' .

'
: ' ..
. .
3
DC AMMETER
3.1
The P?HMC galvanometer constitutes the basic movement of a de ammeter.
Since the coil winding of a basic movement is small and light, it can carry only
very smaLL curtt.. 'lltS. When large currents are to be measured, it is necessary to
bypass a major part of the current through a resistance called a shunt, as shown
io Fig. 3. I. The resistance of shunt can be calculated using conventional circuit
analysis.
Referring. to Fig. 3. I
R,. = h' temal resistance of the movement.
1,
1
,"' shunt current
I.
l, "'' full scale cleflcctitm current of the movement
l = ful i scale current of the ammeter+ shunt (i.e. total current)
. -
.
+
.___ ________ _L __________ _J
fig. 3.1 Basic de Ammeter
O'Arsonval
Movement
Since the shtmt resistance is in parallel with the meter movement, the voltage
drop across the shunt and movement must be the same.
Therefore Vsh. = V,,
lsi: Rsh =- 1
111
R.,..
But / s1
1
= 1- !,,
hence R = ' "' R.,
sh 1--f
m
For each required value of full scale meter current, we can determine the value
of !;hunt resistance.
I I
Copyr ghted mateml
Ammeters 65
Example 3J (a) A I mA meter movement wilft m1 imemal resistance of
100 Q is ro be converted into a 0 _ I 00 mA. Calculate the value of shunt
resistance required.
Solution GivenR,= IOOQ,l, = 1 rnA,] = lOOmA
R = l,Rm =1mAxi00!2 _ IOOn1Afl_I00!2=l.OIQ
sh I - I, 99 rnA 99 rnA 99
The shunt resistance used with a basic movement may consist of a length
of constant temperature resistance wire within the case of the instrument.
Alternatively, there may be an external (manganin or constantan) shunt having
very low resistance.
The general requirements of a shunt are as follows.
I. The temperature coefficients of the shunt and instrument should be low
and nearly identical.
2. The resistance of the shunt should not vary with time.
3. It should carry the current without excessive temperature rise.
4. It should have a low thermal emf.
Manganin is usually used as a shunt for de instruments, since it gives a low
value of thermal emf with copper.
Constantan is a useful material for ac circuits, since it's comparatively high
thermal emf, being unidirectional , is ineffective on the these circuits.
Shunt for low current are enclosed in the meter casing, while for currents
above 200 A, they are mounted separately.
Example 3J (b) A 100 pA meter movement with an internal resisUJnce of
500 Q is to be used in a 0- 100 mA Ammeter. Find the value oftlte required
shunt.
Solution The shunt can also be determined by considering current I to be ' n'
times larger than Jm. This is called a multiplying factor and relates the total
current and meter current.
Therefore I = 11 I m
Therefore the equation for
R
_ l , R'" I., R., l,R,
- sh -
l-Im nl,. -1,. l,..(n-1) (n-1)
Given:
Step I:
Step 2:
1,=
I 100 rnA
n= - =
1,
R _ R, = 500Q
sir - (11 - I) 1000 - I
1000
500 =0.50Q
999
Copyr rtoo r1a or a
66 Elearonic Instrumentation
MULTI RANGE AMMETERS
The current range of the de ammeter may
be further extended by a number of shunts, +
selected by a range switch. Such a meter
is called a multirange ammeter, shown in
Fig. 3.2.
The circuit has four shunts R
1
, R
2
, R
3
and R
4
, which can be placed in parallel with
the movement to give four different current
ranges. Switch S is a multiposition switch,
(having low contact resistance and high
s
3.2
+
t Rm
D'Arsonval
Movement
Fig. 3.2 Multi range ammeter
current carrying capacity, since its contacts arc in series with low resistance
shunts). Make before break type switch is used for range changing. This switch
protects the meter movement from being damaged without a shunt during range
changing.
If we use an ordinary switch for range changing, the meter does not have any
shunt in parallel while the range is being changed, and hence full current passes
through the meter movement, damaging the movement. Hence a make before
break type switch is used. The switch is so designed that when the switch position
is changed, it makes contact with the next tenninal (range) before breaking
contact with the previous terminal. Therefore the meter movement is never left
unprotected. Multirange ammeters are used for ranges up to 50 A. When using a
multirange ammeter, first use the highest current range, then decrease the range
until good upscale reading is obtained. The resi stance used for the various ranges
arc of very high precision values, hence the cost of the meter increases.
Example 3.2 A 1 mA meter movement having an intemal resistance of
100 n is ~ ~ S e d to convert into a multirange ammeter having the range 0- 10
mA, 0-20 mA and 0-50 mA. Determine the value of the shunt resistance
required.
