DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS & TELECOMM.

ENGINEERING

CLASSIFICAITON OF INSTRUMENTS

CONTENT Instrument: A device or mechanism used to determine the present value of

the quantity under measurement. The measuring quantity can be voltage,
Measurement standards , current, power and energy etc.
Error, Types of Error, Statics
of errors, need of calibration, Generally instruments are classified in to two categories.
Classification of instruments,
Secondary instruments,
indicating instruments,
integrating and recording
instruments, Ammeter,
voltmeter, millimeter.

Absolute instrument

These instruments read the quantity under measurement

These instruments read the quality quantity under measurement indirectly that is in terms of

Measurement: The process of determining the amount, degree, or capacity by comparison (direct or
indirect) with the accepted standards of the system units being used.

Measurement Standards

All the instruments are calibrated at the time of manufacturing against measurement standards. A standard of
measurement is a physical representation of a unit of measurement. A standard means a known accurate
measure of physical quantity. The different size of standards of measurement are classified as :

1 International Standards

2 Primary Standards

3 Secondary Standards
4 Working Standards

International Standards:

International standards are defined as the international agreement. These standards as mentioned above are
maintained at the International Bureau of weights and measures and are periodically evaluated and checked
by absolute instruments in terms of fundamental units of physics. These international standards are not
available to the ordinary users for the calibration purpose. For the improvements in the accuracy of absolute
measurements the international units are replaced by the absolute units in 1948. Absolute units are more
accurate than the international units.

Primary Standards:

These are highly accurate absolute standards, which can be used as ultimate reference standards. These
primary standards are maintained at national standard laboratories in different countries These standards
representing fundamental units as well as some electrical and mechanical derived units are calibrated
independently by absolute measurements at each of the national laboratories. These are not available for use
outside the national laboratories. The main function of the primary standards is the calibration and
verification of secondary standards.

Secondary Standards :

AS mentioned above, the primary standards are not available for use outside the national laboratories. The
various industries need some reference standards. So to protect highly accurate primary standards, the
secondary standards are maintained, which are designed and constructed from absolute standards. These are
used by the measurement and calibration laboratories in industries and are maintained by the particular
industry to which they belong. Each industry has its own standards.

Working Standards :

These are the basic tools of the measurement laboratory and are used to check and calibrate the instruments
used in the laboratory for accuracy and performance.

ERROR

The deviation or change of the value obtained from measurement from the desired standard value.
Mathematically,

Error = Obtained Reading/Value – Standard Reference Value.

There are three types of error.

They are as follows:

1. GROSS ERRORS-
Gross errors are caused by mistake in using instruments or meters, calculating measurement and
recording data results. The best example of these errors is a person or operator reading pressure gage
1.01N/m2 as 1.10N/m2. It may be due to the person’s bad habit of not properly remembering data at
the time of taking down reading, writing and calculating, and then presenting the wrong data at a
later time. This may be the reason for gross errors in the reported data, and such errors may end up in
calculation of the final results, thus deviating results.

2. A. SYSTEMATIC ERROR-A constant uniform deviation of an instrument is as systematic error.

There are two types of systematic error.
 a) STATIC ERROR The static error of a measuring instrument is the numerical different between the
true value of a quantity and its value as obtained by measurement.
b) DYNAMIC ERROR
1. It is the different between true value of a quantity changing with and value indicated by the
instrument.
2. The Dynamic Errors are caused by the instrument not responding fast enough to follow the
changes in the measured value. B. RANDOM ERROR-The cause of such error is unknown or not
determined in the ordinary process of making measurement.

TYPES OF STATIC ERROR

i. INSTRUMENTAL ERROR- Instrumental error are errors inherent in mastering instrument because
of the mechanical construction friction is bearing in various moving component. It can be avoided
by a. Selecting a suitable instrument for the particular measurement. b. Applying correction factor
after determining the amount of Instrumental error.

ii. ENVIROMENTAL ERROR –Environmental error are due to conditions external to the measuring
device including condition al in the area surrounding the instrument such as effect of change in
temperature , humidity or electrostatic field it can be avoided
a. Providing air conditioning. b. Use of magnetic shields.

iii. OBSERVATIONAL ERROR

The errors introduced by the observer. These errors are caused by habits of the observers like tilting
his/her head too much while reading a “Needle – Scale Reading.

MEASUREMENT SYSTEM PERFORMANCE:

The performance of the measurement system/instruments are divided into two categories.

(a) Static Characteristics. (b)Dynamic Characteristics.

Static Characteristics

The set of criteria defined for an instrument, which are used to measure the quantities which are slowly
varying with time or mostly constant i.e. do not vary with time is called ’static characteristics’. They are as
follows:

1. ACCURACY- It is defined as the ability of a device or a system to respond to a true value of a measure
variable under condition. OR It is the degree of closeness with which the reading approaches the true value
of the quantity to be measured.

