INSTRUMENTATION & MEASUREMENT

Chapter 3: Transducer

INTRODUCTION
Transducer is a device which transforms energy from one type to another. The majority convert electrical energy to mechanical displacement or convert some nonelectrical physical quantity, such as temperature, sound or light to an electrical signal.
Typical energy domains are mechanical, electrical, chemical, magnetic, optical and thermal.

Transducer can be further divided into Sensors, which monitors a system and Actuators, which impose an action on the system.

FUNCTION OF TRANSDUCER
To sense the presence, magnitude and frequency of some measurement. To provide an electrical output that, when appropriately processed and applied to a readout device, gives accurate quantitative data about the measurement.

CATEGORIZATION OF TRANSDUCER
Classification based on physical phenomena Mechanical: strain gauge, accelerometer, etc. Temperature: Resistance temperature detector (RTD), thermal couple, thermistor, Light: photovoltaic cells, photo-conductive cells Sound: microphone transducer Classification based on measuring mechanism Capacitance Sensing (Capacitive) Inductance Sensing (Inductive)

Thermistors
Direction of sensitivity

Inductive proximity sensors

A strain gauge

Resistive thermometers

What are the factors need to be considered in the selections of transducer????

SELECTING A TRANSDUCER
Operating range. Sensitivity. Accuracy. Linearity. Environmental compatibility.

SELECTING A TRANSDUCER
Range
maximum and minimum values that can be measured. The transducer should maintain range requirements and good resolution.

Accuracy
Accuracy is a measure of the maximum expected error. The transducer may be subject to repeatability and calibration errors as well as errors expected owing to sensitivity to others.

SELECTING A TRANSDUCER
Sensitivity The transducer must be sensitive enough to allow sufficient output. a measure of the change produced at the output for a given change in the quantity being measured Linearity maximum deviation from a straight-line response normally expressed as a percentage of the full-scale value
Environmental durability: will the sensor robust enough for its operation conditions

MECHANICAL TRANSDUCERSTRAIN GAUGE

STRAIN GAUGE
Strain gauges are devices whose resistance changes under the application of force or strain. Can measure force, strain, stress, pressure, displacement, acceleration etc.
Direction of sensitivity

A strain gauge

STRAIN GAUGE
Stretching in one direction increases the resistance of the device, while stretching in the other direction has little effect Can be bonded to a surface to measure strain Used within load cells and pressure sensors

Definition of strain
A strain is a normalized measure of deformation representing the displacement between particles in the body relative to a reference length.

Electrical Resistance

STRAIN GAUGE
A constant round wire is 10cm long and has a radius of 0.01mm. Find the electrical resistance in ohms (the resistivity of constant is 44.2 10-6 cm).

Piezoresistivity
Note that resistivity factor is a constant, so if length or the area A can be made to vary under the influence of an outside parameter then the electrical resistance of the wire will change.

This phenomenon, call piezoresistivity. Piezoresistivity is the change in the electrical resistance of a conductor due to changes in length and cross-sectional area. In piezoresistance materials, mechanical deformation of the material produces changes in electrical resistance.

SENSITIVITY OF STRAIN GAUGE

The sensitivity of the strain gauge is expressed in terms of unit change of electrical resistance for a unit change in length and is given in the form of gauge factor k :

where, =strain of the gauge R= gauge resistance

EXERCISE
A strain gauge is used in testing a machine. If the gauge resistance is 120, the strain of the gauge is 1.5x10-5 and the resistance of strain gauge change is 6m. Calculate the gauge factor.

Strain vs Strain

EXERCISE
A resistance strain gauge with a gauge factor of 2 is fastened to a steel member, which is subjected to a strain of 1x10-6. If the original resistance value of the gauge is 130, calculate the change in resistance.

EXERCISE
Find the gauge factor of a conductor that is 24 mm long if the resistance changes and the length changes 1.6 mm under a tension force.

CAPACITIVE TRANSDUCER

CAPACITIVE TRANSDUCER
Capacitive transducer is used for measuring linear displacement. Capacitor with variable capacitance. Comprises of two parallel metal plates that are separated by the material such as air, which is called as the dielectric material.
**dielectric: having the property of transmitting electric force without conduction; insulating.

CAPACITIVE TRANSDUCER

CAPACITIVE TRANSDUCER
The value of the capacitance changes due to change in the value of the input quantity that is to be measured.

Exercise
An electrode-diaphragm pressure transducer has plate whose area is 5 x 10-3m2 and whose distance between plates is 1 x 10-3m. Calculate its capacitance if it measures air pressure. The dielectric constant of air is k = 1.

EEXERCISE

INDUCTIVE TRANSDUCER

INDUCTIVE
Inductive transducer may be either the selfgenerating or the passive type. The self-generating type utilizes the basic electrical generator principle, that when there is relative motion between a conductor and magnetic field, a voltage is induced in the conductor (generator action). This relative motion between field and conductor is supplied by changes in the measured.

