MSD - Part - 3 - Signal Processing 2013-2014

ME3 / MSD
Machine System Dynamics

Part III
Signal Processing
Lecture Notes
2013-2014
Lecturer:
Dr Frederic Cegla, Room 662
Mechanical Engineering Department

Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Department of Mechanical Engineering
ME3 Compulsory Course
Machine System Dynamics
Part III Signal Processing
This booklet contains the lecture notes for the third section of the course.
Please bring the booklet to each lecture. No additional copies of notes will be
available in the lecture room.
Contents
Lecture 1 Transducer and signal acquisition systems.
Lecture 2 The Frequency Domain I.
Lecture 3 The Frequency Domain II.
Lecture 4 The Frequency Domain III.
Appendix Transducers
Tutorial question sheets will be issued when appropriate.
February 2014
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine
3M Machine System Dynamics
Transducers and signal acquisition systems
1. Introduction
Signal processing is a vast subject that spans many different disciplines and
is of utmost importance in telecommunications and measurement science.
This course can only touch on a small subsection of signal processing
techniques and it will focus on the acquisition and processing of data from
dynamic measurements on machines. Before any signal can be processed it
must be made accessible to the processing algorithm. The processing
algorithm usually consists of a number of mathematical manipulations or
logical operations that are performed on an array of numbers. The results
(also in numerical form) can then be plotted on graphs, charts or in any other
format that the user pleases to display. However, before the data is available
in numerical form a number of acquisition steps are required. These are made
up of:
1. Transduction – turning a physical quantity (e.g. force) into a voltage

signal
2. Signal conditioning – making sure that the voltage signal that
represents the measured quantity is not corrupted by the electronic
sensing circuitry and appropriately amplified to fill the range of the A/D
converter
3. Analogue to digital (A/D) conversion – Converting the voltage signal
into a digital number
This process is summarized in Figure 1. It is the basic starting point of any
measurement and the important features within it will be discussed in this
lecture. Once the data is available in numeric/digital form it is easily
manipulated for analysis, presentation or interpretation purposes. Subsequent
lectures of this course will then look at frequency domain processing and
Fourier analysis.
Figure 1 Chart showing the basic acquisition steps of any measurement system whose data Is to be
processes in digital form.
ME3 MSD Transducers and signal acquisition systems. FC Page 1 of 9

2. Signal classifications
Before starting any measurement it is important to ask yourself some basic

questions about the investigation that you are about to begin. These are very
simple but important questions:
Why are you measuring?

What are you trying to measure?
What are you trying to infer from the measurement? Or, what do you want to
know?
When asking these questions you are trying to anticipate the result and it will
help you focus on what physical quantity is best to measure and which type of
signal you expect to encounter.
There are many different types of signal and they can be classed with
different types of classifications. These can be for example based on the way
in which they are described, e.g. deterministic or probabilistic signals.
Deterministic signals are fully defined in space or time as for example by a
function y = sin x, whereas probabilistic signals only are described by
statistical parameters such as a mean and standard deviation but not a
definitive value. Probabilistic signals can further be classified based on being
stationary or non-stationary, i.e. having constant statistical parameters as a
function of time or time varying statistical parameters respectively.
The classification that is most appropriate for vibration based signals is based
on their temporal behavior. Here periodic, quasi-periodic, transients and
random signals are most common signal definitions. Figure 2 shows typical
signals that can be classified based on temporal features. Periodic signals
repeat themselves at regular intervals, quasi-periodic signals are repetitive
but can change the length of their period, transients increase or decrease
rapidly as a function of time and random signals show random behavior as a
function of time.

Figure 2 Time based signal classifications most useful for vibration type of signals
3. Transducer selection.
Once you have determined what physical signal you want to measure and
what type of signal you expect, you can select a transducer that would be
best suited to the measurement. The capability to transform the physical
quantity that is to be measured into an electrical voltage is the prime
characteristic that is required in a transducer and should be the most
important criterion for the selection. However, there are many different types
of transducers that can measure the same physical quantities but they differ
in their construction and operating principle. The list below summarizes some
of the most common transducer types used in dynamic measurements and
the appendix of this booklet contains a document that describes each
transducer, its operating principle and its pros in cons in more detail.
 Potentiometer
 Strain gauge (wire, semi-conductor, piezo-electric)
 LVDT – linear variable differential transformer
 Force Gauge
 Accelerometer
 Pressure Gauge
 Inductive displacement gauge
 Capacitive displacement gauge
 Optical transducer (e.g. photo-diode)
 Laser interferometer
 Thermocouple
 Platinum resistance thermometer
 Thermistor
 Etc.
You can see that many transducers measure the same physical variable (e.g.
Potentiometers, LVDT’s, Capacitive and inductive displacement gauges or
wire, semi-conductor and piezo-electric strain gauges). When several

transducers can measure the same physical quantity it is often other
considerations that lead to the choice of one transducer over another. These
are often application dependent. Other important transducer characteristics
that set transducers apart are related to their:
 Accuracy
 Reliability
 Cost
 Size
 Mountability/deployability
 Power/Cabling
 Interval between measurements
Properties that influence accuracy are from a technical point the most
important and these are:
Sensitivity – the change in transducer output per unit change in physical

quantity that it measures (i.e. for a force gauge, change in voltage per change
in applied force).
Linearity – how linear the change in transducer output is over the range of
sensed physical quantity that it measures.
Transverse sensitivity – the change in transducer output due to variation of

a parameter in the orthogonal direction to the direction in which the
measurement is intended (e.g. for a strain gauge that is measuring
longitudinal strains will pick up transverse strains due to the Poisson effect).
Temperature, Humidity, Radiation effects – similar to transverse sensitivity,

environmental changes can induce changes in transducer output without
actual change in the physical quantity that is to be measured.
Frequency range – the frequency for which variation in physical quantity is

accurately represented by the transducer output.
4. Practical Issues (transducer placement/ transducer mounting and

response)
Once a transducer type has been chosen the measurement preparations are
not completed yet, this is particularly true for vibrations and dynamic
measurements. One carefully needs to consider where to install the
transducer and how to mount it on the structure. If the transducer is a contact
type transducer it is important that it does not significantly alter the mass and
size of the structure that it is measuring on. For non-contact transducers such
as capacitive gauges one needs to make sure that the vibration amplitudes
do not exceed the gap between the structure and the transducer.

In vibration measurements spatial location of the transducer on the structure
however is probably most important and that is dependent on the
measurement intent. For example, consider a beam in bending. Transducer
placement at points A,B,C in Figure 3 does not allow you to separate the
behaviour of the first and third mode of the beam. This phenomenon is called
spatial aliasing and you would need to measure at locations D and E in order
to obtain a considerably different transducer response from the two modes.
Figure 3 Illustration of sensor location problems, spatial aliasing occurs if measurements are only
carried out at locations A,B and C and the response of the first and third mode would be difficult to
differentiate unless further measurements at locations D and E are added.
The way in which transducers are mounted to the structure is also very
important. In vibration measurements, for example, accelerometers are very
frequently used to measure accelerations on the surface of components. The
stiffness with which the accelerometers are attached to the structure is very
important because it can influence the response of the accelerometer. This is
because the accelerometer itself can be considered as a lumped parameter
mass spring system (see Figure 4) that can be used to measure acceleration
below its natural frequency, but once the natural frequency is reached the
measurements are considerably distorted. It can be shown that the mounting
stiffness influences the frequency response of the accelerometer and the
more compliant the mounting stiffness the lower the natural frequency of the
mounted accelerometer (see Figure 5). If one is therefore interested in
measuring high frequencies a very rigid mounting of the accelerometer is
required. Below is a list of practical mounting means in ascending order of
stiffness:
 Held on by hand
 Held on by double sided tape
 Fixed on with wax
 Fixed on by bonding
 Stud connection

