Electromechanical

Instruments
 Instruments

Absolute Secondary
Instruments Instruments

Analog Digital
Instruments Instruments

Deflecting Null Deflection

Instruments Instruments

Indicating Integrating Recording

Instruments Instruments Instruments
 Analog
Instruments

Ammeters
Voltmeters Deflecting Null Deflection DC Bridges
Wattmeters Instruments Instruments AC Bridges
Energy Meters

Indicating Integrating Recording

Instruments Instruments Instruments

● Indicate magnitude ● Totalize events ● Give continuous

of quantity being over a specified record of quantity
measured period of time being measured
● Eg: Voltmeter, ● Eg: Energy meter over a specific
Ammeter, period of time
Wattmeter ● Eg: Recording
Voltmeter, Null
Balance Recorder
 Indicating
Instruments

Principle of Operation

Magnetic
effect of Electrostatic Thermal Induction
Hall Effect
electric Effect Effect Effect
current
Quadrant Hot wire Instt Split Ring Instt Poynting Vector
Electrometer Wattmeter
Thermocouple Shaded Pole Instt
Moving Moving Kelvins Instt Flux meter
Coil Iron Multicellular
Instt. Instt.
Voltmeter Bolometer

PMMC Attraction
Instt Type

EDM Repulsion
Instt Type
Electromechanical Indicating Instruments

● Types of Operating Forces required for the operation of any indicating instrument:
❖ Deflecting Force
❖ Controlling Force
❖ Damping Force
Deflecting Force (or) Operating Force

● To deflect pointer away from zero position

● Deflecting System (or) Moving System: Converts electric current or potential into mechanical
force called deflecting force
Controlling Force
● Controlling System: System producing controlling force. Its functions are:
❖ Bring the pointer to the steady state position
❖ Bring pointer back to zero position on removal of measurand.

● Produced by control mechanisms:

❖ Gravity control mechanism
❖ Spring control mechanism
Gravity Control Mechanism

W: Control weight (kg)

l: Distance (metre)
⊖: Deflection (radians)

● Instruments employing gravity control must

be in vertical position. Due to this not
suitable for indicating instruments
Spring Control Mechanism
● Essential requirements of a spring:

❖ Should be non-magnetic

❖ Should be mechanical fatigue proof

❖ Should have low resistance temperature coefficient

Effect of type of control on shape of scale
Consider an instrument in which deflecting torque is directly proportional to the current being measured
Damping Force
● To damp the oscillations of the pointer at the steady state position
● Should be of such magnitude that the pointer quickly quickly comes to it final steady state position,
without overshooting
❖ Underdamped Instrument: Moving system oscillate about final steady state position with decreasing
amplitude and take some time before it comes to rest
❖ Critically damped Instrument: Moving system moves rapidly but smoothly to its final steady state
position
❖ Overdamped Instrument: Moving system moves moves slowly to its final steady state position
Methods to produce Damping Torque

● Air Friction Damping: Used in instances where field that produces the deflecting torque is weak

● Fluid Friction Damping: Used in instances where the instrument has low sensitivity

● Eddy Current Damping: Used in instances where field that produces the deflecting torque is strong
Permanent Magnet Moving
Coil Instruments (PMMC)
Requirements of Instrument

● It’s introduction into the circuit, where the measurements are to be made, does not alter the
circuit conditions

● The power consumed by them for their operation is small

PMMC
● Most accurate type for dc measurements

● Principle of operation: Magnetic effect of electric current

● Moving coil is wound with many turns of enameled or silk
covered copper wire
● Coil is mounted on a rectangular aluminium former which
is pivoted on jewelled bearings.
● The coil moves freely in the field of a permanent magnet.
● The deflecting torque is produced on the basis of
Fleming’s left hand rule which states that “Whenever a
current carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field,
the conductor experiences a force that tends to push it
away from the direction of the field”
● Due to the presence of strong magnetic field the
damping torque is produced by movement of Aluminium
former using an eddy current damping mechanism.
● The controlling torque is produced by the
spring control mechanism using two
springs.

● The springs also serve to lead current in

and out of the coil.

● The pointer is carried by the spindle and

moves over a graduated scale
Advantages
● Have low operational power consumption (25 - 200 micro Watts)

● These instruments have a large sensitivity and a high accuracy

● Since deflection is proportional to I, these instruments have uniform scale

● Since operating fields of such instruments are very strong, they are not significantly affected by
stray magnetic fields.
Disadvantages
● As direction of permanent magnet doesn’t change with the change in polarity of the AC
parameter under measurement, these instruments are not suitable to measure AC currents and
voltages

● If an AC signal is applied, it responds to its average value

● If sinusoidal AC signal is applied,

❖ For low frequency, the pointer will oscillate due to the large time period
❖ For high frequency, the pointer will vibrate at zero position due to small time period

● As a thin and a light wire is used to wind a moving coil, these instruments will have a small
current carrying capacity (max upto 100 mA)

● Relatively expensive instrument

Sources of Error
● Errors due to ageing of springs
❖ Compensation: Use pre-aged spring and pre-ageing is done subjecting it to mechanical stress

● Errors due to ageing of permanent magnet

❖ Compensation: Use pre-aged permanent magnet and pre-ageing is done by subjecting it to
thermal and vibrational stress

● Errors due to change in resistance of spring because of heating effect of electric current
❖ Compensation: Fabricate spring with a material which has:
❖ A negligible temperature coefficient of resistance
❖ Low resistivity
PMMC Ammeter

● Since deflection is directly proportional to the

current, PMMC instrument can be used as an
ammeter

● Since the coil winding is small and light, it can

carry very small currents limited to 100 mA

● In order to measure currents beyond 100 mA,

a low resistance, known as shunt resistance,
is connected across the meter. This shunt is
used to bypass the major part of the current to
protect the meter
❖ General requirements for shunt:
● Temperature coefficient should be low
● Resistance should not vary with time
● Should carry the current without excessive temperature rise

