Typical examples of Measurement

Typical Control Loop

Process Transducer Transmitter Control System

Final Control Element

VARIOUS PROCESS PARAMETERS:
Temperature
Pressure
Flow
Level
Humidity
Force
Torque
Displacement
Velocity
Acceleration
Viscosity
PH
• What is transducer?
• Consists of two Elements
• Sensing
• Transduction
• Classification
• Selection Criteria
• Characteristics
• Resistive transducer
• Capacitive transducer
• Inductive transducer
• Piezoelectric transducer
 What is transducer?
A transducer is a device which convert one form of energy into another form of
energy.
One form of energy

Non-Electrical

TRANSDUCER

Another form of energy

Electrical
 It consists of two Elements
• Sensing
• Transduction

Sensing Transduction

Ques: Is there any difference between sensor

and transducer? Understand with the help of
examples.
 Transducer v/s sensor
Sr. No Transducer Sensor
1 Transducer coverts one form of Sensor also does the same thing but
energy into other output energy in most of the
applications is ‘electric’. A compass is a
simple sensor of magnetic north,
wherein the magnetic element in the
compass is the transducer
2 Thus every transducer is sensor But reverse is not true Sometimes in a
Conversion accuracy is important. sensor, there is no conversion at all.
Sensitivity is important
3 Transducer requires signal Sensor does not
conditioning
4 Transducer when used in feedback Sensor only senses the input quantity
can give its own output and unable to give feedback
5 Eg: microphone, LVDT Eg: Loudspeaker, thermometer
 Classification of Transducer
• Primary and Secondary
• Active and Passive
• Transducer and Inverse Transducer
• Contact and Non-Contact
• Analog and Digital
Primary and Secondary transducer

Physical Parameter Desired Output

Transducer

Physical Parameter Desired Output

Transducer 1 Transducer 2
 Examples
• Primary Transducer
• LVDT
• Piezoelectric transducer
• Secondary Transducer
• Bourdon tube with LVDT

IMP: There is no transducer which is defined as primary or

secondary, it depends on their use.
 LVDT and Bourdon Tube
Bourdon tube: primary sensing
LVDT : secondary conversion
 Active and Passive Transducer
• A transducer which do not require an external
power and produce an output in some physical
form of energy
– Piezoelectric transducer
– Thermocouple
– Photovoltaic cell

• A transducer which require an external power

and produce an output in some physical form of
energy (R,L,C type)
– Slide wire resistor (Potentiometer circuit)
– LVDT
Transducer and Inverse Transducer
• Transducer converts non-electrical quantity to electrical
quantity
• Inverse transducer converts electrical to non-electrical
quantity

Any Example?
Do not relate it to actuator?
A Piezoelectric crystal : an inverse transducer

Mechanical Stress

Piezoelectric
Material
Output
Voltage

Plate Mechanical Stress

Ques.: This is used in a daily life application can you figure

out?
 Contact and Non-Contact Transducer
• Transducer which is in contact with the quantity
to be measured is contact type transducer
– Thermocouple
– Thermistor

• Transducer which is not in contact with the

quantity to be measured is non-contact type
transducer
– Tachometer
– Shaft Encoder
– Pyrometer
 Analog and Digital Transducer

• Analog transducer converts input quantity into

analog output signal
– LVDT
– Thermocouple

• Digital transducer converts input quantity into

digital output signal
– Shaft encoder
 Selection Criteria of a Transducer
• What is the physical quantity to be measured?
• Which transducer principle can best be used to measure this
quantity?
• What is the:
• Accuracy
• reproducibility
• Linearity
• Time lag
• Availability and Price
• What is the effect of :
• Temperature
• Magnetic field, Vibration, Dust, Humidity etc
• What is recognition, sensing and insensitivity?
• Very imp: Not alter the quantity to be measured
 Transducer characteristics
• Input characteristics :
1. Type of input & operating range
2. Input Impedance
• Output characteristics:
1. Type of output & useful range
2. Output Impedance
• Transfer characteristics:
1. Transfer function
2. Sensitivity
3. Error
4. Frequency Response
 Resistive Transducer

• Resistive transducer simply works on the principle of ohm’s law:

For a conductor wire of length L, cross section area A and
resistivity ρ the resistance R is given as

