EE287: Circuit Theory

Lecture 2: Methods of Analysis

 Lecture Objective
• To develop
– techniques for circuit analysis using fundamental laws of circuit
theory
 Introduction
• Having understood the fundamental laws of circuit theory
– Ohm’s law
– Kirchhoff’s law
• We now apply these laws to
– develop two powerful techniques for circuit analysis
• Nodal analysis
– based on a systematic application of KCL and Ohm’s law
• Mesh analysis
– based on a systematic application of KVL and Ohm’s law
 Introduction
• With the two techniques, we can
– analyze any linear circuit by obtaining a
• set of simultaneous equations that are solved to obtain the required
values of voltage and current
• The procedure required to
– write these simultaneous equations is the subject of this lecture
and the next
 Nodal Analysis
• Nodal analysis provides a
– general procedure for analyzing circuits using
• node voltages as the circuit variable
• Thus in nodal analysis
– we are interested in finding node voltages
• We shall consider two cases
– Case1: circuits that do not contain voltage sources
– Case2: circuits that contain voltage sources
 Nodal Analysis Procedure
• Given a circuit with n nodes without voltage sources
 Nodal Analysis Procedure

• The nodal analysis of the circuit involves taking the

following steps
1. select a node as the reference node
2. assign voltages v1, v2,……vn-1 to the remaining n-1 nodes
3. apply KCL to each of the n-1 non-reference nodes
1. use Ohm’s law to express the unknown currents in terms of node
voltages
4. solve the resulting simultaneous equations to obtain the
unknown node voltages
 Steps 1 & 2
• We shall now explain and apply the steps
– the reference node is commonly called the ground

– Assign voltage designations to the non-reference nodes

 Step 3
• We apply KCL to each non-reference node in the circuit
• At node 1, applying KCL gives

I1  I 2  i1  i2 (1)

• At node 2,

I 2  i2  i3 (2)
 Step3
• In nodal analysis if
– we assign node voltages va and vb
– The branch current i flowing from a to b is then expressed as

v a  vb
i 
R
 Step 3
• We now apply Ohm’s law to express the
– unknown currents i1, i2, and i3 in terms of node voltages

v1  0 v1  v 2 v3  0
i1  i2  i3  (3)
R1 R2 R3

– Substituting (3) in (1) and (2) yields

v1 v1  v 2
I1  I 2  
R1 R2

v1  v 2 v 2
I2  
R2 R3
 Step 4
• Solve for the node voltages using the
– substitution method
– elimination method
– Cramer’s rule
 Example 3.1
• Calculate the node voltages in the circuit shown below
 Solution
• Consider the circuit below prepared for nodal analysis
 Solution
• Analysis
– applying KCL at node 1 yields
i1  i 2  i3
– expressing the currents in terms of voltages we’ve
v  v 2 v1  0
5 1 
4 2

– multiplying each term by 4, we obtain

20  v1  v 2  2v1

– or 3 v1  v2  20 (1)
 Solution
• Applying KCL at node 2 yields
i 2  i 4  i1  i5
• Expressing the currents in terms of voltages we’ve
v1  v 2 v2  0
 10  5 
4 6
• Multiplying each term by 12 results in
3v1  3v 2  120  60  2v 2
• or
 3v1  5v2  60 ( 2)
 Solution
• Now we have two simultaneous equations
– equations (1) and (2)
• Method 1
– Using the elimination technique, we add equations (1) and (2)

4v 2  80  v 2  20 V

– Substituting v 2  20 V in equation (1) gives

40
3v1  20  20  v1   13.33 V
3
 Solution
• Method 2
– Cramer’s rule
• To use Cramer’s rule, we need to put equations (1) and (2) in matrix
form as

 3  1  v1  20

 3
 5  v 2  60

3 1 20  1 3 20
  
 15  3  12 1 60 5  100  60  160  2   180  60  240
3 5  3 60

1 160 2 240
v1    13.33V v2    20 V
 12  12
 Problem
• For the circuit below, obtain v1 and v2
 Solution
• At node 1

 v1 v1 v  v2
  12  1
10 5 2

120 = - 8v1 + 5v2 (1)

• At node 2
v2 v  v2
 6  12  1
4 2

72 = – 2v1 + 3v2 (2)

• Solving (1) and (2)

v1 = 0 V, v2 = 24 V
 Problem
• Obtain the node voltages in the circuit below
 Solution
• v1 = -2 and v2 = -14
 Problem
• Determine the voltages at the nodes of the circuit shown
below
 Solution
• We assign
– voltages to the three nodes as shown in the circuit below

