Lab Manual:

Measurements and Instrumentation

Using the NI Automated Measurements Board for NI ELVIS III

Lab 4: Current
© 2019 National Instruments
All rights reserved. Neither this resource, nor any portion of it, may be copied or reproduced in
any form or by any means without written permission of the publisher.

National Instruments respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our readers to do
the same. This resource is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Where
the software referred to in this resource may be used to reproduce software or other materials
belonging to others, you should use such software only to reproduce materials that you may
reproduce in accordance with the terms of any applicable license or other legal restriction.

LabVIEW and National Instruments are trademarks of National Instruments.

All other trademarks or product names are the property of their respective owners.

Additional Disclaimers: The reader assumes all risk of use of this resource and of all
information, theories, and programs contained or described in it. This resource may contain
technical inaccuracies, typographical errors, other errors and omissions, and out-of-date
information. Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility or liability for any
errors or omissions of any kind, to update any information, or for any infringement of any patent
or other intellectual property right.

Neither the author nor the publisher makes any warranties of any kind, including without
limitation any warranty as to the sufficiency of the resource or of any information, theories, or
programs contained or described in it, and any warranty that use of any information, theories, or
programs contained or described in the resource will not infringe any patent or other intellectual
property right. THIS RESOURCE IS PROVIDED “AS IS.” ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY AND ALL IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND
NON-INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, ARE DISCLAIMED.

No right or license is granted by publisher or author under any patent or other intellectual
property right, expressly, or by implication or estoppel.

IN NO EVENT SHALL THE PUBLISHER OR THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT,
INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, COVER, ECONOMIC, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
ARISING OUT OF THIS RESOURCE OR ANY INFORMATION, THEORIES, OR PROGRAMS
CONTAINED OR DESCRIBED IN IT, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGES, AND EVEN IF CAUSED OR CONTRIBUTED TO BY THE NEGLIGENCE OF THE
PUBLISHER, THE AUTHOR, OR OTHERS. Applicable law may not allow the exclusion or
limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not
apply to you.
Lab 4 - Current
Learning Objectives
In this lab you will explore, through hands-on experience, the concept and properties of an electric
current. Among other experiments, you will

 Measure electric current using the NI ELVIS III DMM

 Use the Automated Measurement Application Board current measurement circuit to measure a
variable current and display its change over time on your screen using LabVIEW
 Explore the behavior of current through resistors that are connected in parallel to Voltage
source
 Explore the behavior of current through resistors that are connected in series to Voltage source
 Use Multisim Live to experiment with voltage across loads connected to a constant current
source
 Use Multisim Live to experiment with current flow through loads connected to a constant
voltage source

Deliverables
You will be expected to:

 Conduct experiments using the NI ELVIS III and record your observations
 Conduct experiments using the NI Measurement Top Board and record your observations
 Simulate circuits using Multisim Live and record your observations
 Complete Check for Understanding Questions
Required Tools and Technology
Platform: NI ELVIS III
 Digital Multimeter
Note: The NI ELVIS III Cables and
Accessories Kit (purchased
separately) is required for using the
instruments.
Hardware: NI Automated
Measurements Board
Software: NI Multisim Live
● You can use Multisim to
simulate circuits before building
them for your final solution
Software: LabVIEW
Version 19.0 or Later
Toolkits and Modules:
 LabVIEW Real-Time Module
 NI ELVIS III Toolkit
 View User Manual:
http://www.ni.com/en-us/support/mode
l.ni-elvis-iii.html
 View Tutorials:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?
list=PLvcPIuVaUMIWm8ziaSxv0gwtsh
BA2dh_M
 View Breadboard Tutorial:
http://www.ni.com/tutorial/54749/en
 Access online http://multisim.com
 View Help http://multisim.com/help/
 Before downloading and installing
software, refer to your professor or lab
manager for information on your lab’s
software licenses and infrastructure
 Download & Install for NI ELVIS III:
http://www.ni.com/academic/download
 View Tutorials:
http://www.ni.com/academic/students/l
earn-labview/
Introduction: Review of Ohm’s Law
Recall the water pump analogy that we used to describe the concepts of voltage, resistance and current.

Left: water flows from high-pressure point B through the pipe to low-pressure point A and from high-pressure point C to low-
pressure point D. Right: Difference in electric potential between the plates of the battery (voltage source) causes electric charge
to flow through the circuit and the load. The positive direction of the flow is considered to be from the side voltage source with
high electric potential (the + side of the battery) to the side with lower electric potential (the – side of the battery). However, in
reality the negative electric charges flow form the (-) side to the (+) side.

We defined the current at a certain point of a circuit to be the amount of electric charge flowing through
that point per unit of time. We noted that the amount of current flowing through some load in a circuit is
impacted by both the amount of voltage applied across that load and the resistance to the flow of electric
charge through that load. This relationship is governed by Ohm’s law:

V =I × R
Where the current, I, is expressed in units of Amps (A), the voltage, V, is expressed in units of Volts (V)
and the resistance, R, is expressed in units of Ohms (Ω). The current is positive if it is flowing in the
positive direction (see the figure above).
We will discuss resistance in more detail in the lab on resistance. For now, we will only mention that
different types and shapes of material impact the degree to which that material resists the flow of electric
current through it.
Simulate: Ohm’s Law I, Ideal Voltage Source
 Launch the Multisim circuit found through the link:
https://www.multisim.com/content/z3Gqy4ar57MGYNkjpqeQgi/current-1/open/
 Save a copy of circuit for yourself under the name Current Lab 1 followed by your initials.
The above circuits are powered by ideal Voltage sources.
Recall that an ideal voltage source is an abstract voltage source that produces a voltage that is not
impacted by the load which it powers.
1. Place one current probe on each one of the circuits to measure the current flowing. Run the
circuits.
a. What is the value of the current that is flowing through the DC-voltage powered circuit?
________________________
b. Click the Split button in the header to access the Grapher/Schematic view. Run the
circuit. In your words describe the difference between the both currents you are
measuring. Make sure you indicate the minimum and maximum values attained by the
current in the circuit powered by the AC-voltage source.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Make sure you adjust the scale of the graph to fully view the graph of the current. Click the Grapher
window. You will be prompted with the right-hand side pane showing the properties of the graph. Adjust
the minima and maxima of both current and voltage display axis in the Grapher options so you can view
both charts make sure the minimum and maximum of each are centered around the X-axis. For example,
if you choose a maximum of 2, make sure you choose a minimum of -2. You can do that by changing the
values as shown in the figure.

2. Reverse the direction of the current probes. How does this impact the value of the current?
Click the current probe. From the right-hand side properties pane click Flip Current
Measurement.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
3. Increase the resistance of the resistor to 100Ω. Run the circuit. What is the new value of the
current flowing through the DC-voltage powered circuit? __________________.
4. Decrease the value of the resistance in the resistor to 20Ω. Run the circuit. What is the new value
of the current flowing through the DC-voltage powered circuit? __________________
5. Remove all the probes from the DC Voltage powered circuit. Replace the current probe in the AC
voltage powered circuit by a current/voltage probe. Reference the voltage probe to the ground.
Run the circuit and click the Grapher view from the top header menu. Adjust the minimum and
maximum of the voltage axis and the current axis respectively to -10 and +10. In your own
words, describe how the current and voltage graphs over time are alike and how they are
different.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Simulate: Ohm’s Law II, Ideal Current Source
 Launch the Multisim circuit found through the link:
https://www.multisim.com/content/dNexXkc2Sd4K8KvKsD9mDL/current-2/open/
 Save a copy of circuit for yourself under the name Current Lab 2 followed by your initials.
The Sources powering both circuits are ideal current sources. An Ideal current source is an abstract source
that produces a current that is not impacted by the load it powers.
1. Use a probe to measure the voltage across resistor R1. What is it? _______________.
2. Decrease the resistance of R1 to 50Ω. What is the new value of the voltage you measured in the
previous question? _______________.
3. Place a reference probe at point A of the DC-current powered circuit. Measure the voltage at
point B of the circuit with respect to the probe at point A as a reference. What is it?
___________________________________
4. Delete all probes and use a voltage/current probe to measure the voltage across R2 and the current
through R2. Use the Split view or Grapher view to access the voltage and current charts.

Adjust the minima and maxima of both current and voltage display axis in the Grapher options so you can
view both charts. Make sure the minimum and maximum of each are centered around the X-axis. For
example, if you choose a maximum of 30, make sure you choose a minimum of -30. You want to choose
a maximum value for display that is slightly above the actual maximum value the voltage attains. You
want to choose a minimum value for display that is slightly below the minimum value.
Experiment: Current Measurement
Your NI Automated Measurements Board is equipped with a current meter. In the following lab you will
programmatically measure current flowing through a circuit. We will explain the details of how this
works later.

