Student Usage of Interactive Learning Tools in an Online Linear Circuit Analysis Textbook

Introduction to Linear Circuit Analysis and Modelling

Technical note: Measuring separation efficiency of flotation circuits using linear circuit analysis

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">In the electrification of automotive and commercial vehicles, batteries are replacing internal combustion engines (ICE) with a battery only power system. The current process uses Linear Circuit Analysis (LCA) and assumes a passive load. The electronics are also assumed to have a constant input voltage from the source. A battery is not capable of providing constant input voltage under automotive use cases resulting in LCA not be applicable for all cases. The non-constant battery voltage will also influence the way electronics are modelled. One specific instance is an EV especially with the traction drive motors where the power demands are considered non-passive.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The research will show the discharge behavior of batteries and the results of each of these discharge modes. The research will classify loads as either passive loads or non-passive loads and use the conservation of energy to model non-passive loads with a battery.</div></div>

The wye-to-delta (Y–Δ) transformation is part of every circuit analysis course. In electric circuits textbooks, the transformation is found by comparing the two networks and making sure that the resistance between each pair of nodes in one network is the same as the resistance between the same pair of nodes in the other network. The two networks are compared as open-circuit networks. This creates confusion among students because usually the network is part of a larger closed-circuit network. In this paper, an alternative method is proposed. The new method starts from one configuration and finds the corresponding equivalent configuration by deriving currents and voltages, as part of a closed circuit. This method can be adopted in circuit analysis courses to help students develop a deeper understanding of this topic.

This paper presents a few techniques based on an efficient use of memory resources to speed up the transient analysis of piecewise linear circuits, such as power electronic circuits. These techniques use the fact that the matrix in the linear equation solving routines can only have a finite number of different values. Hence, by adding a cache memory management technique to store the LU factor of these matrices for future reuse, the linear equation solver can be performed much faster than that of a general purpose simulation program in which these LU factors have to be recomputed every time. Since most of the CPU analysis time is spent in solving linear equations, these techniques can actually speed up the transient analysis of piecewise linear circuits significantly (100-600%).

Computationally efficient large-change statistical analysis of linear electronic circuits

Between 2008 and 2010 an introductory circuit analysis course for second year engineering students had its lectures recorded (2008 was audio only, other years were by video) and the recordings were made available to registered students as a supplemental resource. Attendance to lectures was still required. In 2011 an introductory programming course was recorded in a similar way. In each of these offerings the students were anonymously surveyed at the end of the course using an online survey tool with most questions using a five point Likert category scale. The survey looked at the perceived usefulness of the recordings, the approach to watching and the impact on attendance. The responses showed strong support to having video lecture capture and the reported use of the videos was to watch selected material. There was a difference between the courses on the impact on attendance, with the circuit analysis course indicated little impact on attendance, whereas the responses from the other course indicates more missed lectures due to the availability of recordings.

PLMAP — A piecewise linear MOS circuit analysis program

The development, expansion, and assessment of a step-based computer-aided tutoring system to teach linear circuit analysis is described. Circuit problems and fully worked, error-free solutions to same are created automatically and randomly with any desired characteristics, varying both the layout and numerical values. Students therefore have access to an unlimited source of both examples and practice problems of variable difficulty. A unique feature is that students input each stage of their work in a variety of forms including redrawn circuit diagrams, equations, matrix equations, numerical answers, multiple choice answers, and sketches of time-dependent waveforms. Students receive immediate feedback on the correctness of each step of their work. The solutions use analytical methods, rather than the numerical methods used in a tool like PSPICE. A total of 15 tutorials are now available, including DC and AC circuits and two on Laplace transforms. The system has been used by over 1950 students to date. A randomized, controlled laboratory-based study finds a statistically significant learning gain of 1.21 standard deviations compared to working conventional textbook problems. Another randomized, controlled classroom study found a strong preference of students for this system over a widely-used commercial publisher-based homework system, as well as higher scores.