– At node 1
• 3 = i1 + ix →
v1  v3 v1  v2
3 
4 2
 Solution
• Multiplying by 4 and rearranging terms, we get
3v1  2v2  v3  12 1
• At node 2
v1  v 2 v 2  v3 v 2  0
i x  i 2  i3   
2 8 4
• Multiplying by 8 and rearranging terms, we get

 4v1  7v2  v3  0 2
• At node 3 v1  v3 v2  v3 2(v1  v2 )
i1  i2  2i x   
4 8 4
• Multiplying by 8, rearranging terms, and dividing by 3, we get
2v1  3v2  v3  0 3

• Solving equations 1, 2 and 3

v1  4.8V , v2  2.4V , v3   2.4V
 Nodal Analysis with Voltage Sources

• We will now consider how voltage sources affect

nodal analysis
• Case1
– Voltage source connected between reference node
and a non-reference node
• Case2
– Voltage source connected between two nonreference
nodes
 Nodal Analysis with Voltage Sources
• Consider the circuit below
Nodal Analysis with Voltage Sources

• If a voltage source is connected between

– the reference node and a non-reference node
• simply set the voltage at the non-reference node equal to
the voltage of the voltage source
– e.g. v1 = 10 V

• The analysis is simplified by this

– knowledge of the voltage at this node
 Nodal Analysis with Voltage Sources

• If the voltage source is connected between two

non-reference nodes
– the two non-reference nodes form a supernode
• We apply both KCL and KVL to determine the node voltages
• In the circuit shown earlier
– Nodes 2 and 3 form a supernode
• At the supernode
i1  i 4  i 2  i3
• or
v1  v 2 v1  v3 v 2 v3
  
2 4 8 6
 Nodal Analysis with Voltage Sources
• To apply KVL to the supernode we redraw the circuit as
shown below

• Going around the loop in the clockwise direction gives

 v 2  5  v3  0  v 2  v3  5
 Problem
• For the circuit shown below find the node
voltages
 Solution
• The supernode contains the 2-V source, nodes 1 and 2
and the 10-Ω resistor
• Applying KCL to the supernode as shown in the circuit
below gives
2  i1  i 2  7 (1)
 Solution
• Expressing i1 and i2 in terms of node voltages
v1  0 v 0
2  2 7  8  2v1  v 2  28
2 4

• or
2v1  v 2   20 ( 2)
 Solution
• To get the relationship between v1 and v2
– We apply KVL to the circuit shown below

– Going round the loop, we obtain

 v1  2  v 2  0  v2  v1  2 (3)
 Solution
• From equations (2) and (3), we write
v 2  v1  2   20  2v1
• or
3v1   22  v1   7.333 V

• and
v 2  v1  2   7.333  2   5.333 V
 Problem
• Use nodal analysis to determine the node voltages in the circuit
below
 Solution

• At node 2, in Fig. (a), 5 = v 2  v1 v 2  v3 10 = -v1 + 2v2-v3 (1)


2 2
• At the supernode, v 2  v1 v 2  v 3 v1 v 3 40 = 2v1 + v3 (2)
  
2 2 4 8
• From Fig. (b), - v1 - 10 + v3 = 0 v3 = v1 + 10 (3)

• Solving (1) to (3), we obtain v1 = 10 V, v2 = 20 V = v3

 Problem
• Obtain the node voltages v1, v2, and v3 in the circuit below
 solution
• We have a supernode as shown in figure (a).
• It is evident that v2 = 12 V

• Applying KVL to loops 1and 2 in figure (b), we obtain,

-v1 – 10 + 12 = 0 or v1 = 2 and -12 + 20 + v3 = 0 or v3 = -8 V
• Thus
v1 = 2 V, v2 = 12 V, v3 = -8V.
 Problem
• Find the node voltages in the circuit below
 Solution
• Nodes 1 and 2 forms a supernode; so do nodes 3 and 4
• We apply KCL to the two suppernodes as shown in the
circuit below
 Solution
• At super node 1-2
v3  v2 v v v
i3  10  i1  i 2   10  1 4  1
6 3 2
• or
5v1  v2  v3  2v4  60

• At super node 3-4

v1  v 4 v3  v2 v 4 v3
i1  i3  i 4  i5    
3 6 1 4
• or
4v1  2v2  5v3  16v4  0
 Solution
• We now
– Apply KVL to the branches involving the voltage sources as
shown in the circuit below
 Solution
• For loop 1
 v1  20  v 2  0  v1  v 2  20

