General objective 2.

0 To understand the measurement of various basic electrical parameters using different metering and sensing devices. Specific objectives 2.1 Introduction to Basic electrical parameters 2.2 Force due to magnetic parameters 2.3 Measurement of current 2.3.1 PMMC as ammeter 2.3.2 MI instrument 2.3.3 Electrodynamometer (EDM) as ammeter 2.3.4 RF ammeter (Thermocouple type) 2.4 Measurement of voltage 2.4.1 PMMC as voltmeter 2.4.2 Electrodynamometer (EDM) as voltmeter 2.4.3 Electrostatic voltmeter
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Specific objectives continued. 2.5 Measurement of Electrical Power (by wattmeter) 2.5.1 EDM as wattmeter.

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Electrical parameter measurement

1.1 Introduction

Measurement of electrical quantities may be done to measure electrical

parameters of a system.
Using transducers, physical properties such as temperature, pressure, flow, force, and many others can be converted into electrical signals, which can then be conveniently measured and recorded. High-precision laboratory measurements of electrical quantities are used in experiments to determine fundamental physical quantity properties. Some of the basic electrical parameters mostly used in many applications are Current, Voltage, Power, Power factor, Frequency, Phase etc..
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FORCE due to magnetic field

PRINCIPLE: When a current carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field, it experiences a force and tends to move in the direction as per Flemings left hand rule. The experienced force is given by Where, i = current flowing in the conductor L = Length of the conductor B = Strength of magnetic field If the first and the second finger and the thumb of the left hand are held so that they are at right angle to each other, then the thumb shows the direction of the force on the conductor, the first finger points towards the direction of the magnetic field and the second finger shows the direction of the current in the wire.
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F = B .i .L

newtons

Primitive ammeter set up

With no current flowing through the conductor, the spring will be at its unstretched length. As current flows through the conductor, the spring will stretch and develop the force required to balance the electromagnetic force. The total distance x moved by the spring is found by equating the two forces. K.x =B.i.L Where K is the spring constant.

This equation can be solved for x

x = (B.L/K) i cm

By rearranging the equation for i i = (K/B.L) x ampere

By constructing a coil, as shown in Fig. below, Placed in a magnetic field, a force is exerted on the coil as a result of the electric current flowing in the coil. If the coil has N turns and the length of each turn in the magnetic field is L, the force on the coil is F = N.B.i.L newtons

The force exerted on both sides of the coil produces a rotating torque

on the coil.
It is the basis for design of analog meters to indicate the value of basic electric parameters
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A video on Flemings left hand rule

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A video on Flemings left hand rule experiment

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Measurement of Current
1. dArsonval meter or Permanent Magnet Moving Coil (PMMC) instrument: PRINCIPLE: When a current carrying coil is placed in the magnetic field produced by permanent magnet, the coil experiences a force and moves. As the coil is moving and the magnet is permanent, the instrument is called permanent magnet moving coil instrument. This basic principle is called DArsonval principle. The amount of force experienced by the coil is proportional to the

current passing through the coil.

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Click here

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 The moving coil has number of turns of fine wire wound on an iron core. The coil is suspended so that it is free to turn about its vertical axis. The coil is placed in uniform, horizontal magnetic field of a permanent magnet in the shape of a horse-shoe. Due to iron core, the deflecting torque increases, increasing the sensitivity of the instrument. The controlling torque is provided by two spiral springs. The pointer is carried by the spindle and it moves over a graduated scale. The pointer has light weight so that it can deflect rapidly.

The mirror is placed below the pointer to get the accurate reading
by removing the parallax error.
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The action of these instrument is based on the motoring principle. When a current carrying coil is placed in the magnetic field

produced by permanent magnet, the coil experiences a force and

moves. F=BIL

The amount of force experienced by the coil is proportional to the

current passing through the coil. F i

Ti T therefore i

The pointer is carried by the spindle and it moves over a graduated

scale. The pointer has light weight so that it deflects rapidly.

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The various advantages of PMMC instruments are, It has uniform scale. (Due to i ) With a powerful magnet, its torque to weight ratio is very high. So that operating current of PMMC is small. The sensitivity is high. It consumes low power, of the order of 25 mW to 200 mW.

It has high accuracy.

Instrument is free from hysteresis error. Extension of instrument range is possible. Not affected by external magnetic fields called stray magnetic fields.

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Disadvantages of PMMC instruments are,

PMMC is Suitable for direct current measurement only. Ageing of permanent magnet and the control springs introduces the

errors.
The cost is high due to delicate construction and accurate machining. The friction is due to jewel-pivot suspension. Range of measurement is limited to mA only.

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2. Moving Iron or Vane type instrument:

This instrument can be used for AC measurement. The basic working principle is that a soft iron piece if brought near the magnet gets attracted by the magnet.

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 It consists of a fixed coil and moving iron piece. The moving iron is a flat disc which is mounted on the spindle. The spindle is supported between the bearings. The spindle carries a pointer which moves over a graduated scale. The number of turns of the fixed coil is dependent on the range of

the instrument.
For passing large current through the coil only few turns are required. The controlling torque is provided by the springs.
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Advantages The instruments are suitable for use in AC and DC circuits. The instruments are robust, owing to the simple construction of the moving parts. The stationary parts of the instruments are also simple.

