AC Bridges and Their Applications

1.

Maxwell Bridge
The Maxwell bridge, whose schematic diagram is shown in Fig. 1, measures an

unknown inductance in terms of a known capacitance.

FIGURE 1

Maxwell bridge for inductance measurements

Rearranging the general equation for bridge balance, we obtain

Z x Z 2 Z 3Y1 .........................................................................................................(1)

where Y1 is the admittance of arm 1. Reference to Fig. 1 shows that

Z 2 R2 ; Z 3 R3 ; and Y1

1
j C 1
R1

Substitution of these values in Eq. (1) gives

1

Z x R x jL x R2 R3 jC1 ......................................................................(2)
R

Separation of the real and imaginary terms yields

Rx

and

R 2 R3
..............................................................................................................(3)
R1

L x R2 R3 C1 ...........................................................................................................(4)

where the resistances are expressed in ohms, inductance in henrys, and capacitance in farads.
The Maxwell bridge is limited to the measurement of medium-Q coils (1<Q<10) HighQ coils are measured on the Hay bridge

The usual procedure for balancing the Maxwell bridge is by first adjusting R3 for
inductive balance and then adjusting R1 for resistive balance. Returning to the R3 adjustment,
we find that the resistive balance is being disturbed and moves to a new value. This process is
repeated and gives slow convergence to final balance. For medium-Q coils, the resistance
effect is not pronounced, and balance is reached after a few adjustments.
2.

Hay Bridge
The Hay bridge of Fig. 2 differs from the Maxwell bridge by having the resistor R1 in

series with standard capacitor C1 instead of in parallel. It is immediately apparent that for
large phase angles, R1 should have a very low value. The Hay circuit is therefore more
convenient for measuring high-Q coils.

FIGURE 2

Hay bridge for inductance measurements

The balance equations are derived by substituting the values of the impedances of the
bridge arms into the general equation for bridge balance. For circuits of Fig. 2 we find that

j
R1
R x jL x R2 R3 ............................................................................(5)
C1

which expands to
R1 R x

Lx
jR x

jL x R1 R 2 R3
C1 C 1

Separating the real and imaginary terms, we obtain

R1 R x

and

Lx
R 2 R3 ................................................................................................(6)
C1

Rx
L x R1 ........................................................................................................(7)
C1

Both Eq. (6) and Eq. (7) contains Lx and Rx , and we must solve these equations
simultaneously. This yields

Rx
Lx

2 C12 R1 R2 R3
..............................................................................................(8)
1 2 C12 R12
R 2 R 3 C1
1 2 C12 R12

.................................................................................................(9)

These expressions for the unknown inductance and resistance both contain the angular
velocity and it therefore appears that the frequency of the voltage source must be known
accurately. That this is not true when a high-Q coil is being measured follows from the
following considerations : Remembering that the sum of the opposite sets of sets of phase
angles must be equal, we find that the inductive phase angle must be equal to the capacitive
phase angle, since the resistive angles are zero. Figure 3 shows that the tangent of the
inductive phase angle equals
tan L

X L L x

Q ...................................................................................(10)
R
Rx

and that of the capacitive phase angle is

tan C

XC
1

.....................................................................................(11)
R
C1 R1

When the two phase angles are equal, their tangents are also equal and we can write
tan L tan C or Q

1
.......................................................................(12)
C1 R1

After substituting Eq. (12) in the expression for Lx, Eq. (9) reduces to
Lx

R 2 R 3 C1
1 1
Q

..............................................................................................(13)

For value of Q greater than ten, the term (1/Q)2 will be smaller than

1
and can be
100

neglected. Equation (9) therefore reduces the expression derived for the Maxwell bridge,
L x R2 R3 C ...................................................................................................(14)

The Hay bridge is suited for the measurement of high-Q inductors, especially for those
inductors having a Q greater than ten.

FIGURE 3

3.

Impedance triangles illustrate inductive and capacitive phase angles

Schering Bridge
The Schering bridge, one of the most important ac bridges, is used extensively for the

measurement of capacitors. Although the Schering bridge is used for capacitance

measurements in a general sense, it is particularly useful for measuring insulating properties,
i.e., for phase angles very nearly 900. The basic circuit arrangement is shown in Fig. 4.

FIGURE 4

Schering bridge for the measurement of capacitance

The balance equations are derived in the usual manner, and by substituting the
corresponding impedance and admittance values in the general equation, we obtain
Z x Z 2 Z 3Y1 ...........................................................................................................(15a)

or

Rx

j 1

j
jC1 ....................................................................(15b)
R2
C x

C 3 R1

and expanding
Rx

RC
jR 2
j
2 1
............................................................................(15c)
C x
C3
C 3 R1

Equating the real terms and the imaginary terms, we find that
R x R2

C1
........................................................................................................(16)
C3

C x C3

R1
.......................................................................................................(17)
R2

As can be seen from the circuit diagram of Fig. 4, the two variables chosen for the balance
adjustment are capacitor C1 and resistor R2. There seems to be nothing unusual about the
balance equations or the choice of variable components, but consider for a moment how the
quality of a capacitor is defined.
The Power Factor (PF) of a series RC combination is defined as the cosine of the phase
angle of the circuit. For phase angles very close to 900, the reactance is almost equal to the
impedance and we can approximate the power factor to
PF

Rx
C x R x ...........................................................................................(18)
Xx

The dissipation factor of a series RC circuit is defined as the cotangent of the phase angle and
therefore, by definition, the dissipation factor
D

Rx
C x R x ..............................................................................................(19)
Xx

The dissipation factor tells us something about the quality of a capacitor; ie., how close the
phase angle of the capacitor is to the ideal value of 900. By substituting the value of Cx in Eq.
(17) and of Rx in Eq. (16) into the expression for the dissipation factor, we obtain
D R1C1 .........................................................................................................(20)

If the resistor R1 in the Schering bridge of Fig. 4 has a fixed value, the dial of capacitor C1
may be calibrated directly in dissipation factor D. This is the usual practice in a Schering
bridge. Notice that the term appears in the expression for dissipation factor [Eq. (20)]. This
means, of course, that the calibration of the C1 dial holds for only one particular frequency at
which the dial is calibrated. A different frequency can be used, provided that a correction is
made by multiplying the C1 dial reading by the ratio of the two frequencies.

