New Era University

College of Engineering and Technology

EE312L Electrical Circiuts 1Lab

Tuesday (1:00-4:00)
Research Work:

Direct Current Instrument

and Measurement
Salac, Aljon F
3nd Year BSEE

Engr. Reynaldo Dela Cruz

INSTRUCTOR
Direct Current Instrument and Measurement
DC MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
Understanding the functional design and operation of electrical measuring instruments is very
important, since they are used in repairing, maintaining, and troubleshooting electrical circuits. While
some meters can be used for both dc and ac circuit measurement, only those used as dc instruments are
discussed in this section. The meters used for ac, or for both ac and dc, are discussed in the study of ac
theory and circuitry.

 Measurement on DC side for control, monitoring and Protection

AC CTs cannot be used on DC side saturation
DC current measuring devices :
o DC shunt low value resistor
o mV drop from the shunt taken for determining the current
o To solve insulation problems electrical signals are converted to optical at the shunt and
at control system converted to electrical

o Supply for the conversion process is obtained from the control panels in the form of
optical power

Zero-flux current transformer

The Zero-flux current transformer is a contact-free d.c. current measuring system consisting of a core and coil
assembly and an electronics module. The core and coil assembly constitutes the measuring head which is placed
around a current-carrying conductor. The measurement is based on a perfect ampere-turns balance in the measuring
head. The accuracy is determined only by the burden resistor and the output amplifier, both located in the electronics
module.

DC Voltage Divider
Capacitive & resistor divider circuit
Drop across the resistor scaled for determining the voltage
Optical conversion process is same as the current measuring device
Permanent Magnet Moving Coil: Principle of Working
When a current carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field, it experiences a force and tends to move in
the direction as per Flemings left hand rule.
Fleming left hand rule:


If the first and the second finger and the thumb of the left hand are held so that they are at right angle to each
other, then the thumb shows the direction of the force on the conductor, the first finger points towards the
direction of the magnetic field and the second finger shows the direction of the current in the wire.

Construction:
A coil of thin wire is mounted on an aluminum frame (spindle) positioned between the poles of a U shaped
permanent magnet which is made up of magnetic alloys like alnico.
The coil is pivoted on the jewelled bearing and thus the coil is free to rotate. The current is fed to the coil
through spiral springs which are two in numbers. The coil which carries a current, which is to be measured,
moves in a strong magnetic field produced by a permanent magnet and a pointer is attached to the spindle
which shows the measured value.
Working:
When a current flow through the coil, it generates a magnetic field which is proportional to the current in case
of an ammeter. The deflecting torque is produced by the electromagnetic action of the current in the coil and
the magnetic field.

 The controlling torque is provided by two phosphorous bronze flat coiled helical springs. These springs serve
as a flexible connection to the coil conductors.
Damping is caused by the eddy current set up in the aluminum coil which prevents the oscillation of the coil.
Applications:
The PMMC has a variety of uses onboard ship. It can be used as:
1)

Ammeter:

When PMMC is used as an ammeter, except for a very small current range, the moving coil is connected
across a suitable low resistance shunt, so that only small part of the main current flows through the coil.

The shunt consists of a number of thin plates made up of alloy metal, which is usually magnetic and has a
low temperature coefficient of resistance, fixed between two massive blocks of copper. A resistor of same
alloy is also placed in series with the coil to reduce errors due to temperature variation.
2)

Voltmeter:

 When PMMC is used as a voltmeter, the coil is connected in series with high resistance. Rest of the function
is same as above. The same moving coil can be used as an ammeter or voltmeter with an interchange of
above arrangement
3)

Galvanometer:

Galvanometer is used to measure small value of current along with its direction and strength. It is mainly
used onboard to detect and compare different circuits in a system.
4)

Ohm Meter:

The ohm meter is used to measure resistance of the electric circuit by applying a voltage to a resistance with
the help of battery. A galvanometer is used to determine the flow of current through the resistance. The
galvanometer scale is marked in ohms and as the resistance varies, since the voltage is fixed, the current
through the meter will also vary.

Advantages:
The PMMC consumes less power and has great accuracy.
It has uniformly divided scale and can cover arc of 270 degree.
The PMMC has a high torque to weight ratio.
It can be modified as ammeter or voltmeter with suitable resistance.
It has efficient damping characteristics and is not affected by stray magnetic field.
It produces no losses due to hysteresis.
Disadvantage:
The moving coil instrument can only be used on D.C supply as the reversal of current produces reversal of
torque on the coil.
Its very delicate and sometimes uses ac circuit with a rectifier.
Its costly as compared to moving coil iron instruments.
It may show error due to loss of magnetism of permanent magnet.

