3 - Analog DC & AC Meters

University of Turkish Aeronautical Association
Faculty of Engineering
EEE department
EEE312:
Electrical measurement &
instrumentation
Analog DC & AC Meters
BY
Dr. Hassan SHARABATY
Ankara – March 2017

1
Meters
Analog meters Digital meters
¾ Current & voltage measuring instruments are very important, because most
physical quantities are proportional or can be converted to I & V.
¾ Current-measuring instruments called Ammeters, whereas voltage-measuring
instruments called Voltmeters.
Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 2

Ammeter & Voltmeter
¾ An ammeter is always connected in series with a circuit branch and
measures the current flowing in it.
¾ An ideal ammeter would be capable of performing the measurement
without changing or disturbing the current in the branch. (RM = 0) .
Real ammeters always possess some internal resistance, causing the
current in the branch to change due to the insertion of the meter.
¾ A voltmeter is connected in parallel with the elements being measured
¾ The ideal voltmeter should not change the current and the voltage in
the test circuit. (RM = ). However, most actual voltmeters draw a
small current and thereby also disturb the test circuit to some degree.
Ammeter & Voltmeter

Electromechanical Meter Movements
d'Arsonval Movement or PMMC: Electrodynamometer Movement

d'Arsonval Movement or PMMC:
¾ This mechanism is current-sensing device.
¾ The movement detects current by using the force produced

from the interaction of a magnetic field (created by a
permanent magnet) and the current flowing through the
coil placed in the magnetic field. This force is used to
generate a mechanical displacement, which is measured on
a calibrated scale.
¾ The scale is calibrated to point to the current value flowing
through the coil.

¾ The deflection of the pointer (the movement needle)

is directly proportional to the current flowing in the
coil.
¾ The accuracy of d'Arsonval movements used in common

laboratory meters is about 1% of the full-scale reading.
¾ Note that d'Arsonval Movement reads to the average

value of measured quantity.

¾ Two types of scales are generally employed : with a zero at the center of the scale
with a zero at the left end of the scale.
Mechanical zero setting screw

Electrodynamometer Movement
¾ In contrast to the d'Arsonval movement, which uses a permanent magnet to provide a magnetic
field, the electrodynamometer creates a magnetic field from the current being measured.
¾ This current passes through two stationary coils and establishes

the magnetic field that interacts with the current in the moving
coil. The force on the moving coil due to the magnetic fields of
the fixed coils causes the moving coil to rotate.
¾ The moving coil is attached to a pointer that moves along a scale

to indicate the value of the quantity being measured.

¾ The current being measured determines both the strength of the magnetic field and the moving
coil's interaction with the field, so the resulting deflection of the pointer is proportional to i2.
¾ In ac use, the pointer takes up a position proportional to the

average of i2. The scale can be calibrated to read to the
square root of this quantity (rms).
¾ The electrodynamometer movement is used in the

construction of highly accurate AC voltmeters and
ammeters and in watt-meters and power-factor meters.

¾ Extremely high accuracies can be obtained by using this movement because it uses no magnetic
materials (and magnetic materials possess nonlinear properties).
¾ The sensitivity of the electrodynamometer movement is

poor. This is because the magnetic field of the stationary
coils produced by the measured current is much weaker
than the permanent field of the d'Arsonval movement.
¾ When it is used as a voltmeter, the sensitivity is 10 to 30

ȳ/V, which is very low.
Analog DC Ammeters
¾ d'Arsonval movement are used as dc ammeters to measure currents from 1 ɊA to several
hundred amperes (Sensitivity of the instrument).
¾ Typical laboratory bench meters of this type have accuracies of about 1% of their full-scale
readings (because of inaccuracies of the meter movement). In addition to this error, RM the
resistance of the meter coil introduces also a departure from the ideal ammeter behavior.
¾ The equivalent circuit model of a real ammeter, contains the

internal resistance RM (equal in value to the resistance of
the meter coil and leads) in series with an ideal ammeter
described by IM (the current that cause the maximum
Note: Increasing the current flowing through
deflection of the pointer).
the movement more than IM will damage it.

