AC BRIDGES

 Alternating Current Bridges - are used for the measurement of unknown: -

 Resistance
 Inductance
 Capacitance
 An a.c. bridges is derived from the conventional dc Wheatstone bridge.
 These bridges are most popular, convenient and accurate instruments for the measurement.
 An a.c. bridge consists of: -
1. Four arms,
2. An alternating power supply, and
3. A balance detector.

General Balance Equation for Four-Arm Bridge

 The figure below shows an a.c. bridge with the four arms.

 The arms contains four unspecified impedances: - Z1, Z2, Z3 and Z4.

Sources & Detectors in Ac Bridges

i. Power sources
 Power sources for the bridge may be obtained from; -
i. Power line itself - for the measurements at low frequencies.
ii. Electronic oscillators – for the higher frequency requirements.

 Electronic oscillators have: -

 Stable, accurate & adjustable frequencies.
 Their output waveforms are very close to sinusoidal
 Output power level sufficient for most bridge measurements.

ii. Detectors
 The bridge detectors may be: -
 A single frequency, a tuned detector
 Vibration galvanometers

Operation
 Balance in the bridge is secured by adjusting one or more of the bridge arms.
 Balance is indicated by zero response of the detector.
 At balance: -
Page 1 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020
  No current flows through the detector, i.e.,
 There is no potential difference across the detector
 In other words, the potentials at point’s b and c are the same.

 Therefore
 The voltage drop from A to B equals the voltage drop from A to C, both in magnitude
and phase.

 Thus, we can write in terms of complex quantities:

-------- Eqn 1
 Also at balance, since no current flows through the detector,

-------- Eqn 2
and

-------- Eqn 3
 Combining equation 2 and 3 into equation 1

-------- Eqn 4

-------- Eqn 5
Using Admittances
 When using admittances in place of impedances, eqn 4 written as
-------- Eqn 6

Note
 Equations 4 and 6 represent the basic balance equations of an ac bridge.
 Equation 4 - is more convenient for use in bridge configurations having series elements.
 Equation 6 - is more useful when bridge configurations have parallel elements.

 Equation 4 indicates that ;-

 Under balanced condition, the product of impedances of one pair of opposite arms must be
equal to the product of impedances of the other pair of opposite arms, with the impedances
expressed as complex numbers.
 Both magnitude and phase angles of the complex numbers must be taken, into account.

Polar Form

Page 2 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

 In polar form, impedances can be expressed as

Where Z = represents the magnitude and

θ = represents the phase angle of the complex impedance.
 Substituting all the impedances in and substituted in equation 4, we obtain:

 Thus, for balance we have,

-------- Eqn 7
Requirements for the balance condition
 Equation 7 shows that two requirements must be met for satisfying balance condition in a
bridge.
 These requirements are: -
1. The magnitude of the impedances must meet the relationship;
-------- Eqn 8
2. The phase angles of the impedances must meet the relationship;
-------- Eqn 9

Example 1
In the AC bridge circuit shown in figure below, the supply voltage is 20 V at 500 Hz.

Arm AB is 0.25 mμ pure capacitance; arm BD is 400 Ω pure resistance and arm AC has a 120 Ω
resistance in parallel with a 0.15 mμ capacitor. Find resistance and inductance or capacitance of
the arm CD considering it as a series circuit.

Solution

Page 3 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

 MEASUREMENT OF SELF-INDUCTANCE
 The bridges used for the measurement of self-inductance are: -
1. Maxwell’s Inductance Bridge
2. Hay’s Bridge
3. Anderson’s Bridge
4. Owen’s Bridge

Maxwell’s Inductance Bridge

 This bridge is used to measure the value of an unknown inductance by comparing it with a
variable standard self-inductance.
 The figure below shows Maxwell’s Inductance bridge configuration and phasor diagram
under balanced condition

Maxwell’s Inductance bridge Phasor diagram

configuration
Page 4 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020
 The unknown inductor L1 of resistance R1 in the branch AB is compared with the standard
known inductor L2 of resistance R2 on arm AC.
 The inductor L2 is of the same order as the unknown inductor L1.
 The resistances R1, R2, etc., include, of course the resistances of contacts and leads in various
arms.
 Branch BD and CD contain known no-inductive resistors R3 and R4 respectively.
 The bridge is balanced by varying L2 and one of the resistors R3 or R4.
 Alternatively, R3 and R4 can be kept constant, and the resistance of one of the other two arms
can be varied by connecting an additional resistor.

Note
 This series resistance R1 is included to represent losses that take place in an inductor coil.

