Introduction
In practice, the electrical circuits may
consists of one or more sources (Voltage or Current) of energy, and number of electrical
parameters (EX: Resistors, Inductors, Capacitors), that are connected in different
ways (Series, Parallel, Series-Parallel). The combination of various sources of
energy and elements forms a complicated electrical circuit i.e; generally
referred as Networks. The term
circuit and network are used synonymously in the electrical terminology. And
the circuit analysis means to find the response (Current through or voltage
across) any branch of the circuit.
Here we shall define some of the basic elements which are commonly
associated with a network.
NETWORK:
Any
arrangement of the various electrical energy sources along with the different
circuit elements is called an Electrical
network.
NETWORK ELEMENT:
Any
individual circuit element with two terminals which can be connected to other
circuit element is called a network
element.
Network Elements can be either
a)
Active
Elements
b)
Passive
Elements
a)
Active
Elements are the elements which supply Power or Energy to the Network.
EX: Voltage Source and
Current Source
b)
Passive
Elements are the elements which either store energy or dissipate energy
in the form of heat.
EX: Resistor, Inductor and
Capacitor
Resistor is the element which
dissipates energy in the form of heat.
Inductor and Capacitor are the elements which stores energy.
BRANCH: A part of the network
which connects the various points of the network with one another is called a Branch. A branch may consist of more
than one element. In figure, AB, BC, AD, BD and CD are the branches.
JUNCTION POINT: A point where three or more branches meet
is called a Junction Point. From
Figure, B becomes junction point.
NODE:
Nodes
are classified into two types.
a a) Principle
Node
b) Simple
Node
c c) Reference
Node
Principle
Node
is the point at which three or more elements are joined together is called as
Principle Node. From figure B is the reference node.
Simple
Node
is the point at which two or more elements are joined together is called as
Simple Node. Nodes A and C are the simple nodes.
Reference
Node From the circuit shown D becomes the reference Node or Datum
Node.
The Junction points are also the nodes of the network.
MESH or LOOP:
Mesh and Loop are one and the same but there is a slight difference between
Mesh and Loop.
Mesh
is a set of branches forming a closed path in a network in such a way that if one
branch is removed then remaining branches do not form a closed path.
A loop
can be defined as a closed path which originates from a particular node ,
terminating at the same node, travelling through various other nodes, without
travelling through any node twice. From figure, ABDA and BCDB are the two loops
of the network.
Fig: An Electrical Network
