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Electrical Measurements AND Fault Diagnosis Notes 2020

Electrical engineering (Meru University of Science and Technology)

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ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENTS AND FAULT DIAGNOSIS DIP 1

Measurement is the comparison of an unknown physical quantity with a known fixed physical quantity.
Measurement is the process of obtaining the magnitude of a quantity relative to an agreed standard.

Basic requirements of measurement

The two basic requirements of measurement are
 The standard used for comparison purposes must be accurately defined and should be commonly accepted.
 The apparatus used and the method adopted must be provable.

The two methods of measurement may be broadly classified into two categories:
 Direct method
 Indirect method.
In direct method of measurement, the unknown quantity is directly compared against the standard. The result is
expressed as a numerical number

Significance of Measurements:
The significance (importance) of measurement is expressed in the following statement of the famous physicist
Lord Kelvin: “ I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about and can express it in
numbers, you know something about it; when you cannot express in it numbers your knowledge is of a meagre
(insufficient) and unsatisfactory kind.”

Measurement Systems:
A measurement system is defined as the system (Group of physical components) which is used for making
measurements.

There are three main functional elements of the measurement systems are:
a) Primary sensing element: these are basically transducers.
b) Variable conversion element or Signal conditioning elements: these are generally filters and amplifiers
circuit.
c) Data presentation element or Outputs elements: these are basically display devices, like LED or LCD
display.
Functions of Measurement systems:
Measurement systems may be classified into three important categories based on their functions they perform.
i) Indicating Measurement system
ii) Recording Measurement system and
iii) Controlling Measurement system.
i) Indicating Function (Indicating measurement system)
In this case information is obtained as a deflection of pointer of a measuring instrument. Example, The speed of
automobile is indicated by deflection of pointer of a speedometer, Ammeter, Voltmeter and Wattmeter.
ii) Recording Function (Recording measurement system)
This involves a written record on the paper according to given input unknown quantity under measurement
against time or against some other variable.
Example, Monitoring of instantaneous values of temperature records using potentiometric strip chart recorder
with respect to time, monitoring of pressure and temperature relationship record for boiler and compressor using
X-Y recorder.
iii) Controlling Function (Controlling measurement system)
In this case, the information is used by the instrument or the system to control the original measured input
unknown quantity.
Applications of Measurement systems:
The Measurement systems are used for different applications are as under the following functions:
i) Monitoring of processes and operations

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ii) Control of Processes and Operations and

iii) Experimental Engineering analysis

QUANTITIES, UNITS AND STANDARDS

Quantity: Quantity is a property that is measured [e.g. mass, length, time, volume, pressure].
Physical Quantities: All quantities in terms of which laws of physics can be expressed and which can be
measured are called Physical Quantities.For example; Distance, Speed, Mass, Force etc.
Physical Quantity = Numerical value × unit
Q = Physical Quantity
n = Numerical value
u = Standard unit
e.g. Mass of stool = 15 kg
Mass = Physical quantity
15 = Numerical value
Kg = Standard unit
Means mass of stool is 15 times of known quantity i.e. Kg.

Characteristics of Standard Unit: A unit selected for measuring a physical quantity should
have the following properties
(i) It should be well defined i.e. its concept should be clear.
(ii) It should not change with change in physical conditions like temperature, pressure, stress etc..
(iii) It should be suitable in size; neither too large nor too small.
(iv) It should not change with place or time.
(v) It should be reproducible.
(vi) It should be internationally accepted.

SYSTEMS OF UNITS: CGS, FPS, MKS, SI

For measurement of physical quantities, the following systems are commonly used:-
(i) C.G.S system: In this system, the unit of length is centimetre, the unit of mass is gram and the unit of time is
second.
(ii) F.P.S system: In this system, the unit of length is foot, the unit of mass is pound and the unit of time is
second.
(iii) M.K.S: In this system, the unit of length is metre, unit of mass is kg and the unit of time is second.
(iv) S.I System: This system is an improved and extended version of M.K.S system of units. It is called
international system of unit.
v) The Electromagnetic System of Units (EMU): The electromagnetic system of units (EMU) has the
centimeter, gram, second, and biot as its base units, where the biot is energy-equivalent to the unit square
root dyne (√cm√g/s). For naming consistency, the biot is called the abampere.

vi) The Electrostatic System of Units (ESU): The electrostatic system of units (ESU) has the centimeter,
gram, second, and franklin as its base units, where the franklin is energy-equivalent to the unit square root
dyne centimeter (cm 3/2 √g/s). For naming consistency, the franklin is called the abcoulomb.

The C.G.S. system suffers from the following disadvantages :

(i) There are two systems of units (e.m.u. and e.s.u.) for fundamental 'theoretical work and
a third (practical units) for practical engineering work. · .
(ii) There are two sets of dimensional equations for the same quantity.
(iii) If we use C.G.S. system factor 4n occ4rs in formulae where its presence seems unwarranted
specially in formulae which are widely med. .

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ADVANTAGES OF M.K.S SYSTEM

Advantage of S.I. system:

(i) It is coherent system of unit i.e. the derived units of a physical quantities are easily obtained by
multiplication or division of fundamental units.
(ii) It is a rational system of units i.e. it uses only one unit for one physical quantity. e.g. It uses Joule (J) as unit
for all types of energies (heat, light, mechanical).
(iii) It is metric system of units i.e. it‘s multiples & submultiples can be expressed in power of 10.

Table of Fundamental Units

Table of Supplementary unit

Definition of Basic and Supplementary Unit of S.I.

1. Metre (m): The metre is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299
792 458 of a second.
2. Kilogram (Kg) : The kilogram is the mass of the platinum-iridium prototype which was approved by the
ConférenceGénérale des Poids et Mesures, held in Paris in 1889, and kept by the Bureau International des Poids
et Mesures.
3. Second (s): The second is the duration of 9192631770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition
between two hyperfine levels of the ground state of Cesium- 133 atom.
4. Ampere (A) : The ampere is the intensity of a constant current which, if maintained in two straight parallel
conductors of infinite length, of negligible circular cross-section, and placed 1 metre apart in vacuum, would
-7
Newton per metre of length.
5. Kelvin (K): Kelvin is the fraction 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water.

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6. Candela (Cd): The candela is the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a source that emits
monochromatic radiation of frequency 540 x 1012 hertz and that has a radiant intensity in that direction of 1/683
watt per steradian.
7. Mole (mol): The mole is the amount of substance of a system which contains as many elementary entities as
there are atoms in 0.012 kilogram of Carbon-12.
Supplementary units:
1. Radian (rad): It is supplementary unit of plane angle. It is the plane angle subtended at the centre of a circle
by an arc of the circle equal to the radius of the circle. It is denoted by 𝜃. 𝜃 = l / r; 𝑙 is length of the arcand 𝑟 is
radius of the circle
2. Steradian (Sr): It is supplementary unit of solid angle. It is the angle subtended at the centre of a sphere by a
surface area of the sphere having magnitude equal to the square of the radius of the sphere. It is denoted by Ω.
Ω = ∆s / r2

SOME IMPORTANT ABBREVIATIONS- multiples and submultiples

Calculations with submultiple and multiple units

When doing calculations with mixed quantities (any combination of base, multiple or submutliple), all of the
quantities should be converted to the base unit.
The conversion is done by moving the decimal point either left or right, based on the factor, as shown in the
table above.
To convert 33nV to volts:
 33 is multiplied by 0.000,000,001to get 0.000000033V (decimal point moved nine places to the left on
the number 33.0).
To convert 33mV to volts:
 33 is multiplied by 0.001 to get 0.033V (decimal point moved three places to the left on the number
33.0).
To convert 33GV to volts:
 33 is multiplied by 1,000,000,000 to get 33,000,000,000V (decimal point moved nine places to the right
on the number 33.0).


Basic Units and Derived Units

Fundamental quantities are those physical quantities that cannot be expressed in terms other quantities. It is an
independent quantities. For example: Length, mass, time, temperature, electric current, amount of substance.
Derived Quantities - Derived quantities are those physical quantities that are derived from the combination of
fundamental quantities. It is a dependent quantity. For example : force, density, volume, momentum etc.

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Similarities between fundamental unit and derived unit

 Both fundamental unit and derived unit are used to express physical quantities.
 Both are parts of International System of Units (SI) and are standardized.

Differences between fundamental unit and derived unit

Fundamental Unit Derived Unit
Derived units are all those units which are
Fundamental units are all those units which are
obtained by multiplying and/or dividing one or
independent of any other unit (including
more fundamental units with or without
themselves).
introducing any other numerical factor.
Fundamental units cannot be broken down into Derived units can be broken down to its
elementary level; in fact, these are elementary elementary level (composed of fundamental
unites. units).
Fundamental units cannot be expressed in terms Derived units can be expressed in terms of
of derived units. fundamental units.
Only seven fundamental units exist in SI system. A large number of derived units are available.
Examples of fundamental units along with Examples of derived units:
physical properties are:
 Velocity (m/s)
2
 Length (Meter, m)  Acceleration (m /s)
 Mass (Kilogram, kg)  Momentum (kg-m/s)
 Time (Second, s)  Force (N)
3
 Temperature (Kelvin, K)  Density (kg/m )
 Amount of substance (Mole, mol)  Heat (J)
 Electric current (Ampere, A)  Energy (J)
 Luminous intensity (Candela, cd)  Power (W), etc.

PRACTICAL UNITS

Absolute units

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A system in which the various units of measurement are all expressed in terms of fundamental units is called
absolute units. An absolute measurement does not compare the measured quantity with arbitrary units of same
kind, but is made in terms of some fundamental units.

Auxiliary fundamental units.

There are certain fundamental measures which relates to other disciplines such as thermal, electrical,
illuminations etc. The units of measure for certain physical quantities related only to such fields are called
auxiliary fundamental units. Thus units such as ampere to measure current in electric field, unit Kelvin used
to measure temperature in thermal discipline are auxiliary fundamental units.
Two supplementary SI units
1) Plane angle, radian, rad
2) Solid angle, steradian sr

Dimensional Equations and Formulas of Physical Quantities

The dimension of a physical quantity is defined as the power to which the fundamental quantities are raised to
express the physical quantity. The dimension of mass, length and time are represented as [M], [L] and [T]
respectively. For example:

We say that dimension of velocity are, zero in mass, 1 in length

and -1 in time.

An advantage of the SI is the ease with which dimensional calculations can be performed. A derived unit is
recognized by its dimensions, which can be defined as the complete algebraic formula for the derived unit.
If we define the dimensions of length, mass, and time as [L], [M], and [T], respectively, then physical
quantities may be expressed as [L] x[M] y[T] z. For instance, the dimension of acceleration is [L][T] -2 and that
of force is [L][M][T] -2. In the mks system of units, the systematic unit of acceleration is therefore 1 m/s 2 and
that of force is 1 kgm/s 2.

The dimensional symbol for the derived unit of area is L2 and that for volume is L3 . For convenience, some
derived units have been given new names. For example, the derived unit of force in the SI system is called the
newton (N), instead of the dimensionally correct kg-m/s2.
Example: The volume , V = l * b* h where the dimension of each l, b and h is [L]. Hence the equation is
dimensional form becomes,
V = [L][L][L]
V = [L3]

Dimensional formula of a Physical Quantity

The dimensional formula is defined as the expression of the physical quantity in terms of its basic unit with
proper dimensions. For example, dimensional force is
F = [M L T-2]
It's because the unit of Force is Netwon or kg*m/s2

Dimensional Equations
The equation obtained by replacing each quantity in the mathematical equation by respective dimensions is
called dimensional equations.

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Advantages of Dimensional equations

 In conversion from one system of units to another system of units
 In derivation of equations for physical quantities
 In checking the accuracy of an equation

Uses of Dimensional Equations:

i. To check the correctness of a physical relation.
ii. To derive the relation between various physical quantities.
iii. To convert value of physical quantity from one system of unit to another system.
iv. To find the dimension of constants in a given relation.
Limitation of Dimensional analysis
i. It does not give information about the dimensional constant.
ii. if a quantity depends on more than three factors having dimension, the formula cannot be derived.
iii. We cannot derive the formulae containing trigonometric function, exponential functions, logarithmic
function, etc.
iv. The exact form of relation cannot be developed when there are more than one part in any relation.
v. It gives no information whether a physical quantity is scalar or vector.

Dimensional formula SI& CGS unit of Physical Quantities

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Example.1 Derive the dimensional formula of following Quantity & write down their dimensions.
(i) Density (ii) Power (iii) Co-efficient of viscosity (iv) Angle

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Example 2 Explain which of the following pair of physical quantities have the same dimension:
(i) Work &Power (ii) Stress & Pressure (iii) Momentum &Impulse

PRINCIPLE OF HOMOGENEITY OF DIMENSIONS

It states that the dimensions of all the terms on both sides of an equation must be the

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same. According to the principle of homogeneity, the comparison, addition & subtraction of all physical
quantities is possible only if they are of the same nature i.e., they have the same dimensions. If the power of M,
L and T on two sides of the given equation are same, then the physical equation is correct otherwise not.
Therefore, this principle is very helpful to check the correctness of a physical equation.

Example: A physical relation must be dimensionally homogeneous, i.e., all the terms on both
sides of the equation must have the same dimensions. In the equation, S = ut + ½ at 2
The length (S) has been equated to velocity (u) & time (t), which at first seems to be meaningless, But if this
equation is dimensionally homogeneous, i.e., the dimensions of all the terms on both sides are the same, then it
has physical meaning.
Now, dimensions of various quantities in the equation are:

Distance, S = [L1]
Velocity, u = [L1T-1]
Time, t = [T1]

Example 3. Check the correctness of the following formulae by dimensional analysis.

(i) 𝐹=𝑚v2/r (ii)=2𝜋√𝑙/𝑔
Where all the letters have their usual meanings

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Example 4. Check the accuracy of the following relations:

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DIMENSIONS IN ELECTROSTATIC SYSTEM

where ε is the permitivity of a free space.

And vacuum is assume to be unity in such systems

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DIMENSIONS IN ELECTROMAGNETIC SYSTEMS

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TABLE OF DIMENSIONS OF ELECTRICAL AND MAGNETIC QUANTITIES

EXAMPLES

Magnetic flux
To obtain the dimensions of flux, use can be made of Faraday‘s law which states that EMF (induced in any circuit) = rate
of change of flux

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Flux density
Since by definition flux density is flux per unit area

Consider the measurement of inductance of a coil using Hay‘s bridge ,the expression for the inductance being obtained as

proof that it is dimensionally correct

where R2 , R3 , R4 and C denote the various branch components of the bridge and ω the angular frequency of
the supply.
Here, if R2 , R3 , and R4 are in ohm, ω in rad/s, and C is in farad, the inductance must be obtained in henry if
the derivation of the above expression is correct. However, whilst the magnitude of L will be obtained in terms
of the values of resistances etc. in the expression, it is essential that the expression must be dimensionally
balanced to yield the true value of the inductance. Thus, in the above expression, after some simplification,

note 1 is dimensionless

Dimensions of Electrical and Magnetic Quantities in Rationalised MKS System(LMTI)

The dimensions of the various quantities in the Rationalised System are based on FOUR fundamental quantities
and their dimensions. These are: metre [M], kilogramme [K], second [S] (or time [T]), and ampere (or current)
[I]. The use of ampere as the fourth fundamental unit was recommended by the IEC in July, 1950 and was
subsequently adopted
universally. The main feature of the system is that it does away with the use of either permittivity or
permeability which do not appear in any of the dimensions.
The current itself being the rate of electric charge (charge per unit time), can be dimensionally expressed as

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Electromotive force or potential difference in MKS

Since potential difference = work per unit charge

substituting for the dimensions of [Q].

Electric flux
This is dimensionally equal to the charge producing it,

Dimensions of quantities in rationalised MKS system TABLE

Then, the permeability and permittivity are associated with the field quantities as follows:

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STANDARDS OF MEASUREMENTS

A standard is a physical representation of a unit of measurement. The term standard is applied to a piece of
equipment having a known measure of physical quantity. Types of Standards are
• International Standards
• Primary Standards
• Secondary Standards
• Working Standards
International Standards (defined based on international agreement ) They represent certain units
of measurements to the closest possible accuracy that production and measurement technology
allow. These standards are maintained at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in
America and not available to the ordinary user of measuring instruments.

Primary Standards (maintained by national standards laboratories) The primary (basic) standards are maintained
by national standards laboratories in different parts of the world. The National Bureau of standards (NBS) in
America, National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in Britain, and Physikalisch Technische in Germany. The primary
standards represent the fundamental units and some of the derived mechanical and electrical units. Primary standards
are not available for use outside the national laboratories. One of the main functions of primary standards is the
verification and calibration of secondary standards.

Secondary Standards ( used by industrial measurement laboratories). Secondary standards are the basic reference
standards used in industrial measurement
laboratories. These standards are maintained by the particular involved industry and are generally
sent to the national standards laboratories (primary) on a periodic basis for calibration and
comparison.

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Working Standards ( used in general laboratory). Working standards are the principal tools of a measurement
laboratory. They are used to check and calibrate general laboratory instrument for accuracy and performance or to
perform comparison measurements in industrial applications. A manufacturer of precision resistances, for example,
may use a standard resistor (a working standard) in the quality control department of his plant to check his testing
equipment.

Calibration:
Calibration is defined as the process by which comparing the instrument with a standard to correct the accuracy.
Why must instruments be calibrated?
Calibration of all instruments is important since it affords the opportunity to check the instruments against a
known standard and subsequently to find errors and accuracy. Calibration Procedure involve a comparison of
the particular instrument with either :a primary standard, a secondary standard with a higher accuracy than the
instrument to be calibrated or an instrument of known accuracy

Factors Effecting Instrument selection

DEFINITIONS OF SOME STATIC CHARACTERISTICS
1. Accuracy closeness with which an instrument reading approaches the true value of the variable being
measured.
2. Stability: It is the ability of an instrument to retain its performance throughout is specified operating life.
3. Precision a measure of the reproducibility of the measurements; i.e., given a fixed value of a variable,
precision is a measure of the degree to which successive measurements differ from one another.
4. Sensitivity the ratio of output signal or response of the instrument to a change of input or
measured variable.
5. Resolution the smallest change in measured value to which the instrument will respond.
6. Error deviation from true value of the measured value.
7. Expected value: The design value, i.e. the most probable value that calculations indicate one should
expect to measure.
8. Threshold:
If the instrument input is increased very gradually from zero there will be some minimum value below which no
output change can be detected. This
minimum value defines the threshold of the instrument.
9. Tolerance: The maximum allowable error in the measurement is specified in terms of some value which is
called tolerance.
10. Range
It is defined as that region enclosed by the limits within which a particular quantity is measured.
11- Span
It is algebraic difference of the upper and lower limits of the range.
Example:
The span of (0 to10) voltmeter is Span= 10-0=10 state
But the span for (-10 to +10) voltmeter is Span= 10-(-10) =20 state
12. Repeatability—variation due to the measuring device, or the variation observed when the same operator
measures the same part repeatedly with the same device
13- Loading effect
It‘s the change of circuit parameter, characteristic, or behaves due to instrument operation with out maintains.

Dynamic characteristics:
The set of criteria defined for the instruments, which are changes rapidly with time, is called „dynamic
characteristics‟.
The various dynamic characteristics are:
i) Speed of response ii) Measuring lag

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iii) Fidelity
iv) Dynamic error

Speed of response:
It is defined as the rapidity with which a measurement system responds to changes in the measured quantity.
Measuring lag:
It is the retardation or delay in the response of a measurement system to changes in the measured quantity. The
measuring lags are of two types:
a) Retardation type:
In this case the response of the measurement system begins immediately after the change in measured quantity
has occurred.
b) Time delay lag:
In this case the response of the measurement system begins after a dead time after the application of the input.
Fidelity: It is defined as the degree to which a measurement system indicates changes in the measurand
quantity without dynamic error.
Dynamic error: It is the difference between the true value of the quantity changing with time & the value
indicated by the measurement system if no static error is assumed. It is also called measurement error.

EXAMPLE
A moving coil ammeter has a uniform scale with 50 divisions and gives a full-scale reading of 5 A. The
instrument can read up to V th of a scale division with a fair degree of certainty. Determine the resolution of the
instrument in mA.

Solution Full-scale reading = 5 A

Number of divisions on scale = 50

Speed of Response
The quickness of an instrument to read the measured variable is called the speed of response. Alternately, speed
of response is defined as the time elapsed between the start of the measurement to the reading taken.

Errors in Measurement
In order to understand the concept of errors in measurement, we should know the two terms that defines the
error and these two terms are written below:
True Value
It is not possible to determine the true value of quantity by experiment means. True value may be defined as the
average value of an infinite number of measured values when average deviation due to various contributing
factor will approach to zero.

Measured Value
It may be defined as the approximated value of true value. It can be found out by taking means of several
measured readings during an experiment, by applying suitable approximations on physical conditions.. Static
error is defined as the difference of the measured value and the true value of the quantity
Static error = measured value – true value. defined as the difference btn the measured value and true value of
quantity i.e  A = Am – A t
Where ,
 A = error

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Am = measured value
A t = true value
 A – static error of quantity A under measurement

Sometimes, δA is denoted by ε0.(absolute error =up or down value)

The relative error is the ratio of absolute error to the true value of the unknown quantity to be measured,

i.e relative error = r = δA/At = ε0/At = Absolute value /true value

Quantity of measurement is provided by relative static error
When the absolute error ε0 (=δA) is negligible, i.e., when the difference between the true value At and the
measured value Am of the unknown quantity is very small or negligible then the relative error may be expressed
as,

The relative error is generally expressed as a fraction, i.e., 5 parts in 1000 or in percentage value,

 A = Am – A t
At=Am -A
= A m - o
= A m - r .At
A m = A t / (1+ r )
So, At = Am /(1- r )

The magnitude of a given quantity having a specified magnitude Am and a maximum or a limiting error ±δA
must have a magnitude between the limits

Static correction ( C )

 C = At –Am
At = true value
Am = measured value

For example, the measured value of a resistance of 100 Ω has a limiting error of ±0.5 Ω. Then the true value of
the resistance is between the limits 100 ± 0.5, i.e., 100.5 and 99.5Ω.

