Calculating Shunt Resistance for 200A D.C. Circuits: Step-by-Step Guide

  • Context: Engineering 
  • Thread starter Thread starter charger9198
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Circuits
Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
Sign up Log in
8 replies · 8K views
charger9198
Messages
60
Reaction score
0
Determine the required value of the shunt resistance if the maximum value of the current I is 200 A. The meter can read a maximum of 1 mA and has a resistance of 0.1 Ω.


My answer is;

Rsh:

0.1*(0.1x10^-3)/200-(0.1x10^_3)

=0.1/(200/0.1x10^-3)-1

=1/19999990

=0.0000005 ohms

Is this correct or do I need to return to the drawing board?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
diagram which consist's of a meter and a shunt resistor in parallel.
 
Yes, I get the same answer.

There is a simple trick to make this easier.

You calculate the voltage across the meter when it is reading full scale.

So, in this case the voltage is (0.001 amps times 0.1 ohms) or 0.0001 volts.

This must also be the voltage across the shunt.
So, the voltage across the shunt is 0.0001 volts and the current is 200 amps (minus 1 mA which we can ignore).

So, the shunt resistance must be (0.0001 volts / 200 amps) or 0.0000005 ohms.
 
Ash I see.. That would save the messing around.. Thanks very much for confirming that
 
-If the shunt is made of copper and has a cross-sectional area of 25 cm2 calculate its required length.
(For copper take ρ as 1.7 × 10–8 Ωm.)

R=ρl/A

0.0000005000025=1.7*10^-8*l/(π*0.25^2)
l=17.3 cm so require dlength = 0.173 m
or l=17.3 cm so length is 17.3 cm

This seem correct?
 
Good catch

Length = [Resistance X cross-sectional area] / Resistivity

(5x10^-7*.25)/1.7*10^-8

Giving

7.352 cm
 
I calculated it with everything converted to meters, but I still got the same answer as you did.

So, yes, it looks OK.
 
Thanks very much for spotting that and letting me know :)