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Bridge
This bridge is used to find out the self inductor and the quality factor of the circuit.
As it is based on the bridge method (i.e. works on the principle of null deflection
method), it gives very accurate results. Maxwell bridge is an AC bridge so before
going in further detail let us know more about the AC bridge.
AC Bridges
AC Bridges consist of a source, balance detector and four arms. In AC bridges, all
the four arms consists of impedance. The AC bridges are formed by replacing the
DC battery with an AC source and galvanometer by detector of Wheatstone
bridge.They are highly useful to find out inductance, capacitance, storage factor,
dissipation factor etc. Now let us derive general expression for an AC bridge
balance. Figure given below shows AC bridge network:
From equation 1, 2 and 3 we have Z1.Z4 = Z2.Z3 and when impedance are replaced
by admittance, we have Y1.Y4 = Y2.Y3. Now consider the basic form of an AC bridge.
Suppose we have bridge circuit as shown below,
In this
circuit R3 and R4 are pure electrical resistances. Putting the value of Z1, Z2, Z3 and Z4
in the equation that we have derived above for AC bridge.
Following are the important conclusions that can be drawn from the above
equations:
1. We get two balanced equations that are obtained by equating real and
imaginary parts this means that for an ac bridge both the relation
(i.e.magnitude and phase) must be satisfied at the same time. Both the
equations are said to be independent if and only if both equation contain
single variable element. This variable can be inductor or resistor.
2. The above equations are independent of frequency that means we do not
require exact frequency of the source voltage and also the applied source
voltage waveform need not to be perfectly sinusoidal.
Maxwell's Bridge
Under this we going to study about the following
In this
bridge the arms bc and cd are purely resistive while the phase balance depends on
the arms ab and ad. Here l1 = unknown inductor of r1. l2 = variable inductor of
resistance R2. r2 = variable electrical resistance. As we have discussed in AC bridge
according to balance condition, we have at balance point
We can vary R3 and R4 from 10 ohms to 10,000 ohms with the help of resistance
box.
Maxwell's Inductance Capacitance Bridge
In this Maxwell Bridge, the unknown inductor is measured by the standard
variable capacitor. Circuit of this bridge is given below,
Here, l1 is
unknown inductance, C4 is standard capacitor. Now under balance conditions we
have from ac bridge that Z1.Z4 = Z2.Z3
Wheatstone Bridge
For measuring accurately any electrical resistance Wheatstone bridge is widely
used. There are two known resistors, one variable resistor and one unknown resistor
connected in bridge form as shown below. By adjusting the variable resistor the
current through the Galvanometer is made zero. When the current through the
galvanometer becomes zero, the ratio of two known resistors is exactly equal to the
ratio of adjusted value of variable resistance and the value of unknown resistance.
In this way the value of unknown electrical resistance can easily be measured by
The voltage source of this Wheatstone bridge is connected to the terminals A and C via a switch
S1 as shown. A variable resistor S is connected between point C and D. The potential at point D
can be varied by adjusting the value of variable resistor. Suppose current I1 and current I2 are
flowing through the paths ABC and ADC respectively. If we vary the electrical resistance value
of arm CD the value of current I2 will also be varied as the voltage across A and C is fixed. If we
continue to adjust the variable resistance one situation may comes when voltage drop across the
resistor S that is I2.S is becomes exactly equal to voltage drop across resistor Q that is I1.Q. Thus
the potential at point B becomes equal to the potential at point D hence potential difference
between these two points is zero hence current through galvanometer is nil. Then the deflection
in the galvanometer is nil when the switch S2 is closed. Now, from Wheatstone bridge circuit
and
nothing but the voltage drop across the resistor Q and this is
Again potential of point D in respect of point C is nothing but the voltage drop across the resistor
S and this is
Before we introduce Kelvin Bridge, it is very essential to know what is the need of
this bridge, though we have Wheatstone bridge which is capable of measuring
electrical resistance accurately as it gives accuracy of 0.1 %. To understand the
need of Kelvin bridge let us categorize the electrical resistances on the basis of view
point of measurement:Electrical resistances are classified as follows:
1. High Resistance: under this category resistance is greater than 0.1 Megaohm.
2. Medium Resistance: under this category resistance is ranging from 1 ohm to
0.1 Mega-ohm.
3. Low Resistance: under this category resistance value is lower than 1 ohm.
Now the logic of doing this classification is that if we want to measure electrical resistance, we
have to use different devices for different categories. It means if the device is used in measuring
the high resistance gives high accuracy, it may or may not give such high accuracy in measuring
the low value of resistance. So, we have to apply our brain to judge what device must be used to
measure a particular value of electrical resistance. However there are other kind of methods also
like ammeter-voltmeter method, substitution method etc but they give large error as compared to
bridge method and are avoided in most of the industries. Now let us again recall our
classification done above, as we move from top to bottom the value of resistance decreases
hence, we require more accurate and precise device to measure the low value of resistance. One
of the major drawback of the Wheatstone bridge is that, it can measure the resistance from few
ohm to several mega ohm but to measure low resistance it gives significant error. So, we need
some modification in Wheatstone bridge itself, and the modified bridge so obtained is Kelvin
bridge, which is not only suitable for measuring low value of resistance but has wide range of
applications in the industrial world.
Let us discuss few terms that will be very helpful to us in studying the Kelvin Bridge. Bridge :
They are usually consists of four arms, balance detector and source. They works on the concept
of null point technique. They are very useful in practical applications because there is no need of
making the meter precise linear with an accurate scale. There is no requirement of measuring the
voltage and current, the only need is to check the presence or absence of current or voltage.
