Solving Circuits Using Kirchhoffs Laws

R.D. Gomez

As with most math questions, it helps to have a method or an

algorithm for solving circuit problems. The purpose of this essay is to
teach you one such method.

The first step is to identify what are given and what needs to be
solved. From here, the goal is to set up a series of independent
equations whose number is equal to the number of unknowns. Too few
will not be adequate to fully determine the values of the unknowns,
and too many will be a waste of effort since some of the equations can
be derived from the others, i.e., not all equations are linearly
independent. So therefore, one needs to be able to follow a technique
that guarantees just the right number. There are just three laws that
are needed to assemble the equations. These are the terminal relations
for the components, KVL and KCL laws.

Terminal Relations
One can imagine that there are many different components in an
electrical circuit, but happily, we can get very far by understanding just
3 passive components the resistor, the capacitor and the inductor.
Each of these has their unique terminal relations, or the relationship
between the current through the device and the voltage or potential
difference across it.

, for a resistor with resistance R,

v iR
, for capacitor with capacitance C,
dv
iC
dt
, for an inductor with inductance L.
di
v L
dt

Notice that two of them involve differentiation with respect to time, so

that we expect them to take effect whenever the circuit quantities are
time dependent. They are responsible for why we enjoy myriad
applications of electricity. Without them, applications will be limited to
lights and stoves, hardly enough to advance human civilization.

What these equations tell us is that if we know two of the quantities,

say the inductance L and the current, we can figure out the other,
which in this case is the voltage. It is also important to note that we
can also use the inverse operation. For instance, if the current and the
capacitance are given, we can derive the voltage to within an
integration constant. So really, if we know how to differentiate and
integrate, these relations are quite easy to implement.

Kirchhoffs Laws

Gustav Kirchhoff first published his work on electrical networks in 1845

while a student studying under Franz Neumann at Albertus University
of Knigsberg in present day Kaliningrad. In his dissertation, he
extended the work of Georg Ohm who developed a theory of electrical
conductivity based on analogy with heat conduction. He used the
concept of conservation of charge, which was posited 100 years earlier
by the American Ben Franklin. Kirchhoffs work is even more impressive
since the fundamental carrier of electrical current the electron, was
not discovered until 1897, 50+ years after his publication. But the true
significance lies in the simplicity, the immediate practical use and the
longevity of his discovery. Engineering and science students have and
will continue to learn his laws centuries after he discovered them. They
are simply very useful.

KVL Kirchhoffs Voltage Law states that the algebraic sum of all
voltages in a closed circuit loop is equal to zero or,
,
N

v 0 n
i1

where n is the index for each element and N is the total number of
components.
It means that in any closed circuit, the total voltage drop across all
passive components in the path of the loop is equal to the voltage
supplied by the sources. This is really a restatement of conservation of
energy. To see this, one simply needs to multiply the equation with e,
the electron charge, and the terms will have units of eV or electron
volts, which is energy. (1 eV = 1.6 x10-19 J). Thus, the rule can be
interpreted, as the energy consumed by the passive devices in the loop
must be equal to the energy supplied by the source or sources that are
part of the loop. If all we have are resistors for passive components,
then it is easy to see that the source will constantly supply energy to
them. But sometimes, things get more interesting. In the case of the
other passive component that has time time-dependence, there could
be an energy exchange between the source and component. There are
times when the components absorb energy from the source and there
are times when they give it back. Regardless, energy is always
conserved.
In using KVL, there are important rules that we need to follow to keep
everything straight. First is the all-important adjective algebraic sum.
This means that the voltages will have unique signs (+ or -) as you
write them down. We have to keep track of the polarity; else things will
go out of whack. Although there are other conventions, we will adapt
the so-called PASSIVE SIGN CONVENTION. Simply put, the + side of
the terminal in a passive device is where current enters it, whereas the
+ side of the terminal of a source is where the current leaves the
source. This is illustrated the example below.

Figure 1. Circuit 1. Simple source and 2 resistors in series.

It does not matter where you start your loop or which sense, clock wise
or counter-clockwise, as long as you end up at the same spot while
writing voltages along the way. In this case, we chose to start the loop
at the negative terminal of the source and in a clockwise sense. We
get,

vo vR1 vR2 0

The algebraic sign is the polarity of terminal when to come across it in

going through the loop. If we start at the positive terminal in the
clockwise direction, we get

.
vR1 vR2 vo 0

Now suppose we start at the same spot but go in the CCW sense, we
obtain
vo vR1 vR2 0 .
They are all the same.

The other important insight in using KVL is that you should not worry if
the loop contains other branches. Since your loop does not pass
through those devices, you simply ignore them as though they never
existed in the first place. Why, because there is another set of
equations that will take care of them. Its called KCL Kirchhoffs
current law.

KCL

KCL accounts for the currents that meet up on intersections of

branches, which are called nodes,
 ,
N

i n 0
i1

This law states that the algebraic sum of all currents in any node must
equal zero. Again, notice the adjective algebraic. This means that you
have to take into consideration the signs of the current going in and
out of the node. + sign is assigned when current is going into the node,
and a sign is used when current is exiting the node. This law is really
a restatement of the conservation of charges. The amount of charges
flowing into a node must be equal to the number of charges flowing
out, just like a road intersection. If this were not the case, in our driving
analogy, then there will be cars that disappear or appear in road
crossings. There may be future technologies that would make this
possible, but for now, this is very weird.