Under balanced condition: -

 No current flows through the detector.
 The currents in the arms AB and BD are equal (I1).
 Similarly, currents in the arms AC and CD are equal(I2).
 Since nodes B and D are at the same potential, voltage drops across arm BD and CD are
equal (V3 = V4);
 Similarly, voltage drop across arms AB and AC are equal (V1 = V2).

Phasor diagram
 As shown in the phasor diagram V3 and V4 being equal, they are overlapping.
 Arms BD and CD being purely resistive, currents through these arms will be in the same
phase with the voltage drops across these two respective branches.
 Thus, currents I1 and I2 will be collinear with the phasors V3 and V4.
 The same current I1 flows through branch AB as well, thus the voltage drop I1R1 remains in
the same phase as I1.
 Voltage drop wI1L1 in the inductor L1 will be 90° out of phase with I1R1.
 Phasor summation of these two voltage drops I1R1 and wI1L1 will give the voltage drop V1
across the arm AB.

At balance condition,
Page 5 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020
 The voltage across the two branches AB and AC are equal
 Thus the two voltage drops V1 and V2 are equal and are in the same phase.
 The supply voltage V – is the phasor summation of V1 and V3 (or V2 and V4).

 Unknown quantities can hence be calculated as

-------- Eqn 10
Note
 The inductors L1 and L2 must be placed at a distance from each other to avoid effects of
mutual inductance.
 The final expression (Eqn 10) shows that values of L1 and R1 do not depend on the supply
frequency.
 This bridge configuration is: - immune to frequency variations and harmonic distortions in
the power supply.

Maxwell’s Inductance – Capacitance Bridge

 The unknown inductance is measured by comparison with a standard variable capacitance.
 Configuration of a Maxwell’s inductance–capacitance bridge and the associated phasor
diagram at balanced state are shown below.
Maxwell’s inductance – Capacitance Phasor diagram
Bridge Configuration

Page 6 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

 The unknown inductor L1 of effective resistance R1 in the branch AB is compared with the
standard known variable capacitor C4 on arm CD.
 The other resistances R2, R3, and R4 are known as non-inductive resistors.
 The bridge is preferably balanced by varying C4 and R4, giving independent adjustment
settings.

Under balanced condition; -

 No current flows through the detector.
 The currents in the arms AB and BD are equal (I1).
 Similarly, currents in the arms AC and CD are equal (I2).
 Nodes B and D are at the same potential
 Voltage drops across arm BD and CD are equal (V3 = V4);
 Similarly, voltage drops across arms AB and AC are equal (V1 = V2).

Phasor Diagram
 As shown in the phasor diagram, V3 and V4 being equal, they are overlapping both in
magnitude and phase.
 The arm BD being purely resistive, current I1 through this arm will be in the same phase with
the voltage drop V3 across it.
 Similarly, the following are the same phase; -
 The voltage drop V4 across the arm CD,
 Current IR through the resistance R4 in the same branch, and
 The resulting resistive voltage drop IRR4
 The resistive current IR when added with the quadrature capacitive current IC, results in the
main current I2 flowing in the arm CD.
 This current I2 while flowing through the resistance R2 in the arm AC, produces a voltage
drop V2 = I2R2, that is in same phase as I2.

Under balanced condition,

 Voltage drops across arms AB and AC are equal, i.e., V1 = V2.
 Voltage drop across the arm AB - is actually the phasor summation of; -
 Voltage drop I1R1 across the resistance R1 and
 The quadrature voltage drop wi1l1 across the unknown inductor L1.
 The supply voltage V – is the phasor summation of V1 and V3 (or V2 and V4).

 Equating real and imaginary parts, we have

Page 7 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

 Thus, the unknown quantities are

-------- Eqn 11
 Once again, the final expression (Eqn 11) shows that values of L1 and R1 do not depend on
the supply frequency.
 Thus, this bridge configuration is: -
 Is immune to frequency variations and
 It is also immune to harmonic distortions in the power supply.

Note
 In the above bridges, the unknown Inductor L1 was always associated with a resistance R1.
 This series resistance has been included to represent losses that take place in an inductor coil.

Ideal Inductor
 An ideal inductor - will be lossless irrespective of the amount of current flowing through it.
 Any real inductor - will have some non-zero resistance associated with it due to resistance of
the metal wire used to form the inductor winding.
 This series resistance causes heat generation due to power loss.

Q-Factor of an Inductor
 The Quality Factor or the Q-Factor of an inductor - is used to indicate how closely the real
inductor comes to behave as an ideal inductor.
 The Q-factor of an inductor - is defined as the ratio of its inductive reactance to its
resistance at a given frequency.
 Q-factor - is a measure of the efficiency of the inductor.
 The higher the value of Q-factor, the closer it approaches the behavior of an ideal, loss less
inductor.
 An ideal inductor would have an infinite Q at all frequencies.

