WHEATSTONE BRIDGE

R1 & R2 Known ratio arm R3 standard variable (adjustable) resistor R4 unknown resistor At balance condition

R4 R2 = R3 R1

Or

R2 R4 = R3 R1

This equation is independent of characteristics of detector provided Detector observes unbalance deflect with required degree of precision

Sensitivity to Unbalance

Change in one resistance Change in all resistances

Equal resistance bridge Unequal resistance bridge

Sensitivity to Unbalance
Change in one resistance Assume Battery resistance is zero

ETH

R1 R2 = E R + R R + R + R 3 2 4 1
R1 R3 R ( R + R ) + 2 4 R1 + R3 R 2 + R 4 + R

RTH =

ETH Ig = RTH + Rg

Equal Resistance Bridge:

R1 = R2 = R3 = R4 = R
R 1 R ETH = E E 2 2R + R 4R

RTH R

and

ETH Ig = R + Rg

Deflection of Galvanometer
R Si E 4R d = Si I g = R + Rg Si is the current sensitivity
(mm/uA)

Bridge Sensitivity
d = R R = Si E S . E v = 4( R + Rg ) 4

SB

Sv=Voltage Sensitivity Of galvanometer

Unequal Resistance Bridge

ETH R1 R2 = E R + R R + R + R 3 2 4 1

ETH

R1 R2 + R1 R4 + R1R R1 R2 R2 R3 = E R R R R R ( + )( + + ) 1 3 2 4

If n = R2/R4 = R1/R3 and

R p= R4

ETH

Epn = 2 (1 + n)

Unequal Resistance Bridge

ETH

Epn = 2 (1 + n)

Bridge output (sensitivity) is maximum for n=1 and reduces at other values of n Linearity between ETH/E v/s p improves for increasing n and is poorest at n=1 so tradeoff for linearity and sensitivity is required

Problem: The Wheatstone bridge having R1 =1K and R2=100 , is used to measure an unknown resistance of 25 . Two galvanometer are available. Galvanometer A has sensitivity of 200mm/A and internal resistance of 20 and Galvanometer B has sensitivity of 600mm/A and internal resistance of 600 . Which of the galvanometer is more sensitive to a small unbalance in the bridge?

d SBridge= = S i Eth R Rth+ Rg R

VARLEY LOOP TEST

Used for detecting ground faults in cables Problem: When switch is at S1, R3=100 and when at S2, R3=99 . If the cable resistance is 0.15 /km, find the distance X. Solution: Rx = 2/3 or X = 4444.4 km

CHANGES IN ALL RESISTANCES

The change in voltage reading will be,

At Bridge Balance

then,

Where,

when the resistance changes are small (< 5%), the second order term is approximately zero and can be ignored, then

The coefficient circuit efficiency

is called the

Case 1: Equal Resistances

R1 = R2 = R3 = R4 = R.

then r = 1, the change in voltage:

By selecting the target and reference resistances, the Wheatstone bridge circuit can amplify small changes in resistance and/or compensate for changes in temperature.

Calibration of the Bridge

Shunt

Variation of overall sensitivity without need to change E Provision for adjusting the output voltage to be precisely zero when the measured physical quantity is zero, even if the legs are not exactly matched Shunt resistor calibration for full scale deflection

LIMITATIONS:
to measure resistance values ranging from 1 to 1M with an accuracy of approximately 0.1% Resistances less than 1 ohm cannot be measured accurately Thermoelectric effect can causes problem for low resistance values measurement For low resistances low temperature coefficient is desirable to measure it accurately Measurement of resistance greater than 1 M-ohm is difficult due to high voltage supply requirements thus heat dissipation in resistors will be more which in turn will change the values of resistors Leakage in insulation as values approaches insulation resistance values

GUARDED WHEATSTONE BRIDGE

Guard circuits are used to reduce or remove the leakage paths while measuring high resistances.

Using guard wire

Guard does not touch any part of the bridge circuitry and is directly connected to to the battery. This principle can be applied for any part of the bridge where leakage affects the measurement.

Three terminal resistance

This technique is used to avoid the effect of leakage current external to the bridge circuitry RL1 is in parallel with R3 (very small in comparison to RL1) and RL2 is in parallel with detector (very small in comparison to RL2)

REMOTE CONNECTED WHEATSTONE BRIDGE

RCOMP is used to compensate lead resistance Cable temperature and room temperature may differ so offset error and gain error will be in bridge output

Three wire connection

Bridge output is measured by high impedance device Gain error and offset error reduces Suitable technique for single arm variations

Four wire sensing

Drive voltages should be highly stable Opamps always maintains required excitation voltage E Opamps must have low offset, low drift, and low noise

KELVIN BRIDGE
The Kelvin bridge was designed to measure low resistances in the range of .00001 to .01 ohms.

Let G be connected to the point p between m and n such that

Rnp/Rmp = R3/R1

Then balance condition Rx + Rnp = R3/R1(R2+Rmp) By solving 1 & 2

Rx = (R3/R1)R2

KELVIN DOUBLE BRIDGE

PRACTICAL CIRCUIT OF KELVIN DOUBLE BRIDGE

Reduces contact potential drop in the measuring circuit Circuit is used for measurement of winding resistance of machines and transformers, contact and earth conductor resistances