Laboratory Manual

On
BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LAB
(PRACTICAL)
Course Code: - ES-203
For,
2nd semester
B.Tech. in CSE and ETE
Barak Valley Engineering College
Nirala, Karimganj, Assam

List of Contents:

Sl. No. Name of the Experiments Page No.

1 Basic safety precautions, Introduction and use of measuring 1

instruments
2 Measurement of power in a single phase AC circuit using 8
Wattmeter
3 Characteristics of incandescent lamp 11
4 Verification of Thevenin’s Theorem 14
5 Verification of Maximum Power Transfer Theorem 17
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Experiment No. 01
Basic safety precautions, Introduction and use of measuring
instruments
1.1 Aim of The Experiment: Basic safety precaution, Introduction and use of measuring
instruments – voltmeter, ammeter, multimeter, Real-life resistors, capacitors and inductors.
1.2 Apparatus Required:

1.3 Theory:
Ammeter: Ammeter is an electronic instruments device used to determine the electric current
flowing through a circuit. Ammeters measuring current in milli-ampere range is known as
milli-ammeters. Common types of ammeters are moving-coil ammeter and moving-iron
ammeter. Ammeters are connected in series to the circuit whose current is to be measured.
Hence this electronic instruments are designed to have as minimum resistance/loading as
possible.

Moving Coil Ammeter: Moving coil ammeters are used to measure DC Currents. This
electronic instruments consists of a coil suspended by two hair springs. This coil is placed in a
magnetic field created by a fixed permanent magnet. A torque is experienced when current
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passes through this coil which is proportional to the current. When the coil turns, the springs
will exert a restoring force proportional to the angle turned. By these two forces, the coil will
stop at some point and the angular deflection will be proportional to the current

Fig. 1(a).2 Moving coil ammeter

Moving Iron Ammeter: Moving iron ammeters as electronic instruments can be used for
measuring both direct and alternating currents in electronics lab. In this type of ammeter, a
piece of soft iron is used. This iron piece constitutes of a moving vane and a fixed vane. Current
to be checked flows through a fixed coil placed around the iron piece. This coil produces a
magnetic field proportional to the current. So the iron pieces will get magnetized with the same
polarity. The movable vane turns away from the fixed vane due to magnetic repulsion. As the
iron turns, the spring of the electronic instruments will exert a restoring force and stop the vane,
when both the forces become equal. The pointer of the ammeter is attached to the movable
vane, which will point to the proper current reading using a calibrated scale.
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Voltmeter: Voltmeter is an electronic instruments used in an electric circuit to determine the

potential difference or voltage between two different points. Digital and analog voltmeters are
available in electronics lab. They are usually connected in parallel (shunt) to the circuit. Hence
they are designed to have maximum resistance as possible to reduce the loading effect. This
device is also common in electronics lab.

Analog Voltmeter: Analog voltmeter is a type of voltmeter and electronic instruments with an
extra connection of a series resistor (high resistance). It consists of a movable coil placed in a
magnetic field. The coil ends are connected to the measuring terminals. As current flows across
the coil, it will start turning due to magnetic force excreted on the coil and thus the hair spring
will stop the coil by an equal and opposite restoring force. Angular rotation will be proportional
to the voltage in this electronic instruments. Digital Voltmeter Digital voltmeters can measure
both AC and DC measurements with high accuracy as an electronics instrument. It can measure
a high voltage up to 1 kV. Main component of a digital voltmeter is an Analog to Digital
Converter (ADC). Voltage to be measured is amplified or attenuated properly by the circuit
and the output is sent to an Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) IC. This IC will convert the
analog signal input to digital signal output. A digital display driven by this IC will display the
proper voltage value. Digital Multi Meter (DMM) A multimeter or a multi tester, also known
as a VOM (Volt-Ohm meter), is an electronic measuring instrument that combines several
measurement functions in one unit. A typical multimeter would include basic features such as
the ability to measure voltage, current, and resistance. Analog multimeters use a micro ammeter
whose pointer moves over a scale calibrated for all the different measurements that can be
made. Digital multimeters (DMM, DVOM) display the measured value in numerals, and may
also display a bar of a lengthproportional to the quantity being measured. Digital multimeters
are now far more common than analog ones but analog multimeters are still preferable in some
cases, for example when monitoring a rapidly-varying value. A multimeter can be a hand-held
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device useful for basic fault finding and field service work, or a bench instrument which can
measure to a very high degree of accuracy. They can be used to troubleshoot electrical problems
in a wide array of industrial and household devices such as electronic equipment, motor
controls, Domestic appliances, power supplies, and wiring systems.

