1

INSTRUMENTATION:
TRANSDUCERS
Mr.P.Krishna, EEE Department, IIITN 4 March 2020
 2

Mr.P.Krishna, EEE 4 March 2020

Department, IIITN

Instrumentation:
A physical system
Different physical objects (systems) connected
together to serve an objective.
Physical objects interconnected to measure,
analyze and control electrical, fluidic, thermal
and other physical quantities.
Instrument: refers to a sensor with some of its
associated electronics
 3

Mr.P.Krishna, EEE 4 March 2020

Department, IIITN

Transducers:
Used to transform one form of energy to another
Converts a measurable quantity to an electrical
voltage or an electrical current (called as
sensor)
Converts electrical signal into another form of
energy such as sound, light, mechanical
movement etc …..(called as actuator)
Elements of a transducer:
1) Measurand
2) Transduction element
 4

Mr.P.Krishna, EEE 4 March 2020

Department, IIITN

Transducer block diagram:

 5

Mr.P.Krishna, EEE 4 March 2020

Department, IIITN

Sensor characteristics: Linear

Where, y=response, x=stimulus

1. Sensitivity (gain of the sensor)

2. Threshold (xmin) and detectivity (sensor will not

respond to small signals)
3. Zero offset (to correct)
 6

Mr.P.Krishna, EEE 4 March 2020

Department, IIITN

Types of sensor: electrical modeling

I. Passive sensor: Requires an external power
source i.e behaves like a passive circuit
element such as resistor, inductor or capacitor.
II. Active sensor: Derives its power from the
stimulus (x) which it is measuring. An active
sensor appears like a signal source with
Thevenin or Norton equivalent circuit.
 7

Mr.P.Krishna, EEE 4 March 2020

Department, IIITN

Active sensors Passive sensors

1. Photovoltaic 1. Variable resistance

transducer transducer
2. Piezoelectric 2. Hall effect sensor
transducer
3. Optoelectronic
3. Thermoelectric transducer
transducer
4. Variable reactance
4. Electromagnetic transducer
transducer
 8

Mr.P.Krishna, EEE 4 March 2020

Department, IIITN

MEASURANDS:
• Displacement • Atomic and surface
• Velocity profiles
• Gas concentration and pH
• Position
• pH and partial pressure of
• Acceleration
O2 and CO2 in blood
• Force and load
• Infrared radiation
• Strain • Torque
• Rotation and encoding • Magnetic field
• Vibrations • Acoustic fields
• Flow • Medical imaging
• Temperature • Non destructive testing
• Pressure • Audio fields and noise
• Vacuum • Rotation and guidance
 9

Mr.P.Krishna, EEE 4 March 2020

Department, IIITN

Selection Of Transducer:
(In addition to the cost)
Sensitivity Output impedance
Range Power requirements
Physical properties Noise
Loading effect and Error or Accuracy
distortion Calibration
Frequency range Environment
Electrical output
format
 10

Mr.P.Krishna, EEE 4 March 2020

Department, IIITN

Classification of transducers:
i. Resistive Transducers
ii. Inductive Transducers
iii. Capacitive Transducers
iv. Electromagnetic Transducers
v. Thermo resistive Transducers
vi. Strain gauge Transducers
vii. Hall effect and magneto resistive Transducers
viii.Thermodynamic Transducers
ix. Photonic Transducers
x. Ionization Transducers
xi. Fiber optic Transducers