Analog DC Ammeters
Example1:
¾ We are given a 1mA ammeter to measure the current through a 10Kȳ resistor. Assume that the
meter has a coil resistance of 115 ȳ. Calculate the ammeter reading and the error in the reading if
the source voltage is 5 V.
Solution:
o :
The significance of the minus sign is that the reading is lower than the expected theoretical reading.
In addition to this error, there is the mechanical error of the meter, which can be nearly 1 percent.
Analog DC Ammeters
¾ To extend the measuring capabilities of dc ammeters upper than IM,

shunts must be used.
¾ The shunt allows a specific fraction of the current flowing in

the circuit branch to bypass the meter movement.

Analog DC Ammeters
Example2:
¾ Design a multi-range ammeter similar to the circuit shown on
right. Find the values of R1 (0-1 mA scale), R2 (0-100 mA scale),
and R3 (0-10 A scale) necessary for the meter.
¾ Use a 50-ɊA d'Arsonval movement with a resistance of 2000ȳ.
Solution:
¾ Voltage compliance (Vc) for the ammeter is Vc = iM× RM = 50×10-6 × 2000 = 100 mV;
that is, a voltage of 100 mV will cause the meter to deflect to full scale or 50-ɊA.
¾ Solve for R1
Analog DC Ammeters
Example2:
Solution:
¾ Solve for R2

Analog DC Ammeters Using
parallel connection
Example2:
Solution:
¾ Solve for R3
To order a shunt for R3 , you would specify a 10A, 100mV shunt not a
normal 0.01ȳ shunt.

parallel connection
Example3:
¾ Design a multi-range ammeter whose ranges are 100mA & 1A.

Use a 1mA d'Arsonval movement with a resistance of 100ȳ.
Solution1:
What will happen when we switch

from the range of 100 mA to 1A?

series connection
Example3:
¾ Design a multi-range ammeter whose ranges are 100mA & 1A.

Solution2:
Using this way of connection solve the

problem of shorting the movement during
the switching from range to another,
however still we need to use a power shunt.
Analog DC Voltmeters
¾ We can consider d'Arsonval movement itself as a voltmeter if we
note that the current flowing in it, multiplied by its internal
resistance, causes a certain voltage drop.
¾ For example, a 4mA full-scale, 7.5ȳ movement has a 30mV

drop across it when 4mA is flowing in the movement. If the
scale reads volts rather than amperes, the movement is acting as
a 30mV voltmeter.
¾ To increase the voltage that can be measured by such a meter, an additional

resistance is added in series with the meter resistance. The extra resistance
(called a multiplier) limits the current flowing in the meter circuit.
Example4:
¾ Design a voltmeter with a full-scale deflection of 200 mV.

Use a 50ɊA, 1Kȳ d'Arsonval meter movement.
Solution:
¾ When the meter is at full scale there is 50 ɊA going through the meter movement.
¾ Using Ohm's Law
¾ Therefore, by placing a 3Kȳ resistor in series with the 50ɊA meter movement a 200mV voltmeter
is created.
¾ To construct a multi-range voltmeter, we can use a switch that connects various values
of resistance in series or in parallel with the meter movement.
Example5:
¾ Design a multi-range voltmeter with a full-scale deflections of 1v, 10v & 100v.
Solution:
Parallel connection

Example5:
¾ Design a multi-range voltmeter with a full-scale
deflections of 1v, 10v & 100v. Use a 1mA d'Arsonval
movement with a resistance of 100ȳ. Series connection
Solution:
What do you think

about loading error?
Electronic voltmeters:
Solution
i.e. meters driven by electronic amplifiers.
Amplifier-Driven Analog dc Meters (Electronic meters)

DC electronic voltmeter:
Example6:
¾ Design a multi-range dc electronic voltmeter with a full-scale deflections of 0.1v, 1v, 10v & 100v.
Use a 1mA d'Arsonval movement with a resistance of 100ȳ. The available power supply is 5v.
Solution:

Amplifier-Driven Analog dc Meters (Electronic meters)
DC electronic ammeter:
Example7:
¾ Design a multi-range electronic ammeter with a full-scale deflections of 0.1A & 1A.
Solution:
Electronic Ohmmeter:
¾ To measure the value of unknown resistor Rx , we convert this value into voltage
using an inverting operational amplifier.
¾ The output voltage is measured by a dc voltmeter that is calibrated to display Rx value
directly.

