LAB TASK 2 : 1 (C ) CAPACITIVE SENSORS

Diagram of Capacitive Sensor

Capacitive Sensor

Principle
A combination of plates which can hold an electric charge is called a capacitor. The capacitor
may be characterized by q, the magnitude of charge on either conductors, and by V, the positive
potential difference between the conductors (Figure C1). The ratio of charge to voltage is
constant for each capacitor, and is called the capacitance (C) of the capacitor.

The capacitance of the parallel-plate capacitor is a function of the distance between the two
plates (d), the area of the plate (A), and the constant (k) of the dielectric which fills the space
between the plates. It can be expressed as

where epsilon is the permittivity constant.

Structure
A design of a gauging capacitive sensor is shown in Figure C2, where one plate of a capacitor is
connected to the central conductor of a coaxial cable, while the other plate is formed by a target.
The operating principle is based on either the geometry (i.e., the distance d), or capacitance
variations in the presence of conductive or dielectric materials.

Applications
This sensor can be employed for measuring position, displacement, gauging, or any other
similar parameter in a machine tool.
Capacitive sensors have a wide variety of uses. Some are
Flow--Many types of flow meters convert flow to pressure or displacement, using an
orifice for volume flow or Coriolis effect force for mass flow. Capacitive sensors can then
measure the displacement.
Pressure--A diaphragm with stable deflection properties can measure pressure with a
spacing-sensitive detector

 Liquid level --Capacitive liquid level detectors sense the liquid level in a reservoir by
measuring changes in capacitance between conducting plates which are immersed in the
liquid, or applied to the outside of a non-conducting tank.
Spacing--If a metal object is near a capacitor electrode, the mutual capacitance is a very
sensitive measure of spacing.

How Capacitive Sensor Work

Non contact capacitive sensors work by measuring changes in an electrical property

called capacitance. Capacitance describes how two conductive objects with a space
between them respond to a voltage difference applied to them.

Capacitance and Distance

Figure 1
Applying a voltage to conductive objects
causes positive and negative charges
to collect on each object.
This creates an electric field
in the space between the objects.
Noncontact capacitive sensors work by measuring changes in an electrical property called
capacitance. Capacitance describes how two conductive objects with a space between them
respond to a voltage difference applied to them. When a voltage is applied to the conductors, an
electric field is created between them causing positive and negative charges to collect on each
object (Fig. 1). If the polarity of the voltage is reversed, the charges will also reverse.

Figure 2

Applying an alternating voltage causes

the charges to move back and forth
between the objects, creating an alternating
current which is detected by the sensor.
Capacitive sensors use an alternating voltage which causes the charges to continually reverse
their positions. The moving of the charges creates an alternating electric current which is
detected by the sensor (Fig. 2). The amount of current flow is determined by the capacitance, and
the capacitance is determined by the area and proximity of the conductive objects. Larger and
closer objects cause greater current than smaller and more distant objects. The capacitance is also
affected by the type of nonconductive material in the gap between the objects.

Figure 3
Capacitance is determined by Area,
Distance, and Dielectric (the material
between the conductors). Capacitance
increases when Area or Dielectric
increase, and capacitance decreases
when the Distance increases.
Technically speaking, the capacitance is directly proportional to the surface area of the objects
and the dielectric constant of the material between them, and inversely proportional to the
distance between them
(Fig. 3).In typical capacitive sensing applications, the probe or sensor is one of the conductive
objects; the target object is the other. (Using capacitive sensors to sense plastics and other
insulators is discussed in the nonconductive targets section.) The sizes of the sensor and the
target are assumed to be constant as is the material between them. Therefore, any change in
capacitance is a result of a change in the distance between the probe and the target. The
electronics are calibrated to generate specific voltage changes for corresponding changes in
capacitance. These voltages are scaled to represent specific changes in distance. The amount of
voltage change for a given amount of distance change is called the sensitivity. A common
sensitivity setting is 1.0V/100m. That means that for every 100m change in distance, the
output voltage changes exactly 1.0V. With this calibration, a +2V change in the output means
that the target has moved 200m closer to the probe.