Master electrical power analysis with MCP3910 and TM4C1294NCZAD
Voltage, current, and beyond
Published Sep 29, 2023
Click board™
PWR Meter 2 click
Dev Board
Fusion for ARM v8
Compiler
NECTO Studio
MCU
TM4C1294NCZAD
Our groundbreaking power monitoring solution is designed to provide unrivaled accuracy in measuring and monitoring voltage and current values, ensuring optimal performance and efficiency in your electrical systems.
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Hardware Overview
How does it work?
PWR Meter 2 Click is based on the MCP3910, an integrated two-channel analog front-end (AFE) device from Microchip. This IC is composed of several sections, aimed at accurate capturing of the input voltage. Two sigma-delta input A/D converters used with the internal reference voltage of 1.2V with very low thermal drift, reducing the measurement noise at a minimum, yielding Signal to Noise ratio (SNR) up to 96dB. The input ADCs are fully configurable and can be set to work in 16-bit or 24-bit mode, can use oversampling ratio from 32 X up to 4096 X, gain ratio from 1 X to 32 X, and 24-bit digital offset and gain error correction for each ADC channel. The Click board™ is clocked by a 20MHz crystal. However, it is up to the user to set the pre-scalers correctly, according to the datasheet of the MCP3910. However, the included library offers functions which take care about correct settings. High clock speed allows maximum oversampling rate (OSR) to be used, allowing the best performance to be achieved, but consuming more power at the same time. The voltage and current readings are performed over two differential ADC input channels of the MCP3910 itself. The CH0 (Channel 0) is connected to a resistor voltage
divider, allowing it to measure up to 0.6V when the input voltage is 24V, which is the maximum voltage at the input terminal. Although the voltage across a differential input on the ADC channel can go up to ±2V, it is recommended by the manufacturer to stay within the ±0.6V margin to achieve optimal harmonic distortion and noise ratios, which might affect the measurement accuracy. The CH1 (Channel 1) differential input is connected to the shunt resistor of 0.03 Ω. A small voltage drop is measured by the ADC, allowing up to 5A of current to be measured. More of 5A might destroy the shunt resistor so it is not recommended going over 5A. The current measurement is done by connecting the load in series with the Click board™, so the shunt value of 0.03Ω will not introduce significant error or influence the current through the load. The measurement is performed using so-called Kelvin connections, where the main trace carries the majority of the current, while thin traces are used to measure the voltage across the shunt, reducing the current running through the ADC section of the IC itself. Additional 270 Ω resistors reduce the current through the ADC even further. The MCP3910 contains several additional pins, which
are used to simplify the implementation and reduce the bulkiness of the firmware application. The Data Ready pin can be used to trigger an interrupt event on the host MCU when there is conversion data ready to be read. This simplifies the MCU performance greatly, saving it from having to poll status bits in order to determine if the data is ready for reading. The Data Ready pin is routed to the mikroBUS™ INT pin, labeled as the DR. Two Modulator Output pins are also routed to the mikroBUS™. These pins offer direct 1-bit data output directly from the delta-sigma modulators for a user-defined MCU or DSP filtering, overriding the internal SINC filter, which is turned off if these pins are activated. The DR pin is also disabled when these pins are enabled. MDAT0 and MDAT1 pins offer modulator output from ADC channel 0 and ADC channel 1. These pins are routed to mikroBUS™ pins PWM and AN and are labeled as MDT0 and MDT1, respectively. As already mentioned, the Click board™ offers measurement of either internal power supply from the mikroBUS™, or the externally with up to 24V and 5A. To select the measurement target, the SMD jumper labeled INPUT SEL should be switched to the desired position.
Features overview
Development board
Fusion for ARM v8 is a development board specially designed for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. It supports a wide range of microcontrollers, such as different ARM® Cortex®-M based MCUs regardless of their number of pins, and a broad set of unique functions, such as the first-ever embedded debugger/programmer over WiFi. The development board is well organized and designed so that the end-user has all the necessary elements, such as switches, buttons, indicators, connectors, and others, in one place. Thanks to innovative manufacturing technology, Fusion for ARM v8 provides a fluid and immersive working experience, allowing access anywhere and under any
circumstances at any time. Each part of the Fusion for ARM v8 development board contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. An advanced integrated CODEGRIP programmer/debugger module offers many valuable programming/debugging options, including support for JTAG, SWD, and SWO Trace (Single Wire Output)), and seamless integration with the Mikroe software environment. Besides, it also includes a clean and regulated power supply module for the development board. It can use a wide range of external power sources, including a battery, an external 12V power supply, and a power source via the USB Type-C (USB-C) connector.
