MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND

Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science

Engineering 3821 Circuit Analysis

Laboratory Manual
(Fall 2006)

Instructor: Eric Gill

Prepared by: Prof. B. Jeyasurya

Eric Gill
INTRODUCTION

This manual has been prepared for use in the course Engineering 3821, Circuit Analysis.
The laboratory exercises are designed in such a way as to reinforce the concepts taught in the
lectures. Before performing the experiments, the students must be aware of the basic safety rules
for minimizing any potential dangers. The specific objective of each experiment should be kept
in mind throughout the laboratory session. The conclusions based on the experiments and other
observed phenomena must be clearly discussed in the laboratory report.

REFERENCES

1. Electric Circuits, 7 th Ed., W..Nilsson, S.A.Riedel, Addison-Wesley, 2005.

2. Using Computer Tools for Electric Circuits, J.W.Nilsson, S.A.Riedel, Addison-Wesley,

1996.

3. Introduction to Electrical Engineering Laboratories, E.B.Slutsky, D.W.Messaros,

Prentice Hall, 1992.

4. SPICE: A Guide to Circuit Simulation & Analysis Using PSpice, P.W.Tuinenga, Prentice
Hall, 1992.

5. Schematic Capture with Cadence PSpice, 2 nd Ed., P.W.Tuinenga, Prentice Hall, 2003.

1
 MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND

Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science

Eng. 3821 Circuit Analysis

Exp. 3821-1 Circuit Analysis using PSpice

PURPOSE

1. To learn the basic features of PSpice .

2. To use PSpice for the following:

- Basic DC Analysis
- Thevénin Equivalent of a Circuit
- Analysis of a Circuit containing Dependent Sources.

INTRODUCTION

The rapid change in the field of electrical engineering is paralleled by programs that use
the computers' increased capabilities in the solution of both traditional and novel problems. With
the availability of tools for computer-aided circuit analysis, circuits of great complexity can be
designed and analyzed within a shorter time and with less effort compared to the traditional
methods. PSpice is a member of the SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit
Emphasis) family of circuit simulators. In the following exercises you will use PSpice to solve
some circuits and to determine the quantities of interest. It is strongly suggested that you
familiarize yourself with the basic PSpice tutorial provided on the instructor's website.

PRELAB

1. The circuit of Figure 1 contains a constant voltage source. Solve this circuit, using any
method of your choice, and determine the current through all the elements and voltages of all
nodes with respect to the ground.

2. Consider the circuit of Figure 2. Determine the Thévenin Equivalent of the circuit with
respect to the nodes a,b. What value of resistance will you connect across this node so that it
consumes maximum power? Determine the maximum power delivered to the load resistance RL.

3. Figure 3 shows a circuit which contains two independent and two dependent sources. Use
Mesh analysis and determine the currents in all the branches. (Refer to Section 4.7 of the text).

2
 R6

R2
6
R5
2
R1
3

4
R3 R4

5 7
V1
DC = 100

R7 R8 R9
12 24 8

R11

10
R10

7
R12

2.5

Figure 1 The original circuit for Part 1 of the prelab.

R8 R3
a

160 480

V1
200V

20A
I1 80 R1 Put RL here

Figure 2 The original circuit for which the Thévenin equivalent is required in Part 2 of the Prelab.

• •

• •

Figure 3 The original circuit for Part 3 of the Prelab

3
PSpice ‘EXPERIMENT’

1. Perform DC analysis of the circuit of Figure 1 using PSpice. Display all node voltages
and branch currents as explained in the PSpice Tutorial. Using the solution, verify that
Kirchhoff's laws are satisfied in all the nodes and meshes.

2.1 Use PSpice to determine the Thévenin equivalent of the circuit of Figure 2 with respect to
nodes a,b. (Find the open circuit voltage and short circuit current; connect an ammeter (Iprobe)
to create a short circuit).

