Electric Circuits 2
Electric Circuits 2
Electric Circuits 2
Vsh ImRm
Rsh = ------ = ------------
Ish I - Im
The purpose of designing the shunt circuit is to allow us to
measure a current I that is some number n times larger that
Im. The number n is called a multiplying factor and relates
total current and meter current as
I = nIm
Rm
Rsh = -----------
n - 1
EXAMPLE NO. 5
1. Calculate the value of the shunt resistance required
to connect a 1 mA meter movement with a 90Ω
internal resistance into a 0 to 5mA ammeter
2. A 100μA meter movement with an internal resistance
of 100Ω is used in a 0 to 100mA ammeter. Find the
value of the required shunt resistance.
The Ayrton Shunt
It is also known as the universal shunt. One advantage
of the Ayrton shunt is that it eliminates the possibility
of the meter movement being in the circuit without
any shunt resistance. Another advantage is that it may
be used with a wide range of meter movements. Its
circuit is shown in the next slide.
EXAMPLE NO. 6
Design an ayrton shunt to provide an ammeter with the
current ranges. A basic meter resistance of 1000Ω and
the full scale deflection current of 1mA.
Rm=1000
Rsh
Rc Rb Ra
+ 1A 100mA 10mA
The DC Voltmeter
The basic d’Arsonval meter movement can be converted
to a DC voltmeter by connecting a multiplier Rs in
series with the meter movement.
Im
+ Rs
Rm
The purpose of the multiplier is to extend the voltage
range of the meter and to limit current through the
d’Arsonval meter movement to a maximum full scale
deflection current. To find the value of the multiplier
resistor, we first determine the sensitivity S of the
meter movement. It is found by taking the reciprocal
of the full scale deflection current
S = 1/Ifs ohms per volt
The units of sensitivity express the value of the
multiplier resistance for the 1V range. To calculate the
value of the multiplier for voltage ranges greater than
1V,
Rs = S x range – internal resistance
EXAMPLE NO. 7
1. Calculate the sensitivity of 100uA meter movement
which is to be used as a DC voltmeter.
2. Calculate the value of the multiplier resistance on
the 50V range of a DC voltmeter that used 500uA
meter movement with an internal resistance of 1KΩ
3. Calculate the value of the multiplier resistances for the
multiple range DC voltmeter shown.
4. Convert a basic D’Arsonval meter movement with an
internal resistance of 100Ω and a full scale deflection
current of 1 mA into a multirange DC voltmeter with
ranges from 0-15v and 0-50v.
Voltmeter Loading Effects
When using a voltmeter to measure the voltage across a
circuit component, the voltmeter circuit itself is in
parallel with the circuit component. Since the parallel
combination of the 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 and the resulting result is loading error.
EXAMPLE NO. 8
Two different voltmeters are used to measure the voltage
across RB in the circuit. The meter specifications are
Meter A: S = 1KΩ/V, Rm = 0.2KΩ, range = 10V
Meter B: S = 20KΩ/V, Rm = 1.5KΩ, range = 10V
Calculate:
1. Voltage across RB without any meter connected
across it.
2. Voltage across RB when each meter is connected
3. Error in voltmeter reading.
Ra = 25K
E = 30V
Rb = 5K
Ammeter Insertion Effect
Another source of error is that inserting an ammeter in a
circuit to obtain a current reading. All ammeters
contain some internal resistance that may range from a
low value of current meters capable of measuring in
the ampere range to an appreciable value of 1KΩ or
greater for microammeters. Inserting an ammeter
always increases the resistance of the circuit and
therefore always reduces the current in the circuit.
The insertion error is 1 – Im/Ie
EXAMPLE NO. 9
A current meter has an internal resistance of 78Ω is used
to measure the current through resistor Rc in the
figure. Determine the percent of error of the reading
due to ammeter loading.
Ra=1K
4mH
2uF