ECE 320A
Circuit Theory
Required course: Yes
Course Level
Units
Instructor(s)
Prerequisite(s)
Course Texts
Electric Circuits, James W. Nilsson and Susan A. Riedel, Pearson Prentice Hall.
Schedule
Course Description
Steady-state power calculations, single-phase & three-phase circuits, Laplace transform, circuit analysis in the frequency domain, pole/zero analysis, convolution, impulse response, transfer function, frequency response, passive & active filter circuits, Bode plots, and Fourier series for circuit analysis.
Learning Outcomes
Specific Goals for the Course:
Outcomes of Instruction: By the end of this course the student will be able to:
- Calculate the complex power, in terms of real and reactive components, in single-phase sinusoidal, steady-state systems.
- Design a reactive load that improves a system’s power factor.
- Convert wye-connected reactive loads to delta-connected reactive loads and vice versa.
- Solve for line currents, line voltages, phase currents, and phase voltages in arbitrarily interconnected balanced, three-phase circuits.
- Convert a given electrical circuit into its s-domain equivalent representation.
- Apply the Laplace Transform operator to generic waveforms and calculate the Inverse Laplace Transform of a given s-domain expression.
- Solve for currents and voltages in generic RLC circuits.
- Model RLC circuits with transfer functions.
- Calculate the output waveform from an input waveform and a system’s transfer function.
- Apply the Initial Value Theorem and the Final Value Theorem.
- Convolve two waveforms.
- Design simple passive frequency selective filters.
- Sketch the Bode diagrams associated with a transfer function.
- Design active frequency selective filters.
- Develop a Fourier Series expansion for a periodic waveform.
- Calculate, using the Fourier Series concept, a linear system’s output response when a periodic input waveform is applied to the linear system, if time permits
Course Topics
- Sinusoidal steady-state power calculations
- Balanced three phase circuits
- Introduction to the Laplace transform
- Circuit analysis in the frequency domain
- Convolution and impulse response
- Bode plots and frequency response
- Introduction to frequency-selective circuits
- Active filter circuits
- Fourier analysis of circuits with periodic inputs
Relationship to Student Outcomes
ECE 320A contributes directly to the following specific electrical and computer engineering student outcomes of the ECE department:
1. An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
4. An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
7. An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.