2. PRECISION- A measure of the consistency or repeatability of measurements, i.e. successive readings

does not differ. It is the measure of reproducibility i.e. given a fixed value of a quantity, precision is a
measure of degree of agreement within a group of measurements

3. REPEATABILITY- The repeatability is a measuring device may be defined as the closeness of an

agreement among a number of consecutive measurements of the output for the same value of the input under
save operating system.
4. REPRODUCIBILITY- Reproducibility of an instrument is the closeness of the output for the same value
of input. It is the degree of closeness with which a given value may be repeatedly measured. It is specified in
terms of scale readings over a given period of time. Perfect reproducibility means that the instrument has no
drift.

5. SENSITIVITY- Sensitivity can be defined as a ratio of a change output to the change input at steady state
condition.

The sensitivity denotes the smallest change in the measured variable to which the instruments responds. If is
defined as ratio of the changes in the output of an instrument to a change in the value of the quantity to

measured. Mathematically it is

6. TRUE VALUE-True value is error free value of the measure variable it is given as difference between the
Instrument Reading and Static error. Mathematically, True value= Obtained Instrument reading – static
error.

7. Resolution: The smallest change in a measured variable to which an instrument will respond.

DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF INSTRUMENT

The set of criteria defined for the instruments, which changes rapidly with time, is called dynamic
characteristics.

1. SPEED OF RESPONSE-It is the rapidity with which an instrument responds to the changes to in the
measurement quantity.

2. FIDELITY-The degree to which an instrument indicate the measure variable without dynamic error.

3. LAG-It is retardation or delay in the response an instrument to the changes in the measurement.

Arithmetic Mean

If q1,q2,q3.....qn be the set of measured values of a quantity, then the arithmetic mean q is given by,

Geometric Mean

It is defined as the nth root of the product of n terms.

Median

The middle value of a set of an odd number of readings, if variables are arranged in ascending order, is
called the median. For an even number of readings, the median is the arithmetic average of the two central
readings.

Mode

The value of the variable that occurs most frequently is termed as ’Mode’.

Deviation

The departure of the observed readings from the arithmetic mean of the group of readings is termed as
deviation. Let the deviation of reading q1 be d1 and that of reading q2 be d2 etc. Then,

Thus, the algebraic sum of deviations is zero. The deviations can be positive as well as negative.

Average Deviation

It is defined as the sum of the absolute values of deviations divided by the number of readings.

Average deviation may be expressed as,

Standard Deviation

Standard deviation or mean square deviation of an infinite number of data is defined as the square root of the
sum of individual deviations squared divided by the number of readings. The standard deviation
Variance

The square of the standard deviation is called variance.

Question 1 By using a micrometer screw the following readings were taken of a certain physical length :
1.34, 1.38, 1.56, 1.47, 1.42, 1.44, 1.53, 1.48, 1.40, 1.59 mm Assuming that only random errors are present,
calculate the following :

1. Arithmetic mean
2. Average deviation
3. Standard deviation
4. Variance

Solution :

1. Arithmetic Mean : The arithmetic mean is given by,

Question 2 . Eight different students turned in the circuit for resonance and the values of resonant frequency
in kHz were recorded as : 412, 428, 423, 415, 426, 411, 423, 416 Calculate the following :

1. Arithmetic mean 2. Average deviation 3. Standard deviation 4. Variance.

Question 3 . While measuring a temperature the following ten readings wererecorded:
39.6,39.9,39.7,39.9,40.0,39.8,39.9,39.8and39.7oC. Calculate the following :
1. The mean
2. The standard deviation
3. The probable error or one reading
4. The probable error of mean, and
5. The range
Ans : The statistical values of the given data are computed with the help of the following table :
Calibration :

Calibration is a process that compares a measuring instrument's output to a reference standard to ensure that
the instrument is providing accurate readings. The goal of calibration is to reduce measurement uncertainty
and ensure that the instrument is operating within its specified accuracy range.

The calibration is the procedure of determining the correct values of measurand by comparison with
standard ones. Thestandardofadevicewithwhichcomparisonismadeiscalled standard instrument. The
instrument which is unknown and is to be calibrated is called test instrument. Thus in calibration, test
instrument is compared with standard instrument.

Types of Calibration Methodologies There are two methodologies for obtaining the comparison between test
instrument and standard instrument. These methodologies are :

1. Direct Comparison 2. Indirect Comparison

Direct Comparisons :

In direct comparison, a source or generator applies a known input to the meter under test. The ratio of what
meter is indicating and known generator values gives the meter error. In such case, the meter is test
instrument while the generator is the standard instrument. The deviation of the meter from the standard
value is compared with the allowable performance unit. With the help of direct comparison a generator or
source also can be calibrated.

