MEASURING INSTRUMENT

OBJECTIVES
By the end of the topic, the learner should be able to

1) Describe the construction of measuring instruments (moving iron meter, moving coil meter,
thermocouple instruments, d.c potentiometer ,Wheatstone & weinbridge
2) Explain the principle of operation of Wheatstone & weinbridge
3) Describe Resonance in single phase a.c circuit
4) Explain methods of voltage extension.
5) Perform calculations

Introduction

Tests and measurements are important in designing, evaluating, maintaining and servicing electrical
circuits and equipment. In order to detect electrical quantities such as current, voltage, resistance or
power, it is necessary to transform an electrical quantity or condition into a visible indication. This is
done with the aid of instruments (or meters) that indicate the magnitude of quantities either by the
position of a pointer moving over a graduated scale (called an analogue instrument) or in the form of a
decimal number (called a digital instrument).

Analogue instrument

All analogue electrical indicating instruments require three essential devices:

(a) A deflecting or operating device. A mechanical force is produced by the current or voltage which
causes the pointer to deflect from its zero position.
(b) A controlling device. The controlling force acts in opposition to the deflecting force and ensures that
the deflection shown on the meter is always the same for a given measured quantity. It also prevents the
pointer always going to the maximum deflection. There are two main types of controlling device— spring
control and gravity control.
(c) A damping device. The damping force ensures that the pointer comes to rest in its final position
quickly and without undue oscillation. There are three main types of damping used—eddy-current
damping, air-friction damping and fluid-friction damping.
There are basically two types of scale — linear and non-linear. A linear scale is shown in Fig. 1(a),
where the divisions or graduations are evenly spaced.
(Fig 1)

The voltmeter shown has a range 0–100V, i.e. a fullscale deflection (f.s.d.) of 100V. A non-linear scale
is shown in Fig .1(b) where the scale is cramped at the beginning and the graduations are uneven
throughout the range. The ammeter shown has a f.s.d. of 10A.

Moving-iron instrument
(a) An attraction type of moving-iron instrument is shown diagrammatically in Fig.2(a). When current
flows in the solenoid, a pivoted soft-iron disc is attracted towards the solenoid and the movement causes a
pointer to move across a scale.
(b) In the repulsion type moving-iron instrument shown diagrammatically in Fig. 2(b), two pieces of iron
are placed inside the solenoid, one being fixed, and the other attached to the spindle carrying the pointer.
When current passes through the solenoid, the two pieces of iron are magnetized in the same direction
and therefore repel each other. The pointer thus moves across the scale.

The force moving the pointer is, in each type, proportional to I2 and because of this the direction of
current does not matter. The moving-iron instrument can be used on d.c. or a.c.; the scale, however, is
non-linear.
Fig 3 below
 Principle operation of a moving coil instrument
A moving-coil instrument operates on the motor principle. When a conductor carrying current is placed in
a magnetic field, a force F is exerted on the conductor, given by F =BIl. If the flux density B is made
constant (by using permanent magnets) and the conductor is a fixed length (say, a coil) then the force will
depend only on the current flowing in the conductor.
In a moving-coil instrument a coil is placed centrally in the gap between shaped pole pieces as shown by
the front elevation in Fig.3(a). (The air-gap is kept as small as possible, although for clarity it is shown
exaggerated in Fig. 3) The coil is supported by steel pivots, resting in jewel bearings, on a cylindrical iron
core. Current is led into and out of the coil by two phosphor bronze spiral hairsprings which are wound
in opposite directions to minimize the effect of temperature change and to limit the coil swing (i.e. to
control the movement) and return the movement to zero position when no current flows. Current flowing
in the coil produces forces as shown in Fig. 3(b), the directions being obtained by Fleming’s left-hand
rule. The two forces, FA and FB, produce a torque which will move the coil in a clockwise direction, i.e.
move the pointer from left to right. Since force is proportional to current the scale is linear.
When the aluminium frame, on which the coil is wound, is rotated between the poles of the magnet,
small currents (called eddy currents) are induced into the frame, and this provides automatically the
necessary damping of the system due to the reluctance of the former to move within the magnetic field.
The moving-coil instrument will measure only direct current or voltage and the terminals are marked
positive and negative to ensure that the current passes through the coil in the correct direction to deflect
the pointer ‘up the scale’.
 SHUNT AND MULTIPLIERS
An ammeter, which measures current, has a low resistance (ideally zero) and must be connected in series
with the circuit.
A voltmeter, which measures p.d., has a high resistance (ideally infinite) and must be connected in
parallel with the part of the circuit whose p.d. is required.
There is no difference between the basic instrument used to measure current and voltage since both use a
milliammeter as their basic part. This is a sensitive instrument which gives f.s.d. for currents of only a
few
milliamperes. When an ammeter is required to measure currents of larger magnitude, a proportion of the
current is diverted through a low-value resistance connected in parallel with the meter. Such a diverting
resistor is called a shunt. From Fig. 4(a), VPQ =VRS.
Hence Iara =IsRs. Thus the value of the shunt,
Rs = Iara ohms
Is
The milliammeter is converted into a voltmeter by connecting a high value resistance (called a
multiplier) in series with it as shown in Fig. 4(b). From Fig. 4(b),
V = Va + VM = Ira + IRM
Thus the value of the multiplier,
RM = V – Ira ohms
I

(Fig 4)

Problem 1.
A moving-coil instrument gives a f.s.d. when the current is 40mA and its resistance is 25Ω. Calculate the
value of the shunt to be connected in parallel with the meter to enable it to be used as an ammeter for
measuring currents upto 50A