EXAMPLE
A voltage has a true value of 1.5 V on an analog indicating meter with a range 0 to 2.5 V shows a voltage of
1.46 V. Determine the value of absolute error and correction. Express the error as a fraction of true value & full
scale defection
Ans : Abs. Error = -0.04, correction =0.04
relative error for true value =2.67%
relative error for full scale deflection = 1.6%

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EXAMPLE
A 0-25 A ammeter has a guaranteed accuracy of 1 percent of full scale reading. The current measured by this
instrument is 10 A. Determine the limiting error in percentage.

Solution The magnitude of limiting error of the instrument is

δA = εr × A = 0.01 × 25 = 0.25 A
The magnitude of the current being measured is 10 A. The relative error at this current is

EXAMPLE
The inductance of an inductor is specified as 20 H ± 5 percent by a manufacturer. Determine the limits of
inductance between which it is guaranteed.

Solution

EXAMPLE
A 0-250 V voltmeter has a guaranteed accuracy of 2% of full-scale reading. The voltage measured by the
voltmeter is 150 volts. Determine the limiting error in percentage.
Solution The magnitude of the limiting error of the instrument

EXAMPLE
The measurand value of a resistance is 10.25 Ω, whereas its value is 10.22 Ω. Determine the absolute error of
the measurement.
Solution

EXAMPLE
The measured value of a capacitor is 205.3 μF, whereas its true value is 201.4 μF. Determine the relative error.
Solution

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EXAMPLE
A wattmeter reads 25.34 watts. The absolute error in the measurement is –0.11 watt. Determine the true value of
power.

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EXAMPLE
A voltmeter, having a sensitivity of 1,000 /V, reads 100 V on its 150-V scale when connected across an
unknown resistor in series with a milliammeter. When the milliammeter reads 5 mA, calculate
1. apparent resistance of the unknown resistor,
2. actual resistance of the unknown resistor,
3. error due to the loading effect of the voltmeter.

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Repeat the above Example if the milliammeter reads 800 mA and the voltmeter reads 40 V on its 150-V scale.

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ERRORS IN MEASUREMENT
The types (classification) of errors are follows
i) Gross errors
ii) Systematic errors
iii) Random errors
Gross Errors:
The gross errors mainly occur due to carelessness or lack of experience of a human begin. These errors also
occur due to incorrect adjustments of instruments.These errors cannot be treated mathematically
These errors are also called personal errors‟.
Ways to minimize gross errors:
The complete elimination of gross errors is not possible but one can minimize them by the following ways:
Taking great care while taking the reading, recording the reading & calculating the result Without depending on
only one reading, at least three or more readings must be taken * preferably by different persons.

Systematic errors:
A constant uniform deviation of the operation of an instrument is known as a Systematic error. The Systematic
errors are mainly due to the short comings of the instrument & the characteristics of the material use d in the
instrument, such a s defective or worn parts, ageing effects, environmental effects, etc. The systematic errors
can be subdivided as static and dynamic errors. The static errors are caused by the limitations of the measuring
device while the dynamic errors are caused by the instrument not responding fast enough to follow the changes
in the variable to be measured.

Types of Systematic errors:

There are three types of Systematic errors as:
i) Instrumental errors
ii) Environmental errors
iii) Observational errors

Instrumental errors:
These errors can be mainly due to the following three reasons:
a) Short comings of instruments:
These are because of the mechanical structure of the instruments. For example friction in the bearings of various
moving parts; irregular spring tensions, reductions in due to improper handling , hysteresis, gear backlash,
stretching of spring, variations in air gap, etc .,
Ways to minimize this error:
These errors can be avoided by the following methods:
(a) Selecting a suitable instrument for the particular measurement applications.
(b) Applying correction factors after determining the amount of instrumental error.
(c) Calibrating the instrument against a standard.
b) Misuse of instruments:
A good instrument if used in abnormal way gives misleading results. Poor initial adjustment, Improper zero
setting, using leads of high resistance etc., are the examples of misusing a good instrument. Such things do not
cause the permanent damage to the instruments but definitely cause the serious errors.
Instrumental errors can be avoided by

C) Loading effects
Loading effects due to im proper way of using the instrument cause the serious errors. The best ex ample of
such loading effect error is connecting a w ell calibrated volt meter across the two points of high resistance
circuit. The same volt meter connected in a low resistance circuit gives accurate reading.

Ways to minimize this error:

Thus the err ors due to the loading effect can be avoided by using an instrument intelligently and correctly.

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Environmental errors:
These errors are due to the conditions external to the measuring instrument. The various factors resulting these
environmental errors are temperature changes, pressure changes, thermal emf, ageing of equipment and
frequency sensitivity of an instrument.

Ways to minimize this error:

i) Using the proper correction factors and using the information supplied by the manufacturer of the instrument
ii) Using the arrangement which will keep the surrounding conditions Constant
iii) Reducing the effect of dust ,humidity on the components by hermetically sealing the components in the
instruments
iv) The effects of external fields can be minimized by using the magnetic or electro static shields or screens
v) Using the equipment which is immune to such environmental effects.

Observational errors:
These are the errors introduced by the observer.
These are many sources of observational errors such as parallax error while reading a meter, wrong scale
selection, etc.
Following are some of the reasons for observational errors
(a) Construction of the Scale : There is a possibility of error due to the division of the scale not being uniform
and clear.
(b) Fitness and Straightness of the Pointer : If the pointer is not fine and straight, then it always gives the
error in the reading.
(c) Parallax : Without a mirror under the pointer there may be parallax error in reading.
(d) Efficiency or Skillness of the Observer : Error in the reading is largely dependent upon the skillness of the
observer by which reading is noted accurately.

Ways to minimize this error

To eliminate such errors one should use the instruments with mirrors, knife edged pointers, etc.,

Random errors:
Some errors still result, though the systematic and instrumental errors are reduced or at least accounted for. The
causes of such errors are unknown and hence the errors are called random errors.
Ways to minimize this error
The only way to reduce these errors is by increasing the number of observations and using the statistical
methods to obtain the best approximation of the reading.

NOTE:

In general, systematic errors can be subdivided into static and dynamic errors.
Static error – caused by limitations of the measuring device or the physical laws governing its behavior.
Dynamic error – caused by the instrument not responding very fast enough to follow the changes in a measured
variable.

Error due to Other Factors

Temperature Variation
Variation in temperature not only changes the values of the parameters but also brings changes in the reading of
the instrument. For a consistent error, the temperature must be constant.
Effect of the Time on Instruments

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There is a possibility of change in calibration error in the instrument with time. This may be called ageing of the
instrument.
Effect of External Electrostatic and Magnetic Fields
These electrostatic and magnetic fields influence the readings of instruments. These effects can be minimized
by proper shielding.
Mechanical Error
Friction between stationary and rotating parts and residual torsion in suspension wire cause errors in
instruments. So, checking should be applied. Generally, these errors may be checked from time to time.

DC VOLTAGE AND CURRENT MEASUREMENT.

Principle And Types Of Analog And Digital Voltmeters
Ø Basically an electrical indicating instrument is divided into two types. They are i) Analog instruments
ii) Digital Instruments.
Ø Analog instruments are nothing but its output is the deflection of pointer, which is proportional to its input.
Ø Digital Instruments are its output is in decimal form.
Ø The action of all ammeters and voltmeters, with the exception of electrostatic type of instruments, depends
upon a deflecting torque produced by an electric current.
Ø Thus all analog voltmeters and ammeters are essentially current measuring devices.
The essential requirements of a measuring instrument are
(i) That its introduction into the circuit, where measurements are to be made, does not alter the circuit
conditions ;
(ii) The power consumed by them for their operation is small.

Advantages of digital meters over analog meters.

1. They are more accurate than analog multimeters.
2. They reduce reading and interpolation errors.
3. The 'auto-polarity' function can prevent problems from connecting the meter to a test circuit with the
wrong polarity.
4. Parallax errors are eliminated. If the pointer of an analog multimeter is viewed from a different angle,
you will see a different value. This is parallax error. A digital multimeter's numerical display solves this
problem
5. Digital multimeter displays have no moving parts. This makes them free from wear and shock failures.
6. The reading speed is increased as it is easier to read.
7. Unlike analog multimeters, zero adjustment is not required.
8. Digital output is suitable for further processing or recording and can be useful in a rapidly increasing
range of computer controlled applications.
9. With the advent of Integrated circuits, the size, cost and power requirements of digital multimeters has
been drastically reduced.
10. Accuracy is increased due to digital readout. You can make mistake in reading the scale in analog
multimeter, but digital multimeters have a LCD display to show accurate reading.
11. DMMs can be used in testing continuity, capacitors, diodes and transistors. More advanced digital
multimeters can also measure frequency.
12. The 'auto-ranging' feature of a digital multimeter helps in selecting different measurement ranges, which can
prevent damage to the meter if the wrong range is selected.
13. Portable size makes it easy to carry anywhere.
14. They cause less meter loading effects on the circuits being tested.
15. Some advanced digital multimeters have microprocessors and can store the readings for further processing.
16. They have very high input impedance.
17.

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Disadvantages of Digital Multimeters(DMM)

1. The LCD display depends on a battery or external power source. When the battery is low, the display will
be dim, making it difficult to read.
2. In case of fluctuations or transients, it can record an error.
3. Warming of the meter during its use can change its properties leading to errors in measured value.
4. The A/D converter has a limitation on word length which can cause quantization noise giving rise to error in
measured value.
5. There is a voltage limitation. If it is increased beyond the limit, the meter will be damaged.
6. The digital nature makes it unsuitable for adjusting tuning circuits or peaking tunable responses.
7. They are expensive due to high manufacturing cost.
In spite of above mentioned disadvantages, the digital multimeters are gaining popularity and are most widely
used
Advantage of PMMC instrument
1. Uniform scale.
2. Very effective eddy current damping
3. Power consumption is low.
4. No hysteresis loss.
5. They are not affected by stray field.
6. Require small operating current.
7. Accurate and reliable.
Disadvantage of PMMC instrument
1. Only used for D.C measurement.
2. Costlier compared to moving iron instrument.
3. Some errors are caused due to the aging of the control springs and the
permanent magnets.
Errors in moving iron instrument
1) Hysteresis error: Due to hysteresis effect, the flux density for the same current
while ascending and descending values is different. While descending, the flux density
is higher and while ascending it is lesser. So meter reads higher for descending values
of current or voltage. So remedy for this is to use smaller iron parts which can
demagnetise quickly or to work with lower flux densities.
2) Temperature error : The temperature error arises due to the effect of temperature
on the temperature coefficient of the spring. This error is of the order of 0.02 % per oC
change in temperature. Errors can cause due to self heating of the coil and due to which
change in resistance of the coil. So coil and series resistance must have low
temperature coefficient. Hence mangnin is generally used for the series resistance.
3) Stray magnetic Field Error : The operating magnetic field in case of moving iron
instruments is very low. Hence effect of external i.e. stray magnetic field can cause
error. This effect depends on the direction of the stray magnetic field with respect to the
operating field of the instrument.
4) Frequency Error : These are related to a.c. operation of the instrument. The change
in frequency affects the reactance of the working coil and also affects the magnitude of
the eddy currents. This cause error in the instrument.
5) Eddy Current Error : When instrument is used for a.c. measurements the eddy
currents are produced in the iron parts of the instrument. The eddy current affects the
instrument current causing the change in the deflection torque. This produce the error in
the meter reading. As eddy current are frequency dependent, frequency changes cause
eddy current error.

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Analog Meters: Galvanometers

Analog meters have a needle that swivels to point at numbers on a scale, as opposed to digital meters, which
have numerical readouts similar to a hand-held calculator. The heart of most analog meters is a device called a
galvanometer, denoted by G. Current flow through a galvanometer, IG , produces a proportional needle
deflection. (This deflection is due to the force of a magnetic field upon a current-carrying wire.) This movement
of coil is called D'Arsonval movement and basic meter is called D'Arsonval galvanometer.

The two crucial characteristics of a given galvanometer are its resistance and current sensitivity. Current
sensitivity is the current that gives a full-scale deflection of the galvanometer‘s needle, the maximum current
that the instrument can measure. For example, a galvanometer with a current sensitivity of 50 μA has a
maximum deflection of its needle when 50 μA flows through it, reads half-scale when 25 μA flows through it,
and so on. If such a galvanometer has a 25-Ω resistance, then a voltage of only V=IR=(50 μA)(25 Ω)=1.25 mV
produces a full-scale reading. By connecting resistors to this galvanometer in different ways, you can use it as
either a voltmeter or ammeter that can measure a broad range of voltages or currents.

Galvanometer as an Ammeter

The same galvanometer can also be made into an ammeter by placing it in parallel with a small resistance R,
often called the shunt resistance, Since the shunt resistance is small, most of the current passes through it,
allowing an ammeter to measure currents much greater than those producing a full-scale deflection of the
galvanometer.

• Current I gets split into Ishunt and IG . Shunt also reduces resistance of the ammeter:

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Example: what shunt resistance is required for an ammeter to have a resistance of 10 m, if the galvanometer
resistance is 60 ?

Example: an ammeter is needed that gives a full-scale deflection for 1.0 A, and contains the same 25-Ω
galvanometer with its 50-μA sensitivity. Since Rs and RG are in parallel, the voltage across them is the same.
These IRs drops are IRs=IGRG so that IRs=IGI =RsRG . Solving for RS, and noting that IG is 50 μA and I is
0.999950 A, we have RS=RGIGI=(25Ω)50 μA0.999950 A=1.25×10−3Ω.

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Loading Effect of ammeter on circuit

To measure current, connect ammeter in series

To minimize error, ammeter resistance r must be very small. (ideal ammeter would have zero resistance)
Example: an ammeter of resistance 10 m is used to measure the current through a 10  resistor in series with
a 3 V battery that has an internal resistance of 0.5 . What is the relative (percent) error caused by the
ammeter?

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Galvanometer as a Voltmeter
voltmeter can be made from galvanometer in series with a large resistance

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LOADING EFFECTS OF VOLTMETER ON CIRCUIT

When a voltmeter is used to measure the voltage across a circuit component the voltmeter circuit itself is in
parallel with the circuit component. Since the parallel combination of two resistors is less than either resistor
alone. The resistance seen by the source is less with the voltmeter connected than without. Therefore, the
voltage across the component is less whenever the voltmeter is connected. The decrease in voltage may be
negligible or it may be appreciable. depending on the sensitivity of the voltmeter being used. This effect is
called voltmeter loading. The resulting error is called a loading error.

To measure voltage in a circuit connect voltmeter in parallel

• voltmeter has some resistance R V

• current IV flows through voltmeter
• extra current changes voltage drop across r and thus Vab

Example: a galvanometer of resistance 60  is used to measure the voltage drop across a 10 k resistor in
series with an ideal 6 V battery and a 5 k resistor. What is the relative error caused by the nonzero resistance
of the galvanometer?

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Example: a voltmeter of resistance 100 k is used to measure the voltage drop across a 10 k resistor in
series with an ideal 6 V battery and a 5 k resistor. What is the percent error caused by the nonzero
resistance of the voltmeter?

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multirange ammeter
The range of the basic d.c. ammeter can be extended by using number of shunts and a selector switch. Such
ammeter is called multirange ammeter. The aryton shunt is used

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Multirange voltmeters:
The range of the basic d.c. voltmeter can be extended by using number of multipliers clnd a selector switch.
Such a meter is called multirange voltmeter

The R1, R2, R3 and R4 are the four series multipliers. When connected in series with the meter, they can give
four different voltage ranges as V1, V2, V3 and V4. The selector switch S is multiposition switch by which the
required multiplier can be selected in the circuit.
The mathematical analysis of basic d.c. voltmeter is equally applicable for such multirange voltmeter. Thus,

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Key Points

 A voltmeter is an instrument used for measuring electrical potential difference between two points in an
electric circuit.
 An ammeter is a measuring device used to measure the electric current in a circuit.
 A voltmeter is connected in parallel with a device to measure its voltage, while an ammeter is connected
in series with a device to measure its current.
 At the heart of most analog meters is a galvanometer, an instrument that measures current flow using the
movement, or deflection, of a needle. The needle deflection is produced by a magnetic force acting on a
current-carrying wire.
 shunt resistance: a small resistance R placed in parallel with a galvanometer G to produce an ammeter;
the larger the current to be measured, the smaller R must be; most of the current flowing through the
meter is shunted through R to protect the galvanometer
 galvanometer: An analog measuring device, denoted by G, that measures current flow using a needle
deflection caused by a magnetic field force acting upon a current-carrying wire.

OHMMETER

The PMMC (Permanent-Magnetic Moving-Coil Movement) can change to be ohmmeter with connected
voltage source and limited current resistor in series. The type of Ohmmeter is series ohmmeter and parallel
ohmmeter. The purpose of an ohmmeter is to measure the resistance placed between its leads. This resistance
reading is indicated through a mechanical meter movement which operates on electric current.

SERIES OHMMETER

Operation of Series Ohmmeter

When Rx = 0 ( AB terminal short), the current in circuit is maximum and the pointer shown the full reading.
Adjust the R2 until the full scale, IM. The pointer at full scale is mark as 0 ohm. When Rx = infinity (AB

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terminal open), the current in circuit is 0. The unknown resistance must connect series with basic meter
movement. This circuit use to measure higher resistance and the pointer is mark as infinity.

THE POINTER LOCATION

EXAMPLE
Given PMMC with resistance 100Ω was using in series ohmmeter. R1 = 500Ω, R2 = 400Ω and
supply voltage = 10V. When connected with Rx, the reading shows 0.5mA. Find the value of Rx.

Null Measurements
Null measurements balance voltages so there is no current flowing through the measuring devices that would
interfere with the measurement. Standard measurements of voltage and current alter circuits, introducing
numerical uncertainties. Voltmeters draw some extra current, whereas ammeters reduce current flow. Null
measurements balance voltages, so there is no current flowing through the measuring device and the circuit is
unaltered. Null measurements are generally more accurate but more complex than standard voltmeters and
ammeters. Their precision is still limited.

Resistance Measurement Methods

Types of Resistance:

 The opposition to a steady current in a circuit is called as resistance.

 In electrical and electronic circuits, wide range of resistance values ( fractional ohm to several mega
ohms) are used.
 There is no single method of measuring the entire range in one apparatus.

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For the convenience of measurement, the resistances are classified as

1. Low Resistance of value less than 1 Ohm

Example The resistance of series filed windings ammeter shunts, cable resistance, machine armatures.
2. Medium Resistances of values 1 ohm to 10 Kohm
Example - Multiplier resistance, wire and cable resistance etc.
3. High resistances above 10 KOhm
Example - Cable porcelain insulators, Insulation resistance of machines etc,

Resistance Measurement Methods

Several methods are available to measure the resistance in each class. Some basic methods are suitable for low
as well as medium resistances. The methods are listed below.

(1) Measurement of Low Resistance

1. Ammeter- voltmeter method

2. Potentiometer method
3. Kelvin double bridge method
4. Ohm-meter method

(2) Measurement of Medium resistance

1. Ammeter- voltmeter method

2. Whetstone bridge method
3. Carey-Foster bridge method

(3) Measurement of high resistance

In electrical systems, the measurements of insulation resistance are very important among all high-resistance
measurements. Some of the methods are

1. Megger Method
2. Direct deflection method with the use of high sensitivity galvanometer
3. Loss of charge method

Difficulties in measuring high resistances

 Due to high resistance, very small current flows through measuring circuit which is difficult to sense.
 Presence of leakage currents.
 The stray charges appearing due to electrostatic effects.
 The delay time is required in the measurement so that charging and absorbing currents get stabilize. This
time may be very long in some cases.
 The very high voltage is required to raise the magnitude of current. This may damage the galvanometer
if proper case is not taken.

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Measurement of Low Resistance by Ohmmeter Method:

CONTINUITY TESTER
A continuity tester is a simple device consisting of two testing probes and a light (LED) or buzzer indicator. It is
used to detect the presence of continuity or a break in between the two ends of a conductor which is connected
to its testing probes. A continuity tester consists of a battery in a housing, with a test probe connected to one end
of the battery housing and a test wire with an alligator clip connected to the other end. It is used with the current
turned off to determine whether a particular electrical component is carrying electricity and to pinpoint the
cause of a problem.
To use a continuity tester, unplug the appliance and disassemble it to get at the component you want to test.
Fasten the clip of the tester to one wire or connection of the component, and touch the probe to the other wire or
connection. If the component is receiving electricity and transmitting it, the tester will light or buzz; this
indicates that the circuit is continuous. If the tester doesn't light or buzz or it reacts only slightly, the component
is faulty.
.

Ohmmeter Method for Measuring Resistance

Ohmmeter is an electrical apparatus used to measure electrical resistance. Ohmmeter is used to measure the value of
resistance between any two points of an electric circuit. The PMMC (Permanent-Magnetic Moving-Coil Movement)
can change to be ohmmeter with connected voltage source and limited current resistor in series. The type of
Ohmmeter is series ohmmeter and parallel ohmmeter. The purpose of an ohmmeter is to measure the resistance
placed between its leads. This resistance reading is indicated through a mechanical meter movement which operates
on electric current.

There are two types of ohmmeters: series ohmmeter, and shunt ohmmeter.
In series type ohmmeter, the resistor whose value is unknown and to be measured should be connected in
series with the ohmmeter. It is useful for measuring high values of resistances.
In shunt type ohmmeter, the resistor whose value is unknown and to be measured should be connected in
parallel (shunt) with the ohmmeter. It is useful for measuring low values of resistances.
SERIES OHMMETER

Operation of Series Ohmmeter

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When Rx = 0 ( AB terminal short), the current in circuit is maximum and the pointer shown the full reading.
Adjust the R2 until the full scale, IM. The pointer at full scale is mark as 0 ohm. When Rx = infinity (AB
terminal open), the current in circuit is 0. The unknown resistance must connect series with basic meter
movement. This circuit use to measure higher resistance and the pointer is mark as infinity.

EXAMPLE
Given PMMC with resistance 100Ω was using in series ohmmeter. R1 = 500Ω, R2 = 400Ω and
supply voltage = 10V. When connected with Rx, the reading shows 0.5mA. Find the value of Rx.

Voltmeter–Ammeter Method for Measuring Resistance

The voltmeter–ammeter method is a direct application of ohm‘s law in which the unknown resistance is
estimated by measurement of current (I) flowing through it and the voltage drop (V) across it. Then measured
value of the resistance is

This method is very simple and popular since the instruments required for measurement are usually easily
available in the laboratory.
Two types of connections are employed for voltmeter–ammeter method as shown below

Rx = true value of unknown resistance

Rm = measured value of unknown resistance
Ra = internal resistance of ammeter
RV = internal resistance of voltmeter

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Example
A voltmeter of 600 Ω resistance and a milliammeter of 0.8Ω resistance are used to measure two unknown
resistances by voltmeter–ammeter method. If the voltmeter reads 40 V and milliammeter reads 120 mA
in both the cases, calculate the percentage error in the values of measured resistances if (a) in the first case, the
voltmeter is put across the resistance and the milliammeter connected in series with the supply, and (b) in the
second case, the voltmeter is connected in the supply side and milliammeter connected directly in series with the
resistance.
Solution The connections are shown in the following figure.
Voltmeter reading V = 40 V
Ammeter reading I = 120 mA
measured resistance from voltmeter and I ammeter readings is given by

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d.c. potentiometer
The d.c. potentiometer is a null-balance instrument used for determining values of e.m.f.‘s and p.d.s. by
comparison with a known e.m.f. or p.d. In Figure (a), using a standard cell of known e.m.f. E1, the slider S is
moved along the slide wire until balance is obtained (i.e. the galvanometer deflection is zero), shown as length
l1.

The standard cell is now replaced by a cell of unknown e.m.f. E2 in Figure (b) and again balance is obtained
(shown as l2).

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For the purpose of measuring resistance, if L1 is of known resistance R1 and L2 is of unknown resistance and
both E1 and E2 are known, then it follows that E1/E2 = R1/R2, thus R2 = (R1 x E2)/E1

BRIDGE METHOD OF MEASURING RESISTANCE.

DC-bridges
Bridge‘s usually consists of four arms, balance detector and source. Abridge circuit in its simplest form consists
of network of four resistance arms forming a closed circuit. A source of current is applied to two opposite
junctions. The current detector is connected to other two junctions. DC bridges use DC source.
So called bridges are based on comparison to precision resistors; they are versatile and yield very good
accuracy. For DC-bridges you need naturally a DC-power source. The bridges are used not only for the
measurement of resistances, but also used for the measurement of various component values like capacitor,
inductor etc.

Uses of D.C. bridges.

The D.C. bridges are used for the measurement of very high and very low value resistances. In practice, the
variety of D.C. bridges are available. The commonly used D.C. bridges are (i) wheatstone bridge (ii) Kelvin
bridge

Advantages of bridge circuits.

The advantages of bridge circuits include
 The measurement accuracy is high as the measurement is done by comparing the unknown value with the
standard value.
 The balance equation is independent of the sensitivity of the null detector, the impedance of the detector or
any impedance shunting the detector.
 The balance condition remains unchanged if the source and detector are interchanged.
 The accuracy is independent of the sensitivity of the null detector, the impedance of the detector or any
impedance shunting the detector.

Wheatstone bridge
The Wheatstone bridge is an instrument for making comparison measurements and operates upon a null
indication principal.
A Wheatstone bridge circuit is shown in its most common ―diamond‖ configuration. It consists of four resistors, and
voltage source connected across the top and bottom point of the ―diamond‖. The output voltage is taken across the left and
right points of the ―diamond‖ between A and B. The arms consisting the resistances R1 and R2 are called ratio
arms. The arm consisting the standard known resistance R3 is called standard arm. The resistance R4 is the
unknown resistance to be measured. The bridge is brought to balance by adjusting one of the resistors.

The Wheatstone bridge is in the balanced bridge condition when the output voltage (V OUT) between terminals
A and B is equal to zero. No potential difference across the galvanometer (there is no current through the
galvanometer)

V OUT = 0 V Thus,

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When the bridge is balanced, the voltages across R1 and R2 are equal (V1 = V 2 ) and the voltages
across R3 and R4 are equal (V3 = V4 ). Therefore, the voltage ratios can be written as:

R4 is the unknown resistance.

NOTE: Null point:

It can be defined as the point at which the null measurement occurs when the reading of ammeter or voltmeter is
zero.
Example 1
For the Wheatstone bridge circuit below If R1 = 1 W, R2 = 2 W, and Rx = 3 W, to what value should R3 be
adjusted so as to achieve a balanced condition?

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Example 2

A Wheatstone bridge shown below has a ratio arm of 1/100 (R2/R1). At first balance, R3 is adjusted to 1000.3
Ω. The value of Rx is then changed by the temperature change, the new value of R3 to achieve the balance
condition again is 1002.1 Ω. Find the change of Rx due to
the temperature change.

Example
Find the value of Rx if the Wheatstone-bridge is balanced. R1 = 5 ohm, R2 = 8 ohm,
R3 = 10 ohm.

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The rule for Rx

Errors in Wheatstone Bridge

The following are the errors in the Wheatstone bridge.

1. The difference between the true and the mark value of the three resistances can cause the error in
measurement.
2. The galvanometer is less sensitive. Thus, inaccuracy occurs in the balance point.
3. The resistance of the bridge changes because of the self-heating which generates an error.
4. The thermal emf cause serious trouble in the measurement of low-value resistance.
5. The personal error occurs in the galvanometer by taking the reading or by finding the null point.

The above mention error can be reduced by using the best qualities resistor and galvanometer. The error
because of self-heating of resistance can minimise by measuring the resistance within the short time. The
thermal effect can also be reduced by connecting the reversing switch between the battery and the bridge.

Limitations: of Wheatstone bridge

 Use is limited to the measurement of resistances ranging from a few ohms to several mega ohms.

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 When high resistance is required to measured ,sensitivity decreases

 Upper limit is extended by increasing emf applied.
 Care to be taken to avoid overheating.
 Inaccuracy arises during measurement of high resistance.
Remedy:
 For high resistance, use mega Ohm Bridge.
 For lower resistance measurement, resistance of connecting leads and contact resistance comes into account
 Lower limit is 1 to 5 ohm.
 For further lower resistance, Kelvin double bridge is suitable.

Sensitivity of the Wheatstone Bridge

The Wheatstone bridge is more sensitive when all their resistances are equal, or their ratio is unity. Their
sensitivity decreases when their ratio is less than unity. The reduction in sensitivity reduces the accuracy of the
bridge.

Application of Wheatstone Bridge

One of the application of the Wheatstone bridge is a light detector circuit using a Wheatstone bridge circuit. The
applications of the balanced bridge circuits mainly involve in various electronic applications to measure
variations in light intensity, pressure or strain. The various kinds of resistive sensors are used in a Wheatstone
bridge circuit are light dependent resistors, Thermistors, potentiometers and strain gauges, etc.

Kelvin Bridge Circuit

Definition: The Kelvin bridge or Thompson bridge is used for measuring the unknown resistances having a
value less than 1Ω. It is the modified form of the Wheatstone Bridge.

One of the major drawbacks of the Wheatstone bridge is that although it can measure the resistance from few
ohm to several mega ohm – it gives significant errors when measuring low resistances. Kelvin Bridge provides
high accuracy especially in the measurement of low resistance. The measurement range would typically be
1mΩ to 1kΩ with the smallest resolution of 1µΩ.
The limitations of the Kelvin bridge are:-
1. requires manual balancing
2. sensitive null detector or galvanometer is required to detect balance condition
3. measurement current needs to be reasonably high to achieve sufficient sensitivity

The Kelvin Double Bridge has generally been replaced by digital ohmmeters.

In Wheatstone Bridge, while measuring the low-value resistance, the resistance of their lead and contacts increases the
resistance of their total measured value. This can easily be understood with the help of the circuit diagram

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The resistor Rlc shown in Figure above represents the lead and contact resistance present in the Wheatstone
bridge. The second set of ratio arms (Ra and Rb ) compensates for this relatively low lead contact resistance. At
balance the ratio of Ra to Rb must be equal to the ratio of R1 to R3. It can be shown that, when a null exists, the
value for Rx is the same as that for the Wheatstone bridge, which is

This can be written as

Therefore when a Kelvin Bridge is balanced, we can say

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Kelvin double bridge method

Principle: It is a modification of Wheatstone bridge taking into account the resistance of leads and contact resistance
while measuring low resistance.

Kelvin Double Bridge The term double bridge is used because the circuit contains a second set of ratio arms.
The unknown resistance Rx can be calculated as follows:

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The differences between a DC bridge and an AC bridge are:

DC bridge
1. DC supply is used.
2. A DC current detector is used.
3. Only resistive components are used.
4. There is no need for Wegner's earthing device.
5. Balancing time is relatively less.

AC bridge
1. AC supply is used.
2. AC current detector is used.
3. Resistive and reactive components are used.
4. Wagner's earthing device is required.
5. Balancing time is high because AC supply is used.

AC BRIDGES
In the AC bridge the bridge circuit consists of four impedances and an ac voltage source.
AC - Bridges enable us to perform precise measurements for the following :
 Reactance (capacitance and inductance) measurements.
 Determining the (Q-factor OR D-factor).
 Frequency measurements.
 Testing and analyzing of antenna and transmission line performance
 Other than measurement of unknown impedance, AC bridge are commonly used for shifting phase.

Types of Sources in AC Bridges :

o For Low frequency measurement the power line supply can serve as the source of excitation.

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o For High frequency measurement the electronic oscillator is used as excitation voltage.
Types of detectors in AC Bridges :
Head phones
o It is used at frequencies of 250 Hz and over upto 3 to 4 KHz.
o Most sensitive detector for this ranges of frequency.
Vibration galvanometer
o It can be used from 5 Hz to 1000 Hz but suitable mainly upto 200 Hz.
o They are extremely useful for power and low AF ranges.
Tuneable Amplifier Detector (TAD)
o It can be used at 10 Hz to 100 KHz.
Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO)
o It is used for higher frequency more than 5 KHz.
Note :
o For a DC Bri dge , the “PMMC ” instrument acts as a detector.

AC bridges through which inductance (L) is measured :

1.Maxwell’s inductance bridge
2. Maxwell’s inductance-capacitance bridge
3. Hay’s bridge
4. Anderson’s bridge
5. Owen’s bridge

construction
The basic circuit of an ac bridge is exactly the same as the Wheatstone bridge circuit except that impedances are
used instead of resistances, and the supply is an ac-source. Also, the null detector must be an ac instrument.

PRINCIPLE

When the specific circuit conditions apply, the detector current becomes zero, which is known as null or
balance condition. Since zero current, it means that there is no voltage difference across the detector,.

Voltage at point b and c are equal. I1Z1  I 2 Z 2

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The same thing at point d. I1Z3  I 2 Z 4

From two above equation yield general bridge equation;

Therefore, Z1.Z4 = Z2.Z3

For AC-bridges, the null-condition is only valid if Va and Vb are equal in amplitude and also same in-phase.
In the polar form the impedance Z can be written as

where Z represents the impedance and θ represents the phase angle of complex impedance Z.Hence, the bridge
arm impedances in polar form can be expressed as

Since, in complex number multiplication the magnitudes are multiplied and the phase angles
are added, the balance equation can be written as

Example

The impedances of the AC bridge in Figure below are given as follows

Z1  200300 

Z 2  15000 

Z3  250  400 

Z x  Z 4  unknown
Determine the constants of the unknown arm.

Z1Zx=Z2Z3, Zx =(Z2Z3/Z1) , = [(150 * 250)/200] = 187.5 

The second condition for balance requires that the sums of the phase angles of opposite arms be equal,

1+  x = 2 + 3

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 x = 2 + 3 - 1 = 0 + (-40o) – 30o = -70o

The unknown impedance Zx, can be written as,

Z x  187.5  70o
Z x  (64.13  j176.19)

Capacitor Equivalent Circuits:

The equivalent circuit of a capacitor consists of a pure capacitance C and a resistance R . Where, Cp represents
the actual capacitance value, and Rp represents the resistance of the dielectric or leakage resistance.
The series impedance is

in parallel Xc =2πfC, w =2πf

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0723228593
ALTERNATING CURRENT AND VOLTAGE MEASUREMENT
Rectifier instrument method.
A rectifier type of instrument use a full-wave rectifier circuit is as shown below. If this instrument is used
for measuring ac quantity then first the ac signal is converted to dc with the help of the rectifier. Then this
dc signal is measured by the PMMC meter. The multiplier resistance Rs, is used to limit the value of the
current in
order that it does not exceed the current rating of the PMMC meter. These types of instruments are used for
light current work where the voltage is low and resistances high.

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For Half wave rectification

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

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ELECTROSTATIC VOLTMETER

Capacitors may be used instead of resistors, though, to make voltmeter divider circuits. This strategy has the
advantage of being non-dissipative (no true power consumed and no heat produced)

AC voltmeter with capacitive

divider

If the meter movement is electrostatic, and thus inherently capacitive in nature, a single “multiplier” capacitor may
be connected in series to give it a greater voltage measuring range, just as a series-connected multiplier resistor
gives a moving-coil (inherently resistive) meter movement a greater voltage range:

An electrostatic meter movement may use

a capacitive multiplier to multiply the scale of the basic meter movement.
Thermal Voltmeter.

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A thermal converter is used together with a galvanometer. The effective heating value of an AC
voltage/current as it powers a resistive load is measured.. Suppose that the AC source to be measured is connected
across a resistor of known value, and the heat output of that resistor is measured with a device like a
thermocouple. This would provide a far more direct measurement means of RMS than any conversion factor could,
for it will work with ANY waveform shape whatsoever.

Advantages of Thermocouple-type Instruments

1. These are not affected by stray magnetic fields.
2. They have very high sensitivity.
3. The indication of these instruments are practically unaffected by the frequency and waveform of the
measuring
quantity. Hence these instruments can be used for measurement of currents upto frequencies of 50 MHz and
give
accuracy as high as 1%.
4. These instruments are very useful as transfer instruments for calibration of dc instruments by potentiometer
and a
standard cell.
Disadvantages of Thermocouple-Type Instruments
1. Considerable power losses due to poor efficiency of thermal conversion.
2. Low accuracy of measurement and sensitivity to overloads, as the heater operates at temperatures close to the
limit values. Thus, the overload capacity of such instrument is approximately 1.5 times of full-scale current.
3. The multi-voltmeters used with thermo-elements must be necessarily more sensitive and delicate than those
used
with shunts, and therefore, requires careful handling.
Hot-wire Instrument
The hot-wire meter movement deflection depends on the expansion of a high resistance
wire caused by the heating effect of the wire itself as current flows through it. A resistance
wire is stretched between the two meter terminals, with a thread attached at a right angles
to the centre of the wire. A spring connected to the opposite end of the thread exerts a
constant tension on the resistance wire. Current flow heats the wire, causing it to expand.
This motion is transferred to the meter pointer through the thread and a pivot.

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Advantages of Hot-wire-type Instruments

1. The deflection depends upon only the rms value of the current flowing through the wire, irrespective if its
waveform and frequency. Hence, the instrument can used for ac as well as dc system.
2. The calibration is same for ac as well as dc measurement. So it is a transfer-type instrument.
3. They are free from stray magnetic fields because no magnetic field is used to cause their operation.
4. It is cheap in cost and simple in construction.
5. With suitable adjustments, error due to temperature variation can be made negligible.
6. This type of instruments are quite suitable for very high frequency measurement.
Disadvantages of Hot-wire-type Instruments
1. Power consumption is relatively high.
2. Nonuniform scale.
3. These are very sluggish in action as time is taken in heating up the wire.
4. The deflection of the instrument is not the same for ascending and descending values.
5. The reading depends upon the atmospheric temperature.

MEASUREMENT OF INDUCTANCE AND CAPACITANCE

Capacitance in AC Circuits
Capacitive Reactance in a purely capacitive circuit is the opposition to current flow in AC circuits only. Like
resistance, reactance is also measured in Ohm‘s but is given the symbol X to distinguish it from a purely
resistive value.

1/ωC

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Find the rms current flowing in an AC capacitive circuit when a 4μF capacitor is connected across a 880V,
60Hz supply.

When a parallel plate capacitor was connected to a 60Hz AC supply, it was found to have a reactance of 390
ohms. Calculate the value of the capacitor in micro-farads.

Electrostatic instrument
In multi cellular construction several vans and quadrants are provided. The voltage is to be measured is applied
between the vanes and quadrant. The force of attraction between the vanes and quadrant produces a deflecting
torque. Controlling torque is produced by spring control. Air friction damping is used.
The instrument is generally used for measuring medium and high voltage. The voltage is reduced to low value
by using capacitor potential divider. The force of attraction is proportional to the square of the voltage.
and quadrant produces a deflecting torque. Controlling torque is produced by spring control. Air
friction damping is used. The instrument is generally used for measuring medium and high voltage. The voltage
is reduced to low value by using capacitor potential divider. The force of attraction is proportional to the
square of the voltage.

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Advantages
_ It is used in both AC and DC.
_ There is no frequency error.
_ There is no hysteresis error.
_ There is no stray magnetic field error. Because the instrument works on electrostatic
principle.
_ It is used for high voltage
_ Power consumption is negligible.
Disadvantages
_ Scale is not uniform
_ Large in size
_ Cost is more

Electrostatic Voltmeters
The action of electrostatic instruments is based on the force exerted between two charged conductors.
The conductors behave as a variable plate air capacitor, as shown in Figure 1.6. The moving plate, when
charged, tends to move so as to increase the capacitance between the plates. The energy stored in the
capacitor, when the applied voltage is U and the capacitance is C, is given by:

This relationship is valid both under dc and ac conditions, provided that the voltage rms value
U is
considered for ac voltage.

When the moving plate is displaced horizontally by ds, while the voltage is held constant, the capacitor
energy changes in order to equal the work done in moving the plate. The resulting force is:

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For a rotable system, Equation above leads similarly to a resulting torque:

If the action of a control spring is also considered, both Equations 1.22 and 1.23 show that the balance
position of the moving plate is proportional to the square of the applied voltage, and hence electrostatic
voltmeters have a square-law scale. These equations, along with Equation 1.21, show that these instruments
can be used for the measurement of both dc and ac rms voltages. However, the force (or torque)
supplied by the instrument schematically represented in Figure 1.6 is generally very weak [2], so that its
use is very impractical. A more useful configuration is the quadrant electrometer,

Megger
Purpose: Measures high resistance (insulation resistance)
Construction:
Hand cranked generator G which generates voltage of 500V,1000V, 2500V.
A centrifugal clutch is incorporated which slips at predetermined speed so that a constant voltage is applied to
insulation under test. Current coli similar to PMMMC
Voltage coil V1, V2. Permanent magnet

1) Deflecting & Control coil : Connected parallel to the generator, mounted at right angle to each other and
maintain polarities in such a way to produced torque in opposite direction.
2) Permanent Magnets: Produce magnetic field to deflect pointer with North-South pole magnet.
3) Pointer : One end of the pointer connected with coil another end deflects on scale from infinity to zero.
4) Scale : A scale is provided in front-top of the megger from range ‗zero‘ to ‗infinity‘, enable us to read the
value.
5) D.C generator or Battery connection : Testing voltage is produced by hand operated D.C generator for
manual operated Megger. Battery / electronic voltage charger is provided for automatic type Megger for same
purpose.
6) Pressure coil resistance and Current coil resistance : Protect instrument from any damage because of low
external electrical resistance under test.

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Working Principle of Megger

• Voltage for testing produced by hand operated Megger by rotation of crank in case of hand operated type, a
battery is used for electronic tester.
• 500 Volt DC is sufficient for performing test on equipment range up to 440 Volts.
• 1000V to 5000V is used for testing for high voltage electrical systems.
• Deflecting coil or current coil connected in series and allows flowing the electric current taken by the circuit
being tested.
• The control coil also known as pressure coil is connected across the circuit. Current limiting resistor (CCR &
PCR ) connected in series with control & deflecting coil to protect damage in case of very low resistance in
external circuit.
• In hand operated megger electromagnetic induction effect is used to produce the test voltage i.e. armature
arranges to move in permanent magnetic field or vice versa.
• Where as in electronic type megger battery are used to produce the testing voltage.
• As the voltage increases in external circuit the deflection of pointer increases and deflection of pointer
decreases with a increases of current.
• Hence, resultant torque is directly proportional to voltage & inversely proportional to current.
• When electrical circuit being tested is open, torque due to voltage coil will be maximum & pointer shows
‗infinity‘ means no shorting throughout the circuit and has maximum resistance within the circuit under test.
• If there is short circuit pointer shows ‗zero‘, which means ‗NO‘ resistance within circuit
being tested.
Work philosophy based on ohm-meter or ratio-meter. The deflection torque is produced with megger tester due
to the magnetic field produced by voltage & current, similarly like ‗Ohm's Law‘ Torque of the megger varies in
ration with V/I, (Ohm's Law :- V=IR or R=V/I). Electrical resistance to be measured is connected across the
generator & in series with deflecting coil. Produced torque shall be in opposite direction if current
supplied to the coil.
1. High resistance = No current :- No current shall flow through deflecting coil, if resistance is very high i.e.
infinity position of pointer
2. Small resistance = High current :- If circuit measures small resistance allows a high electric current to pass
through deflecting coil, i.e. produced torque make the pointer to set at ‗ZERO‘.
3. Intermediate resistance = varied current :- If measured resistance is intermediate, produced torque align or set
the pointer between the range of ‗ZERO to INIFINITY‘

Advantages of Hand operated Megger

• Cheaper
• No external source required to operate
•

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Disadvantages of Hand operated Megger

• Less accuracy
• Require very stable placement for operation
• Provides an analog display result
• Require very high care and safety during use

CRT Display
The device which allows, the amplitude of such signals, to be displayed primarily as a function of time, is called
cathode ray oscilloscope. The cathode ray tube (CRT) is the heart of the C.R.O. The CRT generates the electron
beam, accelerates the beam, deflects the beam and also has a screen where beam becomes visible as a spot. The
main parts of the CRT are
i) Electron gun
ii) Deflection system
iii) Fluorescent screen
iv) Glass tube or envelope
v) Bas

Electron gun
Ø The electron gun section of the cathode ray tube provides a sharply focused, electron beam directed towards
the fluorescent-coated screen.
Ø This section starts from thermally heated cathode, emitting the electrons.
Ø The control grid is given negative potential with respect to cathode.
Ø This grid controls the number of electrons in t beam, going to the screen.

