted, pro- so that
vided that it is operating in the
linear partof'its range, and with current gain ""-hfe = -150.
small signals.
u
The values of hre and hoe for Other characteristies of the o 0
most transistors allow some sirn- amplifier are ealeulated in a j
plifieation of the model. sirnilar way by making suitable
Figure 102 shows a common- assumptions and analysing the
emitter arnplifier with typical network with the use of tech-
values for the h-parameters. niques described in previous 000000
We have omitted the eontrolled parts. Equations may become in-
voltage source, becausea.cis typ- volved, hut the mathematies is
ieally only 0.0001, with the re- simple. For example, to caleu-
sult that the voltage souree ean late voltage gain, we first eon-
usual1y be ignored. R is the load sider the left-hand mesh of
resistor in the collector circuit. Fig.102:
In the model, we are speeifying
that the controlJedcurrent souree
is drawing the collector current
through that resistor; ultimately In the right-hand mesh, ignor-
from the negaive rail through ing hoe:
the low impedanee ofthe power
supply. We can say this because
tMI(
ELEKTOR ELECTRONTCS DECEMBER 1993
-m
FIGURING IT OUT
PART 12 - BUILDING MODELS
By Owen Bishop
This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voltage, waveforms, and other aspects of the behaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a coUection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.
Fpleigurecircuit.
l03showsa verysim-
The capacitor is
pacitor 1S reduced, causing the
pd across it to be reduced, too.
previously charged to 9 V by an The effect of this is that the cur-
external source. The source is re- rentisreduced. Itdecreases from
moved, current i flows through 490 I-lA,fallingeventually to zero
the resistor, and the pd across (at least, in practical terms: the-
thecapacitorgradually falls. We oretically, it never reaches zero).
are asked to calculate how lang This circuit is one in which key
it takes fOT the current to fall to quantities are changingin time.
100 1-lA. This 1S the reason for uaing the
lower-case symbols i and u; they
are to indicate quantities that
~~1
vary in time. By contrast, quan-
tities such as C and Rare con-
stant and are represented by
470~ iiiii U [~ capitalletters.
The first step of building a
model of the circuit 1S to write
equations to express all the re-
930010· XII· 103
lationships we know. For this
circuit, we know that
Fig.103
q = uC [Eq. 79]
One way to ans wer this ques- where q is the charge on the ca-
tion is to set up the circuit, in- pacitor at any instant. We also
c1uding a microam meter to mea- know that
sure i, and measure the time
with a stop-watch. Timingis not u = iR (Ohm's law)[Eq. 80]
the difficulty; discharging takes
several tensofseconds. 'T'heprob- and
lern is to find a capacitor of ex-
act1y 470 u.E We are driven to an- i = dq/dt [Eq.81]
other way of answering the ques-
tion - writing an equation which The symbol dqldt needs some
behaves in exactly the same way explanation. A symbol of ihis
as the theoretical circuit. Such form is know as a derivative,
an equationis a model ofthe cir- more particularly, a first deriva-
cuit. tive (see Box 1). In this case,
dqldt is the rate of change of
Modelling the charge on the capacitor in
coulombs (C) per second (5). By
It is easy to find the current at definition, the ampere is a flow
the instant the external source of charge of 1 coulomb per sec-
is removed. At that instent, we ond (1 Os-tjandEq. 81 expresses
have a pd of 9 V across a 22 kQ the lass of charge from the ca-
resistor and pacitor in these terms.
Having jotted down the rele-
i = 9/22xl03 = 409 ~A. vant equations, the next step is
to relate q and dq/dt in a single
But, as soon as thatcurrentstarts equation. Cornbining Eq. 79 and
to flow, the charge on the ca- 80 gives:
[Eq.82]
q = uC = iRC
Combining Eq. 81 and 82:
q = iRC = dqldtxRC
dqldt = -<i I RC [Eq.83]
Equation 83 is a model of the
circuit, relating the instanta-
neous current (represented by
dq I dt) to the instantaneous charge,
with Rand C as constants. The
Derivatives
Given that y is a function of x
(for ex.ample, y = 4 + 3x), the
symbol dyldx stands for the
first derivative of y with re-
spect to x. It is the rate of
change of y with reepect to x.
lfwethinkofagraph in which
y is plotted against x, dyldx is
the gradient ofthe graph at any
point. Finding the derivative
(sometimes called the differ-
ential) of a function is known
as differentiation. There are
a number of simple rules for
finding derivatives, some of
which were given in Part 5.
'When a functionhas been dif-
ferentiated, the first derivative
is a new function, which ean
also he differentiated. This gives
the second derivative, sym-
hol d2yldx2. We can go on and
differentiate this again to ob-
tain the third derivative,
d3yIctx3,and so on.
Differential equations may
contain fugt, second, third er
higher derivatives. The order
of a differential equation is
that of the highest differen-
tial present. Equation 83 is a
first-order equation. Next
month we shall look at some
second-order equations.
Box 1
ELEKTOR
negative sign indicates that the
charge 1S decreasing with time.
Readers will recognize the divi-
sor RC as the time constant
(T) of the circuit.
Because it contains a deriva-
tiveor differential, Eq. 83is know
as a differential equation. The
differential terms in such an equa-
tion express rates of change, so
such equations are widely used
a models for dynamic systems.
Tbey areidealfor modelling elec-
Solving
equation
the growthldecay
Equation 83 is a typical ex-
ample ofthe decay eqaation.
It specifies the rate at which
the charge diminishes or de-
cays. With a positive coeffi-
cient on the right ofthe equa-
tion, it specifies growth.
Given a differential equa-
tion, itmay be possibletowrite
it in the form
dyldx = ky.
Note that the right-hand side
consista of only a single term
in y (no x, DO y2, and so on).
Also, kmust be a constant, but
may be positive (growth) or
negative (decay), In Eq. 83,
k = -IIRC. The solution of
such an equation is:
y = Aekx,
where A is an arbitrary con-
stant. The value of A may be
calculated if a setofbordercon-
ditions is specified (see main
text).
Box 2
ELECTRONICS JANUARY 1994
 GENERAL INTEREST

= 4.23xlO-3 C 440x10..o = Ae-O.4545

Substitutiog q = 4.23x10-3 C = AxO.6348,
and t = 0 io Eq. 84, the index of
q = A e-tlRC e becomes zero: .. A = (440x10..o)/0.6348

4.23xlO-3 = AeO = A. = 6.931x1Q-4.

We now have a value for A to Having used the border condi-

tronic circuits, and we shall use
thern to build several models, this
month and next.
Solving the equation
The next step is to solve the dif-
ferential equation. We need to be
able to find the value of q at any
given time t. Having faund q,
we can easily find what u and i
are at that time. There 15 no
space to go inta the steps of'solv-:
ing Eq. 83, butapplyingthe rules
quoted in Box 2 gives UB the so-
lution:
q = Ae-t/RC
For such a simple circuit, this ap-
pears to be rather a complicated
solution but, when looked at an-
alytically, it makes sense. We
will defer the original task of
findingthe current until we have
examinedin more detail tbe way
in which q varies with t. At pre-
sent, we have what is called the
general solution to Eq. 83. We
need to find the particular so-
R find A. Any of the curves in pd after 15 s.
, ie
t [s 1 -------to-
1130010-11U _1001
Fig.l04
lution which relates to thevalues
and conditions of our circuit.
The key symbol in Eq. 84 is
e, the exponential constant. This
has a negative index, showing
that q is decreasing with time.
The index is proportional to t, but this problern, we want to know A first-crder differential equa-
has Rand C as divisors to take
into account the effects of sub-
stituting different capacitors and
resistors in the circuit. With the
values given in Fig. 103:
q = Ae-O·0967t [Eq. 85]
The quantity A, known as the ar-
bitrary constant, is the next
[Eq. 84] to be determined. This constant
is there because the technique
for solving Eq. 83 produces an in-
finitely large number of general that is, the currentfalls to 100 ~
solutions, depending on the the after 14.57 s.
value we allot to A. Figure 104
showsjust 10 ofthe possibilities.
Which one of these represents
the circuit in our problem?
Border conditions
If the values Rand C were all which time the pd across it is stant, KVL applies:
that were known, we could not 2 V. Fiod the initial pd and the
put io Eq. 84:
q = 4.23e-O·0967tx10-3
[Eq.86]
This is a particular aolution of
Eq. 83. Its graph is the curve
drawn as a heavy line in
Fig. 104, and shows how the
charge on the capacitorfalls with
time at an ever-decreasing rate.
Knowing the instantaneous
valueofq at any time, we cancal-
culateu and i at thesame instant.
From Eq. 79 and 80:
i = u/R =q/RC.
From Eq. 86:
i = (4.23e-O·0967tx10-3)/RC
= (4.23e-0.0967tx10-3)/10.34
~ 409.1e-O·0967x1Q-S.
Wecou1d plota curve for i against
t, and this would have a similar
form to the curve for Fig. 86. In
t when i = 100 1lA. Substituting
i = 100 x 10..0= 10-4:
0.2444 = e-0.0967t.
Taking natural logarithrns:
In 0.2444 = -0.0967t
-1.4088 = -0.0967t
t = 14.57,
Falling pd
Consider the same circuit but
with C = 220 ~F andR ~ 100 kn.
The capacitor is charged, tben al- We can relate these by making
lowed to discharge for 10 s, after use of the fact that, at any in-
tions to find the arbitrary con-
stantA, find theinitial charge by
puttiog t = 0 in Eq. 84:
q = A = 6.931x10-4.
This gives the initial pd:
u = q/C
= (6.931x10-4)/(220x10-O)
= 3.15 V.
The pd after 15 s is found in a
similar way. The index of e is
-15/RC = -0.6818.
q = 6.931x1Q-4xe-O·6818
= 3.505x10-4.
u = (3.505xlO-4)/(220x10-6)
= 1.59 V.
First-order equations
tion has the form:
dyldx + f(x)y = g(x).
Both fex) and g(x) are functions
of x, but one 01' both may be con-
stants 01' zero, thus simplifying
the equation.
An equation such as this is
needed for mode Hing the circuit
of Fig. 105. Here the capacitor
is being charged through a re-
sistor by a variable pd, u. As be-
fore, we writedown relevantequa-
tions:
UR = Ri = R-dq /dt;
uc = q/C.
U = UR + uC

Fig. 104, or any of many others Tbe differential equation 1S

+-- '" not drawn there, fits the differ- Eq. 83, and the general solution u~R·dq/dt+q/C.
'R
+ ential equation. But we also know is Eq. 84 as above. The border
uc t c
that the capacitor is charged to conditions are that u = 2 V when Rearranging terms and divid-
u
;I 100).1
9 V when t = o. These two values t = 2 s. ing by R to give dq/dt unity as
specify the border conditions. When u = 2, uC = 2x220 x10-6 its coefficient:
930010· XII • 105
Whent =O,C =470IlF andu = 9V, = 440x1Q-6. In Eq. 84, the index
by substitution io Eq. 79: of e is -10/RC = -0.4545. dq/dt + q/RC = u/R.
Substituting io Eq. 84: [Eq. 87]
Fig, 105 q ~ uC = 9x470xlO..o This is the first-order equation

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JANUARY 1994

 F[GURING [T OUT - PART [2

that models the circuit. This is the particular solution, In (1/3) = -t2IRC;
The equation may be solved assuming that the source is
°
--
by the routine summarized in switched on at t = and holds a t2 = 1.0986RC.
R
220k
Box 3. This involves calculat- constant value U. Figure 106
ing a quantity known as the In- shows thecurve for thisequation The monostable period is t2-tl UR
+ l
tegration factor, the purpose if U = 6. The charge on the ca- =(1.0986-0.4055)RC = 0.693IRC. U
of which is to produce an equa- pacitor rises rapidly at first, but This is the period quoted in the
tion that is easyto simplify later. at a gradually decreasing rate data sheet for this timer. 100mH

The routine requires integre- until it alm ost, but never quite,
tion: some ofthe prccedures for reaches CU.
this were outlined in Part 5.
Inducfors 930010 XII· 107

We identify the function [(t) The derivative which models the

as the constant lIRC andg(t) as
uiR.
F(!) = J lIRC dt = t /RC. The
Integration factor is eil Re.
G(t) = J (uIR) et/RC
If we assume that u is a con-
stant, the integration is simpler.
We will now refer to it as U.
G(l) = RC [CU I R) e'l RCJ
= CUeURC
The solution is:
q =_e-tIRC·CUe'IRC
In the first term on the right,
the indices of e total zero, and
eO = 1:
q = CU + Ae-tIRC
This is the general solution. If
the capacitor has zero charge
when t = 0, we have a border
condition:
0= CU + A,
.. A= -Cil.
Equation 88 beeomes:
q = CU (l-e-'IRC)
Charging firnes
Arelated equation is obtained by
dividing Eq. 89 throughout by
C. The pd aeross the eapaeitor
is q l C, which we will refer to as
uc. Then, dividing:
uC = U(l-e-'IRC)
uCIU = 1_e-tIRC [Eq. 90J
Equation 90 ean be used to de-
termine the time to reach any
given pd llC expressed as a frac-
tion of the applied pd U. In the ByKVL:
standard 555 timer circuit, the
monostable period is the time
taken for the pd aeross the ca-
+ Ae-t/RC. pacitor to rise from U/3 to 2U/3, Rearranging terms and divid- the term gives:
where U is the supply voltage.
llCIU = 113 at tL
1/3 = 1-e-' iRC
[Eq.88J
-2/3 = -e-' iRC.
Negatingand taking logarithms:
In (2/3) = -t)IRC
t) = 0.4055RC.
[Eq. 89J
action of an inductor is:
u = L·dildt.
The induced e.m.f., ll, is proper- solution at this stage:
tional to the inductance Land
the rate of change of current, i.
For the circuit of Fig. 107, the
equations are:
uL = L·dildt.
U = uR + uL = Ri + L-di/dt.
ing throughou t by L gi ves the dif-
ferential equation;
dildt + (R /L)i = u /L.
Applying the rules for solvi ng
first-order equations, we have:
[(t) = R /L;
F(t) = Rt/L.
Integrating factor is eR'IL
g(l) = u/L;
J
.'. G(t) = (ul L) eRUL dt.
We make simplifying
Fig.107
tions in amoment. Here is the
i = e-Rt/L J (u/L) eR,1L dt +
+ Ae-R'IL
Note that the index of e is some-
times + and sometimes -. If U is
a function of t, for example, u is
an alternating pd with a function
such as u. = 2sin rot, we integrate
the flrst expression on the right,
aod obtain a particular solution.
Here we assume that u. is con-
stant and call it U. Integrating
e-Rt/L CU /L)·eRt/L (L/R)
=IlIR.
Now the solution is simplified to:
i = U /R + Ae-R'IL [Eq.91J
Forthe particular solution, take
the case in which the pd is 10 V
up to the time t = 0. The eurrent
·is steady (dildt = 0), being de-
termined only by the pd and the
resistor:
i = 10/(220xl03) = 45.45xlO-6 .
Substituting in Eq. 91:
assump-

6 Solving{irst-orrlerequations Integration
Given an equation inthe form Integratinga constant,1IRC:

q
i dyldx + [(x) + g(x). Table I, Part 2, states that
the integral oftn = tn+!f(n+1),
[C X 10-4] 1. Integrate j[(x) dx and call provided that n " -1. Since t
4 it F(x). does not appear intbeexpression
2. The integrating factor is beingintegrated,n =0. Thein-
q=CU(1·e-tIRC) eRx). tegral of /0 is t. Multiplied by
3. Integrate Jgfx) eR%) dx and the constant lJRC, the integral
call it G(x). ofllRCist/RC.
2 4. The solution is: Integrating ellRC : Table 1
y = e-Flx) G(x) + Ae-Ff%). in Part 2 states that the inte-
gral off'Il1is f'Il1/a.Here, a = lIRC.
Note the negative indices at The integral is
stage 4. Ais thearbitrary COD- (etIRC)/(1!RC) = ReetiRe.
staut; find it by using bound-
o 2 3 4 5 ary conditions.
t [sl--.~ 930010· XII 106

Fig.106 Box 3 Box 4

ELEKTOR ELECTRON[CS JANUARY [994

 F1GUR1NG lT OUT - PART 12

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A = 45.45xlQ-6 - U I R. sistance, mathematicaHy, it is easy to in- C = 10 ~F and R = 39 kQ.

Putting this value of A into Eq. 91,
we have the particular solution:
i = U I R + (45.45x10-L
U I R) e-Rt/L [Eq. 92J
Whent =0, the applied pd is 10V
and we have a constant current
of 45.45 ~A flowing through the
circuit. The voltage SOUTce is
suddenly reduced to 0 V. To find
what happens, insert U = 0 in
Eq.92:
i = OIR + (45.45xlQ-6-
01R) e-R'IL;
i = 45.45x10-6xe-Rt/ L [Eq. 93]
Figure 108 is the graph of this.
It shows the current gradually
dying away at a rate depend-
ing on the inductance and Te-
We can also investigate what
occurs ifthe voltage is reduced
not to zero, but to a lower volt-
age, say, 5 V:
i = 51R + (45.45x10-L51R)
xe-Rl/L.
Or we can model a suddenly in-
creased voltage to, say, 22 V:
i = 221R + (45.45x10-L22/R)
xe-R'IL.
Figure 109 shows the graphs,
which clearly reflect the action
ofan inductor in resistingchanges
in the Ilow of current through
it. We could also modify Eq. 93
by changing the value of Land
seeing what effect this has on
the extent and timing of CUT-
rent changes.
Once a model has been built
sert new values and determine
its behaviour. This is much eas-
ier than building a circuit, then
replacing resistors, capacitors
01' inductors. Differential equa-
tions are a powerful way of'fig-
uring 'it out'.
Next month we shall model
more complicated circuits with
second-order equations.
Test yourself
1. Writethe particular solution
for the current in the circuit
ofFig.l03, butwith C.e 150~,
R = 4.7 kQ and an initial pd
of 6 V. Find (a) the pd across
the capacitor 1 s after di s-
charge has begun, and (b)
the current2 s after discharge
has begun.
2. Find therise time forthe eir-
cuit of Fig. 105, if U = 10 V,
Rise time is defined as time
for the pd across the capaci-
tor to rise from 10% of U to
90% ofU.
3.InthecircuitofFig.l07,but
withR=4.7lillandL=20rnH,
a steady voltage of 1 V is ap-
plied urrti l t = O. Then the
voltage is changed instantly
to 5 V. Calculate the current
2 us later.
Answers to
Test yourself (Part 11)
1. Zl1 = 6.67 Q; Z21= 4 Q;
z12 = 4.67 Q; z22 = 7.47 Q.
2. zl1 = 9.83 L-5.57°;
z21 = 1.17 L77.59°;
gain = 0.12 L83.16°.
3. hl1=50lill;h21=125;h12=1I3;
h22 = 833 us.

100

.0
80
22 22

ii j =45 .45x 10-6x e-R1/L

i 60
i=R+(45.45X10-6-R )e·R1/L

["Al i
["Al
20
40
.55
'=R+(45.45x10-6-"'R )e·RtIL

20

o 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 o 0.2 0.' 0.6 0.8 1.0
t [~sl--"~ 9300111- XII- 1CH!1 t [~sl--"~ 9JOO10-XII 109

Fig.10B Fig.109

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JANUARY 1994

~

FIGURING IT OUT
PART 13 - SECOND-ORDER MODELS
By Owen Bishop

This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voltage, waveforms, and other aspects of the behaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a collection of rnle-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.

