THEVENIN’S AND NORTON’S THEOREMS
These are some of the most
powerful analysis results to be
discussed.
They permit to hide information that
is not relevant and concentrate in
what is important to the analysis
CLO-3: Apply Thevenin’s and Norton’s theorems for circuit analysis and use the Maximum-Power-
Transfer theorem.
ANOTHER VIEW OF THEVENIN’S AND NORTON’S THEOREMS
RTH i a
i +
+ RTH vO
vOC _ vO i SC
_
Norton b
Thevenin
vOC
i SC
RTH
This equivalence can be viewed as a source transformation problem
It shows how to convert a voltage source in series with a resistor
into an equivalent current source in parallel with the resistor
SOURCE TRANSFORMATION CAN BE A GOOD TOOL TO REDUCE THE
COMPLEXITY OF A CIRCUIT
EXAMPLE: SOLVE BY SOURCE TRANSFORMATION In between the terminals we connect a current
source and a resistance in parallel
The equivalent current source will have the
value 12V/3k
The 3k and the 6k resistors now are in parallel
and can be combined
In between the terminals we connect a voltage
source in series with the resistor
The equivalent source has value 4mA*2k
The 2k and the 2k resistor become connected
in series and can be combined
After the transformation the sources can be combined
The equivalent current source has value 8V/4k
and the combined current source has value 4mA
Options at this point
1. Do another source transformation and get
a single loop circuit
2. Use current divider to compute I_0 and then
compute V_0 using Ohm’s law
PROBLEM Compute V_0 using source transformation
EQUIVALENT CIRCUITS
I0
Or one more source transformation
Req R3 3 current sources in parallel and
three resistors in parallel
RTH R4
Veq Req I eq V0
+
Veq R4 V0 Veq
VVeqTH Req I eq
-
R4 R3 Req
A General Procedure to Determine the Thevenin Equivalent
vTH Open Circuit vo ltage
voltage at a - b if Part B is removed
i SC Short Circuit Current
current through a - b if Part B is replaced
by a short circuit
RTH
v
TH Thevenin Equivalent Resistance One circuit problem
i SC
LINEAR CIRCUIT i 0 a
1. Determine the Remove part B and May contain
independent and
Thevenin equivalent compute the OPEN dependent sources vOC Vab
with their controlling
source CIRCUIT voltage Vab variables _
_
PART A b
Second circuit problem
2. Determine the Remove part B and
LINEAR CIRCUIT i SC a
SHORT CIRCUIT compute the SHORT May contain
current CIRCUIT current I ab independent and
dependent sources v0 I ab
with their controlling
_
vOC variables
vTH vOC , RTH PART A b
i SC
AN EXAMPLE OF DETERMINING THE THEVENIN EQUIVALENT
R1
VTH Part B is irrelevant.
a The voltage V_ab will be the value of the
Thevenin equivalent source.
To Part B
VS + IS
- R2 I SC What is an efficient technique to compute the
open circuit voltage?
b
VTH VTH VS
IS 0
R2 R1 NODE
Now for the short circuit current ANALYSIS
Lets try source superposition 1 1 VS
( )VTH IS
When the current source is open the VS R1 R2 R1
current through the short circuit is
1
SC I R2 RR
R1 VTH VS 1 2 I S
When the voltage source is set to zero,
R1 R2 R1 R2
the current through the short circuit is
2
I SC IS
R1R2 VS
VS VTH I S
I SC IS R1 R2 R1
R1
R1 R2
To compute the Thevenin resistance we RTH
use R1 R2 Is this a
general
VTH
RTH For this case the Thevenin resistance can be computed as result?
I SC the resistance from a - b when all independent sources have been
set to zero
Determining the Thevenin Equivalent in Circuits with Only INDEPENDENT SOURCES
The Thevenin Equivalent Source is computed as the open loop voltage
The Thevenin Equivalent Resistance CAN BE COMPUTED by setting to zero all the sources
and then determining the resistance seen from the terminals where the equivalent will be placed
R1 a
a
To Part B R1 R2 RTH
VS +
-
IS R2
b b
“Part B”
Since the evaluation of the Thevenin
equivalent can be very simple, we
RTH 3k can add it to our toolkit for the
solution of circuits!!
RTH 4k
“Part B”
LEARNING BY DOING
5k
“PART B”
6V
1k
VO (6V ) 1[V ]
1k 5k
LEARNING EXAMPLE COMPUTE Vo USING THEVENIN
In the region shown, one could use source
transformation twice and reduce that part to
a single source with a resistor.
... Or we can apply Thevenin Equivalence
to that part (viewed as “Part A”)
RTH 4k For the open loop voltage
the part outside the region
The original circuit becomes... 6 is eliminated
VTH 12[V ] 8[V ]
3 6
And one can apply Thevenin one more time!
For open loop voltage use KVL
1
VTH 1
VTH 4k * 2mA 8V 16V
1
RTH 4k
...and we have a simple voltage divider!!
