Superposition

Monday, 13 August 2018

12:26 PM

• Based on the linear property of circuits
• Only one independent source is considered at a time
• The rest of the sources are set to zero (turned off)
• Dependent sources are therefore controlled

 

The superposition principle states that the voltage across (or current through) an element in a linear circuit is the algebraic sum of the voltages across (or currents through) that element due to each independent source acting alone

 

Steps:

1. Turn of all independent sources except one, by setting them to zero
2. Find the output (voltage/current).
3. Repeat for each independent source
4. Sum the outputs

 

Note

Superposition is only applicable to linear responses

Eg. Power not applicable to resistors (as they have a non-linear response)