Figure 4 Showing an ideal and real lumped parameter model of an accelerometer including its body
mass and the contact stiffness of the connection to the structure.
Figure 5 Plot showing that decreasing mounting stiffness reduced the natural frequency of the
mounted accelerometer limiting the useful frequency range for which measurements can be carried
out with the accelerometer.
5. Signal conditioning
The above sections have treated sensor choice and placement on a structure.
Once a structure is instrumented it becomes important to ensure transmission
of the voltage signal from the transducer to the A/D converter without
corrupting it nor adding noise. This is called “signal conditioning”. Signal
conditioning is generally achieved by using electronic components and
operational amplifiers of the type that you encountered in the second year
Mechatronics course. The most common examples are charge amplifiers that
amplify the small amounts of charge generated across piezo crystals and
allow a strong impedance matched signal to be transmitted to the digitizer.
In modern piezo electric sensors signal conditioning amplifiers are integrated

on a small chip that is place in the vicinity of the piezo crystal itself. These
sensors are then called IEPE (integrated electronics piezo-electric) sensors or
ICP (integrated circuit piezo) sensors.
The IEPE or ICP sensors are simply connected with a coaxial cable to the
measurement device. A small DC bias voltage that is provided by the
measurement device powers the signal conditioning amplifier and the AC

signal sent via the coax cable back to the measurement device contains the
data.
6. Analogue to digital conversion
The final stage of the signal acquisition process is the conversion of the signal
from an analogue signal into a digital signal. This is achieved by means of an
analogue to digital or A/D converter. The process is conceptually very simple
and shown in Figure 6. A continuous voltage signal y = f(t) is sampled at
discrete steps in time and amplitude and turned into a digital signal. There are
only a finite number of amplitude values available in an A/D converter and
these are described by the quantization levels and the range of the signal
level. The number of available quantisation levels is described as n-bit
(number of quantisation levels = 2n), so that for example a 8 bit A/D converter
has 28=256 quantisation levels, while a 12 bit A/D converter has 212=4096
quantisation levels. The range of the A/D converter describes the maximum
and minimum voltages that can be sensed. Therefore if an 8 bit A/D converter
has a range of ±1V then the size of the amplitude steps that it records is 2/28
= 1/27 = 1/128 = 0.0078V.
The sampling process introduces an error because only a finite number of

discrete amplitude levels is available and the A/D converter records a
digitized value that is always the highest quantization level just below the
signal. This error is called the quantization error. It has a maximum possible
value equal to the size of one quantization level, i.e. 0.0078V in the above
example.
Figure 6 Sketch showing the analogue to digital conversion of a continues signal () to discrete
numeric values () in time and amplitude.
One often also uses the term dynamic range to express the number of
quantization levels that an A/D converter can resolve. The dynamic range is
stated in dB and for an n bit A/D is calculated by the formula 20 log10 (2^n).
Therefore an 8 bit A/D has a dynamic range of 48dB, 12 bits correspond to 72
dB and 16 bits correspond to 96dB.

7. Common sampling problems
A/D converters with a low dynamic range make it difficult to record two signals
of very different amplitudes at the same time. This is because if the full range
is set to capture the high amplitude signal, then the low amplitude signal is
poorly represented by only a few quantization levels and it is very noisy (see
Figure 7). In this case two separate recordings need to be made (if the
experiment is very repeatable and the signal conditioning can achieve good
results), otherwise a A/D with a larger dynamic range is required.
Figure 7 Demonstration of problems with low dynamic range A/D converters and signals that
contain two components with very large amplitude differences.
In vibration testing impacts are commonly used to excite the structure.

Recording of a signal is usually triggered by the amplitude exceeding a
certain threshold; however for impacts a considerable part of the signal has
already passed if recording only starts after the time when the signal exceeds
the threshold. Most signal acquisition systems therefore have the capability to
specify a pre-trigger which displays a certain amount of samples in the A/D
prior to exceeding the threshold. This is very important for vibration impact
testing and the determination of frequency response functions. Figure 8
illustrates the concept.

Figure 8 Illustration of the use of a Pre-trigger to properly capture large transients such as impact
spikes.
Finally the most common problems encountered due to digitizing is temporal

aliasing. This phenomenon is illustrated in Figure 9. It arises whenever the
signal that is to be digitized has a higher frequency than the ½ the sample
frequency, in which case the sampled waveform does not properly represent
the signal that is to be measured anymore. The following lectures on
frequency domain processing will discuss how to extract frequency content
from a time domain signal in more detail.
Figure 9 Illustration of temporal aliasing.

The frequency domain
1. Introduction
The previous lecture introduced signal acquisition considerations up to the

point where the physical signal that a transducer measures is converted into
an array of representative numeric values that are equally spaced in time.
Once this array of numbers is available further processing of the signal is
desirable to reveal information that is immediately available in the sampled
time history format. One of the most useful and commonly used techniques is
processing in the frequency domain. There are a number of reasons why
processing in the frequency domain is useful:
1. Analysis of dominant periodic components in a signal – frequency

analysis can reveal if a signal contains energy at particular frequencies
that dominate the signal, e.g. because of resonances of the measured
structure.
2. Data compression – representation of a signal in the frequency
domain can be more efficient so that less storage space is required to
accurately represent the data, an example of this are compression
techniques such as the mp3 or jpg format that work by only saving data
corresponding to the dominant components of the frequency spectra of
the underlying data.
3. Solution of differential equations – The solution of differential
equations in the time domain is very difficult, it is however very easily
achieved in the frequency domain (and indeed all your work on
frequency response functions to date has been carried out in the
frequency domain by assuming harmonic displacement and forcing
components). Finding the solution of the time domain responses
becomes easily possible if the time domain excitation signal is
decomposed into its frequency components, the system is solved in
the frequency domain and the resultant system response is then
converted back into the time domain. (This is illustrated in Figure 1.).
The above give a good impression of how powerful frequency domain
processing can be. Pretty much all frequency domain processing relies on
Fourier Analysis, which is named after Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier, a
French scientist and mathematician who lived from 1768-1830. While you
have already studied some aspects of Fourier Analysis and Transformation in
your ME2 Mathematics course, the topic is revised here with a particular
focused on signal processing applications.
ME3 MSD The frequency domain FC Page 1 of 10

Figure 1 Series of charts showing the solution of the response of a single degree of freedom
mass/spring/damper system to an impact force by transfer to the frequency domain, solution in
the frequency domain and inverse transformation back to the time domain.

2. Fourier series
The backbone of frequency domain signal processing is Fourier analysis. The

basic concept is that any waveform may be expressed as the sum of a series
of harmonic (sinusoidal and cosinusoidal) waves of different frequencies. The
amplitudes of the components at different frequencies give a picture of the
frequency distribution of the energy in the original waveform. In these notes,
Fourier analysis is introduced via the Fourier series. This is strictly only
applicable to periodic signals, but in practice it can be applied to the vast
majority of practical signals and is employed in all digital analysis.
If x(t) is a periodic function with period T, x(t) may be represented by the
series
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( )
or
( ) ∑ ( ) ( ) (1)
Thus, x(t) is considered to be made up by the addition of a steady level, ao, to

a number of sinusoidal and cosinusoidal waves of different frequencies. This
addition process is discussed in more detail by Lynn (1989). The lowest of
these frequencies is 2/T and is called the fundamental, waves of this
frequency having a period equal to that of x(t). Certain restrictions known as
the Dirichlet conditions must be placed on x(t) for the above series to be
valid. The integral ∫| ( )| over a complete period must be finite and x(t)
may not have more than a finite number of discontinuities in any finite interval.
Clearly, most signals of engineering interest meet these conditions. If x(t) is
discontinuous, the series converges to the average value of x(t) at the
discontinuity.
2.1 Evaluation of the coefficients
Integration of equation ( ) ∑ ( ) ( )
( 1 ) over one complete period gives
∫ ( )
(2)
since the integral of the harmonic components is zero over time T. Hence,
∫ ( )
(3)

a0 also represents the mean value of the signal over time. Multiplication of
both sides of equation (1) by ( ) and integration over T yields
∫ ( ) ( ) ∫ ( )
∑ {∫ ( ) ( ) ∫ ( ) ( ) }
(4)
The RHS of equation (4) has only one non zero term so the equation
simplifies to
∫ ( ) ( ) ∫ ( )
Thus,
∫ ( ) ( )
(5)

Similarly. multiplication of equation (1) by ( ) and integration over T
gives
∫ ( ) ( )
(6)
2.2 Summary of Fourier Series Equations
A periodic function x(t) of period T may be expressed as
( ) ∑( ( ) ( ))
(7)
Where,
∫ ( ) ( ) , k0
and
∫ ( ) ( ) , k1
Note that the evaluation of ao has been expressed in the same form as that of
the other coefficients. These equations may also be expressed in complex
notation. Let
(8)
Now,
( ) ( )
(9)
giving
∫ ( ) , k0
(10 )
3. Example reconstruction of a signal
It might be instructive to look at an example of how a periodic signal is

created by addition of its different constituents. Consider for example a signal
that consists of a square wave of unit amplitude and period 0.1 seconds that
is sampled for 4 cycles. Using equation (10 ) or equations ( 5 ) and ( 6 ) the
Fourier coefficients of the signal can be calculated and represented in form of
a spectrum as shown in the top line of Figure 2 . The next line of the figure

shows only the fundamental frequency component and its spectrum. Line 3
shows the fundamental plus the next harmonic and line 4 shows the first three
frequency components in the spectrum in the time domain (left) and their
spectrum (on the right).
When more and more frequency components are added, the corresponding
time domain signal (the resultant signal that is created by adding the
sinusoids together) becomes a better and better representation of the original
signal (the square wave). When many frequency components are used the
reconstructed signal (addition of the many sinusoids) will become an
undifferentiable match of the orginal square waveform.
It is therefore easy to note that periodic signals that a similar to sinusoids are
represented by only a few lines in the frequency domain spectrum. It is
therefore more efficient to describe the signal by only the frequency
component. The alternative of reporting many points sampled at a regular
spacing in time becomes less efficient. Whether a signal is better represented
in the time domain or frequency domain depends on the nature of the signal,
e.g. transients and spikes have a broadband spectrum (many frequency
components), while periodic signals as often encountered in vibration
measurements tend to be made up of only very few dominant frequency
components.

