Signal Conditioning

• Signal conditioning is the operation performed on the signal to convert

them to a form suitable for interfacing with other elements in the process
control

• 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
 The sensing element converts the non-electrical signal (e.g. temperature) into
electrical signals (e.g. voltage, current, resistance, capacitance etc.).
 The job of the signal conditioning element is to convert the variation of
electrical signal into a voltage level suitable for further processing.

 The next stage is the signal processing element. It takes the output of the signal
conditioning element and converts into a form more suitable for presentation and
other uses (display, recording, feedback control etc.).

 Analog-to-digital converters, linearization circuits etc. fall under the category of

signal processing circuits.
• The success of the design of any measurement system depends heavily
on the design and performance of the signal conditioning circuits. Even
a costly and accurate transducer may fail to deliver good performance
if the signal conditioning circuit is not designed properly.

• Nowadays, many commercial sensors often have in-built signal

conditioning circuit. This arrangement can overcome the problem of
incompatibility between the sensing element and the signal
conditioning circuit.
The function of the signal conditioning circuits include
the following items:
 Signal amplification (opamp)
 Filtering (opamp),
 Interfacing with µP (ADC),

 Protection(Zener & photo isolation),

 Linearization,
 Current – voltage change circuits,
 resistance change circuits (Wheatstone bridge),
 error compensation
Linearization,
Conversion
 Filtering

we can also use filters to reject unwanted noise within a certain frequency range. Many
systems will exhibit 60 Hz periodic noise components from sources such as power supplies or
machinery.

many signal conditioners include low pass noise filters to remove

unwanted noise, an extra precaution is to use software averaging to
remove additional noise.
Low pass filters on our signal conditioning circuitry can eliminate unwanted high-
frequency components. However, be sure to select the filter bandwidth carefully so
that we do not affect the time response of our signals.

Software averaging is a simple and effective technique of digitally filtering acquired

readings; for every data point you need, the DAQ system acquires and averages
many voltage readings. For example, a common approach is to acquire 100 points
and average those points for each measurement you need. For slower applications in
which you can oversample in this way, averaging is a very effective noise filtering
technique.
 Operational Amplifiers
Many sensors develop extremely low-level output signals. The signals are usually
too small for applying directly to low-gain, multi flexed data acquisition system
inputs, so some amplification is necessary. Two common examples of low-level
sensors are thermocouples and strain-gage bridges that typically deliver full-scale
outputs of less than 50 mV
 Amplification
Unwanted noise can play havoc with the measurement accuracy of system. The
effects of system noise on the measurements can be extreme if we are not careful.
Signal conditioning circuitry with amplification, which applies gain outside of the
PC chassis and near the signal source, can increase measurement resolution and
effectively reduce the effects of noise. An amplifier, located directly on the in
external signal conditioners and can apply gain to the small signal before the ADC
converts the signal to a digital value. Boosting the input signal uses as much of the
ADC input range as possible.
 However, many sensor produce voltage output signals on the order of
millivolts or even microvolts. Amplifying these low-level analog signals
directly on the DAQ board also amplifies any noise picked up from the
signal lead wires or from within the computer chassis. When the input
signal is as small as microvolts, this noise can drown out the signal itself,
leading to meaningless data.

 A simple method for reducing the effects of system noise on signal is to

amplify the signal as close to the source as possible, which boosts the
analog signal above the noise level before noise in the lead wires or
computer chassis can corrupt the signal.
For example, a J-type thermocouple outputs a very low-level voltage signal that varies by
about 50 µV/°C. Suppose that the thermocouple leads must travel 10 m through an
electrically noisy plant environment to the system. If the various noise sources in the
environment couple 200 µV onto the thermocouple leads, you obtain a noisy temperature
reading with about 4° C of noise. However, amplifying the signal close to the thermocouple
before noise corrupts the signal alleviates this problem. Amplifying the signal with a gain of
500 with a signal conditioner placed near the thermocouple produces a thermocouple signal
that varies by about 25 mV/°C. As this high-level signal travels the same 10 m, the 200 µV of
noise coupled onto this signal after amplification has much less of an effect on the final
measurement, adding only a fraction of a degree Celsius of noise to the measured temperature
reading.
Isolation

Improper grounding of the DAQ system is the most common cause of measurement problems
and damaged DAQ boards. Isolated signal conditioners can prevent most of these problems by
passing the signal from its source to the measurement device without a galvanic or physical
connection. Isolation breaks ground loops, rejects high common-mode voltages, and protects
expensive DAQ instrumentation.

