Electrical / Electronic Measurements and Instrumentation--Intro and Article Index

This guide can be used as a “textbook” for the course in electrical and electronics measurements and instrumentation. It presents a comprehensive treatment of the subject of electrical and electronics measurements and instrumentation as taught to the undergraduate students of BSEE in Electrical Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Instrumentation Engineering, and allied branches. The guide thus aims at maintaining balance between these diverse fields of engineering disciplines by drawing examples from various applications. The prerequisite on the part of the reader is that he or she should have had introductory courses on linear algebra, basic calculus, vector/phasor analysis, transform theory, circuit analysis and elementary mechanics. For the students' interest, appendices on number systems and unit conversions are added at the end.

Aim

While conceptualizing the text, the authors felt that the scope and method of treatment could, with advantage, be augmented to suit the requirements of various branches of engineering. Owing to the rapid advancements taking place in modern electrical and allied industries, and their interconnection with power systems, the subject of electrical and electronics measurements is gaining an ever-increasing importance.

About the Guide

As a subject of study, electrical measurement is one of the more traditional fields of electrical and allied engineering disciplines. However, with progress in technology and manufacturing expertise, measurements of physical parameters have gained new heights in terms of state-of-the-art concepts and technologies. This guide aims at bridging traditional concepts with modern technologies of electrical and electronics measurements and instrumentation.

The text is designed for an undergraduate course in electrical and electronics measurements. Since the basic concepts cut across disciplines-such as electrical, mechanical, electronics, instrumentation and control engineering-this guide presents a proper balance between theoretical and analytical approach, as well as practical illustrations along with computational approach for solving various kinds of numerical problems. Some of the subjects dealt with are essentially mathematical in nature, and cannot be treated otherwise, but the mathematics throughout the guide has been kept as simple as possible so that it is followed easily by most readers. The theory of most of the measurement techniques and measuring instruments has been dealt with in sufficient detail, but in most cases concise forms have been used for such theoretical discussions, so that readers may skip them, if desired, and consider only the resulting expressions.

Photographs of real systems have been used in places where schematic representation needed to be augmented.

The main theme of this guide has been to cater to undergraduate students. All topics in different Sections have been developed with ample and adequate detail without subjecting students to unwanted complicacies. As a textbook, this contribution is expected to help students not only in building up their knowledge of physical concepts of the systems described, but also as a ready and concise reference.

Notable Features

Coverage bridges traditional concepts with modern technologies in the subject area

Comprehensive discussions on electronic measurement systems and related components including analyzers, data acquisition systems, etc.

Special-purpose measurements and applications such as magnetic measurements and fiber optic measurements covered

Dedicated Section on Sensors and Transducers

Inclusion of real-life photographs to augment schematic diagrams wherever necessary

Solved question papers from 9 universities

Rich pedagogy:

• Illustrations

• Solved Examples

• Objective-type Questions

• Short-Answer-Type Questions

• Long-Answer-Type Questions

Section Organization

The entire text is organized into 18 Sections. Section organization has been primarily based on the electrical and electronic measurement syllabi in BSEE undergraduate courses of universities around the country. The outline of the guide can be organized in the following four major parts:

1. General concepts of measurement

2. Electrical measurement techniques and classical measuring instruments

3. Modern measurement techniques and instruments

4. Brief concepts of sensors and transducers

5. Electronic measurement systems and related components including signal generators, analyzers, data acquisition systems, storage and display devices and programmable logic controllers

6. Applications of the concepts of electrical and electronic measurement systems in special-purpose measurements including magnetic measurements, fiber optic measurements, RF and microwave measurements.

Within this framework, a more in-depth breakdown can be obtained from the table of contents. Detailing in the table of content will be useful for the instructors and students to select parts of the text that might be appropriate for the specific need at hand. In places where illustrations and explanations have been summarized, the adequate list of reference at the end will enable enthusiastic readers to probe further. The fluid flow of text dealing with different topics has been well thought out by the authors who have several years of experience in teaching the subject directly to undergraduate students. Illustrations, examples, questions, highlights, exercises, numerical problems are extremely relevant and appropriate for students as well as instructors. The main strength of the guide thus is its strong focus towards students' readability and understanding with the scope for independent study and problem-solving skill development. The authors are confident that the depth of this guide has been judiciously developed so that students not only treat this as a textbook, but, in addition, can also gather enough practical and theoretical knowledge to appear in national-level competitive examinations and interviews.

Also see: Signal Generators -- Applications and Use