Problem in identifying a short circuit in a diagram

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Amaelle
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Hi all!
while simplifying this diagram, I thought that R2 and R4 are in parallel
while
Hand-drawn circuit schematic with resistors R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5, a dependent current i(t), current sources a2(t) and a1(t), and nodes labelled on a rectangular loop.

so I simplified the diagram to this
Hand-drawn circuit schematic with resistors R5, R4 parallel R2, R3 and R1, a current source a2(t) and a voltage source a1(t), with a red annotation R4 || R2 above the branch.

BUT THE SOLUTION CONSIDER THAT R4 AND R2 HAVE BEEN COUR CIRCUITED!
Any help would be highly appreciated particularly a rule of thumb that helps me to identify a short circuit with a fault!
many thanks in advance!
 
In your top schematic, R5 R4 R2 R3 all share a common node. In your "simplified" schematic, this feature has been lost, so it is not equivalent.
 
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thank you! BUT HOW COULD THEY SAY THAT R4 AND R2 ARE SHORT CIRCUITED?
 
DID they say, "R4 and R2 are court circuit" ? Else what did they actually say or show in a diagram?

They are in parallel. They are significant and not short circuited. But your diagram is in no way equivalent to the original circuit. You have removed the connection between R3 and R5. In your diagram you have connected R3 to the opposite end of R2 and R4 from the original diagram.

I would suggest you label the nodes and note which nodes the components connect to.
 
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thanks a lot for your prompt reply,
let start from the begining:
the exercice ask to calculate the current i(t)
Hand-drawn circuit schematic with nodes labelled 1 to 7, resistors R1 to R5, current source a2(i) between nodes 4 and 3, a voltage-controlled source a1(u) between nodes 3 and 6, and i(t) marked at the left branch.


so i simplified the circuit as follow considering that R4 and R2 are parallel ( the circuit is not equivalent to the first but i guess the value i(t) will not change (please correct me if I'm wrong)
Hand-drawn circuit schematic with nodes 1 to 7, resistors R1, R3 and R4 parallel R2, current source a2(t), current source a1(t) and labelled current i(t) marked in green.
Hand-drawn circuit schematic with nodes 1 to 7, resistors R1, R3 and R4 parallel R2, current source a2(t), current source a1(t) and labelled current i(t) marked in green.
then I simplified further the circuit by using the conversion between the current generator a1(t) and it's voltage generator equivalent
Hand-drawn circuit schematic with nodes 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7; resistors R5, R4||R2, R3 and R1; a current source a1(t) between nodes 4 and 3; a voltage source labelled v = a1·R3; and current i(t) marked in the left branch.


after this step I used millman theorem to compute the potential between the nodes 4 and 3
Handwritten equation for V34: numerator is minus a2 plus a1 times R3 over (R3 + R1), denominator is 1 over (R3 + R1) plus 1 over (R3 + R4 parallel R2).
and then divide by the resistance of the branch to find i(t)

Handwritten expression for i(t) equal to a fraction multiplied by 1 over R5 + (R4 // R2), where the numerator is -a2 + a1 x R3 over R3 + R1, and the denominator is 1 over (R3 + R1) + 1 over (R5 + R4 // R2).
the problem is that in solution they totally ignore R4 and R2 as they short circuited!
Photo of a printed textbook solution showing the formula i(t) = R3/(R1 + R3 + R5) a1(t) minus (R1 + R3)/(R1 + R3 + R5) a2(t), highlighted in green, above Exercise 11 text.


many thanks in advance!
 
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If you begin with:
Circuit schematic with resistors R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5, current source a1(t) and voltage source a2(t), with current i(t) marked in the upper-left branch.


and combine R2 with R4 you get this:

Circuit schematic with resistors R5, R24, R1 and R3, current source a2(t) in a horizontal branch, current source a1(t) at the bottom centre, and current i(t) labelled in the top left branch.
 
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you are awsome! thanks a million you totally solved my problem! God bless you!
 
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gneill said:
If you begin with:

gneill,
I know it's off-topic, but what did you use to create those circuit diagrams? They look nice, and it seems like you were able to draw them quickly.
 
eq1 said:
gneill,
I know it's off-topic, but what did you use to create those circuit diagrams? They look nice, and it seems like you were able to draw them quickly.
I use an ancient copy of Visio. I created my own template for electronic symbols (the one that came with Visio was incomplete a rather crude).
 
Also a bit off topic:
For more readable schematics avoid any connections that have 4 "wires" leaving from a single node. Try to make all connections "T intersections" with large dots. This avoids the confusion of whether connections are joined or crossing. Then all 4 wire nodes are crossing, by definition.
Back in the day this was an absolute Mil-Spec requirement for schematics because poor quality reproductions could add or remove the dots that indicate connections.
 
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