However the main concern is that during the null point meter must be able to pick up fairly small
current. A bridge can be defined as the voltage dividers in parallel and the difference between the
two dividers is our output. It is highly useful in measuring components like electrical resistance,
capacitance, inductor and other parameter of circuit. Accuracy of any bridge is directly related to
bridge components. Null point: It can be defined as the point at which the null measurement
occurs when the reading of ammeter or voltmeter is zero.
Here, t is the
resistance of the lead. C is the unknown resistance. D is the standard resistance
(whose value is known). Let us mark the two points j and k. If the galvanometer is
connected to j point the resistance t is added to D which results in too low value of
C. Now we connect galvanometer to k point it would result in high value of unknown
resistance C. Let us connect the galvanometer to point d which is lying in between j
and k such that d divides t into ratio t1 and t2, now from the above figure it can be
seen that
In this the
ratio arms p and q are used to connect the galvanometer at the correct point
between j and k to remove the effect of connecting lead of electrical resistance t.
Under balance condition voltage drop between a and b (i.e. E) is equal to F (voltage
drop between a and c)
For zero
galvanometer deflection, E = F
Again we
reaches to the same result i.e. t has no effect. However equation (2) is useful as it
Anderson's Bridge
Let us understand why there is need of Anderson's bridge though we have
Maxwell bridge and Hay's bridge to measure quality factor of the circuit. The main
disadvantage of using Hay's bridge and Maxwell bridge is that, they are unsuitable
of measuring the low quality factor. However Hay's bridge and Maxwell bridge are
suitable for measuring accurately high and medium quality factor respectively. So,
there is need of bridge which can measure low quality factor and this bridge is
modified Maxwell's bridge and known as Anderson's bridge. Actually this bridge is
the modified Maxwell inductor capacitance bridge. In this bridge double balance can
obtained by fixing the value of capacitance and changing the value of electrical
resistance only. It is well known for its accuracy of measuring inductor from few
micro Henry to several Henry. The unknown value of self inductor is measured by
method of comparison of known value of electrical resistance and capacitance. Let
us consider the actual circuit diagram of Anderson's bridge.(see figure given
below).
In this
circuit the unknown inductor is connected between the point a and b with electrical
resistance r1 (which is pure resistive). The arms bc, cd and da consist of resistances
r3, r4 and r2 respectively which are purely resistive. A standard capacitor is
connected in series with variable electrical resistance r and this combination is
connected in parallel with cd. A supply is connected between b and e. Now let us
derive the expression for l1 and r1: At balance point, we have the following relations
that holds good and they are: i1 = i3 and i2 = ic + i4
equations, we get
The above equation (7) obtained is more complex that we have obtained in Maxwell bridge. On
observing the above equations we can easily say that to obtain convergence of balance more
easily, one should make alternate adjustments of r1 and r in Andersons bridge. Now let us look
how we can obtain the value of unknown inductor experimentally. At first set the signal
generator frequency at audible range. Now adjust r1 and r such that phones gives a minimum
sound. Measure the values of r1 and r (obtained after these adjustments) with the help of
multimeter. Use the formula that we have derived above in order to find out the value of
unknown inductance. The experiment can be repeated with the different value of standard
capacitor.
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Wheatstone Bridge Circuit Theory and Principle
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Andersons Bridge | Advantages Disadvantages of Andersons Bridge
We have various bridges to measure inductor and thus quality factor, like Hay's
bridge is highly suitable for the measurement of quality factor greater than 10,
Maxwell's bridge is highly suitable for measuring medium quality factor ranging
from 1 to 10 and Anderson bridge can be successfully used to measure inductor
ranging from few micro Henry to several Henry. So what is the need of Owen's
Bridge?. The answer to this question is very easy. We need a bridge which can
measure inductor over wide range. The bridge circuit which can do that, is known as
Owen's bridge. It is AC bridge just like Hay's bridge and Maxwell bridge which use
standard capacitor, inductor and variable resistors connected with AC source for
excitation. Let us study Owen's bridge circuit in more detail.
The AC supply is
connected at a and c point. The arm ab is having inductor having some finite
resistance let us mark them r1 and l1. The arm bc consists of pure electrical
resistance marked by r3 as shown in the figure given below and carrying the current
i1 at balance point which is same as the current carried by arm ab.
The arm cd consists of pure capacitor having no electrical resistance.The arm ad is having
variable resistance as well as variable capacitor and the detector is connected between b and d.
Now how this bridge works? this bridge measures the inductor in terms of capacitance. Let us
derive an expression for inductor for this bridge.
Here l1 is unknown inductance. And c2 is variable standard capacitor. Now at balance point we
have the relation from AC bridge theory that must hold good i.e.
Equating and then separating the real and the imaginary parts we get the
expression for l1 and r1 as written below:
Now, there is a need to modify the circuit, in order to calculate the incremental
value of inductance. Given below is the modified circuit of Owen's bridge:
A valve voltmeter
is placed across the resistor r3. The circuit is fed from both AC and DC source in
parallel. The inductor is used to protect DC source from very high alternating
current and the capacitor is used to block direct current from entering the AC
source. The ammeter is connected in series with battery to measure the DC
component of current while the AC component can be measured from the reading of
the voltmeter (which is not sensitive to DC) connected across the resistance r 3. Now
at the balance point we have, incremental inductor l 1 = r2r3c4 also inductor
N is the number of turns, A is the area of flux path, l is the length of flux path, l 1 is
incremental inductance. Let us mark drop across arm ab, bc, cd and ad as e 1, e3, e4
and e2 respectively as shown in the above figure. This will help us to understand the
phasor diagram well.