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Ø The momentum of the electrons (their number x their speed) determines the intensity, or brightness, of the
light emitted from the fluorescent screen due to the electron bombardment.
Ø The light emitted is usually of the green colour.

Deflection System
Ø When the electron beam is accelerated it passes through the deflection system, with which beam can be
positioned anywhere on the screen.

Fluorescent Screen
Ø The light produced by the screen does not disappear immediately when bombardment by electrons ceases,
i.e., when the signal becomes zero.
Ø The time period for which the trace remains on the screen after the signal becomes zero is known as
―persistence or fluorescence‖ .
Ø The persistence may be as short as a few microsecond, or as long as tens of seconds or even minutes.
Ø Medium persistence traces are mostly used for general purpose applications.
Ø Long persistence traces are used in the study of transients.
Ø Long persistence helps in the study of transients since the trace is still seen on the screen after the transient
has disappeared.

Glass Tube
Ø All the components of a CRT are enclosed in an evacuated glass tube called envelope.
Ø This allows the emitted electrons to move about freely from one end of the tube to the other end.

Base
Ø The base is provided to the CRT through which the connections are made to the various parts.

1) Cathode Ray Tube (CRT):

A cathode ray oscilloscope consists of a cathode ray tube (CRT) which is the
heart of the oscilloscope, and some additional circuitry to operate the CRT. The main
parts of a CRT are:
a)Electron gun assembly.
b)Deflection plate assembly
c)Fluorescent screen
d)Glass envelope

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1)Electron gun assembly.

The electron gun assembly produces a sharply focussed beam of electrons which are accelerated to high
velocity. This focussed beam of electrons strikes the fluorescent screen with sufficient energy to cause a
luminous spot on the screen After leaving the electron gun, the electron beam passes through two pairs of
"electrostatic deflection plates". Voltages applied to these plates deflect the beam. Voltages applied to one pair
of plates move the beam vertically up and down and the voltages applied to the other pair of plates move the
beam horizontally from one side to another. Focusing anode is used to focus the beam on the screen, and the
accelerating
anode makes the electron beam to move with high velocity.
2)Vertical Amplifier:
This is a wide band amplifier used to amplify signals in the vertical section.
3)Delay Line:
It is used to delay the signal from some time in the vertical section.
4) Horizontal Amplifier:
The horizontal basically serves two purposes:
a)When the oscilloscope is being in the X-Y node, the signal applied to the horizontal input terminal will be
amplified by the horizontal amplifier.
b) When the oscilloscope is being used in the ordinary mode of operation to display a signal applied to the
vertical input, the horizontal amplifier will amplify the sweep generator output.
5) Time base generator:
It is used to generate the saw tooth voltage required to deflect the beam in the horizontal section.
6) Trigger circuit:
This is used to convert the incoming signal into trigger pulses that the input signal and the sweep frequency can
be synchronised.
7) Power supply:
There are two power supplies, a negative high voltage (HV) supply and a positive low voltage (LV) supply.
Two voltages are generated in the CRO. The positive volt supply is from -100V to +1500V. This voltage is
passed through a bleeder resistor at a few mA. The intermediate voltages are obtained from the bleeder resistor
for intensity, focus and positioning controls.
Screens for CRT's:
When the electron beam strikes the screen of the CRT, a spot light is produced. The screen material on the inner
surface of the CRT that produces this effect is the phosphor. The phosphor absorbs the kinetic energy of the
bombarding electrons and remits energy at the lower frequency in the visible spectrum. The property of some
crystalline materials such as phosphor or zinc oxide to emit light when simulated by radiation is called
flourescence. Fluorescent materials have a second characteristic called as phosphorescence which refers to the
property of the material to continue light emission even after the source of excitation is cut off. The length of
time during which phosphorescence or afterglow occurs is called as the persistence of phosphor.

CRO Operation:
A simplified block diagram of a typical oscilloscope is shown in Fig. The signal to be displayed is amplified by the
vertical amplifier and applied to the vertical deflection plates of the CRT. A portion of the signal in the vertical
amplifier is applied to the sweep trigger as a triggering signal.

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The sweep trigger then generates a pulse coincident with a selected point in the cycle of the triggering signal. This
pulse turns on the sweep generator, initiating the sawtooth wave form. The sawtooth wave is amplified by the
horizontal amplifier and applied to the horizontal deflection plates. Usually, additional provisions signal are made
for applying an external triggering signal or utilizing the 60 Hz line for triggering. Also the sweep generator may be
bypassed and an external signal applied directly to the horizontal amplifier.

CATHODE-RAY TUBE Controls

Power and Scale Illumination: Turns instrument on and controls illumination of the graticule.
Focus: Focus the spot or trace on the screen.
Intensity: Regulates the brightness of the spot or trace.
VERTICAL AMPLIFIER SECTION Controls
Position: Controls vertical positioning of oscilloscope display.
Sensitivity: Selects the sensitivity of the vertical amplifier in calibrated steps.
Variable Sensitivity: Provides a continuous range of sensitivities between the calibrated steps. Normally the
sensitivity is calibrated only when the variable knob is in the fully clockwise position.
AC-DC-GND:
Selects desired coupling (ac or dc) for incoming signal applied to vertical amplifier, or grounds the amplifier input.
Selecting dc couples the input directly to the amplifier; selecting ac send the signal through a capacitor before going
to the amplifier thus blocking any constant component.
HORIZONTAL-SWEEP SECTION Controls
Sweep time/cm: Selects desired sweep rate from calibrated steps or admits external signal to horizontal amplifier.
Sweep time/cm Variable: Provides continuously variable sweep rates.
Position: Controls horizontal position of trace on screen.
Horizontal Variable: Controls the attenuation (reduction) of signal applied to horizontal amplifier through Ext.
Horiz. connector
TRIGGER Controls
The trigger selects the timing of the beginning of the horizontal sweep.
Slope: Selects whether triggering occurs on an increasing (+) or decreasing (-)
portion of trigger signal.
Coupling: Selects whether triggering occurs at a specific dc or ac level.
Source: Selects the source of the triggering signal.
INT - (internal) - from signal on vertical amplifier
EXT - (external) - from an external signal inserted at the EXT. TRIG.
INPUT.
LINE - 60 cycle trigger
Level: Selects the voltage point on the triggering signal at which sweep is triggered. It also allows automatic (auto)
triggering of allows sweep to run free (free run).

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Measurements of Voltage using CRO:

Consider the circuit in Fig. below
The signal generator is used to produce a 1000 hertz sine wave.
To determine the size of the voltage signal appearing at the output of terminals of the signal generator, an AC
(Alternating Current) voltmeter is connected in parallel across these terminals (Fig. a). The AC voltmeter is designed
to read the dc "effective value" of the voltage.

This effective value is also known as the "Root Mean Square value" (RMS) value of the voltage. The peak or
maximum voltage seen on the scope face (Fig. b) is Vm volts and is represented by the distance from the symmetry
line CD to the maximum deflection. The relationship between the magnitude of the peak voltage displayed on the
scope and the effective or RMS voltage (VRMS) read on the AC voltmeter is VRMS = 0.707 Vm (for a sine or cosine
wave).
The voltage of a waveform is measured by multiplying the VOLTS/DIV setting by the peak-to-peak vertical
divisions occupied by the waveform. The time period is determined by multiplying the horizontal divisions
for one cycle by the TIME/DIV Setting.

Problem
Determine the pulse amplitude, frequency, rise time and fall time of the waveform in Fig. below
Solution:
pulse amplitude PA = (4 vertical divisions) x (2 V/ div) = 8V
T = (5.6 Horizontal divisions) x ( 5 µs /div ) = 28 µs
Frequency, f = 1/T = 1/28 µs = 35.7 kHz
rise time, tr = (0.5 div) x ( 5 µs /div ) = 2.5 µs

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Problem on finding phase difference between two sine Waves as shown in Fig

From the figure.6 observe that 1 complete cycle takes 8 divisions = 360o
The phase difference = 1.4 Div = 360o x 1.4 / 8 = 63 o

EXAMPLE
The figure below shows display of an oscilloscope in which the graticule is divided into squares of 1 cm. Determine the
amplitude and period of each waveform.

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Applications of Oscilloscope:
Because the oscilloscope is an extremely flexible and versatile instrument, it can be used to measure a number
of parameters associated with DC and AC signals. Using a single channel oscilloscope, it is capable of making
measurements of voltage, current, time, frequency and rise/fall time. If a dual trace oscilloscope is used, the
phase shift between two synchronous signals can be measured.
a)Power Analysis:
Oscilloscopes can be used to measure and analyse the operating characteristics of power conversion devices,
circuits and line power harmonics. Differential amplifier probes are needed to this and special software is also
offered to make analysis of data easier.
b)Serial data analysis:
Digital data signals are moving to ever-increasing serial data formats. Oscilloscopes are used to analyse and
characterize such data formats as USB, SCSI, Ethernet, Serial ATA, Fibre channel, firewire, Rapid I/O,
Infiniband, bluetooth and CAN Bus (for automotive industry)
c)Jitter analysis:
Today high bandwidth circuits have extremely fast clocks and signals. Oscilloscopes are used to characterise
and debug signal jitter as well as timing for clocks, clock-to-data and data stream analysis.
d)Data storage device testing:
Oscilloscopes are used to test CD/DVD and disk drive designs by measuring disk performance, media noise and
optical recording characteristics.
e)Time-domain reflectometry:
Time Domain reflectometry (TDR) is a way to measure impedance values and variations (such as faults) along
transmission cables, cable connectors or microstrips on a circuit board

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FREQUENCY MEASUREMENTS
Lissajous patterns are used for accurate measurement of frequency.

Measure the amplitude and periodic time (time of one cycle). See below.

Calculate the frequency.

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In the diagram the waveform is 4 divisions high.

The volts/ division switch is set to 50 mV/division.
The amplitude is therefore 4 x 50 mV = 200 mV.
The width of one cycle (indicated between the two red dots) is 4 divisions.
The time/division switch is set to 5 mS/division.
The periodic time is 4 x 5 mS = 20 mS.
Note that one cycle is the time between the start of a waveform and the point where it starts to repeat itself.
Frequency can be calculated by dividing 1 second by the periodic time.
Note that if the periodic time is in mS then 1 second has to be expressed as 1000 mS.
1000mS/20mS = 50 Hz.
The pattern of squares is called a GRATICULE
Time period measurement

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INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS OF CRO

(A) In Radio Work
1. To trace and measure a signal throughout the RF, IF and AF channels of radio and television receivers.
2. It provides the only effective way of adjusting FM receivers, broadband high frequency RF amplifiers and
automatic frequency control circuits;
3. to test AF circuits for different types of distortions and other spurious oscillations;
4. To give visual display of wave-shapes such as sine waves, square waves and their many different
combinations;
5. To trace transistor curves
6. To visually show the composite synchronized TV signal
7. To display the response of tuned circuits etc.

(B) Scientific and Engineering applications:

1.Measurement of ac/dc voltages,
2. Finding B/H curves for hysteresis loop,
3. for engine pressure analysis,
4. for study of stress, strain, torque, acceleration etc.
5. Frequency and phase determination by using Lissajous figures,
6. Radiation patterns of antenna,
7. Amplifier gain,
8. Modulation percentage,
9. Complex waveform as a short-cut for Fourier analysis,
10. Standing waves in transmission lines etc.

POWER MEASUREMENT
A special meter movement designed especially for power measurement is called the dynamometer movement,
and is similar to a D‘Arsonval meter. A dynamometer movement connected in a circuit looks something
like this:

Construction of a Wattmeter(Electrodynamometer Wattmeter)

The internal construction of a wattmeter is such that it consists of two cols. One of the coil is in series and the
other is connected in parallel. The coil that is connected in series with the circuit is known as the current coil
and the one that is connected in parallel with the circuit is known as the voltage coil. The needle that is
supposed to move on the marked scale to indicate the amount of power is also attached to the potential coil. The
reason for this is that the potential coil is allowed to move whereas the current coil is kept fixed.

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Working of a Wattmeter

When the current passes through the current coil, it creates an electromagnetic field around the coil. The
strength of this electromagnetic field is directly proportional to the amount of current passing through it.

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In case of DC current, the current is also in phase with its generated electromagnetic field. The voltage is
dropped across the potential coil and as a result of this complete process, the needle moves across the scale. The
needle deflection is such that it is according to the product of the current passing and the voltage dropped, that
is, P = VI.

Applications of Wattmeter

1. As other measuring instruments, watt meters are also used extensively in electrical circuit measurement
and debugging.
2. They are also used in industries to check the power rating and consumption of electrical appliances.
3. Electromagnetic watt meters are used to measure utility frequencies.
4. They are used with refrigerators, electric heaters and other equipment to measure their power ratings.

VOLTMETER AMMETER METHOD AND AMMETER VOLTMETER METHOD

Electrical Power dissipated by a load (L) fed by a dc power supply (E) is the product of
the voltage across the load (VL) and the current flowing in it (IL)
𝑃 = 𝑉𝐿 × 𝐼𝐿
The power measurement in a dc circuit can be carried out using a voltmeter (V) and ammeter (A) as shown in
the figure

THREE VOLTMETER METHOD

V1, V2 and V3 are the three voltmeters and R is a non-inductive resistance connected in series with the load as
shown in figure.

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MEASUREMENT OF THREE PHASE POWER BY TWO WATTMETERS METHOD

In this method we have two types of connections
(a)Star connection of loads
(b)Delta connection of loads
When the star connected load, the diagram is shown in below-

phasor diagram
The circuit diagram for two wattmeter method of measurement of three phase real power is shown above. The
current coil of the wattmeters W1 and W2 are inserted respectively in R and Y phases. The potential coils of the
two wattmeters are joined together to phase B, the third phase. Thus, the voltage applied to the voltage coil of
the meter, W1 is VRB= VR-VB, while the voltage applied to the voltage coil of the meter, W2 is VYB=VY-
VB, where, VR, VB and VC are the phase voltage values of lines R, Y and B respectively, as illustrated by the
phasor diagram below. Thus, the reading of the two wattmeters can be obtained based on the phasor diagram as
follows:

Where Ø is the lagging PF angle of the load.

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VR = VI cos ø
VY = VI cos ø
VB = VI cos ø
VL = line voltage IL = line voltage , phase volate = 415V
Where ø is phase angle difference between current and voltage.

SINGLE WATTMETER
A single wattmeter can also be used for three phase reactive power measurements. For
example, the connection of a single wattmeter for 3-phase reactive power measurement in
a balanced three phase circuit

The current coil of the wattmeter is inserted in one line and the potential coil is connected
across the other two lines. Thus, the voltage applied to the voltage coil is VRB= VR-VB,
where, VR and VB are the phase voltage values of lines R and B respectively, as illustrated
by the phasor diagram

phasor diagram
The reading of the wattmeter, W3ph for the connection shown in figure above can be
obtained based on the phasor diagram of figure above, as follows:

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When delta connected load, the diagram is shown in below

line currents are equal in magnitude and differ in phase by 120°.

Hence for a delta-connected system with a balanced load

Line current = 1.73 × phase current

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Limitation of this method is that it cannot be applied on unbalanced load. So under this condition we have
I1=I2=I3=I and V1=V2=V3=V. Diagram is shown below

In a three-phase four-wire system the line voltage is 400 V and non-inductive loads of 10 kW, 8 kW and 5 kW
are connected between the three line conductors and the neutral as in Fig. below. Calculate:
(a) the current in each line;
(b) the current in the neutral conductor.

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Phasor diagram

(b) The current in the neutral is the phasor sum of the three line currents. In general, the most convenient
method of adding such quantities is to calculate the resultant horizontal and vertical components thus:
horizontal component is

We can also measure the reactive power by appropriate connection of the wattmeters into the three-phase circuit, as shown

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For balanced systems the indication of the first wattmeter can be calculated from the following dependence

For three-phase three-wattmeter system the total reactive power can be determined as

WATTMETER ERRORS
I. Errors may be due to mutual inductance effects
II. Errors may be due connections (i.e. pressure coil is connected after current coil)
III. Error due to Eddy currents
IV. Errors caused by vibration of moving system
V. Temperature error
VI. Errors due to stray magnetic field

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The methods used in wattmeter calibration are:

i. Comparing with standard wattmeter.
ii. Using voltmeter ammeter method.
iii. Using Potentiometer.

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DC-bridges
Bridge‘s usually consists of four arms, balance detector and source. Abridge circuit in its simplest form consists
of network of four resistance arms forming a closed circuit. A source of current is applied to two opposite
junctions. The current detector is connected to other two junctions. DC bridges use DC source.
So called bridges are based on comparison to precision resistors; they are versatile and yield very good
accuracy. For DC-bridges you need naturally a DC-power source. The bridges are used not only for the
measurement of resistances, but also used for the measurement of various component values like capacitor,
inductor etc.

Uses of D.C. bridges.

The D.C. bridges are used for the measurement of very high and very low value resistances. In practice, the
variety of D.C. bridges are available. The commonly used D.C. bridges are (i) wheatstone bridge (ii) Kelvin
bridge

Advantages of bridge circuits.

The advantages of bridge circuits include
 The measurement accuracy is high as the measurement is done by comparing the unknown value with the
standard value.
 The balance equation is independent of the sensitivity of the null detector, the impedance of the detector or
any impedance shunting the detector.
 The balance condition remains unchanged if the source and detector are interchanged.
 The accuracy is independent of the sensitivity of the null detector, the impedance of the detector or any
impedance shunting the detector.

Wheatstone bridge
The Wheatstone bridge is an instrument for making comparison measurements and operates upon a null
indication principal.
A Wheatstone bridge circuit is shown in its most common ―diamond‖ configuration. It consists of four resistors, and
voltage source connected across the top and bottom point of the ―diamond‖. The output voltage is taken across the left and
right points of the ―diamond‖ between A and B. The arms consisting the resistances R1 and R2 are called ratio
arms. The arm consisting the standard known resistance R3 is called standard arm. The resistance R4 is the
unknown resistance to be measured. The bridge is brought to balance by adjusting one of the resistors.

The Wheatstone bridge is in the balanced bridge condition when the output voltage (V OUT) between terminals
A and B is equal to zero. No potential difference across the galvanometer (there is no current through the
galvanometer)

V OUT = 0 V Thus,

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When the bridge is balanced, the voltages across R1 and R2 are equal (V1 = V 2 ) and the voltages
across R3 and R4 are equal (V3 = V4 ). Therefore, the voltage ratios can be written as:

R4 is the unknown resistance.

NOTE: Null point:

It can be defined as the point at which the null measurement occurs when the reading of ammeter or voltmeter is
zero.
Example 1
For the Wheatstone bridge circuit below If R1 = 1 W, R2 = 2 W, and Rx = 3 W, to what value should R3 be
adjusted so as to achieve a balanced condition?

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Example 2

A Wheatstone bridge shown below has a ratio arm of 1/100 (R2/R1). At first balance, R3 is adjusted to 1000.3
Ω. The value of Rx is then changed by the temperature change, the new value of R3 to achieve the balance
condition again is 1002.1 Ω. Find the change of Rx due to
the temperature change.

Example
Find the value of Rx if the Wheatstone-bridge is balanced. R1 = 5 ohm, R2 = 8 ohm,
R3 = 10 ohm.

The rule for Rx

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Errors in Wheatstone Bridge

The following are the errors in the Wheatstone bridge.

6. The difference between the true and the mark value of the three resistances can cause the error in
measurement.
7. The galvanometer is less sensitive. Thus, inaccuracy occurs in the balance point.
8. The resistance of the bridge changes because of the self-heating which generates an error.
9. The thermal emf cause serious trouble in the measurement of low-value resistance.
10. The personal error occurs in the galvanometer by taking the reading or by finding the null point.

The above mention error can be reduced by using the best qualities resistor and galvanometer. The error
because of self-heating of resistance can minimise by measuring the resistance within the short time. The
thermal effect can also be reduced by connecting the reversing switch between the battery and the bridge.

Limitations: of Wheatstone bridge

 Use is limited to the measurement of resistances ranging from a few ohms to several mega ohms.
 When high resistance is required to measured ,sensitivity decreases
 Upper limit is extended by increasing emf applied.
 Care to be taken to avoid overheating.
 Inaccuracy arises during measurement of high resistance.
Remedy:
 For high resistance, use mega Ohm Bridge.
 For lower resistance measurement, resistance of connecting leads and contact resistance comes into account
 Lower limit is 1 to 5 ohm.
 For further lower resistance, Kelvin double bridge is suitable.

Sensitivity of the Wheatstone Bridge

The Wheatstone bridge is more sensitive when all their resistances are equal, or their ratio is unity. Their
sensitivity decreases when their ratio is less than unity. The reduction in sensitivity reduces the accuracy of the
bridge.

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Application of Wheatstone Bridge

One of the application of the Wheatstone bridge is a light detector circuit using a Wheatstone bridge circuit. The
applications of the balanced bridge circuits mainly involve in various electronic applications to measure
variations in light intensity, pressure or strain. The various kinds of resistive sensors are used in a Wheatstone
bridge circuit are light dependent resistors, Thermistors, potentiometers and strain gauges, etc.

Kelvin Bridge Circuit

Definition: The Kelvin bridge or Thompson bridge is used for measuring the unknown resistances having a
value less than 1Ω. It is the modified form of the Wheatstone Bridge.

One of the major drawbacks of the Wheatstone bridge is that although it can measure the resistance from few
ohm to several mega ohm – it gives significant errors when measuring low resistances. Kelvin Bridge provides
high accuracy especially in the measurement of low resistance. The measurement range would typically be
1mΩ to 1kΩ with the smallest resolution of 1µΩ.
The limitations of the Kelvin bridge are:-
4. requires manual balancing
5. sensitive null detector or galvanometer is required to detect balance condition
6. measurement current needs to be reasonably high to achieve sufficient sensitivity

The Kelvin Double Bridge has generally been replaced by digital ohmmeters.

In Wheatstone Bridge, while measuring the low-value resistance, the resistance of their lead and contacts increases the
resistance of their total measured value. This can easily be understood with the help of the circuit diagram

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The resistor Rlc shown in Figure above represents the lead and contact resistance present in the Wheatstone
bridge. The second set of ratio arms (Ra and Rb ) compensates for this relatively low lead contact resistance. At
balance the ratio of Ra to Rb must be equal to the ratio of R1 to R3. It can be shown that, when a null exists, the
value for Rx is the same as that for the Wheatstone bridge, which is

This can be written as

Therefore when a Kelvin Bridge is balanced, we can say

Kelvin double bridge method

Principle: It is a modification of Wheatstone bridge taking into account the resistance of leads and contact resistance
while measuring low resistance.

