Basic Circuit Analysis Research Articles

EDUPERES and GAMERES: A smart interactive education platform and digital gamification for basic circuit analysis

AbstractThis paper introduces Education Platform for Equivalent Resistance (EDUPERES) and Gamification of Equivalent Resistance (GAMERES), two different parts of a new computer aided education platform with interactive and imaginative design and game elements, which have been created during 4 years. In Vocational School of Transportation of Eskişehir Technical University, electrical circuit analysis is a compact course which exhaustively yet quickly covers all the DC and AC circuit concepts. During the course, it is observed that some students have difficulties in some basic capabilities such as calculation of equivalent resistance of either a standard or a compact circuit, dividing currents, and so on. More sadly, this inability spreads to the rest of the semester. This study aims to overcome this issue through a smart interactive education platform and gamification. The first part, that is, EDUPERES visualizes and animates the solutions of electrical circuits. To make the students exercise circuit questions, it provides an interface which simulates the comfort of using paper and pencil. This platform is powered by a smart algorithm to watch almost all of the actions of the students and to give prompt warnings. It allows students to transform the shapes of compact circuits during circuit reduction. The second part, that is, GAMERES imaginatively converts the circuit questions into action, competition, shooter, puzzle, and maze games. Via box plots and Mann–Whitney–Wilcoxon nonparametric tests, it is shown that EDUPERES and GAMERES can significantly increase students' learning. The success of EDUPERES and GAMERES is discussed with regard to previous studies and gamers' motivations.

Persistent mistakes in learning basic circuit analysis

Basic circuit analysis is a core course in most of the undergraduate engineering programs and is the prerequisite course for many other courses in the undergraduate electrical engineering program. Students enter into engineering schools with varying knowledge of the concepts of basic circuit analysis depending on whether they come from high school, CEGEP, or a technical college, etc. Many students from all engineering majors struggle to learn the concepts taught in these courses which creates challenges for both faculty members and students in courses when for which basic circuit analysis is a pre-requisite course. There is more research done in understanding the conceptual knowledge of physics of electricity and electric (and electronic) components and improving the instruction of basic circuit analysis concepts, but not enough work is done to understand the mistakes undergraduate electrical engineering students continue to make course after course. For this study, the authors look at the persistent problems in learning circuit analysis techniques by looking at students’ use of these techniques in three core courses in electrical engineering program namely electronics 1, electronics 2 and electromagnetic waves and guiding structures. Students’ responses to exam questions that specifically expected students to use these concepts are analyzed. The objective of the study was to analyze whether the understanding of the application of circuit analysis techniques get better as students continue to use these concepts in more courses and applications, or the problems persist. Results show that the students persistently make mistakes in applying KVL and KCL equations, nodal analysis, superposition theorem, voltage divider, and mesh analysis. Additionally, the results reveal that students persistently make mistakes in questions that involve the concepts of load and no load, open circuit, series components, parallel components, voltage drop across the current source, and voltage gain. It is noted that the mistakes made by students do not get much better as they continue taking more courses. The results of this study are important from many aspects. They are helpful to understand the continuing struggles of students and so are helpful to design pedagogy and assessment in a way that these concepts can be well explained. Thorough understanding of the concepts in a course that is as important as basic circuit analysis is important to achieve many engineering education goals including student retention, motivation, innovation, and inclusion.

Development and Delivery of an Electric Circuits Course Featuring Competency Based Assessment for First Year Engineering