Electronic Ohmmeter:
Example 8:
¾ Design an electronic ohmmeter with a full-scale deflections of 100Kȳ using a d'Arsonval
movement with 1mA & 100ȳ and power supply ± 5 V.
Solution:
Analog ac Ammeters and Voltmeters:

Average-Responding ac Meters
¾ The d'Arsonal movement responds to the average value of the

current through the moving coil.
¾ Average value of sine waves and some other ac signals are zero.
¾ to achieve a measurable deflection of the d'Arsonval movement Examples of ac waveforms.
pointer, we use diode rectifier circuits.
¾ The scale of the meter is calibrated

to display the rms value of the ac
waveform that is applied to the
meter.

¾ Calibration the scale, to read rms value, requires:

1. To know the shape of ac signals to be measured,
2. then, to calculate the ratio of the rms value to the average
value of the rectified wave, which called form factor F.
¾ In case of pure sine waves:
Full-wave rectified waveform Î F §1.11 (i.e. the rms
scale of the meter will actually be indicating 1.11 times the
actual average current flowing in the d'Arsonval
movement)
Half-wave rectified sinusoid Î F §1.57 Vrms = F . Vdc

¾ Note that ac meters are generally calibrated under the assumption that the ac signals to be
measured is pure sine waves.
¾ If the ac signal is not a pure sine wave, this can lead to errors in the readings.
¾ A correction factor based on the shape of the ac signal and the type of rectifier used in the
meter must be applied to the readings to eliminate the error.

Example 9:
Design an average responding ac voltmeter with a full-scale deflection 30 V rms. Use a d'Arsonval
movement (1mA & 100ȳ) and a full-bridge sine wave rectifier whose diodes have forward bias
resistance 10 ȍ.
Solution: F=
Vrms = F . Vdc 30 = 1.11 . Vdc Vdc = 27 v
V=10-3 (Rs + Rm + 2 Rd) Rs =26.88 kȳ

Example 10:
What will be the reading of the previous voltmeter if a triangle wave with a peak value of
5.23 V is applied?
Solution:
As F=1.11 Î No matter what type of waveform is applied to the meter, its
average value will be multiplied by 1.11 in order to establish the value printed
on the scale.
For a triangle waveform Vav = Vpeak / 2 = 5.23 / 2 = 2.615 V
The meter reading is Vrms = 2.615 x 1.11 = 2.90 V False or true ?
Analog ac Electronic Voltmeters (Average Responding)
¾ The previous meter cannot measure the small signals (less than
the forward bias required by the silicon diodes of the rectifier 0.6
to 0.7 V). As a result of this voltage drop, only that portion of
the source voltage in excess of twice the forward diode bias
voltage is effective in causing a current in the meter.
Solution
Electronic ac voltmeters

rms-Responding ac Meters
¾ When an accurate measurement of the rms value of an ac signal is required and the relationship
between the average value and the rms value of the signal is not known, a meter that actually
responds to the rms value of a signal must be used.
¾ Some types of meters that actually respond to the rms value of a signal:
9 Electrodynamometer meters.
9 Thermocouple meters.
9 Calculating-type meters.

Electrodynamometer meters
¾ The electrodynamometer movement responds to the square

of the applied current and gives a true rms reading.
¾ Ac meters built by using this movement can be extremely accurate but are relatively expensive.
¾ They are also limited by their minimum power requirement for activation (1-3 W).
¾ Their upper frequency limit is 200 Hz. Above 200 Hz, the inductance of the coils of the movement
begins to introduce significant errors. However, for measuring ac signals with frequencies lower than
200 Hz, they are the most accurate instruments available.

