ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND

INSTRUMENTATON –EEE 2011

MEASURING INTRUMENTS

Prepared by P.M. Sinkala

BEng
OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, SSBT:

• Correctly identify measuring instrument to be used for measuring a

particular quantity.

• Accurately measure current, voltage and resistance in an electrical

circuit.

• Clearly classify measuring instruments.

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INTRODUCTION

• A measuring instrument may be defined as “a device used for

comparing the unknown quantity with the unit of measurement or
standard quantity.”

Or

• May be defined as “a device or system for determining the value

or magnitude of a quantity or valuable which is designed to
maintain a functional relationship between prescribed properties
of physical variables.

• This could include means of communication to human eye.”

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 CLASSIFICATION OF MEASURING INSTRUMENTS

May be classified as follows:

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ABSOLUTE INSTRUMENTS

• These instruments give the value of the measurand in terms of

instrument constant and its deflection.

• Such instruments do not require comparison with any other standard.

• Example is tangent galvanometer, which gives the value of the current

to be measured in terms of tangent of the angle of deflection produced,
the horizontal component of the earth’s magnetic field, the radius and
the number of turns of the wire used.

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ABSOLUTE INSTRUMENTS

• Other example are Rayleigh current balance and absolute

electrometer.

• Absolute instruments are mostly used in standard laboratories

and in similar institutions as standardizing.

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SECONDARY INSTRUMENTS

• Instruments are so constructed that the deflection of such

instruments gives the magnitude of the electrical quantity to
be measured directly.

• They are required to be calibrated by comparison with either

an absolute instrument or with another secondary instrument,
which has already been calibrated before the use.

• These instruments are generally used in practice.

• Secondary instruments are further classified as:

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 SECONDARY INSTRUMENTS

Indicating instruments
• Indicate the instantaneous value of the electrical quantity being
measured at the time at which it is being measured.

• Indications are given by pointers moving over calibrated dials.

• Examples are ordinary ammeters, voltmeters and wattmeters.

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SECONDARY INSTRUMENTS

Essentials of indicating instruments

• Consists of a pointer which moves over a calibrated scale and which
is attached to a moving system pivoted in bearing.

• In order to ensure proper operation of indicating instruments, three

torque are needed namely;

► A deflecting ( or operating) torque;

► A controlling ( or restoring) torque;
► A damping torque.

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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Deflecting torque

• Is produced by making one of the magnetic, heating, chemical,

electrostatic and electromagnetic induction effect of current or voltage
and cause the moving system of the instrument to move from its zero
position.

• Method of producing torque depends upon the type of instrument.

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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Controlling torque

• It’s Produced by Spring or gravity.

• Magnitude of the moving system would be some what indefinite under

the influence of deflecting torque, unless the controlling torque existed
to oppose the deflecting torque.

• It increases with increase in deflection of moving system.

• Under the influence of controlling torque the pointer will return to its
zero position on removing the source producing the deflecting torque.
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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Controlling torque

● For spring control Tc α θ;

And

● For gravity control Tc α sin θ.

● Where θ- deflection

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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Controlling torque
• The controlling torque serves two functions :

► Pointer stops moving beyond the final deflection,

► Pointer comes back to its zero position when the instrument is

disconnected.

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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Spring Control
• Most commonly used.

• One or two hairsprings made of phosphor bronze are used.

• The outer end of this spring is fixed to the pointer and the inner end is
attached with the spindle.

• When the pointer is at zero of the scale, the spring is normal.

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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Spring Control
• As the pointer moves, the spring winds and produces an opposing
torque.

• Balance-weight balances the moving system so that its center of

gravity coincides with the axis of rotation, thereby reducing the
friction between the pivot and bearings.

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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS
Diagrams below shows spring control.

• Without controlling torque the pointer will swing at its maximum

position and will not return to zero after removing the source.
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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS
Double Springs

• Two springs A and B are wound in opposite directions.

• On deflection, one spring winds while the other unwinds.

• Controlling torque produced is due to the combined torsions of

the two springs.

• To make the controlling torque directly proportional to the angle

of deflection, the springs should have fairly large number of
turns.
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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Double Springs

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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS
Spring control

• Torque equations;
𝑇𝑐 ∝ 𝜃 and 𝑇𝑑 𝛼 𝐼; at final position, 𝑇𝑐 = 𝑇𝑑

Therefore; θ ∝ 𝐼

• Since 𝜃 ∝ 𝐼, Spring controlled instruments have a uniform torque or

equally- spaced scales over their whole range.