2.2 Consider that a resistance RL (chosen from the “BREAKOUT” library as “Rbreak”) is
connected across nodes a,b. Vary this resistance between 100 and 200 ohms in steps of 10 ohms
as follows: use the DC sweep option of the “PSpice>Edit Simulation Profile” menu; see Figure
4 for the other settings in this menu. Before running the simulation, double-click on the installed
Rbreak device and change the field labelled "Value" to 1 - this is actually a multiplier on RL, so
the default multiplier of 1k must be changed. Run the simulation and use "Trace>Add Trace"
to plot the variation of power absorbed by RL. The power variable to be chosen from the list
will be W(*) where * is the name of the Rbreak resistor - eg., RL or R4 or whatever the resistor
has been named. Use the "Trace>Cursor>Display" to determine the maximum power RL
consumes and the value of RL which corresponds to this maximum power. Label this point on
the plot.

Figure 4 Settings for Part2.2 of the experiment.

3. Solve the circuit of Figure 3 using PSpice. Display all node voltages and branch currents.
Verify that KVL is satisfied in all the meshes.

4
REPORT

1. Compare the results of the Prelab (Figure 1) with that given by PSpice.

2. Compare the results of the Prelab (Figure 2) with that given by PSpice. Based on your
results (2.1 & 2.2) discuss how you can increase the amount of power delivered by a
source. Is there any limit to the maximum power that can be delivered ?

3. Compare the results with that of Prelab (Figure 3).

For all the circuits, submit the schematics, and any plots produced. In addition to the basic
schematics, also provide the same diagrams with the node voltages and branch currents
labelled.

5
 MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND

Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science

Eng. 3821 Circuit Analysis

Exp. 3821-2 Step Response of RL, RC and RLC Circuits

PURPOSE

1. To study the response of RC, RL and RLC circuits when energized by an independent
voltage source.

INTRODUCTION

Many phenomena that occur in electric circuits involve or produce time-dependent variables.
When a RC, RL, or RLC circuit is suddenly energized or de-energized, a transient phenomenon,
which dies out as the circuit approaches it steady-state operation, occurs. This is because of the
way in which inductors and capacitors store energy and resistors dissipate it. The exact nature of
the transients depends on the values of R, L and C as well as on how they are combined in a
circuit. As you progress in your study of circuits you will meet instances where particular
transient responses are beneficial and desired and, likewise, instances where such responses are
detrimental to desired circuit behaviour.

The steady state response of the circuit, which is determined by the external source, is reached
only after a transient time interval. It has also been discussed in the class notes, that the response
of RLC circuits may be under damped, critically damped or over damped.

PRELAB

1. Study Section 4 of the PSpice Tutorial. It contains many ideas relevant to this prelab.

2. The circuit of Figure 1 is excited by a square wave voltage of 4V (peak or zero to peak) and
which has a frequency of 100 Hz. In PSpice, use VPULSE to create this voltage waveform
by setting V1 to 0 and V2 to 4. Use a pulse width of 5ms. (What is the pulse period here?)
Use PSpice to determine the transient response (voltage across the capacitor) of the circuit.
Limit your transient response plot to one cycle of the source voltage. This may be done by
setting the "Run to time" parameter in the "Edit Simulation" window to be of the same
length as the period of the VPULSE. Obtain the response for the following two RC
combinations:

R=3.3 kΩ ; C=0.1 μF; R=3.3 kΩ ; C=0.22 μF

Calculate the time constants using the circuit parameters. Also, determine them from the plots.
Remember the response changes by a factor of 1/e during one time constant.
6
 R

V1
C

Figure 1 RC circuit with square wave input.

3. The circuit of Figure 2 is excited by a square wave voltage of 4V (peak to peak) having a
frequency 5 kHz. Again, create the waveform so that the pulse width is half the period. Use
PSpice to determine the step response (voltage across the resistor) of the circuit. Limit your
transient response plot to one cycle of the source voltage. Obtain the response for the
following two RL combinations (simply change R and repeat):

R=100 Ω ; L=1.0 mH; R=220 Ω ; L=1.0 mH

L
1 2

V1
R

Figure 2 RL circuit with square wave input.

