NILE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

OKO-OKPARA EMMANUEL
211204055

300 LEVEL

LAB PARTNERS:
MUKHTAR IBRAHIM
ASSAD MUSA
AHMAD ALIYU ABULFATHI

2022/2023 SESSION

EEE 314
CIRCUIT THEORY LABORATORY II

EXPERIMENT NO: 01
TITLE: AC THEVENIN’S THEOREM

30TH MARCH, 2023

INSTRUCTOR: ENGR.YUSUF OLADIGBOLU

 TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES......................................................................................................................................3
TABLE OF FIGURES.................................................................................................................................4
OBJECTIVE................................................................................................................................................5
THEORY.....................................................................................................................................................5
EQUIPMENTS AND COMPONENTS.......................................................................................................6
SCHEMATICS............................................................................................................................................6
DATA TABLES..........................................................................................................................................7
DISCUSSION.............................................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................8

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1 - Table of equipment and components used and their specification……………………6

Table 1.2 – Table of load Voltages for figure 1.2…………………………………………………7

Table 1.3 – Table of Thevenin Voltages and impedances for figure 1.2………………………......7

Table 2.2 – Table of load Voltages for figure 1.2………………………………………………….8

Table 1.3 – Table of Thevenin Voltages and impedances for figure 1.2………………………..…8

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 TABLE OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1 A circuit used to explain AC Thevenin’s theorem……………………………..5

Figure 1.2 – Schematic for the experiment………………………………….......................6

Figure 1.3 – Schematic for the experiment…………………………………………………6

Figure 1.4 – Schematic for the experiment…………………………………………………6

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OBJECTIVE
The aim of the experiment is to examine Thevenin's theorem in the context of AC. An
experiment will be used to determine the Thevenin source voltage and impedance, and the results
will be compared to theoretical values. Loads will also be examined when driven by an arbitrary
circuit as well as when driven by that circuit's Thevenin equivalent to see if the resulting load
potentials are identical. Loads, both resistive and complex, will be investigated, as will inductive
and capacitive source impedances. Loads will also be analyzed when driven by an arbitrary
circuit as well as when driven by that circuit's Thevenin equivalent to see if the resulting load
potentials are identical. Loads, both resistive and complex, will be investigated, as will inductive
and capacitive source impedances.
THEORY
Thevenin’s theorem in the case of AC circuits states that any two-terminal combination of
sinusoidal AC sources and impedances can be substituted by a single voltage source e and a
single series impedance z. The open circuit voltage at the terminals is represented by e, and the
value of z is represented by e divided by the current when the terminals are short-circuited. That
impedance evaluation in this case entails a series-parallel combination.
To replace a network with its Thevenin equivalent, compute the Thevenin voltage: the output of
the voltage divider created by Z1 and Z3. Thevenin impedance is the impedance looking back
from AB with V1 replaced by a short circuit, resulting in a series-parallel combination. Thevenin
voltage is the open circuit output voltage. This can be tested experimentally by separating the
area to be Thevenized and simply connecting an oscilloscope to its output terminals. The
Thevenin impedance can be determined by substituting it for each source's external impedance
and using the necessary series-parallel impedance simplification procedures.[1]

Figure 1.2 A circuit used to explain AC Thevenin’s

theorem

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EQUIPMENTS AND COMPONENTS
Table 1.1 - Table of equipment and components used and their specification

EQUIPMENT MODEL SERIALNO

Digital Multimeter UT890D C191261540
AC Function Generator SFG-2010 EK892531
Oscilloscope, GWINSTEK series GDS-1102-U EL170141
COMPONENTS

1kΩ Resistor 1.02kΩ (Actual)

1.5kΩ Resistor 1.57kΩ (Actual)
2.2kΩ Resistor 2.24kΩ (Actual)
50Ω Resistor 57.2Ω (Actual)
Breadboard
10mH Inductor 10.8mH
0.1µF Capacitor
0.47 µF Capacitor

SCHEMATICS

Figure 1.2.- Schematic for the experiment Figure 1.3 - Schematic for the experiment

Figure 1.4 - Schematic for the experiment

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PROCEDURE
For the circuit shown in Figure 1.2, using R1=1.5 k, R2=2.2 k, and C=.47 F with a 2 V p-p 1 kHz
source, the voltage across the 1 k load was determined. This value was then recorded in Table
1.2. The expected Thevenin voltage and impedance were calculated as well with these values
recorded in Table 1.3.
Utilizing R1=1.5 k, R2=2.2 k, Rload=1 k, and C=.47 F, the circuit shown in figure 1.2 was
constructed. The generator was set to a sine wave at 1 kHz and 2 V p-p. It was also ensured that
the oscilloscope's Bandwidth Limit was activated. As a result, readings were more accurate and
signal noise was reduced. The load voltage measurement was recorded as VLoad Original in Table
The load was removed and the unloaded output voltage measured. That was the experimental
Thevenin voltage which was recorded in Table 1.3.
To simulate the voltage source's internal impedance, the voltage source was swapped out with a
50R resistor. The resulting impedance at the open load terminals after setting the impedance
meter to 1 kHz was measured. This was the experimental Thevenin impedance. These values
were compared to the theoretical values after recording them in Table 1.3.
The Thevenin equivalent circuit of figure 1.3 was constructed using the decade resistance box,
capacitor, and 1 k load resistor. The load voltage measurement was recorded in Table 1.2. The
deviation between the original and Thevenized circuits were computed by comparing the results
with the values of the original (non-Thevenized) circuit.
The aforementioned processes were repeated while using figure 1.4 with R1=1.5 k, R2=2.2 k,
L=10 mH, Rload=1 k with Cload=.1 F to confirm that Thevenin's Theorem also holds true with an
inductive source and a complex load. The generator was set to a sine wave at 10 kHz and 2 V p-
p. Tables 1.4 and 1.5 were filled with the results. [2]

DATA TABLES

Table 3.2 – Table of load Voltages for figure 1.2

VloadTheory 0.608V

VloadOriginal 0.640V

VloadThevenin 0.642V

% Deviation 0.31%

Table 1.3 – Table of Thevenin Voltages and impedances for figure 1.2

Theory Experimental % Deviation

1.189 1.2 0.93%

EThevenin (V)

954.01 910.6 4.55%

ZThevenin (Ω)

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 Table 4.3 – Table of load Voltages for figure 1.4

VloadTheory 0.572V

VloadOriginal 0.600V

VloadThevenin 0.618V

% Deviation 3%

Table 1.4 – Table of Thevenin Voltages and impedances for figure 1.4

Theory Experimental % Deviation

1.189 1.190 0.08%

EThevenin (V)
1090.99 984 9.81%
ZThevenin (Ω)

DISCUSSION
It can be observed from the tables above that the original, theoretical and Thevenin load voltages
are incredibly similar to each other and as such it can be inferred that in the case of AC signals
Thevenin’s theory holds true with the only difference from the DC version being the use of an
equivalent impedance in place of an equivalent resistance.
The experiment was successful as it can be seen from the data tables provided above that both
the Thevenin voltages and impedances have very similar experimental and theoretical values
with minimal deviations.
CONCLUSION
Analytical calculations were used to study Thevenin’s theorem, followed by experiments. The
experiment proved the viability of Thevenin’s theorem because the results were in excellent
accord with the theory. The experiment showed that Thevenin’s theorem also holds true for AC
signals.
REFERENCES
[1] “AC Thevenin’s Theorem.” http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/acthev.html
(accessed Apr. 05, 2023).
[2] Engr. Yusuf “Experiment VI: AC Thevenin’s Theorem” Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja
2023