“Heaven’s light is our guide”

Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET)

Assignment

Name : Mahbubur Rahman Kiran

Dept.: Electrical and Electronic Engineering(EEE)

Roll: 121086

Section: B

Course Title: Measurement and Instrumentation

Course No,:EEE2211

Date of submit:

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Contents:

1,Kelvin’s double bridge method of low resistance measurement .

2.Instrument transformer and secondary of CT.

3.Working principle of L.V.D.T. , HALL-EFFECT TRANSDUCER, THERMOCOUPLE.

4. Transducer and inverse transducer(microphone and speaker).

5. Application’s of CAPACITIVE TRANSDUCER, HALL-EFFECT TRANSDUCER ,L.V.D.T.

1.Special construction and techniques have to be used in order to measure low resistance.Here kelvin’s
double bridge method is discussed in below:

Kelvin’s Double Bridge:

Principle of kelvin’s bridge : The Kelvin bridge is a modification of the wheatstone bridge and provides
greately increased accuracy in measurement of low value resistances.An understanding of the kelivn
bridge arrangement can be obtained by a study of the difficulties that arise in a wheatstone bridge on
account of the resistance of the leads and the contact resistances while measuring low valued
resistors.Consider the bridge circuit shown in fig.1.1 where r represents the resistance of the lead that
connect the unknown resistance R to standard resistance S.

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Fig.1.1: Kelvin’s double bridge method of low reasistance measurement.

Two galvanometer connections indicated by dotted lines are possible .The connection may be to point
‘m’ or to point ‘n’.When the galvanometer is onnected to point ‘m’ ,the resistance r ,of the connecting
leads is added to the standard resistance S,resulting in too low an indication for the unknown resistance
R.

Suppose, that instead of using the point m,which gives a low result ,or n,which makes the result high
.We make the galvanometer connection to any intermediate point ‘c’ shown by full line in fig.1.1.If at
point ‘c’ the resistance is divided into two parts r1 and r2 such that = … … … (1.1)

Then the presence of r1,the resistance of connecting leads,causes no error in the result.We have,

+ 1 = (S+r2)… … … (1.2)

But = [from eqn 1.1]

= … … … (1.3) or, r1= .r as r1+r2=r; and r2= .r

We can write equation 1.2 as ,(R+ r)= (S+ ) or R= …. …. … (1.4)

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Therefore we conclude that making the galvanometer connection as at c, the resistance of leads does’t
affect the result.The process described above is obviously not a practical way of achieving the desired
result as there would certainly be trouble in determining the correct point for galvanometer connections
.It does however, suggest, the simple modification that the two ac al resistance of units correct ratio be
connected between points m and n,the galvanometer be conncted to the junction of the resistors.The
actual kelvin’s double bridge circuit is shown in below

Fig.1.2:kelvin’s double bridge circuit

The kelvin’s double bridge incorporates the idea of a second set of ratio arms-hence the name double
bridge and the use of four terminal resistors for the low resistance arms.Fig 1.2 shows a schematic
diagram of kelvin’s double bridge .The first of ratio arms is P and Q ,the second set of ratio arms is p and
q is used to connect the galvsnometer to point c, at the approatriate potential between points m and n
to eliminate the effect of connecting lead of resistance r, between the known resistance R ,and the
standard resistance S.The ratio p/q is made equal to P/Q.Under balance condition there is no current
through the galvanometer,which means that the voltage drop between a and b ,Ead , is equal to voltage
drop between a and c, Eac.
( )
Now , Ead= ; and Eab=I[R+S+ ]… … …(1.5)

( )
Eac=I[R+ { }]… … …(1.6)

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For zero galvanometer deflection Ead=Eac,

R=(P/Q).S+(qr/p+q+r)[(P/Q)-(p/q)] … … …(1.7) , now if P/Q=p/q then eqn.1.6 becomes

R=(P/Q).S … …. …. (1.8) and this is the usual working equation for Kelvin bridge.

The effect of thermoelectric emfs can be eliminated by making the another measurement with the
battery connections reversed.

This is the kelvin’s double bridge method of measuring low valued resistances

2.Instrument transformer : Transformers are used in a.c system for the measurement of
current,voltage,power,and energy.They are also used in connection with measurement of power
factor,frequency and synchronism.Transformers used in conjunction with measuring instruments for
measurement purposes, are called instrument transformers .

The secondary of current transformer should never be opened while the primary is energised:
Transformers used for high current measurement purposes are known as current transformers(CT).The
current transformers are used with it’s primary winding connected in series with the line whose current
is going to be measured.Current transformers are always used with the secondary circuit closed through
ammeter, wattmeter current coils,or relay coils.

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 Fig.2.1: Current transformer (CT)

Reasons of not to be opened the secondary of CT while the primary is energised:

1.Under normal operating conditions both primary and secondary winding produce mmfs which act
against each other.The secondary winding mmf is slightly less than the primary consequently the
resultant mmf is small.

If the secondary is open circuited while primary is carrying current ,the primary mmf remains the same
while the secondary mmf reduces to zero.Therefore the resultant mmf becomes equal to the primary
mmf, ,which is very large.This large mmf produces a large flux in the core till it saturates.This large
flux linking the secondary winding would induce a high secondary voltage which could be dangerous for
the transformer insulation and to the person who has opened the circuit.

2.Eddy and hysteresis losses would be very high in this condition and due to this transformer may be
overheated and completely damaged.

3.The core may be permanently magnetized and ,this gives appreciable ratio and phase angle errors.

These are for what the secondary of a CT should never be opened while the primary is energized.

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3(a).Linear Variable Differential Transformer(LVDT) :The most widely used inductive transducer to
translate -

Fig.3.1:Linear variable differential transformer(LVDT)

Fig.3.2: Circuits of an LVDT

the linear motion into electrical signal is the LVDT. The transformer consists of a single primary winding
and two secondary windings and wound on a cylindrical former.The output voltage of
secondary is and of is .In order to convert the output of secondaries into a single voltage,
the secondaries are connected i series opposition as shown in fig.3.2

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Differential output voltage , = - … … ...(3.1).

When the core is at its normal position = . Since the output voltage of the transducer is the
difference of the two voltages ,the output voltage becomes zero at null position .

Fig.3.3:Variation of output voltage with linear displacement for an LVDT

The amount of voltage change in either secondary winding is proportional to the amount of the
movement of the core.Any physical displacement of the core causes the voltage of one secondary
winding to increase while simultaneously reducing the other secondary winding voltage.The difference
of the two voltages appears across the output terminals of the transducer and gives a measure of the
physical position of the core and hence the displacement .As the core is moved in one direction from the
null position, the differential voltage will increase while maintaining an in phase relationship with the
voltage from the input sourse .The amount of output voltage may be measured to determine the
displacement .The output signal may also be applied to a recorder or to a controller that can restore the
moving system to it’s normal position.

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3(b).Hall-effect transducer:The principle of working of a hall effect transducer is that if a strip of
conducting material carries a current in the presence of a transverse magnetic field as shown in the
following figure:

Fig.3.4:Hall-effect Element

A difference of potential is produced between the opposite edges of the conductor.The magnitude of
the voltage depends upon the current, strength of the magnetic field and the property of conductor
called ,Hall-effect.The Hall effect is present in metals and in semiconductors in varying amounts
depending upon the densities and the mobilities of carriers.

Let’s consider in fig.3.4 the current is passed through leads 1 and 2 on the strip.The output leads
connected to edges 3 and 4 at the same potential when there is no transverse magnetic field passing
through the strip.When a transverse magnetic field passes through the strip ,an output voltage appears
across the output leads.The voltage is proportional to the current and the strength of the field.

The output voltage ,

= IB/t … … ….(3.2)

=Hall-effect co-efficient ;

t=thickness of the strip; m

and I and B are respectively the current in ampere and flux density in Wb/ .

Thus the voltage produced may be used to measure the current, I and the field strength, B .

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3.(c). Thermocouple : A thermocouple is a temperature –measuring device consisting of two dissimilar
conductors that contact each other at one or more spots ,where a temperature differential is
experienced by the different conductors .It produces a voltage when the temperature of one of the
spots differs from the other parts of the circuit.Thermocouples are a widely used type of temperature
sensor for measurement and control and can also convert a temperature gradient into electricity .

Principle of operation : In 1821, the German-Estonian physicist Thomas Johann Seebeck discovered that
when any conductor is subjected to a thermal gradient, it will generate a voltage.This is known as
thermoelectric effect or Seebeck effect . Any attempt to measure this voltage necessarily involves
connecting another conductor to ‘hot’ end.This additional conductor experiences the same
temperature gradient and also develops a voltage,which normally opposes the original .Fortunately the
magnitude of the effect depends on the metal in use ,and so a non –zero voltage will be measured if two
dissimilar metals are used .After carefully calibrating the temperature –voltage dependence for a given
pair of metals , these metals can be used as a thermometer .

Fig.3.5: K-type thermocouple

The measured voltage V can be used to calculate temperature, ,provided that temperature ,
is known.The standard configuration for thermocouple usage is shown in the fig.3.5.Briefly , the desired
temperaturte ,is obtaining using three inputs –the characteristic function E(T) of the
thermocouple , the measured voltage V,and reference junction temperature . The solution to the
equation E( )=V+E( ) yields .

These details are often hidden from the user since the reference junction block ,voltmeter,and equation
solver are combined into a single product.

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4.Transducer and inverse transducer : A transducer is a device that converts non-electrical signal into
electrical signal.Transducer also converts one form of energy into another form of energy.Energy types
include electrical,mechanical,electromagnetic,chemical,acoustic, and thermal energy.As an example
microphone is a transducer because it converts the non-electrical signal (voice sound) into electrical
signal .On the other hands an inverse transducer converts the electrical signal into non-electrical signal
.As an example speaker is an inverse transducer because it converts the electrical signal into non-
electrical signal(sound).

From the following figure ,we can see the operation of transducer and an inverse transducer and in
conclusion it is clear that they work oppositely.

Fig.4.1:Transducer and inverse transducer

From the above fig.4.1.we can see that the transducer converts the sound into electrical signal whereas
the inverse transducer converts the electrical signal into sound.So the microphone is a transducer and
the speaker is an inverse transducer .

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5.Applications of Capacitive transducer :Capacitive transducers are able to sense both metallic and non-
metallic materials are an important component in industrial automation applications .

1.The norm line capacitive transducer is comprised of sensors designed for use in everyday applications
such as level monitoring of plastic pellets.

# Level control of liquids

# Level control of solids

# Pile-up control

2.High performance capacitive transducer :

# Hazardous area environments

# High temperature environments

# High pressure Wash-down environments

3.Series 9s capacitive transducer ;

# Feed hopper level monitoring

# Small vessel pump control

# Suitable for use in environments with inconsistent power supplies.

4.Series 26 capacitive transducer :

# Grease level monitoring

3 Pharmaceuticals manufacturing

# Suitable for use with chemicals .

5.Leak transducer :

# Pipeline leak detection

# Vessel leak detection .

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Applications of LVDT : Although the LVDT is a displacement transducer, many other physical quantities
can be sensed by converting displacement to the desired quantity via thoughtful arrangements ,Several
examples will be given :

1.Displacement : extensometers,temperature transducer ,butterfly valve control,servo valve

displacement sensing.

2.Deflections of beams ,strings ,or rings: load cells,force transducers,pressure transducers.

3.Thickness variation of work pieces : dimension gases,thickness and profile measurements , product
sorting by size .

4. Fluid level : fluid level and fluid flow measurement ,position sensing in hydraulic cylinders .

5. Velocity and acceleration: automotive suspension control.

Applications of Hall effect transducer : The hall effect is the production of a voltage difference across
an electrical conductor ,transeverse to an electric current in the conductor and a magnetic field
perpendicular to the current .

1.Can be used to measure a current

2.Can be used to measure the magnetic field strength

3.Can be used in analog to digital convertion

4.common applications are often found where a robust or contactless switch or potentiometer is
required.

5.They are also used to control hydraulic valves ,replacing the traditional mechanical levers with
contactless sensor.

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