Time domain Frequency domain (Spectrum)
Figure 2 Building up of a square wave by addition of its dominant (low) frequency components.

4. Signal periodicity
Four types of signal are commonly encountered in vibration measurement:
a) Harmonic e.g. force and response from steady state sine wave excitation
of a linear structure.
(b) Periodic e.g. vibration of a machine rotating at constant speed.
(c) Random e.g. response of a structure to noise excitation.
(d) Transient e.g. response of a structure to an impulse.
The Fourier series is only strictly applicable to periodic signals (clearly, this
includes harmonic signals). In practice, it is only ever possible to analyse a
finite record length, T, of a random signal and provided its statistical
properties do not vary either during the data record or between data records
(i.e. the signal is ergodic), the signal may be assumed to be of period T and a
Fourier analysis may be carried out. Some averaging of the results is always
required with random signals.
A transient signal which has 'died away' in time T may be converted to a

periodic signal by considering it to repeat as shown in Figure 3, The spectrum
of the derived periodic waveform is very closely related to that of the original
transient.
It is therefore possible to use the Fourier series analysis developed in the

preceding sections to analyse most vibration signals.
Figure 3 Transient Signal and assumed repetitions

5. Sampled Signals
The material in the preceding sections applies equally to analogue and digital
signals. In practice, however, Fourier analysis is always carried out using a
digital processor. Since it is not possible to feed continuous (analogue) data
into a digital computer, the signal must be represented by a set of numerical
values. These numbers are usually sampled values of the signal taken at
successive equally spaced instants, as discussed in the previous lecture on
signal acquisition.
It was shown that if x(t) is a periodic function with period T, then it is always
possible to write
( ) ∑ ( ) ( )
The coefficients may be evaluated from
∫ ( ) , k0
Where
Now consider what happens if the continuous time series x(t) is not known
and only equally spaced samples are available. Suppose that these are
represented by the discrete series xr , r =0, 1, 2 .... , N - 1 where t = r T/N. In
this case, the integral in equation (14) may be replaced approximately by the
summation
∑
( 11 )
or
∑
( 12 )
This process is equivalent to assuming that the total area under the curve
shown in Figure 4 is given by the sum of all the shaded strips. The series xr
may be regained exactly by the inverse Formula,
∑
( 13 )

Equations ( 12 ) and ( 13 ) therefore form a forward and inverse transformation
pair which enable interchange between time and frequency domain
representations of the data. Equation ( 12 ) is the definition of the discrete
Fourier transform (DFT), while equation ( 13 ) defines the inverse discrete
Fourier transform (IDFT).
Equation ( 12 ) indicates that to compute each part of the coefficient Xk, N

multiplications of the form xr cos (2kr/N) are required. The complete
spectrum is derived from N/2 coefficients, each with real and imaginary parts
so N2 multiplications are needed. However, closer examination reveals that
many of these operations are repeated and the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)
algorithm first developed by Cooley and Tukey (1965) reduces the number of
multiplications to N log2 N where N, the number of data points, must be a
power of 2. Details of the algorithm are given in the references. The number
of multiplications required for a 1024 point transform, which was the size
commonly used in traditional spectrum analysers is reduced by a factor of
100 by using the FFT. Nowadays, most PC based data acquisition systems
can hold many thousands of datapoints and standard versions of the FFT
algorithms are available in processing software packages (e.g. Matlab) or in
libraries for other programming languages so that processing an FFT is easily
possible on any type of acquired signal. A short Matlab demonstration for
sound card recordings will be given as part of this course.
Figure 4 The calculation of Fourier coefficients from sampled data
References
Lynn, P.A. (1989) 'An introduction to the analysis and processing of signals',
3rd edition, MacMillan.
Cooley, l.W. and Tukey l.W. (1965) 'An algorithm for the machine calculation
of complex Fourier series', Mathematics of Computation, Vol. 19.

The frequency domain 2
1. Introduction
The previous lecture introduced Fourier analysis and how to calculate Fourier
coefficients for an arbitrary signal x(t). There are a number of practical
aspects and peculiarities associated with frequency domain processing and
these are explored in this lecture. They are:
1. Aliasing and frequency resolution– artifacts (duplicates or ghosts)

that can be introduced into the processed result due to the finite
sampling frequency of the sampled signal.
2. Increasing frequency resolution- the frequency resolution in a signal
depends on the total signal length T, artificially increasing this (by zero
padding) can give rise to an apparently increased frequency resolution,
it is however only an interpolation of the data.
3. Leakage and windowing effects – due to the assumption of
periodicity, discontinuities are introduced at the beginning and end of
the sampled signal, this can lead to a smear of energy across the
spectrum, moving energy from frequencies where it is actually present
to adjacent frequencies in the computed spectrum. The problem is
commonly addressed by windowing the signal before Fourier
transformation.

2. Aliasing
Consider the sinusoidal waveform of frequency fw shown in Figure 1 and

suppose that it is sampled at a rate fs = 4fw/3. There are therefore four
sample points every three cycles. It is clear that another sine wave of
frequency fw/3 can be drawn through these sample points. Therefore there
are insufficient sample points for the input waveform to be defined uniquely
and erroneous results will be obtained from subsequent analysis. This
phenomenon is known as aliasing, and is due to the sample rate being too
low. The minimum sample rate required for aliasing to be avoided is given by
Shannon's sampling theorem.
Figure 1 Aliasing
The coefficients Xk of equation 12 in Lecture 2 may be calculated for negative

values of k, implying negative frequencies. While these values have no
physical significance, a consideration of them yields important information
about the spectrum obtained from the DFT. If the terms in the xk series are
real, as is normally the case, it can be seen from equation 12 in Lecture 2 that
, where the * indicates the complex conjugate.
Hence,
| | | |
(1)
so the amplitude spectrum is symmetrical about zero frequency. Now

consider the values of Xk when k > N - 1. Let k = N + j, say. Then,
∑
(2)
Or
∑
(3)

But
, for all r
So that
(4)
The spectrum therefore repeats itself periodically, the period being N points.
Hence, the complete spectrum can be obtained if the coefficients Xk for - NI2
< k < N/2, say, are calculated. Equation (1), however, shows that the
coefficients for the negative part of this frequency range can be computed
from those for the positive part. The complete spectrum can therefore be
obtained from Xk, 0 < k < N/2. The point k = N/2 corresponds to a frequency
of N/2T. The sampling frequency, fs, is N/T so the maximum frequency at
which unique spectral information is obtained is fs/2. Higher frequencies than
this just show spurious frequency coefficients which are merely repetitions of
those at lower frequencies. The computed amplitude spectrum for a series
{xr}. r = 0, 1, 2 .... (N - 1) is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 The computed spectrum of a signal sampled at frequency fs
If there are frequencies above fs/2 in the original signal, these introduce a
distortion of the computed spectrum (aliasing). This is illustrated in Figure 3.
The high frequency components contribute to the xr series and falsely distort
the Fourier coefficients calculated by the DFT for frequencies below fs/2. The
frequency fs/2 is called the Nyquist frequency and is the maximum frequency
which can be detected from data sampled at a frequency fs.
Figure 3 Example of a computed spectrum distorted by aliasing

The phenomenon of aliasing is most important when analysing practical data.
The sampling frequency must be greater than twice the maximum frequency
present in the signal to be analysed. (This result is sometimes known as
Shannon's sampling theorem.) In most spectrum analysers, this condition is
automatically met by passing the signal through a low pass 'anti aliasing' filter
prior to the A to D conversion, the cut-off frequency of the filter depending on
the sample rate selected. As a further precaution, many analysers do not
display the spectrum all the way up to fs/2. Frequently, 400 out of 512
spectral lines are shown, giving spectral information up to 0.39 fs.