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Kelvin Double Bridge The term double bridge is used because the circuit contains a second set of ratio arms.
The unknown resistance Rx can be calculated as follows:

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Kelvin double bridge uses:

Standard resistance = 100 mW
Inner ratio arms = 15 W and 30 W
Outer ratio arms = 40 W and 60 W
If the resistance of the connecting leads from standard to unknown resistance is 800 mW.
Calculate the unknown resistance under this condition.

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The differences between a DC bridge and an AC bridge are:

DC bridge
1. DC supply is used.
2. A DC current detector is used.
3. Only resistive components are used.
4. There is no need for Wegner's earthing device.
5. Balancing time is relatively less.

AC bridge
1. AC supply is used.
2. AC current detector is used.
3. Resistive and reactive components are used.
4. Wagner's earthing device is required.
5. Balancing time is high because AC supply is used.

AC BRIDGES
In the AC bridge the bridge circuit consists of four impedances and an ac voltage source.
AC - Bridges enable us to perform precise measurements for the following :
 Reactance (capacitance and inductance) measurements.
 Determining the (Q-factor OR D-factor).
 Frequency measurements.
 Testing and analyzing of antenna and transmission line performance
 Other than measurement of unknown impedance, AC bridge are commonly used for shifting phase.

Types of Sources in AC Bridges :

o For Low frequency measurement the power line supply can serve as the source of excitation.
o For High frequency measurement the electronic oscillator is used as excitation voltage.
Types of detectors in AC Bridges :
Head phones
o It is used at frequencies of 250 Hz and over upto 3 to 4 KHz.

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o Most sensitive detector for this ranges of frequency.

Vibration galvanometer
o It can be used from 5 Hz to 1000 Hz but suitable mainly upto 200 Hz.
o They are extremely useful for power and low AF ranges.
Tuneable Amplifier Detector (TAD)
o It can be used at 10 Hz to 100 KHz.
Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO)
o It is used for higher frequency more than 5 KHz.
Note :
o For a DC Bri dge , the “PMMC ” instrument acts as a detector.

AC bridges through which inductance (L) is measured :

1.Maxwell’s inductance bridge
2. Maxwell’s inductance-capacitance bridge
3. Hay’s bridge
4. Anderson’s bridge
5. Owen’s bridge

construction
The basic circuit of an ac bridge is exactly the same as the Wheatstone bridge circuit except that impedances are
used instead of resistances, and the supply is an ac-source. Also, the null detector must be an ac instrument.

PRINCIPLE

When the specific circuit conditions apply, the detector current becomes zero, which is known as null or
balance condition. Since zero current, it means that there is no voltage difference across the detector,.

Voltage at point b and c are equal. I1Z1  I 2 Z 2

The same thing at point d. I1Z3  I 2 Z 4
From two above equation yield general bridge equation;

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Therefore, Z1.Z4 = Z2.Z3

For AC-bridges, the null-condition is only valid if Va and Vb are equal in amplitude and also same in-phase.
In the polar form the impedance Z can be written as

where Z represents the impedance and θ represents the phase angle of complex impedance Z.Hence, the bridge
arm impedances in polar form can be expressed as

Since, in complex number multiplication the magnitudes are multiplied and the phase angles
are added, the balance equation can be written as

Example

The impedances of the AC bridge in Figure below are given as follows

Z1  200300 

Z 2  15000 

Z3  250  400 

Z x  Z 4  unknown
Determine the constants of the unknown arm.

Z1Zx=Z2Z3, Zx =(Z2Z3/Z1) , = [(150 * 250)/200] = 187.5 

The second condition for balance requires that the sums of the phase angles of opposite arms be equal,

1+  x = 2 + 3

 x = 2 + 3 - 1 = 0 + (-40o) – 30o = -70o

The unknown impedance Zx, can be written as,

Z x  187.5  70o
Z x  (64.13  j176.19)
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Capacitor Equivalent Circuits:

The equivalent circuit of a capacitor consists of a pure capacitance C and a resistance R . Where, Cp represents
the actual capacitance value, and Rp represents the resistance of the dielectric or leakage resistance.
The series impedance is

in parallel Xc =2πfC, w =2πf

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As shown in above figure, AC bridge mainly consists of four arms, which are connected in rhombus or square
shape. All these arms consist of some impedance.

The detector and AC voltage source are also required in order to find the value of unknown impedance. Hence,
one of these two are placed in one diagonal of AC bridge and the other one is placed in other diagonal of AC
bridge. The balancing condition of Wheatstone‘s bridge as −

We will get the balancing condition of AC bridge, just by replacing R with Z in above equation.

CAPACITANCE COMPARISON BRIDGE

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Maxwell‟s bridge
Maxwell‘s bridge is used to measure the value of medium inductance. The circuit diagram of Maxwell‘s
bridge is shown in the below figure.

Substitute these impedance values in the following balancing condition of AC bridge.

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Hay‟s Bridge
Hay‘s bridge is a modified version of Maxwell‘s bridge, which we get by modifying the arm, which consists of
a parallel combination of resistor and capacitor into the arm, which consists of a series combination of resistor
and capacitor in Maxwell‘s bridge. Hay‘s bridge is used to measure the value of high inductance.

Let, Z1,Z2,Z3 and Z4 are the impedances of arms DA, AB, CD and BC respectively. The values of these
impedances will be

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Multiply the numerator and denominator of right hand side term of above equation with 1−jωR1C1.

Schering Bridge
Schering bridge is an AC bridge having four arms, which are connected in the form of a rhombus or square
shape, whose one arm consists of a single resistor, one arm consists of a series combination of resistor and
capacitor, one arm consists of a single capacitor & the other arm consists of a parallel combination of resistor
and capacitor.

The AC detector and AC voltage source are also used to find the value of unknown impedance, hence one of
them is placed in one diagonal of Schering bridge and the other one is placed in other diagonal of Schering
bridge.

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Schering bridge is used to measure the value of capacitance. The circuit diagram of Schering bridge is shown
in the below figure.

Let, Z1, Z2,Z3 and Z4 are the impedances of arms DA, AB, CD and BC respectively. The values of these
impedances will be

Substitute these impedance values in the following balancing condition of AC bridge.

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The advantage of Schering bridge is that both the values of resistor, R4 and capacitor, C4 are independent of
the value of frequency.

Wien‟s Bridge
Wien‟s bridge is an AC bridge having four arms, which are connected in the form of a rhombus or square
shape. Amongtwo arms consist of a single resistor, one arm consists of a parallel combination of resistor and
capacitor & the other arm consists of a series combination of resistor and capacitor.

The AC detector and AC voltage source are also required in order to find the value of frequency. Hence, one of
these two are placed in one diagonal of Wien‘s bridge and the other one is placed in other diagonal of Wien‘s
bridge.

The circuit diagram of Wien‘s bridge is shown in the below figure.

Let, Z1,Z2,Z3 and Z4 are the impedances of arms DA, AB, CD and BC respectively. The values of these
impedances will be

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Substitute these impedance values in the following balancing condition of AC bridge.

Substitute, ω=2πf in above equation.

We can find the value of frequency, f of AC voltage source by substituting the values of R1,R3,C1 and C3
in above equation. If R1=R3=R and C1=C3=C, then we can find the value of frequency, f of AC voltage source
by using the following formula.

Magnetic field, field strength, and flux density

Magnetism Force of attraction or repulsion that acts between magnets and other magnetic materials
Flux lines Show direction and intensity of this field at all points
Flux, : Total number of lines

The number of magnetic lines of forces set up in a magnetic circuit is called Magnetic Flux.
Symbol is Phi, ( Φ ) with the unit of flux being the Weber, ( Wb ).
But the number of lines of force within a given unit area is called the ―Flux Density‖ and since flux ( Φ ) is
measured in ( Wb ) and area ( A ) in metres squared, ( m2 ), flux density is therefore measured in Webers/Metre2
or ( Wb/m2 ) and is given the symbol B.
Magnetic Flux Density

The symbol for magnetic flux density is B and the unit of magnetic flux density is the Tesla, T.

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Magnetism Example No1

The amount of flux present in a round magnetic bar was measured at 0.013 webers. If the material has a
diameter of 12cm, calculate the flux density.

The cross sectional area of the magnetic material in m2 is given as:

The magnetic flux is given as 0.013 webers, therefore the flux density can be calculated as:

So the flux density is calculated as 1.15 Teslas.

The magnetic field is defined as the region around the magnet where its poles and the electrical charges
experience the force of attraction or repulsion.
Magnetic field intensity, H . Also called magnetizing force . Measures mmf per unit length of a circuit.

Difference Between Magnetic Field & Magnetic Flux

The most significant difference between the magnetic field and the magnetic flux is that the magnetic field is
the region around the magnet where the moving charge experiences a force, whereas the magnetic flux shows
the quantity or strength of magnetic lines produced by the magnet.

Key Differences Between Magnetic Field and Magnetic Flux

The following are the key differences between the magnetic field and magnetic flux.

1. The area around the magnetic field where the poles and the moving charge experience the force of
attraction and repulsion is called a magnetic field. Whereas, the magnetic flux shows the quantities of
the magnetic lines of force passes through it.
2. The magnetic field is expressed as the product of the magnetic strength and the direction of the moving
charges. Whereas, the magnetic field is the product of the field strength and the area around the poles.
3. The SI unit of the magnetic field is Telsa whereas the SI unit of magnetic flux is Weber.
4. The magnetic field only depends on the magnet which generates it whereas the magnetic flux depends
on the magnetic strength and area.

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Magneto Motive Force(F)

It can be shown that the amount of flux available in any given magnetic circuit is directly proportional to the
current flowing through it and the number of turns of wire within the coil. Magneto motive force is ―the ability
creates a magnetic flux in magnetic circuit‖. OR It is the force by which a magnetic field is produced
Magneto Motive Force is expressed as a current, I flowing through a coil of N turns. The magnetic field
strength of an electromagnet is therefore determined by the ampere turns of the coil with the more turns of wire
in the coil the greater will be the strength of the magnetic field.

Where, N – numbers of turns of inductive coil, I – current

Also Where R – reluctance, Φ – magnetic flux

Reluctance is the Opposition that circuit presents to flux

where µ=material permeability. Permeability measures ease of establishing magnetic flux in a material
Ferromagnetic materials have high permeability Nonmagnetic materials have low permeability
Relative Permeability

Magnetic Field Strength (intensity) for Electromagnets

 Where:

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 H – is the strength of the magnetic field in ampere-turns/metre, At/m

 N – is the number of turns of the coil
 I – is the current flowing through the coil in amps, A
 L – is the length of the coil in metres, m

Then to summarise, the strength or intensity of a coils magnetic field depends on the following factors.

 The number of turns of wire within the coil.

 The amount of current flowing in the coil.
 The type of core material.

Electromagnet Example No1

The absolute permeability of a soft iron core is given as 80 milli-henries/m (80.10-3). Calculate the equivalent
relative permeability value.

Magnetic Hysteresis
The lag or delay of a magnetic material known commonly as Magnetic Hysteresis, relates to the magnetisation
properties of a material by which it firstly becomes magnetised and then de-magnetised.

By plotting values of flux density, ( B ) against the field strength, ( H ) we can produce a set of curves called
Magnetisation Curves, Magnetic Hysteresis Curves or more commonly B-H Curves for each type of core
material used as shown below.

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Magnetic Hysteresis Loop

The Magnetic Hysteresis loop above, shows the behaviour of a ferromagnetic core graphically as the
relationship between B and H is non-linear. Starting with an unmagnetised core both B and H will be at zero,
point 0 on the magnetisation curve.

If the magnetisation current, i is increased in a positive direction to some value the magnetic field strength H
increases linearly with i and the flux density B will also increase as shown by the curve from point 0 to point a
as it heads towards saturation.

Then the B-H curve follows the path of a-b-c-d-e-f-a as the magnetising current flowing through the coil
alternates between a positive and negative value such as the cycle of an AC voltage. This path is called a
Magnetic Hysteresis Loop.

Magnetic Hysteresis results in the dissipation of wasted energy in the form of heat with the energy wasted
being in proportion to the area of the magnetic hysteresis loop. Hysteresis losses will always be a problem in
AC transformers where the current is constantly changing direction and thus the magnetic poles in the core will
cause losses because they constantly reverse direction.

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Example
What is the magnetizing force of a coil having 4000 turns and 10 mA current flowing through it?
Solution
We have following formula to calculate ampere – turns (magnetizing force):
F=A−t
So, putting values of current and turns into formula,
F=4000∗0.01=40A−t
Thus, if a large amount of magnetizing force is needed and only a small amount of current is available, it is
necessary to use a great number of turns on the coil.

Examples
1. A current of 5 A is passed through a 1000-turn coil wound on a circular magnetic circuit of radius 120 mm.
Calculate (a) the magnetomotive force, and (b) the magnetic field strength.
(a) Magnetomotive force, m.m.f. = NI = (1000)(5) = 5000 A
(b) Length of magnetic field, l = 2r = 2(0.120) m
NI (1000)(5)
Hence, magnetic field strength, H =  = 6631 A/m
l 2(0.120)
2. Find the magnetic field strength and the magnetomotive force needed to produce a flux density
of 0.33 T in an air-gap of length 15 mm
B B 0.33
 0 r from which, magnetic field strength, H =  = 262600 A/m
H 0  r 4107 1

Magnetomotive force, m.m.f. = H  l = 262600  15 103 = 3939 A

An air-gap between two pole pieces is 20 mm in length and the area of the flux path across the gap is 5 cm2 .
If the flux required in the air-gap is 0.75 mWb find the m.m.f. necessary.

B B A 
  0 for air, from which, H =  
H 0 0 A 0
 0.75 103  20 103
and m.m.f. = H  l = l  = 23870 A
A 0 5 104  4107
. (a) Determine the flux density produced in an air-cored solenoid due to a uniform magnetic field strength of
8000 A/m. (b) Iron having a relative permeability of 150 at 8000 A/m is inserted into the solenoid of part (a).
Find the flux density now in the solenoid.
B
(a)   0 for air, from which, flux density, B = 0 H  4107  8000 = 10.05 mT
H
B
(b)  0  r from which, flux density, B = 0 r H  4107 150  8000 = 1.508 T
H

Worked Example 3

A circular coil of mean radius 10 cm has a magnetic field strength of 5,000 A/m. a) Find the magnetomotive
force. b) Calculate the current if the coil is wound with 600 turns

a) Fm = H l, where l = 2 π r

= 5,000 × 2 × π × 0.01

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= 314.16 A (to 2 d.p.)

b) I = Fm / N

= 5,000 × 2 × π × 0.01 / 600

= 0.52 A (to 2 d.p.)

Example 2.3 A coil of 100 turns is wound uniformly over a wooden ring having a
mean circumference of 500mm and a uniform cross sectional area of 500mm2. If the
current through the coil is 2.0A calculate
(i) the magnetic field strength
(ii) the flux density
(iii) the flux
(iv) mmf

Example 2.4 Calculate the mmf required to produce a flux of 0.01Wb across an airgap
2mm long, having an effective area of 100cm2.

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The principal requirements in magnetic measurements are

(i) The measurement of magnetic field strength in air.
(ii) The determination of B-H curve and hysteresis loop for soft Ferro-magnetic materials.
(iii) The determination of eddy current and hysteresis losses of soft Ferro- magnetic materials subjected to
alternating magnetic fields.
(iv) The testing of permanent magnets. Magnetic measurements have some inherent inaccuracies due to which
the measured values depart considerably from the true values. The inaccuracies are due to the following reasons
(i) The conditions in the magnetic specimen under test are different from those assumed in calculations;
(ii) The magnetic materials are not homogeneous
(iv)There is no uniformity between different batches of test specimens even if such batches are of the same
composition.

Types of Tests
Many methods of testing magnetic materials have been devised wherein attempts have been made to eliminate
the inaccuracies. However, attention will be confined to a few basic methods of ‗ Testing Ferro-magnetic
materials. They are:
(i) Ballistic Tests: These tests are generally employed for the determination of B- H curves and hysteresis
loops of Ferro-magnetic materials.
(ii) A. C. Testing. These tests may be carried at power, audio or radio frequencies. They give information about
eddy current and hysteresis losses in magnetic materials.
(iii) Steady State Tests. These are performed to obtain the steady value of flux density existing in the air gap of
a magnetic circuit.
Ballistic Tests: These tests are used for determination of flux density in a specimen, determination of B-H
curves and plotting of hysteresis loop.

Hall effect
The Hall effect is an occurrence of a very small voltage that is generated on opposite sides of a thin current-
carrying conductor or semiconductor (the Hall element) that is in a magnetic field.

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The Hall effect is widely employed by various sensors for directly measuring position or motion and can be
used indirectly for other measurements.

• Hall sensors are commonly used to measure parameters associated with rotating devices (e.g. wheels and
shafts)
– internal combustion engine ignition timing
– tachometers
– anti-lock braking systems
– brushless DC electric motors to detect the position of the permanent magnet

Fluxmeter

Definition: The meter which is used for measuring the flux of the permanent magnet such type of meter is
known as the flux meter. The fluxmeter is the advanced form of the ballistic galvanometer which has certain
advantages like the meter has low controlling torque and heavy electromagnetic damping.

Construction of Flux Meter

The construction of the fluxmeter is shown in the figure below. The fluxmeter has a coil which is freely
suspended by the help of the spring and the single silk thread. The coil moves freely between the poles of the
permanent magnet.

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The current enters into the coil with the help of the helices which is very thin and made from the annealed silver
strips. This current reduces the controlling torque to the minimum value. The air friction damping of the coil is
negligible.

Operation of Flux Meter

The terminals of the fluxmeter are connected across the search coil as shown in the figure below. The flux
linking with the coil is varied by either removing it from the magnetic field or by reversing the field of the
magnet. The change of the flux induces the electromotive force in the coil. This emf induces the current in the
search coil and send it through the flux meter. Because of the current, the pointer of the fluxmeter deflects, and
their deflection is directly proportional to the change in the value of flux linkages.

As, the variation of the flux linkages reduces, coil stop moving because of their high electromagnetic damping.
The high electromagnetic damping is because of the low resistance circuit between the fluxmeter and the search
coil.
Advantages of Fluxmeter
The following are the advantages of fluxmeter.

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1. The fluxmeter is portable.

2. The scale of the fluxmeter is calibrated in Weber meters.
3. The deflection of the coil is free from the time taken by the flux to change.
Disadvantages
The only disadvantage of the fluxmeter is that it is less sensitive and accurate as compared to the flux meter.
Ballistic Galvanometer
Definition: The galvanometer which is used for estimating the quantity of charge flow through it is called
the ballistic galvanometer.

Construction of Ballistic Galvanometer

The ballistic galvanometer consists coil of copper wire which is wound on the non-conducting frame of the
galvanometer. The phosphorous bronze suspends the coil between the north and south poles of a magnet. For
increasing the magnetic flux the iron core places within the coil. The lower portion of the coil connects with the
spring. This spring provides the restoring torque to the coil.

The working principle of the ballistic galvanometer.

When the charge passes through the galvanometer, their coil starts moving and gets an impulse. The impulse of
the coil is proportional to the charges passes through it. The actual reading of the galvanometer achieves by
using the coil having a high moment of inertia. The moment of inertia means the body oppose the angular
movement. If the coil has a high moment of inertia, then their oscillations are large. Thus, accurate reading is
obtained

Calibration of Galvanometer

The calibration of the galvanometer is the process of determining its constant value by the help of the
practical experiments. The following are the methods used for determining the constant of the ballistic
galvanometer.

Using a Capacitor

The charging and discharging of the capacitor gives the values of the ballistic galvanometer constant. The
circuit arrangement for the calibration of a ballistic galvanometer using the capacitor is shown in the figure
below.

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The circuit uses two pole switch S and the unknown EMF source E. When the switch S connects to terminal 2
then the capacitor becomes charged. Similarly, when the switch connects to terminal 1, then the capacitor
becomes discharges through the resistor R, connected in series with the ballistic galvanometer The discharge
current of the capacitor deflects the coil of ballistic galvanometer through an angle θ. The formula calculates

constant of the galvanometer

Using a Mutual Inductance

The constant of the ballistic galvanometer determines through the mutual inductance between the coils. The
arrangement of the ballistic galvanometer requires two coils; primary and secondary. The primary coil is
energised by knowing voltage source.

Because of the mutual induction, the current induces in the secondary circuit. And this current is used for the
calibration of the ballistic galvanometer.
DETERMINATION OF MAGNETISING CURVE
Step-by-step Method
For this test, the circuit diagram is shown in Figure 12.10. In this test the magnetisation
winding of the ring specimen is supplied from a potential divider having few tappings.
The tappings are arranged so that the magnetisation force H may be increased in suitable
number of steps, upto desired maximum value. Before testing the specimen, it must be
demagnetised.
Keeping the switch S2 on the tap 1 position, the switch S1 is closed. Current flow in the
magnetising winding sets up a magnetising force, H1 which in turns increases the flux
density in the specimen, from zero to some value B1, and corresponding throw of

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galvanometer is observed. The B1 value can be calculated from the throw of the
galvanometer. H1 value may be calculated from the reading of the ammetre, connected to
the magnetising winding circuit. The magnetising force is then increased to some value H2
by switching S2 suddenly to the tapping 2 and the corresponding increase in flux density
ΔB is determined from the throw of the galvanometer. Then the flux density B2
corresponding to magnetising force H2 is calculated as B2 = B1 + ΔB. The process is
repeated for other values of H up to the maximum point and the complete B-H curve thus
drawn as shown in Figure

DETERMINATION OF HYSTERESIS LOOP

Step-by-step Method
The determination of the hysteresis loop by this method is carried out simply by continuing the procedure
described in the previous section where the B-H curve was obtained. After reaching the point of maximum H
with S2 on the tapping 8, the magnetising current is then reduced, in steps to zero by moving S2 down through
tapping points 8,7,6…2,1. After the reduction of the magnetising force to zero, negative values of H are
obtained by reversing the reversing supply to the potential divider and then moving the switch S2 in steps as
before.

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What is HIBBERT STANDARD?

