SacramentoState

Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering

ENGR 1A-04 Fundamentals of Engineering

Laboratory #8 – PSpice Capture Simulation of Electric Circuits

In this laboratory exercise you are going to explore the simulation of electric circuits using the industry standard PSpice Capture software by Cadence Design Systems. However, before you begin, you will have to become familiar with the basic physical laws of dc circuit analysis and their application. To do this, you must read Chapter 18 through page pp. 629 - 638. Your introduction to learning to use the software will be guided by the handout material provided. You can access PSpice Capture from any of the ECS network computers. It will either be under Start:Programs or in the EEE Applications folder. Follow the handout guide to construct the example dc circuit and perform its simulation to find the required branch currents and node voltages. When you have finished learning the basics of PSpice Capture circuit simulation, you will solve problems 9, 10, and 11 in Chapter 18 of your text using the software.

Procedure for Introduction to PSpice Capture

  1. Open a PSpice Capture blank page as described in the handout guide.
  2. Follow the instructions in the guide to progressively construct and modify the dc circuit that is described. When you have completed the required modifications and simulations, copy your last schematic circuit diagram showing all currents and voltages, to an MS Word document and save it for use in your laboratory report.

Circuit Simulation and Problem Solving Using PSpice Capture

  1. As part of your reading assignment in Chapter 18 of your text, you should have solved, using dc circuit analysis with a calculator, problems 1-11 in the exercises at the end of the reading assignment. You will now simulate the circuits in problems 9, 10, and 11 using PSpice Capture and determine the required resistance, voltage, and current values asked for in those problems. Compare your simulation values with those that you previously calculated.
  2. Copy your circuits, showing simulation voltages and currents, and paste them into your MS Word document for use in your laboratory report.

Each student should submit a report concerning this laboratory exercise. Reports are due on Wednesday, 12/13/06.

The report should provide the following information:

  1. Objectives: In your own words, describe the objectives of the laboratory exercise.
  2. Results: Present your circuit results from the Introduction to PSpice; present your calculations of the circuit parameters asked for in problems 9, 10, and 11; and present your PSpice Capture simulations and results for those three problems.
  3. Discussion: Discuss how well the simulation results agreed with your calculations of the circuit parameters in the three problems.
  4. Conclusions: What have you learned from your experience with electric circuit simulation in this laboratory exercise?

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