Sensors and Instrumentation

Name : Sai Sandeep Rayanuthala

RegNo : 18BIS0039
FACULTY : Prof. Arun Kumar Chandrasekaran
Slot : TD1
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Question:
Discuss in detail the current and voltage measurement Instruments.Also, explain where
this instrumentation can be used in our daily life.
Voltmeters and ammeters are used to measure voltage and current, respectively.

Voltmeters:

A voltmeter is an instrument that measures the difference in electrical potential between

two points in an electric circuit. An analog voltmeter moves a pointer across a scale in
proportion to the circuit’s voltage; a digital voltmeter provides a numerical display. Any
measurement that can be converted to voltage can be displayed on a meter that is
properly calibrated; such measurements include pressure, temperature, and flow.

In order for a voltmeter to measure a device’s voltage, it must be connected in parallel

to that device. This is necessary because objects in parallel experience the same
potential difference.
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Real life Applications of voltmeter:

The applications of Voltmeter include:

● It is very useful in finding the voltage of a charge storing device, such as to

test the voltage of a battery. For example, a new AAA cell will have about
1.6V, a dying one perhaps 1.1V. A 12V lead-acid car battery will read 12.5V
when fully charged, or 14V when being charged by the alternator in a car. If it
reads 10V, there is something wrong with the alternator.
● It can be used just to tell whether there is power in a circuit or not, such as a
mains outlet.
● Verifying the power is on or off to the appliances.
● We can calculate the current by measuring the voltage across a known
resistance. This is useful when you don’t have an ammeter.
● They are used to build a continuity checker, with a series battery.
● They are used to build an ohm meter, by using a voltage divider with the
unknown resistor.
● They are used to build an ammeter by measuring the voltage across a shunt
resistor.

Types of Voltmeter:

The voltmeter is classified into three ways. The classification of the voltmeter is shown
in the figure below.On the basis of the construction, the voltmeter is of the following
types.

PMMC Voltmeter

It works on the principle that the current carrying conductor is placed in the magnetic
field and because of the current the force acting on the conductor. The current induces
in the PMMC instrument because of the measured voltage, and this current deflects the
pointer of the meter.

The PMMC voltmeter is used for DC measurement. The accuracy of the instrument
is very high and has low power consumption. The only disadvantage of the instrument is
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that it is very costly. The range of the PMMC voltmeter increases by connecting the
resistance in series with it.

MI Voltmeter

The MI instrument means moving iron instrument. This instrument uses for the
measurement of both the AC and DC voltage. In this type of instrument, the deflection is
directly proportional to the voltage of the coil. The moving iron instrument is classified
into two types.1) Attraction Type Moving Iron Instrument 2)Repulsion Type Moving Iron
Instrument
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Electro-dynamometer Voltmeter

The electro-dynamometer voltmeter is used for measuring the voltage of both AC and
DC circuits. In this type of instrument, the calibration is same both for the AC and DC
measurement.

Rectifier voltmeter

This type of instrument is used in AC circuits for voltage measurement. The rectifier
instrument converts the AC quantity into the DC quantity by the help of the rectifier. And
then the DC signal is measured by the PMMC instrument.

The following are the classification of instruments regarding the displays of output
reading.

Analogue Voltmeter

The analogue voltmeter is used for measuring the AC voltage. It displays the reading
through the pointer which is fixed on the calibrated scale. The deflection of the pointer
depends on the torque acting on it. The magnitude of the developed torque is directly
proportional to the measuring voltage.

Digital Voltmeter

The voltmeter which displays the reading in the numeric form is known as the digital
voltmeter. The digital voltmeter gives the accurate result.The instrument which
measures the direct current is known as the DC voltmeter, and the AC voltmeter is used
in the AC circuit for alternating voltage measurement.

Ammeters:

Ammeter, instrument for measuring either direct or alternating electric current, in

amperes. An ammeter can measure a wide range of current values because at high
values only a small portion of the current is directed through the meter mechanism; a
shunt in parallel with the meter carries the major portion.
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In order for an ammeter to measure a device’s current, it must be connected in series to

that device. This is necessary because objects in series experience the same current.
They must not be connected to a voltage source ammeters are designed to work under
a minimal burden, (which refers to the voltage drop across the ammeter, typically a
small fraction of a volt).

Real life applications of Ammeter:

● The application of this device will range from school to industry.
● These are used to measure the current flow in the building to ensure that the flow
is not too low or too high.
● It is used with a thermocouple to check the temperature.
● These current flowing through the coil produces the desire deflecting torque.
● Electricians frequently use these devices to check the faults of the circuits in the
building.
● It is used in manufacturing and instrumentation companies to check the function
of the devices.
● This instrument is used to measure current in the circuit.
● It is always connected series in the circuit and carries the current to be measure,
● It is used with a thermocouple to check the temperature.
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● When PMMC is used as an ammeter, except for a very small current range, the
moving coil is connected across a suitable low resistance in shunt, so that only a
small part of the main current flows through the coil of the device.
● 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 the same alloy is also
placed in series with the coil which reduces due to temperature variation.

Classification/Types of Ammeters

These are classified into different types based on their applications which include the

following.

● Moving Coil
● Electrodynamic
● Moving-iron
● Hotwire
● Digital
● Integrating

Moving Coil

This type of ammeter is used to measure both AC & DC. This device uses magnetic

deflection where the flow of current through a coil will make to move within the magnetic

field. The coil in this device moves freely moves between permanent magnet poles.

Electrodynamic

This type of ammeter includes a moving coil to rotate in the generated field through a

fixed coil. The main function of this device is to measure AC & DC with an accuracy of
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0.1 to 0.25%. The accuracy of this device is high when compared with the moving coil &

permanent magnet moving coil. The device calibration is the same for AC & DC.

Moving-iron

This type of ammeter is used to calculate alternating currents & voltages. In this device,

the movable system includes specially created soft iron pieces, which move as acted

upon through the electromagnetic force of a fixed coil of wire. These types of devices

are classified into two types like repulsion and attraction. This device includes different

components like moving element, coil, control, damping & reflective torque.

Hot Wire

This is used to measure AC or DC by transmitting it through a wire to make the wire

heated and expand is known as a hot wire. The working principle of this device is to

increase the wire by providing heat effect from the current supply through it. This is

used for both AC & DC.

Digital Ammeter

This type of device is used to measure the flow of current in amperes & displays the

values of on a digital display. The designing of this device can be done by using a shunt

resistor to generate a calibrated voltage that is proportional to the flow of current. These

instruments provide information regarding the current draw & continuity in order to

assist the consumer to troubleshoot variable loads & trends.

Integrating
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In this device, the flow of current is summed over time and gives the product of time &

current. These devices calculate the whole energy supplied through the circuit in a

specified interval of time. The best example of this integrating device is watt-hour meter

as it measures the energy directly in watt-hour.

Effect of Temperature in Ammeter

The ammeter is easily influenced by external temperature. So the temperature change

will cause a fault in the reading. To overcome this, swamping resistance is used

because the temperature coefficient of this resistance is zero. In the following circuit, the

ammeter & the swamping resistance is connected in series so that the effect of

temperature on this can be reduced.

References:

1. https://www.ecstuff4u.com/2020/05/application-of-ammeter.html

2. https://circuitglobe.com/voltmeter.html

3. https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-voltmeter-definition-uses.html

4. https://www.elprocus.com/what-is-an-ammeter-circuit-diagram-and-its-type

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