In
general the most lagging current (i.e. i 1) is chosen as reference in order to draw
phasor diagram. Current i2 is perpendicular to current i1 as shown and drop across
inductor l1 is perpendicular to i1 as it is an inductive drop while the drop across
capacitor c2 is perpendicular to i2. At balance point e1 = e2 which is shown in the
figure, now resultant of all these voltage drops e1, e2, e3, e4 will give e.
Advantages of Owen's Bridge
1. The for inductor l1 that we have derived above is quite simple and is
independent of frequency component.
2. This bridge is useful for the measurement of inductor over wide range.
Disadvantages of Owen's Bridge
1. In this bridge we have used variable standard capacitor which is quite
expensive item and also the accuracy of this is about only one percent.
2. As the measuring quality factor increases the value of standard capacitor
required increases thus expenditure in making this bridge increases.
Substituting the values of z1, z2, z3 and z4 in the above equation, we get
Equating the real and imaginary parts and the separating we get,
Let us
consider the phasor diagram of the above Shering bridge circuit and mark the
voltage drops across ab,bc,cd and ad as e 1, e3,e4 and e2 respectively. From the
above Schering bridge phasor diagram, we can calculate the value of tan which is
also called the dissipation factor.
The equation that we have derived above is quite simple and the dissipation factor
can be calculated easily. Now we are going to discuss high voltage Schering Bridge
in detail. As we have discussed that simple schering bridge (which uses low
voltages) is used for measuring dissipation factor, capacitance and measurement of
other properties of insulating materials like insulating oil etc. What is the need of
high voltage schering bridge? The answer to this question is very simple, for the
measurement of small capacitance we need to apply high voltage and high
frequency as compare to low voltage which suffers many disadvantages. Let us
discuss more features of this high voltage Schering Bridge:
1. The bridge arms ab and ad consists of only capacitors as shown the bridge
given below and impedances of these two arms are quite large as compared
to the impedances of bc and cd. The arms bc and cd contains resistor r 3 and
parallel combination of capacitor c4 and resistor r4 respectively. As
There is another way to calculate relative permittivity of the specimen by changing electrode
spacing. Let us consider diagram shown below
Here A is
the area of electrode. d is the thickness of the specimen. t is the gap between the electrode and
specimen (here this gap is filled by compressed gas or air). cs is the capacitance of specimen. co is
capacitance due to spacing between electrode and specimen. c is the effective combination of cs
and co.
De Sauty Bridge
This bridge provide us the most suitable method for comparing the two values of capacitor if we
neglect dielectric losses in the bridge circuit. The circuit of De Sauty's bridge is shown below.
Now let us draw and study the phasor diagram of this bridge. Phasor diagram of De Sauty bridge
is shown below:
Let us mark
the current drop across unknown capacitor as e1, voltage drop across the resistor r3 be e3, voltage
drop across arm 3 - 4 be e4 and voltage drop across arm 4 - 1 be e2. At balance condition the
current flows through 2 - 4 path will be zero and also voltage drops e1 and e3 be equal to voltage
drops e2 and e4 respectively. In order to draw the phasor diagram we have taken e3 (or e4)
reference axis, e1 and e2 are shown at right angle to e1 (or e2). Why they are at right angle to each
other? Answer to this question is very simple as capacitor is connected there, therefore phase
difference angle obtained is 90.
Now instead of some advantages like bridge is quite simple and provides easy calculations, there
are some disadvantages of this bridge because this bridge give inaccurate results for imperfect
capacitor (here imperfect means capacitors which not free from dielectric losses). Hence we can
use this bridge only for comparing perfect capacitors. Here we interested in modify the De
Sauty's bridge, we want to have such a kind of bridge that will gives us accurate results for
imperfect capacitors also. This modification is done by Grover. The modified circuit diagram is
shown below:
Here Grover has
introduced electrical resistances r1 and r2 as shown in above on arms 1 - 2 and 4 - 1 respectively,
in order to include the dielectric losses. Also he has connected resistances R1 and R2 respectively
in the arms 1 - 2 and 4 - 1. Let us derive the expression capacitor c1 whose value is unknown to
us. Again we connected standard capacitor on the same arm 1 - 4 as we have done in De Sauty's
bridge. At balance point on equating the voltage drops we have:
This the required equation. By making the phasor diagram we can calculate dissipation factor.
Phasor diagram for the above circuit is shown below
Hence if dissipation factor for one capacitor is known. However this method is gives quite
inaccurate results for dissipation factor.
Before we introduce this bridge let us know more about the uses of mutual inductor in bridge
circuits. Now one question must arise in our mind that why we are so much interested in mutual
inductance, answer to this question is very simple we will use this mutual inductor in Heaviside
bridge circuit. We use standard mutual inductor in finding out the the value of unknown mutual
inductor in various circuits. Mutual inductor is used in various circuits as main component in
determining the value of self inductance, capacitance and frequency etc. But in many industries
the use of mutual inductor in finding out the value of known self inductor is not practices
because we have various other accurate methods for finding out self inductor and capacitance
and these other methods may include the use of standard capacitor which are available at cheaper
rate. However there may be some merits of use mutual inductor in some cases but this field is
very vast. Many researches are going on the application of mutual inductor in bridge circuits. In
order to understand the mathematical part of Heaviside bridge, we need to derive the
mathematical relation between self inductor and mutual inductor in two coils connected in series
combination. Here we interested in finding out the expression for mutual inductor in terms of self
inductance.
Let us consider two coils connected in series as shown in figure given below.
