Engineering and design

Electrical Circuits & Devices

Module code: H6098
Level 4
15 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Laboratory, Workshop, Lecture
Assessment modes: Computer based exam, Coursework

On this module you’ll be introduced to the fundamentals of electrical engineering.

The main aim of this module is to introduce you to the basic concepts of circuit theory and help you develop an in-depth understanding of the behaviour of electrical circuits built of basic components, such as resistors, inductors and capacitors.

The module provides you with essential techniques to analyse electrical circuits, such as:

  • node voltage and loop current methods
  • Thevenin and Norton equivalent circuits
  • transient analysis of RL, RC and RLC circuits
  • phasor techniques for AC steady-state analysis.

You’ll learn how electrical circuits and devices work, as well as how they are designed, analysed, built and tested. You’ll develop your knowledge and understanding in the field of electrical circuits and devices which have several applications, such as in electrical and electronics, electromechanics, communications, robotics and automotive engineering.

Module topics include:

  • DC circuits – Ohm's law, Kirchhoff's laws, node and mesh analysis, Thvenin's theorem, Norton's theorem, superposition principle
  • AC circuits – inductance (L) and Capacitance (C), sinusoidal steady-state, phasors
  • energy dissipation and storage
  • frequency response of R-L, R-C and R-L-C circuits, resonance
  • transient response of R-L, R-C and R-L-C circuits
  • operational amplifiers – inverting, non-inverting and differential amplifiers, integrators and differentiators, simple filters
  • semiconductor devices – diodes, junction transistor as a switch, Boolean algebra, Karnaugh maps, Combinational logic
  • simple circuit applications – rectifiers.

Module learning outcomes

  • Demonstrate understanding of electrical circuit principles
  • Demonstrate understanding of electrical circuit designs
  • Design electrical circuits to a specification
  • Build and test circuits in the laboratory