Measurement &

Instrumentations
Dr. Thanh Huong Nguyen
2016

Đại học Bách Khoa Hà Nội

Bộ môn Kỹ thuật Đo và Tin học Công nghiệp
Viện Điện
 Non electrical measurement
 Temperature sensor
 Force sensor (Load cell)
 Flow sensor

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 Temperature sensor
The most commonly used type of all the sensors are those
types of sensors which detect Temperature or heat.

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 Classification of temperature sensors
 By physical properties
 Contact Temperature Sensor Types –required to be in physical contact with the
object being sensed and use conduction to monitor changes in temperature.
 Non-contact Temperature Sensor Types – use convection and radiation to
monitor changes in temperature. Objects that emit radiant energy as heat rises
and cold settles to the bottom in convection currents or detect the radiant
energy being transmitted from an object in the form of infra-red
 By transduction
 Electro-mechanical
 Resistive
 Electronic 
 By principles
 P-N Junction Thermometers
 IC Temperature Sensors
 Thermocouples
 Calibration of Thermometers
 Resistive Temperature Sensors
Kỹ  Other Temperature Measurement Techniques
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 Applications of temperature sensing
 Food industry
 Monitor temperature-time cycles to ensure high food
quality
 Automotive industry
 Combustion and exhaust temperature
 Solar Energy conversion
 Accurate temperature measurement to achieve optimal
heat flow
 Energy efficiency in the home and industry
 Measurement of temperature
 Hospital infant incubator
 Temperature must be kept in the proper range

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 Block Diagram of electronic thermometer

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 P-N Junction Thermometers

 Principle of Diode  Voltage vs. Temperature

Thermometer  Useful range
 Forward Biased Current
 40 ~ 400K

 Voltage

 Where T is in K

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 Diode thermometer with known characteristics

 Motorola MTS 105

 Calibration
 Calibrate Diode to obtain accurate output Procedures
 Constant Current source must be Determine
very stable VBE at
 1C accuracy extremes (-40C and
 150C)
0.002K with precision GaAs Diode

Plot line using VBE(-40C) and
VBE(150C)



Given VBE(Tx), Tx can be found
using curve from step 2 or
equation

 Diode are more sensitive and

linear than others
Kỹ  Wide range
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 Diode thermometer with Unknown
characteristics
  Using
Diode Equation
must be calibrated over the desired range
 Using Table or Curves
 Linear regression

 T = a + bV temperature (e.g., 0 ~ 50C)
Changing
• Where a and b are constant
 Recording Vi vs. Ti
• Can be determined using
 After calibrating,
– Ti = a + bViTx can be determined using measure Vx
 and Vi be
Tx can vs.determined
Ti curve using measured Vx and Equation
 Interpolation techniques are needed
 Manufacturer provides
 Table or Curve
 Equation

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 Transistor as a Temperature Sensor
 Thermometer
Base-Emitter voltage of a transistor
 usingwith
varies directly MTS 105
temperature at a constant collector
 R1current
determine collector
current. Must be stable
 R2 is adjusted until Vo=0 for a

display in C
 Accuracy of 0.01C
 Range of –50 to 125C

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 IC Temperature Sensors
  LX5700 from NS
Temperature sensing
Range:
circuit -55output
with ~ 125Cvoltage
proportional to absolute
Sensitivity: 10mV/C
temperature
Time Constant
 
50 sec (Still Air)
If<I 1 /I
C2 is
C1 sec constant
(Stirred Oil Bath)


 Output:
 V 2.98V at 298Kto
R1 is proportional
 temperature
Accuracy: 3.8K
 Linearity: < 1K
 Not satisfactory in many applications
 Poor Accuracy

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 IC Sensor: LM135, LM235, LM335
 Operate as two terminal Zenor  Thermal Response time of LM335
 Breakdown Voltage Flowing Air
proportional to absolute
temperature of +10mV/K
 When calibrated at 25C
 LM135 < 1.5C Error
 LM335 < 2C Error
 Range: -55 ~ 150C
 Output voltage:
Still Air Stirred Oil Bath
 T0 is reference temperature

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 IC Sensor: LM134-3, LM234-3, LM134-6, LM234-6

