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MODULE 3A
uk ELECTRICAL
FUNDAMENTALS
engineering WORKBOOK
Index
INTENTIONALLY BLANK
1 ATOMIC STRUCTURE
Answer the following questions in your own words.
Q2. Describe the structure of an atom. What is the significance of the charges
on the fundamental particles ?
Notes page 1-3.
Q4. What is the significance of the number of electrons in the valance shell ?
Notes page 1-7.
Q5. Locate a table of elements that shows the distribution of electrons within the
shells and determine how many electrons there are in the valence shell of
the following material:
Aluminium
Silver
Copper
Gold
Germanium
Q6. Are there any elements that have more than 8 electrons in their outer shell ?
(shell – K,L,M,N,O,P or Q, not sub-shells)
Palladium (10) and Iridium (9).
Q7. Each shell is limited as to the number of electrons it can hold. Is there any
way of working out the maximum number of electrons that each shell can
hold ?
2
2n where n is the shell number.
2 STATIC ELECTRICITY
Q2. Why must maintenance engineers consider static electricity when working
on aircraft:
i) electronic equipment
ii) structures
Q5. As two charged bodies are moved apart, the force of attraction or repulsion
between them decreases by the square of the distance (i.e. if the distance
between them is increased from 1cm to 2 cm, the force decreases by a
factor of 4. If the distance is increased to 3cm, the force decreases by a
factor of 9), why ?
3 ELECTRICAL TERMINOLOGY
Q2. What is the difference between conventional current flow and electron flow ?
4 PRODUCTION OF ELECTRICITY
Q4. Investigate the construction and operation of a common primary cell and
write a brief report on your findings.
This information should come from the internet or other reference source.
Q2. A 25 A-h at the 10 hour rate battery can supply what maximum current
continuously and for how long ?
2·5 amps for 10 hours.
Q3. A 35 A-h at the 1 hour rate battery can supply what maximum current and
for how long ?
35 amps for 1 hour.
Q4. If a 40 A-h at the 10 hour battery was discharged at 8 Amps how long would
you expect it to be able to provide this current ?
Answer cannot be calculated, but it will be less 5 hours. Battery should be able to
provide 4 amps continuously for 10 hours, but will not be able to provide 8 amps
for 4 hours because its capacity decreases with increase in load.
Q5. When carrying out a capacity test on a 20 A-h battery, it only achieved 80%,
what is the actual battery capacity ?
Q6. A battery was discharged at 10 Amps for 10 hours in order to test its
capacity. What was the battery’s rating ?
Q8. How can a 4 volt, 6 A-h supply be obtained from six 2 volt, 2 A-h cells ?
Q9. Two 12 volt, lead acid, aircraft batteries are connected in parallel to give a
greater capacity. Draw a circuit diagram depicting the individual cells of
these two interconnected batteries.
Q11. When 3 identical cells are connected in series across a filament, in which
order do they discharge?
Q12. In your own words, describe the construction of a typical lead acid aircraft
battery.
Q14. State some typical A-h ratings for lead acid and Ni-cad aircraft batteries.
6 OHMS LAW
Q3. If the voltage across a component is doubled what affect will it have on the
current flowing through it ? (doubled)
Q4. If the value of a resistor in a circuit is doubled, but the current is kept
constant at its original value, what affect will it have on the voltage across
the resistor ? (doubled)
Laboratory Tasks
Q1. What is the difference between an analog meter and a digital meter ?
Moving parts / mechanical – electronic.
Q3. Explain why an ideal ammeter should have zero internal resistance.
Q4. Explain why an ideal voltmeter should have infinite internal resistance.
Q5. Find out what the internal resistance of one of the laboratory meters is on
the voltage and current ranges.
Q6. Should analog meters be laid down or stood up for an accurate reading ?
Q10. Two 10M resistors are connected in series across a 300 volt supply. If a
meter, having an internal resistance of 10M on the appropriate range, is
used to measure the voltage drop across the two resistors, what values
will be indicated on the meter.
