EEE 1

(Essentials of Electrical and

Electronics Engineering)

Lecture 4
Superposition, Thevenin and Norton Theorems

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
 Superposition Theorem
- Resistive circuits with independent sources are linear
circuits
- Linear relation: v = Ri
- If you multiply any of the independent sources by a
constant k, all current and voltage responses will
increase by the same factor k
- If dependent sources are also linear, the circuit will also
be linear
- Superposition is a consequence of linearity
x1 à y1
x2 à y2
x1+ x2 à y1 + y2

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
 Superposition Theorem
In any linear resistive network containing several sources,
the voltage across or the current through any resistor or
source may be calculated by adding algebraically all the
individual voltages or currents caused by each
independent source acting alone, with:
§ All other independent voltage sources à short circuits
§ All other independent current sources à open circuits

Note: 1) Extension: group of sources

2) Not applicable to power and other non-linear
responses

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
 Example

• Determine the output voltage V of the

following circuit.

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
- first consider the effect of the 15V source alone

200 // 50 40
V = 15 = 15 = 4.29 V
1 100 + 200 // 50 100 + 40

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
- next consider the effect of the 20V source alone

100 // 50 33.3
V = 20 = 20 = 2.86 V
2 200 + 100 // 50 200 + 33.3

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
- so, the output of the complete circuit is the sum of
these two voltages
+

V = V1 + V2 = 4.29 + 2.86 = 7.15 V

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
 Example
Use Superposition to find the current I.

4V
+ - 3W

+ 1W I +
Vx 2W - 5Vx
- 2A

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
Consider the 4-V source acting alone. From KVL,
we get

- 4 = 3Ia + 5Vx + 2Ia

4V
+ - 3W Vx = -2Ia
+ Ia +
Vx 2W - 5Vx which gives
-
Ia = 0.8 A

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
 Consider next the 2-A source acting alone.
3W We get
+ 1W Ib +
Vx = 2(2 - Ib )
Vx 2W - 5Vx
- 2A and

Vx = 3Ib + 5Vx
Solving simultaneously, we find Ib=3.2 Amps.
Applying superposition, we get

I = Ia + Ib = 4 A
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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
 Thevenin’s Theorem
Consider a linear circuit which can be represented
by two networks, A and B. Any dependent source
in network A is controlled by a current or voltage
variable in A. The same is true with network B.
x
Linear Linear
Network Network
A B
y
Network A can be replaced by a voltage source Vth
which is connected in series with a resistor Rth.

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
 Thevenin’s Theorem
Rth
x
+ Linear
Vth Network
- B
y
Vth= open-circuit voltage from terminal x to
terminal y, with network B removed
Rth= the equivalent resistance from terminal x
to terminal y, looking into network A, with
all independent sources reduced to zero.

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
 Norton’s Theorem
Consider a linear circuit which can be represented
by two networks, A and B. Any dependent source
in network A is controlled by a current or voltage
variable in A. The same is true with network B.
x
Linear Linear
Network Network
A B
y

Network A can be replaced by a current source In

which is connected in parallel with a resistor Rn.

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
 Norton’s Theorem
x
Linear
In Rn Network
B
y
In = short-circuit current from terminal x to
terminal y, with network B removed
Rn= the equivalent resistance from terminal x
to terminal y, looking into network A, with
all independent sources reduced to zero.
Vth
Note: R th = Rn =
In
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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
 Example
Determine Thévenin and Norton equivalent
circuits of the following circuit.

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
– if nothing is connected across the
output no current will flow in R2 so
there will be no voltage drop across
it. Hence Vo is determined by the
voltage source and the potential
divider formed by R1 and R3.
– if the output is shorted to ground, R2 is 30
V = = 15 V
in parallel with R3 and the current taken OC 2
from the source is 30V/15 kW = 2 mA.
This will divide equally between R2 and R3 ISC = 1mA
so the output current, and so
– the resistance in the equivalent
VOC 15 V
circuit is therefore given by R= = = 15 kW
ISC 1mA

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
 Equivalent Circuits
from Example:

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
 Example

Use Thevenin’s theorem to find Ix, the current

through the 20-W resistor.

1W 20W
+
Ix
27V 4W 5W 6A
-

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
First, find Vth. Remove the 20W resistor and find
the open-circuit voltage.
1W + Vth -
+ + -
27V 4W Vx Vy 5W 6A
- - +

Applying voltage division, we get

4
Vx = (27 V) = 21.6 V
4 +1
From Ohm’s Law, we get Vy = 6 (5) = 30 V. Thus,
Vth = Vx + Vy = 51 .6 V
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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
Next, find Rth . Remove the 20W resistor, reduce all
independent sources to zero, and find the equiva-
lent resistance from x to y.
1W x y

1(4) 4W
R th =5+ = 5.8 W 5W
1+ 4
The Thevenin equivalent circuit is shown.
5.8W
x
+
51.6V
-
y 20
EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
Finally, we return the 20W resistor and find the
current Ix.

5.8W x
+
51.6V Ix 20W
-
y

51.6
Ix = =2A
20 + 5.8
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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
 Example
Use Norton’s theorem to find Ix, the current
through the 20-W resistor.

1W 20W
+
Ix
27V 4W 5W 6A
-

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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
First, find In. Replace the 20W resistor with a short
circuit and find the current.
1W +Va

+
In
27V 4W 5W 6A
-

From KCL, we get REF

27 - Va Va VA
= + +6
1 4 5
which gives Va=420/29 Volts. The current In is
VA 258
In = +6 = A
5 29 23
EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)
The Norton equivalent circuit with the 20W resistor
is shown.
x

258
A 5.8W Ix 20W
29
y

5.8 æ 258 ö
Ix = ç ÷
20 + 5.8 è 29 ø
=2A
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EEE 1 (Essentials of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)