Lecture – 5 Performance Characteristics and Errors in

Instruments

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 Contents
 Performance Characteristics of an instrument
 Static Characteristics
 Dynamic Characteristics
 Static Characteristics
 Error in Measurement
 Few Examples
 Types of Static Error
 Dynamic Characteristics
 Limiting Error
 End of Lecture 2

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 Reference Books
 Any good book may be; here are few
recommendations:
 Principles of Measurement and Instrumentation by
Alan S. Morris
 An Introduction to Electrical Instrumentation by
B.A Gregoris
 Electrical Measurements and Measuring
Instruments by Rajendra Prasad
 Book by G.B Gupta on Electrical Measurement and
Instrumentation

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 PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS
 Performance Characteristics – characteristics that
show the performance of an instrument.
 Eg: accuracy, precision, resolution, sensitivity.
 Allows users to select the most suitable instrument
for a specific measuring jobs.
 Two basic characteristics :
 Static
 Dynamic
 STATIC CHARACTERISTICS
 Accuracy – the degree of exactness (closeness) of
measurement compared to the expected (desired) value.
 Resolution – the smallest change in a measurement
variable to which an instrument will respond.
 Precision – a measure of consistency or repeatability of
measurement, i.e successive reading do not differ.
 Expected value – the design value or the most probable
value that expect to obtain.
 Error – the deviation of the true value from the desired
value.
 Sensitivity – ratio of change in the output (response) of
instrument to a change of input or measured variable.
 Error in Measurement
 Absolute error is the difference between the
magnitude of the true value and the observed one. It
gives us the exact number with the units of the
quantity that is deviated from the true one.
 Unlike absolute error, relative error is expressed in
percentage and it helps us to compare how incorrect a
quantity is from the value considered to be true.
 Relative error is defined as the absolute error divided
by the true value. It is generally expressed as
percentage and helps us to calculate the ratio between
absolute error and the true value.
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 ERROR IN MEASUREMENT

 Measurement always introduce error

 Error may be expressed either as absolute or percentage of
error

Absolute error, e = Yn  X n
where Yn – expected value (or True Value)
X – measured value (or Observed Value)
n
Yn  X n
Relative Error in % error = 100
Yn
 ERROR IN MEASUREMENT

Yn  X n
Relative accuracy, A  1 
Yn
% Accuracy, a = 100% - % error
= A 100

Xn  Xn
Precision, P = 1 
Xn
where X n- value of the nth measurement
X n - average set of measurement
 Example 1.1

Given expected voltage value across a resistor is 80V.

The measurement is 79V. Calculate,
i. The absolute error
ii. The % of error
iii. The relative accuracy
iv. The % of accuracy
 Solution (Example 1.1)

Given that , expected value = 80V

measurement value = 79V

i. Absolute error, e =Yn  X n = 80V – 79V = 1V

Y  X 80  79
ii. % error = n n 100 = 100 = 1.25%
Yn 80

iii. Relative accuracy, A  1  Yn  X n = 0.9875

Yn

iv. % accuracy, a = A x 100% = 0.9875 x 100%=98.75%

 Example 1.2

From the value in table 1.1 calculate Table 1.1

the precision of 6th measurement? No Xn
1 98
2 101
Solution 3 102
4 97
the average of measurement value 5 101
98  101  ....  99 1005 6 100
Xn    100.5 7 103
10 10
8 98
the 6threading 9 106
100  100.5 0.5
Precision = 1   1   0.995 10 99
100.5 100.5
 TYPES OF STATIC ERROR
 Types of error in measurement:
1) Gross error/human error
2) Systematic Error
3) Random Error

1) Gross Error
- caused by human mistakes in reading/using instruments
- cannot eliminate but can minimize
 TYPES OF STATIC ERROR (cont)
2) Systematic Error
- due to shortcomings of the instrument (such as
defective or worn parts)
- 3 types of systematic error :-
(i) Instrumental error
(ii) Environmental error
(iii) Observational error
 TYPES OF STATIC ERROR (cont)

(i) Instrumental error

- inherent while measuring instrument because of
their mechanical structure (bearing friction,
irregular spring tension, stretching of spring, etc)
- error can be avoided by:
(a) selecting a suitable instrument for the particular
measurement application
(b) apply correction factor by determining
instrumental error
(c) calibrate the instrument against standard
 TYPES OF STATIC ERROR (cont)

(ii) Environmental error

- due to external condition effecting the
measurement including surrounding area condition
such as change in temperature, humidity,
barometer pressure, etc
- to avoid the error :-
(a) use air conditioner
(b) sealing certain component in the instruments
(c) use magnetic shields (?)
(iii) Observational error
- introduce by the observer
- most common : parallax error and estimation error
(while reading the scale)
 Your Task…..
 Find difference between human error and
observational error?

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 TYPES OF STATIC ERROR (cont)

3) Random error
- due to unknown causes, occur when all systematic
error has accounted
- accumulation of small effect, require at high degree
of accuracy
- can be avoided by
(a) increasing number of reading
(b) use statistical means (?) to obtain best
approximation of true value
 Lecture – 6

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Dynamic Characteristics
 Dynamic – measuring a varying process condition.
 Instruments rarely respond instantaneously (?) to
changes in the measured variables due to such things
as thermal capacitance, fluid capacitance or electrical
capacitance.
 Your task: Understand capacitance in general sense?
And why it is generated?
 Some points about capacitance….
 Capacitance is the ability of a body to store an
electrical charge. Any body or structure that is capable
of being charged, either with static electricity or by an
electric current, exhibits capacitance. A common form
of energy storage device is a parallel-plate capacitor.
In a parallel plate capacitor, capacitance is directly
proportional to the surface area of the conductor
plates and inversely proportional to the separation
distance between the plates. The capacitance is a
function only of the physical dimensions (geometry)
of the conductors and the permittivity of the
dielectric. It is independent of the potential difference
between the conductors and the total charge on them.
[source wikipedia]

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Dynamic Characteristics
 The dynamic characteristics of an instrument
are:
 Speed of response (All the times)
 Dynamic error
 The difference between the true and measured value with
no static error.
 Lag – response delay (At different stages)
 Fidelity – the degree to which an instrument
indicates the changes in the measured variable
without dynamic error (faithful reproduction).
 LIMITING ERROR

 The accuracy of measuring instrument is

guaranteed within a certain percentage (%) of
full scale reading
 E.g manufacturer may specify the instrument to be
accurate at 2 % with full scale deflection (?)
 For reading less than full scale, the limiting
error increases (See example on next slide)
 LIMITING ERROR (cont)
Example 1.6

Given a 600 V voltmeter with accuracy 2% full scale.

Calculate limiting error when the instrument is used to measure a
voltage of 250V?

Solution

The magnitude of limiting error, 0.02 x 600 = 12V

Therefore, the limiting error for 250V = 12/250 x 100 = 4.8%
Your task: If the measuring voltage is 400V. Find limiting error
and compare it to 250V. Repeat it with 600V and compare again (Do
it)
 LIMITING ERROR (cont)

Example 1.7

Given for certain measurement, a limiting error for voltmeter

at 70V is 2.143% and a limiting error for ammeter at 80mA is
2.813%. Determine the limiting error of the power.

Solution

The limiting error for the power = 2.143% + 2.813%

= 4.956%
 Clock Generation through 555 Timer
IC
 Anyone knows the importance of clock in
embedded system? Or in instrumentation?
 Why clock is needed for all the digital circuits?

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 Testing
 Draw general block diagram of Measuring System
and describe each block briefly.
 Wish you all the best

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