sg (> A Mensurement 3 between the with the logic detector (PD) ator in which ‘ow pulses that ody state, elf 0, away from and fag, L, antl wane 8 Basic Electrical Measurements 81 Introduction Electrical measurements are defined in this chapter as measurement of the traditional electrical parameters of voltage, current, electric field strength, magnetic fields, resis- tance, capacitance, inductance, the ac steady state parameters of impedance and admittance, power, frequency and 8.2 DC Voltage Measurements DC voltage measurements can be made over an enormous range, from nanovolts to thousands of kilovolts. Tae practical limit to low voltage measurement is noise, while the practical limits to high voltage measurements involve circuit loading and insulation. OF course, the specialized voltmeters that allow measurement of nanovolt potentials are generally unsuitable for high voltage measurements. All voltmeters, regardless of their specialization, can be represented by an equivalent circuit consisting of a paralle! impedance by which the voltmeter loads the circuit under test (CUT), and an ‘ideal’, infinite impedance voltmeter, Thus, we see that every voltmeter takes some power from the CUT. An ideal voltmetar would take zero power and not lond the CUT. The CUT itself, by Thévonin’s theorem, can be represented by an open circuit voltage and equivalent series impedance. Obviously, connecting a practical voltmeter to the Thevenin ‘equivalent circwit will result in current flowing in the circuit, and the (indicated) voltage at the voltmeter’ terminals being less than the open circuit voltage by the amount of the voltage drop across the Thevenin resistor. This situation is illustrated in Figure 8.1. In ‘mathematical terms, assuming resistors rather than impedances, the voltmeter reads: Vi = VocRm/(Ru/Rra) 6.1) Under normal circumstances, Rig2> Rru. Voltmeter loading of the CUT is related to a parameter called the voltmeter sensitivity,» 1 is defined as the full scele voltage of the meter divided by the power dissipated in the meter at full scale voltege, Ves: n= Ves/Prs = (62) 501Se nue f eee eer ilageainceeat i Ce fe lrod ergs lil eee 0? 104 Bao He er a FIGURE a2 Graph illustrating the role of thermal noise frm the Thevenin source resistor in limiting the resolution of low [evel de voltage measurements. 10 Hz and 0.1 Hz noise bandwidths are considered, here Is is the current drawn by the voltmeter when at its full scale voltage. Typical Analog de voltmeters, such as found in multimeters, have 1) values of 20,000 82/V, which ‘means that the voltmeter draws 50)sA from the CUT at full scale voltage. ‘The equivalent resistance of any de voltmeter can always be found by multiplying Vic by 1. Some Clectronic voltmeters have a fixed input resistance, regardless of scale, This resistance is typically 10 or TTB, but some anoder eletonie voltmeters have Ky MRE wa. Figure 82 illustrates the role of Johnson (thermal) noise from Rr in limiting the resolution of de voltage measurements. Recall from Section 3.23.1 that the Johnson noise power density spectrum from a resistor is given by Sif)=4#TR MS V/Hz. The effective Hz bandwidth of a voltmeter may be considered to be the reciprocal of the time required to take a reading of an applied step of voltage. ‘This response time genérally ranges 0.1-10s, hence the effective bandwidth ranges 10-0.1Hz. If we assume that the de open circuit voltage, Voc, must be greater than the Johnson noise from Rriz, Ru>> Rrw and Rriy is the sole source of noise in the circuit, then we can write: Voc = V4kTRrB RMS V 3) This function is plotted for B=0.1 and 10Hz in Figure 8.2. Note that dc voltages below the lines are unresolvable because of noise. 