Electrical Principles - Chapter 5: Kirchhoff's Current and Voltage Laws

Publish Date: Mar 27, 2013 | 0 Ratings | 0.00 out of 5

Overview
The Electrical Principles/Fundamentals series present the basic theories and concepts taught at entry level electronics courses at both 2 year and 4 year institutions. This series of content provides examples to professors to enable them to easily teach concepts to students, who can develop a solid underlying knowledge of electronics using the NI solution. This series focuses on some of the basic theory as well as providing the NI Multisim circuits to enable practical implementation end experimentation as homework for students.

Table of Contents
1. In this Chapter 2. Example Courses 3. Kirchhoffs Current Law (KCL) 4. Kirchhoffs Voltage Law (KVL) 5. Example Problem 6. Suggested NI Solution 7. References

1. In this Chapter
We begin this chapter by exploring a couple of the basic rules of circuit analysis: Kirchhoffs Current and Voltage Laws. We will use the NI Multisim circuit teaching environment to verify our calculated results with example circuits that can be used by any educator or student. If you do not have NI Multisim installed on your computer, you can download a free 30 day evaluation at http://www.ni.com/multisim/try/

2. Example Courses
Listed below are example courses that teach this concept at their schools. Course Name Electrical Principles Electronic Technology 1 School Conestoga College Macomb Community College Learn More http://www.conestogac.on.ca/fulltime/0071.jsp http://www.macomb.edu/noncms/Search/Courses/coursekey.asp?coursekey=ELEC-1161)

3. Kirchhoffs Current Law (KCL)

Kirchhoffs Current Law (Kirchhoffs First Law) states that the current entering a point in a circuit is equal to the summation of the currents exiting [1].

4. Kirchhoffs Voltage Law (KVL)

Kirchhoffs Voltage Law (Kirchhoffs second law) states that the summation of all voltage drops in a closed loop must equal to zero which is a result of the electrostatic field being conservative [2].

5. Example Problem
Let us now examine the below circuit and apply Kirchhoffs Laws to determine the currents and voltage drops then use NI Multisim to verify our calculated values. STEP 1: Open circuit file kirchhoff_example.ms12. You will notice the circuit below [3].

Answer Sub-Step 1: Determine the currents I 1 and I2 passing through each resistor. To apply KCL, begin by labelling the junctions in our circuit, J1 and J2. Then we label the currents as I, I1 and I2 in an arbitrary direction as shown in the figure below. (Direction of currents will be confirmed once we complete the problem).

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Junction J1: I = I1 + I2 (equation 1) Junction J2: I1 + I2 = I (which is the exact same equation we got from J1 above) Answer Sub-Step 2: Determine the voltage drops VR1 and VR2 across each resistor. Begin by labelling the loops as loop A and loop B as shown below.

Loop A: (start from the upper left corner and move clockwise) -I1 x (100 ) + 1.5V = 0 (equation 2) Therefore: I1 = 0.015 A Loop B: -9V I2 x (200 ) + I1 x (100 ) = 0 (equation 3) Substituting the value of I1 into equation 3 yields: -9 I2 x (200 ) + (0.015)(100 ) = 0 -7.5 = (200) x I2 therefore: I2 = -0.0375 A And then I = -0.0225 A Note that the negative sign of the current indicates that the arbitrary direction we chose is the opposite of the actual direction the current is flowing in. Answer Sub-Step 3: Determine the values of V R1 and VR2 based on our calculated values for I 1 and I2 VR1 = I1 x R1 = (0.015 A) x (100 ) therefore VR1 = 1.5V VR2 = I2 x R2 = (-0.0375 A) x (200 ) therefore VR2 = -7.5V STEP 2: Open circuit file kirchhoff_example_current.ms12 using NI Multisim then open each individual multimeter by double-clicking on each device and choosing the A button to measure the current. Then, simulate the circuit by clicking on the run button or choosing Simulation>>Run Simulation.

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Looking at the measured values in NI Multisim we find that they are almost equal to the calculated results above and that is due to the fact that in the real world the ammeter has its own resistance. Therefore in simulation, NI Multisim replicates that real world behaviour to help you understand the behaviour of such equipment in the physical lab. STEP 3: Open circuit file kirchhoff_example_voltage.ms12 using NI Multisim. Again double-click on each multimeter to open its screen and choose V button to measure the voltage. Then, simulate the circuit.

You can see here that the voltages measured by the voltmeters are equal to the calculated results thus confirming and verifying the KVL and KCL rules.

6. Suggested NI Solution
National Instruments offers a number of products that combine to provide a scalable and powerful teaching platform for educators. The solution includes: NI Multisim circuit teaching environment: Combining an intuitive circuit definition environment, with powerful SPICE simulation technology, educators can use NI Multisim to easily teach the ins-and-outs of circuits in a safe environment. NI ELVIS teaching and measurement platform allows educators to provide students with a compact, all-in-one unit for their measurement and analysis needs. Combining an oscilloscope, function generator, DMM, bode analyzer and 8 other instruments into a small platform; it simplifies the laboratory experience for students and lab instructors.

7. References
[1] University of Guelph, Department of Physics. DC Circuits. Kirchhoffs Current Law. [http://www.physics.uoguelph.ca/tutorials/ohm/Q.ohm.KCL.html]. (18/01/2013) [2] University of Guelph, Department of Physics. DC Circuits. Kirchhoffs Voltage Law. [http://www.physics.uoguelph.ca/tutorials/ohm/Q.ohm.KVL.html]. (18/01/2013) [3] Spartnotes. SAT Physics. Circuits. [http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/physics/chapter14section5.rhtml]. (18/01/2013)

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