Lab 3 Report

Coy Coburn & Kevin Bradshaw

ECEN 214, Section 506
TA: Amir Tofighi Zavareh
Due date: February 18, 2014

Procedure
Task 1 Verifying Thvenins Equivalent

At the beginning of the lab, both the Variable Power Supplies (VPS) and the Digital
Multi-Meter (DMM) programs on the computer were launched for use with the NI
ELVIS board. The positive supply was set to 10 V and was connected to the DMMs
positive voltage. The ground supply was then connected to the DMMs negative supply.
This was done to make sure the VPS was reading as close to 10 V as possible.
The circuit in Figure 1 was then built on the NI ELVIS board. The NI DMM was
connected in parallel to the 2k resistor to measure the voltage of the load (VL). The HP
DMM was then placed in series into the circuit to measure the current of the load (IL).
Both measurements were recorded in Table 1. Ideally, this DMM would work as an
ammeter with zero resistance to get the most precise measurement of current. This
physically cant happen so there is a small resistance in the HP DMM.

Figure 1:

In order to replace this circuit with a Thvenin Equivalent:

o First the Open Circuit Voltage was measured (VOC) by having the 2k resistor
removed and measuring the voltage across the two nodes.
o Then, the Short Circuit Current (ISC) was measured by replacing the voltmeter that
was used on the 2k replacement with an ammeter.
o Both VOC and ISC were recorded Table 1.

Task 2 and 3 Verifying the Superposition Principle

The circuit in Figure 2 was then built on the NI ELVIS board.

Figure 2:

The HP Triple Output Power Supply was used in this task in order to connect the 2 V and
the 20 V source from Figure 2. The outputs were verified and the sources were grounded
through only one reference node so that there wouldnt be two separate DC grounds in
the same circuit. The ammeter was connected in series with the 1k resistor and after it
was all set up properly, the current (I) was measured and recorded in Table 2.
o To test superposition principle, the 2V supply was then reduced to 0 V. Then, the
current (I1) with only the 20 V supply present was measured and recorded in
Table 2.
o Afterwards, the 2 V supply was returned and then the 20 V supply was reduced to
0 V. The current (I2) was then measured with only the 2 V supply present and
recorded in Table 2.
o In order to verify superposition, I1 and I2 were added together.
The last part of this lab included the circuit in Figure 3. This circuit is only different by
the circuit in figure 2 by a diode. This diode is used to show that superposition isnt valid
because of the restriction of the flow of current through the diode.
o First, to prove that superposition would not hold, the total current with both
voltages was measured and recorded in Table 3.
o Then, with only the 20 V supply present, the current was measured and recorded.
o Lastly, with only the 2 V supply present, the current was measured and recorded.

Figure 3:

Data Tables
Table 1: Verifying Thvenins Equivalent
Parameter
Measured
1.36 mA
IL
2.601 V
VL
0.225 mV
VOC
2.47 mA
ISC
0.91
Req (VOC / ISC)

Calculated
1.285 mA
2.570 V
0.222 mV
2.46 mA
0.90

% Difference
0.06%
0.01%
0.01%
0.005%
0.01%

Table 2: Verifying the Superposition Principle (Without Diode)

Parameter

Measured

Calculated

% Difference

PSPICE

I
I1
I2
I1 + I2

1.075 mA
1.38 mA
-0.31 mA
1.07 mA

1.084 mA
1.455 mA
-0.37 mA
1.085 mA

-1%
-5%
-19%
-1%

1.084 mA
1.400 mA
0.371 mA
1.084 mA

% Difference
(PSPICE to
measured)
-1%
-1.4%
0.2%
-1%

Table 3: Verifying the Superposition Principle (With Diode)

Parameter
I
I1
I2
I 1 + I2

Measured
-1.01 mA
-1.38 mA
0.26 mA
-1.12 mA

Calculated
-1.04 mA
-1.40 mA
0.29 mA
-1.11 mA

PSPICE
-0.928 mA
-0.0051 mA
1.295 mA
-1.290 mA

% Error
9%
99%
99%
13 %

Calculations
In the lab, by using the Open Circuit Voltage measured and the Short Circuit Current measured,
the Thvenin resistance can be found by: VOC / ISC. Having the Thvenin resistance, the
equivalent circuit can be drawn.
The principle of superposition was used to calculate the total current in the circuits. By removing
all independent sources and finding the voltage across the 1k resistor for each source, the total
voltage can be found. By adding the voltages of each source after this technique was applied, the
total voltage should ideally equally the voltage measured:
V1 + V1 = V1
V2 + V2 = V2
These voltages can be found by using nodal analysis on the circuits for each independent source.
The percent differences were found by subtracting the calculated (C) from the measured (M)
values, then dividing by the measured: (M - C) / M

Discussion
Task 1

From the data received from the experiment, it can be seen that the values for current,
voltage, and resistance were all fairly accurate. The highest difference was in IL with 6%,
while VL, VC, and REQ had lowest percent difference with 1% from measured value to
calculated value. The relationship between RTH and REQ is that they are equal to each
other.

Task 2

Superposition works by analyzing each independent voltage source one at a time and how
it affects the circuit by itself. After each source has been analyzed, the results are
summed together to reveal the total affect from the multiple sources. While this process
worked well in task 2, task 3s results were far from correct. This was due to the diode
inserted into the circuit, which acted like a valve in the current flow which only allowed
current to flow in one direction. This is because a diode is a non-linear element,
compared to linear elements like resistors, which can be found from Ohms law V=IR.
This in theory blocked this path off from the 2V power source.

Conclusion
In this lab, some of the circuit solving techniques that have been studied during lecture will be
explored and implemented into circuits. Specifically, you will build two DC circuits to
experimentally test these concepts. The first procedure verified Thvenin's equivalent circuit
while the second procedure verified the superposition principle. Each task aided in illustrating
how each principle works along with its limits. While Thevenin is useful i reducing intricate
circuits, it cannot show the details of the more complex version. Superposition is a great way to
see how each source reacts in the circuit, but is hindered when non-linear elements are
introduced into the circuit. Overall, this lab proved to be an extreme aid in modeling how
Thevenins equivalent circuit and superposition works.