Indirect Comparisons :

In the indirect comparison, the test instrument is compared with the response of standard instrument of
same type i.e. if test instrument is meter, standard instrument is also meter; if the test instrument is a
generator, the standard instrument is also generator and so on.

If the test instrument is a meter then the same input is applied to the test meter as well as standard meter.

In case of generator calibration, the output of the generator tester as well as standard, or set to same nominal
levels. Then the transfer meter is used which measures the outputs of both the standard and test generator.

Need of Calibration
Calibration of measuring instruments is important because it ensures that the measurements are accurate and
reliable. Here are some reasons why calibration is necessary:
 Measurement systems can drift over time due to wear and tear, environmental changes, or aging.
 Calibration corrects this drift and ensures measurements remain accurate.
 Inaccurate measurements can be dangerous, leading to equipment damage, component failure, and
safety hazards.
 Calibration ensures that products are of high quality and meet national and international standards.
 Calibration can increase production efficiency and reduce the risk of failure in production.
 Calibration can help save money by avoiding the costs of false acceptance and rejection of
products

Definition of Measuring Instrument

The measurement of a given quantity is the result of comparison between the quantity to be measured and a
definite standard. The instrument which is used for such measurements are called measuring instrument.

Classification of Measuring Instruments

Electrical measuring instruments are mainly classified as :

1. Indicating Instruments , 2. Recording Instruments, 3. Integrating Instruments

3. Indicating Instruments : These instruments make use of a dial and pointer for showing or
indicating magnitude of unknown quantity. The examples are ammeters. voltmeters etc.

4. Recording Instruments : These instruments give a continuous record of the given electrical quantity
which is being measured over a specific period. The examples are various types of recorders. In such
recording instruments, the readings are recorded by drawing the graph. The pointer of such
instruments is provided with a marker i.e. pen or pencil, which moves on graph paper as per the
reading. The X-Y plotter is the best example of such an instrument.

5. Integrating Instruments : These instruments measure the total quantity of electricity delivered over
period of time. For example, a household energy meter registers number of revolutions made by the
disc to give the total energy delivered, with the help of counting mechanism consisting of dials and
pointers.

DC Voltmeters

DC voltmeter is a measuring instrument which is used to measure the DC voltage across two points of
electric circuit. If we place a resistor in series with the Permanent Magnet Moving Coil (PMMC)
galvanometer, then the entire combination together acts as DC voltmeter. The series resistance, which is
used in DC voltmeter is also called series multiplier resistance or simply, multiplier. It basically limits the
amount of current that flows through galvanometer in order to prevent the meter current from exceeding the
full scale deflection value. The circuit diagram of DC voltmeter is shown in figure below :
We have to place this DC voltmeter across the two points of an electric circuit, where the DC voltage is to
be measured. Apply KVL around the loop of above circuit,

where,

Rse = the series multiplier resistance

V = the full range DC voltage that is to be measured

Im = the full scale deflection current

Rm = the internal resistance of galvanometer

The ratio of full range DC voltage that is to be measured, V and the DC voltage drop across the
galvanometer, Vm is known as multiplying factor m. Mathematically, it can be represented as

V
m¿
Vm

From this equation , we will get the following equation for full range DC voltage that is to be measured V.
V = ImRse + ImRm

The DC voltage drop across the galvanometer, Vm is the product of full scale deflection current Im and
internal resistance of galvanometer Rm. Mathematically, it can be written as, Vm = ImRm
We can find the value of series multiplier resistance by using above equations.

Multi-Range DC Voltmeter

DC voltmeter can be used to measure a particular range of DC voltages. If we want to use the DC voltmeter
for measuring the DC voltages of multiplier ranges, then we have to use multiple parallel multiplier resistors
instead of single multiplier resistor and this entire combination of resistors is in series with the PMMC
galvanometer. The circuit diagram of multi-range DC voltmeter is shown in figure below:

We have to place this multi-range DC voltmeter across the two points of an electric circuit, where the DC
voltage of required range is to be measured. We can choose the desired range of voltages by connecting the
switch S to the respective multiplier resistor.

Let m1,m2,m3 and m4 are the multiplying factors of DC voltmeter when we consider the full DC voltages to
be measured

as , V1,V2,V3 and V4 respectively. Following are the formulae corresponding to each multiplying factor.

In above circuit, there are four series multiplier resistors, Rse1,Rse2,Rse3 and Rse4. Following are the
formulae corresponding to these four resistors.
So we can find the resistance values of each series multiplier resistor by using above formulae.

AC Voltmeters

The instrument, which is used to measure the AC voltage across any two points of electric circuit is called
AC voltmeter. If the AC voltmeter consists of rectifier, then it is said to be rectifier based AC voltmeter. The
DC voltmeter measures only DC voltages. If we want to use it for measuring AC voltages, then we have to
follow these two steps.