Contemporary multimeters can measure many quantities. The common ones are: • Voltage,
alternating and direct, in volts. • Current alternating and direct in amperes. The frequency range
for which AC measurements are accurate must be specified. • Resistance in ohms. Additionally,
some multimeters measure: • Capacitance in farads. • Conductance in Siemens. • Decibels. •
Duty cycle as a percentage. • Frequency in hertz. • Inductance in henrys. • Temperature in
degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit, with an appropriate temperature test probe, often a
thermocouple. Digital multimeters may also include circuits for: • Continuity tester; sounds
when a circuit conducts • Diodes (measuring forward drop of diode junctions), and transistors
(measuring current gain and other parameters) • Battery checking for simple 1.5 volt and 9 volt
batteries. This is a current loaded voltage scale which simulates in-use voltage measurement.
RESISTANCE & RESISTOR: The electrical resistance of an electrical element measures its
opposition to the passage of an electric current; the inverse quantity is electrical conductance,
measuring how easily electricity flows along a certain path. Electrical resistance shares some
conceptual parallels with the mechanical notion of friction. The SI unit of electrical resistance
is the ohm (Ω), while electrical conductance is measured in Siemens(S). An object of uniform
cross section has a resistance proportional to its resistivity and length and inversely
proportional to its cross-sectional area. All materials show some resistance, except for
superconductors, which have a resistance of zero. The resistance of an object is defined as the
ratio of voltage across it to current through it: R= V/I.
Such materials are called Ohmic materials. For objects made of ohmic materials the definition
of the resistance, with R being a constant for that resistor, is known as Ohm's law. In the case
of a nonlinear conductor (not obeying Ohm's law), this ratio can change as current or voltage
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changes; the inverse slope of a chord to an I–V curve is sometimes referred to as a "chordal
resistance" or "static resistance".

DC resistance The resistance of a given resistor or conductor grows with the length of
conductor and specific resistivity of the material, and decreases for larger cross-sectional area.
The resistance R and conductance G of a conductor of uniform cross section, therefore, can be
computed as

where is the length of the conductor, measured in meters [m], A is the cross-section area of the
conductor measured in square meters [m²], σ (sigma) is the electrical conductivity measured in
Siemens per meter (Sm-1), and ρ (rho) is the electrical resistivity (also called specific electrical
resistance) of the material, measured in ohm-meters (Ω m).
AC resistance A wire carrying alternating current has a reduced effective cross sectional area
because of the skin effect. Adjacent conductors carrying alternating current have a higher
resistance than they would in isolation or when carrying direct current, due to the proximity
effect. At commercial power frequency, these effects significant for large conductors carrying
large currents, such as bus bars in an electrical substation, or large power cables carrying more
than a few hundred amperes. When an alternating current flows through the circuit, its flow is
not opposed only by the circuit resistance, but also by the opposition of electric and magnetic
fields to the current change. That effect is measured by electrical reactance. The combined
effects of reactance and resistance are expressed by electrical impedance. Measuring resistance
an instrument for measuring resistance is called an ohmmeter. Simple ohmmeters cannot
measure low resistances accurately because the resistance of their measuring leads causes a
voltage drop that interferes with the measurement, so more accurate devices use four-terminal
sensing.
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Temperature dependence: Near room temperature, the electric resistance of a typical metal
increases linearly with rising temperature, while the electrical resistance of a typical
semiconductor decreases with rising temperature. The amount of that change in resistance can
be calculated using the temperature coefficient of resistivity of the material using the following
formula:

Where T is its temperature, T0 is a reference temperature (usually room temperature), R0 is

the resistance at T0, and α is the percentage change in resistivity per unit temperature. The
constant α depends only on the material being considered. The relationship stated is actually
only an approximate one, the true physics being somewhat non-linear, or looking at it another
way, α itself varies with temperature. For this reason it is usual to specify the temperature that
α was measured at with a suffix, such as α15 and the relationship only holds in a range of
temperatures around the reference.

