Internal Resistance and Matching in Voltage Source

Basic Principle
Both the terminal voltage of a voltage source and the current depend on the load, i.e. on the external
resistance. The terminal voltage is measured as a function of the current and from it the internal
resistance and no-load voltage of the voltage source are determined and the power graph plotted.

Related topics
Voltage Sources
A voltage source is any device or system that produces an electromotive force between its terminals
OR derives a secondary voltage from a primary source of the electromotive force. A primary voltage
source can supply (or absorb) energy to a circuit while a secondary voltage source dissipates energy
from a circuit. An example of a primary source is a common battery while an example of a secondary
source is a voltage regulator. In electric circuit theory, a voltage source is the dual of a current source.
Ideal Voltage Sources
In circuit theory, an ideal voltage source is a circuit element where the voltage across it is
independent of the current through it. It only exists in mathematical models of circuits. If the voltage
across an ideal voltage source can be specified independently of any other variable in a circuit, it is
called an independent voltage source. Conversely, if the voltage across an ideal voltage source is
determined by some other voltage or current in a circuit, it is called a dependent or controlled voltage
source. The internal resistance of an ideal voltage source is zero; it is able to supply or absorb any
amount of current. The current through an ideal voltage source is completely determined by the
external circuit. When connected to an open circuit, there is zero current and thus zero power. When
connected to a load resistance, the current through the source approaches infinity as the load
resistance approaches zero (a short circuit). Thus, an ideal voltage source can supply unlimited
power. No real voltage source is ideal (nothing is perfect); all have a non-zero effective internal
resistance, and none can supply unlimited current. However, the internal resistance of a real voltage
source is effectively modeled in linear circuit analysis by combining a non-zero resistance in series
with an ideal voltage source.
Cell
The simplest form of practical DC voltage source is the common cell, which is available in numerous
voltages and current ratings. More than one cell can be combined in series or parallel or series-
parallel to achieve greater voltage/current ratings. Such combinations are known as batteries.
Electromotive Force (e.m.f.)
When a voltage is generated by a battery, or by the magnetic force according to Faraday's Law, this
generated voltage has been traditionally called an "electromotive force" or emf. The emf represents
energy per unit charge (voltage) which has been made available by the generating mechanism and is
not a "force". The term emf is retained for historical reasons. It is useful to distinguish voltages which
are generated from the voltage changes which occur in a circuit as a result of energy dissipation, e.g.,
in a resistor. When the source is connected in a circuit some of the energy it supplies will be lost in
driving current across its own internal resistance, and so its terminal voltage (the potential difference
across its terminals) will be less than its emf. If a source's terminal voltage is V volts, the current it
supplies to a circuit I amperes, and its internal resistance r ohms, then its emf E can be expressed as:
E = V + Ir E = I(R + r)
where R is the total circuit resistance
Terminal Voltage
Potential difference (pd) or voltage across the terminals of a power supply, such as a battery of cells.
When the supply is not connected in circuit its terminal voltage is the same as its electromotive force
(emf); however, as soon as it begins to supply current to a circuit its terminal voltage falls because
some electric potential energy is lost in driving current against the supply's own internal resistance.
As the current flowing in the circuit is increased the terminal voltage of the supply falls.
No-load Operation(voltage matching)
If there is infinite resistance in the circuit than no current flows and there is no voltage drop over Ri
Re=∞
Ut=Uo
Short Circuit(current matching)
A short circuit is an abnormal low-resistance connection between two nodes of an electrical circuit
that are meant to be at different voltages. This results in an excessive electric current (overcurrent)
limited only by the Thevenin equivalent resistance of the rest of the network and potentially causes
circuit damage, overheating, fire or explosion. Although usually the result of a fault, there are cases
where short circuits are caused intentionally, for example, for the purpose of voltage-sensing crowbar
circuit protectors. In circuit analysis, the term short circuit is used by analogy to designate a zero-
impedance connection between two nodes. This forces the two nodes to be at the same voltage. In
an ideal short circuit, this means there is no resistance and no voltage drop across the short. In
simple circuit analysis, wires are considered to be shorts. In real circuits, the result is a connection of
nearly zero impedance, and almost no resistance. In such a case, the current drawn is limited by the
rest of the circuit.
Ohm’s Law
Current through an ideal conductor is proportional to the applied voltage
• Ohmic Resistors: Metals obey Ohm’s Law linearly so long as their temperature is held constant.
Their resistance values do not fluctuate with temperature.

Kirchhoff’s Laws
Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law
Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL) states that all voltage drops around any loop in any circuit sum to zero.
In mathematical form,

(1)
n

∑v
i=1
i =0

where the Vi in Eq. (1) are the voltages across the individual components in any circuit. As an
example of how to use Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law to solve a circuit, consider the circuit shown in Fig. 1.
There is only one loop which we will start at the VS – terminal. The loop goes through the DC source,
R1, R2 and finally R3 where it ends up at the starting point. IMPORTANT NOTE: The loop starts and
ends at the spot we picked. We could have picked any starting point and traveled in either
direction. The voltages and currents you calculate will have a sign that is dependent on the
direction of your loop. For example if a current ends up with a negative value it means the
current really flows in the direction that is opposite to the direction you picked for your loop.
This is considered a series circuit because all of the components are in series, i.e. there is only 1
loop. There are only voltages divisions in this series circuit. There is only 1 current that flows through
all of the resistors. There is no current division.
 V 1