Last month we examined ways by L to make unity the coefficient Substituting in Eq. 97:
of using first-order differential of the first term: [Eq.97J
equations to build circuit mod- i= Ae -1382t + Be--3618L
d2i R di 1. [Eq.94] If D is zero, the roots are both
els. This month we extend the -+-'-+-'l=O
2
methods to include second-order dt L dt LC m and the solution to Eq. 94 is: [Eq. 100J
equations. These allow us to model Equation 94 models the circuit. 'I'his is the general solution. We
circuits of greater complexity, It now remains to solve it and [Eq.98] can apply this to any set of bor-
such as that in Fig. 110. substitute actual values of R, L der conditions. We can imagine

--
and C. If D is negative, we ca1culate the voltage ftuctuating, perhaps
R k = .,j (-Dl2) and the solution is: regularly, perhaps irregularly,
causing a varying current in the
Auxiliary equation i =Ae-{l/2 cos Iü+ Be-ft/2 sin kt circuit. Then, when t = 0, the
",
For an equation of the form of voltage 1S suddenly held con-
Eq. 94, in which R, Land C are [Eq. 99] stant (Eq. 94). The models teils
" constants, there is an auxiliary All three equations are general wh at happens after that. For
equation ofthe form: solutions (see Part 12) and have this example, suppose that the
two arbitrary constants, A and current is 2 rnA wen tirning be-
--.
"c
m2 +fm +s= 0, [Eq. 95] B. Last rnonth we had just one gins, 01' i = 2xl0-3 when t = O. Also
such constant and needed one assume a second border condi-
c tion that the tate ofchange of cur-
in whichfis the coefficientof di/dt border condition in order to find
930010-13-12 and g is the coefficient of i. In theparticularsolution. Thereare rent, dildt, is 0.05 As-t when
Fig.110 Eq. 94, f = R JL and g = 1ILC. two constants, and we need two t = 0. With t equal to zero, e has
Solving Eq. 95 (a straightfor- border conditions for second-order zero index in both terms and so
'I'his includes resistive, inductive ward quadratic equation) for In equations. equals unity. Substituting the
and capacitive elements. By Kirch- is much easierthan solving Eq. 94 values for the first border con-
hoff's Voltaga Law: for i. With values offandg sub- dition in Eq. 100:
Worked example
stituted in Eq. 95:
GivenR=500n,L= 100 mH and 2xlO-3 =A + B
m2 + R m+_1_=0 [Eq.96] C = 2 MF:f = R IL = 500/100xlO-3
As we did last rnonth. we use L LC = 5000; andg = 11LC= 1I100x10-3 .. B = 0.002-A.
lower-case letters for quantities 'I'his is solvable by applying the x2x10-0= 5x1()6.From thesevalues
which are inherent1y variable well-known quadratic formula offandg: Substitute this value for B in
in time and capitals forconstants. which, when applied to Eq. 95, Eq.100:
Substituting equivalent expres- is: D = f2 - 4g = 5000L20x106
i=A(e-1382t _e-3618t)
sions for the voltages, based on = 5x106.
Eq. 26 ofPart 4, Ohm's law, and
m
-f±~ +0.002e-36181
Eq. 19 ofPart 4: 2 This is positive, so the equation
has two real solutions: [Eq.101J
i
Ld-+ R't+-=u
q The value ofthe expression f2 - 4g Ta incorporate the effect of the
dt C (known as the discriminant,D) -f+JD second border condition into the
We will restriet the analysis to determines what kind ofsolution 2 equation, we must first differ-
situations in which u is constant, the equation has: -5000+2236 entiate(seePart5)Eq.101 to ob-
henee duldt = O. Then, differen- lf D is positive, the equation 2 tain an equation for dildt:
tiating both si des of this equa- has two real roots. =-1382
tion: If D is zero, the equation has di = A( -1382e -13821
two equal roots.
dt
2
Ld-+i Rdi i_
-+--O If'D is negative, the equation -f-JD +3618e-36181) _7.236e-36181
dt2 dt C has two irnaginary roots. 2
In differentiatingthe third term, IfD 1Spositive, the two real roots -5000-2236 [Eq. 102]
useq =it, and therefore dq/dt =i. are m1 and m2 and the solution 2 If dildt = 0.05 when t = 0:
The term d2i/dt2 makes this a sec- to Eq. 94 is: =-3618
ond-order equation. Divide through 0.05 = A(-1382 + 3618)-7.236.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS FEßRUARV 1994

 FIGURING IT OUT - PART 13

A = (0.05 + 7.236) 12236 the second border condition into

=0.003258. ! (mAl
2 _ j=0.002
this, which involves multiply-
wllent=O ing the indices by 0.001:
Substituting this in Eq. 101:
0.003= A(e-1.382 _e-3·618)
;=0.003258(e-1382t _e-3618/) +0.002e-3.618
+0. 002e -36181
=0.2242A+5.3673x 10-5
Rearranging terms gives: A=0.01314

i=0.003258e-13821
Substituting the new value of A
-0.001258e-36181 into Eq. 101:
i= O. 01314(e-13821 _e-3618t)
[Eq. 103]
This is the particular solution +0.002e-36181
and Fig. 111 shows its graph. It
=0.01314e-1382t
shows that at t = 0 the current
is 2 m.A, as specified. The in- o 2 3 t(ms) _0.01114e-36181
crease of current when t = 0 1Stoo
small to show on this graph. The Yet another solution, with the
tangent to the curve at this point graph shown in Fig.113. Current
would slope up to the right by Fig. 111 increases even further before
only 3.6°, This upward slope i8 damping takes effect.
almost instantly countered by
i (mA)
the relatively strang dampingef-
fects of capacitance and induc-
Critical damping
2
tance. By the end ofthe third mil- The curves we have seen so far
lisecond, the currenthas been al- represent overdamping ofthe cur-
most entirely damped out. rent. Current is reduced to zero
Figure 112 shows what hap- fairly promptly. The model can
pens if we keep the first border I", 0.004131e -'3621_0.002131e -36181 be used also to investigate the
condition unchanged, but have circuit behaviour when it is crit-
the current increasing at 2 A s-t, ical1y damped. We reduce the
instead of at only 0.005 A s-t. capacitance slightly, to l.6 uF,
Substituting dildt in Eq. 102: leaving Rand L as before and,
for comparison with Fig. 113,
A = (2 + 7.236)12236 =0.00413l. keep the same pair of border
conditions.
From Eq. 101: With the new value for C, f
o remains unchanged, but g be-
;=0.004131e-13821 2 3 I(ms)
comes 6.25xl06, and:
_0.002131e-3618t
D = 50002 - 4x6.25x106 = o.
We have another particular so- Fig. 112
lution, matehing the new bor- With a zero discriminant, the
der conditions. Its graph (Fig.112) solution ofthe auxiliary equation
shows current continuing to in- IS
i (mAl
crease, to about 2.12 mA, before m = -f12 = -500012 = -2500.
5
damping takes effect. From the
equations we have established, The general solution takes a dif-
we can calculate the current and ferent form (Eq. 98):
4
the rate of change of current at
i = Ae -2500t + Bte -2500t
any instant from t = 0 onwards.
With this information, we can 3 [Eg. 104]
go on to calculate the volta ge Substitutingthe first bordercon-
across thecomponents, and quan- dition into this:
tities such as the charge on the
2 "'j=O.OO2
capacitor and the magnetic link- wllenl=O 0.002 =A,
age of the inductor at any time.
Eq. 104 becomes:
Specifying loter current
i = 0.002e-25001+ Bte-2500/.
Border conditions need not be re-
stricted to events occurringwhen O~--------'---------~2--------~~ 3 t (ma) Now substitute i = 0.003 and
t = o. We can specify i or di/dt at """10_,..,. t = 0.001 into this:
any other instant after timing
begins. It makes the equation Fig. 113 0.003 = 0.002e-2.5 + 0.00lBe-2.5
s1ightly more complicated, be-
cause there is no simplification der condition, but the second to adefinite value in a specified B = 34.55.
ofthe equations due to the index border condition being that time. Since we have specified i,
ofe beingzero. Let us trythe same i = 0.003 when t = 0.00l. We are not dildt, we go back to Eq. 101 The particular solution is:
circuit, with the same first bor- sayingthat the current increases and proceed from there. Substitute

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS FEßRUARY 1994

 GENERAL INTEREST

i ee 0.002e-25001+34.55te-25001. of equations ofthe same type as

[Eq 105]
The graph in Fig. 114 shows
current risingto a peak at 5.9 mA
before beingdamped. The second
bord er condition occurs on the
way down.
Under-damping
This occurs when the discrim-
nant has a negative value. For
example, let UB reduce the ca-
pacitance drastically, to 10 nF.
The fremains at 5000. butg be-
comes 109 and D becomes
-3.975xlO9. With a negative dis-
criminant, we need to calculate
k:
k~~3. 975x 109 12~44581
The general solution is given by
Eq.99:
i c= Ae -2500t cos 44581t
1 (mA) Eq_l03: 'EXP01':"A":?~A:"Ml":
6 ?-?C:"B":?-?B:''JM2'':?-?D:GRAPH
y~Ae--CX+ Be--DX:. Tbe program
name is 'EXPOl'. The user is
requested to key in values for
A, ml, Band m2' As 500n as the
4 final value has been keyed in, the
i:= 0.OO2e -25001+ 34.55le-Z5OOt graph is plotted according to the
equation in the program.
A program can also include
commands to set the ranges of t
and i for the displayed graph,
----i '"0.002
""he<! 1=0
so that the curve fills the screen
reasonably well. Ifthe rangecom-
mand follows the input of vari-
ables, one or more ofthese vari-
ables can be used in the range
o 2 3 I(ms)
commands. For example, the range
for i can be set to run from -2 A
to +2 A. It is also possible to in-
Fig. 114 clude inputs to set the range of
t direetly from the program. For
1
those who like to play areund
[mAl with models, adjusting the values
I. O,0Q2e-2liOOI cos 445611 _ O.03626e-25001 sln445611

+Be-2500t sin 445811 iae

0

"
to produce the required results,
agraphie calculator is a valuable

[Eq. 106]
Keeping to the same border con-
••
~
too!.

Parallel eireuit
ditions, applying the first con-
dition to Eq. 106, and using the I Figure 116shows a circuit wi th
facts that cos 0 ~ 1 and sin 0 ~ 0: V;V resistance, eapaeitance and in-

0.002 ~ Aeo + 0
us
V V V
' [m~~
~ "
ductance in parallel. Buildingthe
model follows very much the same
sequence as building the model
.. A ~ 0.002. of the series circuit. By KCL:

Substituting th.is in Eq. 106, to-

gether with the values for t and
i under the second border COTI- IDDIIf'_lUl_M
Replacingthe currents by equiv-
dition: alent expressions:

0.003~0.002e-2.5 cos4.4581 du u Ntp .

Fig. 115 C-+-+-~, [Eq.107]
dt R L
+Be-2.5 sin 4.4581
The third term on the right 15
B~-0.03828 obtained by noting thatL ~Ntpl i,
This leads UB to the particular as in Eq. 22, Part 5, where q'l is
solution: the magnetic flux and N 1S the
I, number of turne in the coil.
i~0.002e-25001 cos44581t Differentiating Eq. 107, and as-
- O. 03828e -2500' sin 44581t u c R L
suming that i is eonstant:
d2u 1 du u
The graph of th.is equation has C-+_·_+-~O
dt2 R dt L
an interesting form-Fig. 115.
It shows the current reversin g In obtaining the third term,
many times with gradually de- dq>/dt ~ u IN (see Eq. 23, Part 5),
930010·13·"
creasing magnitude. Oscillations so the term reduces to u I L.
ofth.is type are typical ofan under- Dividing throughout by C gives
damped circuit. The oscillations Fig. 116 the model equation:
take about 1.5 ms to die away.
d2u 1 du u
damped circuits, it is possible produced in this way. Agraphie -+_·_+-~O
dt 2 RC dt LC
to sketch the shape of the graph calculator produees results even
Graphie ealeulator more quickly. We used one when [Eq.108]
roughly after calculating half a
A graph 1S an important aid to dozen points. But the oscilla- we were planning the values to The auxiliary equation is:
visualizing the behaviour of a .tions of an under-damped circuit use in the examples. To make m2+mIRC+1/LC~0
model, and hence the behaviour often need 30 or more points to graph plottingeven quicker, pro-
ofthe circuit 'it is modelling. But produce a reasonably represen- gram the calculator to aecept in which f ~ lJRCand g ~ lJLC.
plotting graphs is a tedious mat- tative curve. variables, then to plot the graph. With given values of R, C and
ter, particularly when equations A computer graphies pack- The following 1S an example L, the discrirninant may be pos-
contain severaJ exponential terms. age may save a lot of time: the of a ahort program used on a itive, zero or negative, yielding
With over-dampled and critically- illustrations to this article were graphic ealculator to plot graphs equations fOT u having the same

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS FEBRUARY 1994

 FIGURING IT OUT - PART 13

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form as Equations 97 to 99.
Here is an exampleofan under-
damped circuit with R = 1 kD.,
C = 10 nF andL = 18 mH.
RC= 1x10-D,so{= l/RC= 105
and f2 = 1/(RC)2 = 1xlOlO.
LC = 1.8x10-1O, so 4g = 4/LC
= 2.222xlO!O.
From these we find that
D = -1.222x1010 and k = 78166.
The general equation ts:
u=Ae-50000t cos 781661
Be-SOOOOtsin 78166t
Nowforsome border conditions.
Whenz e O;zz=-1; whent=O.OOOl,
u = -0.5. Using tbe first eondi-
tion, rememberingthatcos 0 = 1
and sin 0 = 0:
-1 =A.
Fig. 117. It begins with a mas-
sive 'kick' of up to -34 A. After
a few swings of rapidly dirnin-
ishing amplitude, the current
is fully darnped out in about
0.15 ms ..
These examples show what
can be done when we make cer-
tain simplifying assumptions
about the model. If these as-
sumptions are not valid, in par-
ticula r, if we can not assurne
that voltage 01' current is con-
starrt, the equations are more
i(A)
5 z e ü.ö msand whenz e 100ms.
°t:-------too~--~~~;0~.1
G-l
__----~.
<,
whent",O
-5
difficult to differentiate and pass which models aseries cir-
beyond the scope of this series, cuit (Fig. 110) in which
However, there are ways around R = 1 kQ, L = 200 mH and
this difficulty, as will be explained C = 100 nF, given the border
next month. conditions that i =-0.01 when
t = 0, and i = +0.01 when
Acknowledgment. The author t = 0.005. Is the circuit over-
would like to thank the Casio damped, critically damped 01'
Computer Company Ltd fortheir under-damped? Find the cur-
valuable assistance. rent when t = 0.0008 s.
2. In another series circuit,
Testyourself R = 5 kQ, C = 22 ~F and
1. Find the particular equation L = 0.5 H. When 1 = 0, i = 0.1
and di/dl = 0.5. Find the par-
ticular solution for this cir-
cuit. Find the current when
How long does the current
t(ms)
take to fall to 0.01 A? (Plot a
graph 01' solve the equation
1=-0.5
when t = 0.0001 ofdi/dl by takingnaturallogs).

For the second condition: -io

Answers to
-0.5 = -e-5 cos 7.8166 -15 Testyourself (Part 12)
+Be-5 sin 7.8166 1. q = ge-1.418tx10-4;
-20
B = -74.22. (a): u = 1.45 V
(h): i = 74.9 ~A.
-25
The particular solution is:
2. 0.857 s.
-30
u=_e-50000t cos78166t
-74. 22e-500001sin 781661 3. 532 ~A.

The graph of this is shown in Fig. 117

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS FEBRUARY 1994

 FIGURING IT OUT
PART 14 - VARYING INPUTS
By Owen Bishop

This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voltage, waveforms, and other aspects of the behaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a collection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.

We continue the exploration of
circuit modelling by extending
it to deal with applied voltages
or currents that vary in time.
'Ib model a circuit with both ca-
pacitive and inductive elernents,
we need a second-order differ-
ential equation. In Part 13 we
showed that, ifthe elements are
in series (Fig. 118) and the ap-
equation for a parallel LCR cir- zero: equal:
cuit is similar (see Eq. 108 in
Part 13). Remember that, al- i 55 OOOC= 400
.g+5000 dd +50 OOOi~O
though we are analysingonly the dt t
C = 400/55 000
simplest of series and parallel [Eq. 111] = 7.27 x 10-3.
circuits, more complicated cir- Theauxiliaryequation ofEq.lll
cuits can often be reduced to is The coeffieient of tO is D on the
thesecimplecircuits byusingthe left. There is no term in tO on
techniques of network reduc- m2 + 5000m + 50 000 = O. the right, so the coeffieient is
tion that we have discussed on zero:

...
R
_R
+ L
~ ~Li
~c..
c The method for doingthis, based
930Q1Q-XIV·118
Fig.118
plied voltage is constant, the
equation has the form:
d2i R di 1.
-:;-;-,r+_._+- ,~O [Eq.94]
dt Ldt LC
But the right-hand side of the
equation is zero only when we
have made the simplifying as-
sumption that the applied volt-
age is constant. This is an as-
sumption that sei dom can be
made. Moreoften, thevoltage, u,
varies in a regular manner. Für
example, it may Tamp up OTdown
at a fixed rate, it rnay vary si-
nusoidally, or it may increase
or decrease exponentially. We
need to be abJe to solve equations
ofthe form
d'i R di 1. 1 du
~+_·_+_·t=_·-
dt L dt LC L dt
[Eq. 109]
in wh ich u: is a function of
time.Part 13shows howthis equa-
tion is obtained. The form ofthe
several occasions in previous
months.
Particular integral
Solving equations with the form
ofEq. 109 is da ne in two stages.
First we solve the equation as if
the right-hand side equals zero.
on the auxiliary equation, was
described in Part 13. The result
obtained is known as the com-
plementary function (CF). At
this stage we can say that:
eompJemetary function = O.
Next, we need to find something
else to include in the left-hand
side ofthe equation, so that the
right-hand side equals (lIL)du/dt.
This 'sornething' is known as the
particular integral (PI):
CF + PI ~ (lIL)du/dt.
An example shows how to find
the particular integral. Suppose
that in Fig. 118: R = 500 n,
C = 200 ~F and L ~ 100 mH. Let
u. be a voltage that ramps up at
a rate of 20t2. Frorn these par-
ameters, R /L = 5000; lILC
~ 50 000; (lIL)dul dt ~ 400t. The
modelling equation is:
d2i di . is t1. On the left, its coefficient
d?+5000 dt +50 0001~400t
[Eq. 110]
To find the CF, put the right-
hand side of Eq. UO equal to
Solvingthis by usingthe quadratic
formula (Part 13), we find that D~O.
it has real roots: ml = -10.02
and m2 = -4990. The PI is:
The CF is:
i = t(7.27xl0-3).
i = Ae-1O.02t + Be-49901
The complete general solution
where A and Bare arbitrary con- is:
stants whieh can be determined
if we are told two boundary con- i= Ae-lQ02t + Be -4990t
ditions. +1(7. 27x 10-3)
Thfind the particularintegral,
we assume that the right-hand [Eq. 113]
side of the solution has the The first two terms in this gen-
form: eral solution are like those ob-
tained in Part 13 for a eonstant
i ~ Ct + D applied voltage. Now we have an
additional term to allow for the
where C and D are eonstants. If fact that the voltage is ramp-
this 1S so, then: ing.
In this example we assumed
di/dt = C that the right-hand side of the
and equ.ation has the form Ci + D.
d2i/dt2 ~O. This was based on the fact that
on the right-hand side of'Eq. 109
Substituting these values in the highest power of t is t1 If t
Eq.110: is of high er power or there are
0+5000C+50 OOO(Ct+D) Form of Assumed
~400t RH side function
.: 55 OOOCt+50 000D~400t
k C
[Eq. 112] kt Ct+D
We solve this equation by lock- kt2 Ct2+D +E
ing at the eoeffieients ofthe pow- k ein t Ccosr-Dsinr
ers of t. The highest power of t k cos t
ekt Cekl
is 55 OOOC;on the right, its co-
efficient is 400. For Eq. U2 to
be satisfied by all possible values Box 1. Functions tor particular
of t, these coefficients must be integrals (k is a constant).

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS MARCH 1994

 FIGURING !T OUT - PART 14

other functions oft, different as- of operator D gives:

jfl1A
sumptions are made. Box l1ists
forms suitable for other cases.
I .------------1 D2 L+-'R D.L+-·L=U
1 .

