ES-116 Experiment-3 Report

Gosalia Samyak, Roll no. : 22110086

Electrical Engineering
IIT Gandhinagar
Gandhinagar, India.
gosalia.samyak@iitgn.ac.in

I. AIM
The aim of this experiment is to see the behavior of a
piezoelectric sensor by plotting the gain vs frequency, the gain
in dB vs frequency, the phase shift between V-output and V-
input vs frequency, and conducting FFT analysis of the input
and output signals at the sensor's resonant frequency and two
sub-resonant frequencies.

II. THEORY
A. Piezoelectric sensor :
Piezoelectric sensor is an electrical device which can
convert any form of physical quantity (mechanical vibration)
into an electrical signal. The term "piezoelectric effect" refers
to the capability of some materials to develop an electric
charge in response to an externally imposed mechanical stress.
These are active transducer, i.e. they don’t require external
power for working and are therefore self-generating. The
high-frequency response of these transducers makes a good
choice for various applications. As piezoelectric materials
cannot measure static values these are primarily used for
measuring surface roughness, in accelerometers and as a
vibration pickup, in seismographs to measure vibrations in
rockets, used by automotive industries to measure detonations
in engines, used in ultrasonic imaging in medical applications,
in strain gauges to measure force, stress, vibrations etc.

Piezoelectric sensors are widely used in various applications

The faces of piezoelectric material, usual quartz, is coated
with a thin layer of conducting material such as silver. When
mechanical stress (vibrational energy) is applied, the ions in
the material move towards one of the conducting surfaces
while moving away from the other. This results in the
generation of charge which is used for calibration of stress.
The polarity of the produced charge depends upon the
direction of the applied stress.
such as vibration sensing, pressure sensing, and force sensing.
By applying an input signal to the sensor, the output signal can
be measured and analyzed to understand its frequency
response. The gain of the sensor is calculated as the ratio of
output voltage to input voltage, while the gain in dB is
calculated as 20 log10 (Voutput/Vinput). The phase shift
between the input and output signals can be measured in
degrees or radians. Additionally, FFT analysis of the input and
output signals can provide insight into the spectral content of
the signals at the sensor's resonant frequency and two sub-
resonant frequencies.

III. INSTRUMENTS REQUIRED

• Piezoelectric sensor
• Oscilloscope
• Signal Generator
• Bread Board
• Connecting wires
• Crocodile clips
• Matlab software
• OpenChoice software

XXX-X-XXXX-XXXX-X/XX/$XX.00 ©20XX IEEE

 • Pendrive In this 1st graph we had plotted the Gain(V input/ V
• Resistors output) vs frequency. After plotting the graph we found that
• BNC Cable there is 1 resonant frequency where there is a peak value and
two peak sub-resonant frequencies. The resonant frequency
is at the global maxima, whereas sub-resonant frequencies are
IV. PROCEDURE at the local maxima of the above graph. In my data, the
piezoelectric sensor peaks at 900Hz i.e. resonant frequency,
• Connect the sensor to the signal generator and the then come down and rise again at 1700Hz and 2200Hz i.e.
oscilloscope using bnc cable. subresonant frequencies after that, it decreases steeply.
• Set the signal generator to output a sinusoidal
signal at a specific frequency.
B. Plot of the gain (in dB) vs frequency
• Measure and record the input and output signals
using the oscilloscope.
• Repeat steps 2 and 3 for various frequencies of the
input signal varying from 500hz – 20khz.
• Use matlab to plot the gain (v output/v input) vs
frequency and identify the resonant frequency and
two sub-resonant frequencies of the sensor from
the graph.
• Plot the gain (in db) vs frequency and mark the
resonant frequency and two sub-resonant
frequencies of the sensor.
• Plot the phase shift between v-output and v-input
(in deg or rad) vs frequency.
• Obtain the fft of the input and output signals at the
resonant frequency and two sub-resonant
frequencies of the sensor using matlab
Fig. 2. Gain (in dB) vs Frequency
V. RESULTS In this 2nd graph we had plotted the. gain (in dB) vs
Frequency. After plotting the graph we found that there
After performing the experiment of the Piezoelectric sensor
is 1 resonant frequency where there is a peak value and
found that the sensor has resonant frequencies at around
two peak sub-resonant frequencies. The resonant
900Hz and two sub-resonant frequencies at around 1700Hz
frequency is at the global maxima, whereas sub-resonant
and 2200Hz. The gain of the sensor increases as the
frequencies are at the local maxima of the above graph.
frequency approaches the resonant frequency and then
In my data, the piezoelectric sensor peaks at 900Hz i.e.
decreases at higher frequencies. The gain in dB is highest at
resonant frequency, then come down and rise again at
the resonant frequency. The phase shift between the input and
1700Hz and 2200Hz i.e. subresonant frequencies after
output signals is smallest at the resonant frequency. The FFT
that, it decreases steeply.
analysis of the input and output signals shows that the
majority of the spectral content is present at the resonant
frequency and two sub-resonant frequencies.

A. Plot of gain (V output/V input) vs frequency C. Plot of the phase shift between V-output and V-input (in
deg ) vs frequency.

Fig. 1. Gain (V output/V input) vs Frequency

 Fig. 3. Phase shift(in degrees) vs Frequency F. Plot of of input sub-resonance 2

In this 3rd graph we had plotted the graph of phase

difference between V-input and V-output vs frequency.
After plotting we found that the Graph is very irregular as
phase may also vary due to cables. The phase shift
between the input and output signal is smallest at the
resonant frequency.

D. Plot FFT of input resonance

While plotting FFT of input sub-resonance 2, we found

that most of the wave is concentrated near a single a
frequency, but there is also very less amount of other
frequencies showing due to noise in the signal. I also
found that the value peak slightly diverts from the actual
frequency.

G. Plot FFT of output resonance

While plotting FFT of input resonance, we found that

most of the wave is concentrated near a single a
frequency, but there is also very less amount of other
frequencies showing due to noise in the signal. I also
found that the value peak slightly diverts from the actual
frequency.

E. Plot of of input sub-resonance 1

While plotting FFT of output resonance, we found that

most of the wave is concentrated near a single a
frequency, but there is also very less amount of other
frequencies showing due to noise in the signal. I also
found that the value peak slightly diverts from the actual
frequency.

While plotting FFT of input sub-resonance 1, we found

that most of the wave is concentrated near a single a
frequency, but there is also very less amount of other
frequencies showing due to noise in the signal. I also
found that the value peak slightly diverts from the actual
frequency.
H. Plot of of output sub-resonance 1 such as industrial and automotive, biomedical and
aerospace.

While plotting FFT of output sub-resonance 1, we found

that most of the wave is concentrated near a single a
frequency, but there is also very less amount of other
frequencies showing due to noise in the signal. I also
found that the value peak slightly diverts from the actual
frequency.

I. Plot of of output sub-resonance 2

While plotting FFT of output sub-resonance 2, we found

that most of the wave is concentrated near a single a
frequency, but there is also very less amount of other
frequencies showing due to noise in the signal. I also
found that the value peak slightly diverts from the actual
frequency.

VI. DISCUSSION
The results of this week 3 experiment provide a
comprehensive analysis of the piezoelectric sensor's
frequency response. The gain and phase differences
between the input and output signals were plotted as a
function of frequency, allowing the identification of the
resonant frequency and two sub-resonant frequencies.
Additionally, FFT analysis of the input and output signals
at the resonant frequency and two sub-resonant
frequencies provided further insight into the spectral
content of the signals. These results can be used to
optimize the sensor's performance in specific applications,