❖ Commonly used materials for fabrication of shunt are: Manganin and Constantan
Temperature Effect Correction
1. Use same material to fabricate shunt and moving coil and keep at same temperature
● Not appropriate for practical applications as temperature of two parts are not likely to change
at same rate. Moreover, Copper shunts are likely to be bulky as the resistivity of copper is
small
2. Connect a swamping resistance of manganin (which has a negligible temperature coefficient)
having resistance 20-30 times larger the coil resistance in series with the coil and a shunt of
manganin is connected across this combination
Since copper forms the negligible component of the series combination in the meter arm, the
rate at which the meter arm changes its resistance is mostly due to swamping resistance and
negligible due to meter resistance
Multi-Range Ammeters

● It has four shunt resistance to give four different

current ranges

● It uses multiposition make before break switch so

that meter movement is not damaged when
changing from the current range to another

● Used for ranges from 1 to 50 A

Rsh1 = Rm/(m1-1); m1 = I1/Im

Rsh2 = Rm/(m2-1); m2 = I2/Im
Rsh3 = Rm/(m3-1); m3 = I3/Im
Rsh4 = Rm/(m4-1); m4 = I4/Im
Universal Shunt (or) Ayrton Shunt
PMMC Voltmeter
Voltmeter Multipliers

● A high resistance, k/a multiplier, is connected in

series with meter movement which limits the
current through meter.
● This combination is put across the circuit whose
voltage is to be measured
Multi range dc Voltmeters
● Individual Multiplier
● Potential Divider Arrangement
Individual Multiplier

● Multiplier resistors Rs1, Rs2,Rs3, and Rs4 are

connected in series with the meter by a range
selector switch.
Potential Divider Arrangement
● Connections are made at the junctions of R1,
R2, R3, R4 in series to obtain voltage ranges
V1, V2, V3 and V4
Sensitivity
Current Sensitivity:

● Deflection per unit current

● Ratio of constant G divided by control spring constant K
● For large sensitivity G should be large and K should be small
● G can be increased by wounding the coil with many turns of thin wire and K can be decreased by
using a a light flat spring. This shows that sensitive instrument will have large resistance due to
presence of many turns of wire
● Modern moving coil instruments sensitivity: 25 microA to 10 mA
Voltmeter Sensitivity
● Resistance offered by voltmeter per volt of its deflecting voltage
● Sv = RT/V ohm/volt
● A VM is said to be highly sensitive if it draws a negligible current from the circuit.

● The sensitivity of VM is low if it draws large current from the circuit which leads to the errors
due to loading effect of VM

● Voltmeter Loading:
❖ Low sensitivity VM may give correct readings when measuring voltages in low resistance
circuits but produce unreliable readings in high resistance circuits
❖ VM when connected across two points in a highly resistive circuit acts as a shunt for that
portion of the circuit. Due to this meter will give lower voltage drop than actually existed before
the meter was connected.
❖ This is k/a VM loading and mainly caused by low sensitivity instruments
● Electronic Circuits: Multi-range VM with sensitivities in range of 20 kohm/V to 50 kohm/V
● Power Circuits: Current is usually large. VM with low sensitivity is used (100 ohm/V)
Moving Iron Instruments
MI Instruments
● Principle: Magnetic effect of electric current

● The most common ammeters and voltmeters for laboratory use at power frequencies are the
moving iron instruments

● Can be used for ac measurement also

● Cheap as compared with any other type of a.c. instrument of same accuracy and ruggedness

● Two Types:
❖ Attraction type
❖ Repulsion type
Attraction Type MI Instruments
● Consists of a fixed coil and moving iron

● When the current flows through the coil, a magnetic

field is produced and the moving iron moves from the
weaker field outside the coil to the stronger field
inside it or the moving iron is attracted in.

● The controlling torque is provided by springs

● Damping is provided by air friction usually by a vane

moving in a sector shaped chamber
Repulsion type MI Instruments
● there are two vanes inside the coil one fixed
and other movable.

● These are magnetised when the current

flows through the coil and there is a force of
repulsion between the two vanes resulting in
the movement of the moving vane
● Whatever may be the direction of the current in the coil of the instrument, the iron vanes are so
magnetised that there is always a force of attraction in the attraction type and repulsion in the
repulsion type of instruments. Thus moving iron instruments are unpolarised instruments i.e.,
they are independent of the direction in which the current passes. Therefore, these instruments
can be used on both a.c. and d.c.
● The mathematical analysis for deflecting torque is based on law of conservation of energy.
eI dt = IL dI + I2 dL ……… (ii)
MI Instruments Applications
 ● MI Instruments can be built for a range upto 50 A.
MI Ammeter Hence shunts are not necessary, except for very
large currents.

● This equation implies that the ratio of two currents

depends upon frequency
● In order that the division of current through two
parallel branches - meter and the shunt - shall
remain the same for all frequencies,
 If

Then

● In order to make readings independent of the

frequency the time constants of meter and
shunt should be equal.

Multiplying Factor:
 ● The voltage range of MI instruments may be extended
MI Voltmeter by the use of a series non-inductive resistance
(multiplier) with the working-coil
● Total impedance of voltmeter circuit should remain
constant over a large frequency range.

● The resistance coils for use with voltmeter circuits

are usually wound on flat mica strips. This reduces
the area enclosed by the turns of wire and hence the
flux for a given current.

● The total inductance in the voltmeter is practically

confined to the working coil itself and because the
series resistance of the circuit is large, this is likely to
swamp the variations of inductive reactance of the
working coil with the change in frequency.
Voltage drop across-the meter for full scale deflection,

Total resistance of circuit = R+Rs and Total inductance of

circuit = L
Therefore, Total impedance of circuit:
Voltage Multiplying Power:

This equation shows that multiplying power will change

with change in frequency
Attraction type vs Repulsion type MI Instruments
● An attraction instrument will usually have a lower inductance than the corresponding repulsion
instrument,and voltmeters will therefore be accurate over a wider range of frequency and there
is a greater possibility of using shunts with ammeters.