We can now proceed, as usual, 1000 !----- L LC

to find a particular solution (not [Eq. 116]
to be confused with the particu- Now comes the interesting pnint
lar integral). This is the solu- 800 about D. Although we have said
tion obtained when two border it is not a variable, it can be
conditions are satisfied. Let us shown that it ean be man ipu-
assume that, when t = 0, i = O. 600 lated in equations and behave as
l
Also, when t = 0.01, i = 1 mA. if it were a variable. For exam-
Substituting the conditions for ple, we can factot-ize the left-
400 hand side ofEq. 116:
t = 0 in Eq. 113:

B =-A.
The equation becomes:
i= Ae-1O.02t _Ae-4990t
+t(7.27x10-")
=A(e-1O.021_e-4990t)
+t(7.27x1O-")
[Eq. 114]
SubstitutinginEq.114thevalues
when t = 0.01:
0.001 = A(e-O.I002 _ e-49.9)
+ 7 .27xlO-5
= 0.9047A + 7.27x10-5
and
A=(0.001-7.27x10-5J/0.9047
= 0.001025.
Substi tuting these values in
Eq. 114, we obtain the particu-
Iar so1ution:
i=0.001025(e-1002t _e-4990,)
+t(7.27x1O-")
[Eq. 115]
The graph of Eq. 115 for
0<1<0.01 appears as Fig. 119.
It shows the rapidincrease ofcur-
rent; this is necessary in order
to meet the condition thati = 1mA
=
when t 0.01 s. Remember that
when we specified thati = 0 when
t ::::0, this only means that i is
zero at that instant. In actual-
ity, it is passing through zero at
that irrstarrt toreach a relatively
high level soon after. Specifying
zero current at zero time does not
mean that there is no charge on
the capacitor and no magnetic
flux in the inductor. These must
have been present as the result
of a voltage apphed to the cir-
cuit before t = O. This is why the
current increases so rapidly.
However, the effeets of this die
away and the current begins to
deerease. After about 10 ms, the
circuit begins to show the ef-
feets of the new voltage ramp-
ing up from 0 V at t = O. The ef-
feets of this are better shown on
the right of Fig. 119, which is
200
plottedon a longertirne seale. We
catisee tbat the current increases
steadily, keeping pace with the
upwardly-ramping applied volt-
age.
To sirnulate the conditions in
which thecurrent begins withno
charge on the capacitor and no
f1ux in the inductor, we make
the first bord er condition i = 0
when t = 0 as before. The sec-
ond eondition is that dildt = 0
when t = O. In words, the cur-
rent is constant at zero when
t ::::O. This makes B = -A as be-
fore and we obtain Eq. 114.
Differentlating Eq. 114:
di =A(_1O.02e-1U021
dt
+4990 e-49901)+ 7.27 x 10-3
Inserting the second bord er con-
dition:
o
=A(-10.02+4990l+ 7.27x10-3
and
A = (7.27xlO-3)/4979.8
= 1.46x10-6.
The pat-ticular equation
i = (1.46x10-6)(e-JO·02' _e-49901)
+t(7.27xlQ-3).
It ean be seen that, because A is
so srna ll , the final expression
dominates the equation. Current
increases at the rate of 7.27 mA
per second without the appre-
1. F(D) e'" = eat F(a)
2_ F(D)leat f(x)J = ew F(D + a) fex)
3a. F(D2) sin ax = F(-a2)
3b. F(D2) cos ax = F(-a2)
Box 2. Operator 0 theorems.
10 20 30 40 50
93001o.XI~-'19
Fig. 119
ciable irritial 'kick' ofFig.
Operator 0
Before we model any further cir-
cuits. we will look ata technique
that often si mplifies finding the
solution ofdifferential equations.
This method 1S based on a dif-
ferent way of symbolizing
ferentiation. lnstead of writing
dildt, we write Di. D is not a
quantity or variable, but an op-
erator, which means 'd__ ifferen-
tiate'. We usually refer to it as
operator D. We are using it to
representdifferentiation ofi with
respeet to t, but it can be used
for any other pair of variables,
for example x. and y. Using this
symbol, Dx3 = 3x2. The rules of
differentiat.ion apply exaetly as
usual.
The idea of D is extended to
differentiating adifferential.
obtain the second differential:
Similarly, we have the reverse
is: operation, represented by the
symbol 11D , which means 'irrte-
grate':
Note that we do not irrtroduce the
constant of'integration when we
are working with D.
Representing Eq. 109 in terms
sin ae
cos ax
(D' R D+-1).·L=ll
+_.
L LC
There 1S no advantage in using
operator D with such an equa-
60 tion, which 18 easy enough to
tt;; solve by the method used above.
Operator D real1y comes into its
own when we are modelling cir-
cuits in which input voltages
119. vary sinusoidal1y (or ccain us-
oidally) or exponentially. For ex-
ample, eonsider aseries LCR
circuit as in Fig. 118, but with
the following vaJues: R = 1.5 n,
C = 1 F andL = 0.5 H. The input
voltage, II = -Icos 3t)!6, is sinu-
soidal. CaJculating coeffieients
dif- gives: R /L = 3 and lILC = 2.
Differentiating u and dividing by
L produces sin 3t. The equation
modelling this circuit is:
d2i di . .
;u:r+3 dt +2l=sm 3t
[Eq. 117]
When using operator D, we
first find the complementary func-
tion in the usual way. The aux-
iliary equation 18:
m2 +3m +2 = O.
We Although we nearly always need
to use the quadratic formula to
solve this equation, there are
cases like this one in whieh it.fac-
torizes easily:
(m + l)(m + 2) = 0,
so that ml = -1 and 1112= -2.
Both roots are real and so the
CF is:
i = AE-t + Be-2t.
We make use of operator D for
finding the particular funetion.
The advantage of D is that
there are three very helpful the-
orems associated with it. Their
proofs are rather lengthy, so we
do not have spaee he re to ex-
plain them. The theorems are
stated in Box 2. They look rather
obscure, but they are easy to use
as will be shown by this exam-
pie. First, rewrite Eq. 117 in terms

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS MARCH 1994

 m GENERAL INTEREST

ofD: Theorem 1 1S the appropriate

i choice since the right-hand side
D2i +3Di + 2i = sin 3t. [mA[ of Eq. 119 is simply an expo-
nential term involving t only in
Factorizing: f
100
the index of e. To apply the the-
orem, we have only to write the
(D2 + 3D + 2)i ~ sin 3t, exponential term as it stands,
but to replace D by a. This makes
whence 0.2
50 the calculation easier than the
previous exarnple. In this ex-
1 . 3t 0.'
L 2 -ain ample, a ~ -0.4545, so we find:
D +3D+2
,,
t
.. 8 -11. 3625 -0. 4545/
[rns]
Notice how we move the terms , ,, • -0.45452 + 250 x-0.4545 + 1000
in D across from Olle side of the -50 .' =- -0. 0128 e-O.4545I
-0.1
equation to the other, just as if
they were variables. Now look This is the PI. Adding this to
at Theorem 3a in Box2. This teIls - 100 the CF, we obtain the cornplete
- 0.2
us that, if we have a function of solution:
D which includes D2, and this is
multiplied by sin ax (in which a i= Ae-41 +Be-246t
is a constant), we can replace Fig. 120 +(-0. 0128 e -".4545' )
D2 by -a2. In this example, we
have t as the variable instead of Given two border conditions, we
x. The constant a is equaJ to 3, canfindAandBin the usual way
so we replace D2 by -32, which and so obtain the particular so-
is -9: lution.
1 This month, we have mod-
--::--..:.:::--::-.ein 3 t elled only series LCR circuits,
-9+3D+2
but parallel circuits can be mod-
1 .
~--·sm 3t elled in a very similar way and
3D-7 solved using operator D.
[To be continued l
Having eliminated the D2, it re-
mairis for us to eliminate the D. Testyourself
We juggle with the fraction on 1. Given the complete solution
the right, multiplying top and ofEq. 118 and the border con-
bottom by 3D + 7: sv
drtions that i ~ 0 and di/dt
3D+7 . ~ 0 when t ~ 0, find the par-
(3D_7X3D+7)·sm 3t ticular solution.
930010·XIV·121

3D+7 .sin 3t 2. Given the complete solution

9D2 -49 ofEq.119 and the border con-
Fig. 121 ditions that i = 0 when t = 0,
Once again, we have D2 in the de- and z e 10mA whenz c 100ms,
nominator, so we use Theorem two border ccnditions. Fig. 120 R /L ~ 250 and lILC ~ 1000. The find the particular solution
3a again and replace D2 with shows the graph ofthe solution, equation is: and calculatet when t = 250 ms.
-9: given i ~ 0 and dildt ~ 0 at t ~ O.
Note how the curve begins with d2· di
3D+7 . 3t -' +250·-+ 1000i 3. Given a circuit as in Fig.118,
-sm zero gradient (di/dt ~ 0).Afterthe dt2 dt with R ~ 100 Q, C ~ 2000 pF,
-81-49
initial upsurge, the current set- ~ -11. 3625e-"·45451 L ~ 10 mH, and u ~ 0.08eO•5',
~-(3D+7)sm ~ t1es down to a sinusoidal form, wri te the modelling equation
130 symmetrical about the z-axis, and [Eq. 119J and the genera1solution. Given
-(3D sm 3t+7 sm 3t) lagging slightly behind the input The auxiliary equation is: that when t ~ 0, i ~ 0 rnA and
130 voltage. di/dt ~ 4 A s-I, find the par-
",2 + 250m + 1000 ~ 0 ticular solution. Calculate the
The ter-m 3D ein 3t means 'three Exponential input current wben t = 100 ms.
times the differential of sin 3f, In Fig. 121 the input to the cp- and its roots are ml = -4 and
which equals 9 CQS 3t and the erational arnplifier rises expo- m2 ~ 246 (approximately). The Answers to
PI becomes: nentially. The opamp is a voltage CFis: Test yourself (Part 13)
follower, so the inpu t to the LCR l. i ~ _0.01e-2500t cos 9354t
-(9 cos 3t +7 sm 3t) circuit follows the same curve. i = Ae-41+ Be-246( - 0.03457e-25001 sin 9354t.
130 The switch is set to charge Cl to Underdamped. At 0.0008 s,
5 V. When t ~ 0, the switch is As before, we use D to find the i ~ -4.85 rnA.
Thus, the general solution (CF set to discharge Cl' It can be PI. Writing Eq. 119 in terms of
+ PI) is: shown by the methods describ- D: 2. i ~ l.0097e-9·lt-D.9097e-9900.9t.
ned in Part 12 that: (D2 + 250D + 1000)i After 0.5 ms the cur-rcnt peaks
Aß-i +Be-2/-{9cos3t+7sin3t)
~ -11.3625e-045451 at 1 A, then falls to 0.406 A
130 u = 5e-0.4545t. at 100 ms. It falls to 0.01 A
[Eq. 118J . -11. 3625e -0. 4545' after 255 ms.
Eq. 118 has two arbitrary con- The coefficients for the equation
,- 2
- D +250D+ 1000
stants so it can be solved, given modelling the LCR circui t are

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS MARCH 1994

 FIGURING IT OUT
PART 15 - SINE WAVES AND OTHERS
This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voltage, waveforms, and other aspects 01' the behaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a collection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.
na11 the discussions in this
I series up to the present, the
only periodie inputs that we have
considered have been sinusoidal
waves. We now have to consider
circuit behaviour when the input
is periodic but is not sinusoidal.
For example, in what way does
a given circuitrespond to a square
wave, a rectified eine wave, 01' a
sawtooth wave?
The situation seerns fraught
with complicaticns because there
are so many possible forme that
waves may bave. Fortunately, we
are rescued by the work ofBaron
Jean BaptisteJoseph de Fourier
(1768-1830) whose Fourier Series
provides a way ofexpressing com-
plicated but periodic functions in
terms ofsines and eosines. When
a waveform has been analysed
into a number of sirre and co-
sine waves of different ampli-
tudes, we calculate the behaviour
of the circuit for each compo-
nent, considered separately. Then
we m ake use ofthe pr inciple of
superposition (Part 3) to find
the response ofthe circuit to the
complete waveforrn. The equa-
tion for the Fourier Series is de-
scribed in detail later, butwe look
at some simple examples firat.
Summing sines
The waveform ofFig.122 isclearly
not sinusoidal, but it is easy to
see that it is the sum oftwo sine
wave of different amplitude, one
having a frequency twice that
of the other. These two compo-
nents are shown separately in
Fig. 123. In musical terms, the
one with the lower frequency is
termed the fundamental,.
is the first harmonie. Between
and
the one with souble the frequency
t = 0 and t = n/2, the waves re-
informce each other, so that the
resultantFig.122)peaksin that
By Owen Bishop
region. Between t = rr./2 and The effeet of this is simply to Figure 124 shows a signal
t = 3rr/2, the waves partly can-
cel out, causing the resultant to
shift the curve up the page. In
electronic terms, the pet-icdic
that has five components:
y = 5 + 3sint -1.5sin 2t
be f1attened toward the x-axis. signal is superimposed on a con- + 4.5cost + 0.5cos3t
From t= 3rr/2tot = 2R, thewaves stant direct voltage, assuming [Eq. 121J
reinforce again. We could add a thaty refers to a voltage. In the This might be taken to be the
eonstant term to the equation for discussions which follow, this trace of an audio signal Irom a
Fig. 122, for example: variable might equally weIl rep- musical instrument as seen on
resent a current 01' any other the sereen of an oscilloscope. As
y = 6 + 4sint + 2sin2t quantity which varies per-iodi- we shall later, although a Fourier
[Eq. 120J eally. Series has (in theory) an infi-
nite numberofterms, quite often
only the first few terms need to
be evaluated in practice.
So far, we have synthesized
Y=4 sint+ 2 sln2t
waveforms by writing out a se-
r-ies comprising a constant and
t oneor more sine 01' eosine tenns.
---+
Now we have to find out how to
n
T werk in the opposite direction.
Given a waveform such as the tri-
angular wave of Fig. 125, we
!I3OO,.-.v- ,,, analyse it in to its components.
But, before we leave the simple
Fig.122 examples above, note these fea-
tures ofthe series:
• a constant (d.c.) term;
@ Y=4slnt
® Y= 2 sin2t
• terms in sin t, sin 2 t (in gen-
eral, sin n t, where n is an in-
teger);
• terms in cost, cos2t ... eosnt;
• the terms have different co-
effieients, which may be pos-
O3OO'.·XV·'>3
itive or negative;
• thefundamental frequeneyis
such that one eycle takes 2n
Fig.123
seconds (we will explai n how
to deal with other fundamental
y frequencies later );
i. Y= 5 + 3 slnt- 15 sln2t+ 4.5 coat .. 0.5 cos3t
• all frequencies are multiples
of the fundamental.
In practiee, the series may be sim-
plified if, for example, the con-
stant term 18zero, 01' the coeffi-
-- t
!»(IO'O-'V-'~'
cients of a11 the aine terms 01'
a11 the eosine terms are zero.
Equation 120 is an example of
aseries in which the eosine terms
a11have a zero coefficient.
Fig.124
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS APRJL 1994
 FIGURlNG IT OUT - PART 15

values of y over 1 eycle. This fits

10,
in with the idea ofthe first term
30
beingequivalent to the steady di-
reet voltage on which the signal
voltage is superimposed. In the
case of Fig. 125, it is easy to
20 evaluate the first term simply by
looking at the graph. During
1 eycle, y ramps down linearly
from IOJt to zero. The first term
10 is the mean of IOJt and zero. In
grneral:

Ao~5"
Ao~- 1 12ff
ydt [Eq.123]

-
o rr 2" 0
,- t zn

930010-XV-125
This integral gives the area under
the graph for a period of 1 cycle.
Fig.125 The integral divided by the pe-
riod (2Jt) is the mean value of y.
In some cases, it may be easier

Y = SR + 10 sin! + 5 sin2t + 3.333 sill3t + 2.5 sin4t

y

i Integrating by parts
'Ibis technique 'is used to inte-
grate the product of two ex-
pressions, both of which are func-
tions of the same variable. We
shall eall the two parta u and
10 dv/dt (these symbols do not uec-
essarily ha ve anything to dowith
voltages).
In the example in tbe text,
for finding eosine terms:
,-
n

93001Q-XV-126 u ~ Y ~10,,-5t
du/dt ~ cosnt.
Fig.126
First, differeutiate u:

du/dt ~ -5.

Next, integrate du/dt to ob-

Y=5n:+10sint+5sin2t+ .. + ~Sin19t+~Sln20t
tain u:

v ee (sinnt)/n.
20
The constant ofin tegration is not
required. The integral ofthe prod-
uct 1S given by the formula
10
fu.dv/dt dz e uv-. f v·du/dt dt

~---------,----------,---------.--------+rr
o rr
,- 3rr
,- 930010· XV· 127
-
t
Substitute
evaluate.

example:
2ff
u, v and du/dt, and

Applying this formula to the

Fig.127
1

1
an ~- (lOlI-5t)cosntdt
n 0

Fourier series
The Fourier Series has this form:
~~r[(lO"-5)(sin ntl/n]5ff
Although theequation i8 lang and erty ofthe Fourier Series is that, "
unwieldy, it breaks down into dis-
tinct parts as listed above. The
with some exceptions, any kind
ofperiodic signal can be analysed
2'
1
- 0-5(sin nt)/ndt)

y =AO + alcost + a2cos2t
+a3cos3t + ,., +ancosnt
+b1sint +b2sin2t + b3sin3t
+ ... bn sinnt.
[Eq. 122]
constant term is AQ• We repre-
sent the coefficients ofthe eosine
terms byal,a2'" " an' and the co-
efficients of the sine terms by
b1>b2,"" bn. Theirnportant prop-
as an equation of this form.
Different signal have different The integration is continued in
sets of coefficients and our next the text.
task is to calculate these.
The first term is the rnean Box 1

