network theorem 2



Thevenin’s Theorem

Thevenin’s Theorem states that it is possible to simplify any linear circuit, no matter how complex, to an equivalent circuit with just a single voltage source and series resistance connected to a load. The qualification of “linear” is identical to that found in the Superposition Theorem, where all the underlying equations must be linear (no exponents or roots). If we’re dealing with passive components (such as resistors, and later, inductors and capacitors), this is true. However, there are some components (especially certain gas-discharge and semiconductor components) which are nonlinear: that is, their opposition to current changes with voltage and/or current. As such, we would call circuits containing these types of components, nonlinear circuits.
Thevenin’s Theorem is especially useful in analyzing power systems and other circuits where one particular resistor in the circuit (called the “load” resistor) is subject to change, and re-calculation of the circuit is necessary with each trial value of load resistance, to determine voltage across it and current through it. Let’s take another look at our example circuit:

Let’s suppose that we decide to designate R2 as the “load” resistor in this circuit. We already have four methods of analysis at our disposal (Branch Current, Mesh Current, Millman’s Theorem, and Superposition Theorem) to use in determining voltage across R2 and current through R2, but each of these methods are time-consuming. Imagine repeating any of these methods over and over again to find what would happen if the load resistance changed (changing load resistance is very common in power systems, as multiple loads get switched on and off as needed. the total resistance of their parallel connections changing depending on how many are connected at a time). This could potentially involve a lot of work!
Thevenin’s Theorem makes this easy by temporarily removing the load resistance from the original circuit and reducing what’s left to an equivalent circuit composed of a single voltage source and series resistance. The load resistance can then be re-connected to this “Thevenin equivalent circuit” and calculations carried out as if the whole network were nothing but a simple series circuit:

. . . after Thevenin conversion . . .

The “Thevenin Equivalent Circuit” is the electrical equivalent of B1, R1, R3, and B2 as seen from the two points where our load resistor (R2) connects.
The Thevenin equivalent circuit, if correctly derived, will behave exactly the same as the original circuit formed by B1, R1, R3, and B2. In other words, the load resistor (R2) voltage and current should be exactly the same for the same value of load resistance in the two circuits. The load resistor R2 cannot “tell the difference” between the original network of B1, R1, R3, and B2, and the Thevenin equivalent circuit of EThevenin, and RThevenin, provided that the values for EThevenin and RThevenin have been calculated correctly.
The advantage in performing the “Thevenin conversion” to the simpler circuit, of course, isthat it makes load voltage and load current so much easier to solve than in the original network. Calculating the equivalent Thevenin source voltage and series resistance is actually quite easy. First, the chosen load resistor is removed from the original circuit, replaced with a break (open circuit):

Next, the voltage between the two points where the load resistor used to be attached is determined. Use whatever analysis methods are at your disposal to do this. In this case, the original circuit with the load resistor removed is nothing more than a simple series circuit with opposing batteries, and so we can determine the voltage across the open load terminals by applying the rules of series circuits, Ohm’s Law, and Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law:



The voltage between the two load connection points can be figured from the one of the battery’s voltage and one of the resistor’s voltage drops, and comes out to 11.2 volts. This is our “Thevenin voltage” (EThevenin) in the equivalent circuit:

To find the Thevenin series resistance for our equivalent circuit, we need to take the original circuit (with the load resistor still removed), remove the power sources (in the same style as we did with the Superposition Theorem: voltage sources replaced with wires and current sources replaced with breaks), and figure the resistance from one load terminal to the other:

With the removal of the two batteries, the total resistance measured at this location is equal to R1 and R3 in parallel: 0.8 Ω. This is our “Thevenin resistance” (RThevenin) for the equivalent circuit:

With the load resistor (2 Ω) attached between the connection points, we can determine voltage across it and current through it as though the whole network were nothing more than a simple series circuit:

Notice that the voltage and current figures for R2 (8 volts, 4 amps) are identical to those found using other methods of analysis. Also notice that the voltage and current figures for the Thevenin series resistance and the Thevenin source (total) do not apply to any component in the original, complex circuit. Thevenin’s Theorem is only useful for determining what happens to a single resistor in a network: the load.
The advantage, of course, is that you can quickly determine what would happen to that single resistor if it were of a value other than 2 Ω without having to go through a lot of analysis again. Just plug in that other value for the load resistor into the Thevenin equivalent circuit and a little bit of series circuit calculation will give you the result.

