Outline

Introduction to Magnet
Electronic Measurement &
D’Arsonval Meter Movement in DC
Ammeter & Voltmeter
Instrumentations
Voltmeter/Ammeter Loading Effect

Ohmmeters

Multimeters
Direct-Current Meters
Galvanometer

By Dr. Yaseer A. Durrani

Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Qassim University, Buraidah, Saudi Arabia

Magnetic Field Magnetic Field

A permanent magnet has a magnetic field surrounding it

Consists of lines of force that radiate from the north pole to the south
pole and back to the north pole through the magnetic material

Illustration of right hand rule

Basic magnetic circuit

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Magnet Applications Electromagnetic Devices

Magnetic disk/tape read/write head

Magneto-optical disk

Transformer

Solenoid

Relay

Speaker

Operation of a magnetic switch

Alarm System

Basic Solenoid

Read/Write on magnetic field Magneto Optical Disk

5 single-pole-double-throw relay Speakers 6

Magnet Application Introduction

In 1820 Hans Oersted discovered DC measurements using
relationship between current & magnestism

In 1881 Jacques d’Arsonval patented moving coil galvanometer

Basic moving-coil system generally called d’Arsonval meter movement
or permanent magnet moving-coil (PMMC) meter movement

Moving-coil mechanism is used for reduce friction

PMMC deflection meter, sometimes called D`Arsonval meter

N S

basic d’Arsonval meter movement

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Operation of D’Arsonval Meter Movement Basic Analog DC Meter

D'Arsonval meter movement is a current-sensing device commonly
Three forces in PMMC meter to influence the movement of pointer
used in DC ammeters, voltmeters & ohmmeters
• Deflection Force: A force generated by action between permanent

When a current flows through meter, a magnetic torque causes meter magnet & current passing the coil (FD = 2⋅BINL)
coil to rotate, in fact, magnetic field produced by current opposes the
field of permanent magnet & causes rotation of core – B: Magnetic flux density (Tesla), NI: N-turn coil current (Amperes), L:

Only in one direction magnitude of current indicates by scale position Length of coil that perpendicular to B (Meter)
of pointer – TD = FD⋅r (deflection torque)

Amount of rotation is proportional to amount of current flows in coil & TD = (2⋅BINL)⋅r = BIN⋅(L⋅2r) = BIND
more current flows stronger is opposing field, larger deflection where r is radius, D is diameter of coil

Meter requires low current (~50uA) for a full scale deflection, thus
consumes very low power (25-200 uW) & accuracy from 2-5% • Controlling Force: A force created by a spring against deflection force
– Damping force: A force used to smooth movement of pointer with
fast speed

• Formula of Controlling Force: TC = k⋅θ (controlling torque)

– Condition of the stable state:
– When TD=TC, then pointer stops movement. Hence, BIND = k⋅θ
When electromagnetic field interacts with permanent – Deflection angle θ is proportional to magnitude of current
magnetic field, forces are exerted on rotating coil, causing
to move clockwise and thus deflecting the pointer
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D’Arsonval Meter Movement used in DC Ammeter Multi-range DC Ammeter

PMMC galvanometer constitutes the basic movement of DC ammeter
Multiple-Range Ammeter: Shunt & series modes

Coil winding of a basic movement is small & light, so it can carry only – Shunt mode: A specified resistance shunted to PMMC meter for
very small currents every range

A low value shunt resistor (Rsh) is used in DC ammeter to measure – Series mode: A series of resistance shunted to PMMC meter for all
large current ranges. This mode is also called universal shunt or Ayrton shunt

To increase the range of current that can be measure with basic meter
movement. This is done by low resistance in parallel with meter
movement resistance Rm

Low internal resistance
+ I
Maximum pointer deflection is produced by very
Ish Im
+ small current
Rsh
Rm
For large current, instrument must be modified
_ by connecting very low Rs
Low value D’Arsonval
Movement
_ resistance
Rm = Internal resistance of movement I sh R sh = I m Rm
Rsh = Shunt resistance
I sh = I − I m Multi-range Ammeter Multi-range Ammeter
Ish = Shunt current using Shunt Mode using Series Mode
Im = Full scale deflection current of movement I m Rm
I = Full scale current of ammeter + shunt R sh =
(i.e. total current) I − Im
Basic DC Ammeter
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DC Ammeter: Ayrton Shunt DC Ammeter: Ayrton Shunt

An Ayrton shunt used with an ammeter consists of several series-
Aryton shunt eliminates the possibility of having
connected resistors all connected in parallel with PMMC instrument meter in circuit without a shunt
Rc

Range change is effected by switch between resistor junctions
Reduce cost

Advantage: It eliminates the possibility of meter movement being in
Position of switch +
3
circuit without any shunt resistance Rm
– Ra parallel with series combination of Rb, Rc + 2 Rb _
& meter movement. Current through shunt is 1 D’Arsonv
more than current through meter movement, al Meter
RTotal = Ra + Rb + Rc Rm
thereby protecting meter movement &
Ra
reducing its sensitivity
– Ra &Rb in parallel with series combination of _
Rc & meter movement. Current through Aryton Shunt
meter is more than current through Rm
– Ra, Rb & Rc in parallel with meter. Maximum
RTotal=(Rc + Rb ) (Rm + Ra ) Ra = Rsh − (Rb − Rc ) current flows through meter movement & very
Rb = (Rb + Rc ) − Rc little through shunt. This will increase
sensitivity
I m (Rsh + Rm )
Rc =
I3
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D’Arsonval Meter Movement used in DC Voltmeter Multi-range Voltmeter

