PARUL UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

Instrumentation & Sensor Technology (203104256) B. Tech. 2ndyear

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY

SENSOR & INSTRUMENTATION

TECHNOLOGY FOR CIVIL
ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS
(LABORATORY)

Subject Code (203104256)

4th SEMESTER
CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Laboratory Manual
 PARUL UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Instrumentation & Sensor Technology (203104256) B. Tech. 2ndyear

PREFACE

Instrumentation & Sensor Technology for Civil Engineering Applications - Laboratory (203104256) is a
new subject introduced in the curriculum of 4 th Semester, B.Tech Civil Engineering. This subject deals
with measurements and devices needed for updated information about structural behavior during its
lifetime. Hence, it is necessary to develop aptitude towards use of basic instruments and instrumentat ion
guidelines for application in construction industry and structural health monitoring for smart
infrastructure.

Students will get basic electronics laboratory knowledge to have realization of circuit and controller setup
required for gathering information about any structure. The practical planning includes ten laboratory
sessions dedicated towards various sensors and instrumentation required for civil applications viz. LVDT,
strain gauge, data acquisition system. The theory and practical knowledge about oscilloscope, LabView
software, multi-meter and potentiometers will help students be updated about the latest tools used in civil
infrastructure viz. bridges, railway junctions, load monitoring for beams, displacement of shear walls or
columns, age of concrete, corrosion protection, etc.

The practical sessions aim from information gathering about various sensors and variable parameters for
performance characteristics to advanced applications of each type of sensors. As the world is moving
towards smart infrastructure, the instrumentation plays important role which has now become major part
of Civil Engineering Works. Knowledge of sensors and basic instrumentation setup shall provide students
the background for application in any Civil related project.
 PARUL UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Instrumentation & Sensor Technology (203104256) B. Tech. 2ndyear

Instructions
1. Students shall complete their write-up of next concerned practical in advance. No laboratory work will be
graded if shown after one week of practical performance.
2. As the laboratory has sensitive instruments, students are informed to take care while using any device during
practical performance as he/she will have to bear the cost of damages.
3. All students shall come in laboratory on time and gossiping or wastage of time will cause absent during
laboratory hours.
4. All students will have to bring their laboratory manual and record book in all sessions, otherwise absent will be
marked for that student.
5. Good behavior and discipline is expected from all students during laboratory hours.
6. All students shall perform their practical by themselves as practice will help during practical performance stage.
7. If any student is missing more than two practical session, then that student is required to provide justification
for his/her absence from laboratory hours.
8. Students are expected to make models and test specimen for instrumentation setup arrangements and basic
monitoring scheme for a structure.
9. Students are expected to understand and explain about application of sensors through case study.
10. Diagrams shall be made neat and all practical shall have learning outcome mentioned at the end of practical.
 PARUL UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Instrumentation & Sensor Technology (203104256) B. Tech. 2ndyear

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that

Mr./Ms.…………………………………………………… with

enrolment no. …………………………has successfully completed his/her

laboratory experiments

in Surveying laboratory during the academic year…………

Signature of lab teacher: Signature of HOD:

Date:
 PARUL UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Instrumentation & Sensor Technology (203104256) B. Tech. 2ndyear

INDEX
Page Date of Date of Marks
Sr. No.
Experiment Title Perform Assessm (out of Sign
No.
From To ance ent 10)
TYPES OF SENSORS &
1.
THEIR APPLICATIONS
2. WHEATSTONE BRIDGE
STUDY AND
3.
CALIBRATION OF LVDT
MEASUREMENT OF
4. STRAIN USING STRAIN
GAUGE
STUDY OF
5. CHARACTERISTICS OF
LOAD CELL
STUDY OF
6. CHARACTERISTICS OF
TEMPERATURE SENSOR
INTRODUCTION TO
7.
LABVIEW SOFTWARE
INTERFACING DATA
ACQUISITION SYSTEM
8.
HARDWARE WITH
COMPUTER
INSTRUMENTATION SET-
9. UP FOR BEAM TESTING
USING SENSORS
APPLICATIONS OF
10. SENSORS FOR
EARTHQUAKE SAFETY
 PARUL UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Instrumentation & Sensor Technology (203104256) B. Tech. 2ndyear

PRACTICAL - 1
SENSORS & THEIR APPLICATIONS
AIM:
To gain information about types of sensors used for different purpose in civil applications.

INTRODUCTION:
A sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem whose purpose is to detect events or changes in its
environment and send the information to other electronics, frequently a computer processor. A sensor is always
used with other electronics.