8.2.1 Electromechanical DC Voltmeters ‘There are many types of de voltmeters, some in fact, are effective as power line frequency ac voltmeters as well. In this section, we examine the designs of some de voltmeters, both analoy, vvoltmet. voltmeters 8211 DADO. ‘These voltmeters,, common design | meter meter move! transducer, Curve uniform magnetic conductor on eac generated by. s spring, or in sony ‘magnetically pro. pointer then stop: ‘The force per u given by the ve FIGURE 33 [A Face view of the pivoted rectangt section (AA) troup bearings, B=basesrement volimeter ion of low ‘Typical 4, which, uuivalent 1 Some ‘sistance large as ting the on noise effective required \ ranges ter than > circuit, 63) 2» below ‘equency ers, both Basic Electrical Measurements ‘analog and digital. Included are D’Arsonval meters, dynamometer meters, capacitor voltmeters, electrometer voltmeters, chopper type nanovoltmeters, and thermocouple voltmeters. f 8.2.1.1 D’Arsonval DC Voltmeters ‘These voltmeters, also known as permanent magnet moving coil voltmeters, are the most ‘common design of electromechanical de voltmeter. A typical D’Arsonval microam- meter meter movement, illustrated in Figure 83, is basically a current-to-angular position f- transducer. Current flowing through the tums of the rectangular coil suspended in the uniform magnetic field in the air gap generates an orthogonal component of force on each ' 503, F conductor on each side (but not the top or bottom) of the coil. The magnetic field is k j generated by a strong permanent magnet. The resultant torque acts against a helical spring, or in sme meters, a flat torsion spring, used to suspend the coil, When the ‘magnetically produced torque equals the spring torque in the steady state, the meter pointer then stops moving, The force per unit length of a current carrying conductor in a uniform magnetic field is given by the vector equation: FicuRe 8.3 ‘A Face view ofthe innards of a D’Arsonval meter movement, Note: Wwoted rectangulse col, SP AF = (dl x B) N/m. 64) pointer, PM=permanent magnet. sical spring, SIC-=soft iron core to concentrate magnetic fax. B. Vertical Section (AA’} through D’Arsonval meter. Cross hatched material is bakelte. Note: TB, BB top and bottom bearings, B= bese.504 Introduction to Instrumentation and Measurement FIGURE 8.4 ‘Magnetic (Faraday) vector forces on one turn ff the recangular, current carrying coll of & DrArsonval meter Ifthe vector Id is rotated into the vector B, the direction of AF is given by the right hand screw rule. Accordingly, the magnitude of dF can be written: dF = 1B sin(g) dl 5) Now from Figure 84 we see that the length of each side of the coil in the perpend®- TaN tnagnetie field is L. The angle g between the current and the B field is 59° Also. cae erat aisteace froma each side to the pivot is W/2, and there are N turns of wire in the ‘voted coll Thus, the mechanical torque generated by passing current through the N turns of the coil in the magnetic field is given by: ‘Ty = 2 BLNIW/2 = BNAI = Krl 66) where A is the area of the rectangular coil (A=LW) and Kr=BNA is the meter’s torque Constant, Unfortunately, the dynamic behavior of a D’Arsonval meter movement! is set simply deseribed by the balance between TM and the spring torque. If the coil is ‘moving, an EMF is induced in it, given by: 7 Ey =2NLB(@W/2) NBAG = Kx6 en where 8 the angle of rotation (pointer angle) ofthe coin, 61/2 is the tangential (linear) Velocity of a side of the coil and Ks is the coil's back EMF constant. A complete circuit Of the D’Arsonval meter coil is shown in Figure 85. Le is the self-inductance of the.coil, which is generally negligible at low frequencies. From Figure 8.5 we see that the current in the coil is given by: 2 Te= (Ve —Es)/(Re + Ri) = We ~ Es)/Rr )he right hand 65) the perpendi- 1 is 90°. Also, of wire in the rough the N 66) neter’s torque movement is If the coil is 67 sential linea) ‘plete circuit ce of the coil, tat the current 68) Basic Electrical Measurements 505 ) aad rae 2. en ae Pre rai et eee dbo prc Tu = Krle = J6 + D6 + Kso 9) = K7[(Vc — Ke @)/Rr] (8.10) eS Ve(t) = 6] Rr/Kr + (DRr/Kr + Kp) + @KsRr/Kr (8.11) where D is the viscous damping torque constant, J is the montent of inertia of the coil and pointer and Ke is the torque constant of the torsion spring, ‘When this second order, linear ODE is Laplace tranformed, we finally get a transfer function relating pointer angle, 6, with applied voltage: eo) Kr/(RoKs) Vels) ~ P17K5-¥ 5B + KrKo/Rry/Ke]e1 C1) Note that the mechanical natural frequency of the D’Arsonval meter movement is: oy = VK/Jt/s (8.13) and its damping factor is given by: D4+KrKp/Rr 2NTKs Equation 8.12 above is a classic example of the low-pass transfer function of a second. order, linear electromechanical system. The step response of the D’Arsonval meter is easily found by setting: 14) Vel) = Ve/s 615) and using a table of Laplace transforms, the meter deflection as a function of time is found to be: £2) aw a a0 = Vegkfe 1 nfo T= Bt N506 Introduction to Instrumenation did Measurement “COA ACh ‘| 7 {th obvi 14 For i mI = 12 very i = Mult AH, 1.0) RS with | ih = | os 821 Wa This os freqt Wy ch 71] \ os am ofa \ \ aul i o2 restr func TTR EEEEAR Sta 7 8 8 1: ete a ent | FIGURE 8.6 Mectanel response ofa DYArsonval mete to an applied step of voltage Diferent damping factor are shown. 