When meter connected across either resistor, the circuit becomes 100 ohms in
series with 50 ohms because of the meter loading (100//100 = 50). The
meter will therefore indicate 100 volts across either resistor.
Laboratory Tasks
Q1. If the length of a conductor is doubled and its cross-sectional area halved,
what affect will this have on its resistance ?
Q2. If the length of a conductor is doubled and its cross sectional area doubled,
what affect will it have on its resistance ?
Q5. Use the colour codes to work out the values of the following resistors:
i) Red Orange Yellow Gold (230 000 +-5%)
ii) Orange Orange Orange Red (33 000 +-2%)
iii) Violet Green Blue silver (75M +-10%)
iv) Green Green Black Gold (55 +-5%)
v) Brown Brown Black Brown (11 +-1%)
vi) Red Green Gold (2.5)
vii) Brown Grey Gold (1.8)
viii) Green Blue Silver (0·56)
ix) Blue Yellow White Yellow Red (6·49M +-2%)
x) Orange Brown Yellow Red Red (31400 +-2%)
Q6. Assuming you want to use resistors with a 10% tolerance, what are the
closest preferred values for the following resistance values:
i) 13M Ohms (12M)
ii) 3.0K Ohms (2·7k)
iii) 4.9K Ohms (4·7k or 3·3k)
iv) 54K Ohms (56k)
v) 14.5K Ohms (15k)
Q7. For the preferred values selected in answer to Q6. Above. What are the
maximum and minimum values one could expect to find ?
Q10. A resistor is connected in series with a rheostat and the slider is moved from
minimum to maximum resistance (see diagram in note p.8-7). What affect
will this have on the voltage across the resistor and the current flowing
through it ?
As the wiper is moved from zero to max resistance (R to L on diagram), the
current through the load decreases, therefore the voltage across the load also
decreases.
Q11. When current flows through a resistor, what affect is it likely to have on its
value of resistance ? Explain your answer.
The resistance is likely to increase due to the increase in temperature.
Q12. Explain how can a thermistor be used to stabilise the current flowing
through a coil of wire that tends to get hot when used.
Attach thermistor to coil. Thermistor has –ve temp co-efficient of resistance as
the temperature increases, the resistance of the coil increases, but the resistance
of the thermistor decreases. So the overall resistance and therefore current
remains constant.
9 RESISTORS IN DC CIRCUITS
Q2. Using Ohm’s law and Kirchoff’s second law, derive the formula for the total
resistance of resistors connected in series.
Q4. Two 4.7k are connected in series across a 12 volt battery. What is the
circuit current and the voltage drop across each resistor ?
12/9·4k = 1·3mA voltage drop = 6v and 6v
Q5. When a 1.2k resistor is connected in series with a 3.6k across a power
supply, the current is 150mA. What are the voltage drops across the
resistors ?
Q6. If three resistors of equal value are connected in series across a power
supply, what proportion of the supply voltage will be dropped across each
resistor.
Q14. Assuming two resistors R1 and R2 are connected in series across V Supply,
complete the following table.
Q15. The off-load voltage of a power supply is 100 volts. When the supply is
connected to a 200 resistor the terminal voltage falls to 90 volts. Calculate
the internal resistance of the power supply.
90/200 = 0·45mA 10/0·45 = 22·2
Q16. The off-load voltage of a power supply unit is 28 volts, the on-load voltage is
26 volts. If the load is 600, calculate the internal resistance of the power
supply unit.
26/600 = 43mA 2V/43mA = 46
Q17. The internal resistance of a 30 volt power supply is 60, calculate the
terminal voltage when it is connected to a 240 load.
Ratio of the voltage drop across RInt : RLoad is 1:4. Therefore voltage drops are 6
volts to 24 volts. Ans. 24V
Laboratory Tasks
Q3. If R1= 2k2, R2= 32k, R4= 80k and E=21 volts:
A. What value of R3 will balance the bridge.
B. If R3 has a value of 4k4, what will be the potential difference between
points A and B.
