D’ Arsonval Galvanometer:

In construction D’ Arsonval galvanometer consists of moving coil,damping system

and suspension system

Moving coil:
It is the current carrying element in the form of rectangular or circular shape
consisting of number of turns of fine wire. The coil is suspended so as to move
about its vertical axis of symmetry. It is placed in a uniform, radial and horizontal
magnetic field in the air gap between pole pieces of a permanent magnet and iron
core. The iron core spherical in shape if the coil is circular but cylindrical if the coil
is rectangular. The iron core is used to provide a flux path with low reluctance to
produce strong magnetic field such that the sensitivity in deflection is sufficiently
large. The length of the air gap is about 1.5mm

Damping system

Eddy current damping is provided on the metallic former over which the coil is
mounted. An external resistance is connected in series with coil such that critical
damping condition can be achieved by adjusting the value of external resistance.
Due to setting of critical damping condition, this type of galvanometer is
alternatively named as Deadbeat type.

Suspension system:

The coil is supported at the bottom of the coil by a flat ribbon suspension which
also carries current to the coil. The upper suspension consists of gold or copper
wire of nearly 0.0125 or 0.025 mm diameter rolled into the form of a ribbon. The
upper suspension may also carries a mirror of circular shape which deflects a light
beam on a linear scale for indication. This type of galvanometer must be leveled
carefully due to the extreme sensitive suspension system.
Torque equation:

Let
= length
=no. of turns of the coil
=Flux density in air gap
=spring coefficient of control spring
=Steady state deflection of moving coil
=current flowing through coil
Assuming radial field , the force acting on each conductor of coil=
Force acting on side of coil=
Deflecting toque = , where
Now for a given galvanometer ( ) is constant and is denoted by
Controlling torque exerted by the suspension at deflection , is
For final deflection , , or or

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i.e. deflection is directly proportional to current flowing through coil

Dynamic Behavior of Galvanometer:

When the moving coil of the galvanometer is energized by the flow of steady
current I , the moving system does not reach to its steady state deflection
immediately but will take a time interval or period of transition during which the
deflection is changing . This is known as transient or dynamic behavior of
galvanometer. This behavior will greatly depend on the design constants or
characteristics as i) Damping constant ii) Inertia constant iii) Control constant iv)
Control constant . The dynamic behavior is expressed by the equation of motion
of the moving system including these design constants.

Displacement constant:

It is the amount of deflecting torque produced due to flow of unit current i.e.
, where = displacement constant (N-m/A)

Inertia constant:

A retarding torque is produced owing to inertia of the moving system. This torque
is dependant on the moment of inertia of the moving system and angular
acceleration.
i.e. Inertia torque is given by : , where = Inertia constant (N-

m/rad/sec2

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Damping constant:

Damping is provided by the friction due to motion of the moving system in the
surrounding air and also by induced electrical effects on the moving coil carrying
current. Damping torque is proportional to the angular velocity of the moving
system. Thus damping torque is given by the equation: , where

=damping constant (N-m/rad/sec.)

Control constant:

A controlling torque is proportional due to elasticity of the moving system which

tries to restore the system back to its equilibrium position. Controlling torque is
given by : , where = control constant (N-m/rad)
Equation of motion:

There are four torques or forces acting on the moving system as a) Deflecting
torque or force to accelerate the moving system b) Inertia torque or force tries to
retard the moving system proportional to the angular deflection of the moving
system c) Damping torque or force tries to retard the moving system proportional
to the angular velocity of the moving part d) Control torque or force tries to retard
the moving system proportional to the angular deflection of the moving part.

The at time t within the transition period, the equation of motion is given by :
,
Where
= inertia torque=

=damping torque=

=control torque=
=Deflecting torque=
After substitution, the equation of motion :

The above equation is a linear 2nd degree differential equation, whose solution is
the sum of complementary function representing the transient condition and
particular integral, representing the steady state condition.

C.F.:
The auxiliary equation:

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, where

The roots of the equation: and

The solution of C.F.: , where A , B are constants , found from the

initial conditions.
P.I.:
Under steady state condition : , and

or

The complete solution of equation of motion:

Depending on the values of roots of the C.F., the dynamic behavior can be
determined . Four possible cases may occur as described follows:

Case:1 ( Under damped)

When , the roots are complex conjugate with equal real parts .
i.e. and

=
=
=

Where and are constants such that

and

, where is angular velocity of damped oscillation

Now at and

…..(i)
Also or ….(ii)

From (i) and (ii) , one obtains,

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 ,

, Now

Also

or

The above equation signifies that the motion is oscillatory with exponentially
decaying amplitude before reaching to a final steady state value as .This
motion is called under damped and galvanometer is under damped. The frequency
of oscillation is :

The plot of vs is shown below:

Case:2: ( Critically damped)

When , the roots are equal i.e.