0.7 <€ = 1 gives the best compromise between rise time and no overshoots. Here ClO ‘The mechanical response ofa DYArsonval meer to a step of applied volage is shown 4 Be in Figure 86. Note that as the damping factor, ¢, varies from 1 to 0, the response becomes ‘ more and more oscillatory, Obviously, it inconvenient to have to wait for a highly underdamped meter to settle down to its steady state reading of. (55 = VeKr/(RrKs) @.17) ¥ Experience tells us that the best dynamic performance at a fixed «, for a second order 1S system’s step response occurs when the damping factor, {, lies somewhere in the range ¢ 05-0707 : From the analysis above, we observe several important properties of D’Arsonval 2 meters used as voltmeters. Fist, they require a steady state current to produce a reading. ‘This current must come from the circuit under test. Practical full scale current is typi- cally 20-50A, although special, sensitive D’Arsonval meter movements with torsion spring suspensions have been built with full scale currents of 1A or less. To obtain greater voltmeter sensitivity, we see from equation 8.17 that we must increase Kr= BNA. ‘Meter size and cost are design considerations. B is set by the state-of-the-art and cost of permanent magnets available. A is set by size considerations and N by the maximum tolerable mass and moment of inertia of the coil. Too high a mass will give problems Fou with bearings and coil suspension, a high J will result in an underdamped transient i response and long settling time. Likewise, increased sensitivity reached by making the ee F torsion spring constant, Kz, small will also result in low damping. Second, the total to‘and Measurement ping factor are shown, d voltage is shown, e response becomes 9 wait for a highly 172) 1 for a second order ewhere in the range ties of D’Arsonval > produce a reading. cale current is typi sments with torsion 4 or less. To obtain t increase Kr= BNA. tthe-art and cost of N by the maximum will give problems lerdamped transient ched by making the 8: Second, the total Basic Electrical Measurements 507 resistance in the circuit, Rr, is set by the voltmeter’s sensitivit ty and the desired full scale voltage. From the relations above, we see that: Ves = (Rs +Re)/n = Rr/n = Rr lyrs 6.18) Shviously, for any given full scale voltage, meter loading by a Ly Arsonval analog voltmeter will be less with a meter with a high 7. Also, for very large Ves, Rr will be Very large. For example, Rr for a 500VFS with a 20,0000/V movemers will be 10MQ. Mea ange, de D’Arsonval voltmeters have a switch that switches varlove Reto, with the meter, satisfying equation 8 18 above. 8.2.1.2 The Capacitor, or Electrostatic Voltmeter Fee eolmeter is an unusual type of voltmeter, which is best suited for de or line Ketuency ac; high voltage measurements. Capacitor voltmeters have boos Cus from about OSKV to over 200kV with special ins Festrained by a linear torsion spring. The capacitance between rotor and ate lates is a function of the rotation angle, @, (pointer angle) and, in for convenience, can be written as: CO) = C+ Keo @.19) Here, Cis the capacitance between the plates at 9 = 0° and Kc s the capacitance constant Cua) ranges from about 20pF upto several hundred pF, depending on dese tran, be shown that ata given voltage, there is an attractive torque acting % rotae nena FIGURE a, Transparent face view of an electrtatic, Vy capacitor voltmeter, The electric field between the plates generates the defection torque. The scale is nonlinear.508 Introduction to Instrumentation and Measurement into the stator to produce maximum capacitance andl maximum stored electric field nergy in the capacitance. The energy stored in the capacitor at steady state is: 1 3OOVE (8.20) ‘The torque acting to rotate the rotor ino the stator plates may be shown f0 be Given by: _ aw) _VedcW) _Ve