C. If R3 has a value of 1k1, what will be the potential difference between
points A and B.
Q4. On connecting the Wheatstone Bridge circuit shown, the meter indicated full
scale deflection. Discuss possible fault conditions that would exhibit these
symptoms.
Q5. On connecting the Wheatstone Bridge circuit shown, the meter needle
abutted against the zero end-stop. Discuss possible fault conditions that
would exhibit these symptoms.
Laboratory Tasks
1. Complete the Electronics Workbench Wheatstone Bridge tasks
2. Complete the Wheatstone Bridge practical task. (investigating the effects of
supply voltage changes on the operation of a Wheatstone Bridge circuit).
13 CAPACITORS IN DC CIRCUITS
Q1. A simple parallel plate capacitor has plates with an area of 12cm 2, a
distance of 0·01mm between the plates and a dielectric material between
the plates with a relative permitivity of 40:
A. Calculate the capacitance of the capacitor. (42·3nF)
B. Calculate the electrical energy stored in the capacitor if it is connected
across a 28 volt supply. (16·65J)
C. Calculate the charge on the capacitor if the potential is across it is
increased to 100 volts. (4·248C)
Q2. Complete the following table.
Total
Capacitor 1 Capacitor 2 Capacitor 3 Connection
Capacitance
100F 200F none Series 66·66F
200F 100F none Parallel 300F
100F 300F 200F Series 54·54F
470F 470F none Series 235F
47F 100F none Series 32F
30F 470F 100F Parallel 600F
200F 47F 150F Series 30·4F
200F 100F 200F Series 50F
30F 47F 100F Parallel 177F
200F 400F 400F Series 100F
Q5. C1=100F, C2=200F and VSUPPLY = 60 volts. Calculate the voltage drop
across each capacitor (C1 – 40 volts, C2 – 20 volts)
Q6. C1=100F, C2=200F, C3=400 and VSUPPLY = 120 volts. Calculate the:
A. Total capacitance.
B. Voltage drop across each capacitor.
(V1 - 68·57 volts, V2 – 34·28 volts, V3 - 17·14 volts)
C. Charge on each capacitor. (6·9mC –series)
D. Energy stored in each capacitor. (235mJ, 118mJ, 59mJ)
Q7. C1=120F, C2=170F, C3=90F and VSUPPLY = 100 volts. Calculate the:
A. Total capacitance. (39·5F)
B. Voltage drop across each capacitor.
(V1 - 32·9 volts, V2 – 23·23 volts, V3 - 43·87 volts)
C. Charge on each capacitor. (65mJ, 46mJ, 87mJ)
D. Energy stored in each capacitor.
Q8. C1=10F, C2=100F, C3=170F and VSUPPLY = 100 volts. Calculate the:
A. Total capacitance. (8·63F)
B. Voltage drop across each capacitor.
(V1 - 86·29 volts, V2 – 8·63 volts, V3 - 5·08 volts)
C. Charge on each capacitor. (863C – series)
D. Energy stored in each capacitor. (37mJ, 3·6mJ, 2·12mJ)
14 MAGNETISM
Q3. Describe the Earth’s magnetic field and explain the terms dip and variation.
Q4. Describe one use for a hard iron material and one use for a soft iron
material. Explain how the materials magnetic properties are exploited.
15 ELECTROMAGNETISM
Q1. Describe the field around two adjacent current carrying conductors if the
currents are flowing in opposite direction.
Q2. Explain how the right hand gripping rule and corkscrew rule can be used to
determine the magnetic north end of a coil
Q3. A coil of 200 turns is wound uniformly in the form of a toroid with an air core.