Solution Given 1., = I rnA and R., = 100 Q
Case I: For the range 0 - I 0 rnA
a R 1m Rm
IVeO shl = 1 - 1
I rnA X 100 = 100 = ll.ll Q
m
IOmA-ImA 9
Case 2: For the range 0 - 20 mA
1 R lmAxlOO
Given R. , = '" m =
'h- 1 - 1 20 mA - I rnA
"'
Case 3: For the range 0 - 50 rnA
100 =5.2Q
19
GivenR =lmRm= ImAxiOO =100=2.041Q
shJ 1 - 1 50 rnA - I rnA 49
m
Copynghled mater al
Ammeters 67
Example 3.3 Design a multirange ammeter with range of0- 7 A, 5 A and
10 A employing individual shunt in eachA D'Arsonval movement with an
internal resistance of 500 Q and a full scale deflection of 10 mA is available.
Solution
Given /m = 10 rnA and Rm = 500 0
Case 1 : For the range 0 - 1 A, i.e, 1000 rnA
Given R = 1"' R,, _ 10 mAx 500 = 5000 =
5
.0S O
shl 1 - 1 1000 rnA - I 0 rnA 990
'"
Case 2 : For the range 0 - SA, i.e, 5000 rnA
G' R _lmRm_ IOmAxSOO _5000_
10020
IVen sh
2
- 1 - /m -SOOOmA-IOmA -4990-.
Case 3 : For the range 0 - I OA, i.e, I 0000 rnA
GivenR, = l.,R.,-= IOmAxSOO = 5000
hJ I-!., 10000 rnA -10 rnA 99990
0.0500
Hence the values of shunt resistances are 5.05 0 , 1.002 0 and 0.050 0.
THE ARYTON SHUNT OR UNIVERSAL SHUNT 3.3
The Aryton shunt eliminates the possibility of having the meter in the circuit
without a shunt. This advantage is gained at the price of slightly higher overall
resistance. Figure 3.3 shows a circuit of an
Aryton shunt ammeter. ln this circuit, when
the switch is in position " 1 ", resistance Ra
is in parallel with the series combination
3
of Rb, Rc and the meter movement. Hence + s 1
2
Rb ~ _ Rm
the current through the shunt is more than ,, : :,;
the current through the meter movement, LL-
1
---+
thereby protecting the mete r movement
and reducing its sensitivity. If the switch
is connected to position "2", resi stance
D'Arsonval
Movement
R
0
and Rb are together in parallel with the
series combination of Rc and the meter
movement. Now the current through the
Fig. 3.3 Aryton shunt
meter is more than the current through the shunt resistance.
lf the switch is connected to position "3" R
0
, Rb and Rc are together in parallel
with the meter. Hence maximum current flows through the meter movement and
very little through the shunt. This increases the sensitivity.
opy g f'-j mate I
68 Electronic Instrumentation
Example 3.4 (a) Design an Aryton shunt (Fig. 3.4) to provide an ammeter
with a current range of 0 - 1 mA, 10 mA, 50 mA and 100 mA. A D 'Arsonval
movement with an internal resistance of I 00 Q and full scale current of 50 p.A
is used.
+ 1mA
SOmA
1 OOmA 10mA
-
R.
R3
t
R2
R1
+
-
D'Arsonval
Movement
Fig. 3,4(a) For Example 3.4(a)
Solution Given Rm = 100 n, 1., =50 JlA.
For 0 - I rnA range
ForO-lOrnA
ForO- SOmA
ForO-IOOrnA
99950 JlA (R
1
) =50 JlA ( 100 + R
2
+ R
3
+ R
4
)
But R
1
+ R
2
+ R
3
= 5.26 - R
4
Substituting in Eq. 3.2, we have
9950 !lA (5.26- R
4
) = 50 JlA (I 00 + R
4
)
9950 !lAx 5.26 - 99SO JlA x R
4
= SOOO jl.A + SO JlA R
4
(9950 JlA x S.26 - 5000 J.!.A) = 9950 JlA R
4
+ SO JlA R
4
(3.1)
(3.2)
(3.4)
Therefore
9950 JlA X S.26 - SOOO JlA
R
4
= lOrnA
47377 JlA
10
rnA = 4.737 n
Copy rted mate
R
4
=4.74 Q
In Eq. 3.1, substituting for R
4
we get
R
1
+ R
2
+ R
3
= 5.26 - 4.74 = 0.52
Substituting in Eq. 3.3, we have
49950 J.1.A (0.52 - R
3
) = 50 JlA (R
3
+ 4. 74 + 1 00)
49950 JlA X 0.52- 49950 JlA X R
3
Ammeters 69
= 50 J.I.A X R
3
+ 50 J.I.A X 4. 74 + 50 J.I.A X I 00
49950 JlA x 0.52- 50 JlA x 4.74 = 49950 J.I.A X R
3
+50 JlA X R
3
+ 5000 J.I.A
(25974- 237) JlA = 50 mAX R
3
+ 5000 JlA
But
Therefore.