Most common-core first year engineering programs in Canada include an introduction to electric circuits and electromagnetic physics. The launch of the RE-ENGINEERED first year program at the University of Saskatchewan has provided an opportunity to try something different in this arena. The RE-ENGINEERED program includes a “spine” of electric circuit analysis and the related physics that runs through both semesters of the first year.
 The modular and highly integrated structure of the RE-ENGINEERED program has allowed for accelerated courses that take advantage of timely learning in other courses. In the fall term, students are introduced to direct-current, resistive circuit analysis in a six-week, fifteen-contact-hour module. In the winter term, they experience an accelerated physics course which covers the electricity, magnetism, capacitance, and inductance concepts often taught in tandem with basic circuit analysis. The students then finish the winter term with an intensive course on alternating-current circuit analysis.
 The fall term course fully adopts the competency based assessment system of the RE-ENGINEERED program, and uses in-house-developed quizzes and tutorials on the most basic concepts and calculations to scaffold students to solving more complex circuit analysis problems. The course forgoes a hands-on lab component and focuses on circuit simulation using an open-source simulation package. Concurrent math and MATLAB courses introduce required linear algebra concepts just in time for use in the circuit analysis problems.
 This paper describes the development and delivery of the fall term course, including how the learning outcomes were synthesized and then used as the basis for the development of all other aspects of the course to ensure constructive alignment. Instructor and student impressions of the first delivery of the course are presented along how lessons learned will be applied to modify the course for future offerings.

Electric power transfer in spin-pumping experiments

Spin pumping has become an established method for generating voltages using magnetic dynamics. The standard detection method of spin pumping is based on open-circuit voltage measurement. In this study, we demonstrate that it is also possible to measure the associated electric current by using macroscopic closed circuitry. Using variable load resistors connected in series to the sample, we quantified the charge currents and associated electric power dissipation with respect to the load resistance. Through basic circuit analysis, we can describe spin-pumping cells as a non-ideal voltage source or an equivalent current source with an internal resistor.

A Computer Based Assessment System for Undergraduate Electrical Engineering Modules

Good assessment is an essential component of good learning. Marking test and exam papers for large classes is however a time-consuming and repetitive task. This paper reports on the design and implementation of a computer based assessment (CBA) system suitable for undergraduate engineering modules. This prototype CBA system is capable of automatically grading relatively open-ended analysis and design problems and is also relatively user friendly. This CBA system consists of two separate subsystems, namely a test delivery subsystem and an automatic grading subsystem (which is the contribution of this paper). Automatic grading of the student answer papers is performed in Matlab � . The grading subsystem can automatically grade typed student answers containing symbolic mathematical expressions as well as numeric answers. Grading is performed accurately, consistently and very fast compared to a human lecturer. Students are given partial credit for partially correct answers and feedback is given in a very intuitive form quite close to the traditional manner in a pen-and-paper test. The system has been successfully used to take final exams in a second year engineering module on basic circuit analysis.

Circuit Analysis with Multisim

This book is concerned with circuit simulation using National Instruments Multisim. It focuses on the use and comprehension of the working techniques for electrical and electronic circuit simulation. The first chapters are devoted to basic circuit analysis. It starts by describing in detail how to perform a DC analysis using only resistors and independent and controlled sources. Then, it introduces capacitors and inductors to make a transient analysis. In the case of transient analysis, it is possible to have an initial condition either in the capacitor voltage or in the inductor current, or both. Fourier analysis is discussed in the context of transient analysis. Next, we make a treatment of AC analysis to simulate the frequency response of a circuit. Then, we introduce diodes, transistors, and circuits composed by them and perform DC, transient, and AC analyses. The book ends with simulation of digital circuits. A practical approach is followed through the chapters, using step-by-step examples to introduce new Multisim circuit elements, tools, analyses, and virtual instruments for measurement. The examples are clearly commented and illustrated. The different tools available on Multisim are used when appropriate so readers learn which analyses are available to them. This is part of the learning outcomes that should result after each set of end-of-chapter exercises is worked out. Table of Contents: Introduction to Circuit Simulation / Resistive Circuits / Time Domain Analysis -- Transient Analysis / Frequency Domain Analysis -- AC Analysis / Semiconductor Devices / Digital Circuits

Parasitic capacitance influence of potential-sensing electrodes on four-electrode liquid impedance measurements

Four-electrode techniques are used to minimize the effects of electrode polarization on measurements of the frequency-dependent impedance of conductive solutions. Basic circuit analysis confirms that an ideal Schwan-type four-electrode measurement can theoretically determine the polarization-free impedance of a sample. However, circuit analysis including parasitic effects indicates that the input impedance of the potential-sensing electrodes will be a significant influence on the measurement. This is verified in experiments on conductive solutions employing measurements of the gain and phase between potential-sensing electrodes in a four-electrode arrangement. The electrode impedance is varied by adding capacitors in parallel with the probes. The combined theory and experimental data indicate that parasitic capacitance of the potential-sensing electrodes is non-negligible and will alter the measured capacitance at all frequencies and even distort conductivity measurements at high-frequencies. This result has significant implications for the feasibility of broadband measurements of liquids based on four-electrode impedance methods.

