The project
Task 1: Design and implement a Qt-based GUI which allows the user to draw an AC series circuit.
Then the application will generate the equation that needs to be solved to compute the current. For
example, for the circuit shown in figure 1:
Figure 1: Example circuit diagram to the app
The output of the app will be equation 1:
−𝑉𝑠 + 𝑍𝑅𝐼 + 𝑍𝐶𝐼 + 𝑍𝐿
𝐼 = 0
−10 + (4.7)𝐼 + (−𝑗6.77)𝐼 + (𝑗15.7)𝐼 = 0
The application does not need to solve the equation. Only displaying it to the user is enough. If the
equation generated is not correct from circuit theory perspective, no marks will be lost.
The elements that can be added as part of the application are: AC source, resistor, capacitor,
inductor, and a ground. To remind you how elements can be converted into impedances the
following relations are used:
𝑍𝑅 = 𝑅 , 𝑍𝑐 = −𝑗
1
2𝜋𝑓𝐶 , 𝑍𝐿 = 𝑗2𝜋𝑓𝐿
In the previous equations ZR, ZC and ZL are the impedances of the resistor, capacitor, and inductor
respectively. R, C and L are the values of the resistance, capacitance and inductance respectively.
Lastly, f is the frequency of the voltage source. If there are multiple voltage sources in the circuit, all
of them will operate at the same frequency.
In addition to the core functionality mentioned above, the application:
- Should have the ability to save and load the circuit.
- Should allow the user to add elements to the circuit drawing using 3 different means.
- Should allow the user to change the parameters of the elements (i.e. the resistance of the
resistor), by right-clicking on the item.
- Should be validated, in the report, by using test circuits as inputs to the application obtaining
the equation, calculating the circuit from the equation (not part of the application), then
comparing the solution to a solution provided by another programme such as PSpice or Multisim
(No linking to PSpice or Multisim is required in the application).
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- Should be able to deal with a range of potential run-time errors, which the developers should
identify.
Task 2: Modify the application to also be able to work with parallel circuits as well. This part is meant
to be a challenge so minimal help will be provided for this part.
It is an expectation from everyone to consult Qt documentation to find any functions or classes that
might be useful for the implementation of this project. Finally, you should make the programme as
professional as possible. Imagine this project as a real-life project given to you.
Approach to be followed
The following steps will help you to have a good design and implementation of the application:
– Start by conducting a background overview of the available programs for circuit simulations
and how they are used. This will give you a feeling of what a professional design is and a
better understanding of the core functionality. Make sure the practical notes given in the
lectures ae taken into consideration in your design and implementation.
– Follow the incremental model by breaking the implementation of the application into smaller
parts, where every part is designed, implemented and tested before other parts are
implemented.
– Make sure your application is working perfectly before moving to task 2.
Note for Mac OS users: You can develop the application and write the report based on Mac version
of the app. The application will be tested and marked on a Windows machine. You are strongly
recommended to verify that your app works as it should on a windows machine before submission,
to avoid any potential cross-platform issue, if you have any problems, please let me know.
The deliverables
Every submission should consist of the project’s files + brief report. The name of the zip file must be
your name. The report must have the student’s name and ID number. The report does not need an
introduction or a conclusion, it must have a cover page, and includes the following sections:
How the programme works (explain the idea of the algorithm, include a flow chart).
User instructions (how should the user use it)
Testing and verification attempts.
Overall notes (optional): in this section you can highlight any special features in your design
or implementation of the application. Or you can mention any major issue you faced how
you overcome it. If you left this section empty you will not lose any marks.
Appendix: headers+ source files (must be in machine readable format).
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Industrial Relevance
Circuit simulations software are essential tool in industry where ICs for example are designed and
power supplies are developed. In addition to educational institutions where physics or electrical
engineering are taught. The tasks given in this project are essential part of famous software
including:
The programming experience gained from doing this project not only extends to circuit simulation
software, it also extends to any software where a process is modelled whether it is electrical,
mechanical, industrial, or chemical process.
Mapping the project to modules’ material:
Aspect Where it is covered
Creating child windows or child dialogs. Lecture 16, Lecture 18
Saving object in vectors in Qt Week 8 lab, the tutorial
Loading and saving files Lecture 18, week 9 lab
Error handling week 9 lab
Dealing with string sequences Week 7 lab, the tutorial
Implementing mouse functionality Lecture 16, the tutorial
Handling drawings Lecture 17, the tutorial
Implementing a functionality using different methods Lecture 16, week 8 lab
Controlling the style, layout and GUI design Lecture 15, the tutorial
Implementing buttons and other input widgets functionality Lectures 14-15, week 7 lab
Implementing interaction between different elements in a