CH 4

Chapter 4
Other Transducers and Signal Conditioning Circuitry

Introduction
• Displacement Potentiometers
• Linear Variable differential transformers
• Magnetic Proximity sensors
• Capacitive and Ultrasonic level-sensing transducers
• Pressure and flow sensing transducers
• Strain gauges and other force sensing transducers
• Load cells and load cell applications

Introduction
• Types of sensors functions include: position sensing, proximity detection, level
measurement, pressure sensing, flow measurement, humidity detection and the
measurement of force and weight.
• Transducers commonly used for position sensing : potentiometer and the linear
variable differential transformer, they are used to detect the position of a moving
machine part.
Displacement Potentiometer
• It is A variable voltage divider that might be

used for position sensing.
• In the figure shown: mechanical linkage

could be provided between a moving
machine part and the wiper of a linear
potentiometer.
• Movement of the shaft would result in a

corresponding motion of the wiper along
the body of the resistor.
• With the output being taken at the wiper,

changes in the position of the shaft may be
translated to changes in voltage.
• The output signal could be developed from

B to C or from B to A
linearity
• The mechanical linkage between the shaft and the potentiometer can be designed
such that a given amount of travel by the shaft will result in a proportional amount of
wiper movement.
• Example: assume the maximum amount of travel for the shaft in the figure shown is 5
inches, this means 1 in of its motion represents 20% of its total travel, thus for linear
operation, this motion should result in a 20% change in resistance. Either from A to B or
B to C.
linearity
• Example_continue: assume the maximum resistance of the potentiometer is 150 ohms
measured from A to C, assume both the shaft and the wiper are in their midpoint
positions.
• Based on the maximum amount of travel, the shaft could move as much as 2.5 in in
either direction.
• Ideal resistance from A to B=resistance from B to C (75 ohms in this example)
linearity
• Example_continue: If the shaft moves 1 in to the right, this represents 20%
displacement, the wiper will also move to the right and the resistance between A and B
will increase by 20%.
• Example_ continue: linearity
• ideally, the changes from A to B would be perfectly proportional to variations in shaft
position.
• Real world displacement potentiometers are not perfectly linear.
• Manufactures usually specify a worst-case percentage of diviation for a given device
with 1% being a typical value.
linearity
• Example: assume the 150 ohms potentiometer has 1% deviation, 20% shaft
displacement results in as much as 21% or as little as 19 % change in resistance
Resolution
• Ideally, regardless of how slight the displacement of a potentiometer wiper might be, a
corresponding change in resistance would occur from the wiper to either terminal of the
device.
• The resolution of wire-wound potentiometer is limited by its number of turn.
• Suppose RA-C is 150 ohms and the potentiometer consists of 200 turns, then resolution
is:
• This means that as the wiper moves along the body of potentiometer its resistance will
change in increment of 0.75 ohms
Voltage divider
Voltage divider
Example: Assume RA-C=150 Ω and VA-C=12 V, and assume perfectly linear operation, solve for VA-B and VB-C with the
wiper in the center position, Next, assume the wiper moves downward such that RB-C equals 42 Ω, solve for VA-B, and
VA-C, does the percentage of change in RB-C equal the percentage of change in VB-C?
Voltage divider
• For wire wound displacement potentiometer, the resolution is:
• Suppose N=200, and VA-C=12 V, then:
• The smallest amount of voltage change is 60 mV, regardless of how slight in the
position of the wiper might be.
• The resolution represents a significant source of error, especially in the applications

where accurate displacement detection is critical.
• Additional error could also occur due to non-linearity.
Voltage divider
Assume a potentiometer consists of 200 turns and RA-C=150 Ω, and ΔRA-C=0.75 Ω, then ∆VA-C=60 mV, then
If the number of turns are known, then:
Which means if N=200, then %deviation=(1/200)*100%=0.5%

This means that if the wiper displacement is 22%, the resultant change in output voltage could be as great as
22.5% or as little as 21.5%.
Connection of potentiometer in a Wheatstone bridge
• If R1 and R2 are of equal values, a null condition exists across the

bridge if the wiper is at center position.
• Application: when the central position of the wiper represents the

home position for a moving machine part,
• Moving the wiper from center toward +V side would result in a positive
voltage reading from A to B.
• Wiper movement in a downward direction from the center position

would result in a negative voltage reading from A to B
• The amplitude of the error signal taken at point A would be proportional

to the distance by which the wiper is displaced from its central position.
Application: in temperature monitoring system such as a resistance thermometer bridge circuit.
Application: in temperature monitoring system such as a
resistance thermometer bridge circuit.
• This circuit can be used for precise temperature

measurement.
• Pt RTD can be used as temperature sensing element

for high linearity.
• The sliding wiper is the indicator for the thermometer

scale.
• Assume T is above the set-point level, point B will

become more negative (RTD is PTC), a self-balancing
will automatically be initiated bringing the bridge back
to its null condition.
• This compensating action begins as the error signal starts
to develop across the bridge.
• This error signal is fed through a dc-to-ac converter, voltage

amplifier, and power amplifier in order to drive an ac motor.
• Through mechanical linkage the wiper will be moved in the

right hand direction, causing R3a to decrease as R3b
increases,
• when the ohmic value of R1x(R3b+R5) equals R4x(R2+R3a)

the null condition will be restored,
• then the drive signal for the motor will approach 0 V,

causing the motor to stop running and the wiper of R3 to
stop moving
• The meter scale is placed such that this left-hand motion of

the wiper results in an increased temperature indication on
the scale
• Assume the environmental temperature has decreased, such
that point B attempts to become more positive with respect to
point A.
• To maintain null-condition across the Wheatstone bridge the

wiper must now be moved in the right-hand direction .
• For this action to take place the motor rotation must be

reversed.
• Since the error signal has reversed the ohmic value of R3a will
be increased while R3b is decreased , this action will continue
until a null condition is again restored across the bridge.
•
• For some industrial process, we want to maintain a record of
changing temperature through time.
• Computer system can be easily used to collect and provide a

listing of such data , also a strip chart could be mechanically
linked to the wiper of the potentiometer allowing fluctuations in
temperature through time to be graphically represented.
Rotary potentiometer
Application: rotary form potentiometers have

applications in monitoring the angular displacement
of a machine parts
Linear Variable Differential Transformer
• The linear variable-differential transformer(LVDT) is one of the most
widely used inductive transducer to translate linear motion into electrical
signal.
• It is especially used in ac control circuitry.
• A differential transformer consists of a primary winding(at the center) and

two secondary windings( on top and bottom).
• These three windings are placed on a common cylinder which is made of

nonferrous material such as plastic.
• An alternating current drives the primary and causes a voltage to be induced in
each secondary proportional to the length of the core linking to the secondary.
The frequency is usually in the range 1 to 10 kHz.
• As the core moves, the primary's linkage to the two secondary coils changes
and causes the induced voltages to change.
• The two secondary windings have the same number of turns and are wound in
such a manner that the voltage drop from A to B will be 180° out of phase with
the voltage developed from E to F. and the differential output signal between A
to F would remains at 0 V.
• The coils are connected so that the output voltage is the difference (hence
"differential") between the top secondary voltage and the bottom secondary
voltage.
• The LVDT contains a movable core (attached to the object whose position
is to be measured) usually made of a ferrous material such as iron.
• In application where LVDT is used for displacement sensing, the ferrous

plunger is allowed to be free moving.
• Through mechanical linkage, the movement of the plunger would be made

proportional to the shaft displacement.
• An a.c. excitation is applied across the primary winding and the movable
core varies the coupling between it and the two secondary windings.
• As the core moves away from the center position, the coupling to one
secondary becomes more and hence its output voltage increases, while
the coupling and the output voltage of the other secondary decreases.
• Any physical displacement of the core causes the voltage of one

secondary winding to increase while simultaneously, reducing the voltage
in the other secondary winding.
• The difference of the two voltages appears across the output terminals of
the transducers and gives a measure of the physical position of the core
and hence the displacement.
• To achieve the condition where VA-B=VE-

F and VA-F equals 0 V, the movable core
must be at center position.
• Moving the plunger toward the right will

cause VE-F to become greater as VA-B
decreases,
• the resultants VA-F waveform shown in

Fig.c represents the opposite effect
which occurs as the plunger is moved to
the left.
• Since the two secondary voltages are

out of phase: VA-F=VE-F(peak)-VA-B(peak)
• When the core is in the neutral or zero position, voltages induced in the
secondary windings are equal and opposite and the net output is
negligible.
• By comparing the magnitude and phase of output with input source, the
amount and direction of movement of core and hence displacement may
be determined.
• The differential output of LVT may be conditioned by an op-amp

instrumentation amplifier.
• Since the output is an ac signal, rectification and filtering would be

required prior to A/D conversion.
Uses
• The LVDT can be used in all applications where displacements ranging
from fraction of a mm to a few cm have to be measured.
• Acting as a secondary transducer it can be used as a device to measure

force, weight and pressure.
Uses: within a gas flow measurement system, by detecting the differences
in air pressure at two different points within a pipe.
As the flow rate of the gas within the pipe increases, the difference in
pressure between the Venturi point and the downstream point will also
becomes greater resulting in further right hand displacement of the
plunger., then a greater differential voltage will be produced at the output of
the LVDT.
• Advantages:
• The transducers possess a high sensitivity.

• Repeatability is excellent under all conditions.
• They have infinite resolution.
• They are simple, light in weight and easy to maintain.
• Greater linearity than potentiometric transducers and more accurate
sensing device.
disadvantages:
• They are inherently low in power output.

• Temperature affects the performance of transducer.
• expensive
Magnetic proximity sensors
• Reluctance proximity sensor: consists of a

permanent magnet and a coil.
• With no ferrous material close to the sensor, the

flux lines produced by the permanent magnet will
direct from the north pole to the south pole and
extend to the south pole in a symmetrical,
undistorted pattern.
• There is no relative motion between the flux lines

and the windings although the flux lines would be
cutting across the windings of the magnet.
Reluctance proximity sensor principle:
• When an object containing ferrous material approaches the
reluctance sensor, distortion of the magnetic field results as the
flux lines are bent and concentrated in order to enter the ferrous
material
• Since this action produce relative motion between the flux lines
and the windings, a current pulse is induced within the coil and a
voltage pulse is produced across the coil (Fig.b)
• An output signal presents only when a relative motion occurs
between the coil and the flux lines
• When the object being detected becomes stationary, the output will
return to 0 V
• When the ferrous object moves away from the sensor(in the
opposite direction , another output pulse is developed due to
relative motion between the flux lines and the windings
• As the ferrous object moves away, the flux lines will be returning to
their original undistorted pattern, they will be cutting across the
winding in an opposite direction and the polarity of the output
signal will be reversed.
• Reluctance sensor is a passive device that is brought temporarily
to an active state by either the approach or removal of the ferrous
material.
• Eddy-current-killed oscillator sensor (ECKO): is an active proximity
sensor, because it continually produce a high frequency signal.
• The sensor signal will be at maximum amplitude as long as no

metallic objects come close to the sensor.
• As a metal object approach the sensor, a portion of the energy

contained in the rapidly expanding and contracting magnetic field of
the sensor will be absorbed, producing eddy currents within the
metal.
• This eddy current loss will be sensed as decrease in amplitude for

the output of the oscillator.
• If this loss in signal strength is great enough, due to extremely tight

coupling between the sensor and the target object, the oscillator
output may be totally dampened(hence the description “eddy-
current-killed”) is particularly appropriate.
• Proximity sensors need signal conditioning
• In most applications only an on/off output is required since the signal is likely to be processed by digital
circuitry
• Example: the output of ECKO could be fed to an integrator, which in turn would feed triggering circuitry
and a solid-state switch
• Proxistor is a commonly used form of reluctance proximity sensor.
• It contains its own switching circuitry and an LED that illuminates during the time in which the device detects the
presence of metal.
• The LED is particularly useful during the alignment process because it allows the technician to ascertain the exact
point at which a metallic object activates the sensor
• The Proxistor is extremely versatile, being capable of functioning at a wide variety of dc supply voltages.
• The operation of the device is inherently on/off, that is its active high output will rapidly switch to a level approaching
VCC when a metal object comes in close proximity.
• At this instant the LED indicator on the back of the device will illuminate
• When the metal object is moved away the output of the device will toggle to nearly 0 V and the LED will turn off
Capacitive and Ultrasonic level-sensing transducers
• valve control system can be used for level detection, it relies on a float switch to detect when fluid
within a tank has attained a maximum allowable level. It detects only the maximum fluid level and it is
associated with a known volume liquid within the tank.
• It is necessary to monitor material levels continually and actual level-sensing transducers are
necessary.
• Level-sensing transducers are likely to be capacitive or ultrasonic sensing devices.
• Level-sensing transducers are used to monitor the level of materials being stored within a large
containers such as open tanks, or sealed vats.
• Pressure-sensing devices may also be utilized to determine indirectly the level of fluids stored in
heavy containers.
Capacitance Measurement Theory
• An electrical capacitance exists between two

conductors separated by a distance, d. The first
conductor can be the tank wall (plate 1), and the
second can be a measurement probe or electrode
(plate 2). The two conductors have an effective
area, A, normal to each other.
• Between the conductors is an insulating

medium—the non-conducting material involved in
the level measurement.
• The capacitance for the basic capacitor arrangement shown previously

can be computed from the equation:
C = E (K A/d)
where:
C = capacitance in picofarads (pF)
E = a constant known as the absolute permittivity of free space
K = relative dielectric constant of the insulating material
A = effective area of the conductors
d = distance between the conductors
• The amount of capacitance here is determined not only by the spacing
and area of the conductors, but also by the electrical characteristic
(relative dielectric constant, K) of the insulating material.
• The value of K affects the charge storage capacity of the system: The
higher the K, the more charge it can build up.
• Dry air has a K of 1.0. Liquids and solids have considerably higher
values, as shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1
Dielectric Constants of Sample Substances
Value
Substance
18.3
Isopropyl alcohol
1.8
Kerosene
8.0
Kynar
2.1
Mineral oil
80
Pure water
4.0
Sand
3.0
Sugar
2.0
Teflon
• To apply this formula to a level-measuring system, you must
assume that the process material is insulating, which, of course,
is not always true.
• A bare, conductive, sensing electrode (probe) is inserted down

into a tank to act as one conductor of the capacitor.
• The metal wall of the tank acts as the other.
• If the tank is nonmetallic, a conductive ground reference must be

inserted into the tank to act as the other capacitor conductor.
• With the tank empty, the insulating medium between the two conductors
is air. With the tank full, the insulating material is the process liquid or
solid.
• As the level rises in the tank to start covering the probe, some of the
insulating effect from air changes into that from the process material,
producing a change in capacitance between the sensing probe and
ground.
• This capacitance is measured to provide a direct, linear measurement of

