ELECTRICAL MEASURING INSTRUMENTS.
Objectives.
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to;
1. define secondary instruments,
2. state three classification of secondary instruments,
3. Describe measurement of electrical quantities;
INTRODUCTION.
• The instruments used for all electrical measurements are called
measuring instruments.
• Examples are ammeters, voltmeters, wattmeters energy meters etc.
• The various electrical instruments may broadly be divided into two
groups;
1. absolute instruments and,
2. secondary instruments.
1. Absolute instruments are those instruments which give the quantity to
be measured in terms of the constants of the instrument (dimensions,
turns etc).
- No previous calibration or comparison is necessary in their case.
- An example is a tangent galvanometer which give the value of measured
current in terms of tangent of the deflected angle, the radius and the
number of turns of the galvanometer.
- such instruments are merely confined within laboratories as
standardising instruments
- Secondary instruments are those instruments in which the value of
electrical quantity to be measured can be determined from the
deflection of instrument.
- These instruments should have been pre-calibrated by comparison with
an absolute instrument
- Without pre-calibration their deflection is meaningless.
-The deflection of the instrument gives directly the quantity to be
measured.
Secondary instruments may also be classified as follows;
1. Indicating instruments,
2. Recording instruments,
3. Integrating instruments
Indicating instruments are those which indicate the instantaneous value of the
electrical quantity being measured at the time at which it is being measured.
-Their indications are given by pointers moving over calibrated scales or dials.
-Examples are ammeters, voltmeters and wattmeters.
Recording Instruments are those which give a continuous record of the
variations of the electrical quantity over a selected period of time.
The path traced out by the pen presents a continuous record of the variations
in the deflection of the instrument.
Integrating instruments are those instruments which measure and register by
a set dials and pointers the total quantity of electricity delivered to a circuit in a
particular time.
-Summation is the product of time and the electrical quantity.
It gives no direct indication as to the rate at which the quantity or energy is
being supplied because their registration are independent of this rate provided
the currents flowing through the instrument is sufficient to create it.
-An example is an Ampere-hour and watt-hour meters.
Essential Features Of Indicating Instruments.
1. Deflecting torque
2. Controlling torque.
3. Damping torque.
MEASUREMENT OF ELECTRICAL QUANTITIES
There are, various measurement of electricity. The most common quantities of
electricity are;
i) Charge
ii) Current
iii) Voltage
iv) Resistance
v) Power
vi) Energy.
i) Charge
When an atom gains or loses an electron, it gets charged.
An atom that has gained an electron becomes negatively charged, while an
atom that has lost an electron becomes positively charged.
This is because in an atom the number of electrons is equal to the number of
protons. Therefore, when an atom gains an electron, the electrons exceed the
proton and it attains a negative charge. When an atom loses an electron, the
protons exceed the electrons hence a positive charge.
Charge is the amount of electricity in a charged particle (ion).
The symbol for charge is Q and its unit of measurement is coulomb
abbreviated as C.
The charge for one electron is
Example
Solution
The symbol of Ohm is ( Ω ).
Measurement of resistance by use of ammeter and voltmeter.
One method of finding the ohmic value of a particular resistive component is
to connect an ammeter
and voltmeter in the circuit as shown in figure below.
Connection of ammeter and voltmeter.
Ammeter directly measure current and should always be connected in series
with the load component.
Voltmeter directly measure the potential difference between points in the
circuit and should be connected across the load component.
The resistance of the circuit can then be found using Ohm’s Law
RESISTANCE CONNECTIONS.
A) Series connection.
Figure 5.1 shows three resistors R1, R2 and R3 connected end to end, i.e. in
series, with a battery source of V volts. Since the circuit is closed a current I will
flow and the p.d. across each resistor may be determined from the voltmeter
readings V1, V2 and V3.
In a series circuit
(a) the current I is the same in all parts of the circuit and hence the same
reading is found on each of the ammeters shown, and
(b) the sum of the voltages V1, V2 and V3 is equal to the total applied voltage,
V, i.e
From Ohm’s law:
V = IR where R is the total circuit
resistance.
Since
Dividing throughout by I gives
Thus, for a series circuit, the total resistance is obtained by adding together the
values of the separate resistances.
Worked examples.
1. For the circuit shown in Fig. 5.2, determine
(a) the battery voltage V,
(b) the total resistance of the circuit, and
(c) the values of resistors R1, R2 and R3, given that the p.d.’s across R1, R2 and
R3 are 5 V, 2 V and 6 V respectively.
Solution
2. For the circuit shown in Fig. 5.3, determine the p.d. across resistor R3. If the
total
resistance of the circuit is 100 Ω, determine the current flowing through
resistor R1. Find also the
value of resistor R2.
Solution.
Exercise 1.
1. The p.d’s measured across three resistors connected in series are 5 V, 7 V
and 10 V, and the
supply current is 2 A. Determine
(a) the supply voltage,
(b) the total circuit resistance and
(c) the values of the three resistors.
2. For the circuit shown in Fig. 5.9, determine the value of V1. If the total
circuit resistance
is 36 determine the supply current and the value of resistors R1, R2 and R3
3. When the switch in the circuit in Fig. 5.10 is closed the reading on voltmeter
1 is 30 V and
that on voltmeter 2 is 10 V. Determine the reading on the ammeter and the
value of resistor R
Fig 5.10
B) Parallel Connections.
Figure 5.12 shows three resistors, R1, R2 and R3 connected across each other,
i.e. in parallel, across a battery source of V volts.
Fig 5.12.
In a parallel circuit:
This equation must be used when finding the total resistance R of a parallel
circuit.
Worked Examples.
3. For the circuit shown in Fig. 5.13, determine
(a) the reading on the ammeter, and
(b) the value of resistor R2.
Fig 5.13
Solution
4. Two resistors, of resistance 3Ω and 6 Ω, are connected in parallel across a
battery
having a voltage of 12 V. Determine
(a) the total circuit resistance and
(b) the current flowing in the3 Ω resistor.
Solution
The circuit diagram is shown in Fig. 5.14
Fig 5.14
5. For the circuit shown in Fig. 5.15, find
(a) the value of the supply voltage V and
(b) the value of current I.
Fig 5.15
Solution.
6. Find the equivalent resistance for the circuit shown in Fig. 5.20
Fig 5.20
Solution.
7. Resistances of 10 Ω, 20 Ω and 30 Ω are connected (a) in series and (b) in
parallel to a 240 V supply. Calculate the supply current in each case.
Solution
(a) The series circuit is shown in Fig. 5.21
(b) The parallel circuit is shown in Fig. 5.22
The equivalent resistance RT of 10 Ω, 20 Ω and 30 Ω resistance’s
connected in parallel is
given by:
Exercise 2.
1. Resistances of 4 Ω and 12 Ω are connected in parallel across a 9 V battery.
Determine
(a) the equivalent circuit resistance,
(b) the supply current, and
(c) the current in each resistor.
2. For the circuit shown in Fig. 5.29 determine
(a) the reading on the ammeter, and
(b) the value of resistor
3. Find the equivalent resistance between terminals C and D of the circuit
shown in
Fig. 5.30(b)
Fig 5.30.
4. Determine the currents and voltages indicated in the circuit shown in Fig.
5.33