• The exact expression for controlling the torque is given by:

𝑇𝑐 = 𝑘𝜃
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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS
Spring control

• Where 𝑘 = Spring constant (or control constant, or torsion constant or

restoring constant).

• Its value is given by;

𝐸𝑏𝑡 3
𝑘=
12𝑙

• Where,
𝐸 = Young’s modulus of spring material.
𝑏 = Width of the spring.
𝑡 = thickness of the spring.
𝐿 = Length of the spring.
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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Spring control

Advantages
• Have uniform scale.
• Suitable for portable instruments as it works in any position.

Disadvantages
• The stiffness of the spring is a function of temperature.
Hence, the readings given by the instruments are temperature dependent.
Further more, with the usage, the spring develops an inelastic yield which
affects the zero position of the moving system.
● Controlling torque cannot be adjusted normally.
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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Gravity Control

• Gravity controlled instruments has a small adjustable weight attached

to the spindle of the moving system.

• Deflecting torque produced by the instrument has to act against the

action of gravity.

• Thus a controlling torque is obtained.

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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Gravity Control
• This weight is called the control weight.

• Another adjustable weight is also attached to the moving system for

zero adjustment and balancing purpose.

• This weight is called Balance weight.

• In zero position of the pointer, this control weight is vertical.

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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Diagram of Gravity Control

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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Gravity Control

• The controlling or restoring torque is proportional to the sine of

the angle of deflection (𝜃) i.e,

𝑇𝑐 ∝ Sin 𝜃.

• The degree of control is adjusted by screwing the weight up or

down carrying system.

• 𝑇𝑑 ∝ 𝐼
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3/28/2025 26
ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Gravity Control
• At the position of rest;

𝑇𝑑 = 𝑇𝑐

Or

𝐼 ∝ Sin 𝜃

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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Gravity Control
• As 𝜃 approaches 90° the distance 𝑟 increases by a relatively small
value for a given change in the angle, as 𝜃 increases from its zero
value.

• Hence, gravity controlled instruments have scales which are not

uniform but are cramped or crowded at their lower ends.

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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Gravity Control

Disadvantages
• These do not have uniform scale.
• These must be used in vertical position so that the control may operate
properly.

Advantages
• Less expensive.
• Unaffected by changes in temperature.
• Free from fatigue or deterioration with time.
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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Damping torque
• Moving system of the instrument will tend to move under the action of
the deflecting torque.

• But on account of the control torque, it will try to occupy a position of

rest when the two torques are equal and opposite.

• However, due to inertia of the moving system, the pointer will not
come to rest immediately but oscillate about its final deflected
position.
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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS
Damping torque
As shown in Fig 2.5 below; moving system takes appreciable time to
come to steady state.

Fig 2.5 Damping torque

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ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS

Damping torque
• To overcome this difficulty a damping torque is to be developed by
using a damping device attached to the moving system.

• The damping torque is proportional to the speed of rotation of the

moving system, that is;

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3/28/2025 33
ESSENTIALS OF INDICATING INSTRUMENTS
Damping torque

• Depending upon the degree of damping introduced in the moving

system, the instrument may have any one of the following conditions;

• Under damped condition: The response is oscillatory.

• Over damped condition: The response is sluggish and it rises very

slowly from its zero position to final position.

• Critically damped condition: When the response settles quickly

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without any oscillation.
METHODS FOR OBTAINING DAMPING TORQUE

• The damping torque is produced by the following methods:

► Air friction damping.

► Fluid friction damping.

► Eddy current damping.

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AIR FRICTION DAMPING

Fig. 2.6 Air friction damping

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AIR FRICTION DAMPING

• The arrangement shown in Fig 2.6 consists of a light aluminium piston

which is attached to the moving system.

• The piston moves in a fixed chamber which is closed at one end.

• Either circular or rectangular chamber may be used.

• The clearance (air gap) between the piston and the chamber walls
should be uniform throughout and as small as possible.

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AIR FRICTION DAMPING

• When the piston moves rapidly into the chamber the air in the closed
space is compressed and the pressure of the air thus developed
opposes the motion of the piston and thereby the whole moving
system.

• If the piston is moving out of the chamber, rapidly, the pressure in the
closed space falls and the pressure on the open side of the piston is
greater than that of the opposite side.

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AIR FRICTION DAMPING

• The air friction damping is very simple and cheap.