4. The circuit of Figure 3 is excited by a symmetrical square wave voltage of 4V (peak) and
frequency 500Hz. Using Pspice obtain the plot of the variation of the voltage across the
capacitor. Assume zero initial conditions. Limit the response to two cycles only. Do your
simulations for the following two combinations.

R=10Ω, L=2.2 mH, C=0.1μF; R=100Ω, L=2.2 mH, C=0.1μF;

7
 R L
1 2

C
V

Figure 3 RL circuit with square wave input.

Find the frequency of the oscillations using the circuit parameters. Also, determine them
from the plot. Note that, theoretically, this frequency is given by ω0=(1/LC)1/2. Later, we’ll
see that α=R/(2L) is the so-called damping coefficient for this circuit.

EXPERIMENT

Preliminaries: Setting up the Equipment

Set the controls on the function generator to output a square wave with an amplitude of 4V and a
frequency of 100 Hz. Connect the output of the function generator to channel 1 of the scope.
Adjust the scope to auto trigger and to use internal triggering off ch1. Why do we trigger the
scope with the function generator output instead of triggering off the voltage across one of the
circuit elements? There may be a trigger slope button on the scope; you can use this to view a
different portion of the voltage trace.

Use the time base and amplitude controls to adjust the scope display. Likewise the vertical and
horizontal positioning may be adjusted to move the curve. Don't forget to check the ground level
of the scope to make sure amplitude measurements are accurate.

1.1 Construct the circuit of Figure 1. Adjust the function generator to provide 4 V (peak),
100Hz symmetrical square wave. Note that the use of this signal enables you to simulate the
effect of repeatedly energizing the RC circuit and the waveform in the oscilloscope may be
considered similar to the step response of this circuit. Sketch to scale the first half of the input
square wave and voltage across the capacitor. Determine the time constant of the circuit by
observing the waveform. Repeat the measurement for the second half of the input signal. Do
your experiment for the following two combinations:

R=3.3kΩ ; C=0.1μF
R=3.3kΩ ; C=0.22μF

2.1 Construct the circuit of Figure 2. Adjust the function generator to provide 4 V (peak),
5KHz symmetrical square wave. Sketch to scale the first half of the input square wave and the
voltage across the resistor. Determine the time constant of the circuit. Do your experiment for
the two combinations of R and L as in prelab.

8
3.1 Construct the circuit of Figure 3. Adjust the function generator to provide 4 V (peak),
500Hz symmetrical square wave. Note that the use of this signal enables you to simulate the
effect of repeatedly energizing the RLC circuit and the waveform in the oscilloscope may be
considered similar to the step response of this circuit. Sketch to scale one half of the input
square wave and the voltage across the capacitor. Do your experiment for the two combinations
of the circuit elements as in prelab. For the response which is more oscillatory, try to estimate the
frequency of oscillation.

REPORT

General

Present all results in a clear and coherent manner. Use tables, graphs and diagrams as appropriate
in addressing the particulars of the lab requirements listed below. Also, summarize your findings
in a brief conclusion.

Analysis

1. Based on your experiments with the two RC circuits, discuss the effect of change in R, C
on the nature of the response and final value of the capacitor voltage. Compare the experimental
plot with that obtained using PSpice (PreLab) and comment on the discrepancies.

2. Using your experiment with the RL circuits, discuss the effect of change in R, L on the
nature of the response, final value of the resistor voltage and final value of the current in the
circuit. Compare the experimentally determined time constant with that obtained using PSpice
(Prelab) and comment on the discrepancies.

3. Compare the response of the RLC circuits obtained from the experiment with the PSpice
simulation. Discuss the differences between the types of response for the two circuits. Compare
the experimentally determined frequency of oscillation with the theoretical value.

9
 MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND

Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science

Eng. 3821 Circuit Analysis

Exp. 3821-3 Sinusoidal Steady State Response

PURPOSE
1 To examine phasor analysis in PSpice.