● Repulsion instruments are more suitable for economical production in manufacture, and a nearly
uniform scale is more easily obtained and therefore, much more common than the attraction
type.
Sources of Error
● Common for both ac and dc
❖ Error due to ageing of springs
❖ Errors due to change in resistance of the coil because of the heating effect of electric current

● Errors specific to ac only

❖ Errors due to Eddy currents
❏ Can be compensated by winding the fixed coil with a thick multi-stranded wire
❖ Errors due to Hysteresis
❏ Can be compensated by replacing soft iron vane with a vane made up of Ni-Fe alloy and reducing
the surface area of vane
Advantages
● As the fixed coil is wound to the thick Copper wire MI type of ammeters can be designed to carry
currents up to 50 A without the use of shunts

● As the direction of magnetic field changes with the change in polarity of the ac parameter under
measurement, these instruments can be used for both ac and dc parameters

● As the instrument exhibits square law response, its angular deflection is directly in terms of rms
value of the ac parameter under measurement
Disadvantages

● Due to the presence of weak magnetic field due to the fixed coil these instruments are
affected by stray magnetic field.

● As deflection is proportional to the square of current these instruments will have

non-uniform scale

● As the compensation required for ac and dc is different, the MI type instruments will have
different calibrations for ac and dc parameters.
MI instrument calibrated on ac if used on dc will be overcompensated for errors and hence
is expected to give higher reading and vice versa.
(Calibration is the process of marking the scale of a new instrument by comparing it with a
pre calibrated scale)
Electrodynamometer
Instruments
EDM Instruments
● It can be used as a transfer instrument as their accuracy is very high

● Calibration of ac instrument: The transfer instrument is first calibrated on dc. The calibration is
then transferred to the a.c. instrument on alternating current, using operating conditions under
which the latter operates properly.

● It can be used as a.c. voltmeters and ammeters (power frequency range and lower part of the
audio frequency range), wattmeters, varmeters, power factor meters and frequency meters
● The fixed coil is divided into two sections to give a more
uniform field near the centre. The field is produced by a
fixed coil.

● The light moving coil is wound either as a self-sustaining coil

or else on a non-metallic former.

● Both fixed and moving coils are air-cored

● The deflecting torque is produced due to the interaction of

the fluxes of the fixed and the moving coils

● The controlling torque is provided by two control springs

● Air friction damping mechanism is used due to weak

magnetic field

● These instruments are enclosed in a casing of high

permeability alloy to provide shielding from the effect of
stray magnetic fields which occurs due to weak magnetic
field produced by fixed coils
● The PMMC instruments would have a torque in one
direction during one half of the cycle and an equal effect
in the opposite direction during the other half of the
cycle. If the frequency were very low, the pointer would
swing back and forth around the zero point. For high
frequencies the pointer does not go very far in either
direction but merely stays (vibrates slightly) around zero.

● If, however, we were to reverse the direction of the field

flux each time the current through the movable coil
reverses, the torque would be produced in the same
direction for both halves of the cycle. The field can be
made to reverse simultaneously with the current in the
movable coil if the field coil is connected in series with
the movable coil.
EDM Ammeters

● For ammeters of higher capacity, the moving coil is

connected in series with its swamping resistance across a
shunt together with fixed coils. Thus there are two separate
parallel branches for fixed and moving coils.
● In order that the ammeter may indicate correctly at all
frequencies, the currents in the fixed and moving coils
Above 200 mA must be in phase. This requires the time constant L/ R of
two branches to be equal.
EDM Voltmeters
Advantages

● Precision grade accuracy upto frequency of 10 kHz

● Commonly used as transfer type instruments

● As it exhibits square law response, its angular deflection is directly in terms of rms value of the ac
parameter under measurement
Disadvantages

● Due to smaller number of active flux interactions, lower value of deflecting torque is produced
resulting in lower torque to weight ratio and hence lower sensitivity

● Non- uniform scale

Q-Meter
Q-Meter
Q = 𝜔0L / R 𝜔0: Resonant Angular frequency

● Used for testing Radio Frequency Coils (RFC), inductors and capacitors

● Due to skin effect and eddy current losses, the effective resistance varies with frequency

● Hence Q-meter is used to measure the value of Q directly

● Accumeter: Instrument
● Consists of a variable frequency RF
oscillator which delivers current to a low
value shunt resistance Rsh

● Through Rsh, a small value of voltage E is

injected into the resonant circuit. This voltage
is measured by a thermocouple voltmeter

● Since the value of shunt resistance is very

low, it introduces almost no resistance into
the oscillatory circuit and therefore
represents a voltage source of magnitude E
with a very small internal resistance

● A calibrated standard variable capacitor C is

used for resonating the circuit

● The coil under test is connected to terminals

T1 and T2
● The oscillator is set to the desired frequency
and then the tuning capacitor is adjusted for
maximum value of Eo

● Under these conditions Q = Eo/ E and if the

voltage is kept constant, the voltmeter
connected across the capacitor may be
calibrated to read the value of Q directly

● This measured value of Q is commonly

regarded as the Q of the coil under test

● But the measured value of Q is the Q of

whole the circuit and not of the coil.