Common methods for circuit isolation include using optical, magnetic, or capacitive isolators.
Magnetic and capacitive isolators modulate the signal to convert it from a voltage to a
frequency. The frequency can then be transmitted across a transformer or capacitor without a
direct physical connection before being converted back to a voltage value. When you connect
your sensor or equipment ground to your DAQ system, you will see any potential difference in
the grounds on both inputs to your DAQ system. This voltage is referred to as common-mode
voltage. If you are using a single-ended measurement system. the measured voltage includes
the voltage from the desired signal, VS, as well as this common-mode voltage from the
additional ground currents in the system, VG
If you are using a DAQ board with differential inputs, you can reject some of this
common-mode voltage, typically up to 12 V. However, larger ground potential
differences, or ground loops, will damage unprotected DAQ devices. If you
cannot remove the ground references, use isolating signal conditioners that break
these ground loops and reject very large common-mode voltages. For example,
SCXI isolation amplifier modules can operate with up to 250 Vrms of common-
mode voltage. This isolation rating is for safe working voltage and is CE compliant.
Isolators also provide an important safety function by protecting against high-
voltage surges from sources like power lines, lightning, or high-voltage equipment.
When dealing with high voltages, a surge can damage the equipment or even harm
equipment operators. By breaking the galvanic connection, isolated signal
conditioners produce an effective barrier between the DAQ system and these high-
voltage surges.
Most data acquisition systems use a number of different types of circuits to amplify
the signal before processing. Modern analog circuits intended for these data
acquisition systems comprise basic integrated operational amplifiers, which are
configured easily to amplify or buffer signals. Integrated operational amplifiers
contain many circuit components, but are typically portrayed on schematic diagrams
as a simple logical functional block. A few external resistors and capacitors
determine how they function in the system. Their extreme versatility makes them
the universal analog building block for signal conditioning.
 Operational Amplifiers Circuit

• Operational amplifiers are the basic element of many signal conditioning

modules

Generally the opamp has the following properties:

Voltage Gain: being of the order greater than 100000v, ideally infinite
Input impedance: being of the order greater than 100000Ω Ideally infinite
output impedance: practical values 20-100Ω ideally zero
Most operational amplifier stages are called inverting or non-inverting. (See
Figure) A simple equation relating to each configuration provides the idealized
circuit gains as a function of the input and feedback resistors and capacitors.
Also, special cases of each configuration make up the rest of the fundamental
building blocks, namely the unity-gain follower and the difference amplifier.
Inverting Amplifier Stages

The inverter stage is the most basic operational amplifer confguration. It simply accepts an input
signal referenced to common, amplifes it, and inverts the polarity at the output terminals. The
open-loop gain of a typical operational amplifer is in the hundreds of thousands. But the idealized
amplifer used to derive the transfer function assumes a gain of infnity to simplify its derivation
without introducing signifcant errors in calculating the stage gain. With such a high stage gain, the
input voltage sees only the voltage divider composed of Rf and Ri. The negative sign in the
transfer function indicates that the output signal is the inverse polarity of the input. Without
deriving the transfer function, the output is calculated from:
Inverting Amplifier
Vo = –Vin(Rf/Ri)
Where:
Vo = output signal, V
Vin = input signal, V
Rf = feedback resistor, Ω
Ri = input resistor, Ω
For example, for a 500 mV input signal and a desired output of -5V:
Vo = Vin(Rf/Ri)
Vo/Vin = Rf/Ri
5/0.50 = Rf/Ri = 10
Therefore, the ratio between input and feedback resistors should be 10, so Rf must be 100 kW
when selecting a 10 kW resistor for Ri.
The maximum input signal that the amplifer can handle without damage is usually about 2V
less than the supply voltage. For example, when the supply is ±15 VDC, the input signal
should not exceed ±13 VDC. This is the single most critical characteristic of the operational
amplifer that limits its voltage handling ability.
Non-Inverting Amplifier Stages
The non-inverting amplifer is similar to the previous circuit but the phase of the output signal
matches the input. Also, the gain equation simply depends on the voltage divider composed of Rf
and Ri.
Non-Inverting Amplifier
Vo = Vin(Rf + Ri)/Ri
For the same 500 mV input signal,
Rf = 100 kΩ, and Ri = 10 kΩ:
Vo/Vin = (Rf + Ri)/Ri,
Vo = Vi(Rf + Ri)/Ri
Vo = 0.50(100k + 10 k)/10k
Vo = 0.50(110k/10k) = 0.50(11)
Vo = 5.5V
 Differential Amplifiers
Differential-input amplifers offer some advantages over inverting and non-inverting amplifiers. It
appears as acombination of the inverting and non-inverting amplifers.
The input signal is impressed between the operational amplifer’s positive and negative input
terminals and can be isolated from common or a ground pin. The optional ground pin is the key to
the amplifer’s flexibility.
The output signal of the differential input amplifer responds only to the differential voltage that
exists between the two input terminals. The transfer function for this amplifer is:
Differential Amplifier
Vo = (Rf/Ri)(V1 – V2)
For an input signal of 50 mV, Where:
V1 = 1.050V and V2 = 1.000V
Vo = (Rf/Ri)(V1 – V2)
Vo = (100k/100k)(0.05V)
Vo = 0.05V
For a gain of 10 where Rf = 100k and Ri = 10k:
Vo = (Rf/Ri)(V1 – V2)
Vo = (100k/10k)(0.05V)
Vo = 0.50V