From Eq. 3.4
25737 JlA = 50 rnA x R
3
+ 5000 J.I.A
R. = 25737 J.lA- 5000 )lA = 20737 ).lA
o SOmA SOmA
R
3
= 0.4147 = 0.42 Q
R I + R2 = 0.52 - RJ
R
1
+ R
2
= 0.52-0.4147 = 0.10526
(3.5)
99950 J.1.A (R
1
) = 50 JlA x (100 + R
2
+ R3 + R
4
)
But R
2
+ R
3
+ R
4
= 5.26- R
1
(from Eq. 3.1)
Substituting in Eq. 3.4
99950 JlA x R
1
= 50 JlAX (100 + 516 - R
1
)
99950 JlA x R
1
= 5000 JlA +(50 JlA x 5.26) - (R
1
x 50 JlA)
99950 JlA X R I + 50 JlA X R I = 5000 JlA + 50 JlA X 5.26
(99950 JlA +50 JlA) R
1
= 5000 J.1A + 263 J.1A
100 rnA x R
1
= 5263 JlA
5263 J.LA
R1 = LOO mA = 0.05263
Therefore R
1
= 0.05263 Q
From Eq. 3.5, we have
R
2
= 0.10526 - R
1
= 0.10526 - 0.05263 = 0.05263 Q
Hence the value of shunts are
R
1
= 0.05263 Q ;R
2
= 0.05263 Q
R
3
= 0.4147U; R
4
= 4.74Q
Copyrghted Mater al
70 Electronic Instrumentation
Example 3.4 (b) Calculate the value _of the shunt resistors for the circuit
shown below.
Rm= 1kn
r----{ ;f }----.,
1A
10mA
Fig. 3.4(b) For Example 3.4(b)
Solution The total shunt resistance Rsh is determined by
R = Rm where n = I II,.
sh (n- I) ..
Given l m = 100 )lA and R,. = I 000 Q
Step I: For I 0 rnA range:
n = !_ = I 0 mA I 00
lm 100J.1A
Step 2: When the meter is set on the I 00 rnA range, the resistance R, and Rc
provides the shunt.
The shunt can be found from the equation
R. =(R +R )=lm(Rm+R.,h)=100J.1A(IO. I +1000) = l.OIQ
slrz b c l 100 nlA
Step 3: The resistor which provides the shunt resistance on the lA range can be
found from the equation
Step 4: But Rb + Rc = 1.01 Q
100 J.lA (10. 1 + 1000) = 0.101 Q
IOOOmA
R, = 1.01 -Rc = 1.01-0.101 Q = 0.909 Q
Step 5: Resistor R
0
is found by
Ra = Rs, - (R, + Rc) = 10.1 - (0.909 + .101) Q
= 10.1- 1.01 Q
Copynghted mater al
Ammeters 71
=9.09!1
Hence Ra = 9.09 Q, Rb= 0.909 Q and Rc= 0.101 Q
REQUIREMENTS OF A SHUNT 3.4-
The type of material that should be used to join the shunts shouldl have two main
properties.
1. Minimum Thermo Dielectric Voltage Drop
Soldering of joint should not cause a voltage drop.
2. Solderability
Resistance of different sizes and values must be soldered with minimum change
in value.
The following precautions should be observed when using an ammeter for
measurement.
I. Never connect an ammeter across a source of emf. Because of its low
resistance it would draw a high current and destroy the movement.
Always connect an ammeter in series with a load capable of limiting the
current.
2. Observe the correct polarity. Reverse polarity causes the meter to deflect
against the mechanical stopper, which may damage the pointer.
3. When using a multirange meter, first use the highest current range, then
decrease the current range until substantial deflection is obtained. To
increase the accuracy use the range that will give a reading as near full
scale as possible.
EXTEND! NG OF AMMETER RANGES 3.5
'
The range of an ammeter can be extended to measure high current values by
using external shunts connected to the basic meter movement (usually the lowest
current range), as given in Fig. 3.5.
Meter Set
to
Lowest
Current
Range
External
Shunt
Test
Leads
Fig. 3.5 Extending of ammeters
Note that the range of the basic meter movement cannot be lowered. (For ex-
ample, if a I 00 flA movement with I 00 scale division is used to measure I ~ A
the meter will deflect by only one division. Hence ranges lower than the basic
range are not practically possible.)
Copynghled mater al