week 13

“Miscellaneous Meters”
a) Thermocouple Instruments
b) Peak Response Voltmeter
c) Low-Level Voltmeter & Ammeter
d) Reviews

Thermocouple Instrument

Definition: The instrument which uses the thermocouple for the measurement of the temperature,
current and voltage such type of instrument is known as the thermocouple instrument. It is used for both
the AC and DC measurement.

The thermocouple is an electric device which uses two wires of the different metal. It’s work on the
principle that the heat energy is converted into an electric energy at the junction which is made of
different metals.

thermocouple-definition

The current whose magnitude is used to be measured passes through the junction of the thermocouple.
The current produces the heat in the heater element, and the thermocouple induces the electromotive
force in the output terminals. This emf is measured through the PMMC instrument. The magnitude of
the emf is proportional to the temperature and the RMS value of the current.

The most significant advantage of the thermocouple instrument is that it is used for high-frequency
measurement of current and voltage. The instrument is more accurate for the frequency above 50Hz.

Construction of Thermoelectric Instrument

Thermoelectric element and the indicating instrument are the two main parts of the thermo-electric
instrument.

Thermoelectric elements

Four types of thermoelectric element are used in the thermocouple instrument. Their types are
explained below in details.

1. Contact Type – The contact type element uses the separate heater. The junction of the thermocouple
is contacted with the heater shown in the figure below.
thermo-electric-element

The electric heating element is used for the following purposes.

The heater element converts the electrical energy into thermal energy.

The heat energy is converted into thermal energy with the help of Seebeck effect.

The output terminal of the thermocouple is connected to PMMC instrument. The smallest amount of the
electric energy is used for deflecting the pointer of PMMC instrument, and this energy is stored in the
spring of the instrument.

2. Non-contact type Instrument – In this instrument, there is no electrical contact between the heating
element and the thermocouple. It is separated by the electrical insulation. The insulation makes the
system less sensitive and slow as compared to the contact type instrument.

Advantages of thermoelectric Instrument

The following are the advantages of thermoelectric Instrument.

It directly indicates the RMS value of voltage and current on the waveform.

Such type of instrument is free from the stray magnetic field.

The thermic electric element is used for a wide range of current measurement.

The instrument has a high sensitivity.

It is useful for the calibration of the potentiometer with the help of the standard cell.

The thermic element is free from the frequency error and hence used for the widest range of frequency.

Disadvantages of thermoelectric Instrument

The only disadvantage of the thermoelectric instrument is that their overload capacity is less as
compared to the other element.

What is a peak reading voltmeter?

Peak reading voltmeter gives the peak or highest value of the supply.

It consists of a capacitor in parellel to a high resistance , connected to the supply through a doide.

During the positive cycle of the supply the capacitor is directly charged to the peak value (because of the
low time constant of the doide capacitor path). When the capacitor attains the peak value the diode
reverse biases. Now the capacitor is dicharges through the parallel resistance which has high time
constant as resisistance is if high value. Within this time the meter reads the voltage across the capacitor
which is the peak value of the supply.

Note: Thus meter gives the peak positive value whatever may be the shape of waveform.

Electronic Voltmeter

Definition: The voltmeter which uses the amplifier for increases their sensitivity is known as the
electronic voltmeter. It is used for measuring the voltages of both the AC and DC devices. The electronic
voltmeter gives the accurate reading because of high input resistance.

The moving coil voltmeter is not able to detect the low voltages. The electronic voltmeter overcomes this
problem. The electronic voltmeter has high input impedance because of which it detects the signals of
very weak strength, hence gives the accurate reading. The high impedance means the circuit opposes the
input supply.

The electronic voltmeter uses the transistor or vacuum tube. The transistor type voltmeter (TVM) has
resistance because of which it cannot measure the current. And the vacuum voltmeter (VVM) has low
resistance. Hence it is used for measuring the current.

Working of Electronic Voltmeter

The magnitude of the measurand voltage is directly proportional to the deflection of the pointer. The
pointer is fixed on the calibrated scale. The point at which the pointer deflects indicates the magnitude
of the input voltage.

In moving coil voltmeter the large power is drawn from the measurand circuit because of which the error
occurs in their reading. This problem is overcome in the electronic voltmeter.

electronic-voltmeter

In electronic voltmeter, the pointer is deflected by taking the supply from the auxiliary amplifier circuit.
The output voltages of the amplifier circuit are similar to the voltage of the test circuit. The extra power
is not passing through the deflector because of which the meter gives the accurate reading.

Types of Electronic Voltmeter

The electronic voltmeter is categorized into two types. They are

Analog Electronic Voltmeter

Digital Electronic Voltmeter

Analog Electronic Voltmeter – The meter whose output is obtained by the deflection of the pointer on
the calibrated scale is known as the analogue electronic measurement. It is a voltage measuring
instrument which has high circuit impedance. The meter uses the electronic amplifier for controlling the
input signals. The analogue electronic voltmeter is further classified into AC and DC analogue electronic
voltmeter.

voltmeter

Digital Electronic Voltmeter – The voltmeter which gives the digital output reading of the measures
voltage is known as the electronic voltmeter. The output of the digital electronic voltmeter is in the form
of the numerical value. The digital electronic instruments reduce the human and the parallax error
because the reading is directly shown in the numeric form.

Advantage of Electronic Voltmeter

The following are the advantages of the electronic voltmeter.

Detection of Low-level signals – The electronic voltmeter uses the amplifier which avoids the load error.
The amplifier detects the very small signals which produce the current of approximately 50μA. The
detection of low-level signals is essential for determining the true value of the measurement.

Low Power Consumption – The electronic voltmeter has vacuum tubes and the transistor which has the
amplifying properties. It uses the auxiliary source for the deflection of the pointer. The measurand
voltage controls the deflection of the sensing element. Thus, the circuit of the electronic voltmeter
consumes very less power.

High-Frequency Range – The working of the electronic voltmeter is free from frequency range because of
the transistor. Along with the voltage, the signal of very high and low frequency can also be measured
through it.
The electronics voltmeter measures the power only when they have the closed circuit, i.e., the current
flows through their meter.