The solution is :

At and ----(i) , ………(ii)

and

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The solution is :

Now

Hence the solution is :

The above equation signifies that the moving system quickly moves to its final
steady position without any oscillations. The motion is called critically damped
motion and the galvanometer is called critically damped. The plot of vs is
shown below:

Case:3 (Undamped)

When , the roots of the equation is and

i.e. the roots are imaginary with opposite sign and equal in magnitude.
The solution is :

The motion is called undammed under which the moving system oscillates around
the steady value sinusoidally with frequency . . The plot of vs is shown below:

Case 4: (Over damped)

When , the roots are real .

The solution is :
Applying initial conditions : and

Now

and

, where =relative damping or damping ratio= , =undamped

frequency
or or , where = damped frequency

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Now

or , and

Hence the solution is

:

Or

The above equation represents a decaying motion without oscillation. This motion
is called over damped and the galvanometer is called over damped. The motion is
very sluggish and is undesired for indicating instrument. The plot of vs is
shown below:

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Damping of galvanometer:

a) Mechanical damping:

This type of damping is mostly due to friction produced owing to motion of coil in
the air or fluid surrounding it. The damping torque due to mechanical effect is given
by: , where =damping constant due to mechanical effect

b) Electromechanical damping:

This type of damping is produced by the induced effects when the coil moves in
the magnetic field and a closed path is provided from the currents to flow .

Let resistance of galvanometer circuit when closed [ ]

=Resistance of galvanometer coil and =external resistance required for

damping
The voltage induced in the coil by its motion :

The current flowing in the circuit due to emf e is :

Torque produced owing to current flowing in the coil :

[ ]
Damping constant due to resistance of circuit . Hence

If the effective resistance of the metallic former be , then proceeding as earlier

, the damping torque produced by the former is :

Damping constant due to resistance of former =

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Total electromagnetic damping torque =torque due to induced eddy current in
metal former +torque due to induced emf in coil = =
, where =damping constant due to electromagnetic

effects=

Total damping effect is made up of two components i.e. damping due to

mechanical effect and damping due to electromagnetic effect
Total damping torque is: , where

The mechanical damping effects is very small as compared with electromagnetic

damping effects and
Thus total damping:

Also the damping effect due to metal former is usually small. So .

For critical damping, , . Hence for critical damping ,

the total resistance of the galvanometer circuit should be : . Thus for a

galvanometer for which G,J and K are constant , critical damping conditions can
be obtained by properly adjusting the value of the external resistance connected
in the galvanometer coil . Thus external resistance required for critical damping :

This external resistance required for critical damping is called CDRX i.e. critical
damping resistance external.

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Sensitivity:

a) Current sensitivity:

The current sensitivity of galvanometer is defined as the deflection produced by

unit current. Current sensitivity: rad/A [ ]

b) Voltage sensitivity:

The voltage sensitivity is defined as the deflection produced by applying unit

voltage across the coil input of galvanometer. Thus voltage sensitivity:
rad/V

c) Megohm sensitivity:

The megohm sensitivity is defined as the resistance of coil circuit so as to produce

unit deflection by unit voltage applied to the coil input. Thus megohm sensitivity:
[ M-ohm/Rad]

Relative damping : The damping of galvanometer is expressed in terms of critical

damping case . The damping ratio is defined as the ratio of the actual damping
constant to the damping constant required for critical damping.

The damping ratio: But

The dynamic deflection of galvanometer can be expressed in terms of damping

ratio and natural frequency .
Thus,

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Now , But ,

Relative damping:
The damping ratio of a galvanometer is expressed relatively with critical damping
case and is defined as the ratio of the actual damping constant to the damping
constant required for critical damping .

Damping ratio : , Also ,

Now , and

Logarithmic decrement:

In under damped condition , the moving coil of galvanometer shows oscillatory

deflection before reaching to steady state condition .During this oscillatory motion
, the overshoot and undershoot around the final value are observed . The time
required for the deflection to reach a maximum or minimum value may be obtained
by putting and differentiating the expression of deflection w.r.t. time and

equating to zero ,

The above equation is satisfied for , where N is an integer .

If N is an even integer , the minimum value of deflection is obtained and when N is
an odd integer , the maximum value of deflection is obtained.

The first maximum deflection occurs at time for N=1

or

The value of maximum deflection is :

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Or

The first minimum deflection occurs at time , where

Or

Considering the ratio of successive extreme deviations from the final steady
deflections, we have ,

Logarithm Decrement is defined as the exponential base logarithm of the ratio of

successive swings w.r.t. steady state deflection..
Thus ,

But , ,

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