EE319 Task #2 Report

Abstract

This task was a very laborious one. This was due to the precision required in setting up the circuit
elements rather than the difficulty of the task itself. The aim of the task was to build a wattmeter to
calculate the average instantaneous product of voltage and current per cycle and the power factor.
This information can be used to calculate apparent power, reactive power, reactance and inductance.
In order to achieve the aims of the task, a ferrite core inductor needed to be constructed. Using the
M2K, a signal will be generated of varying frequencies which will be used to show how the circuit is
reacting. The M2K will also be used to take measurements of voltage and current both before and
across the inductor. The math channel of the M2K will also be used to perform desired calculations.
M2K_1+ and M2K_1- are connected across R1. This will be used to represent current flowing into the
inductor. M2K_2+ and M2K_2- are connected across R_Load and the inductor. This will be used to
represent the voltage across the inductor. The values of R1 and R_Load are 270 but using a
multimeter, R1 ≅ 269Ω, R_Load≅ 268Ω. Scopy can also be used to calculate the Vrms_R1 and the
Vrms_L. The schematic for the circuit can be seen in the appendix.

Table of contents
SECTION 1 – Constructing Inductor……………………….……………………………… page 2
1.1 Scraping Enamel ………………………………………………………………………………………………page 2
1.2 Winding and Ferromagnetic Core ……………………………………………………………………. page 2
1.3 Connecting to Breadboard …………………………………………………………………………… page 2
SECTION 2 – Testing & Results…………………………………………………….. page 3
2.1 With Ferromagnetic Core ……………………………………………………………………………….. page 3
2.1.1 Calculations for power angle, apparent power, reactive power, inductance ……………….. page 3

2.2 Without Ferromagnetic Core …………………………………………………………………………... page 3

2.2.1 Calculations for power angle, apparent power, reactive power, inductance ……………….. page 3

SECTION 3 – DISCUSSION & LEARNINGS …………………………………………… page 4

SECTION 4 – REFLECTIONS…………………………………………………………………. page 4
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………………. page 5
APENDIX ……………………………………………………………………………………………. page 5

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Section 1 – Constructing Inductor

Section 1.1 Scraping Enamel

The inductor will have a copper wire wound around a 14-pin coil former. The copper wire is
enamelled. This means that the connection of the pin to copper wire will not be strong and will affect
the inductance. To overcome this, the enamel must be scraped off the ends of the copper wire. The
scraping of the enamel was done using a knife, gently running it along the copper wire. The first few
tries were unsuccessful as the readings from the MK2_1 and MK2_2 were in phase and of the same
amplitude on the Scopy oscilloscope which meant there was no inductance due to bad pin
connections. The copper wire is connected to two separate pins on the same side of the coil former.

Section 1.2 Winding and Ferromagnetic Core

The desired amount of turns of copper wire was 30 but due to the fact of a limited supply of copper
wire and how many times the wire was accidently cut while scraping the enamel, there was only 26
turns of copper wire. The turns were side-by-side with no overlapping and gaps. (see appendix). On
the first attempt, the copper wire was connected to the pin and brought around the outside of the coil
former. When the ferromagnetic core was put in place using clips, it cut the copper wire and the
process had to be restarted. The entire copper wire is in the inside of the coil former (see appendix).

Section 1.3 Connecting to Breadboard

The two pins on the 14-pin coil former that the copper wire was connected too needed to be connected
into the breadboard. Male-to-Male connecting leads were used first. The connection was not strong
enough and there was no inductance. One end of each lead was cut off and striped of the insulation to
expose the wire. The exposed wire was then wrapped tightly around the pin with the copper wire. This
gave a strong connection (see appendix).

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Section 2 – Testing & Results
2.1 With Ferromagnetic Core
The signal generated on Scopy was set to 0.5 volts peak-to-peak with a frequency of 50Hz. The two
AC traces on the oscilloscope appeared to be identical. As the frequency is increased to 500Hz there
appears to be a phase shift. The current is beginning to lag the voltage. When increased to 5KHz, this
phase shift is growing, and the amplitudes of the AC traces are changing with the voltage peak-to-
peak is greater than the current. These differences are amplified as the frequency is increased. At
50KHz, there are big differences in phase and amplitude. See appendix for waveforms.

2.1.1 Calculations for power factor, apparent power, reactive power, inductance

Using the Scopy math channel, the product of the voltages can be calculated, and the mean displayed
as a waveform giving the mean power. This can be seen on the excel graphs in the appendix, as the
yellow line. The mean power is 0.01914 𝑉 2 /Ω. The power factor calculate was 52.34°. The apparent
power calculated was 1.165𝑥10−4 VA. The reactance was calculated at 347.3Ω. The reactive power
was then calculated to be 8.982 𝑥10−5 VAR. Finally, the total inductance of the coil with the
ferromagnetic core was calculated to be 1.105mH. See appendix for all calculations.

2.2 Without Ferromagnetic Core

The signal generator was switched off and disconnected from the circuit. The ferromagnetic cores were
removed, and the same tests of changing frequencies were performed. There were very tiny changes in
the AC waveforms as the signal was increased all the way to 50KHz.

2.2.1 Calculations for power factor, apparent power, reactive power, inductance

All the same calculations were done as when the ferromagnetic core was in place. The power factor has
been reduced to 6.86°. The reactance of the coil has been reduced to 32.24Ω. The inductance of the
coil is calculated to be 1.283𝑥10−4 H. See appendix for equations.

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SECTION 3 – DISCUSSION & LEARNINGS
The frequency needed to clearly display the effects of increasing frequency was high at 50KHz. This
could be due to the fact there was only 26 turns of the coil or the connections between the copper, pins
and breadboard were not strong enough meaning a very high frequency was needed to have an impact
on the AC traces.
As the frequency was increased, it became clear that the current lagged the voltage. This is due to the
change of current inducing a magnetic field within the coil, which will oppose the change in this
current. The voltage changes polarity before the current can reach maximum value which causes the
current to change direction. The self-inductance of the coil causes a delay in the change of direction of
the current and therefore the current lags the voltage by 90°. This is clear from the excel graphs and
oscilloscope waveforms.
It is also clear that current reduces in amplitude. As the frequency gets higher, the current has less
time to reach its maximum value which would mean its amplitude will decrease. The increasing
frequency will also increase the rate of change of the flux within the coil which means there is more
energy to oppose the current flow. Therefore, there is a greater reactance of the coil when the coil has
a ferromagnetic core and a higher inductance.
It is clear from the results that the inductance of the wire decreased dramatically when the
ferromagnetic core was removed. The power factor had also been greatly reduced as without the
ferromagnetic core, there was not as much self-inductance of the coil and there was not as big of a
delay in the change of direction of the current.
All the values of apparent power, reactive power and inductance have been reduced by a factor of 10
when the ferromagnetic core was removed. As reactive power is a result of inductance, it makes sense
that it would decrease with the removal of the ferromagnetic core. As apparent power is the product of
emf and current, it also makes sense that this value would decrease with the removal of the
ferromagnetic core.
Diodes placed across an inductor are flyback diodes in a circuit which the inductive loads are
controlled by a switch. Flyback diodes prevent issues caused by electrical arcing (SCIENCING). The
diode nulls the effect of flyback, which is a sudden spike in voltage when the supply current is
suddenly interrupted or reduced (Flyback Diode). The momentary voltage pulse(flyback) can cause
damage to the equipment being used. The diode absorbs the pulse’s energy.
Flyback diodes are needed in DC powered circuits in order to dissipate residual current when the
power is disconnected. This energy comes from residual magnetic energy converted into a voltage
pulse (SCIENCING). In an AC powered circuit, the polarity is always changing which means there is
always power and there is no flyback created (ElectricalEngineering).

SECTION 4 – REFLECTIONS
I found scraping the enamel off the copper wire multiple times very demoralising. It was a challenge
for me to keep trying to get the connection strong. Especially when I would be just finished scraping
enamel off the wire, the wire would break, and I would have to start over again.
When I started to take the results and to do the calculations, the task was not so bad. I found it
interesting to see the effects of the core and increasing frequencies in real time. I felt I learned a lot
during this task.

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REFERENCES
[1] What is a flyback diode?, April 25, 2017, John Papiewski, SCIENCING

Website: https://sciencing.com/condenser-fluorescent-lamp-work-5035839.html

[2] 10 November, 2020, Flyback Diode, Wikipidea

Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flyback_diode

[3] AC Motor flyback diode, Electrical Engineering, Stack Exchange

Website: https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/275389/ac-motor-flyback-diode

Appendix

Circuit Diagram

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Right: Ferromagnetic Core Inductor, Left: Physical Circuit

50Hz

500Hz

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5KHz

50KHz

50KHz

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With Ferromagnetic Core:
Vrms_R1 = 0.1368V
0.1368
Irms = 269
= 5.086𝑥10−4 A

Vrms_L = 0.229V
<VL(t) VR1(t)> = 0.01914 V2
<𝑉𝐿 (𝑡)𝑉𝑅1 (𝑡)> ,
cos(𝜃) = 𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝐿 𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑅1

<𝑉𝐿 (𝑡)𝑉𝑅1 (𝑡)>

𝜃(𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟) = cos −1 ( )
𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝐿 𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑅1

𝜃 = 52.34°
S(Apparent Power) = Vrms_LIrms
S = 1.165x10−4 VA
𝑋
tan(𝜃) = 𝑅_𝐿 , X = 𝑅𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 tan(𝜃)

X(reactance) = 347.3Ω
2
Q(Reactive Power) = 𝐼𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑋
Q = 8.982 𝑥10−5 VAR

f = 50𝑥103 Hz

𝑤 = 2𝜋 × 𝑓
𝑋
𝑋 = 𝑤𝐿 , 𝐿 = 𝑤

L(inductance) = 1.105𝑥10−3 H

Without Ferromagnetic Core:

Vrms_R1 = 0.0.08053V
Vrms_L = 0.0.8072V
<VL(t) VR1(t)> = 0.00641 V2
𝜃 = 6.86°

S = 2.416x10−5 VA

Q = 2.889 𝑥10−6 VAR

X(reactance) = 32.24Ω
L(inductance) = 1.283𝑥10−4 H

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