Experiment 1: Familiarization with Electrical Measuring Instruments

Ian Camus#1, Shizhao Chen#2, Ma. Marvilette P. Jequinto#3, Jerome Lopena#4 School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Mapa Institute of Technology Muralla Street, Intramuros, Manila, Philippines
1 2

shi_zhao2@yahoo.com jemm_11@yahoo.com

3 4

jerome_lopena@yahoo.com

Abstract Before going to complicated processes, the basics on Electrical Circuits must be understood first. In this experiment, the functions of the basic electric circuit training kit (EEC471-2 and EEC470) were familiarized and the proper connection was learned. In the first part of the experiment, a basic electric circuit was done. The Analog D.C. ammeter was used to measure the current flowing through the circuit while a digital multimeter was used to determine the resistance and the voltage. Ten different values of resistors were used and resulted to different values of current and power. And in the second part of this experiment, Tina Pro was used to design a model of the basic electric circuit we had. The necessary data were input and results were automatically shown. This experiment establishes our skill in using the electrical measuring devices correctly. Keywords ammeter, multimeter, resistor, current, voltage I. INTRODUCTION There are specific measuring instruments used in studying electric circuits. Each instrument has its own function and procedures on how to operate. In 1886, Edward Weston produced a practical precision, direct reading, portable instrument to accurately measure electric current, a device which became the basis for the voltmeter, ammeter and watt meter. In the early 1880s, Jacques DArsonval and Marcel Deprez invented the first kind of ammeter- the DArsonval galvanometer. It is a versatile analog instrument used in detecting and in measuring a small amount of current in the

circuit (Hortinela IV 2011). So far, there are four kinds of ammeter - the DArsonval galvanometer which measure direct current of from 0.1 to 2.0%; the electrodynamic ammeter which uses a moving coil rotating in the field produced by a fixed coil and measure alternating current with accuracies of from 0.1 to 0.25%; the thermal ammeter wherein the measure current heats a thermoconverter (thermocouple), and measure alternating current of from 0.5 to 3%; and the digital ammeter which uses a circuit such as the dual slope integrator to convert a measured analog (continuous) current to its digital equivalent and have accuracies better than 0.1%. Along with the ammeter is the voltmeter which was also invented by DArsonval. Voltmeter is a device that measures voltages (electric potential difference between two points) of either direct or alternating current. Technically, voltmeter is an ammeter, but using Ohms law, the amperes could be scaled up to voltages. There are four distinct types of voltmeter - the electromechanical wherein a mechanical interaction generates a mechanical torque proportional to the voltage or the squared voltage to be measured (Halit 2013); the thermal type instrument wherein the measurement is based on the thermal effects of a current flowing into a conductor and their reading is proportional to the squared input voltage; the electronic instruments which is based on purely electronic circuits, and attain the required measurement by processing the input signal by means of electronic semiconductor devices; and the oscilloscope or the vacuum-tube instrument which is basically a voltmeter and the main characteristic is to allow a graphic representation on a cathode ray-tube (CRT) of the input signal. Nowadays, digital multimeters are used in measuring ohms, amperes, voltages and in some, the capacitance.

Digital multimeters have a liquid-crystal-display (LCD) that gives a straightforward decimal read out. Electric circuits could now be designed through the computer using the software Tina Pro. TINA Design Suite is a powerful yet affordable circuit simulation and PCB design software package for analyzing, designing, and real time testing of analog, digital, VHDL, MCU, and mixed electronic circuits and their PCB layouts. This is used to design and run a virtual electric circuit. Results from the change of components and data will be automatically shown. II. MATERIALS AND METHODS The materials used in the experiment are the following: Circuit 1 trainer kit (EEC471-2 and EEC470), Circuit 1 trainer power supply (Feedback Power supply PS445), Analog D.C. milliammeter (100mA dc), Analog D.C. Voltmeter (20V dc), and Electronic V.O.M.

Set the input voltage to 20 V dc using a digital multimeter as shown in Figure 2. Use ten different resistors in the experiment. Measure their resistances using a multimeter and record them. Measure and record the voltage and the current flowing in each trial using different resistor as shown in Figure 3.

Fig 3 Measurement of Current using an ammeter and measurement of voltage using a multimeter.

Fig 1 The circuit used in the experiment

Compute the power consumed in the circuit by using the formula PL = VL * IL. Finally, use the three formulas VL/IL, PL/IL2, and VL2/PL to complete the first part of the preliminary data sheet. Using Tina Pro software, simulate the circuit diagram shown in Figure 1. Substitute the values of the resistance used and record the obtained voltage, current and power as shown in Figure 4.

Set first the circuit shown in Figure1 by using the trainer kit and the power supply. Check the circuit connection carefully. If there is no error, thats the time to turn on the power supply.