 The Q-factor of an inductor is given by the formula

Where R = is its internal resistance R (series resistance) and

ωL = is its inductive reactance at the frequency ω.

 Increasing the Q-factor of an inductor

 The Q-factor of an inductor can be increased by either; -
i. By increasing its inductance value - by using a good ferromagnetic core or
ii. By reducing its winding resistance - by using good quality conductor material, i.e. super
conductors.
 In the Maxwell’s Inductance-Capacitance Bridge, Q-factor of the inductor under
measurement can be found at balance condition to be; -

or

-------- Eqn 12
Page 8 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020
Note
 Equation 12 above indicate that this bridge is not suitable for measurement of inductor values
with high Q factors.
 This is because the required value of R4 for achieving balance becomes impracticably high.

Advantages of Maxwell’s Bridge

1. The balance equations are independent of each other - the two variables C4 and R4 can be
varied independently (Eqn 11).
2. Final balance equations are independent of frequency.
3. The unknown quantities can be denoted by simple expressions involving known quantities.
4. Balance equation is independent of losses associated with the inductor.
5. A wide range of inductance at power and audio frequencies can be measured.

Disadvantages of Maxwell’s Bridge

1. The bridge, for its operation, requires a standard variable capacitor, which can be very
expensive if high accuracies are asked for.
 In such a case, fixed value capacitors are used and balance is achieved by varying R4 and R2.
2. This bridge is limited to measurement of low Q inductors (1< Q < 10).
3. Maxwell’s bridge is also unsuited for coils with very low value of Q (e.g., Q < 1).
 Such low Q inductors can be found in inductive resistors and RF coils.
 Maxwell’s bridge finds difficult and laborious to obtain balance while measuring such low Q
inductors.

Hay’s Bridge
 Hay’s bridge is a modification of Maxwell’s bridge.
 This bridge is suited for high Q inductors.
 The figure below shows the configuration of Hay’s bridge and the associated phasor diagram
under balanced state

Configuration of Hay’s bridge Phasor diagram

 The unknown inductor L1 of effective resistance R1 in the branch AB is compared with the
standard known variable capacitor C4 on arm CD.
Page 9 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020
 This bridge uses a resistance R4 in series with the standard capacitor C4 (unlike in Maxwell’s
bride where R4 was in parallel with C4).
 The other resistances R2 and R3 are known no-inductive resistors.
 The bridge is balanced by varying C4 and R4.

Under balanced condition: -

 No current flows through the detector,
 Nodes B and D are at the same potential.
 Voltage drops across arm BD and CD are equal (v3 = v4);
 Similarly, voltage drops across arms AB and AC are equal (V1 = V2).

Phasor Diagram
 As shown above, V3 and V4 being equal, they are overlapping both in magnitude and phase
and are draw on along the horizontal axis.
 The arm BD being purely resistive, current I1 through this arm will be in the same phase with
the voltage drop V3 = I1R3 across it.
 The same current I1, while passing through the resistance R1 in the arm AB, produces a
voltage drop I1R1 that is once again, in the same phase as I1.
 Total voltage drop V1 across the arm AB - is obtained by adding the two quadrature phasors
I1R1 and wI1L1 representing resistive and inductive voltage drops in the same branch AB.
 Since under balance condition,
 Voltage drops across arms AB and AC are equal, i.e., (V1 = V2),
 The two voltages V1 and V2 are overlapping both in magnitude and phase.
 The branch AC being purely resistive, the branch current I2 and branch voltage V2 will be in
the same phase as shown above.
 The same current I2 flows through the arm CD and produces a voltage drop I2R4 across the
resistance R4.
 This resistive voltage drop I2R4, obviously is in the same phase as I2.
 The capacitive voltage drop I2/wC4 in the capacitance C 4 present in the same arm AC will
however, lag the current I2 by 90°.
 The total voltage drop V4 across the arm CD – will be given by the phasor summation of
these two series voltage drops across R4 and C4.
 The supply voltage V – is the phasor summation of V1 and V3 (or V2 and V4).

 Equating real and imaginary parts, we have

-------- Eqn 13
and

Page 10 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

 -------- Eqn 14
 Solving Eqns (13) and (14), the unknown quantities are; -

-------- Eqn 15
and

-------- Eqn 16

Q Factor of the Inductor

 Q factor of the inductor is calculated at balance condition as

-------- Eqn 17
Note
 Hay’s bridge is more suitable for measurement of unknown inductors having Q factor more
than 10.
 In those cases, bridge balance can be attained by varying R2 only, without losing much
accuracy.
 From equations (15) and (17), the unknown inductance value can be written as

-------- Eqn 18

 For inductors with Q > 10,

 The quantity (1/Q)2 will be less than 1/100, and thus can be neglected from the denominator
of Eqn 18).
 In such a case, the inductor value can be simplified to L1 = R2R3C4, which essentially is the
same as obtained in Maxwell’s bridge.

Anderson’s Bridge
 This method is a modification of Maxwell’s inductance–capacitance bridge.
 The value of the unknown inductor is expressed in terms of a standard known capacitor.
 This method is applicable for precise measurement of inductances over a wide range of
values.
 The figure shows Anderson’s bridge configuration and corresponding phasor diagram under
balanced condition.

Page 11 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

 Anderson’s Bridge Configuration Phasor diagram

 The unknown inductor L1 of effective resistance R1 in the branch AB is compared with the
standard known capacitor C on arm ED.
 The bridge is balanced by varying r.

Under balance condition,

 No current flows through the detector,
 Nodes B and E are at the same potential.

Phasor Diagram
 As shown above, I1 and V3 = I1R3 are in the same phase along the horizontal axis.
 Since under balance condition, voltage drops across arms BD and ED are equal, V3 = I1R3 =
IC/wC and all the three phasors are in the same phase.
 The same current I1, when flowing through the arm AB produces a voltage drop I1 (R1+ r1)
which is once again, in phase with I1.

 Since under balanced condition: -

 No current flows through the detector,
 The same current IC flows through the resistance r in arm CE and then through the
capacitor C in the arm ED.

 The voltage drop V4 across the arm CD – is the phasor summation of the voltage drops ICr
in arm the CE and IC/wC in the arm ED.
 V4 being the voltage drop in the resistance R4 on the arm CD, the current I4 and V4 will be in
the same phase.
 The current I2 in the arm AC – is the phasor summation of the currents I4 in the arm CD and
the current IC in the arm CE.
 This current I2, while passing through the resistance R2 will give rise to a voltage drop V2 =
I2R2 across the arm AC that is in phase with the current I2.

 Since, under balance; -

 Potentials at nodes B and E are the same,
 Voltage drops between nodes A-B and between A-C-E will be equal.
 Thus, phasor summation of the voltage drop V2 = I2R2 in the arm AC, ICr in arm the CE will
build up to the voltage V1 across the arm AB.

Page 12 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

 The voltage V1 - can also be obtained by adding the resistive voltage drop I1 (R1 + r1) with
the quadrature inductive voltage drop wI1L1 in the arm AB.
 The supply voltage V – is the phasor summation of V1 and V3 (or V2 and V4).

 At balance, I2 = IC + I4

-------- Eqn 19
 The other balance equations are;

-------- Eqn 20
and

-------- Eqn 21
 Putting the value of IC from Eqn. (19) in Eqn. (20),
 we have: Ir (+R + jwL) = IR + jwIRCr

or

-------- Eqn 22
 Then, putting the value of IC from Eqn. (19) in Eqn. (21), we have: Ê1 ˆ

or
-------- Eqn 23
 From Eqns (22) and (23), we obtain:

 Equating real and imaginary parts, we get

-------- Eqn 24

-------- Eqn 25
Advantage of Anderson’s bridge over Maxwell’s bride
 In this case a fixed value capacitor is used thereby greatly reducing the cost.
 This however, is at the expense of connection complexities and balance equations becoming
tedious.

Owen’s Bridge
 Owen’s Bridge – is used for measurement of unknown inductance in terms of known value
capacitance.
 The figure below shows the Owen’s bridge configuration and corresponding phasor diagram
under balanced condition.
Page 13 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020
 Owen’s Bridge Configuration Phasor diagram

 The unknown inductor L1 of effective resistance R1 in the branch AB is compared with the
standard known capacitor C2 on arm AC.
 The bridge is balanced by varying R2 and C2 independently.

Under balanced condition,

 no current flows through the detector
 Nodes B and C are at the same potential, i.e., V1 = V2 and V3 = V4.

Phasor Diagram
 As shown above, I1, V3 = I1R3 and V4 = I2/wC4 are all in the same phase along the horizontal
axis.
 The resistive voltage drop I1R1 in the arm AB is also in the same phase with I1.
 The total voltage drop V1 across the arm AB - is given by the inductive voltage drop wI1L1
when added in quadrature with the resistive voltage drop I1R1.

