CONSTRUCTION AND BASIC PRINCIPLE OPERATION OF MOVING-IRON INSTRUMENTS

Moving-iron instruments are generally used to measure alternating voltages and currents. In moving-iron instruments the movable system consists of one or more pieces of specially-shaped soft iron, which are so pivoted as to be acted upon by the magnetic field produced by the current in coil.

There are two general types of moving-iron instruments namely: 1. Repulsion (or double iron) type (figure 1) 2. Attraction (or single-iron) type (figure 2) The brief description of different components of a moving-iron instrument is given below:

Moving element: a small piece of soft iron in the form of a vane or rod. Coil: to produce the magnetic field due to current flowing through it and also to magnetize the iron pieces. In repulsion type, a fixed vane or rod is also used and magnetized with the same polarity. Control torque is provided by spring or weight (gravity). Damping torque is normally pneumatic, the damping device consisting of an air chamber and a moving vane attached to the instrument spindle.

Deflecting torque produces a movement on an aluminum pointer over a graduated scale.

How it works?

Typical scheme of measuring el. current and voltage The deflecting torque in any moving-iron instrument is due to forces on a small piece of magnetically soft iron that is magnetized by a coil carrying the operating current. In repulsion type movingiron instrument consists of two cylindrical soft iron vanes mounted within a fixed current-carrying coil. One iron vane is held fixed to the coil frame and other is free to rotate, carrying with it the pointer shaft. Two irons lie in the magnetic field produced by the coil that consists of only few turns if the instrument is an ammeter or of many turns if the instrument is a voltmeter. Current in the coil induces both vanes to become magnetized and repulsion between the similarly magnetized vanes produces a proportional rotation. The deflecting torque is proportional to the square of the current in the coil, making the instrument reading is a true RMS quantity Rotation is opposed by a hairspring that produces the restoring torque. Only the fixed coil carries load current, and it is constructed so as to withstand high transient current. Moving iron instruments having scales that are nonlinear and somewhat crowded in the lower range of calibration.

Figure 1 - Repulsion moving iron-instrument

Figure 2 - Attraction moving iron instrument

Measurement of Electric Voltage and Current Moving iron instruments are used as Voltmeter and Ammeter only. Both can work on AC as well as on DC.

Ammeter Instrument used to measure current in the circuit. Always connected in series with the circuit and carries the current to be measured.

This current flowing through the coil produces the desired deflecting torque. It should have low resistance as it is to be connected in series.

Voltmeter Instrument used to measure voltage between two points in a circuit. Always connected in parallel.

Current flowing through the operating coil of the meter produces deflecting torque. It should have high resistance. Thus a high resistance of order of kilo ohms is connected in series with the coil of the instrument.

Explain how a moving iron instrument attraction type operates?

Answer An attraction type moving-iron instrument consists of a coil, through which the test current is passed, and a pivoted soft-iron mass attached to the pointer. The resulting magnetic polarity at the end of the coil nearest the iron mass then induces the opposite magnetic polarity into the part of the iron mass nearest the coil, which is then drawn by attraction towards the coil, deflecting the pointer across a scale.

MOVING COIL DYNAMOMETER TYPE WATTMETER

Electric power is measured by means of a wattmeter. This instrument is of the electrodynamometer type. As shown in figure 3-18, it consists of a pair of fixed coils, known as current coils, and a moving coil, called the voltage (potential) coil. The fixed current coils are wound with a few turns of a relatively large conductor. The voltage coil is wound with many turns of fine wire. It is mounted on a shaft that is supported in jeweled bearings so that it can turn inside the stationary coils. The movable coil carries a needle (pointer) that moves over a suitably graduated scale. Coil springs hold the needle at the zero position in the absence of a signal.

Wattmeter Connection The current coil of the wattmeter is connected in series with the circuit (load), and the voltage coil is connected across the line. When line current flows through the current coil of a wattmeter, a field is set up around the coil. The strength of this field is in phase with and proportional to the line current. The voltage coil of the wattmeter generally has a high-resistance resistor connected in series with it. The purpose for this connection is to make the voltage-coil circuit of the meter as purely resistive as possible. As a result, current in the voltage circuit is practically in phase with line voltage. Therefore, when voltage is impressed on the voltage circuit, current is proportional to and in phase with the line voltage. Figure shows the proper way to connect a wattmeter into a circuit

MOVING COIL PMMC

CONSTRUCTION:- In a permanent magnet with soft iron pole pieces, a cylindrical iron core is mounted between the two poles of the magnet giving very narrow air gap in which the sides of a pointed light rectangular coil lies. The rectangular coil is wound of many turns of coil. The purpose of using core is to make the field uniform and to reduce the reluctance of the magnetic circuit. A low reluctance helps to retain permeance of magnet for a longer period. WORKING OF TORQUE EQUATION:- When the current to be measured is passed through the coil, say in the direction as shown in fig. (a), deflecting torque is produced. On account of relation between permanent magnetic field and coil magnetic field, the direction of deflecting torque can be determined by applying Fleming's left hand rule. It is the current in amperes flowing through the coil of turns N and length l meters B is flux density in test as in air gap:Then, deflecting force F = BilN newtons. If r is the distance in meters in between the centers of the coil and force F. Then deflecting torque Td = F x r = BilNr Nm From the above expression it is obvious that if flux density B in the air gap is constant, then deflecting torque Td i , Tc= Td So, i And since is directly proportional to current, the scale of the basic dc PMMC instrument are usually linearly spaced. Hence scale is linear.

INDUCTION TYPE ENERGY METER

The Electro-Mechanical Energy Meter (electricity meter, kWh meter, etc.) consists of a rotating aluminum disc mounted between two alternating current (a.c.) electromagnets, M1 and M1. The disc cuts through the fluxes of these two magnets and therefore two circular eddy currents are generated in the disc. The rotating torque is produced by the interaction of these eddy currents and the fluxes induced by the two electromagnets. M1 is connected in series and it is also known as the series magnet. It produces an alternating magnetic flux of 1, which is proportional to and in-phase with the line current, I. M2, also known as the shunt magnet, is connected across the supply line and carries a current proportional to the supply voltage, V. Therefore the magnetic flux, 2, it generates is proportional to the supply voltage, V. However, 2 is not in-phase with the V. In fact, it is set to be 90 lagging to V. This is done by having two or three properly adjusted copper rings, C. Some meters use winding with a series connected lag adjusting resisteror. The current through the M2 winding is V/L. = (90 - ) Tdrive = kdrive . . (V/L) . I sin Tdrive = kdrive V.I cos Tdrive = P Where is the phase angle between 1 and 2, kdrive is the proportionality constant, P is the electrical power consumed and Tdrive is the driving torque on the aluminum disc, D. The breaking torque, is obtained by two permanent magnets mounted in opposite directions. Tbreak = kbreak . break . N/Reddy Where Tbreak is the breaking torque acting on the aluminum disc, break is the magnetic flux of the permanent magnets, N is the rotation speed of the aluminum disc, kbreak is the proportionality constant and Reddy is the resistance of the eddy current path. Tdrive = Tbreak N=k.P

1. Voltage coil, C2 2. Current coil, C1 3. Stator - concentrates and confines magnetic field 4. Aluminum disc, D 5. Brake magnets 6. Gear mechanism 7. Display dials