R = ρ L/A ohm
 = resistivity of material (-m)
L = length of specimen (m)
A = cross sectional area of specimen (m2)

If any of these ρ, L or A change then there will be a change in

resistance. The change in resistance can be measured with the
help of suitable resistance measurement techniques.
Although above relation holds only when temperature
conditions are constant and stable, but this doesn’t limit the
use of resistive principles. Rather it gives other useful devices
to be used for temperature sensing.
The best advantage of using resistive principles is its simplicity,
easy availability and very simple signal conditioning.
Some commonly used resistive transducers are
1. Potentiometer
2. Strain gauge
3. RTD
4. Thermistor
5. IC sensors and many more
 Resistive Potentiometer
It simple works on the principle of change in length of wire so as to
change the resistance.

Vs Xt
Xi

As the position of wiper changes the resistance also changes

subsequently change in output voltage. Thus output voltage is a
function of length of resistance of POT.
Let the total length of the pot is Xt and wiper is positioned at length
Xi then the output voltage across the wiper terminal can be
expressed as
 Vo = Xi / Xt Vs and other wise it can also be written as V o = Ri /Rp Vs
Vo / Vs = Xi / Xt = Ri /Rp = K = sensitivity
the above relation shows that the potentiometer output is a linear
function of its input.

Vomax

Xt
Wiper position
But the linearity is maintained only when the meter connected is of ideal
nature otherwise the output starts degrading due to loading effect.
This is called as loading error and the characteristics then become non
linear.
 Types of POT

The potentiometers are of three types

i) Linear
ii) Angular/Rotary
iii) Helical/Transrotary/multiturn

The potentiometers are primarily used for voltage distribution

function in electronic circuits however in the limited range they
can also be used to measure linear/angular displacements.
 Advantages and limitations
• Advantages
i) inexpensive
ii) simple to operate
iii) large displacements can be measured
iv) high electrical efficiency
• Disadvantage
i) large force to move sliding contact
ii) contamination, misalignment, wear and tear
iii) limited life

Ques.: If two adjacent turns are shorted due to any means than
will it affect the performance of pot?
 elementary problems and solutions
1. A 300o span circular potentiometer is wound with a resistance of 10 kΩ.
If at any wiper position, the resistance measured is 3.3 kΩ, what is the
position of wiper from potentiometer maximum?
2. A linear resistance pot is 50 mm long and is uniformly wound with a wire
having a resistance of 10 kΩ.The slider is at the center of the pot, find
the linear displacement when the resistance of the potentiometer as
measured by wheat stone bridge for two cases is: i) 3850 Ω ii) 7560 Ω
comment upon result.
3. A resistive potentiometer divider R1 R2 with a resistance of 5 kΩ and a
shaft stroke of 125 mm is used in the arrangement. The potentiometer
R3R4 also has 5 kΩ resistance and supply voltage 5V. Initially the wiper
position is such that R1 = R2. at the start of test R3R4 is adjusted so that
the bridge is balanced and output = 0. Assuming that the displacement
input moves the wiper towards R1 for 12.5 mm what is the new output?
4.
 What is Strain Gauge Actually?

It is a device for measurement of dimensional change on the

surface of a structural member under test and it is based on
piezo-resistive effect.
What is Piezo
Resistive Effect
Then?
What are the types of Stress and Strain?

Stress Strain

Tensile Compressive Longitudi Lateral

nal

What is the difference between Stress and Pressure?

Change in resistivity of any wire/piece due to application of stress is known as
piezo resistive effect. Please note here that Piezo-resistive Effect ≠ Piezoelectric Effect

Lets understand in a wider

sense:-

 = resistivity of material (-m)

L L = length of specimen (m)
R   A = cross sectional area of
Ac specimen (m2)
Strain Gauge Sensitivity or Gauge Factor (λ, k or f)

λ
Which is also represented
mathematically by,
λ

Where dL/L is known as strain (ε) and it is decided by the application

of stress (σ) , ρ represents resistivity and υ represents poison's ratio.
Applications of Strain Gauges

 Load Cell and Strain Gauge Combination

used to measure Load/Force
 In Acceleration Measurement
 In Torque Measurement
 In Displacement Measurement
 In Determination of experimental stress and
strain analysis
Applications at a Glance

Force Torque
Measurement Measurement
Question

Q. Which of the following quantities can not be measured using strain

gauges?