3. Increasing Frequency Resolution
Frequency resolution can only be improved if the record length, T, increases

since the resolution is f= 1/T. The drawback of this procedure is that the
computation time increases in proportion to N log2 N where N is the number
of points in the data record. Many older analysers implement a zoom
algorithm which enables enhanced resolution to be obtained over a selected
portion of the frequency range. However, computational power has now
increased so much that it is practical to simply calculate the FFT over the full
data length.
The frequency resolution obtained in Fourier analysis is always 1/T Hz where

T is the record length. One way of artificially extending the record length of
captured data is to add zeroes to it. This is frequently done if, for example, the
number of experimental points captured is not a power of 2 since the FFT
algorithm operates on N = 2n points. If zeroes are added to the data, so
extending the record length from T0 to T1, the spacing between frequency
points obtained from the analysis will be 1/T1 Hz. However, the true resolution
is still 1/T0 Hz. The zero padding improves the apparent resolution, but the
extra points obtained in the spectrum are essentially interpolations between
the points obtained using the original record length. This can be very useful if,
for example, it is necessary to locate the frequency of a peak very accurately.
However, the procedure is dangerous if the true resolution, 1/T0 Hz, was
insufficient to reveal the presence of a double peak. Zero padding will not
reveal the presence of the second peak and the 'interpolated' spectrum with
apparent resolution 1/T1 Hz will give misleading results.
Figure 4 a) windowed signal at 550Hz sampled for 0.05 seconds, b) same signal as in a) but zero
padded to 0.4 seconds

Figure 5 a) Spectrum of the signal in Figure 4a) and b) spectrum of the zero padded signal in Figure
4b).
These points are illustrated in Figure 4-Figure 6. A time record comprising a

single 550 Hz sine wave sampled for 0.05 sec is shown in Figure 4 a and the
same time record is zero padded to 0.4 sec in Figure 4 b. The corresponding
spectra are shown in Figure 5. It can be seen that the frequency of the peak
can be more accurately obtained from the zero padded record. Figure 6a
shows the spectrum obtained from another 0.05 second signal which has
been zero padded to 0.4 seconds, but comprising two closely spaced
frequency components, 545 Hz and 555 Hz. It can be seen that the spectrum
does not show the double peak shown in the true spectrum of Figure 6b,
which was obtained using a true data length of 0.4 sec.
Figure 6 a) Spectrum of two mode signal (545 Hz and 555Hz) recorded for 0.05 seconds and zero
padded to 0.4 seconds. b) Spectrum of long record of the two mode signal (545 Hz and 555Hz) for 0.4
seconds.

4. Frequency Resolution, Leakage and windowing
The Fourier series represents a function by a series of harmonics of

frequency 1/T, 2/T, 3/T, .... The spacing of the frequency components and
hence the resolution obtained is therefore 1/T Hz. This is no problem if the
signal being analysed is truly periodic in T since there cannot then be any
components in the signal at frequencies between those calculated in the
Fourier series. However, it is frequently necessary to analyse signals which
are not truly periodic in time T (for example, a random signal or the vibration
of a rotating machine when there are a non-integer number of revolutions in
the measurement time).
Figure 7 a) Sine wave with n periods in time T. b) Sine wave with (2n+1)/2 periods in time T.
Figure 8 a) Spectrum with no window applied to a sine wave of frequency of 550Hz and b) spectrum
of a sine wave of frequency 562.5Hz; both with T=0.04 seconds.
The problem may be illustrated by comparing the Fourier series of a sine

wave having n periods in time T with that for a sine wave having (2n + 1)/2
periods within the window. The periodic waves assumed by the Fourier
analysis for the two cases are shown in Figure 7a and Figure 7b respectively.
In the latter case a sharp slope discontinuity is assumed. The results of this
are shown in Figure 8a and Figure 8b, both of which were obtained from a
Fourier analyser using a record length, T, of 0.04 sec giving a frequency
resolution of 25 Hz. Figure 8a shows the computed spectrum of a 550 Hz sine
wave with peak amplitude 5.7 V. In this instance, 22 cycles were captured in

the measurement window and the spectrum has only one significant
component, as might be expected. Figure 8b shows the computed spectrum
of a 562.5 Hz sine wave of the same amplitude. In this case there were 22.5
cycles in the measurement time and the spectrum appears to be a relatively
broad band with maximum amplitude 3.6 V at 550 and 575 Hz. This
phenomenon is known as leakage.
Had the 562.5 Hz signal also contained a frequency component of, say, 500
Hz and amplitude 0.5 V, the presence of the second component would have
been masked by the “leakage”. This has important implications in, for
example, resonance testing where some modes are much less strongly
excited than others. The problem can be reduced by applying a tapered
window to the input data, so avoiding the assumed discontinuity shown in
Figure 7b. The most commonly used window function is the Hanning window
shown in Figure 9. The input data is multiplied by the Hanning function prior to
the Fourier analysis. The results of this on the computed spectra of the two
signals analysed previously are shown in Figure 10a and Figure 10b.
Figure 9 The Hanning window.
Figure 10 Spectra with Hanning window applied a) 550Hz sine wave, b) 562.5 Hz sine wave; both
with T=0.04seconds.
The Hanning window spreads some of the energy of the 550 Hz signal to the
two adjoining spectral components giving a peak amplitude of 4.6 V rather
than the true value of 5.7 V. The energy of the 562.5 Hz wave, however, is
contained within the band 525 - 600 Hz compared with the much wider
spread without the window. The peak amplitude in this instance is 3.9 V at
550 and 575 Hz compared with 3.6 V without the window. Therefore
application of the window limits the extent of the leakage and so reduces the

chance of important components of the signal being masked. The apparent
difference in maximum amplitude between the 550 and 562.5 Hz signals is
0.7 V if the window is used compared with 2.1 V otherwise. In both cases, the
absolute amplitude of the spectral components should be treated with
caution. The total power in the four spectral components between 525 and
600 Hz is correct for both signals if the window is used, whereas energy can
leak out of this range without the window. Hence, if the window is used, it is
known that leakage is contained within about two spectral lines either side of
the true signal frequency so components in the signal outside this range will
be detected reliably. If this resolution is too coarse, the frequency spacing
between the spectral lines must be reduced by increasing the record length,
T.
A window should therefore always be used except when it is known that the
signal is truly periodic in the measurement time. T, or the signal is a transient
which has died away within the record length, as shown in Figure 3 of Lecture
2.
The inevitable spreading of energy when Fourier series analysis is used on

signals which are not exactly periodic in the measurement time means that
great care must be taken when obtaining damping values from the spectra. It
would be easy to interpret the spectra of Figure 8b, Figure 10a and Figure 10b
as being those of a damped sine wave. Damping values should only be used
if there are more than five or six spectral lines between the half-power points.

The frequency domain 3
1. Introduction
The previous lecture focused on practical aspects associated with Fourier

analysis and the Fast Fourier Transform as it is performed on sampled data.
This lecture will introduce some standard definitions of Frequency domain
quantities that are computed on single channels and when dual channel
analysis is carried out (e.g. when a transfer or frequency response function is
calculated from two separately measured signals such as when a Hammer
test is carried out. Finally some of the main points that are concerned with
Fourier analysis are summarized. The topics discussed are:
1. Autospectrum– A definition of the calculated spectrum that makes the

spectral amplitude independent of record length.
2. Cross spectrum- A relation between the spectra of two signals, as for
example acquired during a Hammer test.
3. Coherence function – A useful way of check correlation between the
spectra of two independently sampled signals. This is a measure of the
confidence that one can have in transfer functions that are computed
from many averaged signals.
4. Summary of Fourier analysis- A quick summary of the main points
that were covered in the last 3 lectures.

2. Autospectrum
∑
(1)
Equation ( 1 ) shows that the units of the Fourier coefficients, Xk, are the same
as those of the time series {xr}. We are frequently interested in the
magnitudes of the Fourier coefficients, rather than in their real and imaginary
parts separately. The square of the magnitude of the coefficient Xk is given by
| |
Where Xk* is the complex conjugate of Xk.
Consider a 'pink noise' signal whose energy is evenly distributed from 0 to

fmax Hz and is zero above this frequency. The spectrum of this signal is to be
measured using a spectrum analyser. Suppose the sample rate is set at 2
fmax and the signal is sampled for T sec. A graph of the magnitude of the
Fourier coefficients obtained is sketched in Figure 1a. Suppose that the
record length is increased to 2T sec, the sampling rate remaining the same
(giving double the number of points). The magnitudes of the coefficients
obtained in this instance are shown in Figure 1b. The total signal power in the
two cases is the same since increasing the record length does not increase
the mean power. The total power in the spectrum is obtained by adding the
contribution from each component; therefore in the second case, since there
are twice the number of components, the contribution from each is halved.
Therefore, plotting the magnitude of the Fourier coefficients may lead to
misleading results.
Figure 1 Computed spectra for pink noise source
The autospectral density Sxx (often shortened to autospectrum) is given by
| |
( )
(2)

where Δf = 1/T is the frequency resolution (the spacing between the
frequency points). The frequency corresponding to point k is f=k/Δf and the
autospectral density is usually written
( ) ( ) | ( )|
( )
(3)
The spectral density is unaffected by changes in the frequency resolution and

is the quantity plotted by most analysers. Since the spectra of many signals
vary over a large amplitude range, a decibel scale is often used:
| |
| |
( ) ( )
( )
(4)
where Vref, the reference amplitude, is usually defined by the range of the A to
D convertors.
3. Dual Channel analysis
In dual channel analysis we are usually concerned with the input and output
from a system, for example, the force and response signals in a mechanical
vibration test. When a single signal is captured, we are usually concerned
only with the autospectrum. However, when two or more signals are obtained,
other functions, in addition to the autospectra, are important. The most
common signal processing task is to find the transfer (frequency response)
function between the output and the input.
3.1 Cross Spectrum
The cross spectral density at frequency point k is defined in a similar fashion

to the auto spectral density given in equation ( 3 )
( ) ( )
( )
(5)
where X(f) and Y(f) are the DFTs of the input, x(t), and output, y(t),
respectively. It should be noted that the cross spectral density is in general
complex, whereas the autospectral densities are real.

3.2 Coherence
The coherence function is calculated from the two autospectra and the cross
spectrum by
( ) ( ) | ( )|
( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
(6)
It may be shown that γ2(f) ≤ 1. The coherence can be interpreted as a

(squared) correlation coefficient which expresses the degree of linear
relationship between the two variables. Figure 2 shows how the squared
correlation coefficient ρxy2 varies for different relationships between the
variables x and y; a similar relationship holds for the coherence function. In
Figure 2a there is a perfect linear relationship between x and y and ρxy2 =1. In
Figure 2b and Figure 2c, ρxy2 <1 but for different reasons. In Figure 2b, the
relationship is reasonably linear but there is some random spread due to
noise. In Figure 2c. there is no random spread, but the relationship is non-
linear. In Figure 2d, there is no relationship between x and y. and ρxy2 = 0.
2
Figure 2 Dependence of the correlation coefficient ρxy on the linearity of the relationship between
two variables x and y
There is a potential pitfall when computing the coherence function. Suppose

that the variables x and y are measured for a single record length, T. From
equations ( 3 ) and ( 5 ),
( )
(7)
Hence, the calculated coherence is unity, irrespective of the nature of the

signals x and y. The coherence computation is only valid if averaging is

carried out. This averaging must be carried out in the frequency domain,
average values of Sxx, Syy and Sxy being computed; time domain averaging to
obtain averaged time records x(t) and y(t), or frequency domain averaging in
which average values of X(f) and Y(f) are computed before forming the
autospectra and cross spectrum will simply yield the result of equation ( 7 ).
The appropriate averaging procedure is automatically implemented on
dedicated spectrum analysers, but care may have to be exercised on PC
based systems.
The most common causes of the coherence, γ2(f), being less than unity are:
1. inadequate frequency resolution leading to 'bias' error· see below;
2. the presence of uncorrelated noise on the signals x(t) and y(t);
3. a non-linear relationship between x and y.
The main application of the coherence function is in checking the validity of

the experiments and subsequent computations.
3.3 Transfer (Frequency Response) Function
The simplest way to compute the transfer function, H(f), between x and y is to
use
( )
( )
( )
(8)
However, it is found in practice that other forms are advantageous. Multiplying

the top and bottom of equation ( 8 ) by X*(f) gives
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
(9)
Hence, the transfer function may be computed by dividing the cross spectrum
by the autospectrum of the input. Bendat and Piersol (1986) show that this H1
calculation procedure minimises the effect on the transfer function of noise on
the input signal. Alternatively, multiplying the top and bottom of equation ( 8 )
by Y*(f) gives
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
(10 )
This H2 calculation procedure minimises the effect on the transfer function of

noise on the output signal and also reduces the effect of bias errors - see
below. It is interesting to note that the ratio, H1/H2 yields the coherence
function:
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
(11 )

3.3 The effects of inadequate frequency response on Transfer Function
Estimates
Consider the measurement of the signal whose spectrum is shown in Figure 1

by an analogue spectrum analyser. The instrument uses analogue filters to
give the average amplitude of the signal across the bandwidth of the filter. If
the filters used in the analyser have a large bandwidth, the peak measured
value will be lower than the true peak, the error decreasing as the filter
bandwidth is reduced. The error always results in an underestimation of the
peak value and is called bias error. (Bias error also results in an
overestimation of minimum values.)
Figure 3 Bias Error
Bias error is also frequently seen in digital signal analysis. Here, the effective
filter bandwidth is Δf = 1/T so if the record length is not long enough, bias
error will be seen. One common occurrence of bias error is in transfer
(frequency response) measurements on resonant mechanical or electrical
systems using random excitation. Around resonance, the frequency response
function changes rapidly so fine frequency resolution, implying a long record
length, is required if bias error is to be avoided. Figure 4 shows the ratio of the
computed maximum of the frequency response function to the true value as a
function of the product of natural frequency and damping (loss factor) divided
by the frequency resolution employed (fnη/Δf). Curves are shown for use of
the H1 and H2 calculation procedures (equations ( 9 ) and (10 ) respectively). It
can be seen that the H2 calculation gives a better estimate of the peak value
of the frequency response function than H1. Conversely, it may be shown that
H1 gives a better estimate of the amplitude of minima in the frequency
response function.

Figure 4 Maxima of computed transfer function H1 and H2 compared to the true value H^ as a
function of the resolution factor fn/f for use with a Hanning window (Randall 1978)
The value of the coherence function provides a valuable check for the
presence of bias error and the coherence function should always be
computed when doing two channel measurements.
8. Continuous Spectra
The spectra obtained from the Fourier series are line spectra since the
Fourier series assumes that the waveform measured in the record length, T,
repeats indefinitely outside the measurement window. In practice, this is not
the case, particularly in the case of a transient signal. The true spectrum of a
transient signal is continuous and is obtained from a Fourier Transform which
is an infinite form of the Fourier series (in spite of their names, the DFT and
FFT are forms of the Fourier series rather than the transform). The true
continuous spectrum may be obtained from the line spectrum of the Fourier
series by convolution with the spectrum of the measurement window used.
In the simplest case, the measurement window is a rectangular function, W(t),

defined by
W(t) = 1, 0≤ t ≤T
W(t) = 0, otherwise
Details of this procedure are given by Bendat and Piersol (1986). In practice,
the convolution process is seldom carried out since the true spectrum can be
approached by increasing the frequency resolution. This is done by
increasing the record length, T.
The theory of Fourier analysis was developed mainly by considering the

properties of the Fourier transform rather than the Fourier series and most
books use this approach. The theory of sampled signals can be developed in

a more rigorous form by using the Dirac Delta function. Again, details are
given by Bendat and Piersol (1986).
9. Summary of Factors to Consider in Frequency Domain Processing

The points below refer specifically to typical dedicated spectrum analysers.
However, the same issues arise if PC based systems are used.
1. Most analysers have a fixed number of time points, N. These points are
equally spaced in record length, T, which can be varied by changing the
sample rate.
2. The number of frequency components obtained is N/2, each component
having a real and imaginary part. These are equally spaced between 0 and
fs/2 where fs is the sample rate. (This is sometimes called a baseband
analysis). In order to reduce the chance of aliasing errors, some analysers do
not plot the higher part of this frequency range.
3. The frequency resolution obtained is always l/T Hz. Now, 1/T = fs/N so if N
is fixed, the frequency resolution can only be improved at the expense of
reducing the maximum frequency.
4. Anti-aliasing filters are normally automatically applied to the input signal,
but this should be checked before using an analyser. These are less likely to
be supplied in PC based systems.
5. Most analysers incorporate a Hanning window which should be applied to
any signal which is not exactly periodic in the measurement time, T. (Except
in the case of a transient signal which dies away within the record length).
6. Some averaging of results is normally required and analysers usually allow
the user to vary the number of averages carried out.
7. When doing dual channel analysis, the coherence function should always
be examined. If the coherence is significantly less than unity in the frequency
range of interest then the results should be treated with suspicion. The most
common cause of poor coherence is bias error due to inadequate frequency
resolution. If improving the resolution has no effect then the probable cause of
the poor coherence is noise on one or both signals, or extra inputs to the
system in addition to the input measured.
8. The coherence function is only valid if averaging has been carried out. This
averaging must be carried out in the frequency domain; this is usually
automatic on dedicated analysers but care may need to be exercised with PC
based systems.
References
Bendat, J.S. and Piersol, A.G. (1986) 'Random data: analysis and
measurement procedures' 2nd edition, Wiley.
Randall, R.B. (1987) 'Frequency analysis' 3rd edition, Bruel and Kjaer
handbook.

Transducers
1. Objectives
To review the major types of transducer and associated electronic amplifiers, for any
given measurement task.
2. Introduction
Transducers are devices which convert a physical property which we wish to

measure into a voltage which is a monotonic function of the property. Many
measurements can be reduced to measuring fundamental properties such as length,
force, temperature, or variations on these such as pressure, strain, velocity,
acceleration. However, the transducer will also be affected by other inputs, and it is
important to recognise the limitations of each measurement device at the selection
stage, rather than just connecting up a gauge and believing the result without
question.
3. Transducer types
Transducers may be classified in various ways. There are two fundamental types:
active and passive. Active transducers directly produce a voltage which is a function
of the physical property being measured, without need for an external power source,
e.g. a thermo-couple. Passive transducers must be built into an externally-powered
circuit before the transduction process can be used, e.g. a potentiometer to measure
rotation or length requires an excitation voltage across the terminals. In most cases,
an external power source is used to drive the transducer, in order to minimise
distortion of the measurement system.
It is often useful to classify transducers in terms of the parameter being measured.

However certain types of transducer may be connected to fulfil a range of
measurements, e.g. strain gauges, which may be used to determine parameters
such as: pressure, force, acceleration in addition to the direct measurement of
change of length (strain). In these notes, therefore, each type of transducer will be
discussed in turn, based on the transduction principle involved.
3.1 Potentiometers
Linear or rotary potentiometers may be used to measure static or slowly changing

displacement, relative to the base of the unit.
Transduction Principle
A resistive wire with a fixed voltage across the ends has a sliding wiper connected to
the moving part. The voltage drop is proportional to the slider position.
Applications
Machines which require relatively large low-frequency motion measurement e.g.
machine tools, detection of slides, manual input control, e.g. lever positions.
Advantages/Disadvantages
Limited accuracy, although one can get l0-turn potentiometers, continual motion will
cause wear of the slider, leading to reduced accuracy. Not ideal for dynamic
measurement. Limited travel, typically 200 mm, low cost. May have mounting
problems due to size. Needs a d.c. supply.
3.2 Strain gauge (foil or bonded)
A thin insulated wire is firmly glued to the material to be measured. Any increase of
length in the base material along the line of the wire results in an increase in the
wire's length, a reduction in its area, and hence an increase in its electrical
resistance. A typical wire gauge is shown in Figure 1a, an etched foil gauge in
Figure 1b, The foil gauge can be made very compact, and with large lobes at the
end, so that the effect of strain perpendicular to the long axis is reduced virtually to
zero.
The increase in resistance is proportional to the change in strain of the base material;
normally a bridge circuit is used to measure the change in resistance, which can be
converted into strain by multiplication using a pre-determined gauge factor. This
calibration factor is provided by the manufacturer. It is not usually practical to
remove strain gauges after attachment; hence it is not possible to calibrate each
gauge individually. A typical gauge factor is about 2.0 for wire and foil gauges.
Applications
Strain gauges are used for a wide variety of transducers as well as providing local
information about strain in solid structures. They can be used to form pressure
gauges by measuring strain in a diaphragm, Figure 2a; vibration, by measuring stain
in a cantilever beam with an end mass, Figure 2b. They can be used to measure
large deflections using a flexible beam to link the two points.
Wire and foil stain gauges are cheap and easily available in a wide range of designs.
They can be wired into circuits to extract particular information, e.g. pure torque in a
shaft; bending or axial tension in a beam. They must be carefully attached and wired
up. The gauge should be protected from mechanical damage or weather. The
change in resistance should be measured by a very sensitive bridge network, see
Figure 3. The '3-wire' technique illustrated removes the effects of lead-wire
resistance changes. This resistance change is very small and may also be caused
by a change in temperature of the gauge or base material. Techniques are available
for reducing or removing the temperature effects. Gauges matched to particular
base materials are available.
3.3 Piezo-resistive Strain gauges
A piezo-resistive or semi-conductor strain gauge consists of a semi-conductor such

as silicon bonded to a backing material which can be glued to a base material.
The resistance of the gauge changes in proportion to the mechanical strain applied.
This change in resistance is much greater than for wire or foil gauges. A typical
gauge factor is about 120, compared with about 2 for wire gauges. A d.c. voltage is
applied across the strain gauge and a ballast resistor. The voltage drop across the
strain gauge is then proportional to the resistance and hence the strain.
Applications
Piezo-resistive strain gauges may be used in place of wire strain gauges where
higher output levels are required; the higher gain means that a less sensitive
amplifier system is required to obtain reliable measurements. They are particularly
useful for room temperature dynamic measurements.
The high gain allows simple amplification of the output signal. However, the gauges
are very temperature-sensitive and relatively expensive compared with foil gauges.
They are also more prone to damage in installation.
3.4 Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT)

A transformer with a central wound primary and two secondary windings, one on
either side, is formed round a hollow tube, Figure 4a. A constant voltage a.c. supply
is applied to the primary circuit.
The transformer core can slide axially inside the tube increasing the coupling (mutual
inductance) between the primary and one secondary coil, thus increasing that
secondary voltage, whilst decreasing the coupling for the other secondary coil.
Joining the two secondaries gives an output voltage proportional to displacement.
Care in manufacture leads to a linear change of secondary voltage (a.c.) with relative
position of the transformer and core.
Applications
Applied to a wide range of products where linear measurement is required.
Linear displacement ranging up to 10 cm may be achieved at reasonable cost.
LVDTs are manufactured with or without guide bearings for the core, the core may be
rigidly fixed to moving parts and withstand several cycles per second movement.
Spring-loaded LVDT plungers with integral bearings release mechanical dial test
indicators; the frequency range for measurements is limited by the return spring
which applies a low follower force. The gauge is easy to calibrate using slip gauges.
LVDT transducers are also made with integral electronics, requiring only d.c.
excitation to obtain a d.c. output voltage proportional to displacement, or a simple
electrical circuit may be used, see Figure 4b. They are less likely to wear than
potentiometers.
3.5 Velocity Transducers

A fixed coil with a spring-loaded magnet free to move axially within the core of the
coil will induce a voltage in the coil proportional to the relative velocity (and to the
strength of the magnetic field and number of turns of the coil). Figure 5 shows a
basic set-up.
The inducted voltage in a coil due to a magnet is proportional to the rate of change of
flux.
Applications
Can be used in two modes. For relative velocity, the coil is connected to one
structure and the magnet to the other. For changes in velocity (e.g. seismic
measurements), the coil is fixed to the moving structure and the magnet is assumed
to be stationary (i.e. a seismic configuration).
For a limited amplitude (related to the core length of the coil), the magnet induces a
voltage proportional to velocity; above this amplitude the output is very non-linear,
reducing to zero at the extremes; hence the limited dynamic range. The device is
physically large for reasonable signals, hence it may affect the structure significantly.
The magnet needs a return spring to centre it within the coil. With a finite spring
stiffness the magnet has a resonance frequency, so producing large output for small
motion at particular excitation frequencies. Damping may be introduced to minimise
this. Their output impedance is quite low and they can be connected directly to a
meter without a conditioning amplifier.
3.6 Piezo-electric devices in general

Quartz and some other crystals produce an electrostatic charge when strained in one
particular axis; the charge is proportional to the strain. This piezo-electric effect may
also be used in the reverse direction; application of an electric field across the crystal
faces will cause the crystal to attempt to change shape (i.e. strain), increasing on one
direction and reducing in another direction.
3.7 Force Gauges

Two piezo-electric crystals are mounted back-to-back as shown in Figure 6, with the
sensitive axis designed to produce charge when an axial force is applied to the end
faces of the transducer.
The charge generated when the crystals are strained is directly proportional to the
axial applied force.
Applications
Measurement of time varying forces, e.g. as dynamic input to a system, to measure
reaction forces to other applied stimulations.
The force gauge is light and compact, able to transmit fairly high forces between
items and is reasonably stiff. A pre-loaded design enables both compression and
tension forces to be measured. Note that applying a couple to the gauge will result in
zero average charge, Figure 6b, hence the gauge should be installed to transmit only
axial forces, or allowance should be made for the effect of unmeasured moments.
The piezo-electric charge output requires a special conditioning amplifier, Figure 6c,
to accept the very high output impedance of the device. Even with this form of
amplifier the charge finally dissipates due to the stabilising feedback resistor, hence it
is not practical to measure steady forces, only time-varying forces. The time
constant of the conditioning amplifier will determine the limitations of quasi-steady-
state measurements.
3.8 Accelerometer
A piezo-electric crystal connected between a moving platform and a small reference
or seismic mass measures the force required to move the mass. Figure 7a shows a
schematic arrangement of an accelerometer.
From Newton's Second Law (force = mass*acceleration) the force causing the
seismic mass to move is measured by the piezo-electric crystal. The mass is
constant and known, hence the output can be related to the acceleration of the base.
Applications
Determination of acceleration in the direction of the transducer, and at a measured
location. This could be as part of a machinery monitoring system, e.g. bearing
vibration, or to record vibration levels under a test condition, e.g. vehicle motion on a
rough road. The compact nature of the transducer and its internal reference system
make it ideal for measurements on vibrating objects.
The reference mass provides an internal absolute frame for measurements and there
is no need to provide an external datum as is the case with displacement devices.
Transducers can be made relatively small and robust. However, note that dropping
an accelerometer 20 cm onto a steel base may generate several thousand
2
metre/sec acceleration and cause internal damage. However, they are in general
much more robust than strain gauge devices. As with piezo-electric force gauges,
accelerometers need special conditioning amplifiers to obtain a useful signal from the
very high impedance output and they cannot produce a steady output at a constant
acceleration. As the output is proportional to acceleration, there may be very low
signals at low frequencies of vibration. The crystal output may also be affected by
strain in the accelerometer mounting (base-strain sensitivity), and by motion in
directions other than along the sensitive axis (cross-axis sensitivity). Modern
transducer design using crystals in shear from a central pillar, e.g. Figure 7b,
minimises base-strain distortion, and care in manufacture, together with check
calibrations should minimise and identify any cross-axis sensitivity effects. All
accelerometers using a reference mass will have a resonance frequency determined
by the mass and its supporting spring stiffness. Near to this resonance frequency,
the amplitude of vibration of the reference mass (and hence the output from the
crystal) is higher for a given base acceleration, leading to errors in the transducer
output. A typical transducer characteristic is shown in Figure 7c. The mass of the
accelerometer can also be significant in changing a structure's performance,
especially in moving resonance frequencies of light-weight items.
3.9 Pressure gauge

Strain gauges, either wire, foil or piezo-resistive, may be used to measure the strain
in a thin diaphragm subjected to a difference in pressure between the two faces. The
edge of the diaphragm is sealed and clamped, and the gauges placed in order to
detect the change in strain, see Figure 8a.
The change in strain in a thin plate subjected to a pressure differential is proportional
to the applied pressure.
Applications
If one side of the diaphragm is in a sealed unit, then the gauge may be calibrated to
read absolute pressure; if both sides are connected to parts of the system, then the
gauge will read differential pressure. By leaving one side exposed to the air, the
transducer will read gauge pressure. A microphone is basically a pressure gauge
that has a long passage between the back of the diaphragm and the ambient air,
Figure 8b. Dynamic fluctuations in pressure (sound) produce differential pressure on
the diaphragm. However, slow changes of barometric pressure are not detected as
the air pressure can equalise between the sides. Similarly, the microphone cannot
measure down to d.c.
The thin diaphragm responds rapidly to changes in pressure, and a strain gauge
system can detect much more rapid changes than a Bourdon tube connected to a
mechanical pointer. The gauges may be anchored to both sides to increase
sensitivity, however exposure to fluids or corrosive gases may damage the gauges,
in which case they are mounted on one side only. The output must be connected to
a bridge circuit to detect the small changes in strain. Piezo-resistive gauges with a
higher output sensitivity may be used with a d.c. supply and a voltage amplifier.
Response at high frequencies is limited by diaphragm resonances and the, usually
unknown, dynamic properties of the connecting pipe.
3.10 Ultrasonic Probe

The piezo-electric crystal may be used in its alternative mode: by applying a varying
voltage to the crystal it will distort (strain) along its sensitive axis. This distortion is of
very small amplitude, but if the crystal is in direct contact with a solid object, then
energy will be transferred into the object.
The piezo-electric effect converts an applied input voltage into a force between the
crystal and the solid object, causing the object to vibrate at the same frequency as
the excitation. The force is increased if the crystal assembly is operated at a natural
resonance frequency.
Applications
The crystal vibration may be at very high frequency, typical 100 kHz or more and for
a very short duration. The energy entering the solid object travels through the
material, possibly being attenuated by cracks, or reflected by changes in section, and
is then captured by a second piezoelectric transducer which responds to the vibration
by producing a piezo-electric charge. The change between the input excitation and
the response may be interpreted to identify material properties. This is a very
common procedure in Non-destructive testing (NDT). In some cases the same
crystal can perform both tasks, inducing an energy pulse at one point and measuring
the returning echo at the same point.
The ultrasonic probe enables high frequency, short wave-length energy to detect
flaws with little risk of damage to the structure. Acoustic testing, with longer
wavelengths, is not so suitable for detecting small flaws in materials. Problems may
occur in connecting the piezo-electric crystal to the solid surface, and fluids such as
water may be required to transfer the energy. Also there may be problems of
interpretation, is there a flaw?, is the flaw serious?, what is the variability of the
product?
3.11 Inductive displacement gauge (Eddy current probe)
An electro-magnetic coil with part of the core moving with respect to the coil will have
a variable self-inductance due to eddy currents induced in the moveable part of the
core. The eddy currents are stimulated by high frequency excitation of the coil.
If the coil is attached to one structure and a metal target is placed on an adjacent
structure which has relative motion, then eddy currents induced in the target will
change, altering the inductance of the coil. A frequency modulation (FM) circuit
including the coil will detect the change of inductance as a change of frequency. The
output of a suitable FM amplifier will then give a voltage which is proportional to the
air gap over a limited range.
Applications
As there is no need for direct connection between the coil and the steel plate, the
gauge is ideal for measuring rotating components such as shafts, where other
transducers cannot be used.
The transducer requires an FM demodulation amplifier. The transducer will detect
movements of the order of 1 mm, and although the basic eddy current effect is very
non-linear with gap, the output can be made linear over a reasonable displacement
range by internal electronic circuitry. The output depends on the geometry of the
transducer and on the material of the target. However, it is insensitive to most liquids
in the gap, and has a response from d.c. up to about 15 kHz.
3.12 Capacitive Displacement Gauge

The capacitance of two insulated metal plates depends on the area of the plates, the
material between them, and the distance apart (the air gap). The resonant frequency
of a high-frequency oscillatory circuit may be determined by a capacitor.
If one plate is attached to one structure and the other plate is placed on an adjacent
structure which has relative motion, then the capacitance will vary inversely with the
distance between the plates. A frequency modulation (FM) circuit including the
capacitor will detect the change of capacitance as a change of frequency. The
output of a suitable FM amplifier will then give a voltage which is proportional to the
air gap over a limited range. In practice, the transducer is attached to one
component, with the outer edge of the circular plate protected by a guard ring to
minimise stray capacitive effects. The other plate is usually a metal part of the
structure, which has to be connected to the electrical circuit.
Applications
Capacitance gauges tend to be larger than inductive gauges for the same air gap.
However both are used for accurate relative displacement measurements
The transducer requires an FM demodulation amplifier. The change in capacitance
is sensibly linear for small air gaps, although edge effects become significant at
higher air gaps. Hence there is a limited linear range of displacement. The
capacitance is sensitive to liquids in the gap, i.e. lubricants, but it is not sensitive to
the material of the plates. Electrical connections are required between each plate
and the FM amplifier, and problems may occur with rotating machinery
measurements in completing the electrical circuit without noise from slip-rings.
Displacements from d.c. to about 15 kHz are measurable for limited air gaps.
3.13 Optical Transducers (Photo diode or Photo conductive cell)

A semi-conductor made from CdS (cadmium sulphide) is extremely sensitive
electrically to light.
The light-sensitive diode will change its electrical resistance (reducing) when
exposed to photons of light, this change of resistance is considerable, though non-
linear, and can be easily incorporated into a simple d.c. circuit with a ballast resistor.
Change of light intensity will then vary the voltage drop across the resistor.
Applications
Many simple circuits such as item counters can be developed using the photo-diode
as an input. lnterruption of a light path will trigger a voltage change. Photo-
tachometers can be used to measure rotational speeds using a light source and
reflective tape on one visible part of the rotor, each revolution providing a high
intensity pulse. Etched alternate black and white lines on a rotating disc provide a
much more precise indication of angle of rotation, and multiple blocks and an array of
diodes are used for rotary encoders. A similar arrangement can be used for linear
position encoders. More precise voltage measurements from the photo-diode can
detect the absolute level of light falling; in conjunction with suitable optical systems
e.g. for setting shutter timing in photographic applications, or for sensing motion in
security equipment. Photo-transducers can be selected to be sensitive to particular
wavelengths of light e.g. infra-red, to detect heat.
A small photo-diode can provide a very simple low-cost counter driver which does not
add mass or connections to moving parts, and by reasonable design can produce
pulses of high or low voltage to indicate events. A very wide range of transducers
utilise this principle.
3.14 Laser interferometer

A laser beam can be split using an interferometer to illuminate a target and collect
the reflected light, see Figure 9.
If the target is moving relative to the laser source, along the direction of the beam,
then the Doppler effect will change the frequency of the reflected light. The
interferometer detects this difference in frequency using FM techniques and
produces an output voltage proportional to the velocity. A wavelength shifter is
usually used to enable discrimination between positive and negative velocities.
Applications
The laser beam may be directed at any selected point on a vibrating surface which is
visible, and the decoded Doppler signal of the reflected light used to determine the
instantaneous velocity of the target point at the instant at which the light hit it. Some
laser-based transducers incorporate a mirror system to adjust the position of the
laser. Scanning the laser across a surface enables many measurements to be made
rapidly, without changing the location of the measurement system.
The system is relatively expensive, but allows a large number of measurements to be
made in a short time, provided that the surface of the test structure can be seen by
the laser, and noting that only motion in the line of the beam will be detected. A
reflective target may be measured some hundreds of metres from the laser.
Measurements can be made on hot or moving surfaces without any telemetry
problems and on very light-weight structures without any problems of adding mass.
3.15 Platinum Resistance Thermometer

A thin wire (which may need to be electrically insulated) in contact with an object, or
in fluid flow, used to determine temperature.
The resistance of a length of platinum wire changes with temperature.
Applications
Where temperatures are not expected to change rapidly over a considerable volume,
e.g. air conditioning supply.
Change in resistance is over the length of the wire, hence need to ensure most wire
is in the area of interest. Low cost, but needs bridge circuit to determine resistance
change. Non-linear but characteristic is accurately known.
3.16 Thermistor
Semiconductor material in a small bead which is temperature sensitive.
The resistance of the material changes with temperature, typically 10 times more
sensitive than a platinum wire. The resistance usually decreases with temperature.
Applications
Ideal where limited accuracy is required but in a small measurement area. Difficult to
remove when bonded to a surface.
Measures temperature in a small area, at relatively low cost, but the resistance
change is exponential and hence is non-linear over a large temperature range. Need
to calibrate for accurate measurements.
3.17 Thermocouple
Two dissimilar metal wires joined at their ends to form an electrical circuit.
A junction of two dissimilar metals will produce an e.m.f. proportional to the
temperature. Two dissimilar metal wires joined at their ends, with one end in a cold
(reference) junction and the other in contact with a hot surface, will form an electric
circuit, whose voltage is proportional to the temperature difference. A few widely-
used junction materials are standardised, e.g. type K (range -200°C to +1100°C uses
a pair of nickel alloys); BS 4973 part 4 gives the standard e.m.f. versus temperature
properties for several alloys, hence any thermocouple can be interfaced to any
reading device to give an accurate reading.
Applications
Easy to use, no need for calibration, measures local temperatures rapidly, e.g.
process units.
Cheap, easily available, standard output meters (microvolt meter) give direct
temperature reading, with cold junction compensation, and broken wires may be
replaced without need for calibration. Temperature at the tip is recorded, it may be
difficult to get a good contact with metal surface. A small hole may help for accurate
response. Can spot weld a single wire onto a metal surface and complete the circuit
away from the heat source. This method is permanent, and will require calibration.
The thermocouple materials should be continued right up to the measurement point.
Other leads can give problems with “secondary junctions”.
3.18 Non destructive testing transduction
See slides “Introduction to NDT prepared by Iowa State Centre for NDE”. You can
see the slides in colour -the presentation is available on “Moodle”.
Figure 1a: Wire strain gauge
Figure 1b: Foil etched strain gauge
Delta rosette Stacked grid 90°rosette
Two element 90° grid Herringbone grid
Figure 1: Typical wire and foil strain gauges

Some Figure 1 photos: courtesy of Measurements Group
Figure 2a: Schematic of a pressure gauge using one strain gauge
Figure 2b: Two schematic arrangements of an accelerometer using an inertial mass

and beams to detect the applied force.
Figure 2: Use of strain gauges in transducers for force measurements

Figure 3a: Standard Wheatstone Bridge Circuit
Figure 3b: Modified “three wire circuit” for minimising lead loss
Figure 4a: Schematic of a linear differential variable transformer (LVDT)
Figure 4b: Electrical circuit to demodulate the output signal from a LVDT to produce a
d.c. proportional to displacement.
Figure 5: Schematic diagram for one type of velocity transducer
Figure 6: Schematic diagram of a force gauge

Figure 6b: Effect of a torque applied to a force gauge
Figure 6c: Electronic amplifier circuit for piezo-electric charge transducers.

Figure 7a: Schematic of a piezo-electric accelerometer
Figure 7b: Shear mode piezo-electric accelerometer
Figure 7c: Typical piezo-electric accelerometer frequency characteristic
image 7c copyright Questex Media Group LLC

Figure 8a: Schematic diagram of a pressure gauge.
Figure 8b: Typical high performance microphone.

Figure 9: Layout of laser interferometer. The light from the laser is split into a
reference beam and an object beam by beam splitter, BS1. The object beam passes
through beam splitter BS2 and is then focused to a point on the surface of the object
to be measured by a precision lens assembly. The same lens system collects some
of the backscattered light which is diverted by BS2 towards BS3. At BS3 the
backscattered light from the object interferes with the reference beam. The light
scattered from the moving object experiences a Doppler frequency shift which is
proportional to the instantaneous velocity of the object in the direction of the laser
beam. The frequency difference between the object beam and the reference beam
shows up as a light intensity modulation which is converted to an electronic signal by
detectors DI and D2. Two detectors are used to minimise noise and drift. In order to
distinguish between motion toward and away from the optical head, the Bragg cell is
used to introduce a static 40 MHz frequency shift onto the reference beam.
Description and diagram from Polytec brochure.

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ME3 / MSD

Machine System Dynamics

Mechanical Engineering Department

Department of Mechanical Engineering

ME3 Compulsory Course

Machine System Dynamics

Part III Signal Processing

Lecture 1 Transducer and signal acquisition systems.

Lecture 2 The Frequency Domain I.

Lecture 3 The Frequency Domain II.

Lecture 4 The Frequency Domain III.

Tutorial question sheets will be issued when appropriate.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

3M Machine System Dynamics

Transducers and signal acquisition systems

1. Transduction – turning a physical quantity (e.g. force) into a voltage

ME3 MSD Transducers and signal acquisition systems. FC Page 1 of 9

Before starting any measurement it is important to ask yourself some basic

Why are you measuring?

ME3 MSD Transducers and signal acquisition systems. FC Page 2 of 9

ME3 MSD Transducers and signal acquisition systems. FC Page 3 of 9

Sensitivity – the change in transducer output per unit change in physical

Transverse sensitivity – the change in transducer output due to variation of

Temperature, Humidity, Radiation effects – similar to transverse sensitivity,

Frequency range – the frequency for which variation in physical quantity is

4. Practical Issues (transducer placement/ transducer mounting and

ME3 MSD Transducers and signal acquisition systems. FC Page 4 of 9

ME3 MSD Transducers and signal acquisition systems. FC Page 5 of 9

In modern piezo electric sensors signal conditioning amplifiers are integrated

ME3 MSD Transducers and signal acquisition systems. FC Page 6 of 9

6. Analogue to digital conversion

The sampling process introduces an error because only a finite number of

ME3 MSD Transducers and signal acquisition systems. FC Page 7 of 9

In vibration testing impacts are commonly used to excite the structure.

ME3 MSD Transducers and signal acquisition systems. FC Page 8 of 9

Finally the most common problems encountered due to digitizing is temporal

Figure 9 Illustration of temporal aliasing.

ME3 MSD Transducers and signal acquisition systems. FC Page 9 of 9

Department of Mechanical Engineering

3M Machine System Dynamics

The frequency domain

The previous lecture introduced signal acquisition considerations up to the

1. Analysis of dominant periodic components in a signal – frequency

ME3 MSD The frequency domain FC Page 1 of 10

ME3 MSD The frequency domain FC Page 2 of 10

The backbone of frequency domain signal processing is Fourier analysis. The

Thus, x(t) is considered to be made up by the addition of a steady level, ao, to

2.1 Evaluation of the coefficients

ME3 MSD The frequency domain FC Page 3 of 10

ME3 MSD The frequency domain FC Page 4 of 10

2.2 Summary of Fourier Series Equations

A periodic function x(t) of period T may be expressed as

3. Example reconstruction of a signal

It might be instructive to look at an example of how a periodic signal is

ME3 MSD The frequency domain FC Page 5 of 10

ME3 MSD The frequency domain FC Page 6 of 10

ME3 MSD The frequency domain FC Page 7 of 10

Four types of signal are commonly encountered in vibration measurement:

A transient signal which has 'died away' in time T may be converted to a

It is therefore possible to use the Fourier series analysis developed in the

Figure 3 Transient Signal and assumed repetitions

ME3 MSD The frequency domain FC Page 8 of 10

The coefficients may be evaluated from