University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB)
Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh
EEE 1102: Electrical Circuits I Lab
Experiment No. 01
Title: Verification of Superposition Principle
Submitted By
Name: Kazi Afnan Wafa
Student ID: 242014123
Section: 02
Semester: 03
Lab Group: 02
Date: 19th March, 2025
Submitted To
MD Nizam Uddin Tanim
Lecturer
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB)
0
Experiment Name: Verification of Superposition Principle
OBJECTIVE:
Through this experiment, we have intended to verify the Superposition Principle using a
simple circuit. We have planned to do this by analyzing the contribution of individual voltage
sources to the total current and voltage in the circuit. This has been done by activating one
source at a time while deactivating the others and measuring the resulting currents and
voltages. Then, we have compared the sum of these individual effects to the actual values
obtained when all sources have been active simultaneously. We have also compared the
actual values with the ones we have calculated. Thus, using this process, we have intended to
validate the Superposition Principle.
THEORY:
If a circuit has two or more independent sources, one way to determine the value of a specific
variable (voltage or current) is to use nodal or mesh analysis. Another way is to determine the
contribution of each independent source to the variable and then add them up. The latter
approach is known as the superposition. The idea of superposition rests on the linearity
property [1].
The superposition theorem states the following: The current through, or voltage across, an
element in a linear bilateral network is equal to the algebraic sum of the currents or voltages
produced independently by each source [2].
The principle of superposition helps us to analyze a linear circuit with more than one
independent source by calculating the contribution of each independent source separately.
However, to apply the superposition principle, we must keep two things in mind:
1. We consider one independent source at a time while all other independent sources are
turned off. This implies that we replace every voltage source by 0 V (or a short circuit), and
every current source by 0 A (or an open circuit). This way we obtain a simpler and more
manageable circuit.
2. Dependent sources are left intact because they are controlled by circuit variables [1].
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APPARATUS:
1. Two DC power supplies.
2. Three resistors: two 1 kΩ resistors, one 3.3 kΩ resistor
3. Multimeter as Voltmeter
4. Multimeter as Ammeter
5. Wires
6. Breadboard
EXPERIMENTAL SETUP:
We have taken three resistors, two consisting of 1 kΩ and another one of 3.3 kΩ. We have
taken the first resistor to be R₁ = 1 kΩ, the second resistor as R₂ = 1 kΩ, and finally the third
resistor to be R₃ = 3.3 kΩ. We have connected R₁ and R₂ is series, and R₃ in parallel with both
of them on a breadboard with wires connecting to two DC power supplies.
Figure 1: Circuit Diagram.
PROCEDURES:
1. We have connected three resistors (R₁ = 1 kΩ, R₂ = 1 kΩ, and R₃ = 3.3 kΩ) on a
breadboard, arranging R1and R2in series, and R3 in parallel with the series
combination, as shown in Figure 1.
2. We have also connected the circuit to two DC power supplies along with an ammeter
and a voltmeter for measurement.
3. Then we have activated only the first power supply while keeping the second power
supply turned off. We have measured the resulting currents and voltages across each
resistor and recorded the readings in Table 1.
4. Next, we turned off the first power supply and activated the second power supply
while keeping the first one off. We have again measured the currents and voltages
across each resistor and documented the readings in Table 1.
5. Finally, we turned on both power supplies simultaneously and measured the total
current and voltage in the circuit. We compared the measured values to the sum of the
individual contributions from each power supply to verify the Superposition Principle.
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CALCULATION:
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DATA TABLE:
No. E1 E2 I / with only I// with only I with both E1 I= I/ + I//
of (V) (v) E1 active E2 active and E2 active
Obs (amps) (amps) (amps)
.
1. 5.0 8.0 0.68 1.02 1.68 1.7
2. 10.0 12.0 1.32 1.156 2.88 2.47
RESULT:
We have verified the Superposition theorem and we have calculated the current for each
observation, through our measurements. This has given us an error of 1.84% for our first
observation, and an error of 0.52% for our second observation, both of which are relatively
low. Therefore, this experiment can be considered successful.
PRECAUTIONS:
1. We have connected all elements in the circuit properly and tightly.
2. We have checked to ensure there were no zero errors in the instruments.
3. We have made sure the voltage source was in a safe working range within 0V and
20V.
4. We have connected the voltmeter in parallel to the resistor, and the ammeter in series.
5. We have checked to make sure there were no bags or water bottles nearby when we
were conducting the experiment, which may have caused an accident.
DISCUSSION:
In this experiment, we have tried to check if the Superposition Principle is correct by looking
at how different voltage sources affect the circuit. We have made a circuit using three
resistors and measured the voltage and current by turning on only one power supply at a time.
After that, we have turned on both power supplies together and checked if the total voltage
and current match the sum of the individual ones. There have been some small errors, like
slight differences in resistor values, problems with connections on the breadboard, and small
changes in the power supply output. But overall, the results have been close to what we
expected. This experiment has helped us understand that in a linear circuit, we can add up the
effects of different sources separately to get the final result. In the end, we have successfully
tested the Superposition Principle and have seen that it works.
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REFERENCES:
[1] C. K. Alexander and M. N. O. Sadiku, “Circuit Theorems,” in Fundamentals of electric
circuits, 4th edition, New York, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill, 2022, ch. 4, sec. 4.3, pp. 130-131.
[2] Robert L. Boylestad, “Network Theorems,” in Introductory Circuit Analysis, 10th ed.,
Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA: Pearson Education, 2002, ch. 9, sec. 9.2, pp. 321–323.
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SIGNED STUDENT WORKSHEET:
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