tank level.
• In a completely enclosed vats, a capacitive

probe may be used to measure the material level
directly.
• If the fluid is non-conductive, a bare (non-

insulated) form of probe may be used.
• If a vat contains conductive materials, an

insulated probe must be utilized.
• The figure to the left shows an example of how a

bare capacitance probe may be utilized within a
sealed vat containing a non-conductive fluid.
• Three capacitances are important: Cv, CL, and C1
• Cv: represents the capacitance occurring between the probe and the inner
wall of the tank above the fluid level.
• CL: exists between the probe and the inner wall of the vat below the fluid
level.
• For both Cv and CL the contents of the tank functions as the dielectric
material.
• The effective capacitor formed by the probe and the vat is coaxial, the
probe becomes the inner conductor, while the interior wall of the vat works
as the outer conductor
• C1: is the capacitance of the output cable, this capacitance must be

considered especially if the cable is several feet in length.
• The wall of the vat is directly connected to ground, so all capacitances are
in parallel.
• Co=Cv+CL+C1
• The resistivity of the material within the vat may be considered as a single
resistor in parallel with all C
• The equivalent structural condition of the bare capacitance probe is :
• The value of capacitance is determined as :

• If the storage tanks is half full of fluid: the value of Cv will be much less than the value
of CL; this is due to the fact that the dielectric constant of the vapor within the upper
part of the tanks is much lower than that of the material (solid or liquid) being stored in
the lower portion of the vat;
• example: the dielectric constant for air, which serves as a reference for other materials
is considered to be unity, by contrast water may have a dielectric constant as low as a
50 or as high as 80 depending in the various minerals in contains
• Cv and CL are considered as two variable capacitors that share common coaxial
conductors.
• As the fluid level within the vat increases the value of CL will increase significantly
because of the relatively high dielectric constant of the liquid, then the value of CV will
decrease because less vapor will now be present within the tank,
• The slight decreased in Cv will be overcompensated by the relatively larger increase in

CL , and the overall Co will be increased
• If the fluid level decreases Cv will increase but CL will decrease significantly resulting in
an overall reduction of CO
• example:
signal conditioning
• The varying CO can be converted to variations in voltage.
• A fully capacitive bridge as in a: if the vat in an empty

condition C4 would be adjusted such that the differential
signal developed between A and B would equal zero.
• As the vat begins to fill, CO will increase

• Since C1 and Co are in series, they will be both charged by
the same current then the charge on CO will virtually equal
the charge on C1:
• The value of CO increases due to the rising of the fluid level

in the vat, the value of VB decreases as a result VA-B will
become greater with the rise of fluid level within the vat
• As in Fig.b a resistive voltage divider is used to establish

the value of VA, and it will produce the same differential
output signal as in a.
signal conditioning
signal conditioning
• The frequency of the bridge excitation signal must be high enough to ensure that the value of RL (the
resistivity of the material within the vat) is much higher than the capacitive reactance of CO
• Thus the frequency of the sine wave being developed over the bridge circuit is often set as high as 100
kHz
• The output between A and B is amplitude modulated with the peak to peak voltage varying in
proportional to the changing fluid level of the vat
• For most application of the capacitive level detector, it is necessary to convert the bridge output signal
to a varying dc voltage
• At first, it seems that the easiest method of converting the output signal to a dc signal would be trough
simple diode rectification and filtering
• However this would lead to nonlinear response at lower voltage levels which occurs when the vat is
near empty, Thus the rectifier concept must be abandoned in favor of a more complex, but highly
linear, demodulation system
signal conditioning
• As in the shown figure, the output from capacitive bridge is
fed to an instrumentation amplifier
• The ac output is fed to a demodulator which converts the

peak amplitude of this signal to a varying dc voltage
• This dc output signal may require additional amplification

and/or level shifting which could be accomplished by the
final output stage
• The output of such amplifier circuitry could be fed to the

analog indicator
• This d’arsonval indicator might for example require input

signal rang from 0 to 5 Vdc
• The scale for the meter movement could simply show the
amount of material within the vat in terms of a percentage
rather than an exact level or volume
signal conditioning
• Assuming the vat is empty, a null

condition would exist across the
bridge because VA would equal VB
• As the vat begin to fill , Co

increases causing VB to decrease,
consequently a sine wave develops
between A and B
• The signal will be amplified by a

factor approximately equal –R4/R3
signal conditioning
signal conditioning_ demodulation
• For stable operation, the oscillator controlling this stage of the circuit should be the
same one used for bridge excitation
• The bridge signal excitation is sinusoidal, but the oscillator signal feeding the
demodulator is a square wave (these waveforms can be produced simultaneously by
a function generator IC.
• After the signal from the instrumentation amplifier passes the voltage follower stage, it
is fed simultaneously to a complementary JFET sampling gates.
• The square wave output of the oscillator is fed to the gates of both JFETs.
• Thus at any given instant, one JFET switch will b conducting while the other is in
pinch-off condition.
• During the pulse width of the oscillator square wave, the sine wave at the input of the
demodulator will be positive alternation.
• With this condition , Q1 will be conducting allowing C3 to charge in the positive
direction, thus C3 will be able to attain a voltage peak nearly equal to the input
sinewave peak
• During the space width of the oscillator square wave, Q2 will be enabled to conduct,
the input sinewave will be in the negative alternation allowing C4 to charge to the
negative peak amplitude of the signal.
• The output differential amplifier will develop a dc signal representing the difference in
amplitude between the two capacitor voltages.
• As the level of the material within the vat increases, the peak to peak amplitude of the
input sine wave increases. This action produces an increase in the amplitude of the
negative dc voltage (Vo) present at the output of the differential amplifier.
signal conditioning_ filtering
• To remove the slight ripple riding on the
output signal, active low-pass filter is
needed.
• Final level shifting and gain control is