 Make sure your:

o NI ELVIS III is powered on
o Connected to your computer
o The NI Measurement Board is powered on.
 Open the /Current/Basic folder in the zip file provided in your lab kit.
 Launch the LabVIEW Project named Current Basic.lvproj.
 Make sure all other projects are closed.
 From the project window, configure the NI ELVIS III IP address to reflect the IP address of the
actual NI ELVIS III your computer is connected to.
o You can find the IP address of your NI ELVIS III by clicking and holding the button on
the left-hand side until the IP address is displayed on the LED screen.
o To configure the NI ELVIS III from your project window,
 right-click NI ELVIS III (0.0.0.0)[Unconfigured IP Address]
 click General in the window prompt you get.

 In the IP address section enter the IP address of the NI ELVIS III connected to
your computer.

o Save your project.

 Open the RT Main.vi and run it.
 Wire the required sockets to run the VI properly.
o Connect the Bank A analog input channel A/AI0 to socket 38 of the Current
Measurement circuit.
o Connect the Bank A analog input channel A/AI4 to socket39 of the Current Measurement
circuit.
Before you run the VI consider the circuit involved in this measurement LabVIEW project.
The switch can be controlled programmatically to give you the option between using a 1KΩ resistor and
10Ω. A 5V voltage is applied across the circuit causing a positive current flow from point B to point A
and through the 464Ω resistor, the potentiometer, and a choice between the 1KΩ resistor or the 10Ω
resistor.
Your VI displays two values:

 the value of the voltage at point C of the circuit with respect to reference point A. In other words,
it returns the value of the voltage across the 1KΩ resistor or the 10Ω resistor measured in the
positive direction. This value is acquired using a differential voltage measurement from sockets
38 and 39 using analog channels A/AI0 and A/AI4.
 The value of current flowing through the circuit between points C and A.
Run the VI. Your LabVIEW VI Control Panel displays a chart depicting the change of the
aforementioned current measurement over time. The schematic displays the voltage and current measures.
1. Choose the 1KΩ sense resistor and turn the potentiometer all the way down. What are the
approximate voltage and current measurements displayed on the schematic?
a. Voltage ________________
b. Current ________________
2. Use the DMM to measure the same voltage.

a. Was the value of the voltage that is displayed on your LabVIEW VI impacted when you
were doing the DMM measurement? ____________________________
b. What is the approximate Voltage range read through the DMM?
________________________________
3. Unplug the DMM. Choose the 1KΩ sense resistor and turn the potentiometer all the way up.
What are the voltage and current measurements displayed on the schematic?
a. Voltage ________________
b. Current ________________
c. In your own words, describe how Ohm’s law helps explain the increase/decrease in
voltage and current measures.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4. Choose the 10Ω sense resistor. Why would this resistor provide a higher range of current values?
______________________________________________________________________________
 ______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Interpretation
Consider again the circuit referenced in the experiment (see the figure below).

The 464Ω resistor and the potentiometer resistor are connected in the circuit in series.

1. What is the resistance between points B and C of the circuit when the potentiometer is turned
a. All the way down? _____________.
b. All the way up? ______________.
2. Suppose the potentiometer is turned all the way down and the 10Ω resistor is chosen. Use KVL
(Kirchhoff’s Voltage law) and Ohm’s law to compute
a. the voltage between points B and C. What is it? _________________________.
b. the voltage between points C and A? What is it? __________________________.
c. The current through the resistors between B and C. ___________________.
d. The current through the 1KΩ resistor. _______________________.
Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL)
Recall how Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law helps determine the voltage across loads that are set up in parallel or
in series within closed-loop circuits (see the figure below for a reminder).

KVL - Left: The resistors and the voltage source are set in series along the same closed loop. Thus, the voltage-drop across
resistor R1 + the voltage-drop across resistor R2 equals 12V. Right: From the closed-circuit loop connecting the voltage source to
resistor R3 we conclude that the voltage drop across resistor R3 is 12V. likewise, from the closed loop circuit connecting the
voltage source to R4, we conclude that the voltage drop across R4 is 12V.

To determine the current flowing across loads in such circuits, we need Kirchhoff’s Current Law. Recall
that a node in a circuit is a point of the circuit where two or more components connect. Simply stated,
KCL tells us that the sum of the currents entering a node equal the sum of currents exiting a node.

KCL applied to resistors connected in series in a closed loop circuit to a voltage source.

