CIRCUIT SIMULATION

In this laboratory course you should become familiar with an important circuit simulation program MULTISIM.

The best way to learn it is by trying to simulate some of the circuits explored in this laboratory. Comparison of simulations with your measurements will, hopefully, give you a better insight in the operation of these circuits. Remember however that while simulations are very useful, they are never a substitute for real data taken from real physical systems, which are the true realm of engineering activity.

You should use MULTISIM schematics with the actual values of the components in your circuits. For example, use the values of resistances measured by an ohmmeter rather than those given by the resistor color code. When comparing simulation curves (such as frequency responses of RC or RLC circuits) with experimental data, plot them on the same graph. To do this, you need to export simulation curves to a graphing program, such as EXCEL or MATLAB, in which numbers from simulations and experiments can be put in different columns. Use discrete points for experimental data and continuous curves for simulations.

Matlab is available free of charge as part of the software package distributed to NJIT students. Additional information may be obtained from www.mathworks.com.