accomplished by the inverting output
amplifier
• For example: the output voltage range might

be adjusted such that 0% full condition for
the vat would produce a 0-V output level
• This condition could be achieved through a
fine adjustment of the offset nulling resistor
• The gain adjustment resistor could then be
set to provide an output of +5 V when the
vat is 100% full.
signal conditioning_ an alternative circuitry for capacitive level detection system
• A resistive voltage divider is used to
establish reference voltages
representing 25%, 50%, 75% and
100% of the 5-V output level
• These reference voltages are sensed
at the inverting inputs of four
comparators.
• The active input of these comparators
is taken from the final output in the
previous circuit after inverting amplifier
• When the level of the fluid rises within

the vat, the input voltage to the
comparators increases proportionally
• As the vat level exceeds the 25%

point, the output of the comparator 1
goes to high producing a logic high at
A.
• This condition produces a logic high at
the output of XOR1.
• As a result the Darlington pairs Q1 and

Q2 will be biased on, illuminating the
25% indicator lamp.
• As the input voltage continue to
increase exceeding the 50%
threshold, the output of comparators 1
and 2 will be at logic high, when this
occurs the 25% lamp will turn off and
50% lamp will turn on
• Many of the fluids stored in tanks and vats at industrial sites are likely
to be conductive
• For the level measurement of such materials, a bare conductive

capacitance probe would prove unsatisfactory, due to the fact that a
path for current flow would exist between the bare inner conductor
and the metallic wall of the container.
• To allow accurate and safe measurement of the conductive fluids an

insulated capacitance probe would be required
• The figure shows an application of an insulated capacitance

probe to measure the level of a conductive fluid within a
sealed vat
• In addition to Cv , CL, and C1, two other variables become
important
• The capacitance between the metal conductor within the
probe and the outside of the probe above the fluid level
(represented as CA) can be considered to be in series with
Cv
• the variable CB represents the capacitance occurring
between the metal conductor within the probe and the
outside of the probe below the fluid level
• The very low resistance of the material; within the vat (RL) is
effectively in parallel with CL
• We must choose an operating frequency that will ensure
that the reactance of CB will be much greater than the
Ohmic value of RL
• When the vat is empty, the probe capacitance consists
essentially of the series capacitances CA and CV, thus:
• During empty condition CV will be much greater than CA,

the equivalent probe capacitance will approximately
equal CV
• As the vat begins to fill, the value of CB will increase,

becoming greater than CV
• At the desired operating frequency, XCB will be much

greater Ohmic value than the combined impedance of
RL and XCL , the effective impedance of branch 2 will
nearly equal XCB
• CB is becoming much greater than CV, then the parallel

of CB and Cv will approach the value of CB as the fluid
level approaches maximum.
Ultrasonic and Sonic level measurement
Ultrasonic and Sonic
• Both ultrasonic and sonic level instruments operate on the basic principle of using
sound waves to determine fluid level. The frequency range for ultrasonic methods is
~20–200 kHz, and sonic types use a frequency of 10 kHz.
• A top-of-tank mounted transducer directs waves downward in bursts onto the surface
of the material whose level is to be measured. Echoes of these waves return to the
transducer, which performs calculations to convert the distance of wave travel into a
measure of level in the tank.
Ultrasonic level sensors
• The principle of operation of the ultrasonic sensor system is to use the
ultrasonic pulses which are transmitted by the transducer to the surface
to be monitored and are reflected back to the transducer,
• The time period between transmission and reception of the sound

pulses is directly proportional to the distance between the transducer
and surface,
• A micro-controller can be used to compute this time period for all

echoes received and analyze them to determine which is the correct
reflection from the material surface, it uses this data as the basis for
giving control outputs and displays in usable engineering units.
• The distance D is determined from the velocity v of sound and the time
period t by the formula:
• The ultrasonic transducers may be considered as active
devices, since they both transmit and detect energy
pulses at frequencies just above the audio range
• They send a burst of energy then they wait a return echo.
• The differences in time between initial pulse and the

return echo is measured in order to determine the
distance between the transducer and the surface from
which the ultrasonic pulse is reflected
• Ultrasonic waves travel at nearly 340m/sec
• If the time between the initial pulse and return echo is

