Sensors For Measurement of Physical Quantities

SENSORS FOR MEASUREMENT
OF PHYSICAL QUANTITIES
Dr. RM.KUPPAN CHETTY

M.Tech (Sensors), Ph.D (Robotics-IITM)
Disclaimer
Pictures and support materials used are open source information from various
references and online sources. The information in this presentation was compiled
from sources believed to be reliable for informational purposes and non
commercial use only.
Outcomes
• Students are able to
– Differentiate various sensors used for measurement of physical
quantities based on their construction and working principle
– Comprehend different sensors used for the measurement of
physical quantities
– Identify suitable sensors for the measurement of quantities
appropriately
– Discuss the use of signal conditioning in mechatronic systems
and explain their working principle
– Explain the need and principles of ADC and DAC.
– Identify the commonly used data presentation elements and
appreciate the use of data loggers
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Sensors – Physical quantities
• DISPLACEMENT, POSITION AND PROXIMITY

• VELOCITY, MOTION AND FORCE
• TEMPERATURE AND LIGHT
• SIGNAL CONDITIONING
• ADC & DAC
• SELECTION OF SENSORS
SENSORS for Displacement Position and Proximity
Introduction
Potentiometers
• Mechanically variable potential dividers.
• Consist of a resistive track and a movable
wiper contact which samples the potential
at a point along the track.
Potentiometer - Sensor
• One of the common sensors used for position measurements
• Relates the change in position (linear of rotary) into change
in resistance
For rotary potentiometer
R1T VoutputT
1  
RT Vsupply
For linear potentiometer


R1LT Voutput LT
L1  
RT Vsupply
Contd.
Output is proportional to the angular position of the shaft
Potentiometer Example
A potentiometer has a supply voltage of +6V. The total rotary movement of
the potentiometer is 330˚. If the slider voltage is zero when the
potentiometer is turned fully counter clockwise how far has the
potentiometer shaft been rotated when the slider voltage is +2V?
R1T VoutputT
1  
RT Vsupply
Ans: 1 = 110

LVDT as liquid level measurement
EDDY CURRENT SENSOR
• Eddy currents are loops of electrical
current induced within conductors by a
changing magnetic field in the conductor
according to Faraday's law of induction.
currents look like Eddies or whirlpools in a
wire forming soloneid.
• Has an active coil (Sensor Coil) and a balance (Reference) coil.

• The active coil senses the presence of a nearby conductive object, and balance coil
is used to balance the output bridge circuit and for temperature compensation.
• If a coil is supplying an alternating magnetic field is in close proximity to a metal
object, then an eddy current is produced in the object which in turn produces a
magnetic field.
• Impedance of the coil changes and so the amplitude of the alternating current
• Used for detection of non-magnetic but conductive material
the induced eddy currents
generate an opposing
magnetic field
Applications?
6 – Inductive Proximity Sensor
 Consist of a coil wound a core
 When the end of the coil is close to a
metal object its inductance changes
 This change is monitored by its effect on a
resonant circuit or a trigger switch
Used for detection of metal objects and is
best with ferrous metals
Faradays law of induction
Inductive Proximity Switch Circuit Diagram
• Contains a certain type of solid-state Inductive Proximity Switch

control system.
• It contains an oscillator circuit that
generates a high-frequency magnetic field.
• When the metal object enters the field, it
disturbs the magnetic field, this disturbance
results in a change of state in the high-
frequency circuit.
Incremental Encoder (contd.)
 Generates a pulse for each
incremental step in it's rotation
 The most common type of
incremental encoder uses two output
channels (A and B) positioned 90°
out of phase to sense position.
 If A leads B, for example, the disk is rotating in a clockwise direction.