1.4 Precautions:
1. All connection must be tight.
2. Get the circuit connections checked by the teacher before performing the experiment.
3. Power to the circuit must be switched on in the presence of the teacher.
4. Get the experimental readings checked by the teacher.
5. Don't touch directly the live parts of equipment and circuit.
6. Wear leather shoes in the lab.
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1.5 Conclusions:

Discussion Questions:
1) What are the various uses of multimeter?
2) What is the difference between resistor and rheostat?
3) Which device is use to measure ac current?
4) What is a voltmeter?
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Experiment No. 02
Measurement of power in a single phase AC circuit using
Wattmeter
2.1 Aim of The Experiment: To measure the single phase power in a single phase a.c. circuit
by using three voltmeters.
2.2 Apparatus Required:

Sl. No. Apparatus Range Quantity

200 W, 230 V
Incandescent (Filament) Incandescent
1 1
lamp (Filament) lamp,
Rheostat 370 ohm, 2 A
2 1-Φ Wattmeter 5 A, 300 V, 750 W 1
3 Connecting wires cu As required

2.3 Theory:
Schematic diagram displaying the basic constructional features of an electrodynamometer type
wattmeter is shown in Figure 2.1.

Fig 2.1: Schematic of electrodynamometer-type wattmeter

1. Fixed Coil System: The fixed coils or the field coils are connected in series with the load
so as to carry the same current as the load. The fixed coils are hence, termed as the Current
Coils (CC) of the wattmeter. Fixed coils are usually wound with thick wires for carrying the
main load current through them.
2. Moving Coil System: The moving coil that is connected across the load carries a current
proportional to the voltage. Since the moving coil carries a current proportional to the voltage,
it is called the voltage coil or the pressure coil or simply PC of the wattmeter. The moving coil
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is entirely embraced by the pair of fixed coils. The moving coil, made of fine wires, is wound
either as a self-sustaining air-cored coil, or else wound on a non-metallic former.
3. Movement and Restoring System: The moving, or voltage coil along with the pointer is
mounted on an aluminium spindle in case jewel bearings are used to support the spindle. For
higher sensitivity requirements, the moving coil may be suspended from a torsion head by a
metallic suspension which serves as a lead to the coil.
4. Damping System: Damping in such instruments may be provided by small aluminium vanes
attached at the bottom of the spindle. These vanes are made to move inside enclosed air
chambers, thereby creating the damping torque.
Eddy-current damping, however, cannot be used with these instruments. This is due to the
fact that any metallic element to be used for Eddy-current damping will interfere and distort
the otherwise weak operating magnetic field. Moreover, introduction of any external permanent
magnet for the purpose of Eddy-current damping will severely hamper the operating magnetic
field.
5. Shielding System: In some cases, the earth’s magnetic field can pollute the measurement
readings. It is thus essential to shield the electrodynamometer-type instruments from effects of
external magnetic fields. Enclosures of such instruments are thus made of alloys with high
permeability to restrict penetration of external stray magnetic fields into the instrument.
2.4 Circuit Diagram:

Fig 2.2. Measurement of AC power using single phase wattmeter

2.5 Procedure:
1. Connect Phase wire of supply to wattmeter M point.
2. Short the M point and ‘comm’ point of the wattmeter
3. Connect Phase wire of supply to any one points of wattmeter pressure (i.e. 75 V/150 V/300
V)
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4. Now take note of multiplying factor of the wattmeter depending on the connections of B1,
B2, E1 and E2 from the wattmeter manual.
5. Switch on the supply and take the observations as per the table given below.
2.6 Observations:
Table 2.1: Measurement of Power
Sl Type of Load Wattmeter Multiplying Actual Power
No. Observational factor of the consumed (in watts)

Reading wattmeter P=wxm

(w) (m)
1 Incandescent
(Filament) lamp,

2.7 Model Calculation (if any):

2.8 Precautions:
1. Check for proper connections before switching ON the supply.
2. Make sure of proper colour coding of resistors.
3. Take proper value of multiplying factor.
4. The terminal of the resistance should be properly connected.