Such that
the magnetic fields are additive, the resultant inductor of these two can be calculated as
Where, L1 is the self inductor of first coil, L2 is the self inductor of second coil, M is the mutual
inductor of these two coils. Now if the connections of any one of the coils is reversed then we
have
On solving these two equations we have
Thus the mutual inductor of the two coils connected in series is given by one-fourth of the
difference between the measured value of self inductor when taking the direction of field in the
same direction and value of self inductor when the direction of field is reversed.
However, one needs to have the two series coils on the same axis in order to get most accurate
result. Let us consider the circuit of Heaviside mutual inductor bridge, given below,
Now let us consider the circuit of Campbell's Heaviside bridge given below:
during negative half cycle and hence the direction of torque will also be reversed
which gives average value of torque zero. The pointer will not deflect due to high
frequency from its mean position showing zero reading. However it can measure the
direct current very accurately.
Let us move towards the constructions of permanent magnet moving coil instruments. We will
see the construction of these types of instruments in five parts and they are described below:
Moving Coil: The moving coil can freely moves between the two permanent
magnets as shown in the figure given below. The coil is wound with many
turns of copper wire and is placed on rectangular aluminium which is pivoted
on jeweled bearings.
Control System: The spring generally acts as control system for PMMC
instruments. The spring also serves another important function by providing
the path to lead current in and out of the coil.
Let us derive a general expression for torque in permanent magnet moving coil instruments or
PMMC instruments. We know that in moving coil instruments the deflecting torque is given by
the expression: Td = NBldI where N is number of turns, B is magnetic flux density in air gap, l is
the length of moving coil, d is the width of the moving coil, And I is the electric current. Now for
a moving coil instruments deflecting torque should be proportional to current, mathematically we
can write Td = GI. Thus on comparing we say G = NBIdl. At steady state we have both the
controlling and deflecting torques are equal. Tc is controlling torque, on equating controlling
torque with deflection torque we have GI = K.x where x is deflection thus current is given by
Now we are going to discuss about the basic circuit diagram of the ammeter. Let us consider a
This instrument is one of the most primitive forms of measuring and relay
instrument. Moving iron type instruments are of mainly two types. Attraction
type and repulsion type instrument. Whenever a piece of iron is placed nearer to a
magnet it would be attracted by the magnet. The force of this attraction depends
upon the strength said magnetic field. If the magnet is electromagnet then the
magnetic field strength can easily be increased or decreased by increasing or
decreasing current through its coil. Accordingly the attraction force acting on the
piece of iron would also be increased and decreased. Depending upon this simple
phenomenon attraction type moving iron instrument was developed. Whenever
two pieces of iron are kept side by side and a magnet is brought nearer to them the
iron pieces will repulse each other. This repulsion force is due to same magnetic
poles induced in same sides the iron pieces due external magnetic field.
This repulsion force increases if field strength of the magnet is increased. Like case if the magnet
is electromagnet, then magnetic field strength can easily be controlled by controlling input
current to the magnet. Hence if the current increases the repulsion force between the pieces of
iron is increased and it the current decreases the repulsion force between them is decreased.
Depending upon this phenomenon repulsion type moving iron instrument was constructed.
Since l is constant.
Where, k is constant. Now, as the instrument is gravity
controlled, controlling torque will be
state condition,
constant.
Where, K is
equilibrium when electrostatic force becomes equal to spring force. At this point, the
electrostatic energy stored in the plates is
Now suppose we increase the applied voltage by an amount dV, due to this the
plate B moves towards the plate A by a distance dx. The work done against the
spring force due to displacement of the plate B be F.dx. The applied voltage is
related to current as
From this value of electric current the input energy can be calculated as
From this we can calculate the change in the stored energy and that comes out to
be
By neglecting the higher order terms that appears in the expression. Now applying
the principle of energy conservation we have input energy to the system = increase
in the stored energy of the system + mechanical work done by the system. From
this we can write,
Now let us derive force and torque equation for the rotary electrostatic type instruments.
Diagram is shown below,
In order to
find out the expression for deflecting torque in case of rotary type electrostatic instruments, just
replace the in the equation (1) F by Td and dx by dA. Now rewriting the modified equation we
have deflecting torque is equals to
From this expression we conclude that the deflection of the pointer is directly
proportional to the square of the voltage to be measured hence the scale will be
non uniform. Let us now discuss about Quadrant electrometer. This instrument is
generally used in measuring the voltage ranging from 100V to 20 kilo volts. Again
the deflecting torque obtained in the Quadrant electrometer is directly proportional
to the square of the applied voltage; one advantage of this is that this instrument
can used to measure both the ac and dc voltages. One advantage of using the
electrostatic type instruments as voltmeters is that we can extend the range of
voltage to be measured. Now there are two ways of extending the range of this
instrument. We will discuss them one by one.
(a) By using resistance potential dividers: Given below is the circuit diagram of this type of
configuration.
The voltage which
we want to measure is applied across the total resistance r and the electrostatic capacitor is
connected across the portion of the total resistance which is marked as r. Now suppose the
applied voltage is DC, then we should make one assumption that the capacitor which is
connected is having infinite leakage resistance. In this case the multiplying factor is given by the
ratio of electrical resistance r/R. The ac operation on this circuit can also be analyzed easily again
in case of ac operation we multiplying factor equal to r/R. (b) By using capacitor multiplier
technique: We can increase the range of voltage to be measured by placing a series of capacitors
Let
Which is the total capacitance of the circuit. Now the impedance of the voltmeter is
equal to Z1 = 1/jC1 and thus total impedance will be equal to
Now the multiplying factor can be defined as the ratio of Z/Z 1 which is equal to 1 +
C2 / C1. Similarly the multiplying factor can also be calculated. Hence by this way we
can increase the range of voltage to be measure.