2. To determine the steady state response of RLC circuit using phasors.

3. To study complex impedance matching and maximum power transfer for a general ac
circuit.

INTRODUCTION

The bulk of the electric power generated in power plants throughout the world and
distributed to the consumers appears in the form of sinusoidal variation of voltage and current.
The analysis of many circuits and devices is accomplished by the techniques embodied in the
sinusoidal theory. The sinusoidal steady state response of circuits can be described using the
concept of phasors. It is important in this lab that phasors may be represented in polar form as a
magnitude and phase or equivalently in complex form (i.e. the sum of real and imaginary parts).

PRELAB

Here PSpice will be used to perform phasor analysis on ac circuits operating in steady state. The
first part of the Prelab is a tutorial that will provide a familiarization with some of the basic
PSpice features necessary for such an analysis.

Prelab Part 1

In PSpice, construct the circuit shown in Figure 1. The necessary steps are outlined below and
some of the important screens that will be encountered are shown in Figure 2.

• In the analog library parts list choose the resistors and inductor as required.
• From the SOURCE library choose VSRC and set the ac value to 6. The "Tran" and "dc"
values may be ignored or deleted.
• Install the ground as usual.
• From the SPECIAL library choose and install the "PRINT1" parts at nodes 1, 2, and 3
(these nodes should be labelled using the "Place>Net Alias" feature. Double click on each
of these parts and (for node 1) set the "ANALYSIS" field to ‘ac v(1) vp(1)’ where the three
arguments together indicate that PSpice will return the magnitude and phase of the ac voltage
of that node relative to ground. See Figure 2a. Repeat these labels for the PRINT1 devices
at nodes 2 and 3.

10
 R1

2
100 1
1
L1
2.2mH

V1 2
3
AC = 6
R2
150

Figure 1 Circuit for Part 1 of Prelab

(a)

(b)
Figure 2 Screens for Part 1 of Prelab (a) Setting the PRINT 1 "ANALYSIS" field;
(b) Simulation Profile.

• From the "PSpice>New Simulation Profile" choose "AC Sweep" and set the AC Sweep
Type to "Linear", the "Start Frequency" and "End Frequency" to 15000 and the "Total
Points" to 1 as shown in Figure 2(b).
• The PRINT1 devices put their output in the file which may be viewed from the
"PSpice>View Output File" menu option. In the above circuit, the PRINT 1 has been used
to establish voltage magnitude phase. It could also be used to find currents. For example,
11
 setting "ANALYSIS" value of Figure 2(a) to ‘ac I(R_R1) Ip(R_R1)’ would give the
magnitude and phase of the current through resistor R1.
• To determine the voltage across a device from the PRINT1 values in the Output File, the
individual voltage on either node of the device must be subtracted. For example, the voltage
across the inductor in Figure 1 is V2 - V3. Of course, these voltages are phasors. Convert
the three voltages in the output file to complex numbers and show that Kirchhoff's voltage
law holds for the circuit.

Prelab Part 2

Solve the circuit of Figure 3 and determine the phasor voltages V1,V20, V23, V30, V24 and V40.
Use the source voltage as the reference phasor. The ac voltage source is 6 V (peak). Use PSpice
to verify your answers. This is just the previous circuit with another branch added.

R1

2
100 1
1 C1
L1 0.1uF
2.2mH 4

V1 2
3 R3
AC = 6 120
R2
150

Figure 3 Circuit for Part 2 of PreLab

Prelab Part 3

• Figure 4 may be considered as a circuit having a fixed load, but variable source impedance.
The load consists of the second resistor and inductor while the “source impedance” is
changed by varying the capacitor values. Calculate the value of the capacitor for which
maximum power is transferred to the load when the source voltage is 6V (peak) and has a
frequency of 15 kHz.