A standard of magnetic flux linkage suitable for fluxmeter or galvanometer calibration. It comprises a stabilized
magnet producing a radial field in an annular gap, through which a cylinder carrying a multiturn coil can be
dropped

How magnetic lux density is measured using Ballistic galvanometer

The measurement of flux density inside a specimen can be done by winding a search coil over the
specimen. This search coil is known as a ― B coil‖ . This search coil is then connected to a ballistic
galvanometer or to a flux meter. Let us consider that we have to measure the flux density in a ring specimen
shown in Fig below The ring specimen is wound with a magnetizing winding which carries a current I. A
search coil of convenient number of turns is wound on the specimen and connected through a resistance and
calibrating coil, to a ballistic galvanometer as shown. The current through the magnetizing coil is reversed and
therefore the flux linkages of the search coil change inducing an emf in it. Thus emf sends a current through the
ballistic galvanometer causing it to deflect.

Hysteresis Loss and Eddy Current Loss:

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When a magnetic material undergoes cyclic magnetization, two kinds of power losses occur in it Hysteresis
Loss and Eddy Current Loss which together are known as core-loss. The core-loss is important in determining
heating, temperature rise, rating and efficiency of transformers, machines and other ac run magnetic devices.
Hysteresis Loss Figure 2.18 shows a typical hysteresis loop of a ferromagnetic material. As the mmf is
increased from zero to its maximum value, the energy stored in the field per unit volume of material is
Hysteresis Loss and Eddy Current Loss

Eddy current Loss When a magnetic core carries a time-varying flux, voltages are induced in all possible paths
enclosing the flux. The result is the production of circulating currents in the core (all magnetic materials are
conductors). These currents are known as eddy-currents and have power loss (i2R) associated with them called
eddy-current loss. This loss, of course, depends upon the resistivity of the material and lengths of the paths of
circulating currents for a given cross-section. Higher resistivity and longer paths increase the effective
resistance offered by the material to induce voltages resulting in reduction of eddy-current loss. High resistivity
is achieved by adding silicon to steel and hence silicon steel is used for cores conducting alternating flux.
Dividing up the material into thin laminations along the flow of flux, with each lamination lightly insulated
(varnish is generally used) from the adjoining ones, increases the path length of the circulating currents with
consequent reduction in eddy-current loss.

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ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS AND COMMON FAULTS

SOLDERING
―Soldering‖ is a low-temperature form of welding commonly used to join electrical conductors together for
permanent connections.

Soldering Materials and tools

1. Soldering Iron– Used to melt solder and connect component pins to board pads.
2. Solder– An alloy of tin and lead with a low melting point. An alloy of 60/40 (60% tin, 40% lead)
3. Flux or Rosin – A flux is a chemical purifying agent. In soldering metals, flux provides three functions: -
- it eliminates rust from the components.
- It prevents oxidation of the metals that are being connected
- enhances the ability of the solder to "wet" the surfaces that are being joined
4. Solder Wick or De-soldering Braid– A tool used to extract solder and de-solder components from the
board,
5. Flux Remover– A liquid used to remove flux residue (eg. Home dry cleaner).
6. Stand on which to hold the hot soldering iron
7. Sponge :The damp sponge is used to clean the tip of the iron.
8. Steel wool or fine sandpaper: This is used to clean connections prior to soldering.
9. Crocodile clips: These can be used as heat sinks, if needed. helping to prevent component damage
10. Pliers, Knife, Multi-Meter, and Magnifier– Pliers are used to cut, bend, and sometimes strip component
leads; a knife to strip wires and trim traces; multi-meters to test electrical connectivity; and a magnifier
for soldering small SMT chip components.

Some basic soldering rules are :

1. Soldering tip must be tinned and clean.
2. Metals to be soldered must be clean.
3. Support the joint mechanically where possible.
4. Tin large areas before soldering them together.
5. Apply solder to joint, not to gun or iron tip, solder must flow freely and have a shiny, smooth appearance.
6. Use only enough solder to make a solid connection.
7. Where additional flux is used, apply to joint, not to soldering tip. Use only rosin or resin flux.
8. Solder rapidly and do not permit components or insulation to burn or overheat

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Common Problems and Troubleshooting

1. Solder will not flow.
o The parts to be joined may be dirty. Remove the solder and clean the parts.
2. The connection looks grainy or crystalline.
o Parts were moved before the solder was allowed to cool.
o Reheat to form a good joint. You may need a larger soldering iron to heat connections
adequately.
3. The tip is oxidized.
o Soldering is much easier with a shiny, clean tip.
o Clean the tip with a damp synthetic sponge while the iron is hot.
o To avoid oxidizing the tip, do not leave the iron plugged in when not in use.
o Do not use the iron at a higher temperature than is necessary to melt solder.
o Clean the tip of the iron on a damp synthetic sponge as soon as it starts to change from a silver
color.
4. There is too much or too little solder.
o Using too much solder can cause a solder bridge, which means that two adjacent joints are
accidentally connected.
o Using too little solder might result in poor electrical continuity between the board and
component. The connection should be smooth, shiny, and rigid.
5. Cold solder joint. A ―cold solder joint‖ is a poor solder connection resulting from motion of the pieces
during the cooling process or insufficient temperature.

Types of soldering iron

1. Soldering pencil: is a pencil-shaped device with an electrical heating element in its end.
2. A soldering station: consists of a soldering pencil attached to a power station.
3. Soldering systems: consist of several hand pieces including soldering iron, hot-air gun, de-soldering
gun, thermo-tweezers and so on.
4. Soldering “guns” have a pistol-shaped body, with a loop of thick copper wire at the end acting directly
as a heating element.

NB: Proper soldering requires the following:-

1. Clean metallic surfaces.
2. Sufficient heat applied to the joint to melt solder when solder is applied to the heated wire surface.

CIRCUITS AND FAULTS

Definitions:
Electrical fault is a condition in the electrical system that causes failure of the electrical equipment in the circuit.
Electrical faults can be categorized as:
 Short-Circuit Faults: A short circuit is a circuit element with resistance approaching zero.
 Open Circuit Faults: An open circuit is a circuit element with resistance approaching infinity. Open
circuit is an unwanted break in a circuit
 In a grounded circuit the current flows to ground without flowing to the part
 Abnormal resistance is due to a bad connection or partial short

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COMMON FAULTTS OF BASIC ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS

COMPONEN COMMON FAULTS SYMPTOMS TESTING AND REPAIR
T
Fixed resistor -Short -Noise in •Open – meter deflection indicates
-Open circuit Resistance INFINITE resistance reading.
-change in resistance or a •Shorted – meter deflection indicates ZERO
complete failure.. -overheating resistance reading.
-bad smell •Change Value – rare defect of resistor;
measured value is not within the range of
the rated value.
Variable Short SAME AS ABOVE
resistor/potenti -Open circuit Variable resistor shld be cleaned with oil to
ometer/rheosta -change in resistance or a remove dirt if noisy.
rt complete failure
capacitor Short -Humming Noise -Short Capacitors: Shorted Capacitor will show
-Open circuit -Bulged appearance very low Resistance.
-leakage -Domed tops -Open Capacitors: An Open Capacitor will not
-Asymmetrical or show any movement (Deflection) on OHM
stretched plastic meter Screen.
jacket - Good Capacitors: Initially, it will show low
-Fluid leaking resistance, and then gradually increases toward
-Split vents the infinite.
-Bad smell
inductor -Short The Inductor acts like Shorts cannot normally be detected with
-Open circuit an ordinary ohmmeters because the change in resistance
-Over Current. connecting wire, its is so small.
-Over Voltage. Resistance is zero
-Ground Fault.
- change value
diode -Open circuit in both Bad smell shorted :low resistance in both the
directions. directions.
-Low resistance in both open, it will measure a high resistance in
directions. (short) both the directions.
-Leaky.
-Breakdown under load
transistor Short No output • A junction (or junctions) go short circuit
-Open circuit No visual signs (its resistance becomes very low or zero).
• A junction (or junctions) go open circuit
(its resistance becomes very high or
infinity).

transformer Short No output Shorted

-Open circuit Meter Deflection Indicating Zero Resistance
Open
No Meter Deflection Indicating Infinite
Resistance

Note for a capacitor

If the capacitor is not shorted, the needle will make a rapid swing toward zero and slowly return to infinity. If
the capacitor has an internal short, the needle will stay at zero, indicating that the instrument will not take the

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charge. What you are actually doing is attempting to charge the capacitor using the battery in the ohmmeter (be
sure the battery in the ohmmeter is good). An open capacitor will read high with no dip and no recovery.

TRANSISTOR AMPLIIER

Transistor amplifier components functions

(i) Biasing Circuit:The resistances R1 , R2 and RE provide biasing and stabilisation.
(ii) Input Capacitor (C1): is used to couple the signal to the base of the transistor.
Otherwise, the signal source resistance will come across R2 and thus can change the bias.
This capacitor allows only the a.c. signal to flow but isolates the signal source from R2 .
iii) Emitter Bypass Capacitor (CE): Used in parallel with RE to provide a low reactance path to the amplified
a.c. signal. If this capacitor is not connected in the output circuit then the amplified a.c. signal will flow through
RE and cause a voltage drop across it, thereby reducing the output voltage.
(iv) Coupling Capacitor (C2): Used to couple one stage of amplification to the next stage.
If it is not used, the bias condition of the next stage will be drastically changed due to the shunting effect of RC .
This is because RC will come in parallel with the resistance R1 of the biasing circuit of the next stage amplifier
circuit and hence, alter the biasing condition of the next stage.
Therefore, the coupling capacitor is used to isolates the d.c. of one stage from the next stage and allows the a.c.
signal only.

Possible amplifier faults

1. Collector load resistor open

The base is still forward biased, so base current flows. The base current will be higher than normal, because all
the emitter current goes to the base and none to the collector.Since there is more current through R1, there will
be a higher voltage drop across it, and the base voltage will be lower.

2.Emitter Resistor Open Circuit

There can be no base or collector current. Since the current through R1 is less than normal, there will be a lower
voltage drop across it and the base voltage will be higher than normal.
Since there is no current through R3 there will be no voltage dropped across it. The voltage will be the same at
both ends, and the collector will be at the supply voltage.

3. Upper Base Bias Resistor Open Circuit

With R1 o/c there is no voltage on the base, no base bias and no base current.
The transistor is OFF and there is no collector current and no voltage drop across R3.

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The collector voltage will be the same as the supply volts, +9. There is no current through R4, so there is no
voltage drop across it. The voltage at both ends is the same, zero volts.

4. Emitter Capacitor Short Circuit

The emitter is connected to zero volts and there is an increased emitter/base forward bias.
Base and collector currents increase. There is more current through R1, a higher voltage drop across it, and a
lower base voltage. Since the collector current is higher there will be a larger voltage drop across R3. The
collector voltage will be lower than normal.
The emitter voltage will of course be zero. If the capacitor goes open circuit, the dc voltages will remain at their
normal values. However, the gain will be much reduced

5.Lower Base Bias Resistor Open Circuit

There is no potential divider action and the full +9 volts is applied to the base by R1.
This causes a high base current to flow, which in turn causes a high collector current to flow.
There is a large volts drop across R3, causing a low collector volts.
There is a large volts drop across R4, causing the emitter volts to rise.

3. Integrated Circuits

An Integrated Circuit or an IC is an integration or incorporation of several electronic components (mainly

transistors) on a single device (or chip) made up of a semiconductor material (usually Silicon).

Common faults:
Short Between Two Pins
Missing components
Wire breaks
Open solder joints
Solder bridging
Component misalignment

Open Signal Lines

This category includes any fault that produces a break or discontinuity in the conducting path such that a
voltage level or signal is prevented from go-ing from one point to another. Some of the causes of open signal
lines are:
1. Broken wire
2. Poor solder connection; loose wire-wrap connection
3. Crack or cut trace on a printed circuit board (some of these are hairline cracks that are difficult to see without
a magnifying glass)
4. Bent or broken pin on an IC
5. Faulty IC socket such that the IC pin does not make good contact with the socket

TESTING INTEGRATED CIRCUITS (IC's)

--Integrated Circuits can be tested with a LOGIC PROBE. A Logic Probe will tell you if a
line is HIGH, LOW or PULSING.
Most logic circuits operate on 5v and a Logic Probe is connected to the 5v supply so
the readings are accurate for the voltages being tested.
A Logic Probe can also be connected to a 12v CMOS circuit.

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Printed Circuit Board (PCB)Failures

Printed circuit boards have copper tracks on one side, or sometimes both sides, of the board. The tracks connect
the holes where the component leads and wires are soldered. On single-sided PCBs the components are placed
on one side of the board with the copper tracks on the other. Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are used to make
permanent, soldered circuits. Common faults of PCBs include:
1. Burnt Components
It is common for PCB‘s components to burn due to the high temperatures they undergo, especially if there is
insufficient space around the component. Each component only has a certain amount of heat that it can absorb
which is dependent on size and structure.
2. Poorly Manufactured Components
There is always a possibility of acquiring a poorly manufactured PCB. Some signs and symptoms include loose
components, connection issues, even a bad solder or left over flux. One example of a bad solder job is a cold
solder. This causes a bad connection and has the potential to lead to burnt components and power issues. Left
over flux, a substance used to aid in the soldering process, can also do harm to your component as it can cause
corrosion on a PCB.
3. Environmental Factors
Temperature change could be the cause of a PCB‘s malfunction.
Moisture is also a PCB‘s enemy as it can cause rusting, oxidation, and corrosion.
A third environmental issue that can cause problems with a PCB is the buildup of debris such as dust, dirt, and
even insects
4. Age
With age comes component failure. A failing capacitor will generate intermittent power issues. The same goes
with other PCB parts. Old parts can be changed out for new ones.

Pin Configuration of the 555 Timer

Here is the identification for each pin:

Pin 1 (Ground):
Connects to the 0v power supply.

Pin 2 (Trigger):
Detects 1/3 of rail voltage to make output HIGH. Pin 2 has control over pin 6. If pin 2 is LOW, and pin 6
LOW, output goes and stays HIGH. If pin 6 HIGH, and pin 2 goes LOW, output goes LOW while pin 2 LOW.
This pin has a very high impedance (about 10M) and will trigger with about 1uA.

Pin 3 (Output):
(Pins 3 and 7 are "in phase.") Goes HIGH (about 2v less than rail) and LOW (about 0.5v less than 0v) and will
deliver up to 200mA.

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Pin 4 (Reset):
Internally connected HIGH via 100k. Must be taken below 0.8v to reset the chip.

Pin 5 (Control):
A voltage applied to this pin will vary the timing of the RC network (quite considerably).

Pin 6 (Threshold):
Detects 2/3 of rail voltage to make output LOW only if pin 2 is HIGH. This pin has a very high impedance
(about 10M) and will trigger with about 0.2uA.

Pin 7 (Discharge):
Goes LOW when pin 6 detects 2/3 rail voltage but pin 2 must be HIGH. If pin 2 is HIGH, pin 6 can be HIGH or
LOW and pin 7 remains LOW. Goes OPEN (HIGH) and stays HIGH when pin 2 detects 1/3 rail voltage (even
as a LOW pulse) when pin 6 is LOW. (Pins 7 and 3 are "in phase.") Pin 7 is equal to pin 3 but pin 7 does not go
high - it goes OPEN. But it goes LOW and will sink about 200mA.

Pin 8 (Supply):
Connects to the positive power supply (Vs). This can be any voltage between 4.5V and 15V DC, but is
commonly 5V DC when working with digital ICs.

Pinout of IC 741 Op Amp and their Functions (configurations)

 Pin 1 is Offset null.

 Pin 2 is Inverting input terminal.
 Pin 3 is a non-inverting input terminal.
 Pin 4 is negative voltage supply (VCC)
 Pin 5 is offset null.
 Pin 6 is the output voltage.
 Pin 7 is positive voltage supply (+VCC)
 Pin 8 has no connection. just a dummy lead used to fill the void space in standard 8 pin packages.

The 741 op-amp is used in two ways such as an inverting and a noninverting

Possible Troubles in a DC Motor/generator with Reasons

1. Failure to start
This may be due to
(i) ground fault (ii) open or short-circuit fault
(iii) wrong connections (iv) too low supply voltage
(v) frozen bearing or (vi) excessive load.
2. Sparking at brushes
This may be due to
(i) troubles in brushes

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(ii) troubles in commutator

(iii) troubles in armature or
(iv) excessive load.
(i) Brush troubles may arise due to insufficient contact surface, too short a brush, too little spring tension or
wrong brush setting.
(ii) Commutator troubles may be due to dirt on the commutator, high mica, rough surface or eccentricity.
(iii) Armature troubles may be due to an open armature coil. An open armature coil will cause sparking each
time the open coil passes the brush. The location of this open coil is noticeable by a burnt line between
segments connecting the coil.
3. Vibrations and pounding noises
These may be due to
(i) worn bearings (ii) loose parts
(iii) rotating parts hitting stationary parts (iv) armature unbalanced
(v) misalignment of machine (vi) loose coupling etc.
4. Overheating
The overheating of motor may be due to
(i) overloads (ii) sparking at the brushes
(iii) short-circuited armature or field coils (iv) too frequent starts or reversals
(v) poor ventilation (vi) incorrect voltage.

Other causes of faults include

 Low insulation resistance

 Over-Current
 Moisture
 Dirt
 Lack of maintenance
 Extreme operating environment and more

Troubleshooting Strategies For PCB Components

many printed circuit boards (PCB) are damaged by surges, spikes and torrents of nasty over-current eruptions
coming from the outside.
Inspection Conducted Physically
Simply touching the PCB surface and the components, you will know if there are hot spots.
Visual Inspection
A good visual inspection of PCBs can help a lot. Check for overlap traces, burnt components, overheating signs,
and any missing components which can be easily found through a careful visual check..

Possible Troubles in a DC Motor/generator with Reasons

1. Failure to start
This may be due to
(i) ground fault (ii) open or short-circuit fault
(iii) wrong connections (iv) too low supply voltage
(v) frozen bearing or (vi) excessive load.
2. Sparking at brushes
This may be due to
(i) troubles in brushes
(ii) troubles in commutator
(iii) troubles in armature or
(iv) excessive load.

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(i) Brush troubles may arise due to insufficient contact surface, too short a brush, too little spring tension or
wrong brush setting.
(ii) Commutator troubles may be due to dirt on the commutator, high mica, rough surface or eccentricity.
(iii) Armature troubles may be due to an open armature coil. An open armature coil will cause sparking each
time the open coil passes the brush. The location of this open coil is noticeable by a burnt line between
segments connecting the coil.
3. Vibrations and pounding noises
These may be due to
(i) worn bearings (ii) loose parts
(iii) rotating parts hitting stationary parts (iv) armature unbalanced
(v) misalignment of machine (vi) loose coupling etc.
4. Overheating
The overheating of motor may be due to
(i) overloads (ii) sparking at the brushes
(iii) short-circuited armature or field coils (iv) too frequent starts or reversals
(v) poor ventilation (vi) incorrect voltage.

Other causes of faults include

 Low insulation resistance

 Over-Current
 Moisture
 Dirt
 Lack of maintenance
 Extreme operating environment and more

TROUBLESHOOTING AND REPAIR

What is troubleshooting?•Detection and rectification of faults in the equipment.

Troubleshooting– finding and repairing malfunctions and errors in circuits and equipment by using systematic
analysis and tests.
Repairing means to rectify the problem in the hardware or software.
Steps for Electrical Troubleshooting

1. Gather Information. The first step of any electrical system troubleshooting exercise involves gathering
as much information about the problem as possible. Instead of immediately diving in and haphazardly
attempting anything to get the equipment running, first step back and determine how is the equipment
supposed to operate, what techinical documentation is available for the equipment, and is there someone
familiar with similar equipment who may have experienced this same issue.
2. Understand the malfunction and the role the malfunctioning equipment plays within the entire process.
When you understand how the equipment and process is supposed to work, you can better understand
what part of it is not functioning correctly.
3. Identify what can be measured so that you can identify items that are outside the acceptable range. For
example, are there voltage readings or tempurature readings that would help you evaluate the source of
the problem?
4. Identify the source of the problem using available data and analytical tools to isolate the defective
component. This could involve isolating components and evaluating their circuit parameters or isolating
the circuits by group when dealing with a complicated circuit.
5. Correct/repair the damaged component.

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6. Verify the repair after completion. Once the repair has been performed, start the system to ensure it now
runs as required. This is important because there may have been other underlying problems. For
example, there may be an issue with a circuit causing a fuse to blow (such as a shorted electrical
connection). If this is the case, additional troubleshooting will be required.
7. Perform root cause analysis to determine what really caused the problem. Since one of the objectives of
troubleshooting is to ensure the problem doesn't reoccur, it is important to determine what really caused
the malfunction and take action to ensure a permanent solution is found.

Common Troubleshooting Techniques

Functional Area Approach
An electronic system comprises several functional parts such as power supplies, amplifier, signal converters,
etc. When the system fails to give the expected performance, the problem could be in any of these functional
areas. Therefore, it is essential to troubleshoot the system in order to isolate the fault to the failing functional
area and then to the failing component. The logical approach of isolating a fault is through a process of
elimination of the functional areas that are performing properly. Once a failure is isolated, further analysis of
the circuitry within this area is carried out to isolate the malfunction to the faulty component. This functional
area approach is also called the Block-Diagram approach to troubleshooting.

Half-Split technique

In this technique, as the name suggests, the circuit is split in half and the output is checked at the half-way point
in case of an absence of an output. This helps to isolate the failing circuit in the first or second part. When the
faulty half is determined, the ageing circuit is split into half for further isolation of failure. This splitting is
continued until the failure is isolated to one function or component.
The Half-split method is extremely useful when the system is made up of a large number of blocks in the series:
Break a circuit into sections. Carry out the appropriate test on each section until the faulty part of the circuit is
located.

The diagram illustrates the idea behind half split. You basically keep dividing the circuit in half until you
identify the block where the fault lies. Extremely useful techniques for larger more complex circuits.

FAULT INDING AIDS

1) Operational and maintenance manual
2) Component data sheets

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3) Fault codes

Operational and maintenance manual(O&M)

An IOM or O&M Manual is a document created by a pump manufacturer that contains instructions on proper
installation, operation, and maintenance of electrical equipment. It contains
 A brief description of the equipment
 Manufacturer's details with the item type / model details for all maintainable items
 Drawings
 Troubleshooting procedure
 Test and commissioning info
 Manufacturer's literature relating to the operation and maintenance of the item. Or technical reference

Components data sheets
This inform the technical or the properties of the equipment. Also useful if a replacement is needed.