A node is defined as a point where the current from two or more

devices meet. If there are only two, this is called a trivial node and KCL
simply implies that the current coming out of one component is exactly
the current going into the other. This is used to immediately reduce the
number of unknowns in the problem. In the circuit example above, we
note that we initially have 3 unknown currents io, the current from
the source, iR1, the current flowing in R1 and iR2, the current flowing
in R2. However, there are three trivial nodes in the circuit. The first is
the intersection between the source and R1, the second is the
intersection between R1 and R2, and the third is the intersection
between R2 and the source. KCL on the first node states that

,
io iR1 0

and KCL on the second node states that

.
iR1 iR2 0

Together, they state that

.
io iR1 iR2

KVL on the third node states that

,
iR2 io 0
which we already know about from the previous two relations.
Therefore, this equation is superfluous. This is a feature of circuits. In
general, you will have 1 extra node that is not needed. Therefore, if M
is the number of nodes, one needs to do KCL on only M-1 nodes.

Writing the linear equations

Let us now formulate a simple systematic technique to guarantee that

we can write down the correct number of equations. First, list the
unknown quantities, paying no attention to whether some nodes are
trivial. In the circuit above, assuming that the voltage source, vo and
the resistance values R1 and R2 are given, then we have the following
unknowns. The currents through the elements,

io,iR1, iR2

and the voltages across them

.
vR1, vR2

We have a total of 5. At this point you might be wondering why we are

going to so much trouble if we can solve this simple problem in much
easier ways. Do not be impatient, since the technique you are learning
here will be useful in more complex circuits where easier solutions
can be elusive. Now, since we have 5 unknowns, we need 5 equations.
Where can we get these? We have 2 equations by using the terminal
relations for the resistor (Ohms Law, v=iR); we get another 1 from KVL
on the loop and the other 2 from the nodes (3-1=2).

Let us use these concepts in a bit more interesting circuits. But before
doing so, there are a few things to keep in mind, which will make life
easier. First, you need to identify all the unknowns. Next, you need to
identify all nodes. In identifying nodes, keep in mind that what might
look like distinct nodes is actually one node. For example, if two nodes
are connected (or shorted) by a wire (which we assume has no
resistance), they are still considered to be one node. This is true
regardless of how far away the nodes are drawn in the circuit. Some
people ignore this, thinking that labeling a few extra nodes is harmless.
In this case, over-counting would be fatal. The other insight has to do
with the loops. You can imagine that even in slightly complicated circuit
topologies, there will be a bewildering number of loops you can make.
After all, KVL loops only require that it begin and end at the same
place. How can you chose the just the right set of loops to ensure that
you can get the equations you need? The answer is that you have to
identify the simple loops that comprise your circuit, in order words; you
have to think of the circuit as a collection of simple loops that comprise
a mesh. A simple loop has the structure in circuit 1. It is intuitively
simple, since a simple loop does not contain any other components
that connect two nodes in the loop. Like a wire fence, a simple loop
creates the individual squares that comprise the mesh. By considering
all simple loops, it will ensure that you will get the right number of KVL
equations.

Let us now reiterate. First, figure out the unknowns and list them. Then
use KVL on all the simple loops or mesh, and then use KCL on all nodes
minus one. It is a usual trick to leave the node that has the largest
number of current branches going into it. Then use the terminal
relations to supply the rest of the needed equations. This should
suffice. But let me introduce a few short cuts that would readily reduce
the number of unknowns and thus lessen the number of simultaneous
equations to solve. Look carefully at your nodes. If they are trivial, i.e.,
connecting two and only two components, then the same current flows
in both components. Instead of labeling individual currents, i.e., iR1
and iR2 in Circuit 1, experienced engineers simply say that this is i1, or
the current in a branch that includes R1 and R2. This trick will instantly
reduce the number of unknowns by the number of trivial nodes. The
other shortcut involves trivial loops. A trivial loop is one that contains
two and only two elements. In this case, the voltage across each
element is the same. Hence, the number of trivial loops further
reduces the number of unknowns. But do not worry so much if you
forget these time saving tricks. As long as you are able to apply the
rules, you should be able to solve the problems correctly. Albeit, using
more equations and spending a little more computational time. For our
purposes, this is fine, although if you are designing a software system
to solve circuit problems, reducing the number of unknowns quickly is
of paramount importance.

An Example Circuit

Let us now illustrate with an example.

Figure 2. Circuit 2.
The first step is to recognize that we have 10 unknowns, namely

iV1, iR1, iR2 , iR3,iR4, vI 1, vR1, vR2 , vR3, vR4 .

The 10 equations we will need will be comprised of 4 from the terminal

relations

vR1 iR1R1, vR2 iR2 R2, vR3 iR3 R3, vR4 iR4 R4 .

Three will come from KVL equations from the 3 loops in the mesh, and
three will be from KCL from 3 of the 4 nodes.