A. Displacement
B. Pressure
C. Force
D. Temperature
Types of Resistance Strain Gauge
1. Unbounded (Generally unpopular due to very small
range of measurement)
2. Bonded (More popular due to various advantages)
Etched Foil Gauge (Metal Foil Gauge)
Wire type flat grid (Metal wire Gauge)
Diffused Semiconductor Gauge
Construction

• Bonded Gauges require three things

• Gauge Wire
• Backing Material
• Adhesives
Materials used and Dimensional Specifications

•Materials:-
1.Nickel
2.Platinum
3.Copper
4.Tungsten
5.K –monel
•Dimensions:- length 10-50mm , diameter: 5-12 mm,
•Resistance: 100, 120, 240, 600, 1000 10000 (ohms)
•VIMP note: measures average strain around the length
Signal Conditioning of Strain Gauge:-
Most commercial strain gages have nominal resistance as120 W, a gauge factor of about 2,
and can measure 1 micro-strain (1 part in a million).
1 R

F R
R  120  2 1E  6  0.00024

Clearly, our work is cut out for us in terms of the measurement. Hence
for measuring the resulting resistance changes two methods can be
 used.
1. Ballast Circuit or 2. Wheatstone Bridge.
The later one is more sensitive and gives very good accuracy.
 Capacitive Transducer

 The capacitance of a parallel-plate

capacitor is given by

 o A
C
d
ε = dielectric constant
εo = 8.85 x 10-12, farad per meter
A = the area of the plate, square meter
d = the plate spacing meter
 Capacitive Transducer
Capacitive transducers
work on three principles :
i) Change in overlapping
area of plates
ii) Change in distance
b/w plates
iii)Change in relative
permittivity of
medium
Capacitive Transducers – Variable
Distance
C(x) = εA/x = εrε0A/x
where ε = dielectric const. or permittivity
εr = relative dielectric const.
ε0 = dielectric const. of vacuum
x = distance of the plates in m
A = effective area of the plates in m2

The sensitivity of capacitance to changes in plate

separation is:
S = dC/dx = -εrε0A/x2 = Sensitivity is a function of ‘x’
Capacitive Transducer- Variable Area
As C = εrε0A/d
C = εrε0(wx)/d
where w = width
x = length of overlapping part of the
plate
S = dC/dx = εrε0 w/d = constant
Capacitive transducers – Variable Area
angular displacement measurement
 As C = εrε0A/d
Also C = εrε0πr2 /2d
At an angle Ө
C = εrε0 Ө r2 /2d
Sensitivity
S = dC/dӨ = εrε0 r2/2d = Constant
Variable Permittivity
 Differential Arrangement

Differential arrangements are employed to get the output

proportional to the change and hence to improve the signal
strength via an instrumentation amplifier.
 Signal conditioning and application

An AC bridge to get the voltage output

proportional to change in capacitance

Primarily used for measurement of linear and rotary displacements, also used for force,
pressure and proximity sensing applications
Ques.: Which type of voltmeters are needed? And why?
 Advantages and Limitation
• Advantages:-
i) Very good sensitivity for small displacement sensing in the um range
ii) Free from electromagnetic interference
iii) Capacitive principle is best suited for differential pressure measurement
iv) Improved frequency response for dynamic displacement sensing

• Limitations:
i) Not suitable for large displacements
ii) Electrostatic screening is required
iii) Shielding and grounding is required
 Elementary problems and solutions
1. A capacitive transducer uses two quartz diaphragm of area 750mm 2 separated by
a distance of 3.5 mm. A pressure of 900 KN/m2 when applied to the top
diaphragm produces a deflection of 0.6 mm the capacitance is 370 pF when no
pressure is applied what is the capacitance after the application of pressure?
2. A capacitive transducer is made up of two concentric cylindrical electrodes. The
outer diameter of inner electrode is 3 mm and inner diameter of outer electrode
is 3.1 mm. the length of electrode is 20 mm. Calculate i) the change in
capacitance if the inner electrode is moved through a distance of 2 mm. ii) if 100
V is applied across the electrodes then what is the breakdown strength of
capacitor in kV/mm? Is it in safe limits?
3. A parallel plate capacitive transducer is designed using variable dielectric
principle. The width of plate is 25mm and distance between them is is 5mm if a
dielectric strip of dielectric constant 6.5 is moved between the plates through a
distance of 3 mm then what is the change in capacitance due to the strip?
 Answers