Sensors are used in everyday objects such as touch-sensitive elevator buttons (tactile sensor) and lamps which
dim or brighten by touching the base, besides innumerable applications of which most people are never aware.
With advances in micromachinery and easy-to-use microcontroller platforms, the uses of sensors have expanded
beyond the traditional fields of temperature, pressure or flow measurement, for example into MARG sensors.
Moreover, analog sensors such as potentiometers and force-sensing resistors are still widely used. Applications
include manufacturing and machinery, airplanes and aerospace, cars, medicine, robotics and many other aspects
of our day-to-day life.

A sensor's sensitivity indicates how much the sensor's output changes when the input quantity being measured
changes. Due the increasing demand for rapid, affordable and reliable information in today's world, disposable
sensors—low-cost and easy‐to‐use devices for short‐term monitoring or single‐shot measurements—have
recently gained growing importance. Using this class of sensors, critical analytical information can be obtained
by anyone, anywhere and at any time, without the need for recalibration and worrying about contamination.

Most sensors have a linear transfer function. The sensitivity is then defined as the ratio between the output signal
and measured property. For example, if a sensor measures temperature and has a voltage output, the sensitivity
is a constant with the units [V/K]. The sensitivity is the slope of the transfer function. Converting the sensor's
electrical output (for example V) to the measured units (for example K) requires dividing the electrical output by
the slope (or multiplying by its reciprocal). For an analog sensor signal to be processed, or used in digital
equipment, it needs to be converted to a digital signal, using an analog-to-digital converter.

Since sensors cannot replicate an ideal transfer function, several types of deviations can occur which limit sensor
accuracy:

• Since the range of the output signal is always limited, the output signal will eventually reach a minimum
or maximum when the measured property exceeds the limits. The full scale range defines the maximum
and minimum values of the measured property.
• The sensitivity may in practice differ from the value specified. This is called a sensitivity error. This is an
error in the slope of a linear transfer function.
• If the output signal differs from the correct value by a constant, the sensor has an offset error or bias. This
is an error in the y-intercept of a linear transfer function.
• Nonlinearity is deviation of a sensor's transfer function from a straight line transfer function. Usually, this
is defined by the amount the output differs from ideal behavior over the full range of the sensor, often
noted as a percentage of the full range.
 PARUL UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Instrumentation & Sensor Technology (203104256) B. Tech. 2ndyear

• Deviation caused by rapid changes of the measured property over time is a dynamic error. Often, this
behavior is described with a bode plot showing sensitivity error and phase shift as a function of the
frequency of a periodic input signal.
• If the output signal slowly changes independent of the measured property, this is defined as drift. Long
term drift over months or years is caused by physical changes in the sensor.
• Noise is a random deviation of the signal that varies in time.
• A hysteresis error causes the output value to vary depending on the previous input values. If a sensor's
output is different depending on whether a specific input value was reached by increasing vs. decreasing
the input, then the sensor has a hysteresis error.
• If the sensor has a digital output, the output is essentially an approximation of the measured property. This
error is also called quantization error.
• If the signal is monitored digitally, the sampling frequency can cause a dynamic error, or if the input
variable or added noise changes periodically at a frequency near a multiple of the sampling rate, aliasing
errors may occur.
• The sensor may to some extent be sensitive to properties other than the property being measured. For
example, most sensors are influenced by the temperature of their environment.

All these deviations can be classified as systematic errors or random errors. Systematic errors can sometimes be
compensated for by means of some kind of calibration strategy. Noise is a random error that can be reduced by
signal processing, such as filtering, usually at the expense of the dynamic behavior of the sensor.

The resolution of a sensor is the smallest change it can detect in the quantity that it is measuring. The resolution
of a sensor with a digital output is usually the resolution of the digital output. The resolution is related to the
precision with which the measurement is made, but they are not the same thing. A sensor's accuracy may be
considerably worse than its resolution. The sensor may to some extent be sensitive to properties other than the
property being measured. For example, most sensors are influenced by the temperature of their environment.

TYPES OF SENSORS:
1. A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground motions, such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, and explosions. Seismometers are usually combined with a timing device and a recording
device to form a seismograph. The output of such a device—formerly recorded on paper (see picture) or
film, now recorded and processed digitally—is a seismogram. Such data is used to locate and characterize
earthquakes, and to study the Earth's internal structure.