Communication options such as USB-UART, USB HOST/DEVICE, CAN (on the MCU card, if supported), and Ethernet is also included. In addition, it also has the well-established mikroBUS™ standard, a standardized socket for the MCU card (SiBRAIN standard), and two display options for the TFT board line of products and character-based LCD. Fusion for ARM v8 is an integral part of the Mikroe ecosystem for rapid development. Natively supported by Mikroe software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping and development thanks to a considerable number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing every day.
Microcontroller Overview
MCU Card / MCU
Type
8th Generation
Architecture
ARM Cortex-M4
MCU Memory (KB)
1024
Silicon Vendor
Texas Instruments
Pin count
212
RAM (Bytes)
262144
Used MCU Pins
mikroBUS™ mapper
Take a closer look
Schematic
Step by step
Project assembly
Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Fusion for ARM v8 as your development board.
Track your results in real time
Application Output
After pressing the "FLASH" button on the left-side panel, it is necessary to open the UART terminal to display the achieved results. By clicking on the Tools icon in the right-hand panel, multiple different functions are displayed, among which is the UART Terminal. Click on the offered "UART Terminal" icon.
Once the UART terminal is opened, the window takes on a new form. At the top of the tab are two buttons, one for adjusting the parameters of the UART terminal and the other for connecting the UART terminal. The tab's lower part is reserved for displaying the achieved results. Before connecting, the terminal has a Disconnected status, indicating that the terminal is not yet active. Before connecting, it is necessary to check the set parameters of the UART terminal. Click on the "OPTIONS" button.
In the newly opened UART Terminal Options field, we check if the terminal settings are correct, such as the set port and the Baud rate of UART communication. If the data is not displayed properly, it is possible that the Baud rate value is not set correctly and needs to be adjusted to 115200. If all the parameters are set correctly, click on "CONFIGURE".
The next step is to click on the "CONNECT" button, after which the terminal status changes from Disconnected to Connected in green, and the data is displayed in the Received data field.
Software Support
Library Description
This library contains API for PWR Meter 2 Click driver.
Key functions:
pwrmeter2_get_data- This function gets the calculated voltage( V ), current( A ) and power( W ) datapwrmeter2_write_reg- This function writes 24-bit data to the registerpwrmeter2_read_reg- This function reads the desired number of 24-bit data from the register/registers.
Open Source
Code example
This example can be found in NECTO Studio. Feel free to download the code, or you can copy the code below.
/*!
* \file
* \brief PwrMeter2 Click example
*
* # Description
* This app measuring and monitoring voltage up to 24V and current up to 5A.
*
* The demo application is composed of two sections :
*
* ## Application Init
* Initializes device.
*
* ## Application Task
* Gets calculated voltage, current and power data every 500 miliseconds
* and shows results on UART.
*
* \author MikroE Team
*
*/
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES
#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "pwrmeter2.h"
// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES
static pwrmeter2_t pwrmeter2;
static log_t logger;
// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS
void application_init ( void )
{
log_cfg_t log_cfg;
pwrmeter2_cfg_t cfg;
/**
* Logger initialization.
* Default baud rate: 115200
* Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
* @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX
* are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will
* need to define them manually for log to work.
* See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
*/
LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
log_info( &logger, "---- Application Init ----" );
// Click initialization.
pwrmeter2_cfg_setup( &cfg );
PWRMETER2_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
pwrmeter2_init( &pwrmeter2, &cfg );
pwrmeter2_default_cfg( &pwrmeter2 );
log_printf( &logger, "PWR Meter 2 is initialized \r\n" );
Delay_ms( 200 );
}
void application_task ( void )
{
int32_t voltage_res;
int32_t current_res;
uint32_t power_res;
pwrmeter2_get_data( &pwrmeter2, &voltage_res, ¤t_res, &power_res );
log_printf( &logger, "U = %ld mV \r\n", voltage_res );
log_printf( &logger, "I = %ld mA \r\n", current_res );
log_printf( &logger, "P = %lu mW \r\n", power_res );
Delay_ms( 500 );
}
void main ( void )
{
application_init( );
for ( ; ; )
{
application_task( );
}
}
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END