Thermocouple meters
¾ The current in the circuit being measured flows through a heating
element and causes the temperature of the heating element to increase.
This element in turn heats a thermocouple junction and causes a
voltage to arise across the junction.
¾ The voltage produces a current in the thermocouple wire, and this current
activates the d' Arsonval movement.
¾ The thermocouple meter measures ac and dc quantities by connecting the output signal of a thermocouple
to a d' Arsonval movement.
¾ The major advantage of thermocouple meters is that frequencies of up to 50 MHz can be measured with up
to 1 percent accuracy.
Thermocouple meters
¾ Since the heating effect is proportional to i2R, the resulting

current that activates the d' Arsonval movement gives a true
rms reading (i is the current flowing in the heating element,
and R is the element's resistance).
¾ However, the disadvantages of higher cost and sensitivity to burnout under overloads
have limited the widespread use of thermocouple meters.
Analog Multimeters
(or VOMs)
Volt Ohm Milliammeters
Peak Responding ac Meters
¾ Special-purpose Meters
¾ How to Use Basic Meters
¾ Meter Errors
ac Clamp-On Meters

References:
For further reading students are referred to

the following book:
¾ Electronic Instrumentation Laboratories

Stanley Wolf & Richard F.M. Smith.
2nd Edition, Prentice Hall, 2004.
ISBN-10: 0130421820
ISBN-13: 9780130421821
END

3 - Analog DC & AC Meters

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Исходное описание:

Оригинальное название

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

3 - Analog DC & AC Meters

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

University of Turkish Aeronautical Association

Analog DC & AC Meters

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY

Ankara – March 2017

Analog meters Digital meters

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 2

Ammeter & Voltmeter

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 4

d'Arsonval Movement or PMMC: Electrodynamometer Movement

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 5

Electromechanical Meter Movements

¾ This mechanism is current-sensing device.

¾ The movement detects current by using the force produced

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 6

¾ The deflection of the pointer (the movement needle)

¾ The accuracy of d'Arsonval movements used in common

¾ Note that d'Arsonval Movement reads to the average

Electromechanical Meter Movements

Mechanical zero setting screw

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 8

¾ This current passes through two stationary coils and establishes

¾ The moving coil is attached to a pointer that moves along a scale

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 9

Electromechanical Meter Movements

¾ In ac use, the pointer takes up a position proportional to the

¾ The electrodynamometer movement is used in the

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 10

¾ The sensitivity of the electrodynamometer movement is

¾ When it is used as a voltmeter, the sensitivity is 10 to 30

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 11

¾ The equivalent circuit model of a real ammeter, contains the

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 12

¾ To extend the measuring capabilities of dc ammeters upper than IM,

¾ The shunt allows a specific fraction of the current flowing in

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 14

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 15

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 16

Analog DC Ammeters Using

¾ Design a multi-range ammeter whose ranges are 100mA & 1A.

What will happen when we switch

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 18

¾ Design a multi-range ammeter whose ranges are 100mA & 1A.

Using this way of connection solve the

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 19

¾ For example, a 4mA full-scale, 7.5ȳ movement has a 30mV

¾ To increase the voltage that can be measured by such a meter, an additional

¾ Design a voltmeter with a full-scale deflection of 200 mV.

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 21

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 22

What do you think

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 23

Amplifier-Driven Analog dc Meters (Electronic meters)

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 24

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 25

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 26

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 27

Analog ac Ammeters and Voltmeters:

¾ The d'Arsonal movement responds to the average value of the

¾ The scale of the meter is calibrated

Dr. Hassan SHARABATY EEE312: Electrical measurement & instrumentation 28

¾ Calibration the scale, to read rms value, requires:

Analog ac Ammeters and Voltmeters:

For further reading students are referred to