● There are errors caused on account of the

shunt resistance and also due to the
distributed capacitance of the circuit .
● Correction of shunt resistance

● This shows that the measured value of Q is smaller than the true value.
● If coils of high resistance (low Q coils) are being measured, the difference between the
two values may be negligible
● But when measurements are done on low resistance (high Q) coils, the error caused
on this account may be serious.
● Measurement of Inductance

● Measurement of Effective Resistance

● Measurement of Bandwidth

Q = 𝜔0 / (𝜔1 - 𝜔2)
● Measurement of Self Capacitance

● The self-capacitance is measured by making two measurements at different frequencies

● The capacitor is set to a high value, and the circuit is resonated by adjustment of the oscillator
frequency. Resonance is indicated by the circuit Q meter.
● Let the values of tuning capacitor be C1 and that of frequency be f1 under these conditions.
● Therefore,

● The frequency is now increased to twice its initial value and the circuit is resonated again this time
with the help of tuning capacitor.
● Let the value of tuning capacitor be C2 and that of frequency be f2 under these conditions.

If f2 = nf1,
Cd = (C1 - n2C2) / (n2-1)
● Measurement of Distributed or Self Capacitance

● Measurement of Capacitance

● A dummy coil is connected across terminal T1 and T2. The circuit is resonated by varying the
value of the tuning capacitor. Let this value be C1.
● The capacitor under test CT, is now connected across terminals T3 and T4. This puts the test
capacitor in parallel with tuning capacitor.
● The circuit is resonated again by varying the value of tuning capacitor. Let this value be C2.
● Therefore value of capacitance under test is:
CT =C1-C2
Rectifier Based Instruments
Electronic Instruments
● Uses amplifiers, rectifiers and other auxiliary circuits to produce current proportional to the
quantity being measured and this current is measured by PMMC instrument

● This is analog mode operation of electronic instruments and hence known as analog
instruments

● When electronic instruments use digital read-out systems, they are known as digital electronic
instruments

● Examples of analog electronic instruments:

❖ Vacuum Tube Voltmeters (VTVMs): Average reading diode VTVM, Peak reading diode VTVM
❖ Difference Amplifier type electronic VM
Advantages of Electronic VM

● Detection of low level signals: Amplifiers help in detecting low level signals and avoid
loading errors

● Low power consumption: Using the amplifying properties of transistors, the power
required for operating the deflecting element of PMMC instrument can be supplied from the
auxiliary source

● High Frequency range: The response of electronic VMs can be made practically
independent of frequency within extremely wide limits. Some electronic VMs allow the
measurement of voltage from dc to frequencies of the order of hundred of MHz
Rectifier
Half Wave Rectifier (HWR)
Centre-Tapped Full Wave Rectifier (CT-FWR)
Bridge Rectifier
Rectifier Type Instruments
HWR Circuit
FWR Circuit
Extension of Range of Rectifier Instrument as VM
Loading Effect
Since, Sac < Sdc
Hence Loading effect of ac rectifier VM > Loading effect of dc rectifier VM
Advantages
 Sources of Errors and Disadvantages

4. Sensitivity of meter decreases by use of rectifier elements

Frequency and Time
Measurement
Digital Frequency Meter

● Convert the input signal (whose frequency is to be measured) into a train of pulses

● One pulse represents one cycle of the signal

● Count the number of pulses in a fixed interval of time using an electronic counter

● This count gives the frequency of the signal

Basic Circuit of a Digital Frequency Meter
● Amplifier: If input signal is weak then it may be passed through amplifier before being
applied to Schmitt Trigger

● Schmitt Trigger: Converts sinusoidal signal into a train of pulses where each pulse
represents one cycle of the signal

● Start-stop gate:
❖ When this gate is opened (i.e. start), the input pulses pass through this gates and are
fed to the electronic counter.
❖ When this gate is closed (i.e stop), the input of pulses to counter ceases and it stops
counting
● Counter: Counts the number of pulses passed through it in time interval between start
and stop. It can count pulses of frequency range of few hundred MHz

f: frequency of unknown signal

N: Number of counts displayed by counter
t: Time interval between start and stop

Frequency of unknown signal, f=N/t

Period Measurement
T = 1/f

● The measurement of period can be done directly by interchanging the two

input signals to the main gate

● At low frequency range, frequency mode of operation gives low accuracy. For
good accuracy, period is measured to know unknown frequency
Advantages of Digital Instruments
● Free from errors

● Zero operational power consumption

● No errors due to loading effect

● Can be designed to have high resolution

● Have high accuracy

● These instruments are internally calibrated due to the presence of a standard stabilized
source

● High speed of operation because of the absence of moving mechanical parts

Eg of Digital VM: Ramp type DVM, Dual Slope DVM

CRO
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)
CRT
● Electron Gun Assembly
❖ Produces a sharply focused beam of electrons which are accelerated to high velocity

❖ This focused beam of electrons strikes the fluorescent screen with sufficient energy to cause a
luminous spot on the screen

❖ Cathode:
❏ Electrons are emitted from the heated cathode
❏ A layer of barium and strontium oxide is deposited on the end of the cathode to obtain high
emission of electrons at moderate temperatures

❖ Control Grid:
❏ Usually a nickel cylinder, with a centrally located hole coaxial with the CRT axis
❏ Electrons pass through a small hole in the control grid
❏ Intensity of electron beam depends upon the number of electrons emitted from the cathode
❏ Grid with its negative bias controls the number of electrons emitted from the cathode and
hence the intensity is controlled by the grid
❏ The potential difference across the control grid can be varied by the intensity control on the
front panel of the CRO
❖ Pre-accelerating and Accelerating anodes
❏ The electrons are accelerated by the high positive potential which is applied to these anodes
❏ Cylindrical with small openings located in the centre of each electrode, coaxial with the tube
axis

❖ Focusing Anodes
❏ Focuses the electron beam
❏ Cylindrical with small openings located in the centre of each electrode, coaxial with the tube
axis
❏ Uses electrostatic method of focusing while TV uses electromagnetic focusing
❏ Potential difference across the electrostatic focussing mechanism can be varied by focusing
control on the front panel of the CRT