4.

Unbalance Conditions
It sometimes happens that an ac bridge cannot be balanced at all simply because one of

the stated balance conditions cannot be met. Consider, for example, the circuit of Fig. 5,

where Z1 and Z4 are inductive elements (positive phase angles), Z2 is a pure capacitance (-900
phase angle), and Z3 is a variable resistance (zero phase angle). The resistance of R3 needed to
obtain bridge balance can be determined by applying the first balance condition (magnitudes)
and we find that
R3

Z 1 Z 4 200 600

300
Z2
400

Hence adjusting R3 to a value of 300 will satisfy the first condition.

Considering the second balance condition (phase angles) yields the following situation :

1 4 60 0 30 0 90 0
2 3 90 0 0 0 90 0
Obviously, 1 4 2 3 , and the second condition is not satisfied. In this case, bridge
balance cannot be obtained.

FIGURE 5

5.

An ac bridge that cannot be balanced

Wien Bridge
The Wien bridge is presented here not only for its use as an ac bridge to measure

frequency, but also for its application in various other useful circuits. We find, for example, a
Wien bridge in the harmonic distortion analyzer, where it is used as a notch filter,
discriminating against one specific frequency. The Wien bridge also finds application in audio
and HF oscillator as the frequency-determining element. In this chapter, the Wien bridge is
discussed in its basic form, designed to measure frequency.
The Wien bridge has a series RC combination in one arm and a parallel RC combination
in the adjoining arm (see FIGURE 6). The impedance of arm 1 is Z 1 R1 j

C1 . The

admittance of arm 3 is Y3 1 R jC 3 . Using the basic equation for bridge balance and
3
substituting the appropriate values, we obtain

j 1
R4
R2 R1
jC 3 ........................................................................(21)
C1 R3

Expanding this expression, we get

R2

RC
R1 R 4
jR 4
jC 3 R1 R 4
4 3 .......................................................(22)
R3
C 1 R 3
C1

Equating the real terms, we obtain

R2

R1 R 4 R 4 C 3

.............................................................................................(23)
R3
C1

which reduces to
R 2 R1 C 3

.....................................................................................................(24)
R 4 R 3 C1

Equating the imaginary terms, we obtain

C 3 R1 R 4

R4
.............................................................................................(25)
C 1 R 3

where 2f ,
and solving for f, we get

1
2 C1C 3 R1 R3

...............................................................................................(26)

Notice that the two conditions for bridge balance now result in an expression determining the
required resistance ratio, R2/R4, and another expression determining the frequency of the
applied voltage. In other words, if we satisfy Eq. (24) and also excite the bridge with a
frequency described by Eq. (26), the bridge will be in balance.
In most Wien bridge circuit, the components are chosen such that R1=R3 and C1=C3.
This reduces Eq. (24) to R2/R4=2 and Eq. (26) to
f

1
.............................................................................................................(27)
2RC

which is the general expression for the frequency of the Wien bridge. In a practical bridge,
capacitors C1 and C3 are fixed capacitors, and resistors R1 and R3 are variable resistors
controlled by a common shaft.

Because of its sensitivity, the Wien bridge may be difficult to balance (unless the
waveform of the applied voltage is purely sinusoidal). Since the bridge is not balanced for any
harmonics present in the applied voltage, these harmonics will sometimes produce an output
voltage masking the true balance point.

FIGURE 6

6.

Frequency measurement with the Wien bridge

Wagner Ground Connection

The discussion so far has assumed that the four bridge arms consist of simple lumped

impedances which do not interact in any way. In practice, stray capacitances exist between the
various bridge elements and ground, and also between the bridge arms themselves. These
stray capacitances shunt the bridge arms and cause the measurement errors, particularly at the
hogher frequencies or when small capacitors or large inductors are measured. One way to
control stray capacitances is by shielding the arms and connecting the shields to ground. This
does not eliminate the capacitances but at least makes them constant in value, and they can
therefore be compensated.
One of the most widely used methods for eliminating some of the effects of stray
capacitance in a bridge circuit is the Wagner ground connection. This circuit eliminates the
troublesome capacitance which exists between the detector terminals and ground. Figure 7
shows the circuit of capacitance bridge, where C1 and C2 represent these stray capacitances.

FIGURE 7

7.

The Wagner groundconnection eliminates the effect of stray capacitances

ecross the detector

Universal Impedance Bridge

One of the most useful and versatile laboratory bridges is the universal impedance

bridge. Several of the bridge configurations discussed so far are combined in a single
instrument capable of measuring both dc and ac resistance, the inductance and storage factor
Q of an inductor, and the capacitance and dissipation factor Q of a capacitor. A representative
example of a universal impedance bridge is given in Fig. 8 which clearly shows the
arrangement of the various front panel controls. Figure 9 shows the various bridge
configuration used in this impedance bridge.

FIGURE 8

Universal impedance bridge (courtesy John Fluke Manufacturing Company)

FIGURE 9

Bridge configurations of universal impedance bridge of Fig. 8.

10