precisely measured, distance D can be accurately
determined as follow:
• The distance between the transducer and the reflecting surface is directly proportional to the time
required for the return echo.
• Digital counting circuitry could be enabled to operate at the instant the initial pulse is transmitted
• At the instant the return echo is detected, the counting action would stop.
• The highest binary number attained by the counter could undergo further processing in order to derive
and display an exact distance
• In industrial applications, it is not necessary to calculate exact distances, we might want to determine
only relative changes in distance, thus the only requirement might be to indicate variations in distance as
a percentage of the maximum, then simple D’Arsonval movement could serve as the display.
• Advantage: no direct contact with the materials being monitored is needed, this is a distinct advantage
over capacitive probes especially when these material include corrosive materials.
• Example
Pressure and flow sensing transducers
• Pressure is defined as the application of force by one body directly on another, or is
the amount of force being applied over a surface within a defined area.
• SI unit for pressure is Pascal ‘Pa’ and is defined as a force of 1 newton applied within
an area of 1 cm².
• In industrial community the most commonly used unit of pressure are pounds per
square inch absolute (psia) and pounds per square inch gauge (psig)
• Psia is perfect vacuum and it is unaffected by changes in altitude
• Psig units are referenced to atmospheric pressure
• The conversion factor between Pa and Psi is 6.8948x10³

• Measuring of pressure is not direct, it needs two transducers.
• For low values of pressure, two transducers are used for force summing: Bourdon tube
and the bellow, and they convert changes in pressure to changes in angular or linear
displacement
• Bourdon tube: is an instrument for measuring the pressure of gases or liquids,

consisting of a semicircular or coiled, flexible metal tube attached to a gauge that
records the degree to which the tube is straightened by the pressure of the gas or
liquid inside.
• A Bellow contains an elastic element that is a convoluted unit that expands and
contracts axially with changes in pressure. The pressure to be measured can be
applied to the outside or inside of the bellows
• To create electrical signal representing variations in pressure, a displacement

transducer, either a potentiometer or LVDT is linked mechanically to the Bourdon tube.
• As pressure increases within the housing,
the pressure spring inside the bellows is
contracted, causing the output boss to
move upward,
• this action causes the swing arm to move,

which in turn pushes the ferrous plunger of
the LVDT,
• the differential output signal should then

increase proportionally with the rise in
pressure
• The turbine flow measurement is
effectively used in measure the flow
of liquid materials, the speed of
turbine rotation will vary as a function
of the rate of the flow
• Through use of magnetic pick up, the

transducer is able to generate an
output signal the frequency of which
is proportional to the angular
frequency of the turbine.
Strain gauges and other force sensing transducers
• Strain gauges are transducers capable of sensing minute changes in the physical
displacement of an object
• The basic resistance strain gauge operates according to the principle that the
resistance of a conductive material will become greater if either its length increases or
its cross-sectional area is decreased
• When the conductive material is forced to stretch, the resistivity of the material will
increase due to the increase in its length and decrease in the area.
• When the stretching force is alleviated, the length and cross-sectional area of the
conductor will tend to return to their original dimensions allowing the resistivity of the
material to be reduced to its original value
• The strain gauge function may be used in the measurement of acceleration, pressure,
or weight.
• A basic strain gauge consists of several loops of a fine
wire, which are permanently bonded to a paper or
plastic backing.
• Resistance strain gauges are more likely to consist of a

metal foil (rather than wire) conductor, which is bonded
to a flexible plastic backing material.
• Such a device may be as small as a postage stamp and

as thin as 0.003 mm, it can be easily attached to the
surface of the object undergoing strain.
• The zigzag arrangement of the foil conductor allows

maximum gauge length to be achieved within a limited
surface area.
• Arrow marks may be provided on the surface of the strain gauge,
these can be used as alignment aids when mounting the device
• Also, the markings are used by some manufacturers to represent

the sensitive axis of the strain gauge.
• If a strain gauge is to operate correctly, its sensitive access must

be directly aligned with the stretching or compressing force being
monitored.
• The need for a thin, small-size strain-sensing transducer should

become apparent as the phenomenon of strain itself is analyzed.
• When for example, force is applied to a strain gauge, the length of

the gauge will be varied by some small, yet predictable amount.
• The variation in length resulting from strain is referred to as