Under balance condition,

 Voltage drops across arms AB and AC being equal, the voltages V1 and V2 coincide with
each other as shown above.
 The voltage V2 - is the summation of two mutually quadrature voltage drops I2R2 (resistive)
and I2/wC2 (capacitive) in the arm AC.

Note
 The current I2 leads the voltage V4 by 90° due to presence of the capacitor C4.
 This makes I2 and hence I2R2 to be vertical, as shown in the phasor diagram.
 The supply voltage V – is the phasor summation of V1 and V3 (or V2 and V4).

Page 14 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

 Simplifying and separating real and imaginary parts, the unknown quantities can be found
out as

-------- Eqn 26
and
-------- Eqn 27
Note
 It is thus possible to have two independent variables C2 and R2 for obtaining balance in
Owen’s bridge.
 The balance equations are also quite simple.
 This however, does come with additional cost for the variable capacitor.

Example 2
A Maxwell’s inductance–capacitance bridge is used to measure an unknown inductive
impedance. The bridge constants at bridge balance are: Pure resistance arms = 2.5 kΩ and 50 kΩ.
In between these two resistors, the third arm has a capacitor of value 0.012 μF in series with a
resistor of value 235 kΩ. Find the series equivalent of the unknown impedance.

Solution
 Referring to the diagram of a Maxwell’s inductance–capacitance bridge, we have the bridge
as shown below:

 Using the balance equation,

Page 15 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

Example 3
The four arms of a bridge are connected as follows:
Arm AB: A choke coil L1 with an equivalent series resistance r1
Arm BC: A non-inductive resistance R3
Arm CD: A mica capacitor C4 in series a non-inductive resistance R4
Arm DA: A non-inductive resistance R2
When the bridge is supplied from a source of 450 Hz is given between terminals A and C and the
detector is connected between nodes B and D, balance is obtained the following conditions:
R2 = 2400 Ω, R3 = 600 Ω, C4 = 0.3 μF and R4 = 55.4 Ω. Series resistance of the capacitor is 0.5
Ω. Calculate the resistance and inductance of the choke coil.

Solution
 The bridge configuration is shown below:

Where; - R2 = 2400 Ω, R3 = 600 Ω, C4 = 0.3 μF, R4 = 55.4 Ω. and r4 = 0.5 Ω

 Given that at balance,

Page 16 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

MEASUREMENT OF CAPACITANCE
 Bridges are also used to; -
i. Make precise measurements of unknown capacitances
ii. Measurement of associated losses in terms of external capacitances and resistances.
 An ideal capacitor - is formed by placing a piece of dielectric material between two
conducting plates or electrodes.
 In practical cases, this dielectric material will have some power losses in it due to: -
i. Dielectric’s conduction electrons
ii. Dipole relaxation phenomena.
 Thus,
 An ideal capacitor - will not have any losses
 A real capacitor - will have some losses associated with its operation.

Energy Loss across a Capacitor

 The potential energy across a capacitor is dissipated in all real capacitors as heat loss inside
its dielectric material.
 This loss is equivalently represented by a series resistance, called the Equivalent Series
Resistance (ESR).

Note
 A good capacitor - the ESR is very small.
 A poor capacitor - the ESR is large.

Quantifying Parameters of a Capacitor

 The quantifying parameters often used to describe performance of a capacitor are: -
1. Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR),
2. Its Dissipation Factor (DF),
3. Quality Factor (Q-factor) and
4. Loss Tangent (tan d).

1. Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR)

 A Real, Lossy Capacitor can thus be equivalently represented by an ideal loss less capacitor
in series CR with its equivalent series resistance (ESR) shown below

 Capacitors with high values of ESR will need to dissipate large amount of heat.
 Proper circuit design needs to be practiced so as to take care of such possibilities of heat
generation.

Page 17 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

2. Its Dissipation Factor (DF)
 Dissipation factor due to the non-ideal capacitor - is defined as the ratio of the resistive
power loss in the ESR to the reactive power oscillating in the capacitor, or

 A capacitor’s dissipation factor is equal to the tangent of the angle between the capacitor’s
impedance phasor and the negative reactive axis, as shown in the impedance triangle diagram
below.

3. Quality Factor (Q-factor)

 Quality Factor or Q-Factor - for a capacitor it is the ratio of the energy stored to that
dissipated per cycle.

 The Q can be expressed as the ratio of the capacitive reactance to the ESR at the frequency of
interest.

 A high quality capacitor (high Q-factor) will thus have: -

 Low values of dissipation factor (DF) and
 Low values of loss tangent (tan δ), i.e. Less losses.

