5.

MEASUREMENT OF PHASE DIFFERENCE, MEASUREMENT

OF CURRENT AND VOLTAG
Measurement of phase difference using oscilloscope or counter, other methods of measuring
ϕ (overview)
Measurement of voltage and current:
standards, reference and calibration sources (including principle of pulse-width modulation)
measurement of DC voltage: overview of methods according to voltage level, principle of
compensation method (where it is used), measurement of very low voltages, influence of input
voltage offset of actual OA, automatically nulled amplifier, chopper-stabilized amplifier
(principles)
measurement of DC current: overview of methods according to current level, methods of
measurement of heavy currents
measurement of AC voltages and currents: overview of instruments, which quantity they
measure, measurement of AC currents (overview, broad-band shunts), AC-DC current
comparators

38EMC – P5 1
 Measurement of phase difference
Using oscilloscope:
a) in X-Y regime

A A′
A B
ϕ = arcsin = arcsin
B B′
u1 (t) u2 (t)
Y X A´
B´

b) using dual-channel oscilloscope in time domain

x1 (t) x1
2π t0
t0 t ϕ = ω t0 = 2π f t0 = (rad )
T
x2 (t) 360 t0
ϕ ϕ= (0 )
t
T
x2

38EMC – P5 2
 Electronic phase-meters
Principle: u u1 u"1
u1 u´1 u"1
SC MFF t
uϕ
u u"2
BFF u2
u2 u´2 t
SC MFF
u"2
uϕ Up

Evaluation of ϕ: 0 t0 T t

a) analogue – measurement of mean value

t
ϕ
T
1 1 0 t
U 0 ,ϕ = ∫ uϕ (t ) dt = ∫ U P dt = U P 0 = U P = cϕ
T 0 T 0 T 2π

2π t0 360 t0
b) counter: ϕ= (rad ) ϕ= (0 )
T T
(measurement of t0, T + calculation)

38EMC – P5 3
 Digital phase-meter

f fG
x 360 kD G COUNTER

u1 uϕ
SC MFF t0
N = t0 f G = t0 k N f = 360k D = k Dϕ
BFF T
u2
SC MFF

Other possibilities of measurement of ϕ:

- vectorvoltmeter (1st signal as reference, 2nd as Ux)
- by power measurements, cosϕ=P/S
- sampling method
times t1, t2, t3 found by linear interpolation
u

t 2′ − t1′
t1 t3 ϕ = 2π
t3′ − t1′
t2 t

38EMC – P5 4
 MEASUREMENT OF VOLTAGE AND CURRENT
Standards, reference and calibration sources
Basic unit in SI – electrical current (1 A) – realization: electrodynamic balance (primary
standard)
Secondary standards – standards of voltage (U=IR)
Weston standard cell (known temperature dependence of U, high Ri, sensitive to shock)
Josephson phenomenon Supercod. I
h wire
UN = nf 0
2e
2e
= 483,59790 THz / V Supercond.
h strips UN U

R3
+ Temperature compensated Zener diodes
(defined current proud + thermostat)
R2
Ur Reference sources – integrated circuits
R1
Ur = UZD (R1+R2) / R1

Temperature compen.
38EMC – P5 5
Zener diode
Voltage calibrators (accurate DACs using pulse-width modulation)

TA X
U0 = Ur = Ur
Ur TN N
RVS SC LP U0
where
fN X N
CO CC u U0 Ur TA = , TN =
fN fN
TA t

TN
X = number to be converted into voltage
N = range of converter

MEASUREMENT OF DC VOLTAGE
10 mV ÷ 1000 V PMMC voltmeters, Ri = 1 ÷ 50 kΩ/V
Ri > 10 MΩ/V direct-coupled measuring amplifiers ∗ at their output: PMMC
10 mV ÷ 1 V direct-coupled measuring amplifiers ∗ meter, or ADC
0,1 mV ÷ 10 mV automatically nulled amplifiers
< 1 mV modulation amplifiers (for a DV typ. 200mV,
> 1000 V voltage dividers 10 MΩ/V).
∗
see lecture 3 – influence of voltage offset taken into account
38EMC – P5 6
 Principle of compensating method
IIV
UX = Uk ⇒ IIV = 0 ⇒ Rvst = ∞
IV
Using - compensating ADCs
UX - compensating recorders
Uk