8
V0 16[V ] 8V
88
Or we can use Thevenin only once to get a voltage divider For the Thevenin resistance
RTH 8k
“Part B”
For the Thevenin voltage we have to analyze the
following circuit
METHOD??
Source superposition, for example
Contribution of the voltage source
6
1
VOC 12V 8V
3 6
Contribution of the current source
Thevenin Equivalent of “Part A” 2
VOC (2k 2k ) * (2mA) 8V
Simple Voltage Divider
LEARNING EXTENSION: USE THEVENIN TO COMPUTE Vo
“PART B”
I
VOC
9kI 18[V ] I 2mA
VOC 3kI 12 6[V ]
RESULTING EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT
RTH 2k 2k
RTH
4k VO
RTH 3k || 6k 2k VTH 6V
4
VO (6V ) 3[V ]
44
LEARNING EXTENSION: COMPUTE Vo USING NORTON
4k
I
RN 2k
IN
I SC
RN
RN RTH 3k PART B VO 2kI 2k I N
12V RN 6k
I SC I N 2mA 2mA 3 4
3k VO 2 (2) [V ]
9 3
COMPUTE Vo USING THEVENIN PART B
VTH
RTH
+
- 2k VO
VTH
VTH 12 2 4
2mA 0 VO (6V ) [V ]
3k 27 3
RTH 3k 4k
SAMPLE PROBLEM Equivalent Resistance: Independent sources only
RTH
I2
RTH 3R || 3R 1.5R
KVL VTH Equivalent Voltage: Node, loop, superposition… Do loops
I1
I 1 I S VS 5R( I1 I 2 ) RI 2 0
VTH RI 2 2R( I1 I 2 )
How about source superposition?
VS
RTH
Opening the current source: V 1
TH
Short circuiting the voltage source 2
+
- VTH 5 1
I1 I S I 2 I S
+
IS I1 R
6 6
V2TH 1
2
VTH RI1 2 RI 2 RI S
2
This is what we need to get 3R 2R KVL
I2 _
VTH VTH 1
VTH
2
SAMPLE PROLEM All independent sources
All resistors are in parallel!!
VTH
The circuit can be simplified
,,, An to compute Equivalent Source...
VTH SOURCE
TRANSFORMATION
VTH
Voltage divider
8k
VTH (6 24 / 6)[V ]
8k (8 / 6)k
THEVENIN EQUIVALENT FOR CIRCUITS WITH ONLY DEPENDENT SOURCES
A circuit with only dependent sources cannot self start.
(actually that statement has to be qualified a bit.
What happens if a R1 R2 ? )
FOR ANY PROPERLY DESIGNED CICUIT WITH ONLY DEPENDENT
SOURCES
aI x ( R1 R2 ) I X 0 VOC 0, I SC 0
a R1 R2 I x 0 This is a big simplification!!
a R1 R2 0 I x 0 But we need a special approach for the
computation of the Thevenin equivalent resistance
Since the circuit cannot self start we need to probe it
with an external source
The source can be either a voltage source or a
VTH 0 current source and its value can be chosen arbitrarily!
Which one to choose is often determined by the
simplicity of the resulting circuit
IF WE CHOOSE A VOLTAGE PROBE... WE MUST COMPUTE CURRENT SUPPLIED BY
PROBE SOURCE
VP aI X VP
IP IX IX
R1 R2
1 1 a
I
(VP ) P R
VP
2 R1 R1R2
VP
RTH
IP
(VP ) VP
RTH
1 1 a
VP
R2 R1 R1R2
The value chosen for the probe voltage is irrelevant.
Oftentimes we simply set it to one
IF WE CHOOSE A CURRENT SOURCE PROBE
We must compute the node voltage V_p
KCL
VP
(IP ) VP VP aI X IX
IP 0 R2
R2 R1
1 1 a
VP I P
R2 R1 R1R2
(IP ) VP
RTH
IP
The value of the probe current is irrelevant. For simplicity
it is often choosen as one.
