Electrical Measuring Instruments
Comprehensive Study Guide for Exam Preparation
1. PERMANENT-MAGNET MOVING COIL (PMMC)
INSTRUMENTS
Commonly known as the D’Arsonval movement, these instruments are exclusively used
for Direct Current (D.C.) measurements.
Construction
• Coil: A light rectangular coil wound on an aluminum former with many turns of fine
wire.
• Magnet: The coil is mounted between the poles of a strong permanent horseshoe
magnet.
• Iron Core: A soft-iron core inside the coil makes the magnetic field radial and
uniform.
• Control: Two hair-springs provide the controlling torque and carry current into the
coil.
• Damping: Eddy current damping is provided by the aluminum former moving in the
magnetic field.
Working Principle
When current flows through the coil placed in a magnetic field, it experiences a
mechanical force. This produces a deflecting torque (Td).
Td = B I N A
Where B = flux density, I = current, N = turns, and A = area. Since B, N, A are constant, Td
∝ I. This results in a uniform (linear) scale.
Advantages: Disadvantages:
• High accuracy and reliability. • Used for D.C. only.
• Uniformly divided scale.
• Low power consumption. • More expensive than Moving Iron
types.
• No hysteresis loss.
• Sensitive to temperature variations in
springs.
2. MOVING-IRON (MI) INSTRUMENTS
These instruments are versatile and can measure both D.C. and A.C. quantities.
Types
• Attraction Type: A soft-iron piece is attracted toward a stationary coil when current
flows.
• Repulsion Type: Two iron vanes (one fixed, one movable) are magnetized with the
same polarity and repel each other.
Working & Scale
The deflecting torque is proportional to the square of the current, which means the
direction of deflection is the same regardless of current direction.
Td ∝ I2
Because of this square relationship, MI instruments have a non-uniform (cramped at
the start) scale.
Advantages: Disadvantages:
• Robust and simple construction. • Non-linear scale.
• Very economical/less expensive. • Lower sensitivity than PMMC.
• Suitable for both A.C. and D.C. • Subject to errors from stray magnetic
fields.
• Frequency errors in A.C.
measurements.
3. DYNAMOMETER WATTMETER
The standard instrument for measuring power in both D.C. and A.C. circuits.
Construction
• Fixed Coils (Current Coil): Connected in series with the load; carries the load current.
• Moving Coil (Potential Coil): Connected across the load; carries current proportional
to voltage.
• Control & Damping: Uses spring control and air-friction damping (to avoid eddy
currents interfering with the weak field).
Working Principle
Mechanical force exists between two current-carrying coils. The deflecting torque is
proportional to the product of currents in both coils, which represents power.
Td ∝ V I cos φ (Load Power)
Since the deflection is directly proportional to power, these instruments have a uniform
scale.
Advantages: Disadvantages:
• Measures both D.C. and A.C. power. • Weak operating field (sensitive to
stray fields).
• Uniform scale.
• Potential coil inductance can cause
• High precision and accuracy.
errors at low power factors.
SUMMARY COMPARISON
Feature PMMC Moving Iron Dynamometer
Suitability D.C. Only D.C. and A.C. D.C. and A.C.
Scale Uniform Non-Uniform Uniform (Wattmeter)
Damping Eddy Current Air Friction Air Friction
Main Error Temperature Hysteresis/Freq. Stray Fields
Reference: Amity University ASET EEE Module 3 Study Materials