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS APRIL 1~94

 GENERALINTEREST

to integrate from -1t to +1t. It

does not really matter where in
the cycle we begin, as lang as
we finish 21tseconds later.
Cosine terms
The formula for the coefficients
of the cosine term is:
2rr
an =-
11 y cosnt dt
rr 0
[Eq. 124l
This is similar to Eq. 123, but
here we have a product to in-
tagrate. The product isy x cosnt
. and, since y is a function of t,
we must integrate by parts (see
Box 1). U sing this technique, we
find that:
an ~~I[(10rr-5t)sin
rrn
2rr
r
+5 Josin nt drl
The second term on the right
equals zero (see Box 2), leaving:
an ~~I(lOrr-10rr)sin
rrn
+(10rr-0)sinOI
~~IO+ lOrr sin 01
rrn
But, sin 0 = 0, so
As a result of this, there are no
eosine terms in the series. This
considerably simplifies matters.
Sine terms
The formula for the coefficients
of the sine terms 15:
11 Y
2rr
. nt
bn =- SIll
rr 0 CalcuJations are often made very much shorter when these in-
Integrating by parta:
bn ~~1[-(10rr-t)cos
rrn
2rr
r cosnt
+5 Jo-cos nt dz}
The second term on the right
equals zero (see Box 2), leaving:
-1
bn ~-IHlO,,-t)cos
rrn
2rr
r
+5 Jo-cos nt dti
But cos O.» 1, so
ntl~rr bn ~ lOnlnn ~ 101n.
Thus, the sine terms have the
form:
(lOln) sinnt
for n ::::.
1, 2, 3, .
2nrr
How many terms?
We are now in a position to as-
semble the series from the ini-
tial term and the coefficients. In
Eq. 126, we take the series as
far as the third harmonic:
y::::. 5rr + 10sint +5sin2t
+3.333sin3t + 2.5sin4t
[Eq. 125l
This function is graphed for
1 eyele in Fig. 126. It shows un-
dulating sine-like features, but
is recognisably the triangular
wave of Fig. 125. For such an
un-sinuscidal wavefonn as a sharp-
toothed triangular wave, we need
Useful integrals
dt
[Eq.125l tegrals occur in an expression to be evaluated. Integration is
with respect to t, over the limits 0 to 21t or -1t to +7t, and n and
mare positive i.ntegers.
ntl~rr Term to be integrated Integral Condition
sinnt o
o
sin2nt n
cos2nt
sinnt cosmt o"
cos nt cos mt o n-::t.m.
or lt n==m
2
ntlorr sinnt sinmt o nvm
or lt== In
2rr
r
Example: Josin 3t cos 4t dt~O
Box 2
more terms in the series to obtain easier to type and sums hun-
dreds of terms, if required.
a good representation. We ex-
tend the series until we obtain
a waveform which we consider Circuit modelling
to be suffieiently elose to the re- AB an illustration ofhow the Fourier
quired waveform: Series may be used in modelling,
we will see what happens to the
... +2sin5t + 1.667sin6t sawtoothed voltage wave of
+1.429sin 7t + ... +0.5sin20t. Fig. 125 when it is applied to
the circuit ofFig. 129, which is
Figure 127 shows tbe result of a passive high-pass f'ilter.
extending the series up to n == 20, Remember tbat tbe period oftbe
the 19th harmcnic. It is clear wave is 21[. Its frequeney is
that, as we take more and more 1/2lt ~ 0.159 Hz. To have any ef-
tenns, the resultingfunction map- feet on the lower harmonics, we
proaehes more and more closely need a eapacitorofrelatively high
to that of the original triangu- value. With the values shown in
lar wave. It is only where there Fig. 129, the -3 dB point is 2 Hz.
is a dramatic change that ap- We now need to examine the
preciable oseillations are observed. terms of the Fourier Series for y
Calculating and summingthe and find what happens to them
terms is fast on a programmable when fed into the filter. The first
ca1eulator. However, theprogram term, 5n, is a d.c. term and does
memory may not cope with as not pass through. Reealling the
many as 20 terms. A computer teehnique used in Part 6 to eal-
program in BASIC (Fig. 128) is eulate the attenuation and phase

10 FOR t = 0 TO 6.4 STEP 0.05

20 u =PI*5
30 FOR n = 1 TO 20 y
40 u = u + 10/n*SIN(n*t)
50
60
NEXT
PRINT
70 NEXT
ES, t;" ";ROUND(u,3J j"
930010·XV·128 '0

8
Fig.128

6
c
0-11---+-----1
aoollF 4

2
t
01 o ---.
2n

-2 930010·XV·I30
930010· XV -129

Fig.129 Fig.130

RLEKTOR-ELECTRONICS A-PRIL-1994
 FIGURING IT OUT - PART 15 11I
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lag of a low-pass filter (Fig, 52),
we calculate the effect of the
high-passfilterofFig, 1280n the
fundamental component,
y = lOsint. The total impedance
of the filter is:
Z=R~j/oC,
where weexpress theirnpedance
of the capacitor as a cornplex
number (see Part 9). Given that
W= 1,R = 100 and C = 800xl0-6,
Z = 100 ~ j1250,
or, in polar form:
Z = 1254 L~1.49.
Angles are in radians. Considering
the filter as a potential divider,
its output is uR, and:
For the fundamental, the peak
values of uin is 10 V (the coeffi-
cient of the sin t term of the se-
ries).
Uout = 1000/(1254 L~1.49)
= 0.7974 L1.49.
The output signal is attenuated
to about 0.8 V peak and leads
the input by 1.49 rad.
We can similarly find Uout for
each ofthe harmonics, expressed
in polar form. The values of R
and C remain the same, but co
becomes 2, 3. 4, ... for succes-
sive harmonics. The outputs are
attenuated bydifferent amounts
and have different phase leads.
These outputs can not be added
in the usual way, as phasors,
because they are all of different
frequencies. We therefore ex-
press each ofthem as a sine wave
of given amplitude and period
with a given phase lead. In this
form, the output from the fun-
damental is:
Uout = 0.7974sin(t + 1.49).
Summing the outputs for the
fundamental and the first 19
harmcnice, we have:
Uout = 0.7974sin(t + 1.49)
+0.7900 sin (2t + 1.41)
+0.7778sin(3t + 1.34)
+ 0.5771sin(12t + 0.81)
+ 0.4241sin(20t + 0.56).
Note that the coefficients de-
erease, but much more slowly
than in the original funetion.
This reflecte the fact that the
higher frequeneies are less at-
tenuated than the lower fre-
quencies. Also, the phase lead
is leass as frequency inereases.
When W = 12, f = w/2n = 1.91,
which is approximately at the
~3 dB point of the filter. The
input amplitude of this cornpo-
nentis 10/12 = 0.8333 and its out-
put amplitude is 0.5771. The at-
tenuation is 0.5771/0.8333
= 0.69. This is roughly 0.7, the
expected attenuation at the
~3 dB level. The phase lead is
0.81 rad., equivalent to 46°, elose
to the lead of 45° expected at
the ~3 dB point.
A graph of Uout appears in
Fig, 129. It shows that filtering
has a dramatic effect on the sa w-
tooth wave, reducing it to a se-
ries of spikes, where the volt-
age suddenly steps up at the be-
ginning of each cycle. The circui t
filters out the slow change of
voltage as waveform ramps down.
This graph has more pronounced
undulations than Fig. 127; this
is due to the fact that the high-
pass filter makes the higher fre-
quencies relatively prominent.
Inthe example above we have
illustrated the use ofthe Fourier
Series by modelling a simple
waveform being passed through
a cireuit with a simple response.
There are easier ways of doing
this, as we shall see in Part 17.
It is with more elaborate wave-
forms and more eomplicated cir-
cuits that the FourierSeries shows
its power. With a computer to pro-
vide help with the calculations,
this is a useful technique for
analysingcireuit behaviour. Next
month, we show how to tackle
other types of wave and we look
at ways of shortening the cal-
culations.
Test yourself
A triangular waveform ramps up
aecording to the equationy = 2t,
repeating every 2n .seeonds.
Express this as a Fourier Series,
as far as the 3rd harmonie. This
signal is applied to a low-pass fil-
ter ha ving the same com ponents
as Eig, 129, but with Rand C
interehanged. Caleulate a se-
ries for the waveform ofthe out-
put signal as far as the 3rd har-
monic.
Answers to
Test yourself (Part 14)
1. i=0.3(e-t~e-2t) + 0.06923e-2t
~(9cos3t + 7sin3t)/130.
2.i = 0.03316e-4/ ~ 0.02036e-246/
~0.0128e-O.4545t. Current
= 774 J.lA.
3. d2i/dt2 + 10000di/dt
+ 5000i = 4eO.5t.
i = Ae-5t + Be-9995t
+ (7.27x10-5) eO.5'.
i = 0.0003277(e-5t ~e-9995t)
+ (7.27x10-5)(eO.5t~ e9995/).
Current = 0.275 mA.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS APRIL 1994

 FIGURING IT OUT
PART 16 - MORE ABOUT FOURIER
By Owen Bishop

This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voltage, waveforms, and other aspects of the behaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a collection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.

ast month we described how Mathematieally, we can express stant term; posed on a constant d.c. level
L the Fourier series ia used to
represent any periodie waveform.
this by: • it has eosine terms;
• it has 00 sine terms.
(as, for examp le, is the wave-
formofFig.131b). Ifyou find that
Ta recapituJate, the series COTI- fex) ~ fe-x). An obviousexampleofaneven a wavefortn 1S symmetrical about
sists of: function is the cosine waveform the y-axis, you need not waste
constant (d.c.) term If a waveform is an even func- afFig. 131a, which has a eosine time by trying to evaluate the in-
+ tion, we ean say, without any term and TIO sine terms. Whether tegral ofEq. 125.
eosine terms need for integrations, that: or not it has a constant term de-
+ • it may or may not have a con- pends on wh ether it is superim- Odd functions
sine terms.
The constant term and the coef- These are symmetrieal ab out
ficients of the eosine and sine the origin. If we imagine the
terms are found by integration: eurve spun round through 180 0

around a centre loeated at the

1
Ao ~ 21r.!o ydt
r2rr [Eq.123] crigin, it comes to lie on itself.
Figure 132shows same odd func-
tions. The eharaeteristie features
of an odd function are:
1irry cosnt dt
a,,~- • it has no eonstant terrn;
tt 0 • it has no eosine terms;
[Eq. 124] • 'it has sine terms.
In short, an odd function has
only sine terms. Sinee it is syrn-
1 2rr r
bn =; Joy sin nt dt metrieal about the origin, it ean
never have a eonstant term.
[Eq.125] Between them, even and odd
funetions covermost ofthe wave-
The eonstant term, whieb equals forms we are likely to meet in
the average value ofthe variable electronies, but there are a few
o other reeognizable types of'wave-
(for exarnple , voltage) during 930010_XVI_131

one cycle,ean sometimes be found form that yield series with dis-
by geometrieal means. We are Fig. 131 tinctive features. The next two
often able to simplify the inte- headings deal with these.
grations by using the standard
integralsgiven in Box 2 ofPart 15. Half-wave inversion
A frequent result of simplifica-
tion is that the series for a given In Fig. 133, the waveform be-
waveform has no eosine terms tween t = 0 and t = 1t is repeated,
orno sineterms. Now we will look but inverted, between t = 1t and
at same further ways of sirnpli- t = Zn. This is known as half-
fying the ealculations. wave inversion. The Fourier
series for such a wavefonn has
• no constant term;
Even functions • DO even eosine terms;

An even function is Olle whieh • no even sine terms.

is symmetrieal ahout the y-axis. The effects of half-wave in-
It is as if the y-axis acts as a version and the kinds of sym-
mirror; reflecting the eurve of'the metry are eumu1ative. The wave-
waveform for positive values of form of Fig. 133a has odd sym-
x on to the negative side of the metry and half-wave inversion.
axis. Figure 131 shows some Because it has cdd symmetry
examples of even funetions. Fig.132 (and also because it has half-

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS MAV 1994

 FIGURING IT OUT - PART 16

wave inversion), it has no eon-

stant term. Beeause it has odd
symmetry, it has no eosine terms.
Beeause it has half-wave sym-
metry, it has 00 even sine terms.
We are left with aseries that
has only odd sine terms. By con-
trast, the waveform ofFig. 133b
has even symmetry and half-
wave inversion. It therefore has
no eonstant term and no si ne
terms. It has only odd eosine
terms.
Half-wave repetition
The waveform of Fig. 134 is re-
peated in the seeond half of the
cycle. For such a waveform, the
series has:
• possibly a eonstant term;
• no odd eonsine terms;
• 00 odd sine terms.
The example here has a eon-
an =.! r3cosntdt+O
n: Jo
=~[sinntlrr
nn:
sin
=~[sin nn:l=0.9549 nie
nn: n
But sin n1t ::= 0 if n is an integer,
making c., = O.This resultmeans
that there are no coeine terms.
We eould have told this at the
start beeause this is essentially
an odd function, raised on a d.c.
yt levelof1.5(comparewithFig.I34).
The constant term 1.5 simply
raises it above the x-axis. If the
constant term is ignored, sothat,
in effect, it is lowered until it
0 , passes through the ot-igin,it be-
"t comes an odd function and has
only sine terms.
Finally, we calculate bn:
- 930010· XVI· 1

stant term. Removing the eon- bn =.!. r3sin ntdt+O

rr Jo
stant tenn ofthis example would Fig.133
shift the eurve down, giving it -3
=-[cosnt]~
odd symmetry. It therefore has nn:
only even sine terms. This rule -3
=-[cosnn:-eosOJ
does not neeessarily eliminate nn:
the need to ealeulate all three -3
ofAO, an. and bn, but does at least
=-[eosnJr-l1
nJr
provide acheck that your calcu-
lations are eorreet. There are two possibilities to be
eonsidered:
• when n is even, eos n1T. = 1,
Square waves which makes bn ::= 0;
The waveforms wehave analysed o 2, 3n~ • when n is odd, eos nn: = -I,
so far have all been eontinuous 930010· XVI· 1:14 in whieh event bn = 6/n1t
within the period 0 to 21t. Now =1.9099/n.
we will taekle a waveform that Fig.134 The series has only odd eosine
has an abrupt change oflevel dur- terms. This, too, might have been
ing the eycle. Figure 135 is a Y~3 0<1<1( foreseen: when the waveform is
Y~O 1« 1<21t ,- __
square wave with a mark:spaee shifted down to be symmetrical
ratio of 1. We have arbitrarily about thex-axis, ithas half-wave
taken the 'high' level to be 3. inversion, resulting in it having
This is a pieeewise function and, no even terms. Writing out the
to find the scrics, we have to series:
deal with eaeh part of the func- . sin3t
tion separately. First of all , the Y=1.5+ 1.9099(sm t+- -+
--+, 3
eonstant term is the surn of two
sin 5t sin 7t sin 9t
integrals: +--+--+--+ .. )
579
15,' 11
110=- 3dt+-
2n: 0 2n,.
dt'
2
Fig.135
Figure 136 shows the graph of
the series when taken to the 10th
In this example, the seeond in- harmonie (n = 9).
tegral has zero value:
1 Frequency spectrum
110= -[3tlrr +0
2rr Another way of looking at a se-
3 ries is to plot its frequency spee-
=-[rr-Ol=1.5
2n: trum. This has a vertieal line
for eaeh frequeney, the height
This result eouldhave more read- of the line being proportional to
ily been obtained by inspeeting the amplitude of the frequeney.
the graph and noting that the av- In the series we have just eal-
erage value ofy is 1.5. eulated, the amplitude of the
o fundamental is 1.9099. The am-
For the value of an we again
integrate for both parts of the plitude of the 1st harmonie is
waveform: 1.9099/3 = 0.6366. Figure 137
Fig.136 shows the plot ofthe fundamental

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS MAY 1994

 GENERAL INTEREST
and first 10 harmonics. The even
Olles are missing and the am-
plitude ofthe odd ones falls away
fairly rapidly. Last rnonth we
analysed a sawtooth wave before
and after passing it through a
high-pass filter. Figure 138 shows
the frequency spectra of these
waveforms; the effect of filter-
ing is obvious.
Pulse waveforms
lnFig. 139 wehave a pulse wave-
form, which is another example
of a piecewise function. This 18
analysed in a similar way to the
1:1 square wave above. If we
shift it ,,/10 to the left, the pulse
begins at-,,/10 and ends at ,,110.
It 18 now an even function, so
its Fourier series has no sine
terms. By inspection, we can tell
that AO = 0.3.
For the eosine terms:
11'/10
an=- 3cosntdt
J[ -11) 10
=.![~sin nll,/IO
TC n -Jr/l0
3 [ai nst
=-Slll--sm-- . -nJr
l
nn 10 10
6 . n7f
=-Sill-
nx 10
= 1. 9099 sin (M/lO)
n 0.'
Ifn = 1, then sin(nrtl10)= 0.3090;
for n = 2 to 9, we obtain 0.5878,
08090, and so on to 0.3090. When
n = 10, sin(nrtllO) = 0, so there
18Da 9th harmonie. The sequence
of values is repeated for n = 11
to 20) except that they are neg-
ative. From n = 21 onwards the
whole sequenee repeats, but we
are not eoneerned with harrnon-
ics of such a high order.
Written out as far as the 2nd
harmonie, the series looks like
this:
y=0.3+ 1.9099 (0.3090sin t
+0.5878 sin 21
2 Fig.139
+0.8090 Si~31 + ..)
Simplifying the coefficients.
by dividing by n (1, 2, 3, ...):
y=0.3+ 1.9099 (0.3090sin t
+0.2939 sin 2t
+0.2700 ein 3t+...)
The val ues of sin(mt!10) increase
for the first few terms, so this
partly offsets the effect of divid-
ing them successively by 1, 2,
3, .... In consequenee, the first
few harrnonics are almest as strong
as the fundamental as shown in
Fig. 140. This 1S plotted as far
as the 10th harmonic(there is no
9th). Compared with the square
wave of Fig. 135, as shown in
Fig. 137, there is rnueh less fall-
off in the lower harmonies of
A
i be present in pulse signals.
" UNFII..TERED
A Adapting the formulae to an-
FlLTERED
I I
• ,
A
0'
i 02
0 .t
this pulse wave. This property sound has the tirnbre of a given
ofpulse waveforms is made use musical instrument. A1though
ofin synthesizer eireuits. A pulse the amplitude ofthe higher har-
waveform is a strong source of monies falls offmore significantly,
harmonies which can be filtered the limits ofaudibility are reaehed
(formantfiltering) to adjust their around the 5th hannonic. However,
proportions until the resultant there is an increase of ampli-
tude from the 10th to the 14th,
which has an amplitude almost
equal to thatofthe 7th harmonie.
This illustrates the faet that un-
expectedly strong harmonics may
Other periods
The formulae described above all
refer to a waveform in which
one cycle takes 2n seeonds. In
other words, the angular veloc-
ity is unity. This corresponds to
a frequeney ofO.159 Hz. This is
rather lower than many of the
frequencies we meet in electronic
Fig.137 circuits and, even though the
analysis of different waveforms
is independent of the frequency
of the fundamental, there are
many instances when we want
to know the Fourier coefficients
for a frequency that isnot 0.159 Hz.
other frequency is just a matter
of altering the time-scale.
The equations relating an-
gular velocity, m,frequeney,f, and
, period (length of cycle), T, are:
or
a , s , , • •
" T = 2rt1w.
The phase angle at any given
Fig.138 time t is wt. The Fourier series
in these conditions is the same
Y,,3 G~ ,<~ as before, except that we replace
Y"O ~<f<21[
- t in the eosine and sine terms
by ox, Conversely, making w= 1
restores the terms to their orig-
inal form.
-,
noo,o-~"'-''19
The formulae forthe eonstant
term is:
Ao =J:. r~(t)dl
TJo
The formulae for the coefficients
are:
an =-
T
21T0
F(I) cos rua dt
b,,=-21'F(t)sinno:tdl
T 0
These show the limits of in te-
gration running from 0 to T, but
theyeanalsorun from-Tl2 toTI2
, I I I
if'this makes the integration any
easier.
r • • tu
We will derive the Fourier
series for the square wave of
Fig.140 Fig, 135, but wi th aperiod of
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS MAY 1994

Please mention ELEKTOR
0.01 s., corresponding to a fre-
quency of 100 Hz. At 100 Hz,
T = 0.001 and w = 2n/0.001
= 628.3 rad.
The average value of y is not
affected by the frequency, so
Ao = 1.5 as before. Also, as be-
fore, we recognize this to be an
odd function, so that an = 0 and
there are no eosine terms. For
the sine terms:
2 lO.005
bn=-- 3sinnüJtdt
0.01 °
-3
-;;-::=-(cosnJr-l)
0.005nw
If n is even, eos nrt = 1, and
bn = O.There are no even terms.
If n is odd, eos n1t = -1 and
b" = 6/0.005nw = 1.9099/n.
The series is exactly the same
as that for the square wave of
Fig. 135, except that, instead
of sin t, ein 3t, , we now have
sin ox, sin 3ax, The graph of
the series has the same shape,
exeept that the scale on the
x-axis runs from 0 to 0.001 s.
Thus, all thatwe have said about
waveforms with aperiod of 2n
app1ies with litt1e roodifieation
to periods of other lengths.
By contrast with the slow
Fall-off of harmonics in pulse
waveforms, there are other wave-
forms in wh:ich the rate of fall-
offis rapid. An exampleis shown
in Fig.l41. This is the waveform
of a half-wave rectified alter-
nating voltage. The coeffieients
forthe eosine terms are given by
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS MAY 1994
FIGURING IT OUT - PART 16
ELECTRONICS when contacting advertisers
the equation ries has only a single sine term,
2 so this has no effect on the rapid
an 2 fall-off of the harmonies.
Jr(l-n )
At this point we leave the
The den omina tor conteins n2 discussion ofthe Fourier Series,
and successive eoefficients (there having shown how to analyse
are even terms only) are: 2/31t, many ofthe most commonly oc-
2/15n, 2/35n, 2/63n, ... The se- curringwaveforms. Often the in-
Fig.141
-'
~ equations:
030(1'0- XVI_'"
Fig.142
tegrations are lang, and prone
to errar, especially with the fre-
quent changes in sign that re-
sult from integrating functions
containing sines and eosines. The-
rules we have discussed will
help by eliminating the need
forsome oftheintegrations. When
you have arrived at the equation
for aseries, plotting it with a
graphie calculator is a rapidnieans
of cheeking that it is essentially
correct.
Test yourself
1. Tbwhatcategories dothe wave-
forms of Fig. 142 each be-
long. In eaeh ease state what
elements you would expeet to
find in their Fourier series.
2. A sawtooth waveform with
period 2n is defined by these
y = 3t O<t<n
y = Se-Sn p<t<2n
Derive its Fourier series,
Answers to
Test yourself (Port 15)
ao = 2n; an = 0; bn = --4/n.
Series is: y = 21t--4sint-2sin2t
-L333sin3t-sin4t ...
Filtered signal is
U,ut = -3.988sin(t-0.0808)
-1.975sin(2t-0.1608)
-1. 297sin(3t-0 .2358)
-0.9525sin( 4t-0.3098)
 FIGURING IT OUT
PART 17 - ALL CHANGE!
By Owen Bishop

This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voltage, waveforms, and other aspects of the hehaviour of circuits.
Dur aim is to provide more than just a collection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, ren der some insights into the mathematics involved.

