Ministry of Science and Technology

Mandalay Technological University

Department of Computer Engineering and
Information Technology

Lab-4 DC Parameter Sweep Analysis

(Lab Report - II)

Course Number and Name:

IT – 21021 Engineering Circuit Analysis I
Academic Year and Semester:
(2022 - 2023) and Semester – I

Name of Student: Name of Lab Instructors:

Aung Min Khant
Roll No: Dr. Nay Min Htaik
II.BE.CEIT.19

Date of Report Submitted: Marks:

14.8.2023

Signature of Student Signature of Lab Instructor

Lab-4 DC Parameter Sweep Analysis
Objectives:

 To learn how to perform DC analysis of circuit by sweeping DC sources and resistance.

 To learn how to simulate models for DC sweep parameter to study the maximum power
transfer theorem.

References:
PSPICE experiments in IT-21021 and PSPICE Computer-Aided Analysis (Text Book Page-130)

Background:
PSPICE can be used to determine the mesh currents. To illustrate this, we will build the circuit of
Figure 3.1, which contains dc voltage source, a dc current source, and a voltage-controlled
current source.

Figure 4.1
Theory Overview
1. Determine if the circuit is a planar circuit. If not, perform nodal analysis instead.
2. Count the number of meshes (M). Redraw the circuit if necessary.
3. Label each of the M mesh currents. Generally, defining all mesh currents to flow
clockwise results in a simpler analysis.
4. Write a KVL equation around each mesh. Begin with a convenient node and proceed in
the direction of the mesh current. Pay close attention to “−” signs. If a current source lies
on the periphery of a mesh, no KVL equation is needed and the mesh current is
determined by inspection.
5. Express any additional unknowns such as voltages or currents other than mesh currents in
terms of appropriate mesh currents. This situation can occur if current sources or
dependent sources appear in our circuit.
6. Organize the equations. Group terms according to mesh currents.
7. Solve the system of equations for the mesh currents (there will be M of them).
Equipment:
PSPICE 9.2 simulation program.

Schematics:

Figure 4.2
Procedure:
Consider the circuit presented in Figure 4.1, when we were asked to determine the
maximum positive current that could be obtained from the current source without exceeding the
power rating of either resistor in the circuit. The circuit is shown redrawn using the Orcad
Capture CIS schematic tool in Figure 4.3. Note that no value has been assigned to the current
source.

Figure 4.3
 After the schematic has been entered and saved, the next step is to specify the dc sweep
parameters. This option allows us to specify a range of values for a voltage or current source (in
the present case, the current source Ix), rather than a specific value. Selecting New Simulation
Profile under PSpice, we provide a name for our profile and are then provided with the dialog
box shown in Figure 4.4.

Figure 4.4
Under Analysis Type, we pull down the DC Sweep option, specify the “sweep variable’’
as Current Source, and then type in I x in the Name box. There are several options under Sweep
Type: Linear, Logarithmic, and Value List. The last option allows us to specify each value to
assign to Ix. In order to generate a smooth plot, however, we choose to perform a Linear sweep,
with a Start Value of 0 mA, an End Value of 50 mA, and a value of 0.01 mA for the
Increment.
After we perform the simulation, the graphical output package Probe is automatically
launched. When the window appears, the horizontal axis (corresponding to our variable, I x) is
displayed, but the vertical axis variable must be chosen. Selecting Add Trace from the Trace
menu, we click on I(R1), then type an asterisk in the Trace Expression box, click on I(R1) once
again, insert yet another asterisk, and finally type in 100. This asks Probe to plot the power
absorbed by the 100 Ä resistor. In a similar fashion, we repeat the process to add the power
absorbed by the 64 Ä resistor, resulting in a plot similar to that shown in Figure 4.5. A horizontal
reference line at 250 mW was also added to the plot by typing 0.250 in the Trace Expression box
after selecting Add Trace from the Trace menu a third time.

Figure 4.5

We see from the plot that the 64 Ä resistor does exceed its 250 mW power rating in the
vicinity of Ix = 43 mA. In contrast, however, we also see that regardless of the value of the
current source Ix (provided that it is between 0 and 50 mA), the 100 Ä resistor will never
dissipate 250 mW; in fact, the absorbed power decreases with increasing current from the current
source.

Simulation Results