• For loop 2
 v3  3v x  v 4  0

• But vx = v1 –v4 so that

3v1  v3  2v4  0
• For loop 3
v x  3v x  6i3  20  0

• But 6i3 = v3 –v2 and vx = v1 –v4 . Hence

 2v1  v2  v3  v 4  20
 Solution
• v1 = 26.67 V, v2 = 6.667 V, v3 = 173.33 and v4 = -46.67 V
Mesh Analysis
 Lecture Objective
• To develop a
– technique for circuit analysis using KVL and Ohm’s law
 Mesh Analysis
• This method provides a
– general procedure for analyzing circuits using
• mesh currents as the circuit variables
• The idea is to
– apply KVL around each mesh to
• find unknown currents
• We shall consider two cases
– Case1: circuits that do not contain current sources
– Case2: circuits that contain current sources
Mesh Analysis
 Mesh Analysis
• Procedure
– Assign mesh currents i1, i2, …..in to the n meshes
• It is conventional to assume that each mesh current flows
clockwise
– Apply KVL to each of the n meshes and
• use Ohm’s law to express voltages in terms of mesh currents
– Solve the resulting n simultaneous equations to get
the mesh currents
 Mesh Analysis
• To illustrate the steps, consider the circuit below

• We use
– i to denote mesh current
– I to denote branch current
 Mesh Analysis
• Step 1 requires that
– mesh currents i1 and i2 are assigned to meshes 1 and 2
• As the second step, we apply KVL to each mesh
– Applying KVL to mesh 1, we obtain
 V1  R1i1  R3 i1  i 2   0

– or
R1  R3 i1  R3 i 2  V1 (1)

– For mesh 2, applying KVL gives

R2 i 2  V2  R3 i 2  i1   0
– or
 R3i1  R2  R3 i2   V2 (2)
 Mesh Analysis
• Note
– in equation (1) that the coefficient of i1 is the sum of the
resistances in the first mesh, while
• the coefficient of i2 is the negative of the resistance common to
meshes 1 and 2
• The third step is to
– solve for the mesh currents
• putting equations (1) and (2) in matrix form yields

 R1  R3  R3   i1   V1 
 R 
 3 R2  R3  i2   V2 
 Problem
• For the circuit below find the branch currents I1, I2 and I3
using mesh analysis
 Solution
• We first obtain the mesh currents using KVL
– For mesh 1,

 15  5i1  10i1  i2   10  0
– or
3i1 2i 2  1 (1)
– For mesh 2,

6i 2  4i 2  10i2  i1   10  0
– or

i1  2i 2   1 ( 2)
 Solution
• We now have two simultaneous equations (1) and (2)
– Method 1
• using the substitution method, we substitute (2) into (1)

6i2  3  2i2  1  i2 1 A

• From (2)

i1  2i2  1  2  1  1 A

• This
I 1  i1 1 A, I 2  i2 1 A, I 3  i1  i2  0
 Solution
• Method 2
– To use Cramer’s rule, we cast (1) and (2) in matrix form as

 3  2  i1  1
 1 2  i   1
  2   

– We obtain the determinants

3 2 1 2 3 1
  624 1   2 24 2   3 1 4
1 2 1 2 1 1

– Thus
1 4 2 4
i1   1 A i2   1 A
 4  4
 Solution
• Method 2
– To use Cramer’s rule, we cast (1) and (2) in matrix form as

 3  2  i1  1
 1 2  i   1
  2   

– We obtain the determinants

3 2 1 2 3 1
  624 1   2 24 2   3 1 4
1 2 1 2 1 1

– Thus
1 4 2 4
i1   1 A i2   1 A
 4  4
 Problem
• Obtain v0 in the circuit below using mesh analysis
 solution
• Applying mesh analysis procedure we’ve

• Using mesh analysis gives

12 = 10I1 – 6I2
 -10 = -6I1 + 8I2
 solution
• Or
 6   5  3  I 1 
 5    3 4  I 
    2 

5 3 6 3 5 6
  11, 1   9, 2   7
3 4 5 4 3 5

1 9 2 7
I1   , I2  
 11  11

• i1 = -I1 = -9/11 = -0.8181 A, i2 = I1 – I2 = 10/11 = 1.4545 A

• vo = 6i2 = 6x1.4545 = 8.727 V

 Problem
• Obtain v0 in the circuit below using mesh analysis
 solution
• Using the circuit below

• Applying mesh analysis to loops 1 and 2, we get

6i1 – 1i2 + 3 = 0 which leads to i2 = 6i1 + 3 (1)
 -1i1 + 6i2 – 3 + 4v0 = 0 (2)
•  But, v0 = -2i1 (3)
• Using (1), (2), and (3) we get i1 = -5/9.
• Therefore, we get v0 = -2i1 = -2(-5/9) = 1.1111 volts
 Problem
• Use mesh analysis to find the current I0 in the circuit
below
 Solution
• We apply KVL to the three meshes in turn
– KVL for mesh 1 yields