12
 R1 C1

120

R2
V2
120
AC = 6

L1
2.2mH

Figure 4 Circuit for Part 3 of Prelab

EXPERIMENT

1.1 Build circuit 2 (Figure 3) and measure the following phasor voltages at 15 kHz with the
oscilloscope. Measure phase relative to the input signal from the function generator. (If
required, seek help in making the phase measurements with the scope). Compare the results of
your measurement with prelab simulation and with hand-done calculations.

Phasor Prelab Calculation Prelab: Pspice Experiment

V1 Mag: 6; Angle: 0 Mag: 6; Angle: 0 Mag: 6; Angle: 0
V20
V23
V30
V24
V40

2.1 Build Circuit 3 (Figure 4). Operate the circuit at a frequency of 15 kHz. Use each of the
following values for C: 0.025, 0.047, 0.068, 0.10 and 0.22 microfarads (or whatever is available
in the lab). Make sure that the input voltage remains constant throughout the experiment
– adjust it if it does not (why might the source voltage change?). Make R2 = 100 ohms
instead of 120 (Why? Hint: Is the inductor ideal?). Using a DMM, measure the current in the
circuit. Using the current measurements, plot the power consumed by the load resistor R2 as a
function of capacitance. Comment on the results.

13
REPORT

As usual, present all of your results clearly and coherently. Include relevant diagrams and
graphs. Show all calculations and comment on all significant results. Where applicable,
comment on any discrepancies between simulations or hand-done calculations and what were
measured in the lab.

14
 MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND

Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science

Eng. 3821 Circuit Analysis

Exp. 3821-4 Frequency Response & Resonance

PURPOSE

1. To determine the frequency response of RC and RLC circuits.

2. To study resonance is a series RLC circuit excited by a sinusoidal source.

INTRODUCTION

The current and voltage responses in circuits containing inductors and capacitors (besides
resistors) are frequency-dependent because the impedances of the former elements vary with
frequency. Such circuits can be therefore used as "frequency-selective circuits" or filters - that
is, they respond to signals of different frequencies differently and can therefore be designed to
"pass" certain frequencies to a load or other parts of the circuit and to attenuate others. The study
of the frequency response of a network involves the consideration of the magnitude and phase of
the steady state voltages and currents as the frequency varies. An integral part of such a study
involves the concept of resonance - a condition in which a circuit response can be maximized by
adjusting either the circuit elements or the frequency of operation.

Guidelines for Prelab: Draw schematics for the circuits indicated in Figures 1a and 2. Use
source VSRC, AC=1. Since vin =1, vo itself will give the desired response. Some of the PSpice
parameters are shown on the diagram. Setup: AC Sweep, Linear and specify the frequency
range as shown in Figure 1b.

PRELAB

1. Let the circuit of Figure 1a be excited by a sinusoidal source whose frequency varies
from 10Hz to 40 kHz. Use PSpice to obtain a plot of | vo/vin|.
R1

1 kΩ 2

V1
vin 0.1uF C1
v0
AC = 1V

Figure 1a. RC Circuit

15
 Figure 1b. PSpice "simulation profile" for frequency sweeping.

2. Consider the circuit of Figure 2. Let the circuit be excited by a sinusoidal source
whose frequency can be varied form 100Hz to 100KHz. Use PSpice to obtain a plot of
| v0/vin | for two different values of R1 (47 and 220 ohms). Obtain the two required
plots on the same graph (by creating two circuits in the same Schematics file).
L1 C1
1 2
1mH 0.47u V01
V1
vin R1
v0
AC = 1V

Figure 2 RLC Series Circuit.

3. Calculate the resonant frequency and half-power frequencies of the circuit in Figure
3. Draw a phasor diagram (voltage across all elements at the resonant frequency).

16
 DMM 0.47μF 1.0 mH
1 2

vin 47Ω

Figure 3 Circuit for Part 3 of Prelab and Lab.

EXPERIMENT

1.1 Connect the circuit of Figure 1. Adjust the function generator to provide 3 V (6V
peak-peak) supply. For the source frequency varying from 60Hz to 20kHz, measure
v0 and vin for 12 different frequencies. Use the oscilloscope or counter to measure
the frequency accurately.

