The German University in Cairo

Faculty of Engineering & Material Science

Mechatronics Department

Sensor Technology (ELCT 903)

Winter 2023

Assignment 2
Deadline Thursday 7th of December 2023

Name
ID
Tutorial
 Question 1:
For the following displacement sensor based on LVDT with differential output.
Inductance of the primary coil is = LP, Inductance of the secondary coil is = LS, Mi
is the mutual impedance for the secondary coils and Rm is the impedance of the load.

w Ip Np Ns r0 ri xmax ̇ 𝐱̇𝒎𝒂x
50 Hz 0.01A 1000 100 0.01 m 0.005 m 0.005 m 0.002m/sec

a) Show the transfer function of the sensor mentioned above when it is connected to load
with impedance (Rm)
Using the previously mentioned equation:
2
2
 b) Plot the output response for a constant core displacement of (2/5)xmax from t = 0 sec to
t =1 sec.
c) Plot the output response for a constant core displacement of (4/5)xmax from t = 0 sec to
t =1 sec.

*** Hint: You may use software in this problem.

You may take ε as any small value
Matlab code:
%% part b and c are similar just changing the x value
clc
clear all
t=linspace(0,1,1000);
output=zeros(1,1000);
response=zeros(1,1000);
xmax=0.005;
x=2/5*xmax;
w=50;
ip=0.01;
np=1000;
ns=100;
ro=0.01;
ri=0.005;
ee=0.5;
p=xmax/(2*ee)^0.5;
s=p+xmax;
u=4*pi*10^-7;
e=ip*4*pi*np*ns*x*u*p*(1-x^2/(2*p^2))/(3*s*log(ro/ri));
x = (4/5) * xmax ;
enew = ip*4*pi*np*ns*x*u*p*(1-x^2/(2*p^2))/(3*s*log(ro/ri));
output (50)= e ;
inv_1 = ifft(output);
figure(1);
plot(t,inv_1)
response(50) = enew ;
inv_2 = ifft(response);
figure(2);
plot(t,inv_2)
grid;
output(50) = e ;
j=output(1);

3
3
 Solution
B

4
4
C

Question 2:

For the following sensor we can measure pulse in humans based on a capacitive sensor.
The pulse in vein causes a small displacement in the plates of the capacitors, which causes
a small change in voltage. This change in voltage is connected to an amplifier. The
capacitive sensor specifications are: A = 2.5 cm x 2.5 cm and Xd = 10um. The material
between the plates has a relative permittivity of 22. Vout = 0.5 V. Amplifier specifications:
R = 100 𝑀Ω and Gain = 1.

Figure 1: Pulse sensor

a) Does the above-mentioned sensor linear or not? Why?

5
5
b) How much motion in the plate occur in order to obtain an output of 50 mV? Is
it feasible or not? If not, propose a solution.
c) What if the input resistance was 1 𝑀Ω. How does your answer change?
d) Discuss a method to find the sensitivity of the sensor where the input is
measured pulse and the output is the Vout.

Solution

6
6
a) The sensor is not linear. Capacitive sensors are inherently non-linear as the capacitance C is
related to the displacement Xd by the equation:

C = εA/Xd

Where ε is the permittivity of the material between the plates and A is the plate area. Since the
capacitance is inversely proportional to the displacement, the sensor output will not change
linearly with respect to displacement.

b) Given: Vout = 0.5 V, Gain = 1, R = 100 MΩ

Using the formula: Vout = Q/CR
Where Q is the charge. We can find that a change in capacitance ΔC of 0.5 pF will result in an
output of 50 mV.
From the capacitance equation, a change in displacement ΔXd of 0.5 μm will result in a ΔC of
0.5 pF.
A displacement of 0.5 μm is not feasible to detect pulse which has sub-micron level
displacement.

c) If R was 1 MΩ, using the same formula, we can calculate that a ΔC of 0.05 pF will result in
an output of 50 mV.
Correspondingly, a ΔXd of 0.05 μm will produce the required output. This displacement is more
practical and feasible to detect pulse.

d) One method to find the sensitivity is to measure the sensor output voltage Vout for
different known input displacements Xd produced by a precise actuator. The slope of the
Vout vs Xd curve will give the sensitivity in units of V/μm or mV/μm depending on the
measurement units. Multiple measurements should be taken to characterize the non-linear
response of the capacitive sensor.

7
7