Lab-4: DC Bridges

1. Objective.
 Resistance measurement and error calculation using Wheatstone bridge.
 Observing the reliability of resistances and Wheatstone bridge.

2. Equipment List
1. DWB-01 Wheatstone Bridge
2. Digital Multi-meter
3. DC Power Supply

3. Reference Reading
Measurement and Instrumentation: Theory and Application Textbook by Alan S.
Morris and Reza Langari

4. Introduction
No text on electrical metering could be called complete without a section on bridge circuits.
These ingenious circuits make use of a null-balance meter to compare two voltages, just like
the laboratory balance scale compares two weights and indicates when they’re equal. Unlike
the “potentiometer” circuit used to simply measure an unknown voltage, bridge circuits can be
used to measure all kinds of electrical values, not the least of which being resistance.

The standard bridge circuit, often called a Wheatstone bridge, looks something like this:

When the voltage between point 1 and the negative side of the battery is equal to the voltage
between point 2 and the negative side of the battery, the null detector will indicate zero and the

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bridge is said to be “balanced.” The bridge’s state of balance is solely dependent on the ratios
of Ra/Rb and R1/R2, and is quite independent of the supply voltage (battery). To measure
resistance with a Wheatstone bridge, an unknown resistance is connected in the place of Ra or
Rb, while the other three resistors are precision devices of known value. Either of the other
three resistors can be replaced or adjusted until the bridge is balanced, and when balance has
been reached the unknown resistor value can be determined from the ratios of the known
resistances.

A requirement for this to be a measurement system is to have a set of variable resistors

available whose resistances are precisely known, to serve as reference standards. For example,
if we connect a bridge circuit to measure an unknown resistance Rx, we will have to know
the exact values of the other three resistors at balance to determine the value of Rx:

Each of the four resistances in a bridge circuit are referred to as arms. The resistor in
series with the unknown resistance Rx (this would be Ra in the above schematic) is
commonly called the rheostat of the bridge, while the other two resistors are called
the ratio arms of the bridge.
Accurate and stable resistance standards, thankfully, are not that difficult to construct. In
fact, they were some of the first electrical “standard” devices made for scientific purposes.
Here is a photograph of an antique resistance standard unit:
This resistance standard shown here is variable in discrete steps: the amount of resistance
between the connection terminals could be varied with the number and pattern of removable
copper plugs inserted into sockets.
Wheatstone bridges are considered a superior means of resistance measurement to the
series battery-movement-resistor meter circuit discussed in the last section. Unlike that
circuit, with all its nonlinearities (nonlinear scale) and associated inaccuracies, the bridge
circuit is linear (the mathematics describing its operation are based on simple ratios and
proportions) and quite accurate.
Given standard resistances of sufficient precision and a null detector device of sufficient
sensitivity, resistance measurement accuracies of at least +/- 0.05% are attainable with a
Wheatstone bridge. It is the preferred method of resistance measurement in calibration
laboratories due to its high accuracy.

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 There are many variations of the basic Wheatstone bridge circuit. Most DC bridges are
used to measure resistance, while bridges powered by alternating current (AC) may be used
to measure different electrical quantities like inductance, capacitance, and frequency.
An interesting variation of the Wheatstone bridge is the Kelvin Double bridge, used for
measuring very low resistances (typically less than 1/10 of an ohm). Its schematic diagram
is as such:

The low-value resistors are represented by thick-line symbols, and the wires connecting
them to the voltage source (carrying high current) are likewise drawn thickly in the
schematic. This oddly-configured bridge is perhaps best understood by beginning with a
standard Wheatstone bridge set up for measuring low resistance, and evolving it step-by-step
into its final form in an effort to overcome certain problems encountered in the standard
Wheatstone configuration.
If we were to use a standard Wheatstone bridge to measure low resistance, it would look
something like this:

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 When the null detector indicates zero voltage, we know that the bridge is balanced and
that the ratios Ra/Rx and RM/RN are mathematically equal to each other. Knowing the values
of Ra, RM, and RN therefore provides us with the necessary data to solve for Rx . . . almost.
We have a problem, in that the connections and connecting wires between Ra and
Rx possess resistance as well, and this stray resistance may be substantial compared to the
low resistances of Ra and Rx. These stray resistances will drop substantial voltage, given the
high current through them, and thus will affect the null detector’s indication and thus the
balance of the bridge:

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 Since we don’t want to measure these stray wire and connection resistances, but only
measure Rx, we must find some way to connect the null detector so that it won’t be
influenced by voltage dropped across them. If we connect the null detector and RM/RN ratio
arms directly across the ends of Ra and Rx, this gets us closer to a practical solution:

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 Now the top two Ewire voltage drops are of no effect to the null detector, and do not
influence the accuracy of Rx‘s resistance measurement. However, the two remaining
Ewire voltage drops will cause problems, as the wire connecting the lower end of Ra with
the top end of Rx is now shunting across those two voltage drops, and will conduct
substantial current, introducing stray voltage drops along its own length as well.
Knowing that the left side of the null detector must connect to the two near ends of Ra and
Rx in order to avoid introducing those Ewire voltage drops into the null detector’s loop, and
that any direct wire connecting those ends of Ra and Rx will itself carry substantial current
and create more stray voltage drops, the only way out of this predicament is to make the
connecting path between the lower end of Ra and the upper end of Rx substantially resistive:

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 We can manage the stray voltage drops between Ra and Rx by sizing the two new
resistors so that their ratio from upper to lower is the same ratio as the two ratio arms on the
other side of the null detector. This is why these resistors were labeled Rm and Rn in the
original Kelvin Double bridge schematic: to signify their proportionality with RM and RN:

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 With ratio Rm/Rn set equal to ratio RM/RN, rheostat arm resistor Ra is adjusted until the
null detector indicates balance, and then we can say that Ra/Rx is equal to RM/RN, or simply
find Rx by the following equation:

The actual balance equation of the Kelvin Double bridge is as follows (Rwire is the
resistance of the thick, connecting wire between the low-resistance standard Ra and the test
resistance Rx):

So long as the ratio between RM and RN is equal to the ratio between Rm and Rn, the
balance equation is no more complex than that of a regular Wheatstone bridge, with
Rx/Ra equal to RN/RM, because the last term in the equation will be zero, canceling the
effects of all resistances except Rx, Ra, RM, and RN.
In many Kelvin Double bridge circuits, RM=Rm and RN=Rn. However, the lower the
resistances of Rm and Rn, the more sensitive the null detector will be, because there is less
resistance in series with it. Increased detector sensitivity is good, because it allows smaller
imbalances to be detected, and thus a finer degree of bridge balance to be attained. Therefore,
some high-precision Kelvin Double bridges use Rm and Rn values as low as 1/100 of their
ratio arm counterparts (RM and RN, respectively). Unfortunately, though, the lower the
values of Rm and Rn, the more current they will carry, which will increase the effect of any
junction resistances present where Rm and Rn connect to the ends of Ra and Rx. As you can
see, high instrument accuracy demands that all error-producing factors be taken into account,
and often the best that can be achieved is a compromise minimizing two or more different
kinds of errors.

5. Experimental Setup
The model DWB-01 is a Wheatstone bridge. It can be used to test the resistance which
range from 1Ω-10M Ω. It is enclosed in a metal case for easy carrying.

Wheatstone bridge is shown below. An unknown resistance whose value is to be

identified is attached to the Rx terminal of the bridge. Through the combination of different
knobs, the reading at the galvanometer is scale is brought to zero.

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5.1 Technical Data

Measuring Range 1Ω-10M Ω

Measuring Arm x1 Ω
x10 Ω
x100 Ω
x1000 Ω
Rate x10-3
x10-2
x10-1
x1
x101
x102
x103
Operating Environment Temperature: 5-25°C
Humidity: 25-80%
Zero Adjustor Current Constant:<6x10-7A/Div
Damping Time: <4s
Internal Resistance ≤0.02 Ω
Power Source 3Vdc (internal battery) or
external power up to 12v for
bridge power
9Vdc for galvanometer

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5.2 Controls and Description of bridge

1. Galvanometer
2. Zero adjustor
3. Sensitivity adjustor
4. Power switch (3v for bridge source, 9v for galvanometer)
5. Measuring range selection switch
6. Measuring arm
7. Power button
8. Galvanometer button
9. Measuring resistor connection points (rx)
10. Bridge power source selector INT. Or EXT.
11. Negative ext. terminal
12. Positive ext. terminal

5.3 Measuring Procedure

1. Turn the Power Button On

2. Adjust the galvanometer to zero using the zero adjustor knob
3. Move the sensitivity knob anti-clockwise to almost zero
4. Estimate the measuring resistor and adjust the measuring range selection switch
5. Connect the unknown resistance that is to be measured to the Rx terminals
6. Press the B and G switch simultaneously. You will see a deflection in the
galvanometer reading from the zero point
7. By adjusting the multiplier knobs, try to bring the galvanometer needle to zero
position
8. At that point add up all the values of the measuring arms and multiply it to the
value of measuring range selector.

𝑅𝑥 = 𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑟𝑚 × 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟

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Follow the above shown picture as a reference of the internal schematic of the Wheatstone
bridge.

6. Task
Measure the 4 unknown resistances provided to you using the colour code, wheatstone bridge and
multimeter, and fill the table below.

Measured Measured % error % error

Measured Does
resistance resistance (b/w (b/w
resistance the %
for from wheatstone multimeter
from colour error
wheatstone multimeter and colour and colour
code satidfies
(Ω) (Ω) code) code)

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 EE-314L Instrumentation Lab

Lab#01 Rubric Mark Sheet

Student Name: ______________________ Reg. #: _________________

Marks 3.0 2.0 1.0 0

Cannot setup
Punctuality Student arrives or handle the
PLO-8 NA NA
in lab in time. apparatus.
Can independently Can setup and Can setup and
Apparatus Cannot setup
PLO-5 setup, operate and handle the handle the
or handle the
Usage handle the apparatus with apparatus with
apparatus.
apparatus. minimal help. some help.

Student arranges Student carelessly Student does

the workstation arranges not arrange
Work Station PLO-8 NA
properly after lab workstation after the work
completion. lab completion. station.

Analyzes and Analyzes data Unable to

Analyzes and
interprets data correctly however analyze and
interprets data
Data correctly for few unable to interpret data
PLO-4 correctly for all
Interpretation tasks/ interpret it for for any tasks/
tasks/ experiments
experiments in the tasks/ experiments experiments in
in the lab.
lab. in the lab. the lab.
All required data is Data recorded and Data recorded
Data recorded
recorded and presented is and presented is
only with
presented complete but partially
Data PLO-5 considerable
accurately and accuracy is not as complete. The
Acquisition assistance
completely in the per requirement. required format is
from
required format The required followed but with
instructor .
format is followed. few deficiencies.
Total Score in Lab /12

Instructor Signature: _________________

Date: _________________

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