If you do not study hard when young

you'll end up bewailing your failures as

you grow up. - Chinese Proverb

How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear
you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.
Psalm 31:19
 Course Synopsis (NUST Yearbook)
• Basic electrical measuring devices, ammeters, voltmeters.
• Measurement of non-electrical parameters.
• Transducers and their operating principles.
• Signal conditioning.
• Oscilloscopes as measurement instruments.
• Recording measurement devices.
• Electronic measuring instruments, digital voltmeters,
multimeters.
• Measurement of AC power.
• Computer Measuring system
• WSNs and IoT enabled electrical measurements
 Course Outline

• Fundamentals of Measurement Systems

• Errors in Measurement
• Sensors
• Signal Conditioning
• Analogue Instruments
• Digital Instruments
• Frequency and Waveform Measurement
• Recording Instruments
• Automatic Measurement Systems and Virtual Instruments
• WSNs & IoT enabled Measurements
 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Department of Electronic Engineering

Electrical Measurements [TEE 2141]

Chapter 1: Fundamentals of
Measurement Systems
 Measurements

• Measurement is a process of gathering

information from the physical world and
comparing this information with agreed
standards.
• Scientific instrumentation and metrology are
often used as synonyms of measurements.
 Measurements

• Measurement is an
act of comparing an
unknown quantity to a
predetermined or
predefined standard
to establish its
magnitude.
 Measurements

• Life involves measurement of a range of

quantities.
• Electrical Measurement systems seeks to quantify
parameters e.g. the voltage in a socket, the speed
of a car, the temperature in a boiler, the flow rate
in a pipe, nitrogen content in the soil, minerals in
borehole water.
• Systems that measure all these are our domain as
engineers
 Measurements

• Biological “sensors” have practical limitations of

data range and they are not suitable for
particular measurements.
• E.g. An individual can make a relatively coarse
temperature observation about their immediate
surroundings, but cannot make remote accurate
temperature observations over a period of time
in harsh environments.
Measurements
 Importance / Use of measurements

1. Testing of equipment (failure / calibration).

2. Monitoring systems or processes – to indicate the
working condition of systems
3. Process control (Automatic) in industrial and
domestic situations.
4. Billing (consumption rates)
5. Quality Control
6. Decision-making with regard to safety, planning and
marketing e.g. toxic gas levels, soil composition
 Importance of measurements

• Engineers take measurements and do tests on

electrical circuits and equipment when:
a) Designing
b) Evaluating / Testing
c) Monitoring or controlling
d) Maintaining
e) Servicing / fixing
 Measurements & Industries / Sectors

FOOD PRODUCTION & PROCESSING

• Production process control i.e. sensors play a
role in fermentation and production processes.
• Quality control e.g. minimising the risk of
hazardous or poor quality food products being
sold for human consumption.
 Measurements & Industries / Sectors

HEALTH
• Personalised healthcare
• e-health uses sensing and
monitoring technologies
for remote patient
diagnostics and
pharmaceutical handling
 Measurements & Industries / Sectors

TRANSPORTATION
• Traffic management and
signalling systems may involve
sensing and monitoring.
• Vehicle telematics is the
integrated use of sensors and
telecommunications in vehicles
to provide shared information
• Law enforcement systems
 Measurements & Industries / Sectors

ENVIRONMENT
• Monitoring of environmental parameters e.g.
pollution levels and water quality
• Weather reports are generated using data from
sensors scattered across the globe (to measure
conditions such as temperature, humidity,
pressure, solar radiation and wind speed).
 Measurements & Industries / Sectors

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
• Data collected from sensor networks provide
valuable information to forecast and predict
potential disasters and activities that can place
building structures or peoples’ lives at risk e.g.
storms, cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis.
 Measurements & Industries / Sectors

SPORT
• To measure performance
• To optimise performance
of athletes, animals and
machines.
 Direct and Indirect Measurements

• The concept of electrical measurements can be

divided into 2 broad areas:
1. Direct Electrical measurements
2. Indirect Electrical measurements
 Direct and Indirect Measurements