4. Loss Tangent (tan d).

 The impedance triangle diagram gives rise to the parameter known as the loss tangent d.

Where

 Loss tangent of a real capacitor – can also be defined using the voltage triangle diagram
below.

Page 18 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

 Loss tangent of a real capacitor – is the ratio of voltage drop across the ESR to the voltage
drop across the capacitor only, i.e. tangent of the angle between the capacitor voltage only
and the total voltage drop across the combination of capacitor and ESR.

Note
 The expressions for dissipation factor (DF) and loss tangent (tan δ) are the same.]
 The dissipation factor - is used at lower frequencies whereas
 The loss tangent - is more applicable for high frequency applications.
 A good capacitor will normally have: -
 Low values of dissipation factor (DF) and
 Low values of loss tangent (tan δ).

Bridges for Capacitance Measurement

 The most commonly used bridges for capacitance measurement are: -
1. De Sauty’s Bridge
2. Schering Bridge.

1. De Sauty’s Bridge
 This is the simplest method of finding out the value of an unknown capacitor in terms of a
known standard capacitor.
 Configuration and phasor diagram of a De Sauty’s bridge under balanced condition is shown
below.

De Sauty’s Bridge Configuration Phasor Diagram

 The unknown capacitor C1 - in the branch AB is compared with the standard known
standard capacitor C2 on arm AC.
 The bridge can be balanced by varying either of the non-inductive resistors R3 or R4.

Under balanced condition

 No current flows through the detector
 Nodes B and C are at the same potential, i.e., V1 = V2 and V3 = V4.
Page 19 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020
Phasor Diagram
 As shown in the phasor diagram above,
 V3 = I1R3 and V4 = I2R4 being equal both in magnitude and phase, they overlap.
 Current I1 in the arm BD and I2 in the arm CD are also in the same phase with I1R3 and
I2R4 along the horizontal line.
 Capacitive voltage drop V1 = I1/wC1 in the arm AB lags behind I1 by 90°.
 Similarly, the other capacitive voltage drop V2 = I2/wC2 in the arm AC lags behind I2 by
90°.
Under balanced condition
 These two voltage drops V1 and V2 being equal in magnitude and phase, they overlap each
other along the vertical axis.
 The supply voltage V – is the phasor summation of V1 and V3 (or V2 and V4).

Or

-------- Eqn 28

Note
 The advantage of De Sauty’s bridge is its simplicity.
 This advantage may be nullified by impurities creeping in the measurement if the capacitors
are not free from dielectric losses.
 This method is thus best suited for loss-less air capacitors.

Modified De Sauty’s Bridge

 In order to make measurement in capacitors having inherent dielectric losses, the modified
De Sauty’s bridge can be used.
 This bridge is also called the Series Resistance-Capacitance Bridge.
 Configuration of the modified De Sauty’s bridge and its phasor diagram under balanced
condition are shown below.
Modified De Sauty’s Bridge Phasor Diagram
Configuration

Page 20 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

 The unknown capacitor C1 with internal resistance r1 representing losses in the branch AB is
compared with the standard known standard capacitor C2 along with its internal resistance r2
on arm AC.
 Resistors R1 and R2 are connected externally in series with C1 and C2 respectively.
 The bridge can be balanced by varying either of the non-inductive resistors R3 or R4.

Under balanced condition,

 No current flows through the detector
 Nodes B and C are at the same potential, i.e., V1 = V2 and V3 = V4.

Phasor Diagram
 As shown in the phasor diagram above,
 V3 = I1R3 and V4 = I2R4 being equal both in magnitude and phase, they overlap.
 Current I1 in the arm BD and I2 in the arm CD are also in the same phase with I1R3 and
I2R4 along the horizontal line.
 The other resistive drops, namely, I1R1 in the arm AB and I2R2 in the arm AC are also
along the same horizontal line.
 Finally, resistive drops inside the capacitors, namely, I1r1 andnI2r2 are once again, in the
same phase, along the horizontal line.
 Capacitive voltage drops I1/wC1 lags behind I1r1 by 90°.
 Similarly, the other capacitive voltage drop I2/wC2 lags behind I2r2 by 90°.

Under balanced condition

a. The total voltage drop VC1 across the series combination of capacitor C1 and its internal
resistance r1 – is the phasor summation of the resistive drop I1r1 and the quadrature
capacitive drop I1/ wC1.
b. The total voltage drop VC2 across the series combination of capacitor C2 and its internal
resistance r2 – is the phasor summation of the resistive drop I2r2 and the quadrature
capacitive drop I2/wC2.