Norton’s Theorem

Norton’s Theorem states that it is possible to simplify ny linear circuit, no matter how complex, to an equivalent circuit with just a single current source and parallel resistance connected to a load. Just as with Thevenin’s Theorem, the qualification of “linear” is identical to that found in the Superposition Theorem: all underlying equations must be linear (no exponents or roots).
Contrasting our original example circuit against the Norton equivalent: it looks something like this:

. . . after Norton conversion . . .

Remember that a current source is a component whose job is to provide a constant amount of current, outputting as much or as little voltage necessary to maintain that constant current.
As with Thevenin’s Theorem, everything in the original circuit except the load resistance has been reduced to an equivalent circuit that is simpler to analyze. Also similar to Thevenin’s Theorem are the steps used in Norton’s Theorem to calculate the Norton source current (INorton) and Norton resistance (RNorton).
As before, the first step is to identify the load resistance and remove it from the original circuit:

Then, to find the Norton current (for the current source in the Norton equivalent circuit), place a direct wire (short) connection between the load points and determine the resultant current. Note that this step is exactly opposite the respective step in Thevenin’s Theorem, where we replaced the load resistor with a break (open circuit):

With zero voltage dropped between the load resistor connection points, the current through R1 is strictly a function of B1‘s voltage and R1‘s resistance: 7 amps (I=E/R). Likewise, the current through R3 is now strictly a function of B2‘s voltage and R3‘s resistance: 7 amps (I=E/R). The total current through the short between the load connection points is the sum of these two currents: 7 amps + 7 amps = 14 amps. This figure of 14 amps becomes the Norton source current (INorton) in our equivalent circuit:

Remember, the arrow notation for a current source points in the direction opposite that of electron flow. Again, apologies for the confusion. For better or for worse, this is standard electronic symbol notation. Blame Mr. Franklin again!
To calculate the Norton resistance (RNorton), we do the exact same thing as we did for calculating Thevenin resistance (RThevenin): take the original circuit (with the load resistor still removed), remove the power sources (in the same style as we did with the Superposition Theorem: voltage sources replaced with wires and current sources replaced with breaks), and figure total resistance from one load connection point to the other:

Now our Norton equivalent circuit looks like this:

If we re-connect our original load resistance of 2 Ω, we can analyze the Norton circuit as a simple parallel arrangement:

As with the Thevenin equivalent circuit, the only useful information from this analysis is the voltage and current values for R2; the rest of the information is irrelevant to the original circuit. However, the same advantages seen with Thevenin’s Theorem apply to Norton’s as well: if we wish to analyze load resistor voltage and current over several different values of load resistance, we can use the Norton equivalent circuit again and again, applying nothing more complex than simple parallel circuit analysis to determine what’s happening with each trial load.

Thevenin-Norton equivalencies

Since Thevenin’s and Norton’s Theorems are two equally valid methods of reducing a complex network down to something simpler to analyze, there must be some way to convert a Thevenin equivalent circuit to a Norton equivalent circuit, and vice versa (just what you were dying to know, right?). Well, the procedure is very simple.
You may have noticed that the procedure for calculating Thevenin resistance is identical to the procedure for calculating Norton resistance: remove all power sources and determine resistance between the open load connection points. As such, Thevenin and Norton resistances for the same original network must be equal. Using the example circuits from the last two sections, we can see that the two resistances are indeed equal:





Considering the fact that both Thevenin and Norton equivalent circuits are intended to behave the same as the original network in suppling voltage and current to the load resistor (as seen from the perspective of the load connection points), these two equivalent circuits, having been derived from the same original network should behave identically.
This means that both Thevenin and Norton equivalent circuits should produce the same voltage across the load terminals with no load resistor attached. With the Thevenin equivalent, the open-circuited voltage would be equal to the Thevenin source voltage (no circuit current present to drop voltage across the series resistor), which is 11.2 volts in this case. With the Norton equivalent circuit, all 14 amps from the Norton current source would have to flow through the 0.8 Ω Norton resistance, producing the exact same voltage, 11.2 volts (E=IR). Thus, we can say that the Thevenin voltage is equal to the Norton current times the Norton resistance:

So, if we wanted to convert a Norton equivalent circuit to a Thevenin equivalent circuit, we could use the same resistance and calculate the Thevenin voltage with Ohm’s Law.
Conversely, both Thevenin and Norton equivalent circuits should generate the same amount of current through a short circuit across the load terminals. With the Norton equivalent, the short-circuit current would be exactly equal to the Norton source current, which is 14 amps in this case. With the Thevenin equivalent, all 11.2 volts would be applied across the 0.8 Ω Thevenin resistance, producing the exact same current through the short, 14 amps (I=E/R). Thus, we can say that the Norton current is equal to the Thevenin voltage divided by the Thevenin resistance:

This equivalence between Thevenin and Norton circuits can be a useful tool in itself, as we shall see in the next section.

Milman’s Theorem revisited

You may have wondered where we got that strange equation for the determination of “Millman Voltage” across parallel branches of a circuit where each branch contains a series resistance and voltage source:

Parts of this equation seem familiar to equations we’ve seen before. For instance, the denominator of the large fraction looks conspicuously like the denominator of our parallel resistance equation. And, of course, the E/R terms in the numerator of the large fraction should give figures for current, Ohm’s Law being what it is (I=E/R).
Now that we’ve covered Thevenin and Norton source equivalencies, we have the tools necessary to understand Millman’s equation. What Millman’s equation is actually doing is treating each branch (with its series voltage source and resistance) as a Thevenin equivalent circuit and then converting each one into equivalent Norton circuits.

Thus, in the circuit above, battery B1 and resistor R1 are seen as a Thevenin source to be converted into a Norton source of 7 amps (28 volts / 4 Ω) in parallel with a 4 Ω resistor. The rightmost branch will be converted into a 7 amp current source (7 volts / 1 Ω) and 1 Ω resistor in parallel. The center branch, containing no voltage source at all, will be converted into a Norton source of 0 amps in parallel with a 2 Ω resistor:

Since current sources directly add their respective currents in parallel, the total circuit current will be 7 + 0 + 7, or 14 amps. This addition of Norton source currents is what’s being represented in the numerator of the Millman equation:

All the Norton resistances are in parallel with each other as well in the equivalent circuit, so they diminish to create a total resistance. This diminishing of source resistances is what’s being represented in the denominator of the Millman’s equation:

In this case, the resistance total will be equal to 571.43 milliohms (571.43 mΩ). We can re-draw our equivalent circuit now as one with a single Norton current source and Norton resistance:

Ohm’s Law can tell us the voltage across these two components now (E=IR):



Let’s summarize what we know about the circuit thus far. We know that the total current in this circuit is given by the sum of all the branch voltages divided by their respective currents. We also know that the total resistance is found by taking the reciprocal of all the branch resistance reciprocals. Furthermore, we should be well aware of the fact that total voltage across all the branches can be found by multiplying total current by total resistance (E=IR). All we need to do is put together the two equations we had earlier for total circuit current and total resistance, multiplying them to find total voltage:

The Millman’s equation is nothing more than a Thevenin-to-Norton conversion matched together with the parallel resistance formula to find total voltage across all the branches of the circuit. So, hopefully some of the mystery is gone now!

