Measurements Lab

MTE 221
(2)

Wheatstone bridge’s Sensitivity

Resistors’ values effect

Name : Mostafa Khaled Fouad

ID : 20180878
GR : 61

TA : Wael Khalifa
 Contents
Objective ............................................................ 3
components ....................................................... 3
Introduction ....................................................... 3
Circuit diagram................................................... 5
Results................................................................ 6
 Objective
To demonstrate the concept of sensitivity and how would the values of the used resistors in a
wheat stone bridge would affect it!

components
9 v battery, 4 1k resistance, 2 10k resistance,2 100 k resistance ,2 100 ohm , decode box (
potentiometers using 1k,100k,10k,1M) and an Avometer

Introduction
A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical
phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem
that detects events or changes in its environment and sends the information to other
electronics, frequently a computer processor. Sensors are always used with other electronics.

The Wheatstone Bridge diamond shaped circuit who’s concept was developed by Charles
Wheatstone can be used to accurately measure unknown resistance values, or as a means of
calibrating measuring instruments, voltmeters, ammeters, etc, by the use of a variable
resistance and a simple mathematical formula. Although today digital multimeters provide the
simplest way to measure a resistance. The Wheatstone Bridge can be used to compare an
unknown resistance to that of a known resistance to determine its value allowing very low
values of resistances down in the milli-Ohms (mΩ) range to be measured. Sensors are used in
everyday objects such as touch-sensitive elevator buttons (tactile sensor) and lamps which dim
or brighten by touching the base, and in innumerable applications of which most people are
never aware. With advances in micromachinery and easy-to-use microcontroller platforms, the
uses of sensors have expanded beyond the traditional fields of temperature, pressure and flow
measurement. A sensor's sensitivity indicates how much its output changes when the input
quantity it measures changes. For instance, if the mercury in a thermometer moves 1 cm when
the temperature changes by 1 °C, its sensitivity is 1 cm/°C (it is basically the slope dy/dx
assuming a linear characteristic). Some sensors can also affect what they measure; for instance,
a room temperature thermometer inserted into a hot cup of liquid cools the liquid while the
liquid heats the thermometer. Sensors are usually designed to have a small effect on what is
measured; making the sensor smaller often improves this and may introduce other advantages.

The Wheatstone Bridge equation required to give the value of the unknown resistance, RX at
balance is given as:
 \

Where resistors, R1 and R2 are known or preset values.

In this experiment we put the effect of using smaller ratio between R1 and R2 and smaller
values of R1 and R2 into consideration regarding the effect of both of them toward bridge’s
sensitivity where it can be calculated from :

𝐼 𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑑−𝐼 𝑢𝑛𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑑
S=
𝑅𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑑−𝑅𝑠 𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑑
 Circuit diagram

Procedures
Values Vs R1=R2 Rx Rs_balanced Rs_balanced Out of Sensitivity
+ 10% balance
current
in uA
1 9Vdc 100 1K
ohm
2 1k 1K
3 10k 1K
4 100k 1K

1. First we connect the voltage source and the Rs which is 1K ohm

2. We put a 10K potentiometer in place of Rs
3. We put the R1 and R2 as their values from the table
4. We connect the Avometer in the middle and start measuring the voltage
5. We start turning the knob left and right till the readings become 0
6. If it’s 0 ,we disconnect the battery then we measure the Rs value
7. We write down the value in the table
8. We add 10% of Rs to it for unbalanced condition then we change Rs value
9. We measure the current output
10. If the Avometer doesn’t measure negative current ,we measure the voltage
11. We divide the voltage on unbalanced Rs value to get the current in micro Amp
then we write down its value
12. We divide the value of the current to the value of the Rs 10%
where (I-Iout of balance )/(RsOUT OF BALANCE-Rs)
13. we repeat from step 3 till the table is finished
 Results
Theoretical values of Rs

For R1-R2 and Rx =1k

Rs=1k

Values Vs R1=R2 Rx Rs_balanced Rs_balanced Out of Sensitivity

+ 10% balance (uA / Ω)
current

1 9V 100 Ω 1 kΩ 538 Ω 591 Ω 470 uA 8.870

2 9V 1 kΩ 1 kΩ 748 Ω 822 Ω 274 uA 3.650
3 9V 10 kΩ 1 kΩ 927 Ω 1020 Ω 176 uA 1.910
4 9V 100 kΩ 1 kΩ 960 Ω 1050 Ω 152 uA 1.580

As shown in the table , the sensitivity of the bridge would increase with the decrease in the
values of R1 and R2.

10000

9000

8000

7000

6000
SENSITIVITY

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0
100 ohm 1k 10k 100k
RESISTANCE VALUE