● Electrostatic deflection plates

❖ Voltages applied to these plates deflect the beam
❖ Voltages applied to vertical deflection plates move the beam vertically up and down
❖ Voltages applied to the horizontal deflection plates move the beam horizontally from one side
to another
❖ These two movements are independent of each other and thus the beam may be positioned
anywhere on the screen.
● Aquadag
❖ The bombarding electrons, striking the screen, release secondary emission electrons.
❖ The internal walls of CRT are coated with an aqueous solution of graphite, known as Aquadag,
to absorb secondary electrons

● If signals of frequencies higher than than 10 MHz are to be displayed, Post Deflection
Acceleration (PDA) tubes are used to increase the brightness of the trace
Electrostatic Deflection Ea: Accelerating Voltage, V
Ed: Deflecting Voltage, V
ld: Length of deflecting plates, m
d: Distance between the plates, m
D: Deflection of electron beam on the screen
in Y direction, m
L: Distance between screen and the centre
of deflecting plates, m

The deflection D on the screen is:

 ● Deflection Sensitivity: deflection
on the screen per unit deflection
voltage

● Deflection factor: reciprocal of

deflection sensitivity

● Sensitivity can be increased by decreasing the value of accelerating voltage Ea. But the luminosity of
the spot is decreased with decrease in Ea
● A high accelerating voltage (Ea) requires a high deflection potential (Ed) for a given deflection.
● Highly accelerated beam is more difficult to deflect and is sometimes called hard beam
Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO)
CRO
● Attenuator:
❖ The voltage at the input terminal of the vertical amplifier which causes the beam to be
deflected off the CRT screen, is quite low in amplitude
❖ So it is used to reduce the amplitude of vertical input signal before applying it to the vertical
amplifier so that high amplitude signal may be displayed

● Vertical Amplifier
❖ Determines the sensitivity and bandwidth of CRO
❖ The sensitivity of oscilloscope is directly proportional to gain of the vertical amplifier that
determines the smallest signal it can reproduce on screen
❖ It uses FET which provides high input impedance for CRO

● Delay Line
❖ Synchronize the signals of horizontal and vertical plates to appear at the same instant
CRO
● Time-base generator:
❖ CRO generally display waveform that varies as a function of time
❖ To reproduce the waveform accurately, the beam must have a constant horizontal velocity
❖ Since beam velocity is function of deflecting voltage, the deflecting voltage must increase
linearly with time

● Horizontal Amplifier:
❖ Provide only a faithful reproduction of the sweep signal which has relatively high amplitude
and slow rise time
Measurement of Phase and Frequency
(Lissajous Patterns)
● When sinusoidal voltages are applied to horizontal and vertical plates, the patterns
formed are known as Lissajous patterns
 Measurement of Phase
Equal frequency voltages and zero phase shift Equal frequency voltages with phase shift of 90 degrees
Equal frequency voltages with phase shift of ∅
Reverse its
direction
Measurement of Frequency
For Closed Patterns
For Open Patterns
Digital Storage Oscilloscope
(DSO)
Advantages of DSO

● Generation of trigger after an elapsed time or after a count of number of pulses

● Digital display of parameters

● Integral digital voltmeter and counter

DSO
● The input signal is digitised and stored in memory in digital form where it can be analysed.

● To digitise the signal sample and hold circuit and analog to digital convertor are used

● To view the signal on screen it is reconstructed in analog form using digital to analog convertor
and dot joining
Digitization
● It is done by using Sampling theorem

● Take sample of the input waveform at periodic intervals

● Nyquist Criteria: Sampling frequency = 2 (Input signal Frequency)

● Due to high sampling rate, an ADC with fast conversion rate is required

● Generally flash ADC is used but it is expensive and its resolution decreases at sampling rate is
increased.
● This problem of low resolution can be solved by using analog store
● The input signal is sampled and stored in analog register which can be read out at a much
slower rate to the ADC.
● The results of ADC are stored in digital store
● Disadvantage:
❖ DSO cannot accept data during digitising period, so it has a blind spot
Waveform Reconstruction
● Interpolation is used to reconstruct the waveform
❖ Linear Interpolation
❖ Sinusoidal Interpolation
Transducers
Transducers
● Aka pick up

● It is a device that transforms one form of energy to another

● Generally it transforms non-electrical energy (eg: mechanical force, heat, intensity of light,
humidity, liquid level, and so on) into electrical energy as it is easier to handle

● Example:
❖ Photoconductor converts light intensity into change of resistance
❖ Thermocouple converts heat energy into electrical voltage
Advantages of Electrical Transducers

● Electrical O/P can be easily used, transmitted and processed

● Electrical amplification and attenuation is easy

● The mass-inertia effects are minimized due to movement of electrons which have negligible mass

● Effects of friction are minimized

● Very small power consumed

Classification of Transducers
● Primary and Secondary Transducers
Primary Transducers:
❖ Actually senses the parameter under measurement
❖ Example: Bourdon Tube, Bellow, Capsule, Diaphragm
Secondary Transducers:
❖ Converts the O/P of primary transducer into analogous electrical signal
❖ Example: LVDT, Strain gauge

● Active and Passive Transducers

Active Transducers
❖ Aka Self generating type as develop their own current or voltage O/P
❖ Do not require auxiliary power source to produce their O/P
❖ Energy required for production of O/P signal is obtained from the physical quantity being measured
❖ Example: Peizoelectric crystals, Thermocouple, Photovoltaic cells, Quartz crystals
Passive Transducers
❖ Aka Externally powered transducers
❖ Derive power for transduction from an external power source and part of power from physical
quantity under measurement
❖ Example: LVDT, Strain gauge, Thermistors
● On the basis of transduction form used
❖ Depends on how they convert input quantity into electrical signal
❖ Example: Resistive: Potentiometer, Thermistor, etc
Capacitive: Variable Capacitance pressure gauge, Dielectric gauge
Inductive: Differential transformer, Eddy current gauge

● Analog and Digital Transducer

Analog Transducer: O/P signal in analog form
Digital Transducer: O/P signal in form of pulses

● Transducer and Inverse Transducer

Transducer: Non-electrical quantity into electrical quantity
Inverse Transducer: Electrical quantity into non-electrical quantity. Example: Piezoelectric crystal
Measurement of Displacement

● Potentiometer or Variable R Transducer

● Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) or Variable L Transducer

● Variable C Transducer
Resistive Transducer
● Preferable as both direct and alternating currents and voltages are suitable for resistance
measurements

● Potentiometer works on basis of change in value of resistance with change in length of conductor.
Hence can be used for measurement of translational or rotatory displacement.