Figure 1 – Seismometer
 PARUL UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Instrumentation & Sensor Technology (203104256) B. Tech. 2ndyear

2. The linear variable differential transformer (LVDT) (also called linear variable displacement transformer,
linear variable displacement transducer, or simply differential transformer) is a type of electrical
transformer used for measuring linear displacement (position). The LVDT converts a position or linear
displacement from a mechanical reference (zero or null position) into a proportional electrical signal
containing phase (for direction) and amplitude (for distance) information.
The LVDT operation does not require an electrical contact between the moving part (probe or core
assembly) and the coil assembly, but instead relies on electromagnetic coupling. Even if the power is
switched off, on restarting it, the LVDT shows the same measurement, and no positional information is
lost. Its biggest advantages are repeatability and reproducibility once it is properly configured. Also, apart
from the uni-axial linear motion of the core, any other movements such as the rotation of the core around
the axis will not affect its measurements.
An LVDT Displacement Transducer comprises 3 coils; a primary and two secondaries. The transfer of
current between the primary and the secondaries of the LVDT displacement transducer is controlled by
the position of a magnetic core called an armature. On our position measurement LVDTs, the two
transducer secondaries are connected in opposition. At the centre of the position measurement stroke, the
two secondary voltages of the displacement transducer are equal but because they are connected in
opposition the resulting output from the sensor is zero.
As the LVDTs armature moves away from centre, the result is an increase in one of the position sensor
secondaries and a decrease in the other. This results in an output from the measurement sensor. With
LVDTs, the phase of the output (compared with the excitation phase) enables the electronics to know
which half of the coil the armature is in. The strength of the LVDT sensor's principle is that there is no
electrical contact across the transducer position sensing element which for the user of the sensor means
clean data, infinite resolution and a very long life.

3. A load cell is a type of transducer, specifically a force transducer. It converts a force such as tension,
compression, pressure, or torque into an electrical signal that can be measured and standardized. As the
force applied to the load cell increases, the electrical signal changes proportionally. The most common
types of load cell used are hydraulic, pneumatic, and strain gauge.

Figure 2 – Load cell or Force sensor

4. A strain gauge is a device used to measure strain on an object. Invented by Edward E. Simmons and
Arthur C. Ruge in 1938, the most common type of strain gauge consists of an insulating flexible backing
which supports a metallic foil pattern. The gauge is attached to the object by a suitable adhesive, such as
cyanoacrylate. As the object is deformed, the foil is deformed, causing its electrical resistance to change.
This resistance change, usually measured using a Wheatstone bridge, is related to the strain by the quantity
known as the Gauge factor. When the shape of the strain gauge is altered, a change in its electrical
resistance occurs. The wire or foil in the strain gauge is arranged in a way that, when force is applied in
one direction, a linear change in resistance results. Tension force stretches a strain gauge, causing it to get
thinner and longer, resulting in an increase in resistance. Compression force does the opposite. The strain
gauge compresses, becomes thicker and shorter, and resistance decreases. A set of 4 strain gauges set in
 PARUL UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Instrumentation & Sensor Technology (203104256) B. Tech. 2ndyear

a specific circuit is called Wheatstone bridge.

Figure 3 - Visualization of the working concept behind the strain gauge on a beam under exaggerated bending

5. A piezoelectric sensor is a device that uses the piezoelectric effect to measure changes in pressure,
acceleration, temperature, strain, or force by converting them to an electrical charge. The prefix piezo- is
Greek for 'press' or 'squeeze'.

Figure 4 – Piezo-electric sensor

6. The wireless sensors offer a simple, cloud-based solution to concrete maturity monitoring in accordance
with ASTM C1074. In an industry that’s still heavily dependent on traditional strength testing methods
(i.e. cylinder breaks)—which are destructive, slow, expensive, and often unreliable - sensors aims to
introduce more efficient and environmentally friendly alternatives to concrete testing.
Eg: SmartRock2 is a rugged waterproof wireless sensor that allows real-time temperature and maturity
monitoring of concrete. The sensor is placed in the concrete formwork (installed on the rebar) before
pouring. Sensors are tied to reinforcing steel within the slab or formwork which enables wireless and
continuous monitoring of concrete temperature and strength. This is critical to achieve the design life of
the concrete structure. The sensor uses Bluetooth technology to transmit data that can be read with an
Android IOS smartphone app. The app draws on data stored in the cloud to analyse the performance of
the concrete.

Figure 5 – concrete sensor

 PARUL UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Instrumentation & Sensor Technology (203104256) B. Tech. 2ndyear

LEARNING OUTCOME:

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QUESTIONS:

1. Explain how tiltmeter is used in civil construction industry.

2. Explain the characteristics of sensors.
3. Explain how temperature in concrete can be monitored using smart sensors.