EXERCISES 5

1. The output of an LVDT is connected to a 5 V voltmeter through an amplifier whose

amplification factor is 250. An output of 2 mV appears across the terminals of LVDT
when the core moves through a distance of 0.5 mm. Calculate the sensitivity of the
LVDT and that of the whole set-up. The milli-voltmeter scale has 100 divisions. The
scale can be read to 1/5 of a division. Calculate the resolution of the instrument in mm

2. A steel cantilever is 0.25 m long, 20 mm wide and 4 mm thick.

(a) Calculate the value of deflection at the free end for the cantilever when a force of
25 N is applied at this end. The modulus of elasticity for steel is 200 GN/m2.
(b) An LVDT with a sensitivity of 0.5 V/mm is used. The voltage is read on a 10 V
voltmeter having 100 divisions. Two tenths of a division can be read with certainty.
What is the resolution?
(c) Calculate the minimum and maximum value of force that can be measured with
this arrangement.

The moment of area of a cantilever, also known as the second moment of area or the
moment of inertia, is a geometric property that describes how resistant the cantilever is to
bending. It is a measure of the distribution of area around an axis perpendicular to the
plane of the cantilever. The moment of area of a cantilever depends on the shape of the
cross section of the cantilever, as well as the dimensions of that cross section. The equation
for calculating the moment of area of a cantilever varies depending on the shape of the
cross section, but the general form of the equation is:
1
𝐼= 𝑏ℎ3
12
3. A quartz piezo-electric crystal having a thickness of 2 mm and voltage sensitivity of
0.055 V-m/N is subjected to a pressure of 1.5 MN/m2. Calculate the voltage output. If
the permittivity of quartz is 40.6 * 10-12 F/m, calculate its charge sensitivity.

4. A piezo-electric crystal having dimensions of 5 mm * 5mm * l.5mm and a voltage

sensitivity of 0.055 V-m/ N is used for force measurement. Calculate the force if the
voltage developed is 100 V.

5. A barium titanate pickup has the dimensions of 5 mm x 5 mm x 1.25 mm The force

acting on it is 5 N. The charge sensitivity of barium titanate is 150 pC/N and its
permittivity is 12.5 * 10-9 F / m. If the Modulus of elasticity of barium titanate is 12 *
106 N/m2, calculate the strain. Also calculate the charge and the capacitance.