 If B leads A, then the disk is rotating in a counter-clockwise direction.
 Therefore, by monitoring both the number of pulses and the relative phase of
signals A and B, you can track both the position and direction of rotation.
 Some quadrature detectors include a third output channel, called a zero or
reference signal, which supplies a single pulse per revolution. This single pulse can
be used for precise determination of a reference position
Bi Metallic Strip Temperature Sensor:
• Two basic principles of operation is
to be followed in the case of a
bimetallic sensor.
• A metal tends to undergo a
volumetric dimensional change
(expansion/contraction), according
to the change in temperature.
• Different metals have different co-
efficient of temperatures.
• Rate of volumetric change depends
on this co-efficient of temperature.
• At room temperature the strip is flat
• Amount of deflection proportional
to sensed heat.
VISION SENSOR
• Use images captured by a camera to
determine presence, orientation, and accuracy
of parts
• Able to distinguish shapes and colours
• Combine a camera’s ability to take pictures
with the processing power of a computer to
make decisions about the position, quality,
and completeness of a manufactured part or
product.
CAMERA Vs VISION SENSORS
SL.No CAMERA VISION SENSOR
1 No specific Resolution. Fixed Resolution

(adjusts automatically to the view
size)
2 Need a Call back mechanism to Accessed via API and Image

have its content Image processing processing filters.
not supported
3 No CPU time and online Needs more CPU times and operates
processing slower than camera
4 Can display all object types Can only display renderable objects.
i.e. shapes, paths etc..
VISION SENSOR
• Include a library of software tools that perform different types of
inspections, and delivering multiple pass/fail results from a single acquired
image.
• Can handle multiple inspection points per target.
• Can also detect their targets by pattern, feature, and color.
• Can detect specific parts within a very wide region of interest, and can do so
dynamically as the part moves along the line.
VISION SENSOR COMPONENTS
• Lighting - Illuminates the part being inspected
• Lens - Captures the image and presents it to the sensor in the form of light
• Image Sensor- Converts light into a digital image which is then sent to the
processor for analysis.
• Vision Processing Tools - Processes and optimizes an image for analysis;
• Communication Protocols
• Controllers
Vision sensor types and mode of operation
 Orthographic projection-type: the field of view of orthographic
projection-type vision sensors is rectangular. They are well suited for
close-range infrared sensors, or laser range finders.
 Perspective projection-type: the field of view of perspective
projection-type vision sensors is trapezoidal. They are well suited for
camera-type sensors.
Orthogonal projection-type and perspective projection-type vision sensors

Vision sensor applications
Signal Conditioning
 Signals from sensors do not have
suitable characteristics for display,
recording, transmission and further
processing
 Signals need to be processed to make
suitable for next stage of processing
 Ex. Thermistor - Change in
resistance -> change in voltage
 Signal conditioning circuits are
used to process the output signal
from sensors of a measurement
system to be suitable for the next
stage of operation
Signal Conditioning (contd.)
Op-Amp as Comparator
Output indicates which of the two inputs is high when used with no feed
back connection
Op-Amp Configurations
 By adding more input resistors to either the inverting or non-inverting

inputs Voltage Adders or Summers can be made.
 Voltage follower op-amps can be added to the inputs of Differential amplifiers to
produce high impedance Instrumentation amplifiers.
 The Differential Amplifier produces an output that is proportional to the
difference between the two input voltages.
Op-Amp Configurations
• The Integrator Amplifier produces an output that is the mathematical operation

of integration.
• The Differentiator Amplifier produces an output that is the mathematical
operation of differentiation.
• Both the Integrator and Differentiator Amplifiers have a resistor and capacitor
connected across the op-amp and are affected by its RC time constant.
INSTRUMENTATION AMPLIFIER
• Very high gain differential amplifiers with High Input Impedance and single ended
output
• CMRR is very high – 100bB at DC
• Used to amplify very small differential signals from strain gauges, thermocouples
or current sensing devices in motor control systems
• Two non-inverting amplifiers

as buffers
• One differential amplifier
• Eliminates the need of
Impedance matching
Wheatstone Bridge Light Detector
VR1 = 22K or 47K potentiometer
DATA CONVERTERS
• Most data are available in the form of analog in nature.
• Converter which converts the digital data in to analog data is called analog to
digital to analog converter (ADC)
• Converter which converts digital to analog is called as DAC.
Analogue to Digital Converter (ADC)
 Converts Analogue Signal to Digital Signal
 ADC process
 There are mainly two steps involves in the
process of conversion.
They are Sampling and Holding
Quantizing and Encoding
Analogue to Digital Converter (ADC) (Contd..)
Sampling and Holding (S&H)
• continuous signal will gets sampled and freeze (hold) the value at a
steady level for a particular least period of time
• minimum sampling rate has to be two times the maximum data
frequency of the input signal
Quantizing - breaking down analog value is a set of finite states

Encoding - assigning a digital word or number to each state and matching it to the
input signal
Quantizing
• Example:
You have 0-10V signals. Separate
them into a set of discrete states
with 1.25V increments. (How did we
get 1.25V? See next slide…)
• The number of possible states that
the converter can output is:
N=2n
• where n is the number of bits in the
Output Discrete Output Discrete
AD converter
States Voltage States Voltage
• Example: For a 3 bit A/D converter, Ranges Ranges
N=23=8. (V) (V)
• Analog quantization size: 0 0.00-1.25 4 5.00-6.25
Q=(Vmax-Vmin)/N = (10V – 0V)/8 = 1 1.25-2.50 5 6.25-7.50

1.25V 2 2.50-3.75 6 7.50-8.75
3 3.75-5.00 7 8.75-10.0
Encoding
• Here we assign the digital value (binary number) to each state for the
computer to read.
Output Output Binary

States Equivalent
0 000
1 001
2 010
3 011
4 100
5 101
6 110
7 111
Accuracy of A/D Conversion
There are two ways to best improve accuracy of A/D
conversion:
• increasing the resolution which improves the

accuracy in measuring the amplitude of the analog
signal.
• increasing the sampling rate which increases the

maximum frequency that can be measured.
Resolution
• Resolution (number of discrete values the converter can

produce) = Analog Quantization size (Q)
(Q) = Vrange / 2^n, where Vrange is the range of analog
voltages which can be represented
• limited by signal-to-noise ratio (should be around 6dB)
• In our previous example: Q = 1.25V, this is a high resolution. A

lower resolution would be if we used a 2-bit converter, then
the resolution would be 10/2^2 = 2.50V.
Sampling Rate
Frequency at which ADC evaluates analog signal. As we see in

the second picture, evaluating the signal more often more
accurately depicts the ADC signal.
Aliasing
• Occurs when the input signal is changing much faster
than the sample rate.
For example, a 2 kHz sine wave being sampled at 1.5

kHz would be reconstructed as a 500 Hz (the aliased
signal) sine wave.
Nyquist Rule:
• Use a sampling frequency at least twice as high as
the maximum frequency in the signal to avoid
aliasing. Fs>2f
TYPES OF ADC
Successive Approximation ADC
Successive Approximation ADC
FLASH TYPE ADC
• Flash Type ADC is based on the principle of comparing analog input voltage
with a set of reference voltages.
• To convert the analog input voltage into a digital signal of n-bit output, (2n – 1)
comparators are required.
• Fastest Type ADC

• The construction is simple and
easier to design
Digital to Analogue Converters
• Electronic device that converts a digital code to an analog signal such as a voltage,
current, or electric charge.
• Final control element / Actuators can understand only analog signals.
• Eg. Control Valve
Block Diagram of DAC

Analog output = K × digital input where K is
the proportionality factor and it is constant
value for a given DAC.
Input/output for a DAC

Digital to Analogue Converters
There are two types of D/A converters:
1. Weighted Resistor or Resistive Divider type.
2. R-2R Ladder type.
Resolution of DAC:
It can be defined by the numbers of bits or its step size
For example, an 8 bit DAC having a full scale output range of 0 to 3 V has
the resolution of 11.72mV
Weighted Resistor type DAC
Output Table
V2 V1 V0 Digital Vout
Value
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 1 1 -0.25
0 1 0 2 -0.5
0 1 1 3 -0.75
1 0 0 4 -1.0
1 0 1 5 -1.25
1 1 0 6 -1.5
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88
Weighted Resistor type DAC
Advantage
• Easy principle/construction
• Fast conversion
Disadvantages
• Requirement of several different precise input resistor
values: Requires large range of resistors (2048:1 for 12-bit
DAC) with necessary high precision for low resistors one
unique value per binary input bit. (High bit DACs)
• Larger resistors ~ more error.
• Precise large resistors – expensive.
R-2R Binary Ladder Digital to Analog Converter
For general n-Bit R-2R Ladder

