DEE2313

Instrumentation &
Measurements

Nor Hadzfizah Mohd Radi

Faculty of Electrical & Electronics
Engineering

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 About this course

o 3 credit hours
o Class meets 3hrs per week
Mon (9:00am – 10:50am)
Thu (10:00am – 10:50am)
o Laboratory
Fri (3:00pm – 4:50pm)

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 Course Synopsis

This course introduces the principles of

instrumentation and measurements. It
explores the working principles of DC &
AC meters, oscilloscope and signal
generators as well as the operation and
application of various sensors and
transducers

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 Objectives
o Introduce the fundamentals of
measurements and instrumentation
o Explain the working principle of DC & AC
meters and measurements
o Discuss the operation of oscilloscope and
signal generator
o Describe the working principle of various
sensors and transducers
o Explain the methodology of signal
conditioning and data acquisition

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 Outcomes
o Able to
Explain the fundamentals of measurements
and instrumentation
Explain the working principle of DC & AC
meters
Discuss the operation of oscilloscope and
signal generator
Describe the working principle of various
sensors and transducers

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 Syllabus - Topics

• Part 1
– Measurements • Part 2
– DC Measurement – Instrumentation
– AC Measurement – Signal conditioning
– Oscilloscope – Signal transmission
– Signal generator – Sensors

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 References

o Northrop R.B., Introduction to

Instrumentation & Measurement, 2nd Ed., CRC
Press, 2005
o Morris A.S., Measurement & Instrumentation
Principle, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2001
o Kalsi H.S., Electronic Instrumentation, 2nd Ed.,
Tata McGraw-Hill, 2004

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 Assessments

• Notes
• Distribution – Quiz – series of
– Final Exam (40%) short/pop
quizzes
– Test 1 & 2 (30%)
– Laboratory –
– Quiz (10%)
preliminary work
– Laboratory (20%) & experiment
report

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 Chapter 1

Introduction to
Instrumentation and
Measurements
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 Measurement?

• Process of comparing an unknown

quantity with an accepted standard
quantity
• Estimation of the magnitude of some
attribute of an object relative to a unit
of measurement

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Principle of Measurement

• Measurement standards
• Measurement errors
• Accuracy vs. precision
• Measurement Uncertainty

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Measurement Standards

• Based on definition of the seven

fundamental SI units of measurement
• Categorized into four:
– International standard (SI)
– Primary standards
– Secondary (transfer) standards
– Working standards

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 Base Units of Measurement

Quantity Symbol Unit Symbol

Length l meter m
Mass m kilogram kg
Time t second s
Temperature T kelvin o
K
Electric current I ampere A
Amount of Substance mole mol
Luminous intensity candela cd

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 Electrical Units

Quantity Symbol Unit Unit Abbre.

Voltage (emf) V volt V
Charge Q coulomb C
Resistance R Ohm Ω
Capacitance C farad F
Inductance L henry H

• Above electrical units are derived from

standard unit of measure for electric current

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 Measurement Errors

• Deviation of a reading from the

expected value of the measured
variable
• Extent of measurement error must be
stated with the measurement
• Error in measurement is expressed as
absolute error or percentage of error

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 Error Calculation
Absolute error (e)

The difference Percentage of error

between the
expected (Yn) and Yn - Xn
Percent error = (100)
the measured (Xn) Yn
value of a variable

e = Yn - Xn

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Source of Error in Measurement

• Divided into four categories:

– Gross Errors
– Systematic Errors
– Random Errors
– Limiting Errors

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 Gross Errors

• Generally the fault of the person using

the measuring instrument such as
incorrect reading, incorrect recording,
incorrect use etc
• Avoidable and must be identified and
minimized if not eliminated

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 Systematic Errors

• Probable causes:
– Instrument error
– Environmental effect
– Observational errors
• Causes shall be identified and
corrected

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 Random Errors

o Generally an accumulation of large

numbers of small inherent causes
o Shall be statistically analyzed and
reduced
o Prompt for better accuracy and
precise instrument

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 Limiting Errors

o Manufacturing limitation to the

accuracy of an instrument
o Stated as percentage of full-scale
deflection
o Increases as measured value less
than full-scale deflection

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 Limiting Errors (cont’d)
• Example:
A 300-V voltmeter is specified to be accurate within
±2% at full scale. Calculate the limiting error when
the instrument is used to measure a 120-V source.
The magnitude of the limiting error is
2/100 x 300 = 6V
Therefore, the limiting error at 120 V is
6/120 x 100 = 5%
(reading < full scale, limiting error increased)

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 Accuracy vs. Precision

• Accuracy • Precision
– The degree of exactness – A measure of consistency,
of a measurement or repeatability of
compared to the measurements
expected value
Precision = 1 - Xn - Xn
Yn - Xn Xn
A=1-
Yn Xn = the value of the nth measurement
X n = the average of the set of n
measurements

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 Example

The expected value of the voltage across a resistor

is 5.0V. However, measurement yields a value of
4.9V. Calculate:

a) absolute error (0.1)

b)% error (2%)
c) relative accuracy (0.98)
d) % accuracy (98%)

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 Measurement Uncertainty

• Probability that a reading falls within

the interval that contain true value
• Confidence level for margin of errors
• Statistically determined
• Reflect instrument imprecision

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Statistical Analysis of Error in
Measurement

oMean value/ Arithmetic Mean

oDeviation
oAverage deviation (D)
oStandard deviation (S)

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Arithmetic mean/average

x1  x 2  x 3    x n n
xi
x 
n i 1 n

n = total number of piece of data

xn = the value of the nth measurement
xi = set of number

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 Deviation

• The difference between each piece of

data and arithmetic mean
d n xn  x
* Note

d tot d1  d 2    d n 0

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 Average deviation (D)

• precision of a measuring instrument

- high D low precision
- low D  high precision

d1  d 2    d n
D
n

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 Standard deviation (S)
• The degree to which the value vary about the
average value
n n

 xi  x   i
2 2
d
S i 1
 i 1
for n  30
n 1 n 1

 i
d 2

S i 1
for n 30
n

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 Example
For the following data compute
(a) The arithmetic mean (49.9)
(b) The deviation of each value (0.2,-0.2,-0.3,0.3)
(c) The algebraic sum of the deviation (0)
(d) The average deviation (0.25)
(e) The standard deviation (0.294)
x1= 50.1
x2= 49.7
x3= 49.6
x4= 50.2

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 Calibration

• Process of establishing the relation

between the indication of a measuring
instrument and the value of a
measurement standard
• Traceability to International Standard
• Calibration improve accuracy

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THE END

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