Advantages of Electrostatic Type Instruments
Now let us look at some advantages of electrostatic type instruments.
1. The first and the most important advantage is that we can measure both AC
and DC voltage and the reason is very obvious the deflecting torque is
directly proportional to the square of the voltage.
2. Power consumption is quite low in these types of instruments as the current
drawn by these instruments is quite low.
3. We can measure high value of voltage.
Disadvantages of Electrostatic Type Instruments
Instead of various advantages, electrostatic instruments posses few
disadvantages and these are written below.
1. These are quite costly as compared to other instruments and also these have
large size.
2. The scale is not uniform.
3. The various operating forces involved are small in magnitude.
Rectifier Type Instrument | Construction Principle of Operation
Rectifier type instrument measures the alternating voltage and current with the
help of rectifying elements and permanent magnet moving coil type of instruments.
However the primary function of rectifier type of instruments work as voltmeter.
Now one question must arises in our mind why we use rectifier type of instruments
widely in the industrial world though we have various other AC voltmeter like
electrodynamometer type instruments, thermocouple type instruments etc? The
answer to this question is very simple and is written as follows.
Now
Let us mark the resistance of multiplier be R, and that of permanent magnet moving
coil instrument be R1.The DC voltage produces a full scale deflection of magnitude
I=V/(R+R1) where V is root mean square value of voltage. Now let us consider
second case, in this case we will apply AC sinusoidal AC voltageto the circuit v =Vm
sin(wt) and we will get the output waveform as shown. In the positive half cycle
the rectifying element will conduct and in the negative half cycle it does not
conduct. So we will get a pulse of voltage at moving coil instrument which produces
pulsating current thus pulsating current will produce pulsating torque. The
deflection produced will corresponds to the average value of voltage. So let us
calculate the average value of electric current, in order to calculate the average
value of voltage we have integrate the instantaneous expression of the voltage from
0 to 2 pi. So the calculated average value of voltage comes out to be 0.45V.Again
we have V is root mean square value of current. Thus we conclude that the
sensitivity of the ac input is 0.45 times the sensitivity of DC input in case of half
wave rectifier.
The loading effect of an ac rectifier voltmeter in both the cases (i.e. half wave diode
rectifier and full wave diode rectifier) is high as compared to the loading effects of
DC voltmeters as the sensitivity of the voltmeter either using in half wave or full
wave rectification is less than the sensitivity of DC voltmeters.
Thermocouple type Instruments Construction Principle of Operation
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The emf produced is a DC voltage which is directly proportional to root mean square value of
electric current. A permanent magnet moving coil instrument is connected with the second part to
read the current passing through the heater. One question must be arise in our mind that why we
have used only a permanent magnet coil instrument? Answer to this question is very easy it is
because PMMC instrument has greater accuracy and sensitivity towards the measurement of DC
value. The thermocouple type instruments employ thermocouple in their construction.
Thermocouple type instruments can be used for both ac and DC applications. Also thermocouple
type of instruments has greater accuracy in measuring the current and voltages at very high
frequency accurately.
Now we will look how the temperature difference is mathematically related to generated emf at
the junction in thermocouple type of instruments. Let us consider temperature of the heater
element be Ta and the temperature of cold metal be Tb. Now it is found that the generated emf at
the junction is related to temperature difference as:
Where a and b are constant whose values completely depends upon the type of
metal we are using. The above equation represents parabolic function. The
approximated value of a is from 40 to 50 micro volts or more per degree Celsius rise
in temperature and value of constant b is very small and can be neglected if the air
gap field of permanent magnet moving coil is uniform. Thus we can approximate the
above temperature emf relation as e = a(Ta - Tb), here we have assume b = 0. The
current flowing through the heater coil produces heat as I 2R where I is the root
mean square value of current, if we assume the temperature of cold junction is
maintained at room temperature then the rise in the temperature of the hot junction
will be equal to temperature rise at the junction. Hence we can write (Ta-Tb)is
directly proportional to I2R or we can say (Ta - Tb) = kI2R. Now the deflection angle x
in moving coil instrument is equal to; x = Ke or x = K[a(T a - Tb)] hence we can write
k.K.a.I2R = k1I2, where k1 is some constant. From the above equation we see that the
instrument shows the square law response.
2. Non Contact Type: In non contact type there is insulation between the heating
element and the thermocouple i.e. there no direct contact between two. Due
to this these instruments are not much sensitive as compared contact type.
3. Vacuum Thermo-elements: These types of instruments are mostly employed
for the measurement of electric current at very high frequency of the order of
100 Mega hertz or more as these instruments retain their accuracy even at
such high frequency.
4. Bridge Type: These bridges are manufactured on the ac ratings usually from
100 mili amperes to 1 amperes. In this two thermocouple are connected to
form a bridge which is shown in the figure given below:
There is no
requirement of heating element, the electric current which directly passing
through the thermocouple raises the temperature which is directly
proportional to the I2R losses. The bridge works on balanced condition at
which there will be no current in the arm ab. The connected meter will show
the potential difference between the junctions a and b.
Advantages of Thermocouple Type Instruments
Following are advantages of Thermocouple type of instruments,
1. The thermocouple type of instruments accurately indicates the root mean
square value of current and voltages irrespective of the waveform. There is a
wide varieties of range of thermocouple instruments are available in the
market.
2. Thermocouple type of instruments give very accurate reading even at high
frequency, thus these types of instruments are completely free from
frequency errors.