T herateofchangeofonequan-
tity with respect to changes
in another quantity is known as
as, if not more than, voltage.
Current is a function of both
voltage and resistance:
10 0
i [Al

a differential. As explained in
Part 5, we represent a differen-
tial by a symbol having the form
dyldx. The example given then We might want to know the rate
was d<Udt, the rate of change of at which current varies with re-
magnetic flux cI> through an in- spect to variations in both volt-
ductor, with respect to time t. If age and resistance. Think ofthis
we were to plot a graph oftheflux in terms of a three-dimensional
at different times, then d<PIdt is graph-Fig. 143. The curved
the gradient ofthe graph at any surface represents the way in
given time. which i varies with u and r. We
We are assuming that the de- can consider these var-iations
pendent variable <Pisa function individually. If we cut sections
of the single independent vari- ofthe surface parallel to the i-u
able t. In symbols: plane, we obtain a set ofstraight-
line graphs. The line AB repre-
<P = {(tl. sents changes incurrent with re-
spect to voltage, if resistanee is
Practically a11ofthe circuits and constant at 8 Q. In the other di-
circuit models we have studied rection, parallel to the i-r plane,
exhibit this one-to-one relation- sectioning the surface yields a 10
ship. In many ofthem, the volt- set of hyperbolas. An example
age at a given point is a fune- 1S shown by the line CD, which
tion of time. Given an equation represents changes in current Fig.143
that defines how voltage varies with respect to resistance, ifvolt-
with time(forexample, U = 3 sint), age 1S constant at 4 V.
we differentiate to find the rate We caleulate the slopes ofthese emplified by lineAB. For the set along a curve are doubled. This
of change ofvoltage at any given curves by using partial differ- of lines obtained in this way, the can be seen by comparing curve
instant (in this example, entials. The techrrique corre- gradient is inversely proportional CD with curve CD'.
du.ldt = 3 cost). But there are sponds to cutting a slice through to r. The smaller the value of r,
other cases in which a quantity the surface, parallel to one or the steeper the line, as can be Example
depends on two (or more) other otberofthevertical planes. Cutting seen by eomparing hneAB with
independent quantities. As an a slice parallel to the i-u plane lineA'B' in the figure. Let us put some numbers intc
example, consider the fa miliar means considering r to be con- Similarly, we find the gradi- these equations and see how they
Ohm's law equation for the cur- stant and then differentiating ent of lines parallel to the i-r work out. Take a point P on the
rent through a resistor: Eq. 126 with respect to u: plane. Differentiating Eq. 126 surface, representing u = 4,
while considering u to be con- i = 0.8. The third value neees-
i = u/r. [Eq. 126] 8i/8u = 1/r. stant: sarily follows from the first two.
At this point, the gradient in
As on previous occasions, we are The symbol for the differential is 8i/8r=-u/r2. the direction parallel to the i-u
using lower-case letters for quan- written with a special kindof'd' to plane is
tities thatare varying. Ordinarily indicate that this is a partial The gradient is negatively in-
we would use a capital R for re- differential. We caU the 8 a versely proportional to the square l/r = 1/5 = 0.2.
sistance, assumingthat its value 'curly d'. Because we have de- ofthe resistance, which 18a char-
does not change significantly. cided to make r eonstant, the acteristic of hyperbolas. For a The units of'this gradient are am-
But suppose that the resistor is partial differential (thegradient given resistance, it 18 also di- peres per volt (NY). Tbe gradi-
light-dependent or we are using ofa linedrawn parallel tothei-u reetly proportional to the volt- ent parallel to the i-u plane is
a thermistor. We must alJow for plane) is constant, In otherwords, age; at double the voltage, for ex-
resistance to vary just as much we have a straight line, as ex- ample, gradients at aJI points -ulr2 = -4/25 = -0.16.
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JUNE 1994
 FIGURING IT OUT - PART 17

Units are amperes per ohm change of current with respect
(AlQ). Now suppose that the volt- to voltage at a given point is
age is increased by 0.1 Vand öi / Su, The actual change in cur-
the resistance is decreased by rent produced by the small change
0.5 Q. The change in current re- in voltage is
sulting from a change in volt-
age is 0.2 A V-I. A change of (8ildu)xf1u.
0.1 V produces a current increase
of 0.2xO.1 = 0.02 A. Similarly, Similarly, the change in current
the change in current result- resulting from a small change
ing from a change in resistance in resistance is:
is-0.16AQ-l Achange of-0.5Q
pro duces a current change of (Bi l drvx ör,
--D.16x--D.5= 0.08A Both changes
are currentincreases and their Provided that both f1u and f1r are
effects are cumulative. The total smalI, these two may be added
change in current is 0.02+0.08 (taking account of sign) to find
= O.IA. Thenewcurrentis 2+0.1 the overall change in current.
= 2.1 A
This result is only approxi-
Another example
mate, because we have consid-
ered the effects ofvoltage and re- Wewillworkthis examplestraight
sistance separately. Figure 144 through, without comment, as
1S an enlarged view ofthe surface a practical summaryofthemethod.
ofFig.143, in the region ofpoint A 33 Q resistor has a current of
P. Increasing voltage by 0.1 V 2.5 mA passing through it. The
is equivalent to moving from P power dissipated in the resistor
to Q. Decreasing resistance by is p = i2r. We are asked to find
0.5 Q is equivalent to moving the change in power when the re-
from P to R. Both produce an sistor increases by 1 Q and the
increase of current (an uphill current decreases by 0.1 mA. Ta
climb on the sloping surface of begin with, p = 0.00252x33
the graph). We have simply added = 206.25 uw The change in power
these increases. But really, we resulting from the change in re-
want to knowthe change thatoc- sistance is:
curs in going from P to S. Going
from P to Q and then adding on (op I 8r)xi1r = i2xI =6.25x10-6.
the current increase that was cal-
culated on the basis of being The change in power resulting
at P is not quite the same thing from the change in current is:
as going directly from P to S.
The change in level between Q (öp I 8i)xf1i = 2irx-0.001
and S is not quite the same as = 0.165x-0.0001 = -16.5x1~.
that between P and R. Having
said this, we still find this tech- The total change in current is
nique a useful one, provided that (6.25-16.5)x10-6 = -10.25x10-6.
we keep to smaU changes in u The new power level is
and r. If PQ is smalI, the in- (206.25-10.25)xl0-6 = 196 Jlw.
crease in going from Q to S 1S
not very different to the increase We can easily check this result
in going from P to R, so simply by war king out the power when
adding the increases 1S precise i = 2.4 mA and r = 34 Q. For this
enough. pair of values, p = 0.00242x34
= 195.84 pw. This, of course, is
a precise value and it might be
Small increments
wondered why we need to go into
Let us summarise this in math- the complications of differenti-
ematical terms. The small change ation to abtain only an approxi-
in voltage ts L1u. The rate of mate value. The reason 1S that
the method of partial differen-
tiations ia applicable to equations
much more complex than the
simple one used here to if lus-
trate the method. It can be ap-
plied to any combination of re-
sistances and currents, it being
necessary only to insert the ap-
propria te values of L1i and L1r
into the equations once the ini-
tial differentiationhas beendone.
Fig.144
Percentages
The techniquecan also be applied
when the changes are expressed
as percentages. Using the re-
sistor of the previous example,
we might specify that the resis-
tance decreases by 0.5% and the
current decreases by 2%.
Calculating the changes:
f1r = -0.0051'
and
f1i = -0.02i.
Total change in power is:
i2Ll!' + 2irf1i = -0.005i2r-0.04i2r
= i2rx-0.045 = px-0.045.
The percentage change in power
is -4.5%.
Three or more
The technique rnay be extended
to include three or even more
variables. Partial differentia-
tion is no longer j ust a matter
of cutting slices through a three-
dimensional surface, for the
'gt-aph' is a surface in space of
four 01" more dimensions. But
the principle isjust the same. If Equation 129 is used to calculate
z is a function of c, b, C, ... , then the change in z for any combi-
&- &- &-
8z=-xi"ia+-xi"ib+-xi"ic+
Iia i5b l5c
[Eq. 127]
AB am example, considerthe non-
inverting amplifier circuit of The output voltage may be up
Fig. 145. The output voltage, z, to 0.2 V greater than its calcu-
is related to the input voltage, lated value. With the exact values
u, by the equation:
z = u(alb+1) [Eq. 128]
The values of the resistors are
represented by variables a and
b. Here we have three indepen-
dent variables, and can wt-ite
three partial differentials by dif-
ferentiating Eq. 128 appropri-
ately:
I5z18u~alb+1;
Fig.145
8z18a =u l b:
Sz l Bb = -uo lbt.
We will use this example to il-
lustrate the method of estimat-
ing errors and werk in percent-
ages. The rum is to calculate the
maximum positive errorinz that
my be brought about by resistor
tolerances and the precision of
the input voltage. Factars that
will result in an increase in z
are:
• Increase in u; suppose this 18
precise to ±2%; L1u = 0.02u.
• Maximal value of a; suppose
tolerance is 1%; L1a = O.Ola.
• Minimal value of 6; suppose
tolerance is 1%; L1b = -0.016.
Using an equation of the same
form as Eq. 127:
f1z = (al b+1) x 0.02u
+(ulb)xO.Ola
+ (-u l al b2) x -0.01b,
so that
f1z = 0.02u (2alb + 1)
[Eq. 129J
nation of values of u, a, and 6.
.. Forexample, ifu = 5 V,a= 100Q
and b = 200 Q, then
f1z = 0.02x5(200/200+ 1) = 0.2.
given, z = 7.5 V, but errors may
take it up to a maximum of7.7 V.
Related rates
In the examples above, the two
(or more) independent variables
have been independent of each
other. But it may happen that
they are related to each other be-
cause they are both functions of
same other quantity. Very often
we find that two variables are
functions of time. The input to
a circuit may be a ramping volt-
ageor a sine wave; in either case,
the voltageis a function oftime.In
the same circuit, there may be
photoresistor responding to a
periodically changing light level;
the resistance of this ia also a
function of time. Ir a current in
the circuit is affected both by
the input voltage and the reais-
tance of the photoresistor, we
have a circuit which can be ana-
lysed by partial differentials.
For example, suppose that

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JUNE 1994

 GENERAL INTEREST

the input is given by u = 2sin4t. di/dt = 72.77 mA s-t. partial differentials 8z I 8x terms. The series is:
The resistance of the photore- and 8z I 8y when y = 3n/2 ~ 6 [(sin 2t/2)
sistor is given by r = 100+40t2 If instead we need to know the (a) z = 2x+3y + (sin4t14) + (sin6t/6)
(a light source is approaching the
rate of change of current when (h) z = 3x2/4y + ... ]
sensor and the inverse square the voltage has a particularvaJue,
law applies), The current is we calculate the corresponding 2. A 22 ).lF capacitor has a p.d,
i = u l r, We want to know the values of rand t, then substi- of 9 V across it. The charge q
rate of change of i. tute these in Eq. 131. is given by q = cu. Ifthe volt-
The standard equation CEq. 127) In this example, the time-re- age increases by 0.2 V and
tells us that: lated variables are synchronised the capacitance decreases by
with each other. This is because 0.5).lF, use the method of'par-
8i 8i
Si= 8u xl!.u+ &- xl!.r the differentials still incJude t, tial differentials to calculate
This need not be the case. If, for by how much the charge
This equation does not require example, we state that the volt- changes.
the change to occur in any spec- age is ramping upward at3 V s+,
ified length oftime. Now we will the equation is: u = 3t. Differ- 3. In a voltage-regulatingcircuit
introduce the time element by entiating this gives du/dt = 3. (Fig. 146), a constant volt-
saying that the changes must The rate of change is constant; age U = 10 V is applied. The
take place in a short length of it does not depend on how lang band-gap reference produces
time, M. Dividing both sides by has elapsed since we began tim- a reduced voltage with atempco
Llt: ing. We might also specify that of 40 ppmrc. The resistor
the resistance is increasing at the has a tempco of 100 ppml°C.
Si 8i Su: 8i l!.r rate of 411 s-l, so that dr/dt = 4. When the temperature is 25 -c,
-=-x-+-x-
l!.t 8u l!.t &- l!.t The variables are still both time- u isexactly 2.5 V andr=7.5 kl1.
dependent, since they are rates The current through the re-
If Lit is made very small, ap- ofchange, butthey are not syn- sistor is i = (U-u)/r. What is
proaching zero, the expressions chronised in the time-scale. the tempco of the current?
containing it become differen- Substituting these differentiale
tials: in Eq. 130 gives:
di 8i du 8i dr
-=-x-+-x- di/dt = 3/r-4ulr2.
dt 8u dt &- dt +
[Eq. 130]In this case, it is possibJeto spec- .!:!.=10V
ify any pair of values for u and
The expression on the left is the rand calculate the correspond-
rate of change of current with ing rate of change of i. For ex- 2V5

time. We call it the total dif- ample, when u = 2 V and r = 411, 930010·XVJI·146
ferential of z with respect to t. then:
Note that Eq. 130 does not con-
tain any finite quantities such as di/dt = 3/4-8/16 = 0.25 A s-t. Fig.146
M, and soitgives an exact result,
not an approximation. Let us As wen as rates of change with
apply this equation to our ex- respect to time, we often encounter
ample. Calculating the partial rates of change with respect to Answers to
differentials from the equation temperature. Thevaluesofmany Test yourselt (Part 16)
given (the same as in the first ex- components, inc1udingresistors,
ample this month): capacitors and regulators are 1. (a) Odd function; no con-
all functions oftemperature. Tbe stant term, no eosine terms;
8il8u = 1Ir; temperature coefficient, often expect to find only sine
known as the tempco of a re- terms.
sistor, may be ofthe order of200 (b) Half-wave repetition,
parts per million per degree Celsius neither even Dar odd; expect
Calculating the other differen- (er per kelvin which, in this con- to find a constant term,
tials in the usuaJ way from the text, amounts to the same thing). even cosine terms and even
equations given: As a differential, and now using sine terms.
the variable t to represent tem- (c) Even function; expect to
du/dt = 8cos4t; perature insteadoftime, we have: find a constant term and co-
sine terms.
dr/dt = 80t. duldt = 2rxl0-4
2, 'I'his has half-wave repeti-
Substituting in Eq. 130: Given the tempcos of resistors tion; with the constant term
and other components in a cir- ignored, it is an odd func-
di/dt = (8 cos 4t)/r-SOut I r2. cuit, the method described above tion; expect to find a con-
[Eq. 131] can be used to calculate the rate stant term and even sine
of change of current or other terms.
We can use Eq. 131 to find the quantitu with respect to tem- Ao = 3n/2
rate of change of current when perature changes. an = 0
one of the quantities has a spec- bn = ~3/n(cosnn+1)
ified vaJue. For example, when When n is even, cos n1t = 1,
Test yourself
t = 0.1 s, u = 0.7788 V and and bn = ~6/n.
r = 100.4 11. Then, substituting 1. Given that z is a function of When n is odd, cosna = -1
in Eq. 131 gives: both x and y, calculate the and bn = O. Only even

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JUNE 1994

I.. ·
FIGURING IT OUT
PART 18 - THE LAPLACE TRANSFORM
This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voItage, waveforms, and other aspects of the behaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a collection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.
ystems of many kinds, from
S electronic circuits to the mo-
tion of planets and the spend-
ing patterns of supermarket cus-
tomers, may be model1ed with
differential equations. Setting
up the equations is usually fairly
easy. Solving the equations may
be unexpectedly dfficult. Ob-
viously, a solution may be more
readily reached if we assume
thatcertain values are zero or re-
main constant, but this may make
the model unrealistic, or at least
limit its applicabi1ity. Various
techniques have been devised
to assist the solution of differ-
ential equations. One of these
is the operator D, described in
Part 14.Anotbertechnique, known
as Euler's method, is easy to use
but, since it reHes heavily on ap-
proximations, is not entirely re-
liable. A third and powerful tech-
nique is the Laplace transform.
Transforms
Given a set of values, we trans-
form them by performing a spec-
ified mathematical operation on
each ofthem. A well-known ex-
ample is the logarithm.ic trans-
form. Take this set of numbers:
0.5,2,3.5,7,20.22.
The logarithmic transform of
these is obtained by taking the
natural logs, or logs to any other
base, if preferred. Natural logs
can be found with a pocket cal-
culator and we obtain the trans-
formed set (shown here to 4 dec-
imal po'ints):
-0.6931,0.6931, 1.2528,
1.9459,3.0067.
The members ofthe original set
map in a one-to-one manner with
the members ofthe transformed
By Owen Bishop
set. We can also perform the in-
verse transforrn, using the eX
function on the calculator, and
recover the original set.
At one time, logs were used
extensively to assist in calcula-
tions, either in the form of log
tables, or on the slide rule. This
is because they have the prop-
erty that adding logs is the equiv-
alent of multiplying ordinary
numbers. For example:
In 2 + In 3.5 = 0.6931 + 1.2528
= 1.9459 = In 7.
Taking logs, adding them, and
takingthe antilogofthe sum, has
given us the product. Adding is
easier than multiplying, espe-
cial1y when there are many dec-
imal places.
Finding a fractional power of
a number is a troublesame op-
eration. For example, find the
value of 3.52.4. The log transfor-
mation comes to OUT aid because
multiplying a log by a number
is the equivalent of finding the
power. In this example:
2.4 x In 3.5 = 2.4 x 1.2528
= In 20.22
that is,
3.52.4 = 20.22.
Multiplyingthe log, then finding
the antilog, has given us the
power. Multiplyingis easierthan
taking powers, especially when
they are fractional. Summing
up, we use the log transform be-
cause it makes certain maths
operations easier to do. We use
the Laplaee transform for the
same reason.
Laplace transform
The Laplaee trans form operates
on a time function. By this we
mean that a quantity (such as
voltage)is specified by a funetion
fit), in whieh time is the inde-
pendent variable. For example,
u = 3 sin rot. We say that u is in
the time domain. We sometimes
write u(t) and i(t)focthe function
instead of ((t), the lower ca se
letter indicating the quantity
involved. The Laplace transform
of a time function (Ct) is F(s),
where:
F(s)= s: ((t) e-~ dt
[Eq. 132]
The main condition attached to
this transform 1S that the inte-
gral must be convergent, which
means that the integral must ap-
proach adefinite limiting value
as t becomes large, and not be-
eorne infinitely large itself. Most
ofthe time, functions met in elec-
tronics conform to this require-
ment. It 1S also specified tbat
(Ct) = 0 when t = O. If it is not,
we insert starting conditions into
the equatians.
Unit step function
The Laplace transform is not
unduly complicated when the
time function is a simple one.
As an example ofthe transform,
we look at the unit step fune-
tion, which, in effect, 18equiva-
lent tojust turning on the power
switch-see Fig. 147a. Up to
the instant ofthe starting time,
the switcb 1.5 open. The voltage
across the resistor is u = O. The
switch is closed when t = 0 and
the voltage across theresistorin-
stantly rises to u = 1. We have a
unit step-see Fig. 147b. The
function describing this is piece-
wise:
u(t) = 0
ELEKTOR
!.
930010-XVIIl-147
Fig.147
,,(tl = 1 0+ < t < +=.
Note that we specify u up to the
instant before the switch is elosed
(t = 0-) and from tbe instant after
the switch is closed (t = 0+). lt is
undefined for the instant of clos-
ing. The second ofthe two func-
tions above is the one we trans-
form. Substituting in Eq. 127:
U(s)= fe-<tdt
- -1[ e -"]- 0 -li
_ - s
s
As t approaches infinity, e-st ap-
proaches zero; when t is zero,
e-st = eO = 1. The integral re-
duces to 1/s. Similarly, ifthe step
15other than a urrit step, for ex-
arnple u = a, the transform is
als.
Other transforms
In a similar way, we can find the
transforms ofother common func-
tions, As might be expected, the
integrations required are more
complicated than that for the
simple step function above.
However, there is no need to worry
about this as the transforme of
ELECTRONICS JULViAUGUST 1994
 FIGURING 11"OUT - PART 18

