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Nodal analysis

Network analysis · Advanced · about 20 minutes · part of Zen’s Electronics Design Mastery

Pick a ground, name the unknown node voltages, and write KCL at each node in terms of conductances. Two nodes give two equations.

Nodal analysis: the circuit on the simulator's bench

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How it works

[ G11 G12 ; G21 G22 ] · [ VA ; VB ] = [ V1/R1 ; V2/R5 ]

G11 = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 = 2.455 mS, G12 = −1/R3 = −1 mS, G22 = 1/R3 + 1/R4 + 1/R5 = 1.97 mS

VA = 7.033 V, VB = 5.263 V

Try it on the bench

  1. Change R3. Both node voltages move, because R3 couples the two equations.
  2. Set V2 equal to V_B. No current flows in R5.

Parts on the bench

In the course

Zen’s Electronics Design Mastery, module “DC Circuit Analysis”.

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