EX: TACHOMETER
A tachometer is an inductive transducer that directly converts speed or velocity into an electrical signal. Mechanism: The coupling turns the rotating armature between the poles of a permanent magnet, thereby inducing a voltage in the winding of the rotor. The voltage developed may approach 10mV per revolution per minute (rpm) and can be fed directly into a dc voltmeter calibrated in rpm units.

TEMPERATURE TRANSDUCER

TEMPERATURE TRANSDUCER
Temperature transducer can be divided into three basic types:
Resistance temperature detector (RTD) Thermocouples Thermistors

Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD)

Platinum, Nickel, Copper metals are typically used They are available in many configurations and sizes and as shielded or open units for both immersion and surface applications. They are slowly replacing the use of thermocouples in many industrial applications below 600 C, due to higher accuracy and repeatability.

Temperature sensors
Resistive thermometers
typical devices use platinum wire (such a device is called a platinum resistance thermometers or PRT) linear but has poor sensitivity

A typical PRT element

A sheathed PRT

RTD

EXERCISE
A platinum resistance thermometer has a resistance of 150 at 20c. calculate its resistance at 50c( = 0.00392)

Thermocouples
One of the most commonly used methods of measuring temperature in science and industry depends on the thermocouple effect.

Thermocouples
Mechanism : When a pair of wires made of different metals are joined together at one end, a temperature difference between this end and the other end of the wires produces a voltage between wires. The magnitude of this voltage depends on the materials used for wires and the amount of the temperature difference between the joined ends and the other ends.

Thermocouples
The junction of the two wires of the thermocouple is called the sensing junction. In normal use this junction is placed in or on the material being tested, and the other ends of the wire are connected to the voltage-measuring equipment. Since the temperature difference between this sensing junction and the other ends is the critical factor, the other are either kept at a constant reference temperature or, when the cost of the equipment is very low, simply maintained at the room temperature.

Thermocouples
When the other ends are kept at room temperature, the temperature is monitored and the thermocouple output voltage reading are corrected for any changes in room temperature. Because the temperature at this end of the thermocouple wires is a reference temperature, the junction here with the equipment terminals or with other connecting wires is known as the reference junction. It is also quite often referred to as the cold junction. Because the thermocouple is frequently used for measuring high temperature, the reference junction in such case in indeed the colder of two junctions.

Thermocouples

T2 = the temperature of the cold or reference junction

EXERCISE

COMPARISON BETWEEN THERMOCOUPLES AND RTD

Thermistors
A thermistors is a semiconductor made and have a negative temperature coefficient. That is, their resistance decrease as their temperature rises. Resistance at 25C for typical unit range is 100 to over 10M .

Thermistors
Thermistors
use materials with a high thermal coefficient of resistance sensitive but highly non-linear

A typical disc thermistor

A threaded thermistor

Thermistors
Thermistors (thermally sensitive resistor) formed from semiconductor materials, not metals often composite of a ceramic and a metallic oxide (Mn, Co, Cu or Fe) typically have negative temperature coefficients

ECE 480, Prof. A. Mason

PHOTOELECTRIC TRANSDUCERS

Photoelectric Transducers
There are several different phenomena for measuring light, and they create different types of transducers. A photoelectric effect that has proved very useful is the photoconductive effect, which is used in photocells. In this type of device, the electrical resistance of the material varies with the amount of light striking it. The photovoltaic cell or solar cells will produce an electrical current when connected to a load. Both silicon and type selenium types are known.

Photoelectric Transducers
Photovoltaic light falling on a pn-junction can be used to generate electricity from light energy (as in a solar cell) small devices used as sensors are called photodiodes fast acting, but the voltage produced is not linearly related to light intensity

A typical photodiode

Photoelectric Transducers
Photoconductive such devices do not produce electricity, but simply change their resistance photodiode (as described earlier) can be used in this way to produce a linear device phototransistors act like photodiodes but with greater sensitivity light-dependent resistors (LDRs) are slow, but respond like the human eye A light-dependent resistor (LDR)

RESISTIVE POSITION TRANSDUCER

Resistive position transducer

Known as POTENTIOMETER Uses electrical resistance as a means of measuring position. An electrical circuit is established between the two ends of the conductive strip of material, Figure 9. A constant voltage is applied across the conductive strip. A wiper moves along the strip, from which it picks up voltage.

Resistive position transducer

Voltage increases as the wiper moves closer to the positive end of the strip. The output of a resistive sensor is ratiometric to the voltage the user applies. Because resistive sensors are not generally provided with any form of signal conditioning electronics, the user is responsible for ensuring that appropriate electrical parameters are evaluated. These parameters include - but are not limited to excitation voltage, power dissipation, and wiper current, as it relates to the input impedance of the

References
http://www.brighthub.com/engineering/mec hanical/articles/42103.aspx