all the most frequently met func- tion, we need to know how to sistsofseveral terms, usually in- that timing begins. Again, we
tions are available in a table transform these. Box 2 shows the duding a constant, a first fiffer- multiplythe transform by the co-
(see Box 1). The transforme in transforms ofthe terms ofa dif- ential (dy/dt), a second differen- efficient of the original terrn, so
Box 1 are mostly needed when ferential equation and the way tial (d2y/dt2), and possibly dif- the transform of 5000[di(l)ldt]
we are performing the reverse to use these and the traneforme ferential termsofthird or higher is
transform, as we shall see later. in Box 1is explained in the ex- orders. An example taken from 500081(s) - 5000i(0+).
Since our calculations usually ample below. Part 13 is a model of aseries
begin with a differential equa- A differential equation con- LCR circuit in which R = 500 Q, In Part 13, we stipulated that
C = 2 pF, and L = 100 mH. The the current is 2 mA when tim-
Function differential equaticn, based on ing begins, so i(O+) = 0.002 and
Transform Conditions
Eq. 94, is: the transform ts 500081(8)-10.
1 (unit step function} 118 9\(8) > 0 Note that instead ofhaving to dif-
a (step function) als 9\(s) > 0 d2i (t)! dt2 +5000 (di(t)/dt) ferentiate i(t), we have simply
t (ramp function) 1/82 + (5x106)i(t) = 0 multiplied its transform by s to
[Eq. 133] give sl(8). Multiplying by 8 is
e'" (growth function) 1I(8-a) 9\(8) > a Note that we have replaced i in much easier than differentrat-
e-at (decay function) 1/(8+a) 9\(8) >-a Eq. 94 with i(t) toemphasisethat ing, which is thereason forusing
1--€'" alS(8-a) 9\(8) > a i varies in the time domein ~ it the transform.
1S a funetion of t - but it repre- • The transform ofthe extreme
1-e-'" a/sfs-r.a) 9'(8) >-a sents exactly the same quantity. left-hand term, d2i(tlldt2, is also
sin fit (0/(82+(02) 8>0 Dur aim is to discover the way i made according to Eq. 132 and,
cos ox s/(82+w2) 8>0 varies with time. In other words, assuming that no current is fiow-
to obtain the function i(l). To ing at the instant the power is
solve this equation, we will first switched on, it produces
9\(s) is the real part of s in those cases where s is a complex find its transform. Itcan beshown
number. that, if we find the transform of 82[(8)-si(O+)-di(O+)Idt.
a and ro are constants. each term individual1y and sum
the transforms for each side of The second differential is ob-
the equation, this gives the trans- tained by multiplying 8[(S) by s;
Box 1 - Laplace Iransforms of functions. form of the whole equation. as before, it is much easier to mul-
Working from right to left: tiply by s than it is to differen-
Term Transformed term • The transform ofOis 0 (a unit tiate. In this expression, i(O+)
Constant a als step in which a = 0 - see Box 1) = 0.002, as above. di(O+)Idtis the
Funetion r(tl F(s) • The transform of (5x106)i(t) rate of change of current when
presents a problem because, until timing begins. In Part 13, we
First derivativef"(t) 8F(8)-f(O+) we have solved the equation, we said that this is 0.05 A s-l, so
Second derivative {""(t) 82 F(s)-sf(O+)- r '(0+) do notknow the form ofthe func- the tranform under these start-
tion i. Represent it by a symbol, ing eonditions becomes
lntegral f:r(t) dt F(8)/8+{CO+ )/8 using the corresponding capital
letter, and say that its trans- 82[(8)-0.0028 - 0.05.
form is1(s). Note that the trans-
Box 2 - Laplace transforms of differential equations. form 1S in the 5 domain, which Summing the transforms of
can be shown to be the frequency the terms on each side of
domain. Since any constant mul- Eq. 133, we obtain a new equa-
1. Faetorise the denominator ofthe original fraction, ifpossible.
tiplier also multiplies the trans- tion in the frequency domain:
2. Match the factors against one or more ofthe formats shown in
form, the transform of(5x106)i(t)
Box 4. 82[(8)-0.002s-0.05
is (5x106)1(8).
3. Box 4 sets out the form ofthe partial fraetions; write them out +500081(8)-10
• The transform of5000(di(t)ldt)
as an identity.
can be obtained by integration +(5x106)1(8)=0
4. Clear fractions bymultiplying both sides ofthe identity by the
according to Eq. 132. Skipping
original denominator.
over the intermediate stages, The next step is to simplify this
5. Equate coefficients of each power of x, obtaining equations for
which are a conventional inte- in order to find l(s), the Laplace
constants A, B, e!c. gration by parts, wefind that the transform of Eq.l33. Examination
6. Solve these equations to find A, B, e!c. transform of di(t)/dt is sl(8 )-i(O+). shows thatI(s) is a faetor in three
As above, we have bad to state of tbe terms. The equation be-
Example: Express (3x+5)1(xLx-12) as a partial fraction. the transform in terms ofl(s), be- comes:
Step 1: (3x+5)1(xLx-12) = (3x+5)1(x+3J (.<-4). cause we do not yet know the
Step 2: There are two factors, both have the form (z+a), So, form ofi(t). The term i(O+)is the 182 +5000s+(5x106 )11(8)
there are two partial fractions, both with the form current flowing at the instant =0.0028+10.05
N(x+a).
Step 3; (3x+5)/(x+3) (x-4) es A!(x+3)+B/(x-4).
Factors in denominator Partial fractions
Step 4: 3x+5 = A(x-4)+Blx+3)
= Ax-4A+Bx+3B. X+a N(x+a)
Step 5: Equating ccefflcients ofx: A+B = 3. x2+ax+b (AHB)/(x2+a.nb)
Equating constants: -4A+3B = 5. (x+a)2 N(x+a) and B/(x+a)2
Step 6: A = 417 and B = 1717;partial fractions are:
(x+a)3 N(x+a), B/(x+a)2 and C/(x+a)3
(3X+5)I (x2-X-12) = 417 (x+3)+17/7 (x-4).
(x2+ax+b)2 (Ax+B)!(x2+ax+b) and
Further worked examples appear in the text. (Cx+D)/(x2+a.nb)2

Box 3 - Partial fractions. Box 4 - Formals for partial fraclions.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS JULY/AUGUST 1994

 GENERAL INTEREST

so that: usingBox 1, toobtainanequa- calculate initial and final cur-

tion for i(t). rents and voltages.
0.002s+10.05
[(s)
S2 +5000s+(5x106) The important point to no- Q Test yourself
-';:;0.5 sH
tice is that 'at no stage is there
The expression below the line can any need to differentiate or in- + 1. Use the table ofBox lto find
be factorised, usingthe quadratic tegrate. The tables oftransforms the transforms of (a) 2e-6',
30mV and (b) 3cos4t.
equation formula (available on cover almost every case, and ta- 930010-XVIII-149
many scientific calculators) to bles more extensive than Boxes
give: 1 and 2 are available for the in- 2. Use the table ofBox 1to find
frequently used functions. The Fig.149 the inverse transform of (a)
[(s)~~2s+10.05 3/s(s--3), and (b) 28/(s2+49).
onIy maths required is simple al-
(s+ 1382)(s+3618)
gebraic manipulation, mostly
[Eq. 134J the finding of partial fractions. of i(O+)~ 6/100 ~ 0.06 A. Sub- 3. Write the transform of this
We are working toward getting This does not seem to appear in stituting in Eq. 136: equation and solve it, using
the termsoftheequation into the GeSE maths syllabuses, so a the starting conditions given:
same form as Olle or more ofthe simple routine for this is out- 120[(s)+0.5s[(s)-0.03 ~0 d2i(t)1dt2+di(t)/dt-6 ~ 0, given
transformed expressions in Box 1. lined in Boxes 3 and 4. or that nü+) ~ 0 and di(O+)/dt~ 5.
Many of these have a single fac- 120[(s)+0.5s[(s) ~ 0.03
tor, such as (s-.a), beneath the Transformed circuits [Eq. 137J 4. In the circuit ofFig.151, the
line. The equation above could Equation 137 is the equation input voltage is 10 V at t = 0,
be turned into this form by ex- which woulld be obtained by ap- and ramps down according
A
pressing the fraction as partial plying the network rules to the to the equation u ~ 10-200t.
fractions. Wben this is done, we circuit of Fig.149. In other words, (a) Express the current in this
find that: Fig.149is thecircuitofFig.148 circuit as a differential equa-
~ 500mH transformed into the frequency tion; (b) find the transform
[(s) 0.003258 0.001258 domain. Note how the induc- of the equation and simplify
s+1382 s+3618 tance depends on s, which has it; (c) find the inverse trans-
(Toconfirm this working, add the 930010·XVIII-148 the dimensions offrequency. The form to obtain an equation
two partial fractions and verify circuit includes a voltage source, which shows how the current
that you get back to the fraction Fig.148 representing the voltage due to varies in time.
ofEq.134). A search through the theinitial current. FromEq.137:
table of Box 1 shows that ex-
pressions of this form are trans- Figure 148 shows a circuit in [es) ~ 0.03/(0.5s+120)
forms of the decay function, which the switch is in position U(t) = 10-20ot +
i(t) = e-at. We are ready to per- A lang enough to reach a steady Before we can reverse the trans-
form the reverse transform, read- state. The switch is changed to form, we must multiply the nu-
ing from right to left in Box 1 position B when t = O. At any merator and denominator ofthe 2H5

and substituting appropriate instant the voltage aeross the two fraction by 2 to obtain 5 in the
values for a and 5: resistors is 120i(t) and, because denominator instead of 0.055: 9300tO-XVIII-151

it depends on the rate of change

i( t)~0.003258e-1382 of current, the voltage across i(s) ~ 0.06/(s+240) Fig. 151
-0. 001258e -3618 the inductoris 0.5di(t)/dt. Applying
the rules for networks that we Box 1 shows that this is the trans-
This is precisely the same re- first met in Part 4, we can state form ofthe decay function. In the Answers to
sult as was obtained in Part 13 that by KVL, and with the switch transform. a = 240 and: Test yourself (Part 17)
using the straightforward tech- in position B:
niques for solving differential i(t) ~ 0.06e-240t
equations. It serves to confirm 120i(t)+0.5di(t)/dt ~ 0 1a lizl&. ~ 2+3y;
that the Laplace transform does [Eq.135J The graph ofthis function is given l5e I ~ ~ 2>:+3.
give the correct result, in spite This differential equation de- in Fig. 150. Itshowsthatthecur-
of the apparently roundabout scribes the behaviour of the cir- rent starts at 0_06 A and decays 1b 15e1&.~ 3x12y;
route from start to finish. The ad- cuit but, sinee it does not take exponentially, beingvery close to 15e/~ ~ _3x2/4y2.
vantage of the Laplace method into account the initial state of zero after 20 ms.
is that it can be used with dif- the circuit, we do not yet have 2. Charge decreases by 0.2 ]lC,
ferential equations that do not an equation for i(t). Because the from 198.0]lC to 197.8 jrC.
.t.
yield readily to the ordinary tech- voltage source is now switehed
niques. out of the circuit, it is hard to !~l 1\'
__~~ii~~r.~~~1 3. dr/dt ~ 0.75;
Ithas taken several paragraphs see how we can allow for it, This duld! ~ 100x10-6;
to work through this example, is where the transform helps i5ilou ~ =Lr;
but the steps in the calculation out. Transforming Eq. 135: i5ilor ~ (u-1O)lr2;
are few: dildt ~ 86.7xlO-9 when
120[(sl+0.5[s[(s)-i(O+)} ~ 0 i~ 1mA, equivalent toa tempco
1. Transform the differential equa- [Eq. 136J of 86.7 ppm °C-I.
tion, using Boxes 1 and 2. Now we can take the initial CUT- [93001O-XVIIIJ
2. Simplify the equation to ob- rent, i(O+),into account. We find ,
I""'j
tain an expression for 1(5). its value by noting that in the _,..."..,iO

3. Insert irritial values and re- steady state with the switch at
cast the expression so that it A, assuming that the resistance Fig.150
consists ofterms ofthe same of the inductor is negligible, a
typeas thetransforms in Box 1. volta ge of 6 V across a resis- Next month we look at how
4. Find the inverse transforms, tance of 100 Q causes a current to model capacitors and how to

ELEKTOR ELECTRONWS JYLY/AUGUST 1994

 FIGURING IT OUT
PART 19 - BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS
By Owen Bishop

This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voltage, waveforms, and other aspects of the behaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a collection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.

T hiS month we take the

Laplace transform a step
further by considering how to
equation for a capacitor (Eq.
27, Part 5). Using Kirchhoff's
current law, we ean write:
Urs) = 50[1Is - 11(0.1+ s)].
[Eq. 139]
The inverse transform 1S:
A 51

"
B
use it to find the initial and u(t)!50 + 0.2du/dt = l. u(t) = 50(1 - e-O.1).
+
final states of a circuit. But, The differential equation de- [Eq. 140] 10V
befare we da this, we will look scribes how voltage varies in Figure 153 shows the graph 2mF

at circuits containing capaci- the circuit from the moment SI of Eq. 140. The voltage across
tive elements. is closed. Transforming this the resistor and capacitor

51
equation, using the tables of
transfarms given in boxes 1
°
starts at V, increaeing at an
exponentially decreasing rate 930010 XIX ·154

and 2 oflast month's article: until it reaches 50 V.

200mF
930010 XIX· 152
Fig.152
A simple example 1Sthe ca-
pacitor of Fig. 152, which ini-
tial1y has no charge and is
charged when 81 15 c1osed. The
current being supplied to the
circuit rises instantly from
zero to 1 A. Last rnonth, we de-
scribed this as a unit step
function. The currents arriv-
ing at and leaving node X at
any instant are shown in the
figure. The current through
the resistor is obtained by ap-
plying Ohm's law. The current
that is charging the capacitor
is obtained from the current
U(s)!50 + 0.2[(sU(s) - u(O+)] Fig.154
= 1/s.
As always, the use of the Capacitor current [Eq.141]
transform means that instead To model the currents in a ca- The initial charge is now rep-
of differentiating a function pacitive circuit, we need to resented by q(O+). To werk with
of u, we simply have to multi- begin with a voltage equation. equations which contain inte-
ply Urs) by s, which is a much In Part 5 we gave the voltage gral expressions, we use the
easier operation. Assuming equation of a capacitor in the transform given in Box 2 of
that the capacitor is uncharged form: Part 18. The transform of
to begin with, so that u(O+) = 0,
the equation simplifies to: f;i(t)dt is I(s)/8 +i(O+)ls.
U(s)(1150 + 0.2s) = 1Is
Urs) = 501s(1 + LOs). [Eq.21] Note that to integrate an ex-
Converting the right-hand side In this equation, u is the volt- pression, we divide its trans-
into partial fractions (see last age across the capacitor at any form by s, This is easier than
month, Box 3): given time, C is the capaci- integrating.
Uis)» 50ls - 500/(1 + l.Os). tance, I is the current entering As a practieal example, con-
[Eq. 138] or leaving the capacitor at any sider the circuit of Fig. 154, in
The second expression on the given time, and c is the initial which a capacitor is eharged to
right will obviously transform charge (if any) on the capaci- 10 V with the switch in posi-
back into the decay function, tor. Rewriting the equation tion A. When t == 0, the switch
but we must first reduce the with symbols to remind us that is moved to poaition B. If the
coefficient of s to unity. Divide voltage and cur-rent are both cut-rent in the circu.it at any
top and bottom of this expres- functions of time, we obtain: given time is i(t), the voltage
sion by 10: across the resistor is
50/(0.1 + s). u(t)~ 1ft i(t)dt+q(O+ )/C Ri(t) = 1000i(t). The voltage
The transform becomes C 0
aeross the capacitor is given by

, , , • , 10
~ - - - - - -"..(:'--- ~~-- - - - - ---

~i"
11--,
(';Al·-,
1._,.
2
t (8)----'
00

ac .e
e ... ''}

10 .,
·10
o 10 ~ se 1I3OO10·XlX·155

" "t
(5) ----.
93001D· XIX· 153

Fig.153. Fig.155

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1994

 FIGUIUNG IT OUT - PART 19

Eq. 141 aso This is 1/C8 = 1000/8.