 IC temperature sensors with  Output current

current output 
 Three terminal adjustable
current source
 Range  T: temperature in K
 -55 ~ 125C : LM134-3, 6  i0 is programmable
 -25 ~ 100C : LM234-3, 6  By adjusting R
 Operate over wide voltage  1 A ~ 10mA
 1 ~ 40V
 Accuracy
 3C : LM134-3, LM234-3
 6C : LM134-6, LM234-6
 Not for precision
temperature measurement

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 IC Sensor: AD590
 Two terminal IC
 VT: voltage across R
temperature sensor
 Better accuracy and

linearity than LM135  If R=358,

 Current output depends
 Error
 < 0.3C : AD590J
on absolute temperature
 < 0.05C: AD590M
 Insensitive to the voltage
across it  Time Constant
 Used with long lead  60 sec (Still Air)
wires  1.4 sec (Stirred Oil)
 Operating Range
 -55 ~ 150C
 High Output Impedance
 > 10M
 Excellent rejection of
supplying voltage drift
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 Thermocouples
 Types of thermocouples
 Thermocouple
is a two-wire
device
 Composed of
dissimilar
metals or
alloys with one
end welded
together

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 Type of thermocouple junctions
 Exposed junction
  Ungrounded
Extending beyond the protective junction
metallic sheath
 Fast Response  Insulated by MgO powder
 Static or flowing non-corrosive gas
 Suitable for corrosive
environment
 Grounded junction
 High pressure application
 For static or flowing
corrosive gas and liquid

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 Seebeck Effect: Principles of
Thermocouples
 Magnitude
Two dissimilar
of thermal
metal or
emf
alloy
canwires
be measure
A and Busing
joinedVoltmeter
together or
at
the end to form a circuit
Ammeter
 If temperature are different (T2 > T1), a current will flow in
circuit
 Seebeck thermal emf
 Emf(electromotive force) producing above current

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 Principles of Thermocouples
 Broken at center
Example
 Open
T2 = 0C
loop, T
circuit
1 = 1C
voltage EAB
  Temperature difference (T - T )
T-type 2 1
 Copper + Constantan
Composition of two metal
 EAB = 39V
 S-type
 Platinum + Platinum-10% rhodium
 EAB = 5V

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 Thermoelectric Laws
 Law of interior temperatures
 Emf is not affected by T and
3
T4
 Law of intermediate metals
 Emf is not affected by Metal
X if J1 and J2 are at the
same temperature
 Can solder or attach lead
wire
 Law of intermediate
temperature
 Can use reference table
even if reference junction is
not 0C
 Law of Additive Emf
 Can create nonstandard
thermocouple combinations
Kỹ and still use the reference
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 Picking Up the Thermovoltage

 Directly connect voltmeter  The output of voltmeter

to thermocouple  Proportional to voltage
 Cannot read thermal emf
difference between V1
 New thermal junction and V3
• J2 : No emf   To find T1, we must know
– Copper – copper
• J3 : emf V3
T3
– Copper -
 Put J3 in ice bath
constantan • 0C
• V = function of T1

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 Cold junction compensation
 If
InTpractice,
A increase
No need to put J3 to ice bath
 Add Voltage to
VA increase cancel
with VAV2 to zero
 Then
 output isalso
I of AD590 directly proportional to V1
increase
A
 AD590
• IC temperature sensor
 AD580
• 2.5V stable voltage reference
 Most of IA flows through RA
 Produce - VA which cancels VA in cold junction
 The output voltage Eo
 Eo  VT

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 Simpler approach using AD595

 Built in capacity
for
 Cold junction
compensation
 Fault detection
 Output voltage
 10mV/C

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 Conversion of Thermal Voltage to
Temperature
 Temperature Vs. Voltage
relationship
 Slightly Nonlinear
 To achieve accuracy
 Entire range must be
calibrated
 Manufacturer provide table
and curve
 Lookup table in computer
 Interpolation needed
 Large memory consumption
 Curve Fitting
 Power series polynomial