3. The measurement of quantity under these instruments is not affected by
stray magnetic fields.
4. These instruments are known for their high sensitivity.
5. Usually for measuring the low value of current bridge type of arrangement is
used i.e. ranging from 0.5 Amperes to 20 Amperes while for measuring the
higher value of current heater element is required to retain accuracy.
Disadvantages of Thermocouple Type Instruments
Instead of many advantages these type of instruments posses one disadvantage,
The over load capacity of thermocouple type of instrument is small, even fuse is
not able to the heater wire because heater wire may burn out before the fuse blows
out.
Ohmmeter Working Principle of Ohmmeter
The instrument
is connected with a battery, a series adjustable resistor and an instrument which
gives the reading. The resistance to be measured is connected at terminal ob. When
the circuit is completed by connecting output resistance, the circuit current flows
and so the deflection is measured.
When the resistance to be measured is very high then current in the circuit will be very small and
the reading of that instrument is assumed to be maximum resistance to be measured. When
resistance to be measured is zero then the instrument reading is set to zero position which gives
zero resistance.
Darsonval Movement
This type of movement is used in DC measuring instruments. The main principle in
these types of instruments is that when a current carrying coil which is placed in a
magnetic field, it feels a force and that force can deflect the pointer of a meter and
we get the reading in the instrument.
This type of
instruments consists of a permanent magnets and coil which carries current is
placed in between them. The coil may be of rectangular or circular in shape. The
core is provided which iron core which is used to provide flux of low reluctance so it
produces high intensity magnetic field. Due to high intensity magnetic fields the
deflecting torque produced is of large value due to which sensitivity of the meter is
also increased. Current which entered comes out of two control springs, one in the
upper side and one in the lower side. If the direction of current is reversed in these
types of instruments, then torque direction will also be reversed so these types of
instruments are applicable in DC measurements only. The deflecting torque is
directly proportional to the deflection angle hence these types of instruments have
the linear scale. To limit the deflection of the pointer we have to use damping which
provides an equal and opposite force to the deflecting torque and hence the pointer
comes to rest at a certain value.
The indication of the breeding is given by a mirror in which a beam of light is reflected on to the
scale and hence deflection can be measured. There are many advantages due to which we use
DArsonval type instrument. They are1. They have uniform scale.
2. Effective eddy current damping.
3. Low power consumption.
4. No hysteresis loss.
5. They are not affected by stray fields.
Owing to posses those major advantages we can use this type of instrument.
However they suffer from drawbacks such as1. It cannot be used in AC.
2. Costlier compared to MI instruments.
3. There may be error due to ageing of springs by which we may not get
accurate result.
However in case of resistance measurement we go for DC measurement because of
the advantages offered by PMMC instruments and we multiply that resistance by 1.6
to find out AC resistance, so these instruments are much widely used due to their
advantages. The disadvantages offered by it are dominated by the advantages so
they are used.
circuit will be maximum and the meter will show a deflection. By adjusting R 2 the
meter is adjusted to a full scale current value since the resistance will be zero at
that time. The co-responding pointer indication is marked as zero. Again when the
terminal AB is opened it provides very high resistance and hence almost zero
current will flow through the circuit. In that case the pointer deflection is zero which
is marked at very high value for resistance measurement. So a resistance between
zeros to a very high value is marked and hence can be measured. So, when a
resistance is to be measured, the current value will be somewhat less than the
maximum and the deflection is recorded and accordingly resistance is measured.
This method is good but it posses certain limitations such as the decrease in
potential of the battery with its use so adjustment must be made for every use. Te
meter may not read zero when terminals are shorted, these types of problem may
arise which is counteracted by the adjustable resistance connected in series with
the battery.
In this type of
meters we have a battery source and an adjustable resistor is connected in series
with the source. We have connected the meter in parallel to the resistance which is
to be measured. There is a switch by the use of which we can on or off the circuit.
The switch is opened when it is not in use. When the resistance to be measured is
zero, the terminals A and F are shorted so the current through the meter will be
zero. The zero position of the meter denotes the resistance to be zero. When the
resistance connected is very high, then a small current will flow the terminal AF and
hence full scale current is allowed to flow through the meter by adjusting the series
resistance connected with the battery. So, full scale deflection measures very high
resistance. When the resistance to be measured is connected between A and F, The
pointer shows a deflection by which we can measure the resistance values. In this
case also, the battery problem may arise which can be counteracted by adjusting
the resistance. The meter may have some error due to its repeated use also.
measured. This is the most suitable method of all the ohmmeters as we can get
accurate reading in this type of meters. So this meter is most widely used now days.
This is a very basic instrument used for comparing emf two cells and for calibrating ammeter,
voltmeter and watt-meter. The basic working principle of potentiometer is very very simple.
Suppose we have connected two battery in head to head and tale to tale through a galvanometer.
That means the positive terminals of both battery are connected together and negative terminals
are also connected together through a galvanometer as shown in the figure below.
Now, positive terminal of a standard cell is connected to point A on the sliding resistor and
negative terminal of the same is connected with a galvanometer. Other end of the galvanometer
is in contact with the resistor via a sliding contact as shown in the figure above. By adjusting this
sliding end, a point like B is found where, there is no current through the galvanometer, hence no
deflection of galvanometer. That means emf of the standard cell is just balanced by the voltage
drop appears across AB. Now if the distance between point A and B is L, then it can be written
emf of standard cell E = Lv volt. As v (voltage drop per unit length of the sliding resistor) is
known and L is measured from the scale attached to the resistor, the value of E i.e. emf of
standard cell can also be calculated from the above simple equation very easily.
