THIAGARAJAR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE, SALEM - 636005

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CourseCode : 21O- 3209 Course Name: Measurements, Instruments and Transducers

Unit II Measurement of Voltage , Current & Resistance

Contents:

2.2 Measurement of Resistance:

Classification of Resistance – Methods of measurement – Measurement of low resistance using
Kelvins Double Bridge – Measurement of medium resistance using Wheatstone Bridge –
Measurement of high resistance using digital meggar – Earth Tester – Importance

Measurement of Resistance:

Resistance :

The opposition to a steady state current in any circuit is known as Resistance.

For measurement, the resistance are classified as
Low resistance of value less than 1 ohm.
Ex: the resistance of machine armature,series field windings, armature shunts, cable resisitance etc.

Medium resistances of Values 1Ω to 10kΩ.

Ex; Winding resistance, multiplier resistance, wire and cable tresistance etc.
High Resistance of above 10kΩ

Ex: Insulation resistance of machines, cable, porcelain insulators etc.

Measurement of Low resistance:

 Ammeter-voltmeter method
 Potentiometer method
 Kelvin double bridge Ohm-meter method

Measurement of Medium Resistance

 Ammeter-voltmeter method
 Substitution Method
 Wheatstone bridge method
 Carey-Foster bridge method

Measurement of High Resistance

The measurement of insulation resistance in electrical systems are very important among all high-
resistance measurements.
Direct Deflection method with the use of high sensitivity galvanometer
Megger Method
Loss of Charge method

Measurement of Resistance by conventional method using Voltmeter and Ammeter

Ammeter and voltmeter method of resistance measurement

It is the simplest method of all resistance measuring methods. This method is commonly used to
measure low and certain medium resistances when an accuracy of roughly 1 percent is sufficient.

The circuit connections may be any one of the following methods :

Fig.1 Fig. 2

Voltmeter reading
R=
Ammeter Reading

Measurement of Low resistance:

Kelvin's Double Bridge for Measuring Low Resistance - Circuit & Working
The Kelvin’s Double bridge is one of the methods of measuring the value of unknown
resistance less than 1Ω. It is the most accurate method of measuring low resistance compared
to other methods.
Need for Kelvin's Double Bridge Circuit :
For the measurement of low resistances, special types of construction and techniques are
required. This is because measurement of medium and high resistances involves the resistance
of their connecting leads and contacts which does not make any considerable errors in the
value.
But, in the case of low resistances, the value of resistance will be less than or equal to 1Ω.
Hence, the resistances of leads and contacts cannot be neglected.
Consider an example of measurement of a resistance of 100 Ω which involves the connecting
leads and contact resistance of 0.025Ω. Hence this measurement involves an error of 0.025 %.

100.025−100
Error ∈%= × 100 % = 0.025% For High Resistance (100 Ω )
100

1.025−1
Error ∈%= × 100 % = 2.5 % For Low Resistance (1 Ω )
1

0.525−0.5
Error ∈%= × 100 % = 5 % For Low Resistance (0.5 Ω )
0.5

If the measurement of 0.25Ω is done under similar conditions then the error will be 10% which
cannot be neglected under any circumstances.
As the value Resistance is decreased the error goes on increasing.

Hence, it is necessary to make a special type of construction for low resistances which is shown
in the figure below.

It consists of 4 terminals in which a, b are to be connected in the circuit for the current flow and
c, d to measure the voltage drop across the low resistances. Hence, the lead and contact
resistances will not be involved in the measurement.

Value of low resistances cannot be measured in the ordinary bridge like the Wheatstone
Bridge, which measures the value of resistance low or high but not the exact.
A simple Kelvin’s double bridge for low resistance measurement is shown.

Here X is the unknown low resistance and S is the known standard resistance its value being the range
of X. M, Q and m and q are four known non-inductive resistances that acts as two set of ratio arms.
Among them one set is fixed and the other set is variable. Under balance

X Q q
= =
S M m

From which the unknown resistance X can be found.

Kelvin Double Bridge ohm- meter:

A modified form of the Kelvin bridge gives Kelvin Bridge Ohmmeter used for quick measurement of
winding resistances in machines and transformers and for the measurement of contact and earth
conductor resistances.
The construction shows a double bridge structure made of fixed resistors R and r, a double slide wire, six
standard resistors (range selector), unknown resistor X and a sensitive galvanometer.

