EE 213: Electrical Instrumentation

& measurement
(2 Credit Hours)
Errors arising during the measurement process can be divided into
two groups, known as

• Systematic errors
• Random errors
Systematic errors describe errors in the output readings of a
measurement system that are consistently on one side of the
correct reading, that is, either all errors are positive or are all
negative.
Sources of Systematic Error

The main sources of systematic error in the output of measuring instruments are

• disturbance of the measured system by the act of measurement

• effect of environmental disturbances
• changes in characteristics due to wear in instrument components over a
period of time
• resistance of connecting leads
System Disturbance due to Measurement

Disturbance of the measured system by the act of measurement is

a common source of systematic error.
The temperature of hot water in beaker is to be measured with a
mercury-in-glass thermometer, then we would take the thermometer,
which would initially be at room temperature, and plunge it into the
water.

In so doing, we would be introducing a relatively cold mass (the

thermometer) into the hot water and a heat transfer would take
place between the water and the thermometer.

This heat transfer would lower the temperature of the water. While
the reduction in temperature in this case would be so small as to
be undetectable by the limited measurement resolution of such a
thermometer
A particularly important example of this occurs with the orifice plate.
This is placed into a fluid-carrying pipe to measure the flow rate,
which is a function of the pressure that is measured either side of the
orifice plate.

This measurement procedure causes a permanent pressure loss in

the flowing fluid. The disturbance of the measured system can often
be very significant.
Thus, as a general rule, the process of measurement always
disturbs the system being measured.

The magnitude of the disturbance varies from one measurement

system to the next and is affected particularly by the type of
instrument used for measurement.
For instance, consider the circuit shown in Figure in which the voltage across
resistor R5 is to be measured by a voltmeter with resistance Rm.

Here, Rm acts as a shunt resistance across R5, decreasing the resistance

between points AB and so disturbing the circuit.

Therefore, the voltage Em measured by the meter is not the value of the
voltage Eo that existed prior to measurement.
Errors due to Environmental Inputs

Errors occurred in the measurement system by a change in the

environmental conditions.

The magnitude of this environment-induced variation is quantified by

the two constants known as sensitivity drift and zero drift, both of
which are generally included in the published specifications for an
instrument.
Wear in Instrument Components

Systematic errors can frequently develop over a period of time

because of wear in instrument components.

Recalibration often provides a full solution to this problem.

Connecting Leads

In connecting together the components of a measurement system, a

common source of error is the failure to take proper account of the
resistance of connecting leads
For instance, in typical applications of a resistance thermometer, it is
common to find that the thermometer is separated from other parts
of the measurement system by perhaps 100 meters.

The resistance of such a length of 20-gauge copper wire is 7 Ω, and

there is a further complication that such wire has a temperature
coefficient of 1 mΩ/C.