Measurement of

electrical quantities
Made by Ceban Dionisie
Verified by prof. M. Chiorsac

Types of measurement
Measurement:
The measurement of a given quantity is an act of comparison between the quantity whose
magnitude is unknown and a predefined standard. Since two quantities are compared the result
is expressed in the form of numerical values. There are two methods of measurement:

Direct method

Indirect method.

Direct Measurement:-In direct method the unknown quantity is measured directly such as
measurement of current by an ammeter, voltage by voltmeter, resistance by ohm meter,
power by wattmeter etc.

Indirect Measurement:-In the indirect method of measurement the unknown quantity is

determined by measuring other functionally related quantities and calculating the desired
quantity rather than measuring it directly with an instrument. For example resistance of a
conductor may be determined by measuring voltage across the conductor V, and current
flowing through the conductor I, and then calculating it byR=V/I

Clasification
There are several types of measuring instruments depending on the functioning principle of
the devices:

Magnetoelectric devices

Electromagnetic devices

Electrodynamic devices

Ferro-dynamic devices

Electrostatic devices

Induction devices

Accuracy class
Electrical instruments are in fact divided on the basis of their accuracy rating into
the following categories in conformity to IEC standards:

These numbers represent the absolute errors in relation to nominal capacity and are
stated as a percentage of nominal capacity.

This means that a 0.5 rating voltmeter with nominal capacity of 200 V must not
have at any point of the scale an absolute percentage error that is greater than
0.5%.
Thus, whatever the voltage value that is read on the instrument, this read value
must not be more than 1 V higher or lower than the real value.

Ammeter
An ammeter is a measuring instrument used to measure the electric current in a circuit.
Electric currents are measured in amperes (A), hence the name.

The measuring mechanism of magnetoelectric ammeters can be connected directly to

circuit or through a shunt. Direct connection is performed if the currents value do not exceed
30mA.

Transformer of current(indirect
measurement)
When the quantity to be measured is larger than the capacity of the measuring instrument, a transformer must be interposed that reduces the quantity and supplies the quantity
to the instrument with values that are compatible with its capacity. This methodology is
defined as indirect measuring.
The measurement conducted via a measuring transformer is defined as an indirect
measurement because it does not take place directly on the line under examination. For
example, if a current up to 100 A has to be measured with an current that has a capacity of
5 A, a current transformer (CT) has to be interposed with a transformation ratio of 100/5.

Scheme of current transformer (CT)

Voltmeter
A voltmeter is an instrument used for measuring electrical potential difference
between two points in an electric circuit. Analog voltmeters move a pointer across a scale
in proportion to the voltage of the circuit; digital voltmeters give a numerical display of
voltage by use of ananalog to digital converter.

Voltage transformers(TV)
When there is the problem of measuring high voltages or voltages that are
greater than the capacity of the instrument, voltage transformers are used
(indicated by the letters VT).

Wattmeter
The wattmeter is an instrument for measuring the electric power (or the supply rate of
electrical energy) in watts of any given circuit. Electromagnetic wattmeters are used for
measurement of utility frequency and audio frequency power; other types are required for radio
frequency measurements.
The traditional analog wattmeter is an electrodynamic instrument. The device consists of a
pair of fixed coils, known as current coils, and a movable coil known as the potential coil.
The current coils connected in series with the circuit, while the potential coil is connected
in parallel. A current flowing through the current coil generates an electromagnetic field around
the coil. The strength of this field is proportional to the line current and in phase with it. The
potential coil has, as a general rule, a high-value resistor connected in series with it to reduce
the current that flows through it.
The result of this arrangement is that on a dc circuit, the deflection of the needle is
proportional to both the current (I) and the voltage (V), thus conforming to the equation P=VI.
For AC power, current and voltage may not be in phase, owing to the delaying effects of
circuit inductance or capacitance. On an ac circuit the deflection is proportional to the average
instantaneous product of voltage and current, thus measuring true power, P=VI cos . Here,
cos represents the power factor which shows that the power transmitted may be less than the
apparent power obtained

Measurement of three-phase power with

two wattmeters

Depending on the electrical charge on phases of three-phase circuit, values

can differ on each wattmeter, to determine the active power we need to
calculate the algebraic sum of the values shown by the both wattmeters:

Measurement of three-phase power with

three wattmeters

For three-phase symmetric systems is used the method

with one wattmeter:

Delta connection

Star connection

Measurement of reactive power in three-phase

circuits (one wattmeter)

Reactive power is calculated with the following formula:

The power of the whole system is:

Measurement of reactive power in three-phase

circuits (two wattmeter)

Reactive power is calculated with the following formula:

Measurement of reactive power in

three-phase circuits(three wattmeter)

From second diagram:

Since: