UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

DEPT. OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

SEMESTER: Fall 2022

COURSE: Instrumentation and Measurements - EE 465

COMPLEX ENGINEERING PROBLEM (CEP) Marks: 15/100

RESOURCE PERSONS: Hassan Tariq

RP Email: hassantariq@umt.edu.pk

SUBMISSION DATE: …………………………Wednesday January 18, 2023)

Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)

CLO 2: Apply and relate working principles of different instruments and sensors practically
and analytically. (Level: C3).
CLO 3: Analyze and calculate the different parameters of electrical instruments. (Level: C4).
CLO 5: Design variety of electronic instruments and measuring system for different
applications. (Level: C6).

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

PLO1: Engineering knowledge.
PLO2: Problem analysis.
PLO3: Design and development of solution.

Design of Air-Flow Speed Measurement

System using Thermistors

Problem Statement
Air-flow speed can be measured by comparing the temperatures of a shielded thermistor and one
which is exposed to the moving air. A diagram of this sensor is shown in figure below. The
thermistors are used in a bridge and both are operated at an elevated (no-wind) temperature of using
self-heating. When wind blows, the exposed sensor will cool off and the other will not.
It has been experimentally found that the temperature difference between the thermistors is as shown
in the following table for winds of 0 to 60 mph.
 Speed (mph) ΔT (°C) ΔR (Ω) Bridge ΔV (V) Vout (V)
0 0 0.0
10 ‒3.0
20 ‒4.5
30 ‒5.5
40 ‒6.3
50 ‒7.1
60 ‒7.7 6.0

Design a bridge and op amp system that will provide 0.0 V when the wind is 0 mph and 6.0 V when
the wind is 60 mph so that voltage indicates speed directly. Conditions:
1) The thermistors have a resistance of 2. x kΩ at 45°C with a slope of ‒24 Ω/°C within ±10°C,
and the dissipation constant is 5. y mW/°C. Here x is the most significant digit (MSD) and y
is the least significant digit (LSD) of the average of last two digits of the three student IDs in
a group. For example:

Student ID Last 2 digits Average x y

F2017019031 31
31+ 36+57
F2017019036 36 = 41.33 4 3
F2017019057 57
3

2) Use a 20 V supply voltage for the bridge, and

3) Assume ambient temperature is 21°C.

a. Complete the table from your design results.

b. Prepare a plot of output voltage versus wind speed.
c. What is the greatest error between voltage-indicated wind speed and actual speed?
d. Find a basic exponential relation between output voltage and wind speed using curve fitting.
e. Design a circuit to interface the sensor with a 6-bit dual-slope analog-to-digital converter
(ADC) with a 10-V reference.
f. When a non-linear equation is known that relates the value of the variable and the binary
number after ADC, an equation can be developed to determine the linearized value of the
variable. A software program uses an instruction to input the data from the ADC as a base 10
number DV, which varies from 0 to 64 over the specified air-speed range. Develop a
linearization equation to give a quantity, s, in the program that is equal to the actual air-speed
in mph.

Design the suitable system with interdependent computations (sub-problems). The depth of analysis
requires abstract thinking to solve the problem.
 Table 1. Assessment Rubric

Assessment Criteria CEP Attribute CLO/PLO Outstanding Effective Inadequate

Design approach Conflicting technical 2/1 2 1 0.5
requirements
Understanding of in-depth Problem cannot be 3/2 2 1 0.5
knowledge (viva + report) resolved without in-
depth engineering
knowledge
Determine required design Interdependence 5/3 4 2 0.5
parameters for bridge and op- (sub-problems)
amp
Determine required design Interdependence 5/3 3 1.5 0.5
parameters for ADC interface (sub-problems)
circuit
Determine the linearization Research to gain in- 3/3 2 1 0.5
equation depth engineering
knowledge
Comprehension to implement Abstract thinking and 2/3 2 1 0.5
the system originality in
analysis to formulate
the solution

Submission Rules and Regulations

Please see the course webpage on Moodle.

References
[1] Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement by David A. Bell, 3rd Ed, Oxford University Press, 2013.
[2] Process Control Instrumentation Technology 8th Ed. by Curtis Johnson, Pearson Education, 2014.
[3] Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement Techniques by Cooper, William David, Prentice-Hall, 1985.
[4] Introduction to Instrumentation and Measurements by Robert B. Northrop, 2nd Ed., CRC Press, 2005..