We said
earlier in this section that one of the uses of potentiometer is to compare emfs of different cells.
Let's discuss how a DC potentiometer can compare emfs of two different cells. Let's think of two
cells whose emf's are to be compared are joined as shown in the figure below. The positive
terminals of the cells and source battery are joined together. The negative terminals of the cells
are joined with the galvanometer in turn through a two way switch. The other end of the
galvanometer is connected to a sliding contact on the resistor. Now by adjusting sliding contact
on the resistor, it is found that the null deflection of galvanometer comes for first cell at a length
of L on the scale and after positioning to way switch to second cell and then by adjusting the
sliding contact, it is found that the null deflection of galvanometer comes for that cell at a length
of L1 on the scale.Let's think of the first cell as standard cell and it's emf is E and second cell is
unknown cell whose emf is E1. Now as per above explanation,
E = Lv volt and
L1 = L1v volt
Dividing one equation by other, we get
As the emf of the standard cell is known, hence emf of the unknown cell can easily be
determined.
This is basic principle of working of an induction type meters. Now let us derive the
mathematical expression for deflecting torque. Let us take flux produced at point one be equal to
F1 and the flux and at point two be equal to F2. Now the instantaneous values of these two flux
can written as:
where Fm1 and Fm2 are respectively the maximum values of fluxes F 1 and F2, B is
phase difference between two fluxes. We can also write the expression for induced
emf's at point one be
at point two. Thus we have the expression for eddy currents at point one is
where K is some constant and f is frequency. Let us draw phasor diagram clearly
showing F1, F2, E1, E2, I1 and I2. From phasor diagram, it clear that I1 and I2 are
respectively lagging behind E1 and E2 by angle A.
The total torque is Td1 - Td2, on substituting the the value of Td1 and Td2 and simplying
the expression we get
Which is known as the general expression for the deflecting torque in the induction
type meters. Now there are two types of induction meters and they are written as
follows:
Here we are going to discuss about the single phase induction type in detail. Given
below is the picture of single phase induction type meter.
Single
phase induction type energy meter consists of four important systems which are
written as follows: Driving System Driving system consists of two electromagnets on
which pressure coil and current coils are wounded, as shown above in the diagram.
The coil which consisted of load current is called current coil while coil which is in
parallel with the supply voltage (i.e. voltage across the coil is same as the supply
voltage) is called pressure coil. Shading bands are wounded on as shown above in
the diagram so as to make angle between the flux and and applied voltage equal to
90 degrees. Moving System In order to reduce friction to greater extent floating
shaft energy meter is used,the friction is reduced to greater extinct because the
rotating disc which is made up of very light material like aluminium is not in contact
with any of the surface. It floats in the air. One question must be arise in our mind is
that how the aluminium disc float in the air? To answer this question we need to see
the constructional details of this special disc, actually it consists of small magnets
on both upper and lower surfaces. The upper magnet is attracted to an
electromagnet in upper bearing while the lower surface magnet also attracts
towards the lower bearing magnet, hence due to these opposite forces the light
rotating aluminium disc floats. Braking System A permanent magnet is used to
produce breaking torque in single phase induction energy meters which are
positioned near the corner of the aluminium disc. Counting System Numbers
marked on the meter are proportion to the revolutions made by the aluminium disc,
the main function of this system is to record the number of revolutions made by the
aluminium disc. Now let us look at the working operation of the single phase
induction meter. In order to understand the working of this meter let us consider the
diagram given below:
Here we
have assumed that the pressure coil is highly inductive in nature and consists of
very large number of turns. The current flowin in the pressure coil is I p which lags
behind voltage by an angle of 90 degrees. This current produces flux F. F is divided
into two parts Fg and Fp.
1) Fg which moves on the small reluctance part across the side gaps. (2) Fp: It is responsible for
the production of driving torque in the aluminium disc. It moves from high reluctance path and is
in phase with the current in the pressure coil. Fp is alternating in nature and thus emf Ep and
current Ip. The load current which is shown in the above diagram is flowing through the current
coil produces flux in the aluminium disc, and due this alternating flux there on the metallic disc,
an eddy current is produced which interacts with the flux Fp which results in production of
torque. As we have two poles, thus two torques are produced which are opposite to each other.
Hence from the theory of induction meter that we have discussed already above the net torque is
the difference of the two torques.
Advantages of Induction Type Meters
Following are the advantages of induction type meters:
1. They are inexpensive as compared to moving iron type instruments.
2. They have high torque is to weight ratio as compared to other instruments.
3. They retain their accuracy over wide range of temperature as well as loads.
As the name suggests the low power factor meter are the instruments that measures lower values
of power factor accurately. Before we study more about the low power factor meter, it is very
essential to know why there is a requirement of low power factor meter though we use ordinary
electrodynamometer to measure power factor? Answer to this question is very simple as it gives
inaccurate results. Now there are two main reasons that would suggests us that we should not use
ordinary wattmeter in measuring the low value of power factor.
1. The value of deflecting torque is very low even though we fully excite the current and
pressure coils.
2. Errors due pressure coil inductance.
Above two reasons gives very inaccurate results thus we should not use normal or ordinary watt
meters in measuring the low value of power factor. However by doing some modification or
adding some new features we can use modified electrodynamic wattmeter or low power factor to
measure the low power factor accurately. Here we are going to discuss, where we need to do
modification. These are discussed one by one below: (1)The electrical resistance of the ordinary
wattmeter's pressure coil is reduced to low value such that current in the pressure coil circuit is
increased, thus it leads to. In this category two cases diagrams arises and these are shown below:
In the first category both the ends of the pressure coil is connected to supply side (i.e. current coil
is in series with the load). The supply voltage is equal to the voltage across the pressure coil.