 Better accuracy as n
increases
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 Calibration of Thermometers
 To ensure temperature  Thermal Time constant
accuracy  Depends on particular
mounting
 Noise Reduction of arrangements
thermocouples  Heat transfer
 Output voltage is order  Surrounding medium
of V  Generally, the smaller
 Sensitive to interface
the sensor, the faster
it will respond
 Analog active filter and  Generally
Guarding techniques  Thermocouple: 550ms
are needed • Exposed butt-welded
25m diameter: 3ms
• Time constant
increase with
diameter of wire and
sheath
 Diode, Transistor: 10s
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 Resistive Temperature Sensors
 Resistance of materials are changed with
temperature
 Conductive materials
 Metals

R increases as T increases
 Called RTD
• Resistance Temperature Detector
 Semiconductors
R decreases as T increases
 Called Thermistors

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 Resistive Thermometers
 Nickel, Copper and Platinum is
most commonly used
 Resistance Vs.
 Resistance Vs. Temperature Temperature
curve
 Not linear

 Ro : R at 0C
 Simplified Equation

 Limited range (0 ~ 100C)
 Platinum is most widely
 Copper
 Low resistive
  need long wire
 Nickel
 Low cost
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 Platinum Thermometers
 SPRT  Range
 13.81K ~ 903.89K
 Standard Platinum
Resistance  Some are designed to

Thermometer 1050C
 Callendar-Van Dusen
Equation
 -183 ~ 630C Range

 Typically

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 Current source and Amp for RTD

 2mA current source

 Causes voltage drop
in RTD
 Amp gain = 10
 To fit DAS
 Tendency
 Increase current
source to obtain a
higher output voltage
 It causes Self-heating
in platinum RTD

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 Types of Thermistor

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 Thermistors
 Comparison of NTC and  NTC
PTC thermistor and  Negative Temperature

platinum resistance Coefficient

thermometer  High sensitivity
 Highly nonlinear
 PTC
 Positive Temperature
Coefficient
 Inserting Barium and
Titanate mixtures
 Called switching
thermistors
 Switching temperature
(Curie Pont)
• -20 ~ 125C

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 Empirical Correction

 Steinhart-Hart Equation
Basic Characteristics

 Where
 Ro : R at known To
 Where
•
 A, B,Usually 298.15K
C are found by solving three equations with known R and T
  : Material constant for
Accuracy < 0.01C
thermistor in K
 More narrow range
• Determined from R
obtained at 0 and 50C
• 1500 ~ 6000K range
– Typically, 4000K
 -40C < T1, T2, T3 <150C, |T2-T1|<50C, |T3-T2|<50C
 Few  ~ 10M range

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 Terminology
 Temperature Coefficient of  Voltage current characteristics
Resistance  For small current Ohm’s law is

hold
 No self heating
 With higher current
 Typically, -4.4%/C at 27C
 Self heating
 Self Heating  More current to flow due to
 Power (I2R) dissipated in
decreased resistance
thermistor  Heat sink is useful
 To avoid self heating, the
exciting current should be
very low

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 Applications  Temperature measurement
 Simple circuit
 Battery + Thermistor +
 Thermistor Microammeter
Pneumography
 Used to obtain
breathing rate
 by detecting the
temperature
difference between
inspired cool air and  More sensitive circuit
expired warm air

 Differential circuit
 0.0005C change can be
Kỹ
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 Applications
 Liquid Level Measurement
 R of thermistor in air
 Temperature compensation
 Decreases as heat up
 To compensate for ambient
 Enough current to close relay
temperature change effects
 R of thermistor in liquid
on copper coils in meters,
 Increases as cooling
generators and motors
 The relay will open
 PTC of copper and NTC of
thermistor produce relatively
constant coil resistance for
changing ambient
temperature

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  Power measurement
Applications
 Altimeter
 Called Hyposometer
 Sea level ~ 37500m
 With precision of better
than 1%
 Heat until liquid boils
 Measure R of thermistor
 R depends on pressure
 Pressure depends on
Altitude
 R in bridge: 200
 Thermistor: 2K
 Thermistor heat up until 200
 Balance in bridge
 Calculate DC power
 Applying High Frequency
power
 R of thermistor more
decreases
 Reduce DC power until bridge
balance again
 Calculate DC power
 The difference of two DC
power is HF power