Automatically nulled amplifier

_ MA
MA – main amplifier
AA auxiliary amplifier
+
+
CB
Position A: AA is nulled by feedback,
B nulling voltage is stored on CA
AA
+ B
A
Position B: AA is compensated by voltage on CA.
A Input offset of MA is amplified by AA and taken
B to compensating input of MA – offset of MA is so
compensated
CA
A

38EMC – P5 7
 Chopper-stabilized amplifier

f
RF u u4
u1 u2 u3
ux u4
CF
C
~ C

ux u1
u2

t
u3
t t

38EMC – P5 8
 MEASUREMENT OF DC CURRENT
10 µA ÷ 1000 A PMMC systems, PMMC systems with rectifiers , or shunt with an ADC,
converter with preamplifier (voltage drop typically 50 ÷200 mV
< 10 µA usually measurement of voltage on high-ohm using micro voltmeter with
chopper-stabilized amplifier (voltage drops)
< 10 mA without voltage drop – current-to-voltage converter using OA (see
lecture 3, input bias currents must be taken into account)
>1000 A too high power on shunt resistors, magnetic sensors are used:

I2

Ix N
U2
+ R U2 Ix = N
R

Hall probes

38EMC – P5 9
 MEASUREMENT OF AC VOLTAGE
1. Measurement of rectified mean, calibrated in RMS value for sinusoid
- PMMC with rectifier 2 ÷ 1000 V (50 Hz ÷ 5 kHz)
- low-cost DMMs (from cca 10 mV, to cca 100 kHz)

FILTER+ADC ČV
INPUT AC OPERATIONAL P
DIVIDER !
AMPLIFIER RECTIFIER
analogue LF
voltmeter

- < 1 mV - lock-in amplifier (see phase-sensitive rectifier – lecture 3) or selective

mikrovoltmeter (only required frequency is measured). Selective voltmeters are
usually based on heterodyne principle.

PRE- MIXER IF OPERATIONAL FILTER

AMPLIFIER AMPL. RECTIFIER +ADC

OSCIL-
If
LÁTOR f0

38EMC – P5 10
2. MEASUREMENT OF RMS VALUE
- iron-vane (moving-iron), electrodynamic, PMMC with thermocouple 10 ÷ 1000 V
ATTENTION: frequency limitation
- < 10 V electronic RMS converters (TRUE RMS to DC converter)
most frequently the „implicit“ converter (e.g. IO AD 637) – see lecture 8

38EMC – P5 11
 MEASUREMENT OF AC CURRENT

- RMS value directly – iron-vane ammeter (1 mA ÷ 10 A) – voltage drops also on self-

inductance of coil, limited frequency band (cca to 1 kHz)

for harmonic waveform PMMC with rectifier – shunt – high power loss (see lecture 2)

- digital multimeters (ammeters) – measure voltage on low-inductance (coaxial) shunt

– voltage drops 10 (20) mV or 100 (200) mV, usable to hundreds of kHz.

conducting material

Ix

UB

ceramic cylinder
layer of resistive material

- current measurement with galvanic isolation – Hall-probe converters and MCTs

38EMC – P5 12
 Comparators of AC and DC currents

~ Ix
1
R
BI 1. Ix → UP → IBI = 0
=IN 2
~ Ux UP
Ut 2. IN → IN → IBI 0
=UN
1
3. IN = IX RMS

note: e.g. comparator Fluke 792A, errors of comparison lower than 0,001 %

38EMC – P5 13