Multiplier is used to increase range of meter & limit current
DC voltmeter can be converted into multi-range voltmeter by connecting

To find Rs value, we need Sensitivity (S) of meter & it is found by number of resistors (multipliers) in series with meter movement
reciprocal of full-scale deflection current (Ifsd)

Sensitivity is based on Ifsd should results whenever a certain amount of
resistance
Rs
is present in meter circuit for each voltage applied
+
Im
Multiplier 1 V = I m ( Rs + Rm )
Rm
S = V − I m Rm V
V I fsd Rs = = − Rm
Im Im
_
V
Rs = − Rm
Im = Full scale deflection current of movement (Ifsd) Im
Rm = Internal resistance of movement
Rs = Multiplier resistance
V = Full range voltage of instrument

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Examples Voltmeter Loading Effects

When voltmeter measure voltage across component, voltage is lesser
whenever, voltmeter is connected

Decrease maybe negligible or considerable depends upon sensitivity.
This effect is called Voltage Loading & resulting error is Loading Error

Voltmeter loading can be reduced by using a high sensitivity voltmeter

DC Voltmeter Multi range Ammeter

Shunt Mode

Multi-range Voltmeter Multi range Ammeter

Series Mode
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Voltmeter Loading Effects Ammeter Loading Effects

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Ammeter Insertion Effect Ohmmeter

Inserting Ammeter in a circuit always increases the resistance of circuit
An instrument to determine resistance is Ohmmeter
and, thus always reduces the current in circuit. The expected current:
It consists of batter, meter movement calibrated to read ohms and resistor
E
Ro is current-limiting resistance & adjustable for zeroing & for correcting aging
Ie = of battery
R1
Includes meter internal resister Rm

Placing the meter in series with R1 causes the current to reduce to a
Rx is unknown resistance to be measured Simple Ohmmeter

value equal to:

E
Full-scale deflection in current, Im=V/RO
Im =
When Rx is connected across ohmmeter terminal, current is: I=V/(Ro+Rx)
R1 + R m
Deflection factor: D=I/Im=Ro/(Ro+Rx)

If half-scale deflection occurs D=1/2, Rx=Ro
Im R1  I 
= Insertion _ Error = 1 − m  X 100
Accuracy of ohmmeter under following conditions:
Ie R1 + R m  Ie 
– Battery aging
– Accuracy of PMMC meter
– Measurement technique

Ohmmeter Scale

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Series Type Ohmmeter Shunt-Type Ohmmeter

D’Arsonval meter movement with battery & resistor to construct Ohmmeter
Particularly suited to the measurement of low-value resistors

Certain disadvantage : when the battery is old, the full-scale current drops and
When R x = ∞ the full-scale meter current will be I = E
the meter does not read "0" when A and B are shorted fsd
R1 + Rm

The design can be approach by recognizing that, if introducing Rh reduces the
meter current to 1
The meter current for any value of Rx , expressed as a fraction of the
I
2
fsd full-scale current, is Rx
s=
Rx + R p
I fsd Rm Rh
R1 = Rh −
At half-scale reading of the meter R = R1 Rm
h
E R1 + Rm

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Multimeter

General purpose test instrument that
necessary circuitry to measure AC or DC
Voltage, current or resistance

Sometimes it is called VOM (Volt-Ohm-
Milliammeter)

It is useful for basic fault finding & field service
work or a which can measure to a very high
degree of accuracy
Simpson Model 260 multimeter
Calibration of DC instruments

Calibration means to compare instrument against standard instrument
to determine its accuracy
Potentiometer method of
calibrating DC Ammeter
Multimeter
DC voltmeter section of
Simpson Model 260 multimeter
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Galvanometer

A device that responds to the application of an electrical current

Before Digital Multimeters, galvanometers such as moving coil meter,
were the main way of measuring electrical quantities

A coil is suspended in a permanent magnet field & when a current is
passed through that coil it generates its own magnetic field. These
fields then react with each other & causing a mechanical force to exist
between them

With aid of spring & pivots, coil rotates with respect to permanent
magnet & pointer attached to coil moves
Potentiometer method of
calibrating DC Voltmeter
Early galvanometers often included lens &
mirror to shine a spot or vertical beam of light
onto a scale, to magnify the mirror movement
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Galvanometer Galvanometer Sensitivity

It is PMMC instrument designed to be sensitive to extremely low current
Current Sensitivity
levels – Ratio of deflection of galvanometer to current producing this

Simplest galvanometer is a very sensitive instrument with type of center- deflection d mm
SI =
zero scale
Voltage Sensitivity I µA

Most sensitive moving-coil galvanometer use taut-band suspension, & – Ratio of galvanometer deflection to voltage producing this
controlling torque is generated by twist in suspension ribbon deflection d mm
SV =

Megohm Sensitivity V mV

With moving-coil weight reduced to lowest possible minimum for greatest
sensitivity, weight of pointer can create a problem. The solution is by – Number of megohms required in series with the (CDRX shunted)
galvanometer to produce one scale division deflection when 1 V is
mounting a small mirror on moving coil instead of a pointer
applied to circuit d mm

Mirror reflects a beam of light on to a scale. This makes light-beam SR = = SI

Ballistic sensitivity I µA
galvanometers sensitive to much lower current levels than pointer
– Ratio of maximum deflection, dm, of a galvanometer to the quantity
instruments Q of electric charge in a single pulse which produces this deflection

Current/Voltage sensitivity galvanometer
d m mm

Galvanometers are often employed to detect zero current or voltage in a SQ =
Q µC
circuit rather than to measure the actual level of current or voltage

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