 24  10 i1  i2  12 i1  i3  0
– or
11 i1  5 i2  6 i3 12 (1)

– KVL for mesh 2 gives

24 i2  4 i2  i3  10 i2  i1   0

– or
 5i1  19 i2  2 i3  0 ( 2)
 Solution
• For mesh 3,
4 I 0  12 i3  i1  4 i3  i2  0

• but at node A, I 0  i1  i2  so that

4 i1  i2   12 i3  i1  4 i3  i2   0

• or
 i1  i2  2 i3  0 (3)
 Solution
• In matrix form, equations 1 to 3 becomes

 11  5  6  i1  12
 5 19  2 i    0 
  2   
  1  1 2  i3   0 

• We calculate the mesh currents using Cramer’s rule as

1 432  2 144  3 288
i1    2.25 A i2    0.75 A i3    1.5 A
 192  192  192
• Thus
I 0  i1  i 2  1.5 A
 Mesh Analysis with Current Sources
• Case1:
– When a current source exists only in one mesh
• set the mesh current to the value of the current source
– set i2 = -5A and write mesh equation for the other mesh as

 10  4i1  6i1  i2  0  i1   2 A
 Mesh Analysis with Current Sources
• Case2:
– when a current source exists between two meshes
 Mesh Analysis with Current Sources
• We create a supermesh by
– excluding the current source and any element connected in series
with it

• A supermesh
– Results when two meshes have a (dependent or independent)
current source in common
 Mesh Analysis with Current Sources
• We create a supermesh as the periphery of the two meshes and
treat it differently

• Applying KVL to the supermesh gives

 20  6i1  10i 2  4i 2  0
• or
6i1  14i 2  2 0 (3)
 Mesh Analysis with Current Sources
• We apply KCL
– to a node in the branch where the two meshes intersect.
• Applying KCL to node 0 and obtain

i2  i1  6 (4)
 Mesh Analysis with Current Sources

• Solving (3) and (4), we get

i1   3.2 A, i2  2.8 A

• Properties of a supermesh
1. The current source in the supermesh provides the constraint
equation necessary to solve for the mesh currents
2. A supermesh has no current of its own
3. A supermesh requires the application of both KVL and KCL
 Problem
• Find the current i in the circuit below
Solution
 Solution
• KVL for loop 1 gives
 30  2 i1  i3   3 i1  i 2   0

– or

5 i1  3i 2  2 i3  30 (1)

• KVL for loop 2 yields

1i2  3 i2  i1  6 i2  i4   0
• or

 3 i1  10 i 2  6 i 4  0 ( 2)
 Solution
• KVL for the supermesh yields
2 i3  i1   4 i3  8 i 4  6 i 4  i 2   0

– or  2i1  6 i2  6 i3  14 i4  0 (3)

– applying KCL to a node in the branch where the two meshes intersect

i 4  i3  4 ( 4)
 Solution
• Solving (1) to (4) by elimination gives

i  i1  8.561 A
 Problem
• Use Mesh analysis to find i1 to i4 in the circuit below
 Solution
• Meshes 1 and 2
– form a supermesh since they have an independent current
source in common
• Also meshes 2 and 3
– form another supermesh because they have a dependent
current source in common
• The two
– Supermeshes intersect and form a larger supermesh as shown
in the figure
 Solution
• Applying KVL to the larger supermesh
2i1  4i3  8(i3  i4 )  6i2  0
• or
i1  3i2  6i3  4i4  0 1

• For the independent current source, we apply KCL to node P

i2  i1  5 2

• For the dependent current source, we apply KCL to node Q

i2  i3  3I 0
 Solution
• But
I 0   i4

• Hence
i2  i3  3i4 3

• Applying KVL in mesh 4

2i4 8(i4  i3 )  10  0

• or 5i4  4i4   5 4

• Solving 1to 4 we have

i1   7.5 A, i2   2.5 A, i3  3.93 A, i4  2.143 A
 Problem
• Use mesh analysis to obtain i0 in the circuit below
 Solution
• Analysis
– We have 3 meshes
• meshes 1 and 2 form a supermesh
 Solution
• KVL for the supermesh gives

5i1  i1  i3  4 i2  i3 12  0

• or
6i1  4 i2  5i3 12  0 (1)

• KVL for mesh 3 yields

2i3  4i3  i2  i3  i1  6  0

• or
 i1  4i2  7i3  6  0 (2)
 Solution
• KCL at node a gives

i2  3  i1 (3)

• Solving 1 to 3 yields
i1   3.067, i3   1.333, and i0  i1  i3  1.7333 A