Recall that positive current flows from higher electric potential to lower electric potential. In the above
figure, KCL says that the current flowing into node A equals the current flowing through the resistor R1.
That same current equals the current flowing into node C. Continuing this analysis node by node, we see
that the same current flows through all the resistors.
Recall from the Voltage – Part I lab that when applying KVL to this circuit, we obtained the relationship:
 V1 V2
=
R1 R 2
and
V 1 +V 2=12

Where, V 1 and V 2 denote the voltage drops respectively across R1 and R2. This in turn yielded, the
values 4 V and 8V.
Next, consider resistors that are connected in parallel to a voltage source (see the figure below). By KVL,
we know that the voltage drop from point A to point B is 12V. Thus, current I flows into node A from the
(+) side of the voltage source. Current I1 flows out of node A into resistors R3 and current I2 flows out of
node A into R4. Both currents flow into node B. and current I4 flows out of node B toward the (-) side of
the voltage source.

Given that the voltage across both resistors is the same, we can use Ohm’s Law to compute the currents
through the resistors, the current flowing into node A and the current flowing out of node B.
By KCL we have
I =I 1+ I 2

I 3=I 1+ I 2

By KVL and Ohm’s law we have

V 2=I 1 × R3=I 2 × R4
Combining these equations together we obtain,
I =18 mA , I 1=12 mA ∧I 2=6 mA
Combining these equations together, we obtain the important relationships:
 V 1=I ×
( 1 1
+
R3 R 4 )
I 3=I
Which tells us that the above circuit is equivalent to closed loop circuit composed of a 12V voltage source
and a resistor of resistance (2/3)KΩ.
Simulate: Kirchhoff’s Current Law
 Launch the Multisim circuit found through the link:
https://www.multisim.com/content/pPnDoC9DYizUcQw3GuhmE3/current-kcl/open/
 Save a copy of circuit for yourself under the name Current Lab 3 followed by your initials.
Place current probes to measure the current through R1 and R2. Make sure you direct the current probes
in the positive direction of the current.
1. What the current flowing through R1? _____________________
2. What is the current flowing through R2? ____________________
 Conclusion
Note: The following questions are meant to help you self-assess your understanding so far.

1. Two resistors R1 and R2 are connected in series with a voltage source of 10V. The sum of the
resistance of both resistors is 100Ω. What is the current flowing through the circuit?
a. 0.1 V
b. 1 mV
c. Can’t determine, we need more information on the resistance of each resistor
d. 10A
e. 100mA
2. Two resistors R1 and R2 are connected in parallel to a voltage source. Which of the following
statements is true?
a. Irrespective of what the resistance of each resistor is, the sum of the currents flowing
through both resistances is always the same number.
b. If the resistance of R2 is twice that of R1, then the current flowing through R1 is twice
the current flowing through R2.
c. If the resistance of R2 is twice that of R1, then the current flowing through R2 is twice
the current flowing through R1.
d. None of the above is true.
3. In a circuit, a node connects four resistors together. Three resistors, R1, R2 and R3, carry current
flowing into the node and the other resistor, R4, carries the current flowing out of the node.
Which of the following is true?
a. The value of the current flowing through R4 will not change as long as the sum of the
resistances of R1, R2 and R3 is constant.
b. The value of the current flowing through R4 will not change as long as the sum of the
resistances of R1, R2 and R3 equals the resistance in R4.
c. The value of the current flowing through R4 will not change as long as the sum of the
resistances of R1, R2 and R3 is constant and the resistance of R4 is constant.
d. None of the above is true.

Explore Further
In this lab you explored some properties of current. You simulated circuits with ideal voltage and current
sources, and experimented using Ohm’s law to understand how current is derived from known voltages
and resistances.
You also investigated Kirchoff’s Current law, and the result of having multiple current pathways. These
circuit fundamentals will be used throughout many labs in your early measurements and analog
electronics courses; while becoming the underlying fundamentals that more advanced analog electronics
courses are based on.
One of the interesting takeaways from this lab was the use of a sense resistor. Using data acquisition
systems or benchtops instruments to directly measure current can be a pain, because the measurement
device needs to be in series with the current flow. By using a known sense resistor, you can take an easier
voltage measurement across the resistor (in parallel instead of in series), and calculate the current.
We will focus mostly on voltage for many of the subsequent labs, but current drawn from a sensor or
from a signal conditioning circuit is explored in the Amplifiers and Filter labs.