The mean circumference is 60cm and the uniform cross-sectional are is
5cm2. If the current flowing in the coil is 4 amps, calculate the:
i) Magnetising force (1333 At/m)
ii) Flux density (1.68 mT)
iii) Total flux (0·84 Wb)
Q4. The airgap in a certain magnetic circuit is 0·1cm long and has a cross-
sectional area of 30 cm2. If 600 At are available to produce flux, calculate
the flux density in the airgap. (0·755T)
Q5. An iron ring has a mean diameter of 50 cm and a cross-sectional area of
10cm2. 500 turns of wire are uniformly wound on the ring and a flux of
1·25mWb is produced by a current of 2 amps. Calculate the relative
permeability of the iron. (1560)
Q6. An airgap in a magnetic circuit is 0·12cm long and has a cross-sectional
area of 25cm2. Calculate the reluctance of the airgap, the number of
ampere-turns to send a flux of 800Wb across the gap and the magnetising
force H in the gap. (382000 At/Wb, 306 At, 255000 At/m)
Q7. A coil of 300 turns is wound on an iron ring having a mean circumference of
40cm and a cross-sectional area of 5cm2. The coil has a resistance of 8
and is connected to a 20V d.c. supply. Taking r = 900, calculate:
i) mmf (750 At)
ii) magnetising force (1875 At/m)
iii) total flux (1·06 mWb)
iv) Flux density (2·12 T)
v) Reluctance of the ring (707000 At/Wb)
Q8. An iron ring of mean circumference 50cm has an airgap of 0·1cm and is
wound with a coil of 120 turns, If the relative permeability for the iron is 350
when a current of 2·5 amps flows in the coil, calculate the flux density.
(254mT)
Q9. A steel ring has a mean diameter of 20cm and a cross-sectional area of
1.5cm2 broken by a parallel sided airgap of length 0·5cm. Taking r = 500,
calculate the current necessary in 3000 turns of wire wound on the ring to
produce a flux density of 0·5 Tesla in the airgap and the total flux in the
steel ring. ( )
Q10. A steel ring having a mean diameter of 35cm and a cross-sectional area of
2·4cm2 is broken by a parallel sided airgap of length 1·2cm. Short pole
pieces of negligible reluctance extend the effective cross-sectional area of
the airgap to 12cm2. Taking r = 700 and neglecting leakage, determine the
current necessary in 300 turns of wire wound on the ring to produce a flux
density in the airgap of 0·25 Tesla. (13.17 Amps)
Q11. A steel ring having a mean diameter of 25cm and a cross-sectional area of
1·2cm2 is broken by a parallel sided airgap of length 1·6cm. Short pole
pieces of negligible reluctance extend the effective cross-sectional area of
the airgap to 10cm2. Taking r = 600 and neglecting leakage, determine the
current necessary in 3000 turns of wire wound on the ring to produce a flux
density in the airgap of 0·5 Tesla. ( Amps)
17 INDUCTORS IN DC CIRCUITS
Q1. A 100mH inductor is connected in series with a 500 resistor across a 20
volt power supply.
D. Calculate the circuit time constant.
E. Calculate how long will it take for the circuit current to reach its
maximum value.
F. Calculate the voltage across the resistor after 1 time constant.
G. Calculate the maximum value to which the current will rise.
H. Show that at the instant the switch is closed, the back-emf produced by
the inductor is equal to the supply voltage.
I. Calculate the energy stored in the magnetic field when the current has
reached its maximum value.
B. Sketch a graph to show the voltage across the inductor with respect to
time when the switched is moved to position A.
C. Sketch a graph to show the voltage across the inductor when the switch
is moved directly from position A to position B.
D. Sketch a graph to show the circuit current when the switch is moved
directly from position A to position B.
(although only a sketches are required, graphs should be accurate at points
where calculations can be made)
Q3. A 10mH inductor is connected in series with a 3·6k resistor across a 14 volt
power supply, calculate the:
A. circuit time constant.
B. maximum circuit current.
C. circuit current after 1 time constant.
D. voltage across the inductor after 1 time constant.
E. energy stored in the magnetic field when the current has reached its
maximum value.