Maximum Power Transfer Theorem

The Maximum Power Transfer Theorem is not so much a means of analysis as it is an aid to system design. Simply stated, the maximum amount of power will be dissipated by a load resistance when that load resistance is equal to the Thevenin/Norton resistance of the network supplying the power. If the load resistance is lower or higher than the Thevenin/Norton resistance of the source network, its dissipated power will be less than maximum.
This is essentially what is aimed for in stereo system design, where speaker “impdance” is matched to amplifier “impedance” for maximum sound power output. Impedance, the overall opposition to AC and DC current, is very similar to resistance, and must be equal between source and load for the greatest amount of power to be transferred to the load. A load impedance that is too high will result in low power output. A load impedance that is too low will not only result in low power output, but possibly overheating of the amplifier due to the power dissipated in its internal (Thevenin or Norton) impedance.
Taking our Thevenin equivalent example circuit, the Maximum Power Transfer Theorem tells us that the load resistance resulting in greatest power dissipation is equal in value to the Thevenin resistance (in this case, 0.8 Ω):

With this value of load resistance, the dissipated power will be 39.2 watts:

If we were to try a lower value for the load resistance (0.5 Ω instead of 0.8 Ω, for example), our power dissipated by the load resistance would decrease:

Power dissipation increased for both the Thevenin resistance and the total circuit, but it decreased for the load resistor. Likewise, if we increase the load resistance (1.1 Ω instead of 0.8 Ω, for example), power dissipation will also be less than it was at 0.8 Ω exactly:

If you were designing a circuit for maximum power dissipation at the load resistance, this theorem would be very useful. Having reduced a network down to a Thevenin voltage and resistance (or Norton current and resistance), you simply set the load resistance equal to that Thevenin or Norton equivalent (or vice versa) to ensure maximum power dissipation at the load. Practical applications of this might include stereo amplifier design (seeking to maximize power delivered to speakers) or electric vehicle design (seeking to maximize power delivered to drive motor).

Δ-Y and Y-Δ conversions

In many circuit applications, we encounter components connected together in one of two ways to form a three-terminal network: the “Delta,” or Δ (also known as the “Pi,” or π) configuration, and the “Y” (also known as the “T”) configuration.

It is possible to calculate the proper values of resistors necessary to form one kind of network (Δ or Y) that behaves identically to the other kind, as analyzed from the terminal connections alone. That is, if we had two separate resistor networks, one Δ and one Y, each with its resistors hidden from view, with nothing but the three terminals (A, B, and C) exposed for testing, the resistors could be sized for the two networks so that there would be no way to electrically determine one network apart from the other. In other words, equivalent Δ and Y networks behave identically.
There are several equations used to convert one network to the other:

Δ and Y networks are seen frequently in 3-phase AC power systems (a topic covered in volume II of this book series), but even then they’re usually balanced networks (all resistors equal in value) and conversion from one to the other need not involve such complex calculations. When would the average technician ever need to use these equations?
A prime application for Δ-Y conversion is in the solution of unbalanced bridge circuits, such as the one below:

Solution of this circuit with Branch Current or Mesh Current analysis is fairly involved, and nither the Millman nor Superposition Theorems are of any help, since there’s only one source of power. We could use Thevenin’s or Norton’s Theorem, treating R3 as our load, but what fun would that be?
If we were to treat resistors R1, R2, and R3 as being connected in a Δ configuration (Rab, Rac, and Rbc, respectively) and generate an equivalent Y network to replace them, we could turn this bridge circuit into a (simpler) series/parallel combination circuit:

After the Δ-Y conversion . . .

If we perform our calculations correctly, the voltages between points A, B, and C will be the same in the converted circuit as in the original circuit, and we can transfer those values back to the original bridge configuration.



Resistors R4 and R5, of course, remain the same at 18 Ω and 12 Ω, respectively. Analyzing the circuit now as a series/parallel combination, we arrive at the following figures:

We must use the voltage drops figures from the table above to determine the voltages between points A, B, and C, seeing how the add up (or subtract, as is the case with voltage between points B and C):



Now that we know these voltages, we can transfer them to the same points A, B, and C in the original bridge circuit:

Voltage drops across R4 and R5, of course, are exactly the same as they were in the converted circuit.
At this point, we could take these voltages and determine resistor currents through the repeated use of Ohm’s Law (I=E/R):

A quick simulation with SPICE will serve to verify our work:


unbalanced bridge circuit
v1 1 0
r1 1 2 12
r2 1 3 18
r3 2 3 6
r4 2 0 18
r5 3 0 12
.dc v1 10 10 1
.print dc v(1,2) v(1,3) v(2,3) v(2,0) v(3,0)
.end