deformation and is symbolized as ∆L (representing difference in
length).
• Strain on an object may be either compressive or tensile.
• Tensile strain as in (a) results from stretching or pulling on an object, then the body under stress will
become longer than normal, providing the material is not stretched beyond its limit of elasticity.
• Compressive strain produces an opposite effect, with the length of the body being slightly reduced as
force is applied, providing the amount of strain has not exceeded the elasticity limit and the body
should return to its normal length when the compressive force is removed.
• Strain is symbolized as ε, is determined as the ratio of the amount of deformation to the normal length
of the body under stress.
• Strain can be expressed fractionally or as a percentage:
• Strain represents a very small value, typically much less than 0.01 or 1%, for this reason, strain is more
conveniently represented as microstrains (microinches per inch) or µε:
• To utilize a strain gauge effectively for the purpose of monitoring force and pressure, engineers must
have a clear understanding of the relationships of stress, strain, and resistance.
• According to Hook’s law, stress is directly proportional to the force being applied to a body under strain
and inversely proportional to the cross-sectional area of that body: stress=F/A
• Another factor must be considered in the analysis of strain is the modulus of elasticity, or Young’s
modulus, which is simply the ratio of the stress applied to a given body and the resultant strain,
Young’s modulus (Y) is expressed as:
• Although Y varies significantly for different materials, it tends to remain constant for any one material
within it limit of elasticity.
• The strain gauge shown in figure will undergo the same amount of tensile or compressive stress as the
body to which it is attached. The resistance of the strain gauge will increase with tensile stress and
decrease with compressive stress. The proportional relationship of changing body length and changing
gauge resistance may be developed as:
• Assume the body shown in the figure undergoes tensile stress, the length of the gauge material will
increase by a factor of ∆L, at the same time, due to the stretching, the cross-sectional area A of the
strain gauge decreases.
• As a result the resistance of the strain gauge increases by an amount specified as ∆R, letting Ro
represent the original(normal) value of strain gauge resistance and Lo represent the original strain
gauge length, then:
• While ∆L represents deformation, ∆A represents the difference in cross-sectional area resulting from
the applied force.
• For most metallic materials, ∆L/L and ∆A/A are nearly equal to each other, also ∆R/Ro is nearly twice
the value of ∆L/L or ∆A/A.
• Thus when a strain gauge undergoes tensile or compressive stress, its ratio of resistive change may
be expected to be twice the value of the strain incurred by the body to which it is attached, the ratio of
∆R/Ro to ∆L/L is referred to as the gauge factor (GF):
•
• For a wire or metallic foil-type of strain gauge, the gauge factor would be approximately 2, if the strain
gauge is securely bonded to the surface of the metal body, ∆L/L of the device will be equivalent to
(∆L/L or ε) of the body to which it is attached.
• The amount of strain incurred by the metal body may then be determined indirectly, simply by detection
of the degree of change in strain gauge resistance . Once ∆R is known, strain for the metal body may
be easily be determined through manipulation , assuming a gauge factor of 2 then,
•
signal conditioning
• The signal conditioning of strain gauges can be accomplished through sensing a change
in the output of a voltage divider
• A problem associated with strain gauges lies in the fact that such changes in output
voltage are likely to be very slight.
• Example:
• Note that a relatively significant amount of strain produces a relatively small change in
output voltage as:
• With so small change in Vo, precise signal conditioning would be quite difficult;
• One source of error could be fluctuations in the level of the dc supply unless the source
is precisely regulated, deviations in the voltage could be easily exceed the 6-mV change
brought by the variation in strain gauge resistance.
• Also, with such a small change in signal voltage, even the slightest amount of noise
within a system could further disrupt the signal conditioning process.
signal conditioning
• Voltage divider concept must be replaced with the Wheatstone bridge and differential amplifier.
• The advantage of the design scheme represented is numerous:
• Through utilization of two strain gauges, the range of the strain gauge output signal between A and B is
doubled.
• Also due to the common-mode rejection ratio of the instrumentation amplifier, any noise present at the
input will be attenuated further
signal conditioning
• Consider the shown figure: the two strain gauges could be
mounted on either side of the body under stress.
• Ideally, both strain gauges would experience the same stress

at the same time.
• If both gauges are subjected to compressive stress the voltage

measured between A to ground would increase, whereas the
voltage between B and ground would decreases.
• With no stress occurring both strain gauges resistances would

at their quiescent value of nearly 350 Ω, with R1 and R4 both
adjusted to 350 Ω, a null condition would exist across bridge
during non-stress condition.
signal conditioning
• Problems: it is affected by temperature changes, extreme fluctuations
in temperature are likely to produce larger resistance changes than
those resulting from variations in strain
• The figure shows an orientation of two gauges that causes their

sensitivity axes to be perpendicular
• Only gauge 1 will actually respond to changes in stress(because

gauge 2 is mounted perpendicular to the line of force , it would
virtually show no response to stress
• If the strain gauges are identical they would exhibit the same thermal
response regardless of their physical orientation.
signal conditioning
• Within the Wheatstone bridge strain gauge 1 would be

responding to changes in both stress and temperature while
strain gauge 2 would be responding to temperature fluctuation
only,
• Ideally since both gauges a would respond identically to

variation in temperature changes in voltage resulting from
ambient temperature effects would be nullified between A and
B.
Load cells and load cell applications
• The term load cell is generally used to describe an industrial weighing device
• Load cells are commonly used to monitor the weight of materials stored in vats or other large
stationary containers.
• Load cells may be mounted under conveyance systems in order to monitor the flow of material.
• A basic load cell may be formed by combining four strain gauges into a full bridge configuration.
• As the body being weighed pulls downward, the proving ring is elongated , as a result of this distortion
R1 and R4 undergo compressive stress which causes a decrease in their Ohmic values, at the same
time R2 and R3 undergo tensile stress causing an increase in their Ohmic values therefore the
differential voltage between A to B will vary as a function of the weight of the body being suspended
from the load cell
• A sample application of the tension load cell is shown in fig.
• The load cell is positioned such that it will sense the changing
tensile force being excreted by the suspended hopper.
• The gross weight of the suspended hopper which includes both