Step-1 : Convert the AC voltage signal into a DC voltage signal by using a rectifier.

Step-2 : Measure the DC or average value of the rectifier’s output signal.

We get rectifier based AC voltmeter, just by including the rectifier circuit to the basic DC voltmeter.
Following are the two types of rectifier based AC voltmeters.

1. AC voltmeter using Half Wave Rectifier 2. AC voltmeter using Full Wave Rectifier

AC Voltmeter using Half Wave Rectifier

If a Half Wave Rectifier is connected ahead of DC voltmeter, then

thatentirecombinationtogetheriscalledACvoltmeterusingHalf Wave Rectifier. The block diagram of AC
voltmeter using Half Wave rectifier is shown in figure

The above block diagram consists of two blocks : half wave rectifier and DC voltmeter. We will get the
corresponding circuit diagram, just by replacing each block with the respective components in above block
diagram. So the circuit diagram of ACvoltmeterusingHalfWaveRectifierwilllooklikeasshownin figure

The rms value of sinusoidal (AC) input voltage signal is

where, Vm isthemaximumvalueofsinusoidal(AC)inputvoltage signal.

The DC or overage value of the Half Wave Rectifier’s output signal is

Therefore,theACvoltmeterproducesanoutputvoltage,whichis equal to0.45 timesthe rmsvalue ofsinusoidal

(AC)input voltage signal.

AC Voltmeter using Full Wave Rectifier

If a full wave rectifier is connected ahead of DC voltmeter, then that entire combination together is called
AC voltmeter using Full wave rectifier. The block diagram of AC voltmeter using Full Wave Rectifier is
shown in figure 2.18. The above block diagram consists of two blocks : full wave rectifier and DC
voltmeter. We will get the corresponding circuit diagram just by replacing each block with the respective
components in above block diagram.

So the circuit diagram of AC voltmeter using full wave

rectifier will look like as shown in figure

The rms value of sinusoidal (AC) input voltage signal is

where, Vm isthemaximumvalueofsinusoidal(AC)inputvoltage signal. The DC or average value of the full
wave rectifier’s output signal is –

Therefore, the AC voltmeter produces an output voltage, which is equal to 0.9 times the rms value of the
sinusoidal (AC) input voltage signal.

DC Ammeters

Current is the rate of flow of electric charge. If this electric charge flows only in one direction, then the
resultant current is called Direct Current (DC). The instrument which is used to measure the direct current
called DC ammeter. If we place a resistor in parallel with the Permanent Magnet Moving Coil (PMMC)
galvanometer, then the entire combination acts as DC ammeter. The parallel resistance, which is used in DC
ammeter is also called shunt resistance or simply shunt. The value of this resistance should be considered
small in order to measure the DC current of large value. The circuit diagram of DC ammeter is shown in
figure below :

We have to place this DC ammeter in series with the branch of an electric circuit, where the DC current is to
be measured. The voltage across the elements, which are connected in parallel is same. So the voltage across
shunt resistor, Rsh and the voltage across galvanometer resistance Rm is same. Since those two elements are
connected in parallel in above circuit. Mathematically, it can be written as,
The KCL equation at node 1 is,

Take Im as common in the denominator term, which is present in the right hand side of equation

Multi-Range DC Ammeter

If we want to use the DC ammeter for measuring the Direct Currents of multiple ranges, then we have to use
multiple parallel resistors instead of single resistor and this entire combination of resistors is in parallel to
the PMMC galvanometer. The circuit diagram of multi-range DC ammeter is shown in figure below:
Place this multi-range DC ammeter in series with the branch of an electric circuit, where the direct current of
required range is to be measured. The desired range of currents is chosen by connecting the switch S to the
respective shunt resistor.

Let m1,m2,m3 and m4 are the multiplying factors of DC ammeter when we consider the total direct currents
to be measured as I1,I2,I3 and I4 respectively. Following are the formulae corresponding to each
multiplying factor.

In the above circuit, there are four shunt resistors, Rsh1,Rsh2,Rsh3 and Rsh4 . Following are the formulae
corresponding to these four resistors.

The above formulae will help us to find the resistance values of each shunt resistor.

QUESTIONS :

1. Explain Static and Dynamic characteristics of instruments.

2. Define error. What are different types of error in instruments? Explain them in detail and suggest
remedies for it.
3. Define term Resolution and Sensitivity.
4. Which are different types of error? List their sources.
5. Explain Accuracy and Reproducibility.
6. Explain is standard and its types.
7. Explain Calibration and State the importance of calibration of instruments.
8. Explain the difference between absolute error and relative error.
9. What is meant by the statistics of errors?
10. How do systematic errors differ from random errors?
11. How can environmental errors be minimized?
12. What are measurement standards? Explain international measurement standard.
13. What are the different types of measurement standards?