Class 2

Instrument
• An instrument is defined as a device that
determines the magnitude or value of a
quantity, such as temperature, pressure, level,
current, voltage, resistance, power, force,
velocity and distance.
• The device used for comparing the unknown
quantity with the unit of measurement or a
standard quantity is called a measuring
instrument.
 Types of Instrument
• Mechanical instrument
Based on History of
• Electrical Instrument Development
• Electronic Instrument

•Absolute and Secondary Instruments

•Direct Measuring and Comparison Instruments Based on
accuracy, cost
•Active and Passive Instruments and general
•Deflection and Null type Instruments applicability
to different
•Monitoring and Control Instruments applications
•Analog and Digital Instruments
 Types of Instrument Cont…
• Indicating Instruments
Based on their
• Recording Instruments functions
• Controlling Instruments
 Mechanical Instruments
• Instruments which operate by means of mechanical
procedure is known as mechanical instruments.
• These are reliable for static and stable conditions
• But unable to respond rapidly to the measurements of
dynamic and transient conditions
• This is because this instruments have moving parts that
are rigid, heavy and bulky and consequently have a
large mass.
• Another drawback is that most of the mechanical
instruments are potential source of noise and hence
causes noise pollution
Example

Vernier Caliper is Used

for measuring the
distance between two
opposite side of a
surface. We can measure
the internal and external
dimension and even
height of an object with
accuracy.
 Electrical Instruments
• Instruments which operates based on electrical means
is known as electrical instruments
• These instruments are more rapid in indicating the
output as compared to mechanical instruments
• But electrical instruments are also dependent upon
mechanical meter movement as indicating device
• Used for measuring electrical quantities likes current,
voltage, power, etc.
• The ammeter, voltmeter, wattmeter are
the examples of the electrical measuring instrument.
 Example

Analog Voltmeter

Voltmeter is used to measure the voltage

 Electronic Instrument
• The instruments which operate by electronic
means is known as electronic instruments
• These instruments uses semiconductor
devices
• The response time of such instruments is
extremely small as the movement involved in
electronic devices is only that of electrons and
electrons have very small inertia.
 Cont…
Electronic instrument have:
– A higher sensitivity
– A faster response
– A greater flexibility
– Lower weight
– Lower power consumption and
– A higher degree of reliability than their
mechanical or purely electrical counterparts
 Example

CRO is used to measure

a.c and d.c voltage.

It is used to study the

waveforms of a.c voltages.

CRO is used to find the

frequency of a.c voltage

Cathode Ray Oscilloscope

 Types of Instrument Cont…

•Absolute and Secondary Instruments

Based on
•Direct Measuring and Comparison Instruments
accuracy, cost
•Active and Passive Instruments and general
applicability
•Deflection and Null type Instruments
to different
•Monitoring and Control Instruments applications
•Analog and Digital Instruments
 Absolute Instrument
These instruments give the magnitude of the quantity under
measurement in term of physical constants of the instrument and
its deflection
Such instruments do not require any comparison with any other
standard instrument
Example is Tangent Galvanometer

Used for the measurement of electric current.

It provides the value of current to be measured
in terms of tangent (compass needle) of the angle
of deflection produced, the horizontal component
of the magnetic field, the radius and the number
of turns of wire used
 Secondary Instrument
• These instruments are so constructed that the quantity being
measured can only be measured by observing the output
indicated by the instrument.
• These instruments are required to be calibrated by
comparison with an absolute instrument.
• Examples are ammeter, voltmeter, wattmeter etc.
 Direct Measuring Instrument
• These instruments convert the energy
of the unknown quantity directly into
energy that deflects the moving
element of the instrument
• The value of the unknown quantity
being measured by reading the
resulting deflection

Example:
Ammeter
 Comparison Instruments
• These instrument measure the unknown
quantity by comparing it with a standard that
is often contained in the instrument case.
• These instruments are used in cases when a
higher accuracy of measurement is needed.

Example: Resistance
Measuring Bridges
(Wheatstone Bridge)
 Active Instruments
• The instrument type in which quantity to be
measured modulates or adapts to magnitude of
external power source is known as active
instrument.
• Example: Petrol Tank Level Indicator
– The change in petrol level moves a potentiometer arm
and the output signal consists of a proportion of the
external voltage source applied across the two ends of
the potentiometer.
– The energy in the output signal comes from the
external power source.
 Active Instrument Cont…
(Petrol Tank Level Indicator)
 Passive Instrument
• The instrument type in which output entirely
depends on quantity to be measured.
• Passive instruments are cheaper than active one
• Simple in construction than active ones.
• Example: Pressure measuring device
– The pressure of the fluid is translated into a movement of
a pointer against scale.
The energy expanded in moving the pointer is derived
entirely from the change in pressure measured.
– In this passive instrument, there are no other energy
inputs to the system.
 Passive Instrument Cont…
(Pressure Measuring Device)

Passive Pressure Gauge

 Deflection Type Instrument
• The instruments in which the measured
quantity produces physical effects
which deflect or displace the moving system
of the instruments in known as the deflection
type instrument.
 Deflection Type Instrument Cont…
(Permanent Magnet Moving Coil Ammeter)
 Null Type Instrument
• An instrument in which zero or null indication determines the
magnitude of measured quantity such type of instrument is called a
null type instrument.
• It uses a null detector which indicating the null condition when the
measured quantity and the opposite quantity are same.
• Such type of instrument has high accuracy and also it is very
sensitive.
Null Type Instrument Cont…
(Wheatstone Bridge)
 Monitoring Instrument
• Instruments which only provide an audio or
visual indication of the magnitude of the
quantity are known as monitoring instrument.

Liquid in Glass
Thermometer
 Control Instruments
• In these type of instrument output must be in
a suitable form for direct input to an
automatic control system such as controller.
• Usually, this means that an instrument with an
electrical output is required, although other
forms of output such as optical output are
also used in some system.
Examples of Control Instruments

Flight Control Panel

 Analog Instrument
• The analog instrument is defined as
the instrument whose output is the continuous
function of time, and they have a constant
relation to the input.
 Digital Instrument
• The instruments that are used to express the
measuring quantity in numeric format is known
as Digital Instruments.
• Digital instruments are composed of logic circuits
that carry out measurement of the quantities.
 Types of Instrument Cont…
• Indicating Instruments
Based on their
• Recording Instruments functions
• Controlling Instruments
 Indicating Instrument
• Indicating instruments are analogue devices
that show the quantity that is measured on a
graduated scale using pointers.

Direction Heading
Instrument
 Recording Instrument
• A measuring instrument in which a record of
readings is provided in the form of a graph.
• Recording instruments are used for registering
one or more physical quantities, such as voltage,
current, resistance, force, temperature, humidity,
displacement, or consumption, as functions of
time or other physical quantities.
Examples of Recording Instrument

SEISMOGRAPH
 Controlling Instrument
• The instruments which are used to control the parameters of
a particular process or a particular system is known as
controlling instrument.

PLC
(Programmable
Logic Controller)