Thus in this case we have power shown by the first wattmeter is equal to the power loss in the
load plus power loss in the current coil. Mathematically, P1 = power consumed by load + I2R1. In
the second category, the current coil is not in series with the load and the voltage across the
pressure coil is not equal to the applied voltage. The voltage across pressure coil is equal to the
voltage across the load. In this power shown by the second watt meter is equal to the power loss
in the load plus the power loss in the pressure coil. Mathematically P2 = power consumed by load
+ I2R2. From the above discussion we conclude that in both cases we have some amount of errors
hence there is need to do some modification in above circuits to have minimum error.
The modified circuit is shown below: We have used here a special coil called compensating coil,
it carries current equal to the sum of two currents i.e load current plus pressure coil current. The
pressure coil is placed such that the field produced by the compensating coil is opposed by the
field produced by pressure coil as shown in the above circuit diagram.
consider the inductance of pressure coil we dont have voltage across pressure in phase with the
applied voltage. Hence it that case it lag by an angle
where R is electrical resistance in series with pressure coil, rp is pressure coil resistance, here we
also conclude that the current in the current coil is also lagging by some angle with the current in
pressure coil. And this angle is given by C = A - b. At this time reading of the voltmeter is given
by
Where Rp is (rp+R) and x is angle. If we ignore the effect of inductance of pressure i.e putting b =
0 we have expression for true power as
On taking ratio of equations (2) and (1) we have expression for correction factor as written
below:
VIsin(A)*tan(b).
Now
we know that the error caused by pressure coil inductance is given by the expression e=VIsin(A)
tan(b), if power factor is low (i.e in our case the value of is large hence we have large error).
Thus in order to avoid this situation we have connect the variable series resistance with a
capacitor as shown in the above figure. This final modified circuit so obtained is called low
power factor meter. A modern low power factor meter is designed such that it gives high
accuracy while measuring power factors even lower than 0.1.
Moving Coil Moving coil moves the pointer with the help of spring control instrument. A limited
amount of current flows through the moving coil so as to avoid heating. So in order to limit the
current we have connect the high value resistor in series with the moving coil. The moving is air
cored and is mounted on a pivoted spindle and can moves freely. In electrodynamometer type
wattmeter, moving coil works as pressure coil. Hence moving coil is connected across the
voltage and thus the current flowing through this coil is always proportional to the voltage. Fixed
Coil The fixed coil is divided into two equal parts and these are connected in series with the load,
therefore the load current will flow through these coils. Now the reason is very obvious of using
two fixed coils instead of one, so that it can be constructed to carry considerable amount of
electric current. These coils are called the current coils of electrodynamometer type wattmeter.
Earlier these fixed coils are designed to carry the current of about 100 amperes but now the
modern wattmeter are designed to carry current of about 20 amperes in order to save power.
Control System Out of two controlling systems i.e.
1. Gravity control
2. Spring control, only spring controlled systems are used in these types of
wattmeter. Gravity controlled system cannot be employed because they will
appreciable amount of errors.
Damping System Air friction damping is used, as eddy current damping will distort
the weak operating magnetic field and thus it may leads to error. Scale There is
uniform scale is used in these types of instrument as moving coil moves linearly
over a range of 40 degrees to 50 degrees on either sides.
Now let us derive the expressions for the controlling torque and deflecting torques. In order to
derive these expressions let us consider the circuit diagram given below:
where x is the angle. Now let the applied value of voltage across the pressure coil
be
Assuming the electrical resistance of the pressure coil be very high hence we can
neglect reactance with respect to its resistance. In this the impedance is equal to its
electrical resistance therefore it is purely resistive. The expression for instantaneous
current can be written as I2 = v / Rp where Rp is the resistance of pressure coil.
If there is phase difference between voltage and electric current, then expression
for instantaneous current through current coil can be written as
As current through the pressure coil in very very small compare to current through
current coil hence current through the current coil can be considered as equal to
total load current. Hence the instantaneous value of torque can be written as
Where as voltage coil is connected to the supply mains and produce a high ratio of inductance to
resistance. There is copper bands in the lower part of shunt magnet which provides frictional
compensation so that the phase angle between shunt magnet flux and the supply voltage is
exactly 90.
Moving System
As you can see in the figure, there is a thin aluminum disk placed in the gap
between the two electromagnets and mounted on a vertical shaft. The eddy
currents are induced in the aluminum disk when it cuts the flux produced by both
the magnets. As a result of interference of eddy currents and two magnetic fields
constitute a deflecting torque in the disk. As you start consuming power the disk
slowly starts rotating and the several rotation of the disk displays the power
consumption, in the particular interval of time. Normally it is measured in kilowatthours.
Braking System
The main part of this system is a permanent magnet called brake magnet. It is
located near the disk so that eddy currents are induced in it due to movement of
rotating disk through the magnetic field. This eddy current reacts with the flux and
exerts a braking torque which opposes the motion of the disk. The speed of the disk
can be controlled by changing flux.
Registering System
As its name suggest, it registers the number of rotation of the disk which is
proportional to the energy consumed directly in kilowatt-hour. There is a disk
spindle which is driven by a gear on the disk shaft and indicates the number of
times the disk has turned.
As a result of it, a lite weight aluminum disk rotates in an air gap. But there is a need to stop a
disk when there is no power supply. A permanent magnet works as a brake which opposes the
rotation of the disk and balances the speed of rotation with respect to power consumption.
produced by shunt magnet and supply voltage about 900, small adjustments in the