The double slide wire ensures equal ratios on top as well as bottom branches.(The potentiometer across
galvanometer avoids excess deflection when bridge is out of balance.

The six standard resistors provided are in the range from 0.01 ohm to 1000 ohm. Each one of them is
provided with a current connection and potential connection.

The output reading is calibrated from 0.5 ohm to 10.5 ohm on the x1 range using the 100 ohm
standard. Balance is obtained l and the instrument gives direct reading.

The accuracy is in the range ± 0.2 percent.

The overall range of this instrument is from 0.00005 ohm to 105 ohms.

Measurement of Medium Resistance with Wheatstone bridge

A wheatstone bridge with just four arms provides the best and most common method of measuring
medium resistances. The general arrangement is shown. P and Q are two known fixed resistors; S is a
known variable resistor and R is the unknown resistance. G is a sensitive galvanometer shunted by a
variable resistor (potentiometer). This pot avoids excessive deflection of the meter when bridge is very
much out-of-balance.

M is a reversing switch to reverse the battery connections to the bridge.Two separate measurements of
the unknown resistance are taken to eliminate thermo-electric errors. To measure the resistance R, the
battery key is first pressed and after a short time, the galvanometer key is closed.
Balance is obtained by adjusting S (Galvanometer Shows Null Position). The shunt across the
galvanometer is increased as the bridge approaches balance. When shunting is zero, the meter will be at
full sensitivity and show correct null reading at balance.

At balance, voltage drop across P = Voltage drop across R.Also, voltage drop across Q = Voltage drop
across S.

Thus I1 × P = I2 × R and I1 × Q = I2 × S
Value of unknown resistance R is Calculated in terms of the P/Q ratio and known standard resistance S.
A precision wheatstone bridge can measure resistances with a fine accuracy of 0.01 percent.

Wheatstone Bridge
Wheatstone bridge, also known as the resistance bridge, calculates the unknown resistance by
balancing two legs of the bridge circuit. One leg includes the component of unknown
resistance.
Construction of Wheatstone Bridge
A Wheatstone bridge circuit consists of four arms, of which two arms consist of known
resistances while the other two arms consist of an unknown resistance and a variable
resistance. The circuit also consists of a galvanometer and and a DC source. The DC source is
attached between points a and b while the galvanometer is connected between points c and d.
The current that flows through the galvanometer depends on its potential difference.
Wheatstone Bridge Principle
The Wheatstone bridge works on the principle of null deflection, i.e. the ratio of their
resistances is equal, and no current flows through the circuit. Under normal conditions, the
bridge is in an unbalanced condition where current flows through the galvanometer. The bridge
is said to be balanced when no current flows through the galvanometer. This condition can be
achieved by adjusting the known resistance and variable resistance.

Wheatstone Bridge Derivation

The current enters the galvanometer and divides into two equal magnitude currents as I 1 and I2.
The following condition exists when the current through a galvanometer is zero,

I1 × P = I2 × R - (Eqn. 1) as the voltage drop across P and R are equal when Ig

is Zero.

Similarly , I1 × Q = I2 × S - (Eqn. 2 ) as the voltage drop across Q and S are

equal and I1 = I3 & I2 = I4 , when Ig is Zero.

The currents in the bridge, in a balanced condition, are expressed as follows:

Here, E is the emf of the battery.

E
I1 = I3 = ( P+Q) - Eqn. 3

E
I2 = I4 = ( R+ S) - Eqn. 4
By substituting the value of I1 and I2 in equation (1), we get

E×P
( P+Q)
= (E× R
R+ S)
Implies
P
( P+Q)
= ( R+R S)

Hence P × (R+S) = R× (P+Q) implies PR + PS = RP + RQ

P R
Hence PS = RQ implies Q = S .
P
Hence R = Q ×S
In the figure, R is the unknown resistance, S is the standard arm of the bridge and P and Q are
the ratio arm of the bridge.