1. 446.5 pF
2. i) 3.4 pF, ii) 2KV/mm, safe
3. 0.730 pF
 Inductive Transducer
• Inductance L of a conductor having N turns, length l and cross
section area A and relative permeability as u is given as
L = μrμ0 N2 A /l Henry
μ0 = Absolute permeability = 4π ͯ10-7 H/m
μr = relative permeability of material
Thus inductive transducers are of many types some of the
important are:
i) Change in self inductance L
ii) Change in mutual inductance M
iii) Change in reluctance
Inductive transducers
 LVDT (Linear Variable Differential
Transformer)

External stainless steel casing

Movable soft iron core

Construction of LVDT
LVDT circuit diagram
LVDT AC output and transfer curve
 LVDT output voltage in terms of core and coil dimensions

16 3 fI p n p ns .2bx 2
x
V0  9
[1  2
]
10 ln( r0 / ri ).3w 2b

Where f = Excitation frequency

Ip = Excitation current, b = width of primary coil,
npns = no. of turns on primary & secondary coil
rori = outer & inner radii of coil
w = width of secondary coil, x = core displacement
 LVDT Signal Conditioning

Block diagram for measuring Practical equivalent circuit: Note:

differential output, A PSD is always ignore coil capacitances for
needed to determine correct polarity analysis
and direction.

Ques. : Which type of voltmeters are used? And why?

: What if two secondary windings are not identical?
LVDT Advantages and Limitation & applications

• Advantages
– High range and Ruggedness
– Friction and Electrical Isolation
– Immunity from external effects
– High output and high sensitivity

• Disadvantages
– Sometimes affected by vibrations
– Sensitive to stray magnetic fields
– Large displacement for appreciable difference output

As a primary transducer it is used to measure linear displacements

and as a secondary transducer it can measure pressure, flow,
force, acceleration.
 Rotary Variable Differential Transformer

Its working is similar to LVDT . Only

difference is the motion of core which is
rotational here. Typically used for the
angular motion sensing in the range of +/- 45
degrees. Finds application in aircrafts,
missiles, airplanes navigation systems.
 Elementary Problems and solutions
1. An ac LVDT has the following data : Input Excitation = 6.3V, Output voltage = 5.2
V range +/- 0.5 inch. i) calculate the output voltage v/s core position for a core
movement from +0.45 inch to -0.30 inch. ii) the output voltage when the core is
at -0.25 inch from the center.
2. The output of an LVDT is connected to a 5 V voltmeter through an amplifier
whose amplification factor is 250. An output of 2 mV appears when the core is
moved through a distance of 0.5 mm. i) what is the sensitivity of LVDT ? ii) what is
the sensitivity of overall setup? iii) The voltmeter scale has 100 divisions and the
scale can read 1/5 of a division certainly. What is the resolution of instrument in
mm?
3. If the coil as shown in the figure has an inductance
of 1.5 mH when the air gap is 1mm, obtain the
inductance when the air gap reduces by 0.01 mm.
 Answers

1. i) 4.68 V to -3.12 V, ii) 2.6 V

2. i) 4 mV/mm, ii) 1000 mV/mm, iii) 0.01 mm
3. 1.515 mH
 Piezoelectric Effect
• “When certain solid materials are deformed,
they generate within them an electric charge ,
the effect is reversible and thus if a charge is
applied the material will mechanically deform
in response.”
• In 1880 curie brothers discovered the direct
piezoelectric effect in certain solid crystalline
dielectric substances such as quartz.
• Note: Piezoelectric effect ≠ Piezoresistive effect
 Piezoelectric Transducer
• Crystal material at rest: No forces applied, so
net current flow is 0

Crystal

+-+-+-

Ameter
=0

Charges cancel +-+-+-

each other, so
no current flow
 A pushing force: A pulling force:
(compression) (tension)
+ -
+ - + -

+ +
- -

- -
+ +
+
-
- Represents oxygen atom + Represents silicon atom
 Piezoelectric Transducer Continue……