Fault codes
A trouble code is an alphanumeric value that corresponds to a particular type of fault.
Diagnostic trouble codes are alphanumeric codes that are used to identify a problem that is present on any of the
systems that are monitored by the on-board computer (ECM or PCM)
The first character is a letter. It identifies the "main system" where the fault originated. This will be one of the
following systems:
Letter System
B Body
C Chassis
P Powertrain
U Network (UART)

Five Steps to Fault Finding

Step 1 - Prepare
• Are there any safety issues?
• What test equipment do you intend to use?
• Document your findings!
Step 2 - Observe
• Are there signs of damage - overheated components, melted insulation, frayed wire, bad solder joints?
• Can you smell burning or overheating?
• Take voltage measurements from a working circuit.
• Take voltage measurements from the faulty circuit to compare.
• Document your findings!
Step 3 - Identify the problem subsystem
• Which subsystems are operating correctly?
• Where does the problem seem to lie?
• Document your findings!
Step 4 - Suggest possible causes
• Check likely components:
• switches, fuses and bulbs tend to wear out or burn out.
• Check possible components:
• motors, relays, inductors - components with coils - may overheat.
• Check connections:
• look for faulty connections or loose contacts which may offer high resistance.
• look for stray connections that can short-circuit.

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• look for breaks that create open-circuit conditions.

• Document your findings!
Step 5 - Test and repair
• Be safe! Remember –
• capacitors can store electrical charge and give electric shocks;
• inductors can store energy in a magnetic field and give electric shocks.
• Take measurements around the circuit, but mentally predict what they should be.
• In this way, home in on the problem component(s), and replace it, observing all safety procedures.
• Next, re-test the system to ensure that no other faults exist.
• Document your findings!

TROUBLESHOOTING A RECTIFIER

Procedure
Assume that you are troubleshooting the circuit below. You can start by measuring the dc load voltage. It
should be approximately the same as the peak secondary voltage. If not, there are two possible courses of
action. First, if there is no load voltage, you can use a floating VOM or DMM to measure the secondary voltage
(ac range). The reading is the rms voltage across the
secondary winding. Convert this to peak value. You can estimate the peak value by adding 40 percent to the rms
value. If this is normal, the diodes may be defective. If there is no secondary voltage, either the fuse is blown or
the transformer is defective.

Second, if there is dc load voltage but it is lower than it should be, look at the dc load voltage with an
oscilloscope and measure the ripple. A peak-to-peak ripple around 10 percent of the ideal load voltage is
reasonable. The ripple may be somewhat more or less than this, depending on the design. Furthermore, the
ripple frequency should be 120 Hz for a full-wave or bridge rectifier. If the ripple is 60 Hz, one of the diodes
may be open.
Common Troubles
Here are the most common troubles that arise in bridge rectifiers with capacitor input filters:
1. If the fuse is open, there will be no voltages anywhere in the circuit.
2. If the filter capacitor is open, the dc load voltage will be low because the output will be an
unfiltered full-wave signal.
3. If one of the diodes is open, the dc load voltage will be low because there will be only half-wave rectification.
Also, the ripple frequency will be 60 Hz instead of 120 Hz. If all diodes are open, there will be no output.
4. If the load is shorted, the fuse will be blown. Possibly, one or more diodes may be ruined or the transformer
may be damaged.
5. Sometimes, the filter capacitor becomes leaky with age, and this reduces the dc load voltage.
6. Occasionally, shorted windings in the transformer reduce the dc output voltage. In this case, the transformer
often feels very warm to the touch.
7. Besides these troubles, you can have solder bridges, cold-solder joints, bad connections, and so on.

BASIC COMPONENTS TESTING EQUIPMENTS

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When it comes to designing electronic circuits, testing and measuring various parameters like current, voltage,
frequency, resistance, capacitance, etc. is very important. Hence, the Test and Measurement Equipment like
Oscilloscopes, Multimeters, Logic Analyzers, Function Generators (or Signal Generators) are often used
regularly

Diagnostic Equipment
• A multimeter (VOM) is a voltmeter, ohmmeter, and ammeter combined into one case
• A digital multimeter (DVOM) has a number readout for the test value
• An analog multimeter (AVOM) has a pointer that moves across the face of a scale
• Use of an AVOM can damage sensitive electronic components
Test Light, Jumper Wires
• Test light can determine if current is flowing through a circuit(continuity tester)
• Jumper wires are used to temporarily bypass circuits or components for testing

Using Multimeters
• A multimeter must never be connected to a circuit in which current is flowing
• To measure resistance with a multimeter:
– Set the range selector switch on the highest range
– Connect the test leads to opposite ends of the circuit
– Reduce the range setting until the meter shows a reading near the middle of the scale
Checking Continuity
• A circuit remains closed and operational when it has continuity
• The continuity check determines if the electrical circuit has a complete path without any opens
– Set the range selector switch on the highest resistance range position
– Connect the multimeter test leads to the opposite ends of the wire or part being tested
– Read the meter
• An infinite reading shows an open circuit and a zero reading shows continuity

Checking for Shorts

• When checking for a short between two adjoining wires in a harness:
– Set the range selector as for a continuity check
– Connect the test leads to the opposite ends of the adjoining wires
– The multimeter should read almost infinity
• Signal Source/generator
• provides a test signal for a circuit which processes analogue signals.
• Oscilloscope: • provides a voltage/time graph of time-varying signals, such as sine waves. • is used
much like the multimeter, with its probes connected in parallel with the compo-nent terminals under
investigation. To test amplifier and many logic circuits, an oscilloscope is almost essential to view the
varying signals.
• A logic analyser is similar to oscilloscope, but dedicated to looking at digital signals, whereas an
oscilloscope uses an analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) to create accurate voltage/time graphs of the
signal.

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Electric Drill and Drill Bits

Electric drill and drill bits in the range of 1/8 inch to 1/2 inch will come in handy when you need to drill holes
on the printed circuit board that has been etched. Drilling of plastic or metal enclosure that houses the printed
circuit board are sometimes necessary. A suitable PCB high speed drill can be easily obtained from any
electronic shop.

Soldering Iron
A 20 Watt to 30 Watt soldering iron with tips of 1/8 inch to 1/2 inch can be used for soldering of through hole
components. Soldering of surface mount components may require smaller tips depending on the sizes of the
components. Soldering iron normally will last a long time if it is taken care of properly by keeping the tips clean
and well tinned.

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Wire Stripper
Wire stripper is used to strip off wire insulator from its conductor before it is used to connect to another wire or
soldered into the printed circuit board. Some wire stripper or wire cutter has a measurement engraved on it to
indicate the length that will be stripped.

Long nose Plier

A 4-inch long nose plier will come in handy when you need to hold components that have short leads that need
to be soldered onto the PCB but will be too hot to handle with bare hands. It will also be useful to hold the
component that needs to be de-soldered from the board.

Side-Cutting Plier
A 4-inch side cutting plier will come in handy as one of the electronic tools when one need to trim off excess
component leads on the printed circuit board. It can also be used to cut wires into shorter length before being
used.

Tweezers
Small tweezer is used to hold small components especially when doing soldering and de-soldering of surface
mount components.

Allen Wrench set

Allen wrench set is sometimes used to unscrew or screw Allen type of screws.
Philips Head Screwdrivers
Various sizes of Philips head screwdrivers will be handy as a lot of electronics projects that use screws are
Philips Head type.

Flat Head Screwdrivers

Flat head screwdrivers of various sizes are also necessary as many screws that are used are of this type.

Hammer
A small, light hammer will be useful when assembling projects that involved casing.

Socket wrench sets

A socket wrench sets that include nut drivers, hex drivers, and starters in assorted sizes will come in handy
during the assembly work of electronics project.

Pocket Knife
Pocket Knife will be useful when one need to cut PCB, wires or remove some cooper from the printed circuit
board.
Track cutter: For cutting stripboard tracks under ICs and elsewhere. A 3mm drill bit can be used but it is easier
with a handle.
Paint Brush. It is made of bristles set in handle used for cleaning dirty parts of a circuit or an object.

MAINTENANCE
Maintenance is any activity designed to keep the resources in good working condition or restore them to
operating status.

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―Maintenance is a function to keep the equipment or machinery in their normal operating condition by
servicing or repairing or replacing some of the components‖.
Each maintenance cycle requires four key activities:
1. Completing the requested maintenance action.
2. Retesting the system.
3. Recording details of the activities carried out.
4. Noting any resulting changes made to the system configuration

The primary goals of maintenance program are to:

1. Minimize the number of component failures in the system.
2. Minimize the process impact of failures that do occur and
3. Effectively diagnose the cause of failure and take corrective actions as quickly as possible.

The basic need (Importance) for maintenance of any equipment or machinery is to:
1. Minimize the frequency of interruptions to production by reducing breakdowns.
2. Maximize the production capacity from the given equipment resources.
3. Enhance the safety of work force.
4. Enhance the service reliability of equipment.
5. Enable to achieve the quality of a product or service through well-maintained equipment.
6. Maximize the useful life of the equipment.
7. Reduce the repair or breakdown cost component in the total production cost.

BENEFITS OF MAINTENANCE
(a) Minimization of Equipment‘s down time
(b) Increase availability of the entire system
(c) Enhancement of equipment‘s productive life
(d) Safe working environment to the workmen.

TYPES OF MAINTENANCE
Martand Telsang (1998) [8] classified the maintenance activity into two types:
i) Planned Maintenance
ii) ii) Unplanned Maintenance

PLANNED MAINTENANCE

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This is an organized type of maintenance work carried out as per recorded procedures having control. To evade
breakdowns, the maintenance tasks are preplanned considering „when and what kind of the maintenance
works‟, and „who would take up the maintenance work‟.
Following is the sub-classification of Planned Maintenance.
I. Preventive Maintenance
-Scheduled Maintenance
II. Corrective Maintenance
-Breakdown Maintenance
III. Predictive Maintenance
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE (PM)
The preventive maintenance policy is a system of planned and scheduled maintenance with the aim of
minimizing or preventing breakdowns. Preventive maintenance is ―the utilization of planned and coordinated
inspections, repairs, adjustments, and replacements in maintaining an equipment or plant‖.
PM inspection and service functions can be classified into three following groups:
(i) Routine up-keep, i.e., adjustment, lubrication and cleaning of equipment.
(ii) Periodic inspections, i.e., visual inspections, tear down inspections, overhauls, scheduled replacement of
parts, etc.
(iii) Contingent work, e.g., inspection of oil burners while relining a furnace.
Preventive maintenance records:
It is very necessary to keep records because they are the only reliable guides for measuring the effectiveness of
the preventive maintenance programme. Only records tell us, what is the situation at present and where it is
going. Good updated records, proper filing equipment and adequate clerical help are the backbone of PM
programme.
Record keeping is also necessary:
(i) When budgeting for major overhauls.
(ii) When budgeting for general maintenance costs.
(iii) For finding equipment reliability.
(iv) For determining frequency of inspections.
(v) For preparing maintenance schedules.
(vi) For predicting equipment life.
(vii) For designing maintenance cost control systems.
(viii) For equipment replacement analysis.
(ix) For carrying out cost reduction studies (e.g., value analysis).

Advantages of preventive maitenance:

1. Reduced breakdowns and connected down-time.
2. Lesser odd-time repairs and reduced overtime to the maintenance work-force.
3. Greater safety for workers.
4. Fewer large-scale and repetitive repairs.
5. Low maintenance and repair costs.
6. Less stand-by or reserve equipment, and spare parts.
7. Identification of equipment requiring high maintenance costs.
8. Lower unit cost of manufacture.
9. Better product quality and fewer product rejects.
10. Increased equipment life.
SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE:
Scheduled maintenance is a stitch-in-time procedure and incorporates
– inspection
– lubrication
– repair and overhaul of equipments
If neglected can result in breakdown
Generally followed for:

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– overhauling of machines
– changing of heavy equipment oils
– cleaning of water and other tanks etc.

Maintenance schedule should:

(1) Be such that, the maintenance work can be carried out during lunch hours, between shifts or at weekends
etc.,
(2) Take advantage of planned machine stoppages such as tool changes, loading and unloading of job etc.,
(3) Plan major repairs and overhauls during holidays,
(4) Make use of reserve plant if the need arises.
Procedure:
The scheduling of maintenance work involves essentially two steps:
1. Preparation of master maintenance schedule.
2. Preparation of Detailed weekly or daily schedule.
Master maintenance schedule indicates the nature and magnitude of each repair and construction task segment
of maintenance for a specified time span.
Detailed weekly work schedule provides information to each craft and shop regarding the task to be carried on
each job for each day in the coming week.
Maintenance schedule of each machine may be prepared and it will indicate the list of works which must be
carried out (together with the frequency) and will contain servicing, adjustments, lubrication details and
particulars of replacement work.

Scheduling
Tools (Devices):
They are classed as:
1. Visual charts.
2. Scheduling boards.
3. Individual cards.
1. Visual chart .
2. Scheduling boards.
3. Individual cards.

job card
a record card relating to a job and giving details of the time taken to do a piece of work and the materials used.
This is used to allocate direct labour and materials costs.

Sample
Insert your Insert your

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Company Name COMPANY LOGO here

and Address
To use your company stationery, delete the header and footer.

JOB CARD
Customer : Job Number :
Address :
Date Received :
Date to be completed :
Instruction taken by :
Contact : Job done by :
Tel. No.: Time started :
Fax No.: Time completed :

Instructions

Material Labour Costs

Description Quantity Unit Total Description Quantit Unit Total
Price y Price

Total : Total :
Vat @ ____ % : Vat @ ____ % :
Total Due : Total Due :

Total Cost of Job R

:

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CORRECTIVE OR BREAKDOWN MAINTENANCE

It is one type of planned maintenance and can be defined as ―the practice carried out to restore the full
performance of the equipment that has stopped working to acceptable standards
Corrective or Breakdown maintenance implies that repairs are made after the equipment is failed and cannot
perform its normal function anymore
Quite justified in small factories where:
– Down times are non-critical and repair costs are less than other type of maintenance
– Financial justification for scheduling are not felt

Disadvantages of Corrective(breakdown) Maintenance

i. Breakdown generally occurs inappropriate times leading to poor and hurried maintenance
ii. Excessive delay in production & reduces output
iii. Faster plant deterioration
iv. Increases chances of accidents and less safety for both workers and machines
v. More spoilt materials
vi. Direct loss of profit
vii. Cannot be employed for equipments regulated by statutory provisions e.g. cranes, lift and hoists etc

PREVENTIVE VERSUS BREAKDOWN MAINTENANCE Preventive maintenance is the routine

inspection and service activities designed to detect potential failure conditions and make major adjustments or
repairs that will help prevent major operating problems whereas, breakdown maintenance is the emergency
repair and it involves higher cost of facilities and equipment‘s that have been used until they fail to operate.

These concepts are shown in figure below

Preventive maintenance records:

It is very necessary to keep records because they are the only reliable guides for measuring the effectiveness of
the preventive maintenance programme. Only records tell us, what is the situation at present and where it is
going. Good updated records, proper filing equipment and adequate clerical help are the backbone of PM
programme.
Record keeping is also necessary:
(i) When budgeting for major overhauls.
(ii) When budgeting for general maintenance costs.

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(iii) For finding equipment reliability.

(iv) For determining frequency of inspections.
(v) For preparing maintenance schedules.
(vi) For predicting equipment life.
(vii) For designing maintenance cost control systems.
(viii) For equipment replacement analysis.
(ix) For carrying out cost reduction studies (e.g., value analysis).
Records should show:
(i) Type of equipment and its description.
(ii) Whether it is a key item?
(iii) Name of the manufacturer.
(iv) Cost and date of purchase of the equipment.
(v) Location of the equipment in the factory.
(vi) Equipment identification (e.g., chassis) number.
(vii) Inspection of job specification reference number.
(viii) Estimated cost of inspection and the cost and data of planned repairs.
(ix) Breakdowns, their dates and reasons.
(x) Cost of breakdowns and other associated implications.
Spare parts once procured should be stored adequately in order to locate them immediately at the time of
need for this:
(i) Spare parts should have stamped code number.
(ii) The stock card may be identified by this number.
(iii) The bin or rack, in which the part is lying, should have its location reference number recorded on the stock
card.
(iv) Spare parts for an equipment may be grouped together and referred to by their plant number.
(v) For locating a part, the storekeeper would first check the stock card bearing the plant number and take down
the bin (or storage rack) reference number. Then, by the code number of the part, he will identify the required
spare part from the many parts lying in that bin.

Predictive Maintenance:
It is comparatively a newer maintenance technique.
It makes use of human senses or other sensitive instruments such as:
Audio gauges,
Vibration analyzers,
Amplitude meters,
Pressure, temperature and resistance strain gauges, etc., to predict troubles before the equipment fails.

Unusual sounds coming out of a rotating equipment predict a (coming) trouble; an electric cable excessively hot
at one point predicts a trouble. Simple hand touch can point out many unusual (equipment) conditions and thus
predict a trouble. In predictive maintenance, equipment conditions are measured periodically or on a continuous
basis and this enables maintenance men to take a timely action such as equipment adjustments, repair or
overhaul. Predictive maintenance extends the service life of an equipment without fear of failure.
Maintenance Costs:
 Cost to replace or repair
 Losses of output
 Delayed shipment
 Scrap and rework

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The figure below provides a correlation between the maintenance costs and repair costs associated with the
three different maintenance strategies. While Predictive Maintenance (PDM) generally has the highest
maintenance cost, it will result in the lowest repair costs. CM, on the other hand, has the lowest maintenance
cost but the highest corresponding costs associated with asset repairs.

ROUTINE MAINTENANCE
Small-scale activities associated with regular (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) and general upkeep of a building,
equipment, machine, plant, or system against normal wear and tear. ―Routine maintenance‖ means the repair or
replacement of existing electrical apparatus or equipment of the same size and type for which no changes in
wiring are made.
By contrast, the definition of preventative maintenance is systematic inspection, detection, correction, and
prevention of incipient failures, before they become actual or major failures.

Routine maintenance tasks

i. Tightening of connections
ii. Checking outputs
iii. Replacement of regularly changed ―lifed‖ components (lamps, bulbs, indicators etc.)
iv. Checking and adjusting movements/components
v. Inspection for damage/ wear/ corrosion/ movement
vi. Replacement of worn/damaged/corroded components
vii. Cleaning

summary
1.Planned Maintenance:
―The maintenance organized and carried out with forethought, control and the use of records to a predetermined
plan.‖
2.Unplanned Maintenance: ―The maintenance carried out to no predetermined plan.‖

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3.Preventive Maintenance: ―The maintenance carried at pre-determined intervals or corresponding to prescribed

criteria and intended to reduce the probability of failure or the performance degradation of an item.‖
4.Corrective Maintenance: ―The maintenance carried out after a failure has occurred and intended to restore an
item to a state in which it can perform its required function.‖
5. Emergency Maintenance: ―The maintenance which it is necessary to put in hand immediately to avoid serious
consequences.‖ This is sometimes referred to as day-to-day maintenance, resulting from such incidents as gas
leaks and gale damage.
6. Condition-based Maintenance: ―The preventive maintenance initiated as a result of knowledge of the
condition of an item from routine or continuous monitoring.‖
7. Scheduled Maintenance: ―The preventive maintenance carried out to a predetermined interval of time,
number of operations, mileage, etc.

RELIABILITY

DEINITION OF TERMS

– Failure is defined as the ending of the ability of a design element to meet its function before its design
lifetime is achieved.

Reliability can be defined as:

 Generally defined as the ability of a product to perform, as expected, over certain time.
 Formally defined as the probability that an item, a product, piece of equipment, or system will perform
its intended function for a stated period of time under specified operating conditions.
 In the simplest sense, reliability means how long an item (such as a machine) will perform its intended
function without a breakdown.

Reliability means how long an item (such as a machine) will perform its intended function without a breakdown.
Reliability is defined as the probability that a device will perform its intended function during a specified
period of time under stated conditions. It refers to the like hood that equipment will not fail during its
operation.
The probability that an item will perform a defined function without failure under stated conditions for a stated
period of time.
The Reliability, R(t), of a component or system is defined as The probability that a piece of equipment
operating under specified conditions shall perform satisfactorily for a given period of time.
Reliability is the probability of success or the probability that the system will perform its intended function
under specified design
Reliability: the probability of no failure throughout a prescribed operating period.
Availability: The probability that a system is performing satisfactorily at time t
Failure -The change functioning - failed state
Failure: the inability of an equipment to perform its required function
Rate-The number of failures per unit of gross operating period in terms of time, events, cycles.
Repair - Change from a failure to a functioning
Repairing - bring the component /system back to an ―as good as new‖ condition.
For a repairable system, the cycle continues repeatedly with the repair-to failure and the failure-to-repair
process.

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MTBF -Mean Time Between Failures-The average time between failure occurrences. The number of items and
their operating time divided by the total number of failures. For Repairable Items
MTTF -Mean Time To Failure-The average time to failure occurrence. The number of items and their
operating time divided by the total number of failures. For Repairable Items and Non-repairable Items
Hazard-The potential to cause harm. Harm including ill health and injury, damage to property, plant, products
or the environment, production losses or increased liabilities.
Risk -The likelihood that a specified undesired event will occur due to the realisation of a hazard by, or during
work activities or by the products and services created by work activities.

Why is Reliability important?

Unreliability has a number of unfortunate consequences and therefore for many products and services is a
serious threat. For example poor reliability can have implications for:
•Safety
•Competitiveness
•Profit margins
•Cost of repair and maintenance
•Delays further up supply chain
•Reputation
•Good will
The main advantages of imposing reliability requirements(or analysis) in industries are increased productivity
and reductions in forced outage equipment due to planned maintenance activity.

Types of reliability
Reliability can be generally of two types:
(i) Inherent Reliability: It is associated with the quality of the material and design of machine parts.
(ii) Achievable Reliability: It depends upon other factors such as maintenance and operation of the equipment.