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 Linearization
 Using parallel resistors  Using Series resistors
 Choosing Rp  Choosing Gs

 Tm: Midscale temp.  More Linear, Less

 Rt,m: R at Tm Sensitivity
 More linear, Less
Sensitive:

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 Linearization
 Temperature to Frequency
 Implementation of series
Conversion
linearization using OP
 Hysteresis-based
Amps
 Minimal deviation of
oscillator
 Frequency of oscillation
linearity
nonlinearly depends on
 0.15C for 0 ~40C
temperature
 CPU counts frequency of

oscillator's output

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 Temperature to Frequency Conversion
 Complicate circuit
 Fast response
 Look up Table
 m-degree resolution
 Stores temperature
values
 0 ~ 100C range
 Address of Look
 Accuracy up
< 0.15C
table
 Frequency Value
 Practical for Small
ranges
 Large memory for large
ranges
 Hard to recalibration for
each new sensors

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 Interfacing to the IBM PC
 See Fig7805
7.41, For BASIC program
Regulator:

Very
  stable 5V and
Calibrating fromusing
12V a YSI series 400 thermistor
 FETOP Amps:
Uses RCALab
Tecmar CA3140
Master Data Acquisition Board
YSI(Yellow
Springs Instrument

Homework #7-1
Co.) series 400 thermometer
 Analyzed the Basic Program
 Time Constant: 800ms
 Maximal operating

Temperature: 150C
 0.15 ~ 5.6V output for 100 ~
0C

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 Other temperature measurement
techniques
 Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance
Thermometer
 Ultrasonic Thin-wire Thermometer  Nuclear quadrupole resonance
 Velocity of sound depends on
absorption frequency
temperature decreases with increasing
 High temperature temperature
 2000 ~ 3000C  Accuracy : 1mK
 Maximal error: 30C
 Range : 90 ~ 398K
 Quartz-Crystal Thermometer  Eddy Current Thermometer
 Resonant frequency of quartz-crystal
 Non Contacting temperature
oscillator is linearly related to measurement
temperature  HF magnetic filed on steel 
 Accuracy: 0.04C
Eddy current  New magnetic
 Range: -80 ~ 250C field  Detecting coil
 Johnson Noise Thermometer  The magnitude of eddy current
 Noise voltage power density depends on temperature and
spectrum is function of temperature distance
 Accuracy: 20C  Accuracy : < 3C

 Range: 400 ~ 1770K  Range: 25 ~ 300C

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 Temperature sensor
 Temperature Sensors Example No1
 The following thermistor has a resistance value of 10KΩ at 25oC
and a resistance value of 100Ω at 100oC. Calculate the voltage
drop across the thermistor and hence its output voltage (Vout) for
both temperatures when connected in series with a 1kΩ resistor
across a 12v power supply.

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 Temperature sensor
 Temperature Sensors Example No1
At 25 C
o

                                   
At 100 C o

                                 
By changing the fixed resistor value of R2 (in our example 1kΩ) to a potentiometer or preset, a voltage output
can be obtained at a predetermined temperature set point for example, 5v output at 600C and by varying the
potentiometer a particular output voltage level can be obtained over a wider temperature range.

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 Temperature sensor
 Interface circuit
 Wire Materials
 When specifying the RTD wire materials, care should be taken to
select the right lead wires for the temperature and environment the
sensor will be exposed to in service. When selecting lead wires,
temperature is by far the primary consideration, however, physical
properties such as abrasion resistance and water submersion
characteristics can also be important.
 Since the lead wire used between the resistance element and the
measuring instrument has a resistance itself, we must also supply
a means of compensating for this inaccuracy.