Element Voltage equation Transformed voltage
The voltage equation of an
Jcf';(t)dt+q(O+ )/C inductor, given in Part 5, is:
C 0
u(t) = u(O+) U(8) = u(O+) /
Step voltage, u(O+) 8
uL=Ldi(t)
Substituting C = 0.002 Fand
Resistance, R u(t) = i(t) r U(8) = 1(8) r dt
q(O+)/C = u(O+) = 10 V, the ini-
tial voltage across the capaci- Capacitance, C u(t) = (1IC)!i(t)dt U(8) = [(8) I C8 which transforms to Ls I (8).
tor, into the equation for Inductance, L u(t) = Ldi(t) / dt U(8) = L8 I (8) The impedance is Ls = 0.25 s.
Kirchhoff's voltage law: These transforms are sum-
Table 1. Circuit transforms (voltages). marised in Table 1. This is the
1000i(t)+500 f:i(t)dt+10=0 table to use when working
i(O) = lim-0.018/(8+0.5). u(O) with voltages according to
As usual, the equation con- Substituting 'infinity' directly KVL, in order to calculate cur-
=Iim 508[1/8-1/(0.004+8)]
tains an unknown funetion, in into this equation leads to a rents. In this example, we surn
this ease i(t). We want to find meaningless indeterminate re- =Iim [50-508/(0.004+8)] the transformed voltages
it and we da not want to have sult. We overcome this prob- around the circuit, according
to integrate it. So we trans- lem by looking at the equation = lim [50-50]=0 10 KVL:
form the equation as in Boxes to see wbat is the highest [(8)1000/8+0.2581(8) = 68
1 and 2, Part 18: power of S. The highest power The init.ial voltage is zero. [(8)[100018+0.258] = 618
10001(8) is 51, which is s. Divide top and Next, for the final value: l(s)[(1000+0.2582)18] = 6/8
+ 500[1(8)18+[(0+)18] bottom by 8: [(8) = 6/(1000+0.2582).
u(~)
+ 10/s = O. [Eq. 144]
i(O)=lim -0.018/8 =l.im 508[lfS-1!(0.004+8)] This 15 the first time that we
The initital current, 1(0+) = O. HO
Substituting this in the equa- 8/8+0.5/8 have wanted to reverse-trans-
e lim [50-508/(0.004+8)]
tion: . 0.01 HO form an equation with s2 in the
= Irm
10001(8)+500[(8)/8+1018 = 0 1+0.5/8 e Iim [50-0]=50 denominator. Looking at
1(8)(1000+500/8)+10/8 = 0 HO Box 1, Part 18, the obvious
1(8)(10008+500)/8 = -108 As s becomes very large, 0.5s candiate for the function is
1(8) = -10/(10008+500). becomes very small. Eventu- The final volta ge is 50 V as sin tat, which transforms to
Dividing top and bottom of Ihe ally, it is virtually zero and: originally deduced. tot (s2+w2). First, we multiply
fraction by 1000: i(O) = -0.01/1 = -0.01. the fraclion of Eq. 144, top
[(8) = -0.011(8+0.5). This is the same result as ob- LCcircuit and bottom, by 4 to obtain s2 in
[Eq. 142] tained from our knowledge of the denominator:
The reverse transform is electric circuits. The initial Now to look at something a lit- 1(8) = 24/4000+82.
5
i(t) = -0.01e-O· '. value theorem has its uses tle more complicated: a circuit This makes m2 = 4000, so that
[Eq. 143] when the behaviour of the cir- that contains both capacitive w = 63.246. The numerator is
Figure 155 shows the current cuit is not so obvious, as is and inductive elements 24, which is m multiplied by
from the moment the switch 18 shown by a later exarnple. (Fig. 156a). The capacilor is 24/63.246 = 0.3795. Wilh the
changed. The current is already charged to 6 V when calculated value for 00, the
-0.01 A (-10 mAl to begin the switch is closed. It helps equation becomes:
wi th , as might be expected Final value the analysis to draw a tran- 1(8) = 0.3795m/ (m2+82).
when the capacitor has 10 V The final value theorem tells formed circuit, as in Fig. 156b. The reverse-transforrned equa-
across it and is discharging us the final value of the cur- The voltage across the capaci- tion is:
through a 1 kQ resistor. The rent, voltage or other quantity. tor is represented by the volt- i(t) = 0.3795 sin 63.246t.
negative sign indicates the re- 'I'hie theorem states that: age source. Closing the switch [Eq. 145]
verse directicn of the current. is equivalent to introducing a The current oscillates in the
((~)=Iim 8F(8) step voltage into the circuit; circuit with an amplitude of
The current decays exponen- HO
tially to zero. the transform of this is 6/s. nearly 4 V and with a fre-
Using this theorem to find the The voltage equation for the quency ( = w/27r = 10.07 Hz.
final value of the current in capacitor 1S given inEq. 141. The equation states that the
Initial value Since we have already allowed oscillations continue indefi-
the previous example:
The initial value of a current i(~) = lim-D.0181(8+0.5). for the initial charge on the ca- nitely, but resistive and other
or volta ge may be easy to cal- Substituting 8 = 0 in the above: pacilor, Ihe lerm q(O+)/C is los ses in the circuit will
culate, as in the example i(~) = O. zero. Thus, the transformed eventually damp them out.
above. Putting t = 0 in As the capacitor discharges, voltage across the capacitor is The circuit is a tuned circuit
Eq. 142, we find: the current eventually falls to [(8)/C8. In Fig. 156b we have with aresonant frequency
i(O) = -O.OleO = -0.01 A. zero. written the transformed im- given by the equation
'I'here is another way to arrive If we apply these theorems pedance, which is the trans- i= 1I2",J(LC) = 10.07 Hz.
at this result, using the La- 10 Ihe Iransform of Eq. 139: formed vollage divided by 1(8). As in the other examples, we
pi ace transform. We apply Ihe have been able 10 check Ihe
initial value theorem, which Laplace transform method by
states that: independent means.

II'j!J
(0)= tim 8F(8)
H- Current transforms
We perform the Laplace trans- If you are working with cur-
form, mulliply it by 8, and find 0.25$ rents and wish to calculate
the limit of the product as s vollages by applying KCL,
tends to infinity. In the exam- Table 2 supplies the required
930010· XIX· 156
ple above, from Eq. 141, and transforms. This table could
taking limits as s approaches have been used with the exam-
infirrity: Fig.156 ple of Fig. 152. Note thai Ihe

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1994

 GENERAL lNTEREST

capacitive and inductive trans- much maths, there are several

forms are the duals (see
Part 5) of those in Table 1.
LCRcircuit
The behaviour of the circuit in
Fig. 157a 1S not readily pre-
dictable. Figure 157b is its
transformed equivalent. Ap-
plyingKVL:
5001(s )+0. 18I(s)+ 108I(s )/s
= 2/s
l(s) (500+0.1s+108/s) = 2s.
Multiplying both sides by s:
I(s) (5008+0.1s2+108 = 2
l(s) = 2/(0.182+500+108).
Multiply top and bottom by 10
to get 82 in the denominatcr:
1(8) = 20/(82+5000s+109)
[Eq. 146J
If we try to factorise the de-
nominator, wi th the aim of
finding a pair of fractions, we
find that the denominator has
imaginary roots. We must try
another approach. One of the
standard functions not in-
c1uded in last month's Box 1 is
e-at sin cit, which has the
transform:
to ! [(s+a)2+w2J.
Our plan is to remould the ex-
pression in Eq. 146 into this
form. The expansion of (8+a)2
is (s2+2as+a2). So the 5000 in
Eq. 146 corresponds tc 2a in
the expansion. In other words,
a = 2500. Now a2 = 625x104, so
the 109 in Eq. 146 is made up
of 625x104+w2. This makes
oJ2 = lOL625x104 = 99375x104.
From this we find that
w = 31524.
The 20 in the numerator
Element Current equation Transformed current
circuit modelling 01' circuit
simulation programs for per-
Step current, i(O+) i(t) = i(O+) I(s) = i(O+) 1s sonal computers. Next month,
Resistance, R i(t) = u(t) 1r we conclude this series by
I(s) = Urs) 1 r
looking at the subject of cir-
Capacitance, C i(t) = Cdu(t) 1dt I(s) = CsU(s) cuit simulations and using
Inductance, L i(t) = WL) Ju(t) dt I(s) = U(s) 1Ls one of these programs to in-
vestigate the behaviour of cir-
Table 2. Circuit transforms (currents). cuits of varying degrees of
complexity.
transform will help us find the = O.
degree of damping.
Final value is lim 8I(s) Testyourself
,-t0
1. Draw the transform of a cir-
Initial and final states e Iim 20s/(82 +50005+109)
,~o cuit like Fig. 152, except
If we are interested onJy in the that the reeistance is 220 Q
=(20xO)/(02 +5000xO+I09)
initial and final currents or and the capacitance is
voltages, there is DO need for =0/(0+0+ 109 )=0. 180 J.lF.Find equations for
the reverse transform. The ini- Urs) and ur!), and calculate
tial and final value theorems Tbe current is zero to begin the initial and final volt-
require only the transformed with and finally dies away to ages.
equation. In the previous ex- zero.
ample: 2. Given the circuit of
l(s) = 20/(82+5000s+109). Fig. 157a, but with the ca-
Help at hand
pacitor replaced by 10 pF,
Initial value is tim 5[(S)
We have tt-ied to illustrate the ca1culate the equation for
various modelling techniques current against time. Is
= lim2081(s2 +50008+ 109).
,~- with examples in which the this circuit underdamped,
mathematics is not too in- critically damped 01' over-
The highest power of S 1S s2, so volved. With circuits that are damped? Hint: the trans-
divide throughout by s2: more complicated than those form used previously with
we have analysed here, the this circuit is not used now.
Initial value is
principles of analysis remain
=lim20s/(s2 +5000s+109) the same, but the calculations
soon begin to spread over
Answers to
= lim (201s )/(1 +50001s+ 109 1s' ). many pages. There is little Testyourself (Port 18)
new in such calculations; one 1a 2/(8+6)
As s becomes very large, 201s, just has to keep a clear head
500018 and 109182 approach and a void a rithmetical errors. 1b 3s/(s2+16)
zero: irritial value is 0/(1+0+0) For those who do not relish too
2a I_e3t
(0) st
A
® 2b 4sin 7t
5000

consists of (tJ multiphed by a B

3 I(5) = 1!(s-2l-1/(8+3)
factor. 'I'his factor is 20/(J) = + + i(t) = e2t-e-3t
;(I)~ I(')~
20/31524 = 6.34xlQ4. We can av 'I,
IlOW rewrite Eq. 146 in the 4a 2.5di(t)/dt+20i(t) = 1O-200t
100mH 0.15
form of a standard transform: 2
[(s)= 10s-200+1.25s
4b
I(8)=6.34x104 x 10nF 8' (2.5s+20)
lO'/S
31524
x 930010 XIX- 157

(8+2500)2 +315242 4c i(t) = 1.75-10t-1.25e-8'.

Fig.157
The reverse transform yields: [93001O-XIXJ
i(t) = e-250Otsin 31524t.
[Eq. 147]
Tbe graph of this equation
(Fig. 158) is a sine wave with
exponentially decaying ampli-
'i"..
'A' ;=,,'-5;0315241

tude. In cornparison with the •.•

circuit of Fig. 156, the pres-
ence of the resistor means that
"'
1.0 1.2
the osci11ations are damped in
·0.2
a few milliseconds. A similar t(rns)-+-

circuit was analysed in Part 13 ·0.4

(Fig. 115). This is an under- ·0.6

damped circuit; with different

·0.8
component values, the circuit !!3OO'O·XIX·'511

might be overdamped or ci-iti-

cally damped. The Laplace Fig.158

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1994

 FIGURING IT OUT
PART 20 - USING A COMPUTER
By Owen Bishop

This series is intended to help you with the quantitative aspects of electronic design:
predicting currents, voltage, waveforms, and other aspects of the behaviour of circuits.
Our aim is to provide more than just a collection of rule-of-thumb formulas.
We will explain the underlying electronic theory and, whenever
appropriate, render some insights into the mathematics involved.

he circuits that we have

T analysed in this series
have all been simple ones, usu-
V voIts-source
I amps-source
-output gnd
-output: gnd
+outputpos
+OUtput:output
V=O.OOOOOO
v=O.OOOOOO
Ex=none
Ex=none
0I=t2.000000
01=5.000000
ally consisting of no more than A Al pt:pos p2:OUtput v--3.000000
four components. The reason A R2 pt:output p2:gnd v=2.000000
for this is to illustrate the
principles and mathematical Fig.159
techniques as clearly as posi-
ble. Analysing a circuit of the [27.00C]
complexity of for exarnple, a Componentname amps Componentname amps Componentname amps
radio receiver is just a matter. _
of breaking its circuit down V volts-souree 399.9992m I amps-souree 5.000000 R Rl 399.9992m
inta self-contained seetians R R2 5.3999992
and steadily working out the
characteristics of each part. No
new principles or techniques Fig.160
are required, but there is DO
[27.00C]
denying that an analysis of
even a fairly basic circuit can Component name amps Component name amps Component name amps
soon fill several sheets of
paper. As the calculations get V U2 433.4301m V U3 -306.211m V U5 649.4064
longer, the risk of arithmetical R R1 38.46074m R R2A 267.7502m R R2B 433.4301
errors increases - not to men- R R3 -165.680m R R4 -649.406m R R5 -127.219m
tion the boredom that may set R R7 343.1954m
in at a very early stage!
During the 20 months that
this series has been rtm ni ng, Fig. 161
the pages of this magazine
have shown a marked increase through its paees on something code for specifying electrical or Age© for WindowsT'\or SAW,
in the number of advertise- more demanding. We shall also electronie eircuits. SPIeE has as we shall call it) is based on
ments for simulation software. look at an -alternative ap- been in existenee for a number an updated variant of SPIeE,
No longer is it necessary to proach, using the mathematt- of years and is used by several though it will also aecept speci-
cover sheet upon sheet with cal paekage Mathematicaw, simulation programs. Spiee- fications written in SPIeE.
close-packed numbers. No and aome of its associated elec-
longer is it necessary to wield tronie software.
a soldering iron, or switch on
an oscilloscope, to investigate a Spiee
circui t that defies analysis. A ----
circuit can be assembled on the
screen of your computer and
then subjected to a wide range
SPIeE is a set of rules or a
( 10mH
bloeklng

I~~~~tor

of tests to determine its char- 3V

aeteristics. One such simulator 100mH
program is SpiceAge© for +
c
Windowsn ... In this final part
R2 uc:slnw t
12V N

of the series we look at what

this software ean da. First of
all, to illustrate the prineiples ~ 22~F ~
involved, we shall try it out on
930010·XX·164
~ 93oo1O-XX-159
some of the circuits that we
have analysed in previous
months. Then we shall put it Fig.162 Fig.163 Fig.164

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS NOVEMBER 1994

 FIGURlNG IT OUT - PART 20

Writing out a netlist may be

V source -outout 0 -output.t v=1.oooooo Ex=sine Fr=5oo.00oo· unfamiliar at first but the con-
R res pl:2 p2:3 v=loo.oooo ventions are easy to learn. An
Lind pt :3 p2:4 v=loo.0ooom alternative method for input-
Ccap pl:4 p2:0 v=22.oooou ting a circuit specification is to
Lblock pl:l p2:2 v=1O.ooooM Blockinginductor10 preventlow create a schematic diagram of
impedance of source swamping results the circuit on the screen, using
a sc.hematic capture progr-am
Fig.165 that can automatically produce
a compatible netlist. SAW has
[27.00C] a aister program. GESECA,
J which produces SpiceAge©
11 netlists from schematics.
'Pn
275 1 80

250
17 150
Analysis
J 1 20 Once the netlist has been en-
225
90 tered, it is saved to disc and
200

175
'"" /
60
30
then subjected to a variety of
analyses. We wanted to check
150 "- I": V "
o
30
on the calculation done in
Part 3, which was to find the
125 -<0 current flowing throug.h R2. It
<, V
is possible to 'attach' up to four

"" ...
100 90
./ 120 probes to the circuit. Often
75 these are used to measure the
.-- >< .....
--
150
voltages between various pairs
50

25
p r- k 180
of nodes. They an also be used
for measuring the current
33 39 47 56 68 82 100 120 150 180 220 270 330 390 470 through any specified compo-
930010-XX-166 f (Hz] nent. We set a probe to mea-
sure the current through R2,
Fig.166 which automatical1y causes
the program to ca1culate cur-
rents through an components.
~r---------, cuit of Fig. 162, which is de- k for kilohms, M for megohms, The resulting table of the qui-
rived from Fig_ 21 in Part 3. and so on. No other parame- escent state of the circuit is
We have given names to the ters are imperative, but we shown in Fig. 160. It shows
riodes of the circuit, though cou1d include tolerance, tem- that the current through R2 is
SAW would be equaUy content perature and temperature co- 5.3999992 A. Our result in
with numbers. efficient, if these were to be Part 3 was 5.4 A, using fewer
Components are specified in taken into account in the ana- significant figures. Note the
6V
any order. In the netlist lysis. R1 is specified in the line much smaller current (approx-
(Fig. 159), R2 is on the bottom above as a 3 Q resistor con- imately 400 mAl through Rj,
line of the list. The letter 'R' nected between 'pos' and 'gnd'. also listed as flowing through
specifies the component type - The voltage source is to de- the voltage source with which
930010-XX-167 resistor. Next comes its desig- liver a constant 12 V. The line it is in series. The analysis is
nation, 'R2', to distinguish it begins with V to specify a volt- done in a fraction of a second,
from other resistors. The code age source. Its negative output and no mistakes are made; al-
Fig.167 'pl:output' teils SAW that terminal, -out, is connected to ready we are beginning to ap-
pin 1 of the resistor is con- 'gnd' and its positive terminal, preciate the benefits of the
nected to the node named 'out- eout, goes to 'pos'. 'Ex' stands computer. Above the cable,
The procedure is straightfor- put'. Code 'p2:gnd' shows that for 'excitation'. This specifies '27.00C' indicates that the ana-
ward. The circuit is specified pin 2 is connected to the node the waveform, whether it is a lysis is performed with an am-
by a netlist, which consists of named 'ground". With a non- sine wave, a step, a ramp or bient temperature of 27 °C. If
a list af the components, their polarised device such as a re- some other recognisable func- tempcos had been specified for
parameters, and the circuit sistor, it does not matter which tion, or random noise. Here we the resistors, we could investi-
no des to which they are con- pin is called p l., and which is give it 00 excitation, but gate the circuit performance at
nected. Then we are able to p2. The final entry on this line simply make its offset 'Of" any other temperature.
run a wide range of tests on it is 'v=2.000000'. This is the equal to 12 V. Similarly, the
and to display the results as value, which in this case is current generator, specified by
tables or graphs. As an ele- 2 Q. There is no need to specify
Dodging determinants
'1', has no excitation, but has
mentary example, take the cir- the unit, but we use the suffix an offset of 5 A. Figure 163 shows a resiator
network with fcur meshes, re-
quiring four simultaneous
B Vcc negative:gnd positive:vcc v-accccco equations and a fourth-order
R load pl:vcc p2:c V=1.oo0000k %=10.00 determinant to solve it, as ex-
V source -oulput:gnd -outputb v-tooeeon Ex=sine Fr=1.oo000k Of=610.ooom plained in Part 4. The netlist
>TRI npn.lib base:b colleelor:c emitter:gnd has specifications similar to
those of Fig. 159, except that
it lists three voltage sources
Fig.168 and seven resistors. The quies-

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS NOVEMBER 1994

m--CENERAL [NTEREST

cent analyis Fig. 161 shows [27.00Cl

the currente through a11 corn-
ponents. The circuit was one of
the 'Test Yourself" questions of
Part 4. Tbe task was to find
4.75
the current through the 3 n re-
sistor. FOT convenience, we
4.5
have named the resistors by
the value of their resistances.
4.25
As can be seen in the printout
of the analysis, Fig. 161, the
current through R3 15
-165.680 mA. The negative 3.75
sign shows that it flows from
pin 2 (node 5) to pin 1 (node 4). 3.5
This agrees with the result
found in Part 4. 3.25
If we run an analysis of
power dissipation, we obtain a
table similar tc Fig. 161, but 0.5 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
t[ms]
quoting power instead of cur- 93001Q.-XX·169

rent. The analysis shows that

the highest dissipation is Fig.169
1.69 W, in the 4 n resistor.
[OdB=445.6ml [27.00C)
Reactance dB UM
0
The software really comes into <P['I
its own when the circuit con- -2.5 180
tains reactive components and 150
is excited by an alternating -5
120
signal. In Fig. 164 we see a 90
-7.5
basic RLC circuit, which first 60
appeared as Fig. 45 in Part 6. -10 30
We were asked to find tbe total
impedance of the circuit and -12.5
~--------------------------------~~-to
30
the phase angle. Figure 165 60
shows the netlist; note that it -15
90
includes a massive 10 mega- 120
-17.5
henries blocking inductor (not 150
present in the original circuit., -20J-----------------------------------------------~,80
see later) in series with the
voltage source. The voltage -22.5
source has sine-wave excita- 100 1k 10k 100k 1M 10M 100M

tion, amplitude 1 V. For calcu- 930010-){X·170 I [Hzi

lating inductance, the software
replaces the source by a sm all
resistance equivalent to its in-
ternal resistance and applies
an alternating signal of small
amplitude to the no des on
either aide of each component,
in order to calculate the im-
pedance and phase angle.
For this circuit, we set up a
'spot impedance' test, which
finds the impedances at a se-
lected frequency, in this case,
500 kHz. We si ted the probes
to measure the impedances be-
tween the pairs of nodes to
which the reaistor, capacitor
and the inductor were con-
Fig.170
lated in Part 6. The reason for
adding the blocking inductor to
the circuit is that the voltage
source is virtually a short-cir-
cuit during the analysis. With- Cl + 81
out the large inductor, the in-
ductance between 0 aod 2 is ", ::>
o
~
- :
almost zero; in effect, the soft-
3V
ware looks into the low-imped-
anee source. The blocking in- 1mV
duetor makes it look the other
way: into the RLC in aeri es. 'V
Figure 166 shows another 1kHz
----+------+-----+--~~~~
analysis performed on this cir- 930010-XX-171

nected. The readou t gave the cuit. Here, the frequency is

following results: nodes 2-3
(resistor): 100 .0, <l> = 0°; nodes
3--4 (inductor): 314.159 n, <I> =
90'; nodes 4-0 (capacitor):
14.4686 n, <I> = -90'; nodes 0-2
swept over the range 30 Hz to
500 Hz and the graph shows
the response of the cireuit at
all frequencies in this range.
We selected this range to illus-
Fig.171
of the inductor increases (the right shows phase to be a
curve rising to the right), as steady _90 for the capaeitor
0