Solution
The circuit diagram is shown in Fig. 5, where
ra =resistance of instrument=25Ω, Rs =resistance

(fig 5)
of shunt, Ia =maximum permissible current flowing in instrument=40mA=0.04A, Is =current flowing
in shunt and I =total circuit current required to give
f.s.d.=50A.
Problem 2.
A moving-coil instrument having a resistance of 10Ω, gives a f.s.d. when the current is 8 mA. Calculate
the value of the multiplier to be connected in series with the instrument so that it can be used as a
voltmeter for measuring p.d.s. up to 100V

solution
The circuit diagram is shown in Fig. 6, where ra =resistance of instrument=10Ω, RM =resistance

Fig 6
 NULL METHOD OF MEASUREMENT
A null method of measurement is a simple, accurate and widely used method which depends on an
instrument reading being adjusted to read zero current only.
The method assumes:
(i) If there is any deflection at all, then some current is flowing;
(ii) If there is no deflection, then no current flows (i.e. a null condition).
Hence it is unnecessary for a meter sensing current flow to be calibrated when used in this way. A
sensitive milliammeter or microammeter with centre zero position setting is called a galvanometer.
Examples
where the method is used are in the Wheatstone bridge, in the d.c. potentiometer and with a.c. bridges
 Wheatstone Bridgestone bridge
Figure 7 shows a Wheatstone bridge circuit which compares an unknown resistance Rx with others of
known values, i.e. R1 and R2, which have fixed values, and R3, which is variable. R3 is varied until zero
deflection is obtained on the galvanometer G. No current then flows through the meter, VA =VB, and the
bridge is said to be ‘balanced’. At balance,
R1Rx = R2R3 i.e. Rx = R2R3 ohms
R1

fig 7

Problem 3.
In a Wheatstone bridge ABCD, a galvanometer is connected between A and C, and a battery between B
and D. A resistor of unknown value is connected between A and B. When the bridge is balanced, the
resistance between B and C is 100Ω, that between C and D is 10Ω and that between D and A is 400Ω.
Calculate the value of the unknown resistance.
Solution
The Wheatstone bridge is shown in Fig. 8 where Rx is the unknown resistance. At balance, equating the
products of opposite ratio arms, gives:
(Fig 8)
Hence, the unknown resistance, Rx =4kΩ.

D.c potentiometer
The d.c potentiometer is a null-balance instrument used for determining values of e.m.f.’s and p.d.s. by
comparison with a known e.m.f. or p.d. In Fig. 9(a), using a standard cell of known e.m.f. E1, the slider S
is moved along the slide wire until balance is obtained

fig 9
(i.e. the galvanometer deflection is zero), shown as length l1. The standard cell is now replaced by a cell
of unknown e.m.f. E2 (see Fig. 9(b)) and again balance is obtained (shown as l2). Since E1 ∝l1 and
E2 ∝ l2 then

A potentiometer may be arranged as a resistive two element potential divider in which the division ratio
is adjustable to give a simple variable d.c. supply.
Such devices may be constructed in the form of a resistive element carrying a sliding contact which is
adjusted by a rotary or linear movement of the control knob.

Problem 4.
In a d.c. potentiometer, balance is obtained at a length of 400mm when using a standard cell of 1.0186
volts. Determine the e.m.f. of a dry cell if balance is obtained with a length of 650mm

Solution
 Thermocouples
Thermocouples use the e.m.f. set up when the junction of two dissimilar metals is heated.

Principle of operation
At the junction between two different metals, say, copper and constantan, there exists a difference in
electrical potential, which varies with the temperature of the junction. This is known as the
‘thermoelectric effect’. If the circuit is completed with a second junction at a different temperature, a
current will flow round the circuit. This principle is used in the thermocouple. Two different metal
conductors having their ends twisted together are shown in Figure 10. If the two junctions are at different
temperatures, a current I flows round the circuit.
The deflection on the galvanometer G depends on the difference in temperature between junctions X and
Y and is caused by the difference between voltages Vx and Vy. The higher temperature junction

(Fig 10)
is usually called the ‘hot junction’ and the lower temperature junction the ‘cold junction’. If the cold
junction is kept at a constant known temperature, the galvanometer can be calibrated to indicate the
temperature of the hot junction directly. The cold junction is then known as the reference junction.
In many instrumentation situations, the measuring instrument needs to be located far from the point at
which the measurements are to be made. Extension leads are then used, usually made of the same material
as the thermocouple but of smaller gauge.
The reference junction is then effectively moved to their ends. The thermocouple is used by positioning
the hot junction where the temperature is required. The meter will indicate the temperature of the hot
junction only if the reference junction is at 0 °C for:
(temperature of hot junction)
= (temperature of the cold junction) + (temperature difference)
In a laboratory the reference junction is often placed in melting ice, but in industry it is often positioned in
a thermostatically controlled oven or buried underground where the temperature is constant.
Construction
Thermocouple junctions are made by twisting together the ends of two wires of dissimilar metals before
welding them. The construction of a typical copper-constantan thermocouple for industrial use is shown
in Figure 11. Apart from the actual junction the two conductors used must be insulated electrically from
each other with appropriate insulation and is shown in Figure 11 as twin-holed tubing. The wires and
insulation are usually inserted into a sheath for protection from environments in which they might be
damaged or corroded.

(Fig 11)

Advantages
A thermocouple:
(i)Has a very simple, relatively inexpensive construction,

(ii) Can be made very small and compact,

(iii) Is robust,
(iv) Is easily replaced if damaged,
(v) Has a small response time,
(vi) Can be used at a distance from the actual measuring instrument and is thus ideal for use with
automatic and remote-control system.