Lecture 4

Chapter 3
 VOLTAGE, CURRENT AND RESISTANCE
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
To measure voltage (ac, dc), current (ac, dc) and resistance, two
types of instruments, analog and digital meters, are utilized.

The measurements of these fundamental electrical quantities are

based on either one of the following:

i) Current sensing.
The instruments are mostly of the electromagnetic
meter movement type, such as an analog multimeter.

ii) Voltage sensing.

The instruments are mostly electronic in nature,
using amplifiers and semiconductor devices, such as a digital
multimeter.
 Measuring Voltages and Currents
Measuring voltage and current in a circuit

– when measuring voltage we connect across the component

– when measuring current we connect in series with the component

Loading effects –voltage measurement
– our measuring instrument will have
an effective resistance (RM)
– when measuring voltage we connect a
resistance in parallel with the component
concerned which changes the resistance in
the circuit and therefore changes the
voltage.
we are trying to measure this effect is known
as loading
The degree to which a meter loads a circuit
under test is called the loading effect and is
determined mathematically as:
 Loading effects – current measurement
– our measuring instrument will have an
effective resistance (RM)
– when measuring current we connect a
resistance in series with the component
concerned which again changes the resistance
in the circuit and therefore changes the current
we are trying to measure
– this is again a loading effect
Recall the loading effect for any meter is given
as:
Most modern analogue ammeters are based on
moving-coil meters

• Meters are characterized by their full-scale deflection (f.s.d.)

and their effective resistance (RM)
– typical meters produce a f.s.d. for a current of 50 µA – 1 mA

– typical meters have an RM between a few ohms and a few

kilohms
Measuring direct currents using a moving coil meter
– use a shunt resistor to adjust sensitivity
Measuring direct voltages using a moving coil meter
– use a series resistor to adjust sensitivity
Example

Solution
Example
Example
 1) ANALOG MULTIMETER
The main part of an analog multimeter is the D’Arsonval meter movement
also known as the permanent-magnet moving-coil (PMMC) movement OR
Moving coil Galvanometer.
This common type of movement is used for dc measurements.
The basic construction of a such meter movement is shown in the Figure.
 Deflection instrument fundamentals

There are three forces control on the electromechanical

mechanism

1. Deflection force
2. Controlling force
3. Damping force
 Moving coil Galvanometer
Galvanometer is an electromechanical instrument, it is a device
which is used to measure and detect the small amount of electric
charge i.e. electric current. It is most sensitive device cannot be
used for the measurement of heavy currents and used in many
electrical instruments. It is the major basic component of Aameter
and Voltmeter.
 • WORKING PRINCIPLE
Galvanometer works on the principle of conversion of
electrical energy into mechanical energy. When a current
flows in a magnetic field it experiences a magnetic torque. If it is
free to rotate under a controlling torque, it rotates through an
angle proportional to the current flowing through it.

• ESSENTIAL PARTS OF GALVANOMETER

There are five essential parts of a Galvanometer.
1. A U-shaped permanent magnet with concave poles.
2. Flat rectangular coil of thin enameled insulated wire ‘C’.
3. A soft iron cylinder 'B'.
4. A pointer or needle.
5. A scale.
 Construction:
it consists of a rectangular coil having large number of turns wound on a non-metallic
frame. The coil is suspended between two poles of a permanent magnet which are
cylindrical in shape. The coil is suspended by a phosphor – bronze strip which acts as
path for the current to the coil. The strip is finally connected to the terminal T2 of the
galvanometer. The other end of the coil is connected to a light spring which is finally
connected to the terminal T1 as shown.
The spring exerts a very small restoring couple on the coil. A piece of soft iron is
placed within the frame of the coil. A plane circular mirror M is attached to the
suspension to note the deflection of the coil using lamp and scale arrangement.
 DC ammeter “measure the current ”

• The type of Permanent moving magnet

coil PMMC.
• Connected in series in the circuit
• Must be lower resistance than the circuit
• The deflection of pointer is proportional
to current flow in its coil
• Its coil consists of thin wire.
• Its pointer can be deflected with very
small current
• Higher current may destroy the coil so it
must be modified by shunting this
current
 BASIC PRINCIPLE OF ANALOG METER
• This permanent magnet moving coil PMMC meter movement is the basic
movement in most analog (meter with a pointer indicator hand) measuring
instruments.
• It is commonly called d'Arsonval movement because it was first employed by
the Frenchman d'Arsonval in making electrical measurements.
Basic Principle Operation Of Permanent-
Magnetic Moving Coil Movement