The next step is to draw the current directions in any way you like. And
based assign polarity of the terminals of the passive components
based on PSC. For the voltage source, it is convenient to draw current
as emanating from the + terminal, and for the current source, the
positive terminal is assigned to be the bottom terminal since the
picture depicts that current emanates from this terminal. The result of
this action is

Figure 3. Circuit 2 with assumed current directions and corresponding

terminal voltage polarity.
Note that you could have defined the current directions differently, but
this will not make any difference in the final result.

At this point, since we know that the terminal relations relate the
current and voltages, we can reduce the number of unknowns to solve
by 4. We can either solve for the all the currents (iR1-iR4, and vI1, the
voltage of the current source), a total of 5 unknowns, or alternatively,
we can solve for all the voltages (vR1-vR4 and VI1). Whichever set you
choose is up to you.

In this case let us choose solve for the currents and vI1, given the
values of the resistors and the voltage and current source. Let us
perform KVL on all 3 simple loops. For clarity, we labeled the loops with
roman numerals. I: is comprised of the voltage source V1, R1, R4 and
R2; II: contains R2 and R3, III: contains R3, R4 and the current source
I1. In each case, we start at the lower corner and proceed in the CW
direction. Incidentally, this is also called loop-tracing direction. We
obtain,

I: vS1 vR1 vR4 vR2 0

Or using Ohms Law, we express the voltage in terms of the current,

I : vS1 iR1R1 iR4 R4 iR2 R2 0 (Eq. 1)

For loops II and III, it is easy to obtain

II : iR2 R2 iR3 R3 0 (Eq. 2)
III : iR4 R4 vI 1 iR3 R3 0 (Eq. 3)

Let us now derive the equations from KCL.

A: iV1 iR1 0 (Eq. 4)
B : iR1 iR4 I S1 0 (Eq. 5)
C : iR2 iR3 iR4 0 (Eq. 6).

Node A is trivial, and all the Eq. 4 says is that iV1=iR1, and so, we can
reduce the number of unknowns from 6 to 5, namely iR1iR4, vS1.
Similarly, Loop II is trivial. All it says is that the voltage across R2 is the
same as R3, so we do not need to calculate iR3 separately. Thus, the
number of independent equations has gone from 5 to 4.

Solving a set of 4 linearly independent equations is not hard and most

people can do it. But at the risk of angering your pre-calculus teacher,
let us solve this problem using matrices with the help of MatLab. By
learning this method, we can solve as many equations are we want
fairly effortlessly.

Let us arrange the equations so that the known values are on the right
side of the equation, and that the variables are ordered starting from
iR1 to the left, and VS1 on the right. We also substitute the actual
values of the resistors. And importantly we substitute, iR3=(iR2R2)/R3
every time it occurs. The result is,

iR1 (100) iR2 (200) iR4 (200) 1V

iR2 (200) iR4 (200) vS1 0
iR1 iR4 1A
200
iR2 iR2 iR4 0
100

This can be represent as a matrix equation given by

100 200 200 0 iR1
1V

0 200 200 1 iR2 0
1
0 1 0 iR4 1A
0 3 1 0 vS1 0

This is in the form of a matrix equation

Ax B

and from which, we can solve for the unknown matrix, x by

x A1B .

In MatLab, we accomplish this by

> A=[100, -200, 200, 0; 0, 200, -200, -1; 1, 0, -1, 0; 0, 3, 1, 0]

> B =[1;0;1;0]
> x=inv(A)*B
0.72

.09
x
0.27
72
>
Therefore,
iR1 720mA
iR2 90mA
iR4 270mA
vI 1 72V
It also follows that iR3=iR2(R2/R3)=180mA.

Lets check with our circuit simulator to see if it is correct. Using DC

Solver, we obtain

which is exactly what we got. You can then be assured that Circuitlab
gives the right answer.

Final Comments

As you saw, using KCL/KVL and terminal relations is not very difficult.
However it requires adherence to rigid laws and conventions, and it is
highly recommended that you practice solving many problems to
become proficient. In our example, we started with known sources and
resistances and calculated the currents and the voltage across the
current source. But does not have to be this situation all the time. In
fact, a more interesting design problem is when one has to use this
technique to figure out a parameter, say the value of one of the
resistances, to maintain a given current through the resistance. In this
case one of the unknown quantities has changed but the total number
of unknowns has remained the same. The other pitfall that novices
need to watch out for is the confusion between the tracing direction
and the assumed current directions. The tracing direction is what you
use in applying KVL, the assumed current directions are the ones which
define the algebraic sign of the voltages. And finally, in comparing with
simulations, one must recognize that simulation packages calculate
voltages on the nodes and not the voltages across components. It also
uses Kirchhoffs laws and terminal relations, but uses the intrinsic
efficiency of nodal analysis to calculate the results. In the case of the
last example, one has to realize that the voltage across the device is
really the difference of voltages between nodes. For instance, vI1=
vnode_D-vnodeB. The simulation shows that the voltage at nodeD=0, at it
should since we defined this node as ground and nodeB=-72V. Hence
the voltage across the current source is +72V which is exactly what
our analysis shows.