 Where d1 and d2 represent loss angles for capacitors C1 and C2 respectively.

c. The total voltage drop V1 across the branch AB – is the phasor summation of I1R1 andVC1.
d. The total voltage drop V2 across the branch AC – is the phasor summation of I2R2 and VC2.
e. The supply voltage V – is the phasor summation of V1 and V3 (or V2 and V4).

 Equating real and imaginary parts, we have

-------- Eqn 29

-------- Eqn 30

Note

Page 21 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

 The modified De Sauty’s bridge can also be used to estimate dissipation factor for the
unknown capacitor.

 Dissipation factor for the capacitors are defined as

-------- Eqn 31
 From Eqn (29), we have

 Using Eqn (31), we get,

Or

 Substituting the value of C1 from Eqn (30), we have

-------- Eqn 32
 Thus, dissipation factor for one capacitor can be estimated if dissipation factor of the other
capacitor is known.

2. Schering Bridge.
 Schering bridges – are most popularly used these days in industries for measurement of
capacitance, dissipation factor, and loss angles.
 The figure below shows the configuration of a Schering bridge and its phasor diagram under
balanced condition.
Schering Bridge Phasor Diagram

 The unknown capacitor C1 along with its internal resistance r1 (representing loss) placed on
the arm AB is compared with the standard loss-less capacitor C2 placed on the arm AC.
Page 22 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020
 This capacitor C2 is either an air or a gas capacitor to make it loss free.
 R3 is a non-inductive resistance placed on arm BD.
 The bridge is balanced by varying the capacitor C4 and the non-inductive resistor R4 parallel
with C4, placed on arm CD.

Under balanced condition

 No current flows through the detector
 Nodes B and C are at the same potential, i.e., V1 = V2 and V3 = V4.

Phasor Diagram
 As shown in the phasor diagram above V3 = I1R3 and V4 = IRR4 being equal both in
magnitude and phase, they overlap.
 Current I1 in the arm BD and IR flowing through R4 are also in the same phase with I1R3 and
IRR4 along the horizontal line.
 The other resistive drop namely, I1R1 in the arm AB is also along the same horizontal line.

Under balanced condition

 The total current I2 in the branch CD (and also in AC) – is the summation of the resistive
current IR through R4 and the quadrature capacitive current IC through C4.
 The total voltage drop V1 across the arm AB – is addition of the resistive drop I1r1 and the
quadrature capacitive drop I1/wC1
 At balance, voltage drop V1 across arm AB will be same as the voltage drop V2 = I2/wC2
across the arm AC.
 The current I2 has quadrature phase relationship with the capacitive voltage drop I2/wC2 in
the arm AC.
 The supply voltage V – is the phasor summation of V1 and V3 (or V2 and V4).

 Equating real and imaginary parts, we have the unknown quantities:

-------- Eqn 33
And

-------- Eqn 34
Dissipation Factor

-------- Eqn 35
Note
Page 23 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020
 Thus, using Schering Bridge, dissipation factor can be obtained in terms of the bridge
parameters at balance condition.

MEASUREMENT OF FREQUENCY

Wien’s Bridge
 Wien’s bridge - is used for determination of an unknown frequency.
 Configuration of a Wien’s bridge for determination of unknown frequency and
corresponding phasor diagram under balanced condition is shown below.

Configuration of a Wien’s bridge Phasor Diagram

Under balanced condition

 No current flows through the detector
 Nodes B and C are at the same potential, i.e., V1=V2 and V3=V4.

Phasor Diagram
 As shown in the phasor diagram above, V3 = I1R3 and V4 = I2R4 being equal both in
magnitude and phase, they overlap.
 Current I1 in the arm BD and I2 flowing through R4 are also in the same phase with I1R3 and
I2R4 along the horizontal line.
 The other resistive drop, namely, I2R2 in the arm AC is also along the same horizontal line.
 The total voltage drop V2 in the arm AC – is the summation of the resistive voltage drop
IRR2 across R2 and the quadrature capacitive drop I2/wC2 across C2.

Under balanced condition

 Voltage drops across arms AB and AC are equal, thus V1 = V2 both in magnitude and phase.
 The voltage V1 will be in the same phase as the voltage drop IRR1 across the resistance R1 in
the same arm AB.
 The resistive current IR will thus be in the same phase as the voltage V1 = IRR1.
 The total current I1 in the arm AB – is the phasor addition of the resistive current IR and the
quadrature capacitive current IC, which flows through the parallel R1C1 branch.
 The supply voltage V – is the phasor summation of V1 and V3 (or V2 and V4).