 A permanent-magnet moving-coil movement is based upon a

fixed permanent magnet and a coil of wire which is able to move.
 When the switch is closed, causing current through the coil,
the coil will have a magnetic field which will react to the magnetic
field of the permanent magnet and the pointer will deflect
Deflection Torque
 Interaction between the induced field and the field produced by
the permanent magnet causes a deflecting torque, which results
in rotation of the coil.
 Deflection torque is controlling torque controls the deflection
and tries to stop the pointer at its final position.
 But due to inertia, the pointer oscillates around its final position
before coming to rest.
 Thus the damping torque is never greater than the controlling
torque.
The deflecting torque produced is described below in mathematical form:
Deflecting Torque, TD = BLIND
Where
B = flux density in Wb/m2 (Tesla)
L= the length of the coil in meters
I = current (A).
N = number of turns of the coils.
D= area (length × wide), (m2).
Torque Equation and Scale

When a current I flows through a one-turn coil situated in a magnetic filed , a Force F
is exerted on each side of coil [figure 3-6 (a)]:
F=BIL newton's
Where B is the magnetic flux density in tesla I is the current in amperes and L is the
length of the coil in meters
Since the force acts on each side of the coil , the total force for a coil of N turns is
F= 2BLINr newton meters (N.m)
= BLIN (2r)
TD = BLIND
Where D is the coil diameter [Figure 3-6(b)].
 The controlling torque exerted by the spiral springs is directly proportional
to the deformation or “windup’.’ of the springs. Thus, the controlling
torque is proportional to the actual angle of deflection of the pointer:
TC = Kϴ
where K is a constant. For a given deflection, the controlling and
deflecting torques are equal:
Kϴ = BLIND
Since all quantities except ϴ and I are constant for any given instrument,
the deflection angle is
ϴ=CI (3-2)
where C is a constant.

Equation 3-2 shows that the pointer deflection is always proportional to the
coil current. Consequently, the scale of the instrument is linear, or uniformly
divided; that is, if l mA produces a l cm movement of the pointer from zero,
2 mA produces a 2 cm movement, and so on [see Figure 3-6(c)]. As will be
explained the PMMC instrument can be used as a dc voltmeter, a dc ammeter,
and an ohmmeter. When connected with rectifiers and transformers, it can
also be employed to measure alternating voltage and current.
Example 3-1
PMMC instrument with a,l00-turn coil has a magnetic flux
density in its air gaps ,of B = 0.2 T. The coil dimensions are
D = l cm and I = 1.5 cm. Calculate the torque on the coil for
a current of l mA.

Solution
Equation 3-I.
TD = BLIND

=0.2T×1.5×10-2×1mA×100×1×10-2
=3× l0-6 N.m
Example
Advantage of Moving Coil Galvanometer
1. The sensitivity of the galvanometer can be increased by
increasing N, B and A while decreasing the value of k.
2. The instrument has a linear scale.
3. Since the instrument uses high value of B, the
deflection is undisturbed by the earth’s magnetic field.
4. As the coil is wound on a nonmagnetic metallic frame,
damping is produced by eddy currents. As a result the
coil quickly assumes the final position.
 Sensitivity of a Galvanometer
A galvanometer is said to be sensitivity if small amount of
current flowing though the coil of galvanometer produces
large deflection in it. A galvanometer can be converted into
ammeter or voltmeter so it has two types of sensitivity.
EX.
Two different voltmeter are used to measure the voltage across
resistor Rs in the circuit of fig. The meter are as follows:
Meter A: S = 1kΩ/v, Rm=0.2 kΩ, range =10 v
Meter B: S = 20 kΩ/v, Rm=1.5 kΩ, range =10 v
Calculate
a) Voltage across RB without any meter connected across it.
b) Voltage across RB when meter A is used.
c) Voltage across RB when meter B is used.
d) Error in voltmeter readings.
SOLUTION
A) The Voltage across resistor RB without any meter connected is found
using the voltage divider equation :

B) Starting with meter A , the total resistance it presents to the circuit is

 1.Current Sensitivity
The current sensitivity of a galvanometer is defined as the deflection produced in the
galvanometer per unit current flowing through it.

i.e.

Current sensitivity of a galvanometer can be increased either by

1. Increasing the magnetic field B by using strong permanent horse shoe shaped
magnet.
2. Increasing the number of turns N. But number of turns of the coil cannot be increased
beyond a certain limit. This is because the resistance of the galvanometer will increase
subsequently and hence the galvanometer becomes less sensitivity.
3. Increasing the area of the coil A. But it will make the galvanometer bulky and
ultimately less sensitive.
4. Decreasing the value of restoring force constant k by using a flat strip of phosphor –
bronze instead of circular wire of phosphor – bronze. Quartz fibers can also be used for
suspension of the coil because they have large tensile strength and very low value of K.
 2.Voltage Sensitivity
Voltage sensitivity of a galvanometer is defined as the deflection produced
in the galvanometer per unit voltage applied to it.

i.e.

where the restoring torque for the deflection α

Voltage sensitivity can be increased by

1. Increasing number of turns of the coil (N)

2. Increasing magnetic field intensity (B)
3. Increasing area of the coil (A)
4. Decreasing restoring torque per unit twist of the suspension (k)
5. Decreasing resistance (R)