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 Temperature sensor
 Interface circuit
 Resistance to Temperature Conversion
The RTD is a more linear device than the thermocouple, but it still requires curve-fitting.
The Callendar-Van Dusen equation has been used for years to approximate the RTD
curve:

                               

Where:
RT = Resistance at Temperature T
Ro = Resistance at T = 0ºC
α = Temperature coefficient at T = 0ºC ((typically +0.00392Ω/Ω/ºC))
δ = 1.49 (typical value for .00392 platinum)
β = 0 T > 0 0. 11 (typical) T < 0

The exact values for coefficients α , β, and δ are determined by testing the RTD at four
temperatures and solving the resultant equations. This familiar equation was replaced in
1968 by a 20th order polynomial in order to provide a more accurate curve fit. The plot
of this equation shows the RTD to be a more linear device than the thermocouple.
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 Temperature sensor
 Interface circuit
 RTD wiring configurations
There are three types of wire configurations, 2 wire, 3 wire, and 4 wire, that are
commonly used in RTD sensing circuits. A 2-wire configuration with a compensating
loop is also an option.

 2 wire RTD connections

 The 2 wire RTD configuration is the simplest among RTD circuit designs(serial configuration)
 1 single lead wire connects each end of the RTD element to the monitoring device. 
 Because the resistance calculated for the circuit includes the resistance in the lead wires and
connectors as well as the resistance in the RTD element, the result will always contain some degree
of error.
 The circle represents the resistance element boundaries to the point of calibration. 3- or 4-wire
configuration must be extended from the point of calibration so that all uncalibrated resistances are
compensated.
 The resistance RE is taken from the resistance element and is the value that will supply us with an
accurate temperature measurement. Unfortunately, when we take our resistance measurement, the
instrument will indicate RTOTAL :

Where RTOTAL = R1 + R2 + RE

This will produce a temperature readout higher than that actually being measured. Many systems can
be calibrated to eliminate this. Most RTD’s incorporate a third wire with resistance R3. This wire will be
Kỹ connected to one side of the resistance element along with lead 2. 
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 Temperature sensor
 Interface circuit
 3 wire RTD connections
 2 wires link the sensing element to the monitoring
device on one side of the sensing element, and one
links it on its other side.
 If 3 identical type wires are used and their lengths are
equal, then R1 = R2 = R3. By measuring the
resistance through leads 1, 2 and the resistance
element, a total system resistance is measured (R1 +
R2 + RE ).
 If the resistance is also measured through leads 2
and 3 (R2 + R3), we obtain the resistance of just the
lead wires, and since all lead wire resistances are
equal, subtracting this value (R2 + R3) from the total
system resistance (R1 + R2 + RE) leaves us with just
RE, and an accurate temperature measurement has
been made.
 Because this is an averaged result, the measurement
will be accurate only if all three connecting wires
Kỹ have the same resistance.
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 Temperature sensor
 Interface circuit
 3-Wire Bridge Measurement Errors
 If we know VS and VO , we can find Rg  and then solve for temperature. The
O gg

unbalance voltage VO of a bridge built with R1= R2is:

 If Rg = R3 , VO = 0 and the bridge is balanced. This can be done manually,

3

but if we don’t want to do a manual bridge balance, we can just solve for
Rg  in terms of VO
g

 This expression assumes the lead resistance is zero. If R g is located some

distance from the bridge in a 3-wire configuration, the lead resistance RL
will appear in series with both Rg and R3

 The error term will be small if Vo is small, i.e., the bridge is close to balance
 This circuit works well with devices like strain gauges, which change
resistance value by only a few percent, but an RTD changes resistance
dramatically with temperature. Assume the RTD resistance is 200 ohms and
Kỹ the bridge is designed for 100 ohms
thuật  Since we don’t know the value of RL, we must use equation (a), so we get:
Đo
lường The correct answer is of course 200 ohms. That’s a temperature error of 48
 Temperature sensor
 Interface circuit
 2-wire

 3-wire

 4-wire

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 Force sensor – Load cell
 Load cell is an
electromechanical device
 A load cell is a force
transducer that converts
force or weight acting on
it into an electrical signal
 Load cell can be used to
measure force, torque and
pressure
 Load cell can measure a
wide range of force, from
25 grams to over 1000
tons

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 Classification and application
 Mechanical type load cell
 Hyddraulic
 Pneumatic
 Electrical type load cell
 Resistance based (strain gauge load cell)
 Capacitance based
 Inductance based (LVDT load cell)
 Among the many kinds of load cell, the most
common type is strain gauge load cell.