R 1

V I1 R V

DC
S 2 2

R 3

V 3

Figure 1

If we apply Eq. (1) to the loop depicted in Fig. 1 we obtain the equation:

0 = −VS + V1 + V2 + V3 (2)
Kirchhoff’s Current Law
Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL) is a corollary to his voltage law. It states that all currents entering and
leaving any circuit node sum to zero. In words: A single node is all common interconnections
between parts and sources on a schematic. All of the interconnecting lines are the node. The node
stops where the parts / sources start. Mathematically, KCL says:
n

∑I
k =1
k =0 (3)

To solve a circuit with Kirchhoff’s Current Law, consider the circuit shown in Fig. 3 where we have
arbitrarily chosen the current IS, I1, I2, and I3 directions as shown. Remember if the calculated current
value is negative the current really flows in the direction opposite to the one you picked. This is called
a parallel circuit. There are only current divisions in this parallel circuit. There is only 1 voltage across
all of the resistors. There is no voltage division. This means VR1 = VR2 = VR3 = VS.

IS
V S

V R I1 R I2 R I3
DC

S 1 2 3

Figure 3

Apply Eq. (14) to the node symbolized by Vs. Call currents into the node positive and those out of the
node negative.

0 =IS −I1 −I2 −I3 (4)

IS =I1 +I2 +I3 (5)

Power Matching (resistance matching)

 Power matching is the electronics design practice of setting the internal resistance (Ri) of a voltage
source equal to the resistance (Re) of the load to which it is ultimately connected, usually in order to
maximize the power transfer and minimize reflections from the load.
when Ri=Re. This is a very important result in electrical engineering. Power transfer between a
voltage source and an external load is at its most efficient when the resistance of the load matches
the internal resistance of the voltage source. If the load resistance is too low then most of the power
output of the voltage source is dissipated as heat inside the source itself. If the load resistance is too
high then the current which flows in the circuit is too low to transfer energy to the load at an
appreciable rate. Note that in the optimum case Ri=Re only half of the power output of the voltage
source is transmitted to the load. The other half is dissipated as heat inside the source. Incidentally,
electrical engineers call the process by which the resistance of a load is matched to that of the power
supply resistance matching.
The concept of resistance matching was originally developed for electrical power, but can be applied
to any other field where a form of energy (not just electrical) is transferred between a source and a
load.
Tasks
1. Measure the terminal voltage Ut of a number of voltage source as a function of the current
varying the external resistance Re, and to calculate the no-load voltage U0 and the internal
resistance Ri.
1.1 Slimline battery 9V
1.2.1 Alternating voltage output 6 V
1.2.2 Direct voltage output 5 V
2. Measure directly the no-load voltage of the slimline battery (with no external resistance) and its
internal resistance (by power matching, Ri= Re).
3. Determine the power diagram from the relationship between terminal voltage and current.
Required Apparatus
Battery box
Flat cell battery, 9 V
Power supply 5 V DC
Power supply AC
Rheostat, 10 Ohm
Rheostat, 100 Ohm
Digital multimeter
Double sockets, 1 pair, red a. black
Connecting cord, 500 mm, red
Connecting cord, 500 mm, blue
Theoretical Background
Real voltage sources can be represented in the equivalent circuit diagram by an ideal voltage source
with no-load voltage U0 and internal resistance R1 connected in series .
If the voltage source is connected to an external resistance Re, then according to Ohm’s law a
current

The terminal voltage Ut is given by:

Ut = U0 – Ri
The regression lines with a linear portion in accordance with equation give the following values.

The external resistance Re determines the ratio of terminal voltage to current at the working point.
Re=Ut/I
We distinguish three types of load:
1: No-load: (voltage matching)
Re= ∞
No current flows and there is no voltage drop over Ri
Ut= U0
2: Short-circuit (current matching)
Re= 0
The voltage drops by U0 across the internal resistance, so that
Ut = 0
The short-circuit current that flows is:
Is=Uo/Ri
3: Power matching
(Resistance matching)
Re = Ri
In this case Ut=Uo/2 I=Is/2
The measurements taken with the slimline battery gave
U0 = 4.69 V ± 0.01 V
Ri = 1.50 Ω ± 0.01 Ω
The power diagram of a voltage source shows the mutually opposed relationships between terminal
voltage and current, and the derived power output, as a function of the external load. For this
purpose, the measured values are normalized with the corresponding characteristic quantities of the
voltage source.
It is normalized with the power absorbed by Ri in the event of a short-circuit
Po=Uo2/Ri
Terminal voltage as a function of the current

1) slimline battery 3) power supply, alternating voltage power supply, direct voltage
2) lead-acid accumulator (not included)
Note Ut on Y.axics and I on X-axics

Power diagram of a voltage source.

Experimental Setup ,Procedure and Measurement.
We Connect a variable resistor Re to the voltage source. (10 Ω rheostat ) as shown in fig.
 For convenience, vary the current . in 0.1 A steps for the slimline battery, and in 0.05 A steps for
power supply. Measure the terminal voltage Ut with the digital voltmeter. First we measure the no-
load voltage U0 directly, without external resistance. Than we note short circuit current Is. Then load
the voltage source (without the ammeter), with an external resistor Re. we Set Re so that
Ut=Uo/2
In this case the internal resistance is Ri= Re
Now by varying the resistance we go on measuring voltage and current.
Than draw a graph between them.

Result:
Chemical batteries have high resistance but power supply has low resistance.