TO: Christopher McDaniel

FROM: Ryan Pearce

DATE: April 28, 2014
SUBJECT: Electrical Project Lab Report Memo


For this project, I was tasked with designing a simple voltage reduction circuit. The
circuit was to be fed an 18V DC voltage with a current of 0.0009 amps. At five nodes
along the circuit, the measured voltage needed to be within 5% of a specific voltage
value. These values were:

Node 1: 12.68 V
Node 2: 10.424 V
Node 3: 8.6282 V
Node 4: 2.2738 V
Node 5: 0 V

In order to successfully achieve the required voltage at each node, I first had to calculate
the equivalent resistance that would yield the correct voltage drop. I did this by dividing
the voltage drop by the amount of current flowing through the circuit. Using these
resistance values (in ohms), I used varying combinations of the 25 provided resistors in
both series and parallel configurations to achieve a resistance value within 5% of the
equivalent resistance I had previously calculated.

The circuit created using the results of my calculations was successful. The measured
values at each node during testing were:

Node 1: 12.51 V
Node 2: 10.28 V
Node 3: 8.5 V
Node 4: 2.2 V
Node 5: 0 V

These values corresponded to a maximum deviation of 3.25% between the required
voltage and measured voltage at the fourth node. Each of the other nodes was less than
1.5% off of the required voltage.



Sincerely,



Ryan Pearce
1201 Intern







Electrical Circuit Lab Report





Prepared for:

XLIX Engineering Design Firm

9201 University City Blvd
Charlotte, NC 28223

ENGR 1201-004





Prepared by:

Ryan Pearce





Date Submitted:

04/27/14




I have neither given nor received any unauthorized help on this assignment, nor
witnessed any violation of the UNC Charlotte Code of Academic Integrity.


1

Summary

The purpose of this project was to learn and apply the equations and their proper
application in the design and construction of a voltage divider circuit. The principles of
determining the equivalent resistance of a set of resistors in parallel, series, and even a
combination of the two, as well as the use of this equivalent resistance and a known
current value to determine the voltage drop of a source when applied to those resistors
were all applied.

The first part of the project involved using the aforementioned equations, such as Ohms
and Kirchhoffs laws, and equivalent resistance calculations to aid in the design of a
simple circuit composed entirely of resistors which successfully reduced an applied
constant DC voltage at a known current to specific values at several points along the
circuit. After the necessary equivalent resistance values were determined using voltage
laws to obtain the proper voltage drop, resistor combinations were created using
calculations for resistors in both parallel and series configurations to meet these
equivalent resistance values. The circuit was then built using a breadboard, jumper
wires, and a limited array of resistors of predetermined resistance values.

The circuit which was constructed during the first phase of the project was then
subjected to the voltage source previously mentioned and, using a digital multimeter, the
voltage at each node along the circuit was measured and compared to the target values
that had been given. Upon testing, each of the measured voltages fell within the
5% voltage range requirement that had been established.

The lessons learned from this project provided an introductory experience in some of the
processes used in the design and analysis of a simple electric circuit. This knowledge
will be beneficial as a basis for further learning and application in future courses and
possibly even independent electrical designs.


Introduction

For this project, specific instructions were given to design a circuit, which would provide
the necessary resistance to drop an 18V DC source to specific voltage values at five
nodes along the circuit path. Each of these values had to be met to within 5% to receive
full marks. Table 1 shows the voltage value required at each node for this particular
circuit.

Table 1. Node Voltage Requirements
Power Source Node 1 Node 2 Node 3 Node 4 Node 5
18V 12.68V 10.424V 8.6282V 2.2738V 0V

In order to construct this circuit, a breadboard, jumper wires, and a set of 25 resistors,
five resistors of each value, were provided. The provided resistors had resistance values
of 220 , 330 , 2200 , 3300 , and 10 K.




2

Research

1. Voltage and current division aid in the process of analyzing a circuit (Lamar
University Circuits Lab)

Voltage division allows one to determine what portion of an overall
voltage drop occurs across any one resistor (or even a group of resistors)
that is part of a series. This value can be calculated by dividing the
resistance of the particular resistor by the total resistance of the series
and multiplying that value by the total voltage drop of the series.

Current division allows for the calculation of what portion of the current
flowing through a circuit will flow through each branch of a group of
resistors in parallel. To determine this value, the sum of the resistance of
all resistors other than specific resistor (in the parallel group) is divided by
the equivalent resistance of the parallel group and multiplied by the total
current flowing through the circuit.

2. In a parallel group, the current is divided between each leg of the group, but the
voltage drop across each leg is equal. In a series, current remains the same and
voltage drops across each resistor according to its resistance value (Physics
Classroom).

3. Equivalent resistance can be used to effectively represent a group of resistors as
their equivalent, single resistor, resistance value. The way this value is calculated
differs depending on whether the resistors are in series or parallel (Physics
Classroom).

For a series, the equivalent resistance is the sum of the resistance of all
resistors in the series.
For parallel, the inverse of the resistance value for each leg is added. The
inverse of that value is then taken and the result is the equivalent
resistance.

4. Voltage drop across a resistor can be calculated using Ohms Law , where
the voltage drop is equivalent to the current flowing through the resistor, in
amperes, multiplied by the resistance value of the resistor, in ohms (Physics
Classroom).

5. Total current through a circuit is calculated by dividing the voltage coming out of
the power source by the total equivalent resistance of the circuit (Physics
Classroom).