Page 24 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

  Equating real and imaginary parts, we get

Or

-------- Eqn 36
And

or

or

-------- Eqn 37
 In most bridges, the parameters are so chosen that,

 Then, from Eqn (37), we get

-------- Eqn 38
 Sliders for the resistors R1 and R2 are mechanically coupled to satisfy the criteria R1 = R2.

Note
 Wien’s bridge is frequency sensitive.
 Thus, unless the supply voltage is purely sinusoidal, achieving balance may be
troublesome, since harmonics may disturb balance condition.
 Use of filters with the null detector in such cases may solve the problem.

Example 4
The four arms of a bridge are connected as follows:
Arm AB: A capacitor C1 with an equivalent series resistance r1
Arm BC: A non-inductive resistance R3
Arm CD: A non-inductive resistance R4
Arm DA: A capacitor C2 with an equivalent series resistance r2 in series with a resistance
R2

Page 25 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

A supply of 500 Hz is given between terminals A and C and the detector is connected between
nodes B and D. At balance, R2 = 5 Ω, R3 = 1000 Ω, R4 = 3000 Ω, C2 = 0.3 μF and r2 = 0.25 Ω.
Calculate; -
a. The values of C1 and r1, and
b. The dissipation factor of the capacitor.

Solution
 The configuration can be shown as below

Example 5
The four arms of a bridge supplied from a sinusoidal source are configured as follows:
Arm AB: A resistance of 100 Ω in parallel with a capacitance of 0.5 μF
Arm BC: A 200 Ω non-inductive resistance
Arm CD: A 800 Ω non-inductive resistance
Arm DA: A resistance Rx in series with a 1 μF capacitance
The supply is given between terminals A and C and the detector is connected between nodes B
and D. Determine the value of Rx and the frequency at which the bridge will balance.

Page 26 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

Solution
 The configuration can be shown as

 The configuration shows that it is a Wien’s bridge

 Thus using Eqn 36, the balance equation can be written as

The frequency at which bridge is balanced is given by eqn 37

WAGNER EARTHING DEVICE

 A serious problem encountered in sensitive ac bridge circuits is that due to stray
capacitances.
 Stray capacitances - may be formed in an ac bridge between various junction points within
the bridge configuration and nearest ground (earthed) object.
 These stray capacitors affect bridge balance because these capacitors carry leakage current
when the bridge is operated with ac, especially at high frequencies.

Formation of s stray capacitors

 The figure below shows the formation of stray capacitors in a simple ac bridge circuit.

Reducing the effect of stray capacitance

 Stray capacitance - can be reduced keeping the detector at ground potential.
 Keeping the detector at ground potential - will ensure that there will be no ac voltage
between the detector and the ground.
Page 27 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020
 Thus no current through the detector.
 Formation of stray capacitors in an ac bridge the stray capacitances can leak out.

Note
 Directly connecting the null detector to ground may create a direct current path for other
stray currents.
 Therefore it should be not used alone.
 Wagner ground or Wagner earth – is a special voltage-divider circuit may be used instead
to maintain the null detector at ground potential without having to make a direct connection
between the detector and ground.
 The figure below shows the Wagner earth or Wagner ground

 This is a Wagner earthing device.

 It is a voltage divider as shown above.
 There are two additional (auxiliary) arms ZA and ZB in the bridge configuration with a
ground connection at their junction E.
 The switch S is used to connect one end of the detector alternately to the ground point e and
the bridge connection point d.
 The two impedances ZA and ZB must be made of such components (R, L, or C).
 This will make them capable of forming a balanced bridge with the existing bride arm pairs
Z1–Z2 or Z3–Z4.
 Stray capacitances formed between bridge junctions and the earthing point E are shown as
C1, C2, C3 and C4.

Balancing the bridge

 The bridge is first balanced with the arms Z1–Z2 and Z3–Z4 with the switch at the position d.
 The switch is next thrown to position e and balance is once again attained between arms Z1–
Z2 and Z5–Z6.
 The process is repeated till both bridge configurations become balanced.

At this point,
 Potential at the points; b, d, e are the same and are all at earth potential.
 Thus, the Wagner earthing divider forces the null detector to be at ground potential, without a
direct connection between the detector and ground.

Under these conditions

 No current can flow through the stray capacitors C2 and C3 since their terminals are both at
earth potential.
 The other two stray capacitors C1 and C4 become part of (shunt to) the Wagner arms ZA and
ZB, and thus get eliminated from the original bridge network.

Page 28 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020

Note
 The Wagner earthing method gives satisfactory results in eliminating stray capacitance
charging effects in ac bridges.
 However, the entire balancing process is time consuming at times.

Page 29 of 29 Friday, May 15, 2020