D'Arsonval Meter
The basic dc meter movement is known as the D'Arsonval meter movement because it was first employed by the
French scientist, D'Arsonval, in making electrical measurement. This type of meter movement is a current measuring
device which is used in the ammeter, voltmeter, and ohmmeter. Basically, both the ammeter and the voltmeter are
current measuring instruments, the principal difference being the method in which they are connected in a circuit.
While an ohmmeter is also basically a current measuring instrument, it differs from the ammeter and voltmeter in
that it provides its own source of power and contains other auxiliary circuits.

The moving element consists of a shaft with very hard

pivot points to carry the moving coil or other movable
element (figure 8-121). The pivot points are so fitted into
highly polished jewels or very hard glass bearings that the
moving element can rotate with very little friction.
Another type of mounting has been designed in which the
pivot points are reversed and the bearings are inside the
moving coil assembly. A method of mounting moving
elements is shown in figure 8-122.
The bearings are highly polished jewels such as sapphires,
synthetic jewels, or very hard glass. These are usually
round and have a conical depression in which the pivots
rotate. They are set in threaded nuts which allow
adjustment. The radius of the depression in the jewel is
greater than the radius of the pivot point. This limits the
area of contact surfaces and provides a bearing which,
when operated dry, probably has the lowest constant
friction value of any known type of bearing.
The case houses the instrument movement and protects it
from mechanical injury and exposure. It also has a
window for viewing the movement of the pointer across a
calibrated scale. The dial has printed on it pertinent
information such as the scale, units of measurement, and
meter uses. The terminals are made of materials having
very low electrical resistance. Their function is to conduct
the required current into and away from the meter.

Operation of the Meter Movement

The major units are mounted in their relationship to one another (figure 8-123). Note that the coil
portion of the moving element is in the magnetic field of the permanent magnet.
In order to understand how the meter works, assume that the coil of the moving element is placed in a
magnetic field as shown in figure 8-124.
The coil is pivoted so that it is able to rotate back and forth within the magnetic field set up by the
magnet. When the coil is connected in a circuit, current flows through the coil in the direction indicated
by the arrows and sets up a magnetic field within the coil. This field has the same polarity as the
adjacent poles of the magnet. The interaction of the two fields causes the coil to rotate to a position so
that the two magnetic fields are aligned.

This force of rotation (torque) is proportional to the interaction between the like poles of the coil and the
magnet and, therefore, to the amount of current flow in the coil. As a result, a pointer attached to the
coil will indicate the amount of current flowing in the circuit as it moves across a graduated scale.
In the arrangement just discussed, note that any torque sufficient to overcome the inertia and friction of
moving parts causes the coil to rotate until the fields align. This uncontrolled movement would cause
inaccurate current readings. Therefore, the turning motion of the coil is opposed by two springs. The
value of the current flowing through the coil determines the turning force of the coil. When the turning
force is equal to the opposition of the springs, the coil stops moving and the pointer indicates the current
reading on a calibrated scale. In some meters the springs are made of conducting material and conduct
current to and from the coil. The pole pieces of the magnet form a circular air gap within which the coil
is pivoted.
To obtain a clockwise rotation, the north pole of the permanent magnet and that of the coil must be
adjacent. The current flowing through the coil must, therefore, always be in the same direction. The
D'Arsonval movement can be used only for dc measurements and the correct polarity must be observed.
If the current is allowed to flow in the wrong direction through the coil, the coil will rotate
counterclockwise and the pointer will be damaged. Since the movement of the coil is directly
proportional to the current through the coil, the scale is normally a linear scale.
Damping
In order that meter readings can be made quickly and accurately, it is desirable that the moving pointer
overshoot its proper position only a small amount and come to rest after not more than one or two small
oscillations. The term "damping" is applied to methods used to bring the pointer of an electrical meter
to rest after it has been set in motion. Damping may be accomplished by electrical means, by
mechanical means, or by a combination of both.

Electrical Damping
A common method of damping by
electrical means is to wind the moving
coil on an aluminum frame. As the coil
moves in the field of the permanent
magnet, eddy currents are set up in the
aluminum frame. The magnetic field
produced by the eddy currents opposes
the motion of the coil. The pointer will
therefore swing more slowly to its
proper position and come to rest
quickly with very little oscillation.
Mechanical Damping
Air damping is a common method of
damping by mechanical means. As
shown in figure 8-125, a vane is
attached to the shaft of the moving
element and enclosed in an air
chamber. The movement of the shaft is
retarded because of the resistance
which the air offers to the vane.
Effective damping is achieved if the
vane nearly touches the walls of the
chamber.