(total of RLC): 329.691 n, <I> = trate how the impedance of the frequency inereases. The and +90 for the inductor. 'I'his
0

72.34°. These results are in ac- capacitor decreases (the CUTve graphs of phase angJe are hori- analysis took just under 10 s
cord with the results calcu- falling from the left) and that zontal lines. Tbe scale on the with a 486 running at 25 MHz;

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS NOVEMBER 1994

I GENERAL

it could be even faster if a

INTEREST

maths coprocessor was in- B batt negative:gnd positive:vcc v=3.000000

stalled. CC1 p1:in p2:1 v=4.700oou %=20.00
CC2 p1:4 p2:out v=4.70000u %=20.00
RR1 p1:vce p2:3 v=10.0000k %=2.00
Transistor amplifiers %::2.00
RR2 p1:4 p2:2 v=100.000k
A very basic amplifier circuit RR3 p1:4 p2:gnd v=1.00000k %:::2.00
is shown in Fig. 167, derived RR4A' p1:1 p2:2 v=10.0oo0k
from the circuit of Fig. 101a RR4B p1:2 p2:gnd v=90.0000k
of Part 11. Figure 168 is its RRload p1:out p2:gnd v=100.000k %=2.00
net-Hst. For the moment, we Vsource -output:gnd -outputln v=1.00000m Ex:::sine Fr=100000k
will ignore the entries l%=10' >TR1 BCW32 collector:3 base:2 emitter:gnd
and Of=610,OOOm',which were >TR2 BCW32 collector:vcc base:3 emitter:4
not there when the first simu-
lations were run. A transient
analysis with the probes on Fig.172
b-gnd and c-gnd (correspond-
ing to the input and output of [27.00Cl
this circuit) showed the input UM
as a sine wave of amplitude
'"
10 m V, and frequency 1 kHz.
The output was an almost
...
+7

-s
square wave, falling rapidly to +4
78 mV as the input rose above -a
approximately 0.7 V and j-is- +2
+1 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
ing to 6 V when the input fell
below 0.7 V. The transistor o
-1
was being driven alternately
-2
between non-conduction and -3
saturation, aeting as a switch. -4
Entering 'Of=0.610V' on the -5
netlist gives the source an off- -6
set of 0.61 V which biases the -7

transistor into its ampifying -6+---~~~~--~~---r--~--~~--~

o 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
range. Figure 169 shows the 930010-XX-I73 t[ms]
result of the transient ana-
lysis, with the input (lower
curve) plotted on a xl.O scale. Fig.173
The output is sinusoidal, with
[27.00Cl
a phase angle of 180°; in other
words, this is an inverting
amplifier. Here we have in fact
run ten analyses simultane-
ously with ten slightly differ-
ent values for the load re-
sistor. Thi s is achieved by
specifying the tolerance of the
resistor by the statement
'%=10'. We then instrueted
SAWto select ten raudem val-
ues fOTthe resistor within the
range 1000 n ±100 n and pro-
duee a transient for eaeh
value. This result shows how
the performance of the ampli-
fiel' would vary subject to tol-
erance variations in the value
of the load resistar. It shows
that although the amplifi-
eation varies, the output re- 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 2250 2500 2750 t[jlS]
93001o-XX-174
mains sinusoidal. We are also
able to give the resistor a tem-
perature eoeffieient and inves- Fig.174
tigate how the amplifier be-
haves when swept over a
specificed range of tempera- from 100 Hz to 100 MHz. The begins to fall from 180° to 90°. characteristics of production
tures. In Fig. 170, the fre- two horizontal lines are the The transistor model used types. SAW includes.a library
quency response of the ampli- input amplitude and phase. in this simulation is a 'general of ZETEX transistors and it is
fier is plotted on a decibel The steeply sloping line shows purpose' n-p-n transistor. For also posnible for the user to
scale (we could alternatively how output amplitude falls off greater precision, we can write a netlist of transistors of
call for a linear scale) for the above ab out 3 MHz. At the make use of a library of more other typea, based on data
range of input frequencies same point, the phase angle complex netlists based on the sheets provided by the manu-
 FIGURING IT OUT - PART 20

[27.000Cl
facturers. Using these more
I~]r---~------~~--~--~--~--,"--~--~~~ complex models gives maxi-
+250 mUID precision to the simula-
tion, but remember that the
+200 '-I=,r===;i;;:::=';:!'!!!'!!~l!"! more complex the netlist, the
langer it takes to perform an
analysis.
Figure 171 shows an
+100
amplifier taken from SMT
Projectst), page 93. This is de-
scribed in the book as a low-
voltage a.f amplifier with a
voltage gain of 30. Keying in
the netlist (Ffg. 172) Irom the
schematic in the book took Da
-100
more than five minutes. Note
-150
the 20% tolerance of the elec-
trolytic capacitors and the 2%
-200 tclerance of the resistors. The
100 kQ potentiometer, VRj,
-250 appears in the netlist as two
resistors in series. R4A and
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800
R4B, with vaJues set to 10 kQ
I ",sI and 90 kQ. We can edit this
930010-XX-175

pair of values when necessary

Fig.175 to sirnulate adjuatmerrt of
VR1. The source amplitude is
[27.000Cl
10 mV, which is within the
UM range quoted for this ampli-
30 fier. The irrteresfing point 1S
that the transistors are mod-
els of the BCW32, which is a
25
surface-mount type. One of
the problems of designing in
20 SMT is that it is not possible
to use a conventional bread-
board for bench testing: the
15 components are just too small
and fiddly. The only course is
to use ccnventional compo-
10
nents and trust that the de-
sign will work when realised
5 in SMDs. With simulators
such as SAW,the design takes
place on the computer and the
2 3
• 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
930010-XX-176
14
I[s]
miniscule size of the compo-
nents is of no consequence.
We decided to check up on
Fig.176 the performance of this cir-
cuit. The transient analysis-
UM see Fig. 173-shows its out-
15 put response to one cycle of
<jJ[1
the source and, as expected,
"
13
+180
this is 180 out of phase. The
0

+150
12
thickening of the line of the
+120
output is the result of sweep-
11 +90 ing the components through
10 +60 their tolerance ranges. We
9 +30 stipulated 20 runs, with the
8 o values being selected at ran-
7 -30 dom. The graph shows that
6 -60 variations due to tolerance
5 -90 make virtually no difference
•
3
-120 to the output. The sm all nu-
merals beside the curves .indi-
-150
2 -180 cate wh ich of the 20 runs cor-
1 res ponds to each curve, but
O~~~~~~~~~~~~ __;-__-; __ the curves are so elose to-
o 2 3 4 5 6 f[Hz] gether (fortunately) that it is
93OO10-XX-1n not possible to say which 1S
which. Instead of random se-
Fig.l77 lection, values can be equally
I GENERAL INTEREST

spaced over a given range. fn{27]:=

For both methods of selection,
the scale may be linear, loga-
rithmic or antilogarithmic. In
a second analysis, we edited
the netlist to increase the re-
sistor tolerances to 10%; the
amplifier continued to perform
perfectly, so it would be rea-
sonable to specify only 10%
tolerance for the resistors.
The gain of the amplifier as
read from Fig. 173 is approxi-
mately x8, which is rather low
when compared with a gain of
x30 quoted in the book. How-
ever, this is partly because of
using only medium-gain tran-
sistors. The netlist specifies
BCW32 transistors which
have an hfe of 400. The BCF33
transistors in the original de-
NSolve[{6i[1]-3i[2]-i[3]==0, -3i[1]+ 10i[2]-5i[3]==2, -i[1]-51[2]+ 13i[3]-7i[4]==-3, -7i[3]+ 11i[4]==5), {i[1], i[2], i[3], i[4])]
Out{27]=
[[i[4]->0.649408, i[1]->0.267751, i[2]->0.433432, i[3]->0.306213]]
Fig.178
[n[43]:=
euit when the input voltage DSolve [[y'[t]==-y[t] / rc, y(0]==O.004231, yeti, t]
ehanges rapidly from one
Out[43]=
steady value to another. An
example of this type of calcu- -[-y(t]->0.00423/EU"J)
lation appeared in Part 13,
Fig. 110, which was an RLC [n[44]:=
cireuit similar to Fig. 164. We Plot [O.00423/EA(0.0967*tl, [t, O.10J]
entered the netlist (omitting Out[44]=
the blocking inductor) with
R = 100 Q, C = 1.6 p F and 0.0040
L = 100 mH. The source was
0.0035
1 V, switched to zero at t = O.
Figure 174 shows the current 0.0030

sign have a gain of 800. But,
by making R4A equal to 1 kQ
and R4B equal to 99 kQ, we
were able to increase the
amplifier gain to x50. By set-
ting the value of the battery to
various levels, we faund that
gain depends on V cc- With two
NiCd cells giving 2.6 V, the
gain falls to x4. With a single
alkaline cell at 1.5 V, the gain
is only x1.6, so it qualifies as a
low-voltage amplifler, but with
low gain. With V cc reduced to
1.3 V (a single NiCd cell), re-
sponse begins to depart from
the sine eurve and there is no
gain.
The original description
quated the power eonsumption
as 0.6 m.A, whieh is an aver-
age value determined by mea-
surements taken on the prcto-
type. We set up a probe to
monitor the eurrent through
the battery and ran a fre-
queney analysis. 'I'his showed
eurrent rising with frequeney
through the resistor. As in the 0.0025
worked example in Part 13,
Fig. 113, there is a surge of 6 10
current which dies away in 930010-XX·179
about 2.75 ms, with what is
elose to critical damping.
Changing C to 10 nF and re-
peating the analysis, we find Fig.179
that the circuit ie under-
damped. The eurrent alter-
[n[3]:=
nates with decreasing ampl i-
Plot3D[u/r], Ir, 0.01,101, tu, 0,101, ViewPoint ->[15,15,101,
tude, eventually beeoming
AxesLabel->l"u", "r", "i"! , BoxRatios ->11,1, I}]
zero (Fig. 175).
ouue):
Fourier
There are many other facili-
ties in SAW for whieh we da
not have space to describe
here. Its ability to analyse
logic circuits and mixed
logie/analogue cireuits will be
a topic for our new series 'The
Digital Solution', which begins
next month. But we can not o
o
finish this account without
looking at Fourier analyses. u
Again we take an example 10 93OO'1).](x·180

over the audio range; it was that we have previously dealt

0.6 mA at 7 kHz, and 1.4 mA
at 10 kHz. We also measured
output over a range of fre-
quencies and found that out-
put was level up to 50 kHz,
above which it began to fall.
The -3 dB frequency was
607 kHz. These 'measure-
mente', each obtained in a
few seconds, show how useful
this kind of software is to the
designer and experimenter.
Transients
In previous examples we have
used the tr-ansient routine to
analyse a circuit driven by an
alternating source. The rou-
tine is also valuable for find-
ing out what happens in a cir-
with. In Part 15, Fig. 127, we
found the Fourier series for a
triangular wave of period 21t
seconds, amplitude 51t volts,
displaced 5" volts, so that its
minimum value is 0 V. We
then analysed what happens
when it is passed through a
high-pass filter. For the SAW
analysis, we netlisted an Re
high-pass filter with
C = 800 )lF and R = 100 Q,
which has a -3 dB point at
2 Hz. The input to the circuit
was the triangular wave. A
transient analysis of this
shows its triangular shape;
the duty factor is set to 0, so
that it begins with a rapid
rise, followed by a steady fall
(Fig. 176). On the same graph
Fig.180
we have plotted the output,
after filtering. This has the
same form as that calculated
in Fig. 130, Part 15, being a
sharp spike at the beginning
of each cycle. The flrst spike is
not as high as later spikes
since we are simulating areal
circuitInot using a pure math-
ematieal funetion as III
Part 13) and it begins in an
unexeited state. Having run
the transient analyses, we can
perform a Fourier analysis on
each. The analysis of the tri-
angular wave is plotted as a
frequency spectrurn in
Fig. 177. We can read off the
amplitudes of the fundamen-
tal and harmonics: 10 V, 5 V,
3.33 V, 2.5 V ... This is the
same as Fig. 138 of Part 16,
but here we have values for
many more of the higher har-
monies. Note that there are
also same intermediate har-
monics of relatively low ampli-
tude, resulting again from the
fact that we are analysing a
simulated circuit, not a math-
ematieal equation. The graph
also displays information on
the phase angle of each har-
morric, indicated by the small
 squares.
Alternative approach
With SpiceAge©and compara-
ble simulation software we
build a circuit by netlisting it
(instead of physically assem-
bling it from real compo-
nents). Then we use the rou-
tines of the simulator to test
it (instead of probing it with a
multimeter, an oscilloscope 01'
a frequency analyser). The ap-
proach is essentially a practi-
cal one even though it is car-
ried out on a computer. The al-
ternative approach is theoreti-
cal, in which we work with
laws and equations.
To highlight the differenees
in the two approaches, let us
return to the network in
Fig. 163. Following the tech-
niques described in Part 4, we
would reduce this to a set of
simultaneous equations, one
for each mesh of the network,
based on Kirehoff"s Voltage
Law. Writing out the equa-
tions is easily done; solving
them is a lengthy matter. The
recognised technique is to
evaluate the fourth-order de-
terminant based on the coeffi-
eients of the equations. With
Mathematica we need only
to key in the equations and in-
struct the software to solve
them. Figure 178 shows the
screen for this computation,
which was the 27th one in the
current session. The command
'NSolve' means 'solve the fol-
lowing equation and give nu-
merical results'. The first set
of curly brackets shows the
four equations; note that 'i[l]'
is the standard way.to key in
a suffixed symbol such as il,
and also that the double
equals sign '==' is Math-
ematica's equivalent of '='.
The second curly bracket lists
the variables, i I to i4 for which
values are required. The out-
put appears on the screen
within a few seconds. This
gives '1 0.267751 and
i2 = 0.433432. We were asked
to find the current, i, through
the 3 .Q resistor:
i = i,-i2 = 0.267751-0.433432
= -0.165681 A.
This is the same result as ob-
tained from simulation.
Mathematica is essen-
tially a mathematica1 package
and it provides a wealth of
mathematical routines for
anyone who has maths to do.
Routines of special interest to
the electrical engineer include
.its ability to differentiate and
integrate. More than that, it
can solve differential equa-
tions. Our first modelfing ex-
ample (Part 12) produeed a
differential equation (Eq. 83)
for a charging capacitor:
dqldt = -qIRC.
Figure 179 shows this en-
tered as a command, using the
variable y in pl ace of q, and
quoting the bord er condition
y(O) = 0.00423. This value is
the value of A that was used
in Eq. 85. The program then
calculates and displays the so-
lution of the equation in sym-
bolic form; interpreting the
conventions for printing out:
y = 0.004231e'/RC
This is the equivalent of
Eq. 86, for
0.00423/e,/RC" 0.00423e-l/RC
This funetion is plotted out by
the computer for t = 0 to
t = 10, and corresponds to the
thick-lined eurve of Fig. 104.
Another differential equa-
tion (Eq. 94) used in this se-
ries for modelling an RLC cir-
cuit:
d2ildt2+(RIL)dildt+911LC)i = O.
This equation 1S purely sym-
bolic and it is one of the
strengths of Mathematica
that it can work exclusively in
symbols. Its solution of the
equation 15:
i = C1e-(ICR-'HCL+C2R'jltl/12CLj+
+C2e-(ICR+'I-4CL+C1R2)],J/12CLj.
Cl and C2 correspond to the
constants A and B, deter-
minable by knowing the start-
ing conditions. Here, the equa-
tion is in a form that can be
applied to any combination of
values for R, L, and C. If we
insert the values used in the
example in Part 13, we obtain
the particular solution given
in Eq. 100. We eould, of
course, have put these values
into the original calculation,
along with starting conditions,
when we would have obtained
the numerical solution di-
rectly. For those who are fa-
miliar with the Laplace
Transform (Parts 18 and 19)
the program can perform
transforms in both direetions.
Graphics
FIGURING
The graphie output of Math-
ematica includes 3D plots,
with colour shading to en-
hanee the effeet. Figure 180
is a plot of the equation
i = u / r, which was illustrated
by Fig. 143 in Part 17. The
va1ue of u ranges frotn 0 to 10,
the value of r runs from 0.001
to 10, so as to avoid a 'division
by zero' error. When gen er-
ated, the default viewpoint
looks over the high part of the
surface, so we have specified
another viewpoint which cor-
responds to that used in
Fig.143.
Electronic applications
A purely mathematical ap-
proach is excellent for those
who are well up on their the-
ory, but many users would
prefer to be provided with rou-
tines adapted to eleetrical and
electronic applications. These
are available as a library of
files (known as Notebooks)
published as an Electrical
Engineering Pack. The
notebooks cornprise text to ex-
plain the applications and
ready-made routines for use
by engineers. These make di-
rect use of the computationaJ
routines of Mathematica,
aeting as an interface between
the practical engineer and the
mathematics. To help expedite
the calculations, the pack in-
cludes a number of routines
not already present in Math-
ematica, which are specially
applicable to electronics.
These include converting be-
tween a linear magnitude
scale and the decibel scale,
and converting from polar co-
ordinates to complex (rectan-
gular) coordinates. Another
useful routine seleets the
nearest standard resistor
value to a specified value.
These routines are simple
enough in themselves, but
their real benefit is that they
can be written into other more
complicated routines.
Nodal is a circuit analysis
package written to interface
with Mathematica. It accepts
circuits specified by netlists
and analyses circuit behaviour
by me ans of symbolic equa-
tions, numeri ca 1 results and
graphics. Like Mathematica,
it favours the analytical ap-
proach to circuit design, but
concentrates the engineer's at-
IT OUT - PART 20
tention on those aspects of
I
Mathematica relevant tc
electronics. Unfortunately,
this article was almest com-
plete when we received our
copy of Nodal so a more de-
tailed examination of this
promising software will have
to be deferred until another
occasion.
The choice
In this final part of 'Figuring
it Out', we have demonstrated
two complementary ap-
proaches to computer-assisted
circuit design. We believe that
the choice between a practical
approach and a more analyti-
cal one is very much a matter
of personal preference. Seme
will like one, sorne will like
the other. We like both.
[930010-XXj
Acknowledgments
We wish to thank Those
Engineers Ltd for their valu-
able advice and assistance
with SpiceAge© for
windows": Wolfram
Research Europe Ltd for their
help with Mathematica® and
their Electrical
Engineering Pack; and
Goth, Goth and Chandleri for
assistance with Nodal.
Reference
SMT Projects, Owen Bishop,
published 1993 by Elektor
Eleetronies (Puhlishing).
Answers to
TestYourself Part 19)
1. See Fig. 159.
U(8 )=220[118-11(25.22+8).
u(t)=220(1...,-25.22'). Initial
voltage = 0 V. Final voltage
= 220 V.
2. 1(s)=20/(82+5000+105). Tbe
den omina tor has real roots,
20.08 and 4980, and we ean
obtain partial fractions ..
l(s)=4.032[1I(s+20.08)-
1/(s+4980)1.
i(t )=4.03 2( e- 20.80'...,-4980') .
The current rises steeply to
a peak of 3.93 A at about
1 rns, then dies away
smootWy, and much more
slowly, without oscil1ating,
falling to 7.7 nA in 1 s. It is
overdamped.