THEVENIN’S

THEOREM
 STATEMENT

“Any two terminal linear network or circuit can be represented with

an equivalent network or circuit, which consists of a voltage source
in series with a resistor.”
 EXPLANATION OF THEVENIN’S THEOREM
If the circuit contains multiple independent sources, dependent sources, and resistors, then the response in an element can be
easily found by replacing the entire network to the left of that element with a Thevenin’s equivalent circuit.

I
.
A I
.
A
+ RTh
+
Two terminal VTh Load
V Load V
linear circuit
.- .-
B B
Two terminal linear circuit Thevenin’s equivalent circuit

Thevenin’s equivalent circuit resembles a practical voltage source. Hence, it has a voltage source in series with a resistor.
i. The voltage source present in the Thevenin’s equivalent circuit is called as Thevenin’s equivalent voltage or
simply Thevenin’s voltage, VTh.
ii. The resistor present in the Thevenin’s equivalent circuit is called as Thevenin’s equivalent resistor or simply Thevenin’s
resistor, RTh.
 EXPLANATION OF THEVENIN’S THEOREM

Method 1
Follow these steps in order to find the Thevenin’s equivalent circuit, when only the sources of independent type are
present.
Step 1 − Consider the circuit diagram by opening the terminals with respect to which the Thevenin’s equivalent circuit is to
be found.
Step 2 − Find Thevenin’s voltage VTh across the open terminals of the above circuit.
Step 3 − Find Thevenin’s resistance RTh across the open terminals of the above circuit by eliminating the independent
sources present in it.
Step 4 − Draw the Thevenin’s equivalent circuit by connecting a Thevenin’s voltage VTh in series with a Thevenin’s
resistance RTh.
 EXPLANATION OF THEVENIN’S THEOREM
Method 2
Follow these steps in order to find the Thevenin’s equivalent circuit, when the sources of both independent type and
dependent type are present.
•Step 1 − Consider the circuit diagram by opening the terminals with respect to which, the Thevenin’s equivalent circuit is
to be found.
•Step 2 − Find Thevenin’s voltage VTh across the open terminals of the above circuit.
•Step 3 − Find the short circuit current ISC by shorting the two opened terminals of the above circuit.
•Step 4 − Find Thevenin’s resistance RTh by using the following formula.

𝑉𝑇ℎ
𝑅𝑇ℎ =
𝐼𝑆𝐶
•Step 5 − Draw the Thevenin’s equivalent circuit by connecting a Thevenin’s voltage VTh in series with a Thevenin’s
resistance RTh.
 EXAMPLE 1
Find the load current (𝑹𝑳 ) using Thevenin’s theorem.

Solution:-
Step 1 − Open the load resistor (5Ω) and find the voltage across the load terminals. Since the terminals are open-circuited,
no current will flow through the 3Ω resistor. So the Thevenin’s voltage will be the voltage drop across 8Ω resistor.
 EXAMPLE 1
Find the current through 8Ω resistor and then calculate the Thevenin’s voltage.
24
I= ⇒ 2.4𝐴
2+8
𝑉𝑇ℎ = 𝑉8Ω = 2.4 ∗ 8 ⇒ 19.2𝑉

Step 2 - Find the Thevenin’s equivalent resistance of the network which is seen from the load terminals. Here replace the 24V
voltage source by a short circuit to find the equivalent resistance.

In the above diagram, 8Ω and 2Ω resistors are connected in parallel and this combination is in series with 3Ω resistor. By
network reduction techniques, the equivalent resistance is calculated as follows.
8∗2
𝑅𝑇ℎ = 𝑅𝑒𝑞 = + 3 ⇒ 4.6Ω
8+2
 EXAMPLE 1
Step 3 - Now draw the Thevenin's equivalent circuit for the given circuit. Draw the Thevenin's voltage in series with Thevenin's
resistance and add the load resistor in series with the circuit.

Since 4.6Ω and 5Ω resistors are connected in series. So, simply apply ohms law to find the load current.

𝑉𝑇ℎ 19.2
𝐼𝐿 = = ⇒ 2𝐴
𝑅𝑇ℎ + 𝑅𝐿 4.6 + 5
The current through 5Ω load resistor is calculated as 2 Amperes.
 EXAMPLE 2
Calculate the current through 6Ω load resistor using Thevenin's theorem.

Before proceeding the steps to solve Thevenin's theorem, simplify the circuit if possible. Convert current source into its
equivalent voltage source So, the simplified circuit with the voltage source is given below.
 EXAMPLE 2
Step 1 - To find Thevenin's voltage, remove the load resistor (6Ω) and find the voltage across the terminal AB.

The voltage at terminal AB will be the subtraction of voltage drop occurs at 10Ω resistor from the 48V voltage source.
By solving mesh equations, you will get the current flows in the circuit. From the current you can calculate the voltage drop at
10Ω resistor.
48 − 10𝐼 − 5𝐼 − 24 = 0
−15𝐼 = 24
𝐼 = 1.6𝐴
𝑉𝑇ℎ = 𝑉𝐴𝐵 = 48 − (1.6 ∗ 10) ⇒ 32𝑉
 EXAMPLE 2
Step 2- Remove the load resistor and find the equivalent resistance of the network seen from the open circuited terminals.
In order to perform the calculation, short the 48V, and 24V voltage sources and then calculate the resistance.

Here the 10Ω and 5Ω resistors are connected in parallel. So the effective resistance will be as given below.

10 ∗ 5
𝑅𝑇ℎ = 𝑅𝑒𝑞 = ⇒ 3.33Ω
10 + 5
 EXAMPLE 2
Step 3- Draw the Thevenin's voltage in series with Thevenin's resistance and add the load resistor in series with the circuit as
shown below.

𝑉𝑇ℎ 32
𝐼𝐿 = = ⇒ 3.43𝐴
𝑅𝑇ℎ + 𝑅𝐿 3.33 + 6
The load current is calculated as 3.43 amperes