Factors Affecting Reliability

1. Design Factors
Design for Reliability (DfR) is a process that encompasses tools and procedures to ensure that a product meets
its reliability requirements, under its use environment, for the duration of its lifetime
The most important factor is good, careful design based on sound experience, resulting in known safety
margins. Making the units rugged through careful design and controlled overstress testing is a very important
part of making the product reliable.
• Inherent (generic) reliability of the components used
2. Complexity
Keep things simple - what isn‘t there, can't fail, but be careful: what isn‘t there can cause a failure! A
complicated or difficult specification will, invariably result in reduced reliability. Every component used will
contribute to the equipment‘s unreliability.
3. Stress
In electronic equipment, the most prominent stresses are temperature, voltage, vibration, and temperature rise
due to current. The effect of each of these stresses on each of the components must be considered. In order to
achieve good reliability, various de-rating factors have to be applied to these stress levels. The de-rating has to
be traded off against cost and size implications. The layout has to be such that heat-generating components are
kept away from other components and are adequately cooled.
4. Generic (Inherent) Reliability
Inherent reliability refers to the fact that film capacitors are more reliable than electrolytic capacitors, wire-wrap
connections more reliable than soldered ones, fixed resistors more reliable than pots, and so on. Components

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have to be carefully selected to avoid the types with high generic failure rates. Quite often, there is a cost trade
off - more reliable components are usually more expensive.

PARAMETERS OF RELIABILITY
i. Failure rate(FR)
ii. MTBF -Mean Time Between Failures
iii. MTTF -Mean Time To Failure
iv. MTTR -Mean Time To Repair
v. Availability
These parameters can be grouped based on repairable or non-repairable items or equipments as follows
a) Non-Repairable Systems:
i. Reliability=Availability
ii. Failure Rate (FR)
iii. Mean Time To Fail (MTTF)
iv. Mean Time To Repair (MTTR)

b) Repairable Systems:
i. Availability….(Function of Reliability and Maintainability)
ii. Failure Rate and Repair Rate
iii. Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)

Repairable Items
For repairable items, reliability is the probability that failure will not occur in the time period of interest; or
when more than one failure can occur, reliability can be expressed as the failure rate, λ, or the rate of occurrence
of failures (ROCOF). In the case of repairable items, reliability can be characterized by MTBF described above,
but only under the condition of constant failure rate.

Non-repairable items
Non-repairable items are components or systems such as a light bulb, transistor, rocket motor, etc. Their
reliability is the survival probability over the items expected life or over a specific period of time during its life,
when only one failure can occur. During the component or systems life, the instantaneous probability of the first
and only failure is called the hazard rate or failure rate, r(t) . Life values such as MTTF described above are
used to define non-repairable items.

FAILURE RATE
The term failure may be defined as
1. any loss that interrupts the continuity of production
2. a loss of assets availability
3. the unavailability of equipment
4. a deviation from the status quo
5. not meeting target expectations
6. Any secondary defect.
Failure – inability to produce work in appropriate manner . OR Failure rate(λ): Rate at which components fail
per unit time

. Failure rate is the ratio of the number of failures during particular unit interval to the average population
during that interval. This failure rate is also known as hazard rate and instantaneous failure rate.
 Conditional Failure Rate or Failure Intensity, λ(t) - anticipated number of times an item will fail in a
specified time period, (good as new at t0 and functioning at time t).

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It is a calculated value that provides a measure of reliability for a product. This value is normally expressed
as failures per million hours (fpmh or 106 hours) The mean failure rate h is obtained by finding the mean of
the failures rates for specified period of time.

Example 2
Suppose 1000 transistors are put on test, out of which 25 fail over a 1000 hr period, the failure rate
FR = 25/1000 = 0.025 per 1000 hrs
= 0,025/1000 per hour
=2.5 x 10-5 per hour

Often failure rate is expressed as a percentage, therefore FR = 25/1000 x 100% per 1000hr
= 2.5% per 1000hrs

The main causes of failures include:

i) Improper circuit design
•The product is not fit for purpose or more specifically the design is inherently incapable.
•Failures might be caused by variation.
ii) Manufacturing deficiencies
•Wrong specifications may cause failures.
iii) Improper or negligent handling and operating (Incorrect usage of equipment)
•Misuse of the item may cause failure. •The item may be overstressed in some way.
iv) Environmental factors
•Items are designed for a specific operating environment and if they are then used outside this environment then
failure can occur.

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Types of failure

NOTE: in GRADUAL FAILURE, as the life of an item increases, its efficiency deteriorates, causing:
Increased expenditure for operating costs

Decreased equipments‟ productivity

Decrease in the value of the equipment

Example: bearings, pistons, piston rings, „Automobile Tyres‟, mechanical systems like machines, machine tools,
flexible manufacturing equipment etc. fall under this category.

In SUDDEN FAILURE: This type of failure is applicable to those items that do not deteriorate markedly with
service, but which ultimately fail after some period of using. For any particular type of equipment the period from
installation to failure is not equal but will follow some „frequency distribution which may be progressive,
retrogressive, or random in nature‟.

Progressive failures: In this mechanism, probability of failure increases as the life of equipment increases.
Examples include: electric light bulbs, automobile tubes etc.,

Random failures: Under this failure, constant probability of failure is associated with the equipment that fails from
random causes such as physical shocks, not related to age. In such a case, virtually all equipments fail prior to their

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expected life. Example: Electronic components like transistors, semi conductor elements, glass made items, delicate
or brittle items, perishable items like fruits and vegetables‟ have been shown to fail at a rate independent of the age.

Failure Analysis Testing

Failure analysis is the process by which information/data about failure occurring in equipments/ systems are
collected and analyzed to find the root cause of failures, and the causes are addressed to prevent recurrence of
failures.

When a product or device fails, you need to know why. Root cause failure analysis helps a business get to the
source of a product failure. More importantly, it provides the manufacturer with the information needed to
address and correct the issue causing the failure.
Root cause failure analysis is usually a multidisciplinary process. The tools NTS uses during an analysis include
visual inspections, metallographic, environmental and chemical analysis and simulation tests. The specific tests
utilized depend on the type of product and the failure mode.

three types of failure models

Predictable failure model
Unpredictable failure model
Running-In-Failure model

Why do Failure Analysis Testing?

There are many reasons to conduct failure analysis testing, including:
 Determining corrective actions for product failures
 Improving manufacturing processes and efficiencies
 Eliminating the risk of physical harm from product failures
 Reducing financial costs associated with product failure / recalls
 Meeting regulatory standards required for product sales or exports
 Assigning liability for product failures in a legal setting

Failure rate over the life of a product(failure pattern/periods)

The failure rate is expected to vary over the life of a product –‘Bathtub Curve’
The life of a population of devices (a group of devices of the same type) can be divided into three distinct
periods:
Early Life
If we follow the slope from the leftmost start to where it begins to flatten out this can be considered the
first period. The first period is characterized by a decreasing failure rate. It is what occurs during the ―early
life‖ of a population of units. The weaker units fail leaving a population that is more rigorous.
Useful Life
The next period is the flat bottom portion of the graph. It is called the ―useful life‖ period. Failures occur
more in a random sequence during this time. It is difficult to predict which failure mode will occur, but the
rate of failures is predictable. Notice the constant slope.
Wearout
The third period begins at the point where the slope begins to increase and extends to the rightmost end
of the graph. This is what happens when units become old and begin to fail at an increasing rate. It is
called the ―wearout‖ period.

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A-B Early Failure

•‗Teething‘ problems. Caused by design/material flaws. Eg: Joints, Welds, Contamination, Misuse,
Misassembly
B-C Useful life.
•Lower than initial failure rate and more or less constant until end of life
C-D End of life failure / Wear out phase.
•Failure rate rises again due to components reaching end of life. Eg: Corrosion, Cracking, Wear, Friction,
Fatigue, Erosion, Lack of PM

Note that for a constant failure rate, plotting reliability against time "t" gives a negative exponential curve

Life Cycle Costing

A life cycle cost analysis involves the analysis of the costs of a system or a component over its entire life span.
Typical costs for a system may include:

 Acquisition costs (or design and development costs).

 Operating costs:
o Cost of failures
o Cost of repairs
o Cost for spares
o Downtime costs
o Loss of production
 Maintenance costs:
o Cost of corrective maintenance
o Cost of preventive maintenance
o Cost for predictive maintenance
 Disposal costs.

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Life Cycle Costs

--All costs associated with the acquisition and ownership of a system over its full life. The usual figure of
merit is net present value. Life cycle costs include cradle to grave costs the first cost is not the only cost!

The following figure shows the Cost Per Unit Time vs. Time plot and it can be seen that the corrective
replacement costs increase as the replacement interval increases. In other words, the less often you perform a
PM action, the higher your corrective costs will be. Obviously, as we let a component operate for longer times,
its failure rate increases to a point that it is more likely to fail, thus requiring more corrective actions. The
opposite is true for the preventive replacement costs. The longer you wait to perform a PM, the less the costs; if
you do PM too often, the costs increase. If we combine both costs, we can see that there is an optimum point
that minimizes the costs. In other words, one must strike a balance between the risk (costs) associated with a
failure while maximizing the time between PM actions.

Same as users costs vs availability

Minimum cost = cost of equipment
Costs of failure = corrective replacement costs

EXAMPLE
One thousand transistors are placed on life test, and the number of failures in each time interval are recorded.
Find the reliability and the failure rate at 0, 100, 200, etc hours. (Youmay find it helpful to set this up on a
spreadsheet.)
Time interval Number of failures
0-100 160
100-200 86
200-300 78
300-400 70
400-500 64
500-600 58
600-700 52
700-800 43

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800-900 42
900-1000 36
Draw a graph to show the change in the failure rate as the transistors get older.
Do you think this component shows the bath tub pattern of failure?
Draw a graph to show how the reliability changes over time.

example

Component
10 882 Failed

example, suppose you had five light bulbs connected to an automatic circuit that you could then turn on and off
once per hour for 1,000 hours, giving you the following data:

 Bulb 1 burned out after 422 hours.

 Bulb 2 burned out after 744 hours
 Bulb 3 burned out after 803 hours
 Bulb 4 burned out after 678 hours
 Bulb 5 stayed lit for 1000 hours

This gives you 4 failures over a total of 3,647 hours.

To calculate the failure rate, divide the number of failures by the total number of hours, such as 4/3,647 =
0.0011 failures per hour.

In this example, the failure rate per hour is so small that it is almost insignificant. Multiplying the number by
1,000 would make it more meaningful to someone thinking about buying a light bulb, which would be 1.1
failures per 1,000 hours. Since there are 8,760 hours in one year, you can divide 3,647 by 8,760 to get 0.41
failures per year, or about 2 failures every five years.

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Basic categories of failure rates:

1. Mean time between failures (MTBF) - The average time between failure occurrences. The number of items
and their operating time divided by the total number of failures.
It is a basic measure of reliability for repairable items = time passed before a component, assembly, or
system fails, under the condition of a constant failure rate / expected value of time between two consecutive
failures, for repairable systems.
It is a commonly used variable in reliability and maintainability analyses.

MTBF =total time of correct operation in a period/number of failures

For example: a system should operate correctly for 9 hours During this period, 4 failures occurred. Adding to all
failures, we have 60 minutes (1 hour). Calculating the MTBF, we would have:

MTBF = (9-1)/4 = 2 hours

This index reveals that a failure in the system occurs every 2 hours, leaving it unavailable and generating losses
to the company. The opportunity to spot this index allows you to plan strategies to reduce this time.

The MTBF is the inverse of the failure rate.

MTBF= 1/λ, λ=FR. Note: failure rate is in all components

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Suppose a system contains 100 transistors and failure rate is 2.5 x 10-5 per hour , the chance of the system
failing is 2.5 x 10-5 per hour x 100 = 2.5 x 10-3
Therefore MTBF = 1/ 2.5 x 10-3 = 400 hours

2.Mean time to failure (MTTF) (non-repairable systems)

MTTF: Mean time to failure describes the expected time to failure for a non-repairable and Repairable Items.

For example, assume you tested 3 identical systems starting from time 0 until all of them failed. The first
system failed at 10 hours, the second failed at 12 hours and the third failed at 13 hours. The MTTF is the
average of the three failure times, which is 11.6667 hours. Ie (10 + 12 + 13)/3

The average time to failure occurrence. The number of items and their operating time divided by the total
number of failures. For Repairable Items and Non-repairable Items
Mean time to failure (MTTF) is a basic measure of reliability for non-repairable systems. It is the mean time
expected until the first failure of a piece of equipment. MTTF is a statistical value and is intended to be the
mean over a long period of time and with a large number of units. For constant failure rate systems, MTTF is
the inverse of the failure rate, λ. If failure rate, λ, is in failures/million hours, MTTF = 1,000,000 /
Failure Rate, λ, for components with exponential distributions. Or

For repairable systems, MTTF is the expected span of time from repair to the first or nextfailure.
NOTE:
Strictly speaking, MTBF applies to equipment that is going to be repaired and returned to service, MTTF to
parts that will be thrown away on failing.

Example:
From the example on FR which was 2.5 x 10-5 per hour, I one transistor is used in the system,
MTTF = 1/FR = ½.5 x 10-5 = 40,000 hours = 1666 days

IF 5 transistors are tested until failure and the time to failure were as follows
Transistor no Time to failure
1 400 hours
2 500 hours
3 750 hours
4 300 hours
5 600 hours
Total test time = 400 + 500 + 750 + 300 + 600 = 2550 hours
FR = 5/2550 MTTF = 1/FR = 2550/5 = 510 hours

3.Mean time to repair (MTTR) – Mean Time to Repair is the arithmetic mean of the time required to perform
maintenance action. MTTR is defined as the Ratio of total maintenance time and number of maintenance action.
MTTR = Total maintenance time/ Number of maintenance action.

Total amount of time spent performing all corrective or preventative maintenance repairs divided by the
total number of those repairs.
It is the expected span of time from a failure (or shut down) to the repair or maintenance completion.
This term is typically only used with repairable systems.

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Example

System should operate correctly for 9 hours During this period, 4 failures occurred. Adding to all failures, we
have 60 minutes (1 hour).

MTTR = Total maintenance time/ Number of maintenance action or no of failures

MTTR = 60 min/4 failures = 15 minutes

AVAILABILTY
The availability of a system is defined as the probability that the system is successful at time t. Mathematically,
If we let A represent availability, then the simplest formula for availability is:

A = Uptime/(Uptime + Downtime)

Of course, it's more interesting when you start looking at the things that influence uptime and downtime. The
most common measures that can be used in this way are MTBF and MTTR.

MTBF is Mean Time Between Failures and MTTR is Mean Time To Repair

example

Unavailability
Unavailability is the probability that an item will not operate correctly at a given time and under specified
conditions.
Unavailability = 1 – availability
Unavailability may be expressed mathematically as the ratio,
U = MTTR/(MTTR+MTTF)

Uptime calculation

The uptime calculation involves MTTR and MTBF. We can get to the uptime of a system, for instance, using
these 2 KPIs. Let‘s check the formula:

uptime = MTBF/(MTBF + MTTR)

To be more clear, nothing better than a practical example. Imagine the following situation:

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A. How long the system should work: 36 hours

B. How long the system was not working: 24 hours
C. How long the system has been available: 12 hours
D. A total of 4 failures occurred.

uptime: (A-B/D) / [(A-B/D) + (B/D)] = (36-24/4) / [(36-24/4) + (24/4)] = 3 / 9 = 33%

Failure Rate for Repairable and Non-repairable systems EXAMPLES

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Laws of reliability

Reliability is defined as the probability that a device will perform its intended function during a specified period
of time under stated conditions.

The reliability of components in series must take into account the probability of individual failures in a given
period. For a measuring system with n serial components, the reliability Rs is the product of the individual
reliabilities

The reliability may increase with components set in parallel, which means that the system will fail if all
components fail. In this case, the reliability Rs is given by:
Rs = 1 – Fs, where Fs is the system non reliability. The non reliability is Fs = F1xF2...F3.
For example, a safe measuring system has three identical devices in parallel. The reliability of each one is 0.95
and the system reliability is given by:
Rs = 1 –[ (1-0.95)x(1-0.95)x(1-0.95)] = 0.999875

Improving the reliability of a measuring system

There are several ways of increasing the reliability of a measuring system:
 Choice of the devices: always pay attention to the specified devices, their influence on the process,
materials, the environment, etc.
 Protection of the devices: take adequate measures to protect the devices to improve and ensure better
level of reliability. For example, thermocouples must avoid unfavorable operational conditions.
 Regularly scheduled calibration: most failures may be due to drifts that cause incorrect outputs.
Therefore, in compliance to good instrumentation practices, check and calibrate periodically the
equipment.

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 Redundancy: when more than one equipment work in parallel and switched, sometimes automatically,
reliability is significantly improved.

How to calculate reliability

example
Find the mean time to failure of a component which has a failure rate of 2 failures per year. Calculate its
reliability for different mission times, e.g. 10, 1000, 10000 hours.
MTTF = 1/λ = ½ = 0.5 yrs = 0.5 x 8760 = 4380 hrs

example

Maintainability
• Maintainability is defined as the probability that a unit or system will be restored to specified working
conditions within a given period when maintenance action is taken in accordance with the prescribed
procedures and resources.
Maintainability is the measure of the ability of a system or item to be retained or restored to a specified
condition when maintenance is performed by qualified personnel using specified procedure and resources.
• Maintabnility can be measured with Mean Time To Repair (MTTR), MTTR is average repair time and is
given by

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System Forms
•The components may be in – series: system performs satisfactorily if all components are fully functional
•For example, Christmas lights – parallel: system performs if any one component remains operational
• For example, (i) an airplane with four engines, or (ii) a laptop with a power source and a battery. –
combination of series and parallel

Systems Reliability
A system consists of components which determine whether or not it will work. There are various types of
configurations of the components in different systems.
• Series System
This is a system in which all the components are in series and they all have to work for the system to work. If
one component fails, the system fails.
• Parallel System
This is a system that will fail only if they all fail.
• Series-Parallel System
This is a system where some of the components in series are replicated in parallel.
Components in Series

Note: if the components are in series, reliability increases if the number of

components decreases

Note: if the components are in parallel, the reliability decreases if the number of components
decreases.

A system has three parallel components, A, B, and C with reliabilities 0.95, 0.92, and 0.90,

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respectively. Find the reliability of the system if C is out of order.

Consider a two component parallel system. If both components are both working, then the system is working. If
either component 1 or 2 fails, the system is still working. If and only if both components fail, then the system
fails. Unlike a series system where any one failure causes a system failure, in this simple example, two failure
events have to occur before the system fails.

What is the chance of having two failures? The formula is based on the probability of component 1 or
component 2 operating. Without doing the derivation, we can write the reliability of the 2 component parallel
system as:

When the components in parallel are the same (reliability wise), then the above simplifies to

Examples
1. A simple computer consists of a processor, a bus and a memory. The computer will work only if all three are
functioning correctly. The probability that the processor is functioning is 0.99, that the bus is functioning 0.95,
and that the memory is functioning is 0.99 .

The probability that the computer will work is:

Rel = .99 × .95 × .99 = 0.893475
So even though all the components have above 95% or more reliability, The overall Reliability of the computer
is less that 90%.
2. A system consists of 5 components in series each having a reliability of 0.97. What is the reliability of the
system?

Rel = 0.975 = 0.86

With series systems, reliability decreases as the number of components increases.
With 6 components in series;
Rel = 0.976 = 0.832972
With 7 components; Rel = 0.977 = 0.8079828

3. An electronic product contains 100 integrated circuits. The probability that any integrated circuit is defective
is .001 and the integrated circuits are independent. The product operates only if all the integrated circuits are
operational. What is the probability that the product is operational?
Solution:
The probability that any component is functioning is .999. Since the product operates only if all 100
components are operational, the probability that the 100 components are functioning is:
Rel = .999100 obtained in R with .999**100
[1] 0.9047921
The reliability is just over 90% even though each component hasa reliability of 99.9%. Bearing in mind that
computing and electrical systems have hundreds or thousands of components, a series formation on its own will

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never be sufficiently reliable, no matter how high the individual component reliability is. The components need
to be backed up in parallel.

Reliability of a Parallel System

Systems with parallel structure have built in redundancy. Components are backed up, and the system will work
even if some of these cease to function.
Examples
1. A system consists of 5 components in parallel. If each component has a reliability of 0.97, what is the overall
reliability of the system?

System will function provided at least one of the 5 components works:

Rel = P(At least one component is functioning) Taking the complementary approach,
P(at least one component functioning ) = 1- P(all components fail).
Therefore
Rel = 1 − (0.03)5 - 1.00000

With parallel systems the ―law of diminishing returns‖ operates:

With 2 components Rel = 1 − 0.032 = 0.9991
With 3 components Rel = 1 − 0.033 = 0.999973
With 4 components Rel = 1 − 0.034 = 0.9999992
Reliability of a parallel system with increasing number of components: component reliability = .97

Series-Parallel Systems
Examples
1. Consider a system with 5 kinds of component, with reliabilities
• component 1 : 0.95,
• component 2 : 0.95,
• component 3 : 0.70,
• component 4 : 0.75,
• component 5 : 0.90.
Because of the low reliability of the third and fourth components, they are replicated; the system contains 3 of
the third component and 2 of the fourth component.
The System:

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Summary
The reliability of a system, i.e. the probability that it is functioning properly depends on
• the reliability of each of its the components
• the type of system
Reliability with Series Systems:
The problem with series systems is that reliability quickly decreases as the number of components increases.
Reliability with Parallel Systems
The problem with parallel systems is that the ‗law of diminishing returns‘ operates. The rate of increase in
reliability with each additional component decreases as the number of components increases.
Most systems are combinations of series and parallel systems

Other examples
Take the probability that each A fails as 0.3, that each B works as 0.6, and
taking each A,B as independent, calculate the probability that each system works:

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Average per unit failure rate

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n The average hazard rate, , can sometimes be estimated by performing test on a specific
number of samples (n), recording the total number of failures (m), total time span (T),
and individual times to failures (ti).
number of test failed m m
  
total time tested total time for failed samples  others m

t
i 1
i  (n  m)T

Example : determine the failure rate for a part. Total 20 samples are tested for
20 days nonstop. Four parts failed during the period after 6, 13, 17, 18 days,
respectively. Estimate the average failure rate.

4
  0.0107(1 / day )
(6  13  17  18)  (20 - 4)(20)

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