Meter Sensitivity
The sensitivity of a meter movement is usually expressed as the amount of current required to give full
scale deflection. In addition, the sensitivity may be expressed as the number of millivolts across the
meter when full scale current flows through it. This voltage drop is obtained by multiplying the full
scale current by the resistance of the meter movement. A meter movement, whose resistance is 50 ohms
and which requires 1 milliampere (ma.) for full scale reading, may be described as a 50 millivolt 0 - 1
milliammeter.

Extending the Range

of an Ammeter

A 0 - 1 milliammeter
movement may be used to
measure currents greater
than 1 ma. by connecting a
resistor in parallel with the
movement. The parallel
resistor is called a shunt
because it bypasses a portion
of the current around the
movement, extending the
range of the ammeter.
A schematic drawing of a
meter movement with a
shunt connected across it to
extend its range is shown in
figure 8-126.

Determining the Value of a Shunt

The value of a shunt resistor can be computed by

applying the basic rules for parallel circuits. If a 50
millivolt 0 - 1 milliammeter is to be used to measure
values of current up to 10 ma., the following procedure
can be used: The first step involves drawing a
schematic of the meter shunted by a resistor labeled Rs
(shunt resistor), as shown in figure 8-127.

Since the sensitivity of the meter is known, the

meter resistance can be computed. The circuit is
then redrawn as shown in figure 8-128, and the
branch currents can be computed, since a
maximum of 1 ma. can flow through the meter. The
voltage drop across Rs is the same as that across
the meter, Rm:

Rs can be found by applying Ohm's law:

The value of the shunt resistor (5.55 W) is

very small, but this value is critical.
Resistors used as shunts must have close
tolerances, usually 1 percent.

Universal Ammeter Shunt

The schematic drawing in figure 8-129, the
universal shunt, shows an arrangement whereby
two or more ranges are provided by tapping the
shunt resistor at the proper points. In this
arrangement, a 0 - 5 ma. movement with a
resistance of 20 ohms is shunted to provide a 0 25 ma. range and a 0 - 50 ma. range.

Ammeters having a number of internal shunts are called

multirange ammeters. A scale for each range is provided
on the meter face (figure 8-130). Some multimeters
avoid internal switching through the use of external
shunts. Changing ammeter ranges involves the selection
and installation on the meter case of the proper size
shunt.

Electrodynamometer
An electrodynamometer is an instrument used for measuring the electric power. The basic principle was laid out in
an 1848 paper by Wilhelm Weber (1804-1891): when the same current passes through two concentric coils placed
at right angles to each other, the resulting torque depends on the square of the current.

The electrical inventor and entrepreneur, Werner von Siemens (1816-1892), used this principle in his
electrodynamometer, first described in 1880. In order to measure the power dissipated in an electrical load, it is
necessary to measure the current through the load and the potential drop across it. In the Siemens instrument, the
stationary coil is made of relatively few turns of heavy wire and is connected in series with the circuit. The rotating
coil consists of many turns of fine wire, and is connected across the load with a multiplier resistance in series with
it to measure the potential drop. The currents through the two coils are I and a current proportional to V, and the
product of the two currents is proportional to the power dissipated in the load.
Before we study the internal construction of electrodynamometer wattmeter, it very essential to know the principle
of working of electrodynamometer type wattmeter. Dynamometer type wattmeter works on very simple principle
and this principle can be stated as "when any current carrying conductor is placed inside a magnetic field, it
experiences a mechanical force and due this mechanical force deflection of conductor takes place".

(a) Moving coil : Moving coil moves the pointer with the help of spring control instrument. A limited amount of
current flows through the moving coil so as to avoid heating. So in order to limit the current we have connect
the high value resistor in series with the moving coil. The moving is air cored and is mounted on a pivoted
spindle and can moves freely. In electrodynamometer type wattmeter, moving coil works as pressure coil.
Hence moving coil is connected across the voltage and thus the current flowing through this coil is always
proportional to the voltage.
(b) Fixed coil: The fixed coil is divided into two equal parts and these are connected in series with the load,
therefore the load current will flow through these coils. Now the reason is very obvious of using two fixed
coils instead of one, so that it can be constructed to carry considerable amount of electric current. These coils
are called the current coils of electrodynamometer type wattmeter. Earlier these fixed coils are designed to
carry the current of about 100 amperes but now the modern wattmeter are designed to carry current of about
20 amperes in order to save power.
(c) Control system: Out of two controlling systems i.e.