LEARNING EXAMPLE FIND THE THEVENIN EQUIVALENT
V1 V1 2VX V1 VP
KCL @V1 : 0
V1 1k 2k 1k
VP Controlling variable: VX VP V1
SOLVING THE EQUATIONS
4 3
V1 VP , V X VP
7 7
VP VP 2VX VX
Do we use current probe or voltage probe? IP
2k 1k 1k
If we use voltage probe there is only one 15VP
node not connected through source IP
14k
VP 14
VP
RTH k
I P 15
IP Using voltage probe. Must compute
current supplied
LEARNING EXAMPLE Find the Thevenin Equivalent circuit at A - B
Only dependent sources. Hence V_th = 0
To compute the equivalent resistance we
must apply an external probe
We choose to apply a current probe R VP
TH
IP
@V_1
VP @V_2 (IP )
IP
Controlling variable
“Conventional” circuit with dependent
sources - use node analysis 3(V1 2V1 ) 6V1 2(V1 V2 ) 0
RTH
2(V2 V1 ) 3V2 6[V ]
A
5V1 2V2 0 * / 2 30 10
V2
2V1 5V2 6 * / 5 21 7
B V2
(VP V2 ) ( I P 1mA ) RTH (10 / 7)k
Thevenin equivalent 1mA
SAMPLE PROBLEM
RTH
A
Thevenin equivalent
VP
I P 1mA I_1 = I_p/2
I_3=0 The resistance is
VP VP numerically equal
R_th = 2kOhms
RTH
I P 1mA to V_p but with
MUST FIND VAB VP . METHOD? units of KOhm
Loop analysis
VX
I1 ; I2 I P
2000
2k * I3 1k * ( I 2 I3 ) 2k * ( I3 I 2 I1) 4k * ( I3 I1) 0
Controlling variable VX 1k * ( I3 I 2 )
Voltage across current probe
VP 1k * ( I3 I 2 ) 2k * ( I3 I 2 I1) 0
Thevenin Equivalent
Circuits with both Dependent and Independent Sources
We will compute open circuit voltage and short circuit current
LINEAR CIRCUIT i a For each determination of a Thevenin equivalent
May contain
independent and we will solve two circuits
dependent sources vO
with their controlling
variables _ b
PART A
Any and all the techniques discussed should be readily
available; e.g.,
KCL, KVL,combination series/parallel, node, loop analysis,
RTH source superposition, source transformation, homogeneity
a
VOC
+
VTH RTH
-
I SC
b
The approach of setting to zero all sources and then
combining resistances to determine the Thevenin
VTH VOC resistance is in general not applicable!!
EXAMPLE Use Thevenin to determine Vo Guidelines to partition:
“Part A” should be as simple as possible.
“Part B”
After “Part A” is replaced by the Thevenin
equivalent we should have a very simple circuit
The dependent sources and their controlling
variables must remain together
Open circuit voltage Constraint at super node V1 VOC 12 V1 12 VOC
Options???
V1 KCL at super node (12 VOC ) (aI 1X ) 12 VOC VOC
0
1k V 2 k 2 k
Equation for controlling variable I 1X OC
36 2k
Solve VOC
4 (a / 1k )
Short circuit current
VA V 12V
I SC 18mA
I "X A 0 1k || 2k
2k
VOC 2
RTH [k]
I SC 4 (a / 1k )
Negative resistances for some “a’s”
Solution to the problem
RTH (a 2k ) Setting all sources to zero and combining
resistances will yield an incorrect value!!!!
1k
V0 VTH
VOC 1k 1k RTH
Find Vo using Thevenin Open circuit voltage Method???
V1 Super node
VTH KVL
IX IX
V1 V (3V ) V1 (3 / 4)[V ]
1mA 1 0
Short Circuit Current 2k 6k
Controlling variable
KVL VTH 1000 I X V1 0
V11 IX
V1
VTH (3 / 8)[V ] 2k
The equivalent circuit
I SC RTH 1k
I 1X
+
V11
+
2k
1000 I 1X
VTH VO
V11 I 1X V1 0 I X 0
1 1 -
_
2k
KCL 2
I SC 1mA (3V ) /(6k ) 0.5mA V0 (3 / 8)[V ]
2 1 (3 / 4)
VOC The equivalent resistance cannot be obtained by
RTH (3 / 4)k short circuiting the sources and determining the
I SC resistance of the resulting interconnection of resistors
EXAMPLE: Use Thevenin to compute Vo DON’T PANIC!! Select your partition
Now compute V_0 using the Thevenin equivalent
“Part B”
6k
RTH V0 11[V ]
6k 8k
VTH
VX1
Open Circuit Voltage Use loops Loop equations I1 ; I 2 2mA
2000
Controlling variable
VX1 4k ( I1 I 2 )
VX1 2kI1 2kI1 4k ( I1 I 2 ) I1 4mA
VOC 2k * I1 3[V ] 2k * 4mA 3V 11V
KVL for V_oc
Loop equations
Short circuit current
I1 I1 4mA Same as before
Vx"
I1 ; I 2 2mA 3V 2k * I1 11
2000 I SC mA
I sc 3V 2k ( I SC I1 ) 0 2k 2
Controlling variable Thevenin resistance
I2 VX" 4k * ( I1 I 2 ) RTH
VOC
11[V ]
2k
I SC (11 / 2)mA
SAMPLE PROBLEM Mixed sources. Must compute Voc and Isc
supernode
Open circuit voltage
KCL at super node I1 I X 2 I X 0
The two 4k resistors are in parallel I1 I X
VTH
I1
I X 0 VTH 12[V ]
KCL at supernode
Short circuit current
I SC 4 I X
KVL
4k * ( I SC / 4) 12[V ] 6k * I SC 0
12
VTH 12V I SC mA
RTH 7k 7
IX I SC I SC (12 / 7)mA
RTH
a
VTH
FINAL ANSWER
b