3

Methods and Procedures

In order to create a successful voltage drop circuit, the first step was to calculate the
equivalent resistance values to drop the source voltage to the required voltage at the
next node.

Table 2 shows the calculated voltage drop at each node for the given circuit and
equivalent resistance required to achieve that drop. Equations (1-2) show the
corresponding calculations used to achieve these values.

(1) Voltage Drop: |

|

Ex.

| |

(2) Equivalent Resistance:

Ex.

Table 2. Voltage Drop and Equivalent Resistance per Node
Node 1 Node 2 Node 3 Node 4 Node 5
Voltage Drop
(V)
5.32 V 2.256 V 1.7958 V 6.3544 V 2.2738 V
Equivalent
Resistance
(R
eq
)
5911.11 2506.6 1995.3 7060.4 2526.4


Using equations (3-4) for equivalent resistance of resistors in series and parallel circuits,
combinations of resistors to achieve the calculated values within a range of 5% for
each node were then determined. Equation (5) was used to ensure the equivalent
resistance was within the margin of error for the node.

(3) Equivalent Resistance, Series:

(4) Equivalent Resistance, Parallel:

(5) Calculated (Theoretical) % Error:


|

( )

( )|

( )



Using these equations, and attempting to achieve equivalent resistance values within
just 1% margin of error to ensure a sizeable cushion, a final circuit design was devised
and implemented. A schematic for the final circuit is shown in Figure 1.

4

Figure 1. Final Circuit Schematic













5

Sample Calculations

1) Equivalent Resistance of Resistors in Series (Figure 2):


Figure 2. Series Resistors



Ex.

2) Equivalent Resistance of Resistors in Parallel (Figure 3):


Figure 3. Parallel Resistors


Ex.

[ ]

3) Ohms Law (Using node 1 of circuit):

Voltage:

Ex.

Current:

Ex.

Resistance:

Ex.






6

4) Kirchhoffs Current Law (Figure 4): Current In = Current Out


Figure 4. Kirchhoffs Voltage Law


Ex.

5) Kirchhoffs Voltage Law (Figure 5):




Figure 5. Example Circuit


Ex. ( ) [


]



Observations and Results

The final circuit design was tested using an 18 V DC power source and a current of
0.0009 A. The circuit was tested at each indicated node along the breadboard to
measure that nodes voltage.
7

Upon testing, the circuit was confirmed to produce values within the 5% margin of error
at each of the five nodes. Table 3 shows both the target and measured voltage values at
each node, as well as the percent difference at each node.


Table 3. Test Results
Voltage Divider
Node
Target Voltage
(V)
Measured Voltage
(V)
% Error
1 12.68 V 12.51 V 1.34 %
2 10.424 V 10.28 V 1.38 %
3 8.6282 V 8.5 V 1.49 %
4 2.2738 V 2.2 V 3.25 %
5 0 V 0 V 0 %



Discussion

The values obtained during testing all fell well within the 5% margin of error. The
largest percent difference came at node 4, with a calculated error of 3.25 %. None of the
other nodes produced an error above 1.5 %. Further, with the decreasing voltage values
at each node and the limited precision of the voltage value provided by the multimeter, it
is entirely possible that a significant percentage difference increase could be attributed
to something as simple as a rounding error. For example, at a value of 2.2738 V, as in
node 4, rounding down from 2.24 V to 2.2 V could change the percent difference from
just 1.49 % to the 3.25 % indicated above.

Many lessons were learned from the design, construction and testing of this circuit. The
design portion of this project provided insight into the calculations used to determine
voltage drop across a resistance, calculation of the equivalent resistance of a set of
resistors and multiple other calculations that can be used to aid in the design of a circuit,
as well as their proper application in the design process. Testing also provided a
valuable, yet unexpected lesson. The values obtained through testing this circuit
provided feedback on just how important the precision of measured values could be
during testing and the level of variance that a relatively inaccurate measurement could
produce in the results.







8

Conclusion

The goal of this project was to design a voltage drop circuit to reduce an 18 V DC input
voltage at a specific current to several specified values along the circuits path. A limited
number of resistors in five resistance values were supplied, along with the other
necessary components and the proper equations, for the design and construction of this
circuit. The tested voltages at each of these points, or nodes, along the path were
required to be within a 5% range of the given values.

Using the equations (Ohms Law, etc.) for both calculating the proper resistance values
needed to drop the voltage to the required value and for calculating equivalent
resistance of resistors in series and parallel, an appropriate circuit design was created
and constructed. Testing of the circuit created for this 18 V load at 0.0009 A was
performed and measurements at each of the five nodes provided for this circuit showed
to be within the margin of error, with a maximum error of 3.25 %.

There were multiple lessons learned throughout this process, as well as a couple of
issues that arose that could be addressed to produce a more accurate analysis of a
constructed circuit. The proper use of equations such as Ohms and Kirchhoffs laws and
the calculation of equivalent resistors in series and parallel were learned. The
importance of more and more precise measurement equipment as values drop to ensure
accurate analysis was observed.

These basic lessons and results can all be used to aid in future circuit designs and
analyses.




9

References

"Experiment 2: Voltage and Current Division." Lamar University Circuits Laboratory.
http://ee.lamar.edu/EELABS/ELEN2107/Lab2.pdf (accessed April 15, 2014).
"Parallel Circuits." Parallel Circuits.
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/circuits/Lesson-4/Parallel-Circuits
(accessed April 15, 2014).