eee @. m1 ly 2 aS on ‘The electrostatic derived torque must equal the Newtonian torques: Tu =J6+DO+ Ks0 (62) ‘After eubatiating the expression for Ty into the second order ODE above and Taplace transforming, we obtain the transfer faction: Ke/2Ks = Sy/Ks + sD/Ks +1 We e we “the mechanical properties of the capacitor voltmeter, similar to those of the Dy ‘Arsonval meter movement, act as a mechanical low-pass filter above « = /Rei] s/s. Hence for steady state conditions, 55 = VEKc/2Ks (824) “The capacitor voltmeter is an example of a square law meter movement ‘The scale has The capac ration from equation 824 and also because C(@) i, in general not Bess aoe ney calf reaches steady state deflection, no current flows in the circuit for applied de voltage step. However, fa capacitor voltmeter fs suddenly placed directly oP n energized, high voltage circuit, it appears intially as a, shork Co and Teavy current flows into the meter. This may damage the CUT, so often a Seti resistor Reavy Carre dhe alectrostaic voltmeler to limit the initial charging current: A Pica ¥ cetostate voltmeter, such as the Sensitive Research model ESD, has a scale calibrated aie ith the most sensitive (expanded) scale at the center of the meter (GuAx/?) for et D7SKV. This meter has a guaranteed accuracy of 1% of full scale voltage, ° ‘Capacitance of 18 pF at fll scale, and an insulation resistance of 10192. Aax is about 65° eee resscr, which is less than the 90° typical of most D’ Arsonval meter movements. 8.2.1.3 The Electrodynamometer Meter This movement is another voltmeter design, which as we will see below, is square law, rae a rt for the measurement de or powerline frequency ac voltage, current ang Power. Here, we will examine the electrodymamometer as a dc voltmeter. Hise 88 FRtws a diagram of the basic electrodynamometer movement. Note that there ve see Syaunetecally placed stator coils around a rotor coil which, as in the case of over analog meters, i constrained by a torsion spring, When an electrodynamomeles eet ana og et erg voltmeter, the three coils are wired in series, as shown. Note that initially, the fax density vectors repel each other ard create.a torque that rotates the pointer egre we510 Introduction to Instrumentation and Measurement Here, as in the case of the electrostatic voltmeter, the deflection is square law (Le, proportional to the mean squared applied voltage). The inertia of the meter movement ‘effectively averages the squared voltage. Electrodynamometer voltmeters are seldom used above power line frequency because the coil inductive reactance begins to become more than 1% of (Rs+Re+Rj), producing frequency dependent calibration errors. Electrodynamometer voltmeters generally require far more current for steady state, full scale deflection than do D’Arsonval voltmeters. Typical electrodynamometer voltmeter sensitivities range 10-509/Y, or full scale currents range 0.1-0.02A. It appears that this type of meter is truly a ‘wattsucker’ and is best suited for measurements on power systems, rather than on electronic circuits. Dynamometer voltmeters, ammeters and ‘wattmeters generally have 80-90° arc scales, with scale lengths of 6.5-7.0in and a mirror to eliminate parallax when reading the pointer, They are calibrated for dc, or ac, voltages or currents ranging about 25-500 Hz, depending on design. Accuracies are in the range ‘of 0.1-0.25% of full scale reading. Due to the mass of the moving coil, the bearings must bbe rugged and must have low friction. 8.2.2 Electronic DC Voltmeters In this section, we will consider the design, applications and limitations of various types of electronic de voltmeters, beginning at the low end of the voltage scale, with nanovoltmeters which are designed to work with extremely low de input potentials through to Thevenin resistors on the order of tens of ohms. Figure 8.9 illustrates the design of a chopper type nanovoltmeter. A special, low noise electromechanical chopper running at 60Hz is used to convert the low level de potential, Vs, to an ac signal, V2, which is amplified by an RC amplifier, A1, with a gain of —10*. The ac signal's frequency, 60Hz, is above the 1/f noise portion of the RC amplifier’s input voltage noise FicuRE 89 ‘Schematic diagram ofa chopper type, de nanovolimeter HK Bk SF Bo are sonnRre