Instrument is low cost compared to moving coil instrument.

Torque/weight ratio is high, thus less frictional error.

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3. Electrodynamometer (EDM) as Ammeter: The magnetic field in the air gap changes along with the change in current. This principle is used in the electrodynamometer type instrument. Instead of a permanent magnet, the electrodynamometer type instrument uses the current under measurement to produce the necessary field. Construction: The EDM uses the current under measurement to produce the required field.

A fixed coil, split into two equal halves provides the magnetic field in which the movable coil rotates.
The coil halves are connected in series with the moving coil and are fed by the current being measured. The fixed coils are spaced far apart to allow passage for the shaft of the movable coil.
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 The movable coil carries a pointer. Its rotation is controlled by springs, similar to those in a DArsonval movement.

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Working of EDM as Ammeter:

The line diagram of an electrodynamometer is shown below:

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 To use EDM as ammeter the coils are connected in series

with the load. The necessary field required for the operation of the

instrument is produced by the fixed coils. A uniform field is obtained near the center of coil due to division of coil in two sections. These coils are air cored. The coils are usually varnished. The controlling torque is provided by springs. The moving coil is mounted on an aluminum spindle.

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Advantages: Cheap, robust and reliable in service Usable for both ac as well as dc measurements Disadvantages: Non-linear scale

Vertical mounting of instrument is must.

Deflection range up to 2400 in rotation only possible

Limitations: Due to weighted moving parts it exhibits hysteresis Errors due to stray fields when used for both ac and dc
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4. Thermocouple A.C current meter (or RF ammeter):

This instrument is used mainly to measure radio frequency (RF)

currents. It consists of a nonreactive (i.e. resistive heating element, R,

thermally coupled to a thermocouple sensor device (i.e., a sensor

that produces an output voltage that is a function of the applied temperature due to See beck effect). Thus, the thermocouple measures the temperature of the heating element, which is proportional to the current flowing in it.

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 The alternating current being measured flows through

the heater resistance R and causes it to rise in temperature, thereby causing the thermocouple output voltage to rise. A voltmeter connected across terminals A and B measures this mill volt-level potential, but its scale is calibrated in milli-amperes or nano-amperes.

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Limitations:

Heaters can stand only for small overloads

Rise in temperature cause a change in resistance

Presence of harmonics may change the meter reading,

because heating is proportional to square of current.

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Measurement of Voltage
1. PMMC as Voltmeter: The basic dc voltmeter is nothing but a DArsonval galvanometer.

The resistance is required to be connected in series with the basic

meter to use it as a voltmeter. This series resistance is called a multiplier. The main function of the multiplier is to limit the current through the basic meter so that the meter current does not exceed the full scale deflection value. The voltmeter measures the voltage across the two points of a circuit or a voltage across a circuit component.

By connecting required resistance in series to the PMMC movement the

basic range of
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may extended to required range.

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V I m ( Rs Rm ) V I m Rm V Rs Rm Im Im V Rs Rm Im
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Im = full scale deflection current (Ifsd) Rm = internal resistance of the Rs = multiplier resistance V = full range voltage of the instrument

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2. Electrodynamometer as Voltmeter:
The coil halves are connected in series with the moving coil and are fed by the voltage being measured. The fixed coils are spaced far apart to allow passage for the shaft of the movable coil.

The movable coil carries a pointer. Its rotation is controlled by springs, similar to DArsonval movement.
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3. Electrostatic voltmeter:
Electrostatic forces may also be used to indicate electric potential difference. For this purpose Two plates are arranged as shown.

One plate is fixed, and the

other is mounted in
bearings so that it may move freely.

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 A spiral spring provides a restraining force on the two plates.

If two complete disks were used instead of the sectored plate arrangement the net torque would be zero.

As the movable plate changes position, the capacitance changes, and

hence the proportionality between the stored energy and the voltage varies with the impressed voltage. The electrostatic voltmeter may be used for either AC or DC voltage measurements, but potentials above 100 V are required in order to produce a sufficiently strong torque in the system. The meter may be calibrated with direct current and then used for measurement of values of ac voltages, regardless of the waveform.
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Measurement Of Power (by wattmeter):

Electrodynamometer as Wattmeter: When an EDM is used as a single phase wattmeter, the coil

arrangement is as shown.

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 The fixed coils FC, as separate elements, are connected in

series and carries the total line current. The movable coil called pressure coil located in the magnetic

field of the fixed coils is connected in series with a current limiting

resistor across the power line, and carries a small current. The deflection of the movable coil is proportional to the product of the instantaneous value of current in the movable coil and the total line current in the fixed coils, so the movable coil

movement measures power. This is because the coils are connected so that a value of current proportional to the load voltage flows in one, and a value of current proportional to the load current flows in the other.
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 The meter may be calibrated directly in watts.

This is true because the deflection depends upon the product of the two magnetic fields.

The strength of the magnetic fields depends upon the values of

currents flowing through the coils. If one current is proportional to load voltage and other current is

the load current, then the meter can be calibrated in terms of

watts or true power consumed by the load.

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