Wheatstone Bridge Application

 The Wheatstone bridge is used for the precise measurement of low resistance.
 Wheatstone bridge and an operational amplifier are used to measure physical
parameters such as temperature, light, and strain.
 Quantities such as impedance, inductance, and capacitance can be measured using
variations on the Wheatstone bridge.

Wheatstone Bridge Limitations

 For low resistance measurement, the resistance of the leads and contacts becomes
significant and introduces an error.
 For high resistance measurement, the measurement presented by the bridge is so large
that the galvanometer is insensitive to imbalance.
 The other drawback is the resistance change due to the current’s heating effect through
the resistance. Excessive current may even cause a permanent change in the value of
resistance.

Digital Meggar

A megger is used to measure insulation resistance and it is powered by a inbuilt DC generator or

battery of a higher voltage range, it is called Megohmmeter. It is used for measuring the insulation
resistance of the motor winding cable, etc.
The block diagram consist of

 Voltage generator
 Voltage Source
 Current Sensor
 Resistance calculation circuit
 Microcontroller
 Keypad/Display
 Communication Interface
 Power supply
Voltage Generator: This generates the test voltage that is applied to the equipment under test.

CT & PT : They are used for measuring the leakage current that flows through the insulation of
the equipment under test and voltage applied across test points.

Resistance calculation Circuit: By dividing the voltage and current the resistance is calculated
by the circuit.

Power Supply: This is the power source for the microcontroller. It usually consists of a battery
or an AC adapter.

Microcontroller: This is the main processing unit of the instrument. It controls all the functions
of the instrument and performs the necessary calculations.

Power Supply
Voltage
Sensor-PT
( PTPT)
Resistance calculation circuit Microcontroller

Voltage generator

Keyboard /Display -I/O module

Current sensor(CT)

Resistance to be Communication Interface

measured
Display Unit: This displays the test results, such as insulation resistance, leakage current, and
test voltage.

Keypad: This is used to input test parameters, such as the test voltage and duration.

Communication Interface: This allows the instrument to communicate with a computer or

other external device for data storage or analysis.

Advantages
 Preventive repairs can be done after analyzing the Insulation Resistance value.
 Reliability and accuracy of measurement .
 Easy to operate
 Easy to carry
 Cheaper
Applications
 Used in to measure the insulation resistance motors, transformers, and cables and in
power systems & Solar power plants.

Earth Tester

The instrument or device used to find the resistance of earth is known as Earth Tester or
Earth Resistance Tester. It is used to measure the resistance of earthing pit.
 Every equipment in the power system is earthed to ensure protection for both the
system and personnel.
 Earthing is the process of establishing electrical connectivity between noncurrent
bearing parts of an electrical device and earth throw a low resistance path.
 Block Diagram

The block diagram consist of

 Voltage generator
 Voltage Source
 Current Sensor
 Resistance calculation circuit
 Microcontroller
 Keypad/Display
 Communication Interface
 Power supply

Voltage Generator

Voltage Sensor (PT) Current Sensor (CT) Resistance calculation circuit

Microcontroller based system

1.Voltage Generator: The voltage generator generates a test voltage that is applied to the
ground electrode or the grounding system. The test voltage may range from a few volts to
several hundred volts, depending on the specific application and the measurement range of the
instrument.

2. Current Measurement Circuit: The current measurement circuit measures the current
flowing through the ground electrode or the grounding system. It typically includes a sensitive
current amplifier, a voltage buffer, and a low-pass filter to eliminate noise and interference.

3. Resistance Calculation Circuit: The resistance calculation circuit calculates the resistance of
the grounding system based on the test voltage and the measured current. It may include
automatic ranging and zeroing features to improve measurement accuracy.

4.Power Supply: The power supply provides the necessary voltage and current to operate the
digital earth tester. It may include a battery or an AC source and include voltage regulation and
protection circuits.

5. Microcontroller: The microcontroller is the central processing unit of the digital earth tester.
It controls all the functions of the instrument and performs the necessary calculations and
display unit.

6. Display Unit: The display unit displays the test results, such as earth resistance and test
voltage. It may include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, or
other types of display technologies.
Applications of Earth Tester

The applications of earth tester are to measure the earth resistance of

 Power & Distribution transformers

 Cell phone towers
 Street lights and street cabinets
 Lightning protection
 Solar power plant installations.