Measuring Instruments

Fundamentals of Electrical and
Electronics Engineering
Measuring Instruments
ANALOG INSTRUMENT
•THE SIGNAL WHICH CONTINUOUSLY VARY AND TAKE
INFINITE VALUES FOR GIVEN RANGE ARE CALLED ANALOG
SIGNALS.
•THE INSTRUMENT THAT INVOLVES THE USE OF ANALOG

SIGNALS IS CALLED AS AN ANALOG INSTRUMENT
TYPES OF ANALOG INSTRUMENTS
Types of ammeter and voltmeter

1.Permanent magnet moving coil type (P.M.M.C.)
2.Moving iron (M.I.)
a. Attraction type
b. Repulsion type
PMMC
• Principle of Operation: When a current carrying conductor is
placed in a magnetic field, it experiences a force and tends to
move in the direction as per Fleming’s 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 jeweled 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.
Torque Equation
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.
Applications
• 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
Applications……….
• 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.
• It’s very delicate and sometimes uses ac circuit with a
rectifier.
• It’s costly as compared to moving coil iron instruments.
• It may show error due to loss of magnetism of permanent
magnet.
Moving Iron Instruments – Voltmeter and Ammeter
Construction and basic principle operation of moving-iron

instruments
Moving-iron instruments are generally used to measure
alternating voltages and currents. In moving-iron
instruments the movable system consists of one or more
pieces of specially-shaped soft iron, which are so pivoted as
to be acted upon by the magnetic field produced by the
current in coil.
There are two general types of moving-iron instruments
namely:
1. Repulsion (or double iron) type
2. Attraction (or single-iron) type
The brief description of different
components of a moving-iron instrument is
given below:
• Moving element: a small piece of soft iron in the form of a
vane or rod.
• Coil: to produce the magnetic field due to current flowing
through it and also to magnetize the iron pieces.
• In repulsion type, a fixed vane or rod is also used and
magnetized with the same polarity.
• Control torque is provided by spring or weight (gravity).
• Damping torque is normally pneumatic, the damping device
consisting of an air chamber and a moving vane attached to
the instrument spindle.
• Deflecting torque produces a movement on an aluminum
pointer over a graduated scale.
Repulsion type:
Attraction type:
Working:
The deflecting torque in any moving-iron instrument is due
to forces on a small piece of magnetically ‘soft’ iron that is
magnetized by a coil carrying the operating current. In
repulsion type moving–iron instrument consists of two
cylindrical soft iron vanes mounted within a fixed current-
carrying coil. One iron vane is held fixed to the coil frame
and other is free to rotate, carrying with it the pointer shaft.
Two irons lie in the magnetic field produced by the coil that
consists of only few turns if the instrument is an ammeter or
of many turns if the instrument is a voltmeter.
Working:
Current in the coil induces both vanes to become
magnetized and repulsion between the similarly magnetized
vanes produces a proportional rotation. The deflecting
torque is proportional to the square of the current in the coil,
making the instrument reading is a true ‘RMS’ quantity
Rotation is opposed by a hairspring that produces the
restoring torque. Only the fixed coil carries load current, and
it is constructed so as to withstand high transient current.
Moving iron instruments having scales that are nonlinear
and somewhat crowded in the lower range of calibration
Application:
Measurement of Electric Voltage and Current
•Moving iron instruments are used as Voltmeter and
Ammeter only.
•Both can work on AC as well as on DC.
Ammeter:
•Instrument used to measure current in the circuit.
•Always connected in series with the circuit and carries the
current to be measured.
•This current flowing through the coil produces the desired
deflecting torque.
•It should have low resistance as it is to be connected in
series.
Application:
Voltmeter
•Instrument used to measure voltage between two points in a
circuit.
•Always connected in parallel.
•Current flowing through the operating coil of the meter
produces deflecting torque.
•It should have high resistance. Thus a high resistance of
order of kilo ohms is connected in series with the coil of the
instrument
Advantages:
• The instruments are suitable for use in AC and DC
circuits.
• The instruments are robust, owing to the simple
construction of the moving parts.
• The stationary parts of the instruments are also simple.
• Instrument is low cost compared to moving coil
instrument.
• Torque/weight ratio is high, thus less frictional error.
Dynamometer TYPE Wattmeter
ENERGY METER
ENERGY METER
ENERGY METER
ENERGY METER
ENERGY METER
ENERGY METER
ENERGY METER
ENERGY METER
ENERGY METER

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What are the different types of analog instruments discussed?

How does a permanent magnet moving coil instrument work?

Fundamentals of Electrical and

•THE INSTRUMENT THAT INVOLVES THE USE OF ANALOG

TYPES OF ANALOG INSTRUMENTS

Types of ammeter and voltmeter

• The controlling torque is provided by two phosphorous bronze flat

• Damping is caused by the eddy current set up in the aluminum coil

• The PMMC consumes less power and has great accuracy.

• The moving coil instrument can only be used on D.C

Construction and basic principle operation of moving-iron

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