the weight of the hopper and its contents, may be detected simply
by connecting the differential output of the load cell directly to an
instrumentation amplifier.
• In most of load cells application, the tare weight which is the

weight of the container itself must be negated in order to
determine the actual weight of the material it holds
• The weight of the material within the container which Is net weight
is:
• Negation of the effect of the tare weight may be easily
accomplished by connecting compensation circuitry
• Through a one-time manual adjustment of a tare pot R5 may be

implemented
• Note that VA-B developed directly across the bridge, represents

the combined weight of the suspended hopper and its contents
• Since VB-C is series opposing with respect to VA-B:
• Thus:
• While VA-B will vary with the changing weight of the contents of the hopper, VB-C once adjusted manually
will remain constant.
• With the hopper empty, the tare pot would be adjusted until a null condition exists between A and C, at
this time VA-B and VB-C would be of equal value and opposite polarity ( as a net weight of zero):
• The signal developed between A and C though highly linear is likely to be only a few millivolts in amplitude
• Therefore this signal must undergo extensive signal conditioning

• The major problem of signal conditioning for the strain gauge form of
load cell lies in the fact that the differential input signal is in millivolt
range
• Commercially manufactured load cells are usually rated in terms of

millivolts per volt of bridge excitation.
• For example: if a load cell is specified as having an absolute full-scale

output of 2 mV/V and the bridge excitation voltage is 10 V, the
maximum differential voltage produced at the output of the load cell
would be only 20 mV.
• With so small initial signal, an instrumentation amplifier exhibiting both

a high input impedance and a high CMRR must be created.
• The figure shown use uA725 Op Amp is especially used for

instrumentation applications, it is characterized by a high input
impedance and very high CMRR, but it lacks internal frequency
compensation,
• Therefore external frequency compensation circuitry is necessary in

an ac signal conditioning to counteract the effect of the internal
capacitance of the device.

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CH 4

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Chapter 4

Other Transducers and Signal Conditioning Circuitry

• Linear Variable differential transformers

• Magnetic Proximity sensors

• Capacitive and Ultrasonic level-sensing transducers

• Pressure and flow sensing transducers

• Strain gauges and other force sensing transducers

• Load cells and load cell applications

• It is A variable voltage divider that might be

• In the figure shown: mechanical linkage

• Movement of the shaft would result in a

• With the output being taken at the wiper,

• The output signal could be developed from

• The resolution of wire-wound potentiometer is limited by its number of turn.

• Suppose N=200, and VA-C=12 V, then:

• The resolution represents a significant source of error, especially in the applications

If the number of turns are known, then:

Which means if N=200, then %deviation=(1/200)*100%=0.5%

• If R1 and R2 are of equal values, a null condition exists across the

• Application: when the central position of the wiper represents the

• Wiper movement in a downward direction from the center position

• The amplitude of the error signal taken at point A would be proportional

• This circuit can be used for precise temperature

• Pt RTD can be used as temperature sensing element

• The sliding wiper is the indicator for the thermometer

• Assume T is above the set-point level, point B will

• This error signal is fed through a dc-to-ac converter, voltage

• Through mechanical linkage the wiper will be moved in the

• when the ohmic value of R1x(R3b+R5) equals R4x(R2+R3a)

• then the drive signal for the motor will approach 0 V,

• The meter scale is placed such that this left-hand motion of

• To maintain null-condition across the Wheatstone bridge the

• For this action to take place the motor rotation must be

• Computer system can be easily used to collect and provide a

Application: rotary form potentiometers have

• It is especially used in ac control circuitry.

• A differential transformer consists of a primary winding(at the center) and

• These three windings are placed on a common cylinder which is made of

• In application where LVDT is used for displacement sensing, the ferrous

• Through mechanical linkage, the movement of the plunger would be made

• Any physical displacement of the core causes the voltage of one

• To achieve the condition where VA-B=VE-

• Moving the plunger toward the right will

• the resultants VA-F waveform shown in

• Since the two secondary voltages are

• The differential output of LVT may be conditioned by an op-amp

• Since the output is an ac signal, rectification and filtering would be

• Acting as a secondary transducer it can be used as a device to measure

• The transducers possess a high sensitivity.

• They are inherently low in power output.

• Reluctance proximity sensor: consists of a

• With no ferrous material close to the sensor, the

• There is no relative motion between the flux lines

• The sensor signal will be at maximum amplitude as long as no

• As a metal object approach the sensor, a portion of the energy

• This eddy current loss will be sensed as decrease in amplitude for

• If this loss in signal strength is great enough, due to extremely tight

• Level-sensing transducers are likely to be capacitive or ultrasonic sensing devices.

• An electrical capacitance exists between two

• Between the conductors is an insulating

• The capacitance for the basic capacitor arrangement shown previously

Dielectric Constants of Sample Substances

• A bare, conductive, sensing electrode (probe) is inserted down