● Strain gauge work on basis that resistance of conductor changes when strained. Hence can be used
for measurement of displacement, force and pressure.
Potentiometer
● Principle of Operation: Change in resistance due
to displacement

● Can measure both translational and rotary

displacements

● Consists of resistive element provided with a

sliding contact, known as wiper

● Aka potentiometer dividers

Potentiometer
Potentiometer
● Under ideal conditions,
❖ The O/P voltage varies linearly with the displacement
❖ The sensitivity is constant and the O/P is faithfully reproduced and has a linear relationship
with the input
Advantages

● Inexpensive

● Simple to operate

● Measure large amplitudes of displacement

● Electrical efficiency is very high

Disadvantages

● Require large force to move their sliding contacts

● Sliding contacts can be contaminated, can wear out, become misaligned and generate noise
which limits the life of transducer
Measurement of
Displacement
Measurement of Displacement

● Potentiometer or Variable R Transducer

● Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) or Variable L Transducer

● Variable C Transducer
Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT)
● Principle of Operation: Change in inductance due to displacement
 ● Core at Null position: E0 = 0
● Core moved to left of null position: E0 = Es1-Es2
and in phase with primary winding
● Core moved to right of null position: E0 = Es1-Es2
and is 180 degree out of phase with primary
winding
● Amount of voltage change is proportional to the
amount of movement of the core which can be
used to determine the displacement

● The effect of residual flux can be minimized by

replacing the core with nickel iron alloy.
Advantages of LVDT

● High Range: 1.25 mm to 250 mm

● Friction and electrical isolation

● Immunity from external effects

● High sensitivity

● Low hysteresis

● Low power consumption: Mostly consume less than 1 W

Disadvantages of LVDT
● Relatively large displacements required for appreciable differential output

● Sensitive to stray magnetic fields but shielding is possible

● Temperature effects: use manganin wire instead of copper wire

Applications of LVDT
● All applications where displacement ranging from fraction of a mm to few cm is to be measured

● As a secondary transducer it can measure force, weight, pressure, etc.

Capacitive Transducers
● Principle: Change in capacitance due to
displacement
● Operate on principle of the capacitance of a
parallel plate capacitor

● Commonly used for measurement of linear displacement using following effects:

❖ Change in capacitance due to change in overlapping area of plates
❖ Change in capacitance due to change in distance between the two plates
 Transducers using change in area of plates
● Measurement of moderate to large displacement due
to linear relationship between capacitance and area

● Measurement of linear displacements

ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm.
Transducers using change in distance between plates
● Measurement of extremely small displacement due to
non-linear relationship between capacitance and area
● Sensitivity high
● Linear over a small range of displacement
Advantages
● Require extremely small forces to operate

● Extremely sensitive

● High input impedance and hence minimum loading effects

● Require small power to operate

Disadvantages
● Metallic parts must be insulated from each other to reduce stray capacitances

● High output impedance due to small capacitance value which leads to loading effects

● Cable connecting transducer to measuring point is also a source of error

Applications
● For both linear and angular displacements

● For measurement of force, pressure, humidity in gases, volume, density, liquid level, weight, etc
Measurement of Pressure
and Temperature
Measurement of Pressure
● Using Passive Transducers
❖ Elastic elements acting as primary transducers sense pressure and convert into displacement.
Eg: Diaphragm, Bourdon Tube, Bellow, Capsule, etc
❖ Secondary transducers convert displacement into analogous electrical signal.
Eg:Variable L Transducer, Variable R Transducer, Variable C Transducer, etc

● Using Active Transducers

❖ Eg: Piezoelectric Transducer
Bourdon Tube Bellow Capsule
Pressure Measurement using Bellow and LVDT
Piezoelectric Transducer
● Due to mechanical deformation, charge will
be generated and it appears as a voltage
across electrodes
Voltage, E = Q / C Volts

● Magnitude and polarity of induced surface

charges are proportional to the magnitude
and direction of applied force
Measurement of Temperature

● Resistance Thermometer

● Thermistor

● Thermocouples
Resistance Thermometer
● Passive Transducer
● Resistance of metal increases with the temperature, i.e. exhibit positive temperature coefficient of
resistance
● It is a wire made up of pure metal and encompassed in a glass bead and subjected to temperature
under measurement
● This will change the resistance of wire which can be detected by a suitable resistance detector like
Wheatstone bridge
Thermistors
● Thermal Resistors
● Passive Transducers
● Generally composed of semiconductor materials
● Both PTC and NTC thermistors are available but mostly are NTC
● Highly sensitive device. Useful for precision temperature measurement control and compensation
● Exhibits highly non-linear characteristic of resistance vs temperature

T < 75 degree C T > 75 degree C

Thermocouples
● Active Transducers
● Whenever a junction of two dissimilar metals is placed at a temperature differential, an emf is
induced across its output terminals
● Types:
❖ Base metal thermocouples
❖ Rare Earth thermocouples
Measurement of Strain
Strain Gauge
● Resistance of a material changes due to the change in its dimensions

● Can be used for measurement of strain, force, pressure, weight, torque, etc
Wheatstone Bridges

● Null type Wheatstone Bridge

● Deflection type Wheatstone Bridge

Null Type Wheatstone Bridge

R4

R3

● For measurement of static strain only

Deflection type Wheatstone Bridge

● For measurement of dynamic strain

Temperature Compensation

● Errors due to:

❖ Strain gauge has PTC
❖ Divergent thermal coefficients of expansion of the strain gauge and the base on which the gauge is
fixed

● Dummy gauge can be used for the compensation

Load Cells
● Primary Transducer: Elastic member
● Secondary Transducer: Strain gauge

● Used to measure loads applied to deform or deflect the member

● When this combination is used for weighing it is called load cell

Optoelectronic
Measurements
Photometric/Radiometric Measurement Systems

● Sunlight ● Photo-emissive Cells

● Light
● Incandescent Sources ❖ Vacuum type cells
Suppression
● Fluorescent Sources ❖ Gas filled type cells
● Light Attenuation
● LEDs
● Photometric
● LASERs ● Semiconductor
filtering
photoelectric Transducer
● Radiometric
❖ Photoconductive Cell
filters
❖ Photodiodes
❖ Phototransistors
❖ Photovoltaic cells
❖ Photothyristors

● Thermal Sensors
Semiconductor Photoelectric Transducers
Photoconductive Cells/Light Dependent Resistor
(LDR)/Photo Resistors
● Electric field applied to a semiconductor will produce electric current due to the motion of charge
carriers

● In addition to the applied voltage,if light is incident on it the resistance of SC will decrease and
current will increase

● Cadmium Sulphide with a band gap of 2.42 eV

● Cadmium Selenide with a band gap of 1.74 eV
● Chemically sinter the required powder into tablets
● Encapsulate them in envelope of glass or plastic
● Electrodes are deposited on the tablet surface to provide ohmic contact
● Sensitivity

A small change in light intensity

causes large change in
resistance

● Relationship between irradiance and resistance

 To operate
Applications relay coil

● Can be used to operate relay coil as they carry

moderate currents
● Can be designed to operate on low voltages and thus
can be used in industrial applications, eg: burglar alarm
circuit
● As a component of another circuit to control a
parameter of that circuit. Eg: to alter bias of a transistor
or change the gain of the amplifier to automatically
compensate the brightness of TV receivers

Drawback
● Resistance changes with temperature change for a
particular light intensity
Photodiodes

● Operated in reverse biased mode

● When light is incident on the junction the current rises almost

in direct proportion to light intensity

● When no light is illuminated small reverse saturation current

flows which is known as dark current. It doubles for every 10
degree C rise increase in temperature for silicon

● PIN Photodiode
❖ Intrinsic layer is introduced between P and N ends which
increases the depletion width and reduces the capacitance.
Due to this time constant reduces
Advantages
● Better frequency response
● Linearity (For this bias voltage should be kept constant)
● Lower noise

Applications
● Due to fast response time used as cine film soundtrack readers
● In switching circuits
● As detectors of modulated light

Disadvantages
● Small active area
● Rapid increase in dark current with increase in temperature
● Bias voltage requirement
Phototransistor
● Light falls at BE junction which produces current and
this current is amplified by transistor action which
make it more sensitive as compared to the
photodiode

● Dark current increases exponentially with rise in

temperature

● If temperature is high, dark current and light currents

are indistinguishable
Advantages
● Low power consumption
● Small size
● Low voltage operation
● Long life

Applications
● Linear light meter
● Operation of relay
● Modulated light
● In Shaft Encoders
● Switching devices for digital circuits
Photovoltaic Cell/Solar Cell

● When light of a suitable wavelength is incident on

these cells, energy from the photon is transferred
to an electron of the semiconducting material,
causing it to jump to a higher energy state known
as the conduction band.
● In their excited state in the conduction band,
these electrons are free to move through the
material, and it is this motion of the electron that
creates an electric current in the cell.
Advantages
● Generate voltage without any form of bias
● Extremely fast response
● Can be used as an energy convertor directly

Applications
● Multiple unit Silicon voltaic devices may be used for sensing light as a means of reading punched
cards in data processing industry
● Gold-doped Germanium cells with controlled spectral responses act as photovoltaic devices in IR
region of spectrum and may be used as Infrared detectors
Thermal Sensors
● Measure change in temperature resulting from absorption of radiant energy
● Used for relatively high intensity output usually wavelength > 1000 nm

❖ Thermopile
❖ Bolometer
❖ Pyroelectric detector
Thermopile
● Number of thermocouples are connected in series
● The cold junctions are placed on the silicon substrate to provide
effective heat sink
● Hot junction is usually blackened due to which it has better energy
absorption which raises the temperature according to the intensity of
the incident energy
● Spectral sensitivity of sensor depends on characteristics of black
absorber
● A thermopile with N thermocouples will output a voltage N times
bigger than the one produced by a single thermocouple, increasing
the sensitivity of the transducer
● Its response is slow
● It is sensitive to changes in ambient temperature. Generally do not
respond to absolute temperature, but generate an output voltage
proportional to a temperature difference or temperature gradient.
● Used in radiant pyrometers and as IR detectors
Bolometer
● Used for detecting and measuring the heat and radiation of
Microwave energy or RF.
● It uses the temperature sensitive resistive element whose
resistance changes with the temperature.
● The circuit of the bolometer is in the form of the bridge whose
one arm contains the temperature sensitive resistor.
● The temperature sensitive resistor is placed in the field of a
microwave energy whose power is to be measured.
● The temperature sensitive resistor absorbs the measurand
power because of which the heat is generated in it. This heat
changes the resistance of an element. The bridge circuit
measures the change in resistance.
Pyroelectric detector
● It consists of a crystal whose electric polarization is dependent upon the temperature
● The change in polarization results in current variation in an external circuit.
● They have a fast response
● Used to measure pulsed power of lasers
 Measurement of Liquid
Level, Flow, Thickness,
Acceleration, Humidity and
Hall Effect Transducer
Measurement of Liquid Level