(1) Gravity control (2) Spring control, only spring controlled systems are used in these types of wattmeter.
Gravity controlled system cannot be employed because they will appreciable amount of errors.
(d) Damping system: Air friction damping is used, as eddy current damping will distort the weak operating
magnetic field and thus it may leads to error.
(e) Scale: There is uniform scale is used in these types of instrument as moving coil moves linearly over a range
of 40 degrees to 50 degrees on either sides.
Now let us derive the expressions for the controlling torque and deflecting torques. In order to derive these
expressions let us consider the circuit diagram given below:

Wheatstone Bridge
A Wheatstone bridge is an electrical circuit used to measure an unknown electrical resistance by
balancing two legs of a bridge circuit, one leg of which includes the unknown component. The primary
benefit of a wheatstone bridge is its ability to provide extremely accurate measurements (in contrast with
something like a simple voltage divider). Its operation is similar to the original potentiometer. It was
invented by Samuel Hunter Christie in 1833 and improved and popularized by Sir Charles Wheatstone in
1843. One of the Wheatstone bridge's initial uses was for the purpose of soils analysis and comparison.

Varley loop
The similar Varley loop uses fixed resistors for RB1 and RB2, and inserts a variable resistor in the faulted leg. Test
sets for cable testing can be connected for either bridge technique. If the fault resistance is high, the sensitivity of the
Murray bridge is reduced and the Varley loop may be more suitable.

The Slide Wire Bridge

It consists of a wire of length 1m and of uniform cross sectional area stretched taut and clamped between two thick
metallic strips bent at right angles, as shown. The metallic strip has two gaps across which resistors can be
connected. The end points where the wire is clamped are connected to a cell through a key. One end of a
galvanometer is connected to the metallic strip midway between the two gaps. The other end of the galvanometer is
connected to a jockey.
The jockey is essentially a metallic rod whose one end has a knife-edge which can slide over the wire to make
electrical connection.

R is an unknown resistance whose value to be determine. It is connected across one of the gaps. Across the other gap,
we connect a standard known resistance S.
The jockey is connected to some point D on the wire, a distance l cm from the end A. The jockey can be moved
along the wire. The portion AD of the wire has a resistance Rcml, where Rcm is the resistance of the wire per unit
centimeter.
The portion DC of the wire similarly has a resistance Rcm (100-l ). The four arms AB, BC, DA and CD [with
resistances R, S, Rcm l andRcm(100-l)] form a Wheatstone bridge with AC as the battery arm and BD the
galvanometer arm.
If the jockey is moved along the wire, then there will be one position where the galvanometer will show no current.
Let the distance of the jockey from the end A at the balance point be l= l1. The four resistances of the bridge at the
balance point then are R, S, Rcm l1 andRcm(100l1). The balance condition gives

Thus, once we have found out l1, the unknown resistance R is known in terms of the standard known resistance S by

Slide Wire Bridge is practical form of Wheat stone bridge.

Jockey is slide over AC wire that is why it is called Slide Wire Bridge
It cannot be used to measure very high and very low resistance.
Balance position of Meter Bridge not change with interchange of cell and galvanometer.
Wheatstone is most sensitive when resistance of all four arms is same.

Megger
The "Megger" instrument for measuring the insulation resistance of electrical devices was introduced by the British
firm of Evershed and Vignoles in 1905. The name comes from the fact that the insulating resistance of a properlydesigned appliance is in the range of tens and hundreds of meghoms. The crank on the end powers a DC generator
connected to a specially-designed meter. The instrument, sold in the United States by Biddle of Philadelphia, was

presented to the Greenslade Collection by Daniel Chaucer.

Oscilloscope
An oscilloscope is a laboratory instrument commonly used to display and analyze the waveform of electronic
signals. In effect, the device draws a graph of the instantaneous signal voltage as a function of time.
An oscilloscope, previously called an oscillograph, and informally known as a scope, CRO (for cathode-ray
oscilloscope), or DSO (for the more modern digital storage oscilloscope), is a type of electronic test instrument that
allows observation of constantly varying signal voltages, usually as a two-dimensional plot of one or more signals as
a function of time. Non-electrical signals (such as sound or vibration) can be converted to voltages and displayed.
Oscilloscopes are used to observe the change of an electrical signal over time, such that voltage and time describe a
shape which is continuously graphed against a calibrated scale. The observed waveform can be analyzed for such
properties as amplitude, frequency, rise time, time interval, distortion and others. Modern digital instruments may
calculate and display these properties directly. Originally, calculation of these values required manually measuring
the waveform against the scales built into the screen of the instrument.