Fresh on the market [New Products

The goal of this book, according to the author's preface, is to bridge the gap between easy-to-read qualitative descriptions of electric power systems and formal engineering texts on a subject intended for electrical engineers. The book consists of about 300 pages and covers subjects such as: the physics of electricity; basic circuit analysis; AC power; power system components; power flow analysis; system performance; and new technology. While the book falls short of its goal to appeal to two very diverse audiences, it would be a valuable reference for an individual with a scientific or technical background who has little or no background in electric power systems but who finds a need for a conceptual introduction to the subject.

Basic engineering circuit analysis [Book Reviews

Basic engineering circuit analysis [Book Reviews

Benchmarking of a flux compression generator code

Science Applications International Corporation and the Air Force Research Laboratory are continuing development of a graphical design/simulation code for explosive flux compression generators (FCGs). "FCGSCA" is written in FORTRAN and Visual Basic and targets the Windows O/S (Microsoft, Chicago, IL). Basic physics principles and well-known circuit analysis techniques simulate generator-to-load performance; furthermore, FCGSCA incorporates an armature/stator inductance model, a "flux-loss" model, and a fairly detailed treatment of the stator winding resistance. FCGSCA includes a capability for modeling transformer coupling and fuze switching as part of various load configurations; additionally, the user can view overlays of time-history plots from one- or two-parameter variation studies. With reasonable costs in fidelity, this approximation permits quick system-level simulations that expedite FCG design and development. Herein, we primarily explain the ease-of-use of the FCGSCA interface and report on some benchmarking against the "Ranchito" generator that has been designed and tested by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

Basic Engineering Circuit Analysis [Book Reviews

Basic Engineering Circuit Analysis [Book Reviews

Book Review: Basic Engineering Circuit Analysis, 2nd Ed.

Book Review: Basic Engineering Circuit Analysis, 2nd Ed.

Basic Electric Circuit Analysis - D. E. Johnson, J. L. Hilburn, and J. R. Johnson [Book Reviews

The reviewer feels the presentation of material in this text is logical and easily understood. Some examples however, suffer due to brevity of explanation. It is often necessary to give very detailed explanations for beginning students and this book sometimes falls short of that. Perhaps the most confusing thing about the entire book is the introduction of operational amplifiers early in the book. The number of new concepts introduced in this course is large enough without adding one that might be better left for an introductory electronics course. The most often heard complaint from students using the text in the classroom was that a large number of exercises and problems refer to previous exercises or problems. Some of these referred to problems themselves referring to earlier problems. This means that the student must be paging back and forth to assemble all the information to work a given problem. It would be far better to repeat a circuit diagram or set of conditions than to have to search through the book so much to get the statement of a problem.

A Penetrating Gaze at One Open Phase: Analyzing the Polyphase Induction Motor Dilemma

Portions of the material proposed for a chapter in a new IEEE Standard (#399-the ``Brown Book'') being prepared by the Power System Analysis Subcommittee of the I & CPS Committee are presented. In order to establish a library of approved analytical methods, the material provides a review of the more important basic electrical circuit analysis techniques used for determining the voltage and current relationships which describe various power system network events and operating conditions. Certain simplified circuit arrangements are examined. They illustrate the power and merit of the analytical methods that evolve, as well as the errors that can occur because of improper regard for the restraints that apply. Using the analytical methods, the classical problem of a three-phase induction motor operating with one phase of the supply line open-circuited is studied in considerable detail. Finally, important observations and conclusions are presented regarding the motor protection requirements.

CAD for LSI

CAD for LSI design means a total package from basic circuit analysis up to programs which generate tapes for numerical controlled pattern generators and testing equipment.