• Quantities which are measured directly include:

• Voltage (Volts)
• Current (Amps)
• Resistance (Ohms)
• Power (Watts)
• Capacitance (Farads)
• Inductance (Henries)
• Frequency (Hertz)
 Direct and Indirect Measurements

• Non-electrical quantities which are often

measured using ‘electrical instruments’ include:
• displacement, strain, light intensity,
• pressure, temperature,
• speed, mass, gravity, liquid level,
• radioactivity, acidity, concentration,
• torque, length and acceleration.
 Direct and Indirect Measurements

Electrical means are used to measure non-

electrical quantities because the electrical signal is
versatile it can be manipulated easily i.e.
amplified, attenuated, measured (quantified),
rectified, modulated, transmitted and controlled.
 The Measurement system
Electrical Signal Modified Signal
Input Output
Sensing Signal Signal Data
Element / Conditioning processing Presentation
True Transducer element element Element / Display Measured
value value
Thermocouple Deflection bridge A-to-D converter Simple pointer
Strain gauge Amplifier Computer Chart recorder
Orifice plate Oscillator Microcontrollers Paperless recorders
Filter Modulator Visual display unit
Encryptor LCD
PLCs LED & LED arrays
Printers
Computers
 The Measurement system

Electrical Modified
Signal Signal

Test
Signal
Variable / Transducer Telemetry Display
Conditioner
True value

Measurand Sensor + variable Signal Signal Signal

conversion processing transmission Presentation

Test Variable :- Property to be measured

Telemetry:- Data transmission element
 The Measurement system

Mechanical Linkages

Input Output
Sensing Signal Signal Data
Element / Conditioning processing Presentation
Current Transducer element element Element / Display Measured
value
Moving coil Magnets and other Pointer & Scale
components
 Extension of the Measurement system

A measurement system can be modified into a

process control system, where the output is linked
to control elements to make a complete closed-loop
control system
 Extension of the Measurement system
Actuating
signal Actual Value
Input Output
Comparator /
Error Detector Controller Plant Display
Desired
Value

Signal Signal
Feedback processing Conditioning Sensor
signal element element

Feedback Elements
 Classification of systems

• When classifying instruments one considers

1. the nature of the parameter being measured
2. the signal conditioning requirement
3. the method of data presentation or how the
measurement is visualised
 Sensor requirement

• Direct measuring instruments - are those where the

physical quantity is displayed without any need for
conversion e.g. voltage, current, power
• Indirect measuring instruments - are those where
the measured quantity has to be converted from a
non-electrical quantity to an electrical signal first.
• The sensors discussed later operate in such
systems that measure length, temperature, light
intensity or force
 Signal conversion requirement

• Analogue instruments - are those which convert the

input signal into a proportional time varying output.
Usually displayed by the deflection of a pointer on a
scale or movement of a spot on a screen.
• Digital instruments - convert the analogue signal
from the transducer to numerical form for
processing, usually as a binary number. In such
cases there is usually an analogue-to-digital
converter as the first stage of the signal conditioner.
 Display type

• Indicating instruments - These give an instant

visual indication of the state of a variable being
measured. The display may be either analogue or
digital.
• Recording instruments - The instrument makes a
permanent record of the values of the variable
over a period of time. E.g. chart recorder, magnetic
tape, computer memory and plotter.
 Examples of classifications

Voltmeter =

Direct analogue indicating

instrument
 Examples of classifications

Electronic money counting

system with printout =

Indirect digital indicating

instrument.
 Examples of classifications

COVID Checkpoint Radiation

thermometer =

Indirect digital indicating instrument

 Examples of classifications

Car speedometer with a pointer =

Indirect analogue indicating

 Examples of classifications

Weather Chart recorder =

Indirect analogue recording

 Examples of classifications

Home intruder alarm system =

Indirect digital indicating

 Examples of classifications

Electronic attendance
register system =

Indirect digital indicating

& recording
 Examples of classifications

Wattmeter in industry =

Direct Analogue Indicating

Typical measuring equipment
End of Chapter 1
Fundamentals of Measurement Systems