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 Mechanical load cell
 Hydraulic load cells are force balance-devices, measuring weight as a change in
pressure of the internal filling fluid. It is ideal for use in hazardous areas as there are
no any electrical component in it.
 The inside chamber of the device is filled with oil which has a pre-load pressure. The
force is applied on the upper portion and this increases the pressure of the fluid inside
the chamber. This pressure change is measured using a pressure transducer or is
displayed on a pressure gauge dial using a Bourdon Tube.
 Even at a fully forced condition, it will only deflect up to 0.05mm  used for calculating
forces whose value lies between 500N and 200kN. The force monitoring device can be
placed at a distance far away from the device with the help of a fluid-filled hose.
 No need of any electrical assistance for the device  used for calculating both tensile
and compressive forces. The error percentage does not exceed more than 0.25%.
 The device will have to be calibrated according to the temperature in which it is used
as it is temperature sensitive.

Kỹ
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 Mechanical Load Cell
 Pneumatic load cells also operate on the force-
balance principle. These device use multiple
dampener chambers to provide higher accuracy
than hydraulic load cell. Pneumatic load cells are
often used to measure relatively small weights in
industries where cleanliness and safety of prime
concern.
 The pneumatic load cell has an inside chamber
which is closed with a cap. An air pressure is
built up inside the chamber until its value equals
the force on the cap. If the pressure is increased
further, the air inside the chamber will forcefully
open the cap and the process will continue until
both the pressures are equal. At this point, the
reading of the pressure in the chamber is taken
using a pressure transducer and it will be equal
to the input force.

Kỹ
thuật
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 Electrical Load cell
 Strain Gauge Load cell
 A strain gauge is a device used to measure the strain of an object
and convert the load acting on them into electrical signals
 Due to application of load, strain changes the electrical
resistance of the gauge in proportion to the applied load
 Strain gauge shows a very high accuracy of 0.03%

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Theory behind electrical strain gauge load cell
 We know that,
R=ρxL/A
where R: resistance of the conducting material
ρ: resistivity
L: length
A: cross sectional area
 From the above formula, we can deduce that resistance of an
object is directly proportional to its length
R∞L

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 Electrical load cell
 First term: under strain, wire changes dimension,
and thus the resistance changes (for metals)
 Second term: change in resistivity due to the
change in crystal lattice of the material under strain
(for semiconductors)

Material Resistivity
Conductor 10-8 to 10-6
Semiconductor 1 to 104
Insulator 106 to 1018

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Gauge factor
 For a given amount of strain (ΔL/L), the gauge will undergo a
corresponding change in resistance (ΔR/R)
 Gauge Factor is defined as the ration of (ΔR/R) and (ΔL/L)

Material Gauge factor

Conventional foil gauge 1.5 to 3.5
Constantan strain gauge 1.9 to 2.1
 Strain measurement
Ni-Cr or Pt-Ir Up to 3.5

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Strain gauge resistance
 Strain gauge under tension – Resistance
goes up
 Strain gauge under compression –
Resistance goes down
 Foil strain gauge

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Strain gauge
 Principle

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Wheastone Bridge

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Load cell implementation

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Load cell type

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Strain gauge load cells

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Mechanical and other load cell

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 LVDT based load cell

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Bending beam load cell

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Share beam load cell

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Application

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Application

Kỹ
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lường 69
 Electrical load cell
 Application

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 Electrical load cell
 Interface circuit

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Interface circuit
 Wheatstone bridge is an electric circuit suitable for detection of minute
resistance changes, therefore used to measure resistance changes of a
strain gauge
 The bridge is configured by combining four resistors as shown in Fig
 Initially R1=R2=R3=R4, in this condition no output voltage is there, e=0
 When one ofthe Resistances is replaced by strain
Gauge attached to the object whose strain is to be
measured and load is applied, then there is small
change in the resistance of gauge, hence some
output voltage is there which can be related to
strain as

From this, strain can be easily determined

using the relation

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Interface circuit
 Full Bridge Configuration
To further enhance the sensitivity, all 4
resistances are replaced by strain gauges.
While this system is rarely used for strain
measurement, it is frequently applied to
strain-gage transducers. When the gages at
the four sides have their resistance changed
to R1 + ΔR1, R2 + ΔR2, R3 + ΔR3 and R4 +
ΔR4, respectively, the bridge output voltage,
e, is