• However, care must be taken to ensure that the piston is not bent or
twisted.

• This method is used in in moving iron and hot wire instruments.

• Motion is thus again opposed.

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AIR FRICTION DAMPING

• With this damping system, care must be taken to ensure that the arm
carrying the piston should not touch the sides of the chamber during its
movement.

• The friction which otherwise would occur may introduce a serious

error in the deflection.

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FLUID FRICTION DAMPING

• This form of damping is similar to air friction damping.

• The action is the same as in the air friction damping.

• Mineral oil is used in place of air and as the viscosity of oil is greater,
the damping force is also much greater.

• The vane attached to the spindle is arranged to move in the damping

oil.

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 Fig 2.7 Fluid friction damping devices

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FLUID FRICTION DAMPING

• It is rarely used in commercial type instruments.

• The oil used must fulfill the following requirements:

► It should not evaporate quickly.

► It should not have any corrosive effect on metals.

► Its viscosity should not change appreciably with temperature.

► It should be good insulator.

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ADVANTAGES OF FLUID FRICTION DAMPING

• The oil used for damping can also be used for insulation purpose in
some forms of instruments which are submerged in oil.

• The clearance between the vanes and oil chamber is not as critical as
with the air friction clamping system.

• This method is suitable for use with instruments such as electrostatic

type where the movement is suspended rather than pivoted.

• Due to the up thrust of oil, the loads on bearings or suspension system

is reduced thereby the reducing the frictional errors.
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DISADVANTAGES OF FLUID FRICTION DAMPING

• The instruments with this type of damping must be kept always in a

vertical position.

• It is difficult to keep the instrument clean due to leakage of oil.

• It is not suitable for portable instruments.

• The fluid friction damping can be used for laboratory type electrostatic
instruments.

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EDDY CURRENT DAMPING

• Eddy current damping is the most efficient form of damping.

• Essential components in this type of damping are a permanent magnet;

and a light conducting disc usually of aluminium.

• When a sheet of conducting material moves in a magnetic field so as

to cut through lines of force, eddy currents are set up in it and a force
exists between these currents and the magnetic field, which is always
in the direction opposing the motion.

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EDDY CURRENT DAMPING

• This force is proportional to the magnitude of the current, and to the

strength of the field.

• The former is proportional to the velocity of movement of the

conductor, and thus, if the magnetic field is constant, the damping
force is proportional to the velocity of the moving system and is zero
when there is no movement of the system.

• Fig 2.8 shows the schematic diagram of eddy current damping.

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 Fig 2.8 Eddy current damping
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EDDY CURRENT DAMPING

• In Fig. 2.8 a thin disc of conducting, but non-magnetic material

usually copper or aluminium is mounted on the spindle which carries
the pointer of the instrument.

• When the spindle rotates, the edge of the disc cuts through the lines of
force in the air gap of a permanent magnet, and e.m.f.s induced in the
dic circulates eddy currents.

• It follows from Lenz’s law that these currents exert a force opposing
the motion producing them, namely the clockwise movement of the
disc.
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RECORDING INSTRUMENTS

• Recording instruments give a continuous record of the variations of a

quantity over a selected period of time.

• The moving system of the instrument carries an inked pen which rests
lightly on a chart or graph that is moved at a uniform and low speed in
a direction perpendicular to that of the deflection of the pen.

• The path traced out by the pen presents a continuous record of the
variations in the deflection of the instrument.

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 INTEGRATING INSTRUMENTS

• These instruments measure and register by a set of dials and pointers

either the total quantity of electricity (in amp-hours) or the total
amount of electrical energy (in watt-hours or KWh) supplied to a
circuit in a given time.

• This summation gives the product of time and the electrical quantity
but gives no direct indication as to the rate at which quantity or energy
is being supplied because their registrations are independent of this
rate provided current flowing through the instrument is sufficient to
operate it.

• Examples are Ampere-hour and watt-hour meters.

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 ANALOG INSTRUMENTS

• The signals of an analog unit vary in a continuous fashion and can take
on infinite number of values in a given range. Some examples of
analog instruments are; Fuel gauge, ammeter and voltmeters, wrist
watch etc.

• Analogue instruments may be direct deflecting such as an ammeter or

a voltmeter. They may be also integrating such as an energy meter. The
may also be recording instruments such as graph printers.

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DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS

• These are signals varying in discrete steps and taking on a finite

number of different values in a given range and the corresponding
instruments are of digital type.

• Digital instruments high accuracy and high speed of operation.

• It eliminates the human operational errors.

• Digital instruments can store the result for future purposes.

• Example is a digital multimeter.

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DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS

Advantages of Digital Meters

• Easy to read – the output is in the form of a number, and it is not
necessary to look carefully at a scale to determine an exact value.

• More accurate – price for price, digital meters can be made more
accurate than their analogue counterparts.

• Strong – the digital meter has no meter movement that can be

damaged by hard knocks.

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DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS

Advantages of Digital Meters

• Small – the most accurate digital meter still only needs a few numbers
for its display, whereas an accurate analogue meter needs a large scale
so that you can read fine divisions.

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DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS

Disadvantages of Digital Meters

• Suitable only for steady values.

• When a current or voltage is steadily changing, an analogue meter

will track the changes.

• A digital display will just be a blur of changing numbers.

• Require a power source – the electronics in a digital meter need a

power source, usually a battery, to function.
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DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS

Disadvantages of Digital Meters

• Sometimes misleading – the display may show a value to three

decimal places of a volt, but the meter may be far less accurate than it
seems.

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MECHANICAL INSTRUMENTS

• Mechanical instruments are very reliable for static and stable

conditions.

• They are unable to respond rapidly to the measurement of dynamic

and transient conditions.

• They have moving parts that are rigid heavy and bulky and
consequently have a large mass.

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MECHANICAL INSTRUMENTS
• Mass presents inertia problems and hence these instruments cannot
faithfully follow the rapid changes which are involved in dynamic
instruments.

• Also, most of the mechanical instruments causes noise pollution.

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MECHANICAL INSTRUMENTS
Advantages

• Relatively cheaper in cost.

• More durable due to rugged construction.

• Simple in design and easy to use.

• No external power supply required for operation.

• Reliable and accurate for measurement of stable and time

invariant quantity.
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MECHANICAL INSTRUMENTS

Disadvantages

• Poor frequency response to transient and dynamic measurements.

• Large force required to overcome mechanical friction.

• Incompatible when remote indication and control needed.

• Cause noise pollution.

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ELECTRICAL INSTRUMENTS

• This is an instrument in which the instrument pointer deflection is

caused by the action of some electrical methods.

• The time of operation of an electrical instrument is faster than that of a

mechanical instrument.

• However, an electrical system normally depends upon a mechanical

measurement as an indicating device.

• This mechanical movement has some inertia due to which the

frequency response of these instruments is poor.
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 ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENTS

• Electronic instruments use semiconductor devices.

• Since the only movement involved in electronic instruments is that of

electrons; the response time is extremely small owing to very small
inertia of the electrons.

• With the use of electronic devices, a very weak signal can be detected
by using pre-amplifiers and amplifiers.

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ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENTS

Advantages of electrical/electronic instruments

• Non-contact measurements are possible.

• Consume less power.

• Compact in size and more reliable in operation.

• Greater flexibility.

• Good frequency and transient response.

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ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENTS

Advantages of electrical/electronic instruments

• Remote indication and recording possible.

• Amplification produced is greater than that produced in mechanical

instruments.

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 MANUAL INSTRUMENTS

• Manual instruments require the service of an operator.

• For example, measurement of temperature by a resistance

thermometer incorporating a Wheatstone bridge.

• An operator is required to indicate the temperature being measured.

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AUTOMATIC INSTRUMENTS

• No operator is required all the time.

• For example, measurement of temperature by mercury-in-

glass thermometer.

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SELF-OPERATED INSTRUMENTS

• These are instruments in which no outside power is required for

operation.

• The output energy is supplied wholly or almost wholly by the input

measurand.

• For example, Dial indicating type instruments.

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POWER-OPERATED INSTRUMENTS
• Power-operated instruments are those in which some external power
such as electricity, compressed air, hydraulic supply is required for
operation.

• In such cases, the input signal supplies only an insignificant portion of

the output power.

• Fig 2.9 shows an example of the Electro-mechanical measuring

instruments.

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 POWER-OPERATED INSTRUMENTS

Fig.2.9 Electro-mechanical measurement system

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NULL OUTPUT INSTRUMENTS

• In null-type instruments, a zero or null indication leads to

determination of the magnitude of the measurand quantity.

• Null condition depends upon some other known conditions. These are
more accurate and highly sensitive as compared to deflection-type
instruments.

• A dc potentiometer is a null- type instrument.

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 END

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