2.9 Conclusions:

Discussion Questions:
1. What is the type of the wattmeter?
2. What are the torque associated with the deflection of pointer in the wattmeter?
3. Mention in brief the constructional parts of the wattmeter used.
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Experiment No. 03
Characteristics of incandescent lamp

3.1 Aim of The Experiment: To study the V-I characteristics of an incandescent lamp
3.2 Apparatus Required:

Sl.
Apparatus Range Quantity
No.
Incandescent (Filament)
1 200 W, 230 V 1
lamp
2 MI (AC) Voltmeter 0-300 V 1
3 MI (AC) Ammeter 0-1 A 1
4 1-Φ Variac Iron core 1
5 A, 300 V, 750
5 1-Φ Wattmeter 1
W
As
6 Connecting wires cu
required

3.3 Theory: There are two types of lamps which are in common use, one is filament lamp and
the other is gaseous discharge lamp. The filament lamps are incandescent lamps, e.g.
carbon, tungsten etc. The filament of these lamps, when heated due to electric current,
emits radiations in visible spectrum. The filament of incandescent lamp is mostly made of
tungsten wire whose melting point is 34000C. At normal working voltage, the filament
material gets heated to a very high temperature and emits white light. The filament is made
in the form of a coiled-coil to contain a longer length of the filament in a shorter space and
is enclosed in an evacuated glass bulb to minimize oxidation of filament material at such
a high operating temperature. Usually the lamps above 15w or 25w are filled with an inert
gas, e.g. argon or nitrogen, to enable the filament to operate at higher temperatures and
achieve higher lumens/watt efficiency (in the range of 12-13watt).
The resistance of filament changes considerably when switched on. The initial
resistance of the filament in cold condition can be measured by multi-meter or by ammeter-
voltmeter method. The filament resistance at normal operating temperature is difficult to
measure directly and is therefore, calculated by using the following relation:
R =V/I= W/I2 Ω
Where, R = Resistance in ohm when normal voltage is applied across the lamp
I = Current taken by the lamp in ampere.
V= Voltage across lamp in volts.
W= Power to the lamp in Watt.
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3.4 Circuit Diagram:

Fig 3.1: Circuit diagram to find out various characteristics of a filament lamp

3.5 Procedure:
1) Connect the circuit diagram as shown in Fig 3.1.
2) Keep the variac in minimum or zero position.
3) Switch ON the power supply and increase the applied voltage gradually in step by step
(in steps of 20-30 V) until the rated voltage is obtained.
4) Note down the readings of Voltmeter, ammeter and wattmeter for every step.
5) Repeat step-4 for decreasing output voltage from rated voltage to zero volts.
6) Switch OFF power supply and disconnect circuit. Calculate the resistance at every step
7) Draw V-I characteristics in a graph paper.
3.6 Observations:
Table 3.1: Readings of voltmeter, ammeter and wattmeter for different input voltage
Sl. Applied Voltage Wattmeter Current Filament
No V (volts) Reading (W) (Amp) Resistance
. R=V/I (Ω)

3.7 Model Calculation (if any):

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3.8 Precautions:
1. Check for proper connections before switching ON the supply.
2. Instruments should be connected in proper polarity and range
3. Do not touch any no-insulated part of any instrument or equipments.
4. The terminal of the resistance should be properly connected.

3.9 Conclusions:

Discussion Questions:
1. Is the V-I characteristics of incandescent lamp is straight line? Justify your answer.
2. Why do the readings differ for increasing and decreasing values of the lamp voltages?
3. Explain the advantages of tungsten wire as filament material in incandescent lamp.
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Experiment No. 04
Verification of Thevenin’s Theorem
4.1 Aim of The Experiment: To verify Thevenin’s theorem and to find the full load current
for the given circuit.
4.2 Apparatus Required:

Sl.
Apparatus Range Quantity
No.
1 Regulated Power Supply (RPS) (0-30 V) 1
2 PMMC (DC) Ammeter/ Multimeter (0-50) mA 1
3 PMMC (DC) Voltmeter/ Multimeter (0-20 V) 1
4 Resistors 10 Ohms, 2 A 3
5 Rheostat (Load Resistance) 370 Ohms, 2 A 1
6 Connecting wires -- As required

4.3 Theory: Any linear bilateral, active two terminal network can be replaced by a equivalent
voltage source (VTH). Thevenin’s voltage or VOC in series with looking pack resistance RTH.
Thevenin’s theorem states that a linear two-terminal circuit can be replaced by an
equivalent circuit consisting of a voltage source VTh in series with a resistor RTh, where VTh is
the open circuit voltage at the terminals and RTh is the input or equivalent resistance at the
terminals when the independent sources are turned off.
4.4 Circuit Diagram:
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Fig 5.1: Circuit Diagrams for Verification of Thevenin’s theorem