❖ Resistive Method
● Mercury is used as conductor
● Number of contact rods are placed at various liquid levels.
● As head h increases, rising level of mercury above datum
shorts successive resistors R and increases value of h
directly
Inductive Method
❖ First Method
● For measurement of level of conductive liquids employing
variable permeability method
● Two coils L1 and L2 wound around a steel tube containing
liquid are connected in series through resistance
● Initially the coil inductances are equal
● First coil acts as search coil set at predetermined level. First
coil changes inductance rapidly as conducting liquid moves
into plane of coil
● Relationship between output voltage and liquid level is
non-linear
Inductive Method

❖ Second Method
● Loading of secondary winding of transformer
● It is applicable to good electrical conducting
material like mercury.
● Coil is wound round one core of two limbed
transformer. The mercury column surrounding Iron
core forms secondary transformer
● Resistance of secondary winding depends on
height of mercury column and hence power
consumption monitored on primary side indicated
liquid level
Variable Dielectric Constant Method
● Insulated metal electrode is fixed near and parallel to metal wall of
tank
● If liquid is non-conductive, electrode and tank wall form plates of
parallel plate capacitor with liquid in between them acting as
dielectric
● If liquid is conductive, rod and liquid form plates of capacitor and
insulation between them is dielectric
● Capacitance is proportional height of dielectric between plates
● Where tank is not of metal, two parallel insulated rods (electrodes)
kept at fixed distance aparts are used.
● Two rods acts as two plates of parallel plate capacitor and liquid
level is proportional to the capacitance
Using Ultrasonic Method
Measurement of Flow
● Two methods:
❖ Direct method (electrical methods): eg- Turbine motors, EM flow meters, Hot wire anemometer
❖ Indirect method (mechanical methods): eg- Orifice plate, Venturi tube, Rotameter

● Principle of Indirect method: Place an obstruction in path of fluid causing change in fluid pressure
which is dependent upon rate of flow.
Turbine Meters
● As liquid or gas passes through the turbine housing, it causes
the freely suspended turbine blades to rotate.
● The velocity of the turbine rotor is directly proportional to the
velocity of the fluid passing through the flow meter.
● The external pickoff mounted on the body of the flow meter,
senses each rotor blade passing, causing the sensor to generate
a digital electrical signal whose frequency is directly proportional
to the volume of the liquid or gas.
● Advantages:
❖ Since output is in electrical digital signal form, it can be lend to
line or radio telemetry for recording or control at distant point
❖ Pulse output may be summed on a counter that gives totalized
flow without loss of accuracy
● Limitations
❖ Errors caused by frictional torques and wear & corrosion of
bearings
❖ Turbine subject to variation in performance caused by
characteristics of liquid, friction, bearing, etc
Electromagnetic Flow Meters

● It is used mainly for measurement of slurries, sludge and

electrically conducting liquid
● A pair of insulated electrodes buried in opposite sides of
non-conducting, non-magnetic pipe carrying liquid
● Pipe is surrounded by an electromagnet which produces
magnetic field
● This arrangement is analogous to conductor moving across
magnetic field
● Under Faraday's law of induction, moving conductive liquids
inside of a magnetic field generates an electromotive force
(voltage) in which the pipe inner diameter, magnetic field
strength, and average flow velocity are all proportional
● Hence voltage induced across electrodes, E = Blv Volts
● If metallic pipe is used then output voltage gets short
circuited hence non-conducting pipe is used
Advantages
● May be manufactured to measure flow in pipes of any size
● No obstruction to flow that may cause pressure drops
● Output voltage is linearly related to input flow rate
● Unaffected by changes in liquid characteristics like viscosity, pressure and temperature

Limitations
● Operating costs are high
● Liquid conductivity should be greater than 10 micro-ohm/m
Hot Wire Anemometers

● It works on the principle of transfer of heat from high temperature

to low temperature.
● When fluid flows over heated surface, heat is transferred from
surface which reduces the temperature
● The hot wire when placed in the stream of the fluid, the heat is
transferred from wire to fluid, and hence the temperature of wire
reduces.
● Temperature of wire is determined by measuring its resistance
with Wheatstone bridge
● Current through wire is adjusted such that temperature remains
constant and that current is measured. This way bridge remains
balanced
● Current is measured by finding voltage drop across standard
resistor connected in series with heating wire
Using Thermistors

● Two thermistors are placed in two arms of bridge circuit

● First thermistor is sealed in cavity in brass block and second
thermistor is mounted in small pipe
● Air flows through pipe due to which temperature of second
thermistor reduces because of heat conduction.
● This cools the thermistor and resistance increases which
unbalance the bridge and current flows through meter
● When sensing thermistor placed in free air it becomes
anemometer which measure air velocity
Capacitive Method
Measurement of Acceleration
Piezoelectric Accelerometers
Measurement of Humidity
● Humidity: Measure of water vapour present in a gas

❖ Absolute Humidity: Mass of water vapour present per unit volume

❖ Relative Humidity: Ratio of water vapour pressure actually present to water vapour pressure
required for saturation at given temperature

● Hygrometers are used to measure humidity value directly

Resistive Hygrometer
● In some hygroscopic salt, conductivity changes with humidity
● Mixture of Lithium chloride and carbon acts as conducting film which
is put on insulating substrate between metal electrodes
● Resistance of conducting film changes when exposed to variation in
humidity
● More the relative humidity, more lithium chloride absorbs moisture and
resistance decreases
● The change in resistance can be measured by applying ac to
Wheatstone bridge. The current flow measure resistance and hence
relative humidity

Capacitive Hygrometer
● In some hygroscopic materials, dielectric constant changes with change in humidity
● The change in capacitance is measured by including it as frequency determining element in
oscillator
Hall Effect Transducer

● Applications
❖ Magnetic to Electric Transducer
❖ Displacement Measurement
❖ Current Measurement
❖ Power Measurement