ANALOGUE INSTRUMENT

THREE TYPES OF FORCE DEVELOPED ON

ANALOGUE MEASURING INSTRUMENT
There are three types of force developed:
1.Deflecting Torque
2.Controlling Torque
3.Damping Torque
Deflecting Torque:
The deflecting torque is produced by making use of one of the following
forces magnetic, heating, chemical electrostatic and electromagnetic
induction effects of current or voltage and causes the moving system of
the instrument to move from its zero position when the instrument is
connected in an electrical circuit to measure the electrical quantity.
The method of producing this torque depends upon the type of the
instrument.
Controlling Torque:
Under the action of deflecting torque, the pointer will continue to move
indefinitely and shall be independent of the value of electrical quantity to be
measured.
This controlling torque should oppose the deflecting torque and should
increase with the deflection of the moving system so that the pointer is
brought to rest at a position when the two opposing torques are equal.
The controlling torque performs the following functions:
 Controlling Torque
It opposes the deflecting torque and increases with the deflection of the
moving system. It thus limits the movement of the pointer so that the
magnitude of deflection is always the same for the given value of
electrical quantity to be measured.
If brings the pointer to the zero position when the deflecting torque is
removed. If it were not provided, the pointer once deflected would not
return to zero position on removing the deflecting torque.  
The controlling torque is provided either by spring control or gravity
control.
 Controlling Torque
Spring Control:
Two hair springs are attached to the moving system which exerts
controlling torque. To employ spring control to an instrument, following
requirements are essential.
The spring should be non-mechanical stress.
The spring should be free from mechanical stress.
They should have small resistance and sufficient cross sectional area.
They should have low resistance temperature coefficient
Spring control
 Spring control
Springs are made up of nonmagnetic materials like silicon bronze, hard
rolled silver or copper, platinum silver and German silver. For most of the
instruments phosphor bronze spiral springs are provided.
The controlling torque provided by the instrument is directly
proportional to the angular deflection of the pointer
 Spring control
Advantages of Spring Control:
1. Scale is uniform.
2. The readings are taken very accurately.
3. The system need not be in vertical position. It can be used in any position.
4. This control is mostly used when compared to gravity control.
Disadvantages of Spring Control:
1. The controlling torque is fixed.
2. The performance is temperature dependent.
3. It is simple, rigid but costlier.
Gravity Control
This type of control consists of a small weight attached to the moving
system whose position is adjustable.
This weight produces a controlling torque due to gravity. This weight is
called control weight.
At the zero position of the pointer, the controlling torque is zero. The
control weights act at a distance 'l' from the center. The control system is
as shown in the figure below.
Gravity control
Advantages of Gravity Control:
1. The performance is not time dependent.
2. It is simple and cheap.
3. Controlling torque can be varied by adjusting the position of the control
weight.  
Disadvantages of Gravity Control:
1. Scale is non-uniform. So readings are not accurate.
2. The system is used in vertical position only and must be properly
levelled. Otherwise it may cause serious errors in the measurements.
DAMPING TORQUE:
If the moving system is acted upon by deflecting and controlling torques
alone, then the pointer due to its inertia will oscillate about final position
before coming to rest. These oscillations are undesirable and must be
prevented.
In order to avoid these oscillations of the pointer and to bring it quickly
to its deflected position, damping torque is provided which opposes the
movement of the pointer and operates only when the system is moving
 Damping torque
The damping torque should have a magnitude that make the pointer
quickly comes to its final steady position.
If the system is underdamped, the moving system will oscillate about
the final steady position with a decreasing amplitude.
When the moving system moves rapidly but smoothly to its final steady
position, the system is said to be critically damped.
If the damping torque is more than what is required for critical
damping is called over-damped.
 The figure below shows the way an underdamped, an overdamped and
critically damped system moves to its final steady position.
 The methods for producing damping torque are:
1. Air friction damping
2. Fluid friction damping
3. Eddy current damping
1. Air friction damping

The air friction damping device is as shown in the figure below. The

arrangement consists of a light aluminium piston which is attached to

the moving system.

This piston moves in a fixed air chamber which is closed at one end. The

clearance between piston and the chamber walls is uniform throughout

and is very small. When there are oscillations the piston moves into and

out of air chamber

When the piston moves inside the chamber, the air inside is compressed

and pressure of air, thus builds up, opposes the motion of piston and

hence the whole moving system.

When the piston moves out of the air chamber, pressure in the closed

space falls, and the pressure on the open side of piston is greater than

on the other side. Thus there is again an opposition to motion.

2. Fluid Friction damping:
This form of damping is similar to air friction damping. Oil is used in
place of air and as the viscosity of oil is greater, the damping force is
correspondingly greater.
A disc is attached to the moving system as shown in the figure, this
disc dips into an oil pot and is completely submerged in oil. When the
moving system moves, the disc moves in oil and a frictional drag is
produced. This frictional drag always opposes the motion.
Advantages of fluid friction damping:
Due to more viscosity of fluid, more damping is provided.
The oil can also be used for insulation purposes.
Due to up thrust of oil, the load on the bearings are reduced,
thus reducing the frictional errors.
• 
Disadvantages of fluid friction damping:
These are used only for instruments in vertical position.
Due to oil leakage, the instruments cannot be kept clean.
3. Eddy Current damping:
This is the most efficient way of providing damping. It is based on
Faraday's law and Lenz's law. When a conductor moves in a magnetic
field cutting the flux, the e.m.f gets induced in it. And direction of this
e.m.f is so as to oppose the cause producing it.
In this method aluminum disc is connected to the spindle.