Binary Weighted Resister DAC For a 4-Bit R-2R Ladder
 1 1 1 1
 Vref  b3  b2  b1  b0 
n
1
Vout  Vref  bn i Vout
 2 4 8 16 
i 1 2i
R-2R Binary Ladder Digital to Analog Converter
• Advantages
– Only two resistor values
– Does not need as precision resistors as Binary weighted DACs
– Cheap and Easy to manufacture
– Available as monolithic chips
• Disadvantages
– Slower conversion rate
Example Problems:
• Consider a Control valve is controlled by a 8 bit DAC and it requires 6.0V to fully
open. If the fully open state is indicated by 11111111, what will be the output to
the valve for a change of 1 bit?
• Solution:
• Given: no. of bits n = 8; Vfull scale = Vref = 6.0V, asked – Resolution=?
• W.k.t Resolution = Vout/2^n
• => 6/2^8 = 0.023V
• To be solved by yourself:
1. A 5-bit D/A converter produces VOUT = 0.2 V for a digital input of 0001.
Find the value of Vout for an input of 11111.
2. For the DAC of above problem determine VOUT for a digital input of
10001.
3. A 10-bit DAC has a step size of 10 mV. Determine the full-scale output
voltage and the percentage resolution.
DATA PRESENTATION
• How a measured data is displayed or presented.
• The data presentation element is the final element in the measurement system
• Its function being to communicate the measured value of the variable to a
human observer
• The measured value should be presented as clearly and easily as possible,
otherwise the value registered by the observer may be different
• Classified as Analog and Digital.
• Further classified as Recording and Indicating Instruments.
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HITS-RMKP-BMS-RMK 93
DATA LOGGER
• Electronic device used to records data over a period of time or in relation to
location with a built in instrument or sensors or via external instruments or
sensors
• Basic parts of a Data Logger Operation
 Input scanner
 Signal conditioner
 A/D converter
 Recording equipment
 Programmer
DATA LOGGER - Block Diagram
Data Logger and DAQ are same?

References
• Chapter 2, 3, 4 and 6 - W.Bolton, Mechatronics, Electronic

Control Systems in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, 4th
edition.
• https://nptel.ac.in/courses/112103174/10

Sensors For Measurement of Physical Quantities

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SENSORS FOR MEASUREMENT

Dr. RM.KUPPAN CHETTY

• DISPLACEMENT, POSITION AND PROXIMITY

For linear potentiometer

Output is proportional to the angular position of the shaft

• Has an active coil (Sensor Coil) and a balance (Reference) coil.

Faradays law of induction

• Contains a certain type of solid-state Inductive Proximity Switch

 If A leads B, for example, the disk is rotating in a clockwise direction.

1 No specific Resolution. Fixed Resolution

2 Need a Call back mechanism to Accessed via API and Image

Orthogonal projection-type and perspective projection-type vision sensors

 By adding more input resistors to either the inverting or non-inverting

• The Integrator Amplifier produces an output that is the mathematical operation

• Two non-inverting amplifiers

VR1 = 22K or 47K potentiometer

Quantizing - breaking down analog value is a set of finite states

Q=(Vmax-Vmin)/N = (10V – 0V)/8 = 1 1.25-2.50 5 6.25-7.50

Output Output Binary

• increasing the resolution which improves the

• increasing the sampling rate which increases the

• Resolution (number of discrete values the converter can

• limited by signal-to-noise ratio (should be around 6dB)

• In our previous example: Q = 1.25V, this is a high resolution. A

Frequency at which ADC evaluates analog signal. As we see in

For example, a 2 kHz sine wave being sampled at 1.5

Successive Approximation ADC

• Fastest Type ADC

Block Diagram of DAC

Input/output for a DAC

25-12-2019 HITS-RMKP-BMS-RMK 1 1 1 7 -1.75

For general n-Bit R-2R Ladder

Data Logger and DAQ are same?

• Chapter 2, 3, 4 and 6 - W.Bolton, Mechatronics, Electronic

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