In this article, the linear dynamic analysis of AC generators modeled as RLC circuits with periodically time-varying inductances via Floquet’s theory is considered. Necessary conditions for the dynamic stability are derived. The harmonic balance method is employed to predict the transition curves and stability domains. An approximate expression for the Floquet form of solution is constructed using Whittaker’s method in the neighborhood of transition curves. Numerical verifications for the obtained theoretical results are considered. In accordance with the experimental results, a satisfactory agreement is relatively achieved with the closed experimental literature of the problem.

Contribution: This article describes the implementation, assessment, and evaluation of conceptual-based writing exercises in an introductory course on electric circuit analysis. Background: Students’ struggles in gateway courses such as circuit analysis are often traced to inadequate metacognitive skills on the part of the student as well their misconceptions regarding fundamental phenomena related to the course. Writing is known to be a powerful tool for insight into a student’s thought process and to foster metacognitive activity. Research Questions: What effect does the use of short writing exercises have on students’ understanding of fundamental concepts related to the behavior of electric circuits operating at dc? What effect does the use of the conceptually based writing exercises have on students’ ability to justify their responses when answering conceptual questions related to basic electric circuit concepts? Methodology: In the first semester of the study, a single writing exercise was given and in the second semester, a total of five such exercises were administered. In each semester, students were separated into “at-risk” and “not at-risk” groups based on their responses to the first writing exercise. A <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2 \times 2 \times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> (2) mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted, with at-risk/not at-risk and semester/semester between-subjects factors and pre-test/post-test on a multiple-choice conceptual-based exam a within-subjects factor. Findings: Results suggest that only the at-risk group may have benefited in terms of deepened conceptual understanding and the ability to justify their responses from the use of multiple conceptual-based writing exercises.

The Use of Blog in Decision Making Skills Course

Nowadays, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) make great strides in computer assisted education. They enable development of new, Self-Directed Learning (SDL) driven, models of teaching and learning, and among them, Flip Teaching (FT) seems to be the most promising one. The flipped classroom is based on e-materials, then, the associated assessments have to be fully based on e-tests, FT-Computer-Assisted Assessment (CAA) program. Design of such program is the main motivation of the described research. Matching of this program to FT characteristics, taking into account both specific structure of the learning content and students behavior is the main objective. After a short introduction to FT, the e-test organization in the flipped classroom is briefly discussed. Then, Electric Circuit Analysis course case study is presented: organization of Moodle-quizzes based assessment program, taking into account common students behavior, their good and bad habits, is shown, conclusions are drawn and some guidelines are given.

Analysis of large linear mesh circuits is critical in modern IC extraction and verification tools due to the complex 3-D effects associated with parasitic coupling through interconnects and the chip substrate. The limited availability of computer resources, however, is a major obstacle in the fast and accurate analysis of such circuits. This paper introduces a technique that divides the mesh into a number of partitions, develops macromodels of each partition using a compaction technique and then combines them in a nested fashion to determine a macromodel for the original mesh circuit, which can then be used in simulation. This method makes much better use of CPU time and memory and allows for the fast analysis of extremely large meshes.

This chapter introduces the analysis and design of linear circuits. It reviews basic direct‐current (DC) analysis using traditional circuits theorems with application to circuit analysis and design. Using node voltage instead of element voltages as circuit variables can greatly reduce the number of equations that must be treated simultaneously. The chapter treats the analysis and design of circuits containing active devices such as transistors or operational amplifiers (op amps). It also discusses alternating current (AC) circuits. Those ac circuits that are excited by a single frequency, for example, power systems, can be easily and effectively analyzed using sinusoidal steady‐state techniques. Linear circuits are often characterized by their behavior to sinusoids, in particular, how they process signals versus frequency. Audio, communication, instrumentation, and control systems all require signal processing that depends at least in part on their frequency response.