ECE 170 Lab #5 Thevenin’s Theorem

Thevenin’s Theorem Lab

In this lab you will become familiar with one of the most important theorems in circuit analysis, Thevenin’s
Theorem.

Thevenin’s Theorem can be used for two purposes:

1. To calculate the current through (or voltage across) a component in any circuit,

or

2. To develop a constant voltage equivalent circuit which may be used to simplify the analysis of a
complex circuit.

Any linear one-port network can be “replaced with” a single voltage source in series with a single
resistor (see Fig. 1 below). The voltage source is called the Thevenin equivalent voltage, and the
resistor is called the Thevenin equivalent resistance. This means that the single voltage source and
series resistor must behave identically to the actual network it is replacing.

In this experiment, you will use Thevenin’s theorem to solve a complex DC circuit.

Figure 1 A network replaced with its Thevenin equivalent circuit

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ECE 170 Lab #5 Thevenin’s Theorem

The steps used for implementing Thevenin’s Theorem are listed below:

Step 1
Remove the resistor, R through which you wish to calculate the current or across which you want to know
the voltage. Label these terminals (where the resistor was removed) “a” and “b”. Calculate the voltage
that appears across these open terminals. This is called the open circuit voltage or the Thevenin
equivalent voltage, VTH.

+
VTH
−

Figure 2

Lets consider the example shown in Fig. 2. Use the voltage source, V1, and the voltage dividing network
made up of R4, R3 and R2. Here resistor R2 does not influence the voltage that appears across the a and
b terminals. This is because no current is drawn through R2 when measuing the voltage across the a
and b terminals. This leaves only R3 and R4. What is left looks remarkably like a series circuit. From the
kirchoff lab we know that the series circuit will divide V1 as given in Eq. 1.

R3
VTH  V1 (1)
R3  R 4

Step 2
From the open terminals, (“a” and “b”) calculate the resistance “looking back” from the open terminals
into the network. Each voltage source must be replaced by a resistor equal to the internal resistance of
the voltage source before the Thevenin resistance is evaluated. If RInternal = 0, then replace the voltage
source with a zero ohm resistor (short). This resistance is RTH.

RTH

Figure 3

Let us consider the example shown in Fig. 3. After the sources are removed we can find the resistance
“looking back” from the open terminals of the network by measuring the resistance with an ohmmeter
connected to terminals a and b. This is just like an equivalent resistance as we saw in the kirchoff lab.
We can also calculate this resistance. It is easiest to calculate the equivalent resistance starting from
the left side of the network shown in Fig. 3. We can see that R3 is in parallel with R4. Remember that
the resistance of 2 resistors in parallel is:

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ECE 170 Lab #5 Thevenin’s Theorem

R3R 4
RP  (2)
R3  R 4

This parallel resistance is in series with R2. This gives us a Thevenin resistance of:

R3R4
RTH   R2 (3)
R3  R 4

Now we have the components we need to create the Thevenin equivalent circuit shown in Fig. 1. Next
the load resistor is replaced and we can write the equations for the current and voltage this resistor is
exposed to. Fig. 4 shows the Thevenin equivalent circuit with the load resistor, R, replaced .

Figure 4

Step 3
From the Kirchoff lab we know the current through R is:

VTH
IR  (4)
RTH  R

and the voltage across R is:

VTHR
VR  IR  (5)
RTH  R

VTH is the Thevenin equivalent voltage obtained in Step 1, RTH is the Thevenin equivalent resistance
obtained in Step 2, and R is the load resistor removed in Step 1.

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ECE 170 Lab #5 Thevenin’s Theorem

Instructional Objectives

1. To work through the procedural steps involved in Thevenin’s theorem.

2. To verify the values obtained by measuring them using the digital multimeter.
3. To construct a Thevenin equivalent circuit.

Procedure

We will run through 12 steps to use Thevenin’s theorem to find the current through R3 shown in Fig. 5.

1. Building the circuit and doing measurements:

a. Measure R1, R2 and R3 using Digital Multi Meter (DMM)

R1 = ________KΩ, R2 = _________KΩ, R3= _________KΩ

b. Configure AWG1 to output 5V DC.

c. Connect the circuit as shown in Figure 5.

R1 A
3.3K

5V R2 R3
10K VR3 I R3
AWG1 6.2K

B
GND
Figure 5

d. Measure the voltage across R3 (VR3) using DMM. Record the voltage and use the measured
value of R3 to Calculate IR3:

VR3 = ___________________V IR3 = VR3/R3 = __________________A

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ECE 170 Lab #5 Thevenin’s Theorem

2. Analyzing the circuit.

a. Referring to Fig. 6, which is Fig. 5 with R3 removed, calculate VTH for Fig. 6, showing all
work.
R1 A
3.3K

5V R2
AWG1 10K
VTH

B
GND
Figure 6

b. VTH = ________________________(calculated)

c. Verify the real Thevenin equivalent voltage by measurement. Construct the circuit shown in
Fig. 6. Measure and record VTH.

VTH = ____________________________(measured)

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ECE 170 Lab #5 Thevenin’s Theorem

3. Measuring RTH by removing the source and replacing it with a short circuit.

a. Construct the circuit in Fig. 7, which is the circuit in Fig. 5 with R3 removed and AWG1
replaced by a short circuit (RINTERNAL assumed 0).
R1 A
3.3K

R2
10K

B
GND
Figure 7

b. Calculate RTH in Fig. 7, showing all work.

RTH = _________________________(calculated)

c. Verify your RTH calculation by measurement. Connect the circuit in Fig. 7. Measure and record
the equivalent resistance (RTH) measured between terminals A and B.

RTH = _________________________(measured)

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ECE 170 Lab #5 Thevenin’s Theorem

4. Drawing the Thevenin equivalent circuit.

a. Use your calculated values for VTH and RTH. Label this Fig. 8.

Figure 8

b. Calculate IR3 using the Thevenin equivalent circuit from Fig. 8.

VTH
I R3  (6)
R TH  R3

c. Compare the current calculated in procedure 1.d and the current calculated in procedure 4.b.
Find the reasons for any discrepancy.

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ECE 170 Lab #5 Thevenin’s Theorem

5. Building Thevenin equivalent circuit

a. Build the circuit of Fig. 8. Obtain a resistor for RTH as close as possible to its calculated value.

b. Measure the value of RTH using DMM

RTH=____________________ Ω

c. Measure the voltage across RTH (VRTH)

VRTH=___________________ V

d. Measure the voltage across R3 (V3)

VR3=___________________ V

e. Calculate the current through RTH and R3 (The resistors are in series so the same current
flows through them) using measured values of VTH and RTH

ITH = IR3 = VRTH/RTH= _____________________A

f. Compare these measured results with the results of steps 4. Find the reasons for any
discrepancies.

Post Lab Questions

1. What is meant by the word "equivalent" in Thevenin Equivalent circuits?

2. What is the practical value of Thevenin Equivalent circuits? Give several practical applications
in which Thevenin Equivalent circuits are used.

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ECE 170 Lab #5 Thevenin’s Theorem

3. For the following circuit, use Thevenin’s theorem to find the current through R.
Show the Thevenin equivalent circuit you used and the values of RTH and VTH you obtained.