• Crystal material with forces applied in

direction of arrows

Crystal

-----

Force

Ameter
+++++
deflects in +
direction
 Piezoelectric Transducer Continue……

• Changing the direction of the applied force

Crystal

++++

Force
Ameter
deflects in -
----- direction
The magnitude and direction of charge induced on the
crystal is proportional to the magnitude and direction of
force
Qp = d ͯ F;
d = charge sensitivity in C/N
Y = stress/strain
= (F/A)/(dt/t) = young’s modulus of elasticity (N/m2)
Or F = AYdt/t
Also Vo = Qp/Cp; Cp=capacitance between electrode And it
can also be given by,C = εrε0A/t
Hence, Vo = dFt/εrε0A Or Vo = gtp ;
g = voltage sensitivity in Vm/N and g = d/εrε0
 Types of Crystals
• Natural Crystals: Quartz, Tourmaline, Ceramics
– Low electrical leakage
– Work at high temperature
– Sustained shocks
• Synthetic Crystals: Rochellesalt, Lithium Sulphate, ammonium
dihydrogen phosphate (ADP), Ethylene diamine tatrate (EDT)
– 1000 times more sensitive than natural crystal
– Exhibit much higher output for applied stress than
natural crystal
• Ceramics = Barium Titanate is a ferroelectric crystal
do not posses piezoelectric property by its own but
after a special polarization treatment it starts acting
like a piezoelectric crystal.
• A piezo electric material must have following
properties:
1) High output
2) Stable frequency
3) Ability to be formed in various shapes and size
4) should not be sensitive to humidity and
temperature.
 Signal conditioning and applications

Piezo electric
crystal

Connecting Amplifier
cable
Since piezo crystal develops charges it can be represented by a combination of charge
source and a capacitor, the connecting cable also offers some capacitance and the
amplifier has input impedance in in terms of capacitor and resistor. Analysis has shown
that the response is generated only for dynamic inputs.
 Applications of Piezoelectric Crystal

Piezo Crystal
Pressure sensor
Force sensor

Piezoelectric crystal finds application in

almost all field of engineering
1) Generation of ultrasound
2) Force, acceleration, pressure and flow
measurements
3) Generation of frequency in crystal
oscillator Crystal Oscillator
 Some elementary problems:
1. A quartz pressure transducer has sensitivity of 80 X 10 -12 C/bar. An
output voltage of 1.2V is produced when crystal is subjected to
pressure of 3.5 bar. Find the capacitance of the device.
2. A force of 8N is impressed upon a piezoelectric crystal having
dimensions of 6mm X 6mm X 1.5mm thick. For crystal materials,
charge sensitivity is 140pC/N, permittivity is 12 X 10-9 F/m and
modulus of elasticity is 11.5 X 106 N/m2. Calculate i) voltage
generated ii) capacitance and iii) strain induced in the crystal.
3. A piezoelectric crystal having dimensions of 5mmX5mmX1.5mm
& a voltage sensitivity of 0.055Vm/N is used for force
measurement. Calculate the force if the voltage developed is 100V.
4. A quartz crystal having a thickness of 2mm and a voltage
sensitivity of 0.05V-m/N is subjected to a pressure of 15X105 N/m2.
Calculate the voltage developed by the piezo-electric pick up. If
permittivity of quartz is 40.6X10-12 F/m, calculate its charge
sensitivity.
 Answers

1. 233.33 pF
2. voltage =3.88 volt, capacitance= 288.65 F, strain= 0.019m/m
3. 30.3N
4. 1.5 v and 2.03 pC/N
 Some Important Points
Transducer Resistive Inductive Capacitive Piezoelectric
Principle Change of Change of self, Change of Development
resistance due to mutual capacitance of charge due
p, L or A inductance or due to A, d and to application
reluctance ϵ of force.
Signal Wheatstone Phase sensitive Capacitance Charge
Conditioning bridge demodulator bridge amplifier
circuit
Applications Displacement, Displacement, Displacement, Displacements,
pressure, temp force, pressure, force,
acceleration, sound, acceleration,
proximity proximity flow, level
Examples POT, RTD LVDT, RVDT DPT, Ultrasound Tx
Microphone and Rx

In addition to the above signal conditioning circuits Instrumentation amplifier play a

major role for extraction and processing of transducer output signal since most of the
transducers generate very low magnitude signal. It must be noted that some other
electronic circuits such as I-V & V-I converter, level shifter, rectifiers are always
there in the process of making signal / waveform to be useful for the controller.