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Interface circuit

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Interface circuit
 Bridge Measurement Circuit: Such
demanding precision calls for a bridge
measurement circuit. Unlike the Wheatstone
bridge shown in the last chapter using a null-
balance detector and a human operator to
maintain a state of balance, a strain
gauge bridge circuit indicates measured strain
by the degree of imbalance, and uses a
precision voltmeter in the center of the bridge
to provide an accurate measurement of that
imbalance:

Typically, the rheostat arm of the bridge (R2 in the diagram) is set at a value equal to the strain
gauge resistance with no force applied. The two ratio arms of the bridge (R 1 and R3) are set equal to
each other. Thus, with no force applied to the strain gauge, the bridge will be symmetrically
balanced and the voltmeter will indicate zero volts, representing zero force on the strain gauge. As
the strain gauge is either compressed or tensed, its resistance will decrease or increase,
respectively, thus unbalancing the bridge and producing an indication at the voltmeter. This
arrangement, with a single element of the bridge changing resistance in response to the measured
Kỹ
variable (mechanical force), is known as a quarter-bridge circuit.
thuật
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 Electrical load cell
 Interface circuit
 As the distance between the strain gauge and the three other
resistances in the bridge circuit may be substantial, wire resistance has
a significant impact on the operation of the circuit. To illustrate the
effects of wire resistance, I’ll show the same schematic diagram, but
add two resistor symbols in series with the strain gauge to represent
the wires:
– Compensation circuit
(lead wire effect)

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Interface circuit
 Wire Resistances
 The strain gauge’s resistance (Rgauge) is not the only resistance being
measured: the wire resistances Rwire1 and Rwire2, being in series with Rgauge,
also contribute to the resistance of the lower half of the rheostat arm of the
bridge, and consequently contribute to the voltmeter’s indication. This, of
course, will be falsely interpreted by the meter as physical strain on the
gauge.
 While this effect cannot be completely eliminated in this configuration, it can
be minimized with the addition of a third wire, connecting the right side of the
voltmeter directly to the upper wire of the strain gauge:

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Interface circuit
 Resistance Change in Temperature
 An unfortunate characteristic of strain
gauges is that of resistance change with
changes in temperature. This is a
property common to all conductors,
some more than others. Thus, our
quarter-bridge circuit as shown (either
with two or with three wires connecting
the gauge to the bridge) works as a
thermometer just as well as it does a
strain indicator. If all we want to do is
measure strain, this is not good. We can
transcend this problem, however, by
using a “dummy” strain gauge in place of
R2, so that both elements of the rheostat
arm will change resistance in the same
proportion when temperature changes,
thus canceling the effects of temperature
Kỹ change:
thuật
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 Electrical load cell
 Interface circuit
 Resistance Change in Temperature
 Resistors R1 and R3 are of the equal
resistance value, and the strain gauges are
identical to one another. With no applied force,
the bridge should be in a perfectly balanced
condition and the voltmeter should register 0
volts. Both gauges are bonded to the same
test specimen, but only one is placed in a
position and orientation so as to be exposed
to physical strain (the active gauge). The other
gauge is isolated from all mechanical stress
and acts merely as a temperature
compensation device (the “dummy” gauge). If
the temperature changes, both gauge
resistances will change by the same
percentage, and the bridge’s state of balance
will remain unaffected. Only a differential
resistance (difference of resistance between
the two strain gauges) produced by physical
force on the test specimen can alter the
Kỹ balance of the bridge.
thuật
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 Electrical load cell
 Interface circuit
 Resistance Change in
Temperature
 Wire resistance doesn’t impact
the accuracy of the circuit as
much as before, because the
wires connecting both strain
gauges to the bridge are
approximately equal length.
Therefore, the upper and lower
sections of the bridge’s rheostat
arm contain approximately the
same amount of stray resistance,
and their effects tend to cancel:

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Interface circuit
 Quarter-Bridge and Half Bridge Circuits
 Even though there are now two strain gauges in the bridge circuit, only one is responsive
to mechanical strain, and thus we