2.1 Experimentally determine | v0/vin | as a function of frequency for the circuit of

Figure 2 for values of R1 equal to 47 and 220 ohms. Take more readings near the
frequencies of interest. Use the DMM.

3.1 For the circuit of Figure 3 apply a 3 V (6V peak-peak) sinusoidal source. Vary the
source frequency and experimentally determine the resonant frequency and half-
power frequencies. Use the DMM to measure the current. Carefully note the point of
resonance and measure the magnitude and phase of all voltages (source & across
all circuit elements) at resonance using the oscilloscope. For phasor measurements,
you may have to follow the procedures of Lab. 3. Make sure the source voltage is
kept constant. Verify if the DMM can be used over the entire frequency range.

REPORT

1. Draw the frequency response of the RC circuit using your measurements. From your
plot, determine the half-power frequency and compare it with the theoretical value.
Compare the experimental plot with that obtained using PSpice. Suggest a possible
application of this circuit.

2. Draw the frequency response for the series RLC circuit. Compare this plot with the
plot obtained by the PSpice simulation. Discuss the influence of the value of the
resistance in the frequency response of the circuit. Suggest an application for this
circuit.

3. Compare the resonant frequency and bandwidth of the circuit based on your
experiment with that of the Prelab. Compare the calculated and measured voltage
phasors at resonance. Discuss the nature of the circuit at resonance using a suitable
phasor diagram based on your experiment.
17
 MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND

Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science

Eng. 3821 Circuit Analysis

Exp. 3821-5 Design of a Simple Filter

PURPOSE

1. To design a filter to pass a signal at a desired frequency and reject the signal at
another frequency.

2. To simulate this circuit in PSpice and study its frequency response.

3. To experimentally verify the performance of the filter.

INTRODUCTION

A filter is a frequency-selective device which allows certain frequencies to pass

through it while blocking or severely limiting others. It is possible to design simple
circuits using resistance, inductance and capacitance which act as filters. Here a study the
frequency response of a particular RLC circuit configuration is examined.

PRELAB

1. Consider the circuit of Figure 1. The circuit capacitors C1 and C2 are to be chosen
so that the circuit effectively transmits a 25-kHz signal and effectively blocks a
50-kHz signal.

• Calculate C2: The L1 and C2 parallel combination should be an open

circuit at 50 kHz (i.e. choose C2 so that the impedance of the parallel
combination is infinite).

• Calculate C1: Use the value of C2 determined above and minimize the
overall impedance of the circuit at 25 kHz.

2. In PSpice, simulate the circuit of Figure 1 using a sinusoidal source (VSRC with
AC=1) whose frequency varies from 10kHz to 60 kHz. The simulation should be
set up to do an AC sweep. Obtain a decibel plot of |V0/Vin| (see Figure 2). Use the
'cursor' features of PSpice to show the response of this circuit at the frequencies of
interest.

18
 L1
1 2
C1
2mH
C2
?
1 2
?

Vin R1
820
AC = 1

Figure 1 Frequency-Selective Circuit

Figure 2 Obtaining a decibel plot of the output/input magnitude ratio in PSpice.

EXPERIMENT

1. Construct the circuit of Figure 1. Use the components based on the Prelab. Adjust the
input for 5 V (peak; or 10 V peak to peak) sinusoidal. For the source frequency varying
from 10kHz to 60 kHz, measure V0 and Vin for 20 different frequencies using
Oscilloscope. In particular, carefully record the output voltages near the frequencies of
interest (20 kHz and 50 kHz).

REPORT

1. Plot the frequency response of the circuit you have designed based on your
measurements. Use Excel (or some other convenient software) to obtain the plot.
Compare the experimental plot with that obtained using PSpice. Discuss your results.

NOTE: Prelab and Lab Report must be submitted at the end of the Lab Session.

19