Fig 2 Adjusting the input voltage to 20 Vdc through the use of digital multimeter

Fig 4 : Tina Pro software was used to simulate the circuit diagram

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION In experiment no. 1, the current (IL) flowing through the circuit and the voltage (VL) across given resistors were measured using electrical measuring instruments. Table I shows the measured data obtained.
TABLE I MEASURED DATA

Figure 5 shows the inverse relationship between current and resistance. When the resistance becomes higher, the current decreases.
2.5

2
IL PL 2.01 W 1.25 W 0.89 W 0.60 W 0.42 W 0.40 W 0.09 W 0.02 W 8.06 mW 4.03 mW Power (W)

Given RL 258 340 474 677 980 1 K 4.7 K 22K 46.7 K 100 K

VL 20.14 V 20.14 V 20.14 V 20.14 V 20.14 V 20.14 V 20.14 V 20.14 V 20.14 V 20.14 V

100 mA 62 mA 44 mA 30 mA 21 mA 20 mA 4.3 mA 1 mA 0.4 mA 0.2 mA

1.5

0.5

0 0 50 100 150
Current (mA) Fig 6. Power versus current, based on Table I.

In Table I, the value of VL which represents the voltage across the resistor remains constant even the resistance changes. This was because; the input voltage was set to 20.14V dc and only one resistor is in the circuit. One can notice from Table I, as the resistance increases while the voltage (VL) is held constant, the current (IL) flowing through the circuit decreases. This means that when the voltage is constant, the current is inversely proportional to the resistance. The results obtained are consistent with Ohms Law.
120 100
Current (mA)

Table I also shows the power consumed by the resistor which was computed by multiplying the current (IL) to the voltage (VL). So when the voltage remains constant, the power becomes directly proportional to the current flowing through the circuit. The higher the current, the greater the power required or consumed. The relationship of current and power is shown in Figure 6.
2.5 2
Power (W)

80 60 40 20 0 0 500 1000 1500

Resistance () Fig 5. Current versus resistance, based on Table I.

1.5 1 0.5 0 0 500 1000 1500 Resistance ()

Fig. 7 Power versus resistance, based on Table I

Figure 7 shows the inverse relationship of resistance and power. The higher the resistance, the lesser the power consumed. This was because; the power is directly proportional to the current, which is inversely proportional to the resistance when the voltage is held constant.
TABLE III COMPUTED RESISTANCE

IV. CONCLUSION Experiment 1 is about the familiarization with electrical measuring instruments. This experiment is concerned with the characteristics and the proper connection of common electrical measuring devices; the knowledge on reading measurements of basic electrical measuring devices; and, the familiarization with the functions of basic electrical training kit and to learn their proper connection. It is required to get the value for the current (IL) and the value for the power (PL) from a constant voltage (VL) source of approximately equal to 20-V with different known resistance (RL). Current (IL) was obtained using the analog ammeter, and power was obtained by the formula PL= ILVL in Table 1.1 and using the TINA software in the simulated data in Table 1.2. On the duration of the experiment, it was observed that when the voltage is constant, as the resistance increases, the current decreases. This shows that the relationship of the current and the resistance is inversely proportional if the voltage is held constant. On the other hand, power is a function of voltage and current, PL= ILVL. Also, by combining the formula of Ohms Law with the formula of power, then we can derive other formulas to get the resistance. Lastly, during the preparation of the circuit, we gained knowledge how to connect the elements and measuring devices to each other and make a simple circuit connection. Also how to use and simulate in the TINA software provided to us to verify the measured data obtained. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This laboratory report would not be possible without the guidance and the help of the individuals who in one way or another contributed and extended their valuable assistance in the preparation and completion of this report. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to our class mentor, Prof. Paulo Tindogan for his guidance and teachings during the experiment. He helps us to conduct the experiment for us to know what to do.

Given RL 258 340 474 677 980 1 K 4.7 K 22K 46.7 K 100 K

VL/IL 201.4 324.84 457.73 671.3 959.05 1007 4683.72 20140 50.4 K 100.7 K

PL/IL2 201 325.18 459.71 666.67 952.38 1000 4867.5 20000 50.38 K 100.75 K

VL2/PL 201.8 324.5 455.75 676.03 965.76 1014.05 4506.88 20280.98 50.33 K 100.65 K

Table II shows the values computed for the verification of resistance using the three formulas, which are derived from Ohms Law and the formula for power. As one can see in the table, the computed values obtained are quite near to the resistance (RL) of the resistors used. This means that the resistance can be calculated if at least two from power, voltage and current are known.
TABLE IIIII
SIMULATED DATA

Given RL 258 340 474 677 980 1 K 4.7 K 22K 46.7 K 100 K

VL 20 V 20 V 20 V 20 V 20 V 20 V 20 V 20 V 20 V 20 V

IL 77.52 mA 58.82 mA 42.19 mA 29.54 mA 20.41 mA 20 mA 4.26 mA 909.09 A 428.27 A 200 A

PL 1.55 W 1.18 W 843.88 mW 590.04 mW 408.16 mW 0.40 W 85.11 mW 18.18 mW 8.57 mW 4 mW

Table III presents the simulated values obtained using TINA Pro software in the computer, which is used to check if the measured data agree with it. Through comparing the two data, the results obtained are quite the same.

We would also like to give thanks to our fellow classmates for their support and help. And lastly, we express our deepest thanks to Almighty God for His blessings and guidance in our life.

REFERENCES
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