4.5 Procedure:
1. Connections are given as per the circuit diagram.
2. Set a particular value of voltage using RPS and note down the corresponding ammeter
readings.
● To find VTH :
3. Remove the load resistance and measure the open circuit voltage using multimeter (VTH).
● To find RTH :
4. To find the Thevenin’s resistance, remove the RPS and short circuit it and find the RTH
using multimeter.
5. Give the connections for equivalent circuit and set VTH and RTH and note the
corresponding ammeter reading.
6. Verify Thevenins theorem.
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4.6 Observations:
. Supply Voltage VTH RTH Load Current IL (Amp)
(ohms)
E (Volts) (volts) Circuit -1 Thevenin’s
Equivalent Circuit
Theoretical 15 7.5 15 0.019 0.019

Practical 15

4.7 Model Calculation (if any):

4.8 Precautions:
1. Check for proper connections before switching ON the supply.
2. Reading should be taken carefully.
3. All connections should be tight and correctly.
4. Voltage control knob of RPS should be kept at minimum position.
5. Current control knob of RPS should be kept at maximum position.

4.9 Conclusions:

Discussion Questions:
1. What is the application of Thevenin’s Theorem?
2. Can Thevenin’s Theorem be applied to AC circuits?
3. What are the theoretical limitations of Thevenin’s Theorem?
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Experiment No. 05
Verification of Maximum Power Transfer Theorem
5.1 Aim of The Experiment: To verify maximum power transfer theorem for the given circuit
5.2 Apparatus Required:

Sl.
Apparatus Range Quantity
No.
1 Regulated Power Supply (RPS) (0-30 V) 1
2 PMMC (DC) Ammeter/ Multimeter (0-1) A 1
3 PMMC (DC) Voltmeter/ Multimeter (0-20 V) 1
10 Ohms, 370
4 Resistors 3
Ohms, 2 A,
5 Rheostat (Load Resistance) 100 Ohms, 2 A 1
6 Connecting wires -- As required

5.3 Theory: In a linear, bilateral circuit the maximum power will be transferred to the load
when load resistance is equal to source resistance.
The maximum power transfer theorem states that a load resistance will abstract maximum
power from the network when the load resistance is equal to internal resistance. For maximum
power transfer, load resistance RL = Ri, where Ri is the internal resistance of the circuit.
𝑉2
The expression of maximum power, 𝑃𝑚𝑎𝑥 =
4 𝑅𝐿

Where 𝑉 is the dc voltage applied.

Relation Between Power Delivered and Load Resistance:
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5.4 Circuit Diagram:

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5.5 Procedure:
Circuit – I:
1. Connections are given as per the diagram and set a particular voltage in RPS.
2. Vary RL and note down the corresponding ammeter and voltmeter reading.
3. Repeat the procedure for different values of R L & Tabulate it.
4. Calculate the power for each value of RL.
To find VTH:
5. Remove the load, and determine the open circuit voltage using multimeter (V TH)
To find RTH:
6. Remove the load and short circuit the voltage source (RPS).
7. Find the looking back resistance (RTH) using multimeter.
Equivalent Circuit:
8. Set VTH using RPS and RTH using rheostat and note down the ammeter reading.
9. Calculate the power delivered to the load (RL = RTH)
10. Plot the graph between PL vs RL.
10. Verify maximum transfer theorem.
5.6 Observations:
From Circuit-1 :-

Power
Sl. No. RL in Ohms IL in Ampere
P=IL2*RL (in watts.)

From the above table the maximum power transfer is found to be occur at R L = …………..ohm
To find Power with Thevenin’s equivalent circuit by making R L=RTH :
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. Supply Voltage VTH RL=RTH Load Power

Current IL P=IL2*RL (in
E (Volts) (volts) (ohms)
(Amp) watts.)

Theoretical 15 14.43 19.74 0.365 2.63

Practical 15

5.7 Model Calculation (if any):

5.8 Precautions:
6. Check for proper connections before switching ON the supply.
7. Reading should be taken carefully.
8. All connections should be tight and correctly.
9. Voltage control knob of RPS should be kept at minimum position.
10. Current control knob of RPS should be kept at maximum position.
5.9 Conclusions:

Discussion Questions:
Q. 1. What is load matching?
Q.2. What is max. power transfer formula?
Q.3. What is the field of application of this theorem?