High-precision AC measurements using the Monte Carlo method

The paper describes a novel method for fast and high precision true RMS measurements of arbitrarily shaped electrical signals. The method, which is based on the Monte Carlo method, avoids the application of any nonlinear function to the signal under test and allows extremely high sampling rates. An experimental realization of the method for determining the RMS voltage of a waveform has been tested at the PTB, and for frequencies between 30 Hz and 70 kHz the results were found to be in agreement with the settings of the PTB AC standard to within /spl plusmn/0.01% of full scale. High accuracy and fast measurements of other characteristic AC values as well as real and reactive power are achievable with the same principle.