Electronics Instrumentations and Measurements

BS Electronics
4th Semester

Faiz Ullah
Islamia College, Peshawar
 What is Instrumentation?
Instrumentation is a branch of engineering, related
to study of various instruments and their control.

 An instrument is a device that measures a physical

or electrical quantity such as flow, temperature,
current, voltage, level, distance, angle, or pressure.

 What is measurement?
The measurement of a given parameter or quantity
is the act of a quantitative comparison between a
predefined standard and an unknown quantity to be
measured.

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 Following are the advantages of electrical
or electronic instrumentation.
1. Different physical quantities can be converted
into electrical signal by transducers.

2. Electrical signal can amplified,

multiplexed,
filtered and measured easily.

3. Electrical signal can be converted from A/D or

D/A signal.

4. Electrical signals can be transmitted over long

distances by wire or radio link etc.
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5. Many can
measurements
simultaneously. be
compatible with
6. Digital signal carried
are
computers.
power consumption,

7. High Sensitivity,
low high
reliability.

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 Any instrument or measuring can be
represented by a block diagram, that indicates
necessary elements and its functions.

 The entire operation of a measuring system

can be understand from the following block
diagram.

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1. Primary Sensing Element

2. Variable Conversion Element

3. Variable Manipulation Element

4. Data Transmission Element

5. Data Storage Element (Not necessary)

6. Data presentation element

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 Just take an example of analogue meter used
to measure current (Ammeter), all necessary
elements are shown in block diagram.

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 Instruments can classified into
many categories, one classification is given as
under.

1. Active/Passive instruments

2. Null or deflection type

3. Monitoring or control type

4. Analogue or digital

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1. Active/Passive
Passive Instruments: (Easy design, cheap)
In which the output produced
depends entirely on quantity being
measured.
Example: Analogue ammeter, Pressure gauge

Active Instruments: (Difficult to design, costly)

In which the quantity being measured
activates the magnitude of some external
power input, which in turn produces the
measurement.
Example: Liquid Level Indicator, LUX meter
using LDR.

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2. Null/Deflection

Null type instruments:

In which a zero or null indication leads to
the determination of magnitude of the
quantity being measured.

Example: DC potentiometer

Deflection type instrument:

In which the quantity being measured
produces some effect due to which pointer
deflects.

Example: PMMC instrument.

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3. Monitoring /Control

Monitoring type instruments:

In which some indication or condition
of
parameter value under study is obtained.

Example: All deflection type or digital instruments

Control type instruments:

These are used in automatic control systems
in the feedback path, to send a feedback
signal from the output of a process to its
input.

Example: Automatic air- conditioning system,

AVR. 5/27/2015 11
4. Analogue/digital

Analogue type instruments:

In which output varies in continuous fashion
as quantity being measured, having infinite
values in a given range.

Example: Deflecting Instruments are good

examples of analogue instruments.

Digital Instruments:
In which output varies in discrete step
and thus give finite values in a given range.
Example: Digital Multi-meter

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There are two methods of measurement.
1. Direct measurement
2. Indirect Measurement

Direct Measurement:
In direct measurement the quantity being
measured produce certain effect which gives
the indication on meter.

Example: Measurement of current by ammeter.

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Direct methods are classified as
1. Deflection methods

2. Comparison methods

“Deflection method” includes thedeflection

pointer on of a scale due to thequantity to
measured. be

Example: Wattmeter, ammeter voltmeter

“Comparison method” include the comparison of

the quantity under measurement with a pre-defined
standard quantity which gives measurement.

Example: potentiometer.
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Indirect measurement:

In which the quantity to be measured is not

measured directly, but other parameter related to
the quantity are measured.

Example 1:
For measurement of power (P) we measure voltage
(V) and current (I) then P = V*I

Example 2:
For measurement of resistance (R) we measure (V)
and current (I) then R=V/I

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