The arrangement of disc is such that when it rotates, it cuts the magnetic
flux lines of a permanent magnet. The arrangement is as shown in the
figure.

When the pointer oscillates, aluminum disc rotates under the influence of
magnetic field of damping magnet.

So disc cuts the flux which causes an induced e.m.f in the disc.
The disc is a closed path hence induced e.m.f circulate current through
the disc called eddy current.

The direction of such eddy current is so as to oppose the cause

producing it. The cause is relative motion between disc and field.

Thus it produces an opposing torque so as to reduce the oscillations of

pointer. This brings pointer to rest quickly.

This is most effective and efficient method of damping.

 PARMANENT MAGNET MOVING COIL
INSTRUMENT
These instruments are employed either as ammeters or voltmeters and can
be used for d.c. work only.
Principle of Permanent magnet moving coil instruments:
This type of instrument is based on the principle that when a current
carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field, mechanical force acts on
the conductor.
The coil placed in magnetic field and carrying operating current is attached
to the moving system. With the movement of the coil the pointer moves over
the scale.
 Construction of Permanent magnet moving coil instruments:
It consists of a powerful permanent magnet with soft iron pieces and light
rectangular coil of many turns of fine wire wound on aluminium former
inside which is an iron core as shown in fig. The purpose of coil is to make
the field uniform. The coil is mounted on the spindle and acts as the moving
element. The current is led into and out of the coil by means of the to
control hair springs, one above and the other below the coil. The springs
also provides the controlling torque. Eddy current damping is provided by
aluminium former.
 Working Of Permanent Magnet Moving Coil Instruments:
When the instrument is connected in the circuit, operating current flows
through the coil.
This current coil is placed in the magnetic field produced by the permanent
magnet and therefore, mechanical force acts on the coil. As the coil
attached to the moving system, the pointer moves over the scale.
It may be noted that if current direction is reversed, the torque will also be
reversed since the direction of the field of permanent magnet is same.
 Working Of Permanent Magnet Moving Coil Instruments:

Hence, the pointer will move in the opposite direction, i.e. it

will go on the wrong side of zero. In other words, these
instruments work only when current in the circuit is passed in a
definite direction i.e. for d.c. circuit only.
It is worthwhile to mention here that such instruments are
called permanent magnet moving coil instruments because a
coil moves in the field of a permanent magnet.
 Deflecting Torque of a permanent magnet moving
coil
When current is passed through the coil, a deflection torque is
produced due to the reaction between permanent magnetic field and the
magnetic field of the coil.
Let B = flux density in the air gap between the magnetic poles and iron
core.
R = vertical active length of the coil side in meters.
L = horizontal length of the surface
N = number of turns of coil.
Td = Deflecting Torque
• If a current of I amperes flows in the coil, then force F acting on each coil
side is given by
• F = NBIL
• Td = Force * perpendicular distance
• = F * R newton - meters
• Td = NBIL * R newton - meters
• If (A = L * R) is the surface area of the coil, then
• Td = NBIA newton - meters
 k
T h er efo r e, I
G

T h u s, th e d efl ecti on i s d i r ectl y p r op or ti on al to th e op er ati n g cu r r en t. T h er ef or e, su ch i n str u m en ts h av e u n i for m scal e.

EXAMPLE 1

The coil of a PMMC instrument has 60 turns, on a former is 18

mm wide, the effective length of the conductor being 25 mm. It
moves in a uniform field of flux density 0.5 Tesla. The control
spring constant is 1.5 × 10-6 Nm/degree. Calculate the current
required to produce a deflection of 100 degree.
EXAMPLE 2

A PMMC instrument has a coil of dimensions 15 mm × 12 mm.

The flux density in the air gap is 1.8 × 10-3 wb/m2 and the
spring constant is 0.14 × 10-6 N-m/rad. Determine the number
of turns required to produce an angular deflection of 90° when
a current of
5 mA is flowing through the coil.
 Extension of range of PMMC instrument
Case (I): Shunts
An ammeter, which measures current, has a low resistance
(ideally zero) and must be connected in series with the circuit.
A voltmeter, which measures p.d., has a high resistance
(ideally infinite) and must be connected in parallel with the
part of the circuit whose p.d. is required.
 Extension of range of PMMC instrument cont.…
There is no difference between the basic instrument used to
measure current and voltage since both use a milliammeter as
their basic part.
This is a sensitive instrument which gives f.s.d. for currents of
only a few milliamperes.
When an ammeter is required to measure currents of larger
magnitude, a proportion of the current is diverted through a low-
value resistance connected in parallel with the meter.
 Such a diverting resistor is called a shunt as shown in figure
below.
F rom F i gu re (a), V P Q = V R S . H ence I a r a = I S R S

I a ra
T h u s th e v al u e of th e sh u nt, R s ohms
Is
 Case (II): Multiplier
The milliammeter is converted into a voltmeter by connecting a high
value resistance (called a multiplier) in series with it as shown in Figure
(b).
F r om F i gu r e (b ), V = V a + V M = I r a + I R M

V I ra
RM o h ms
I
Problem 1
A moving-coil instrument gives a f.s.d. when the current is
40mA and its resistance is 25 . Calculate the value of the shunt
to be connected in parallel with the meter to enable it to be
used as an ammeter for measuring currents up to 50A.
Problem 2.
A moving-coil instrument having a resistance of 10 , gives a
f.s.d. when the current is 8 mA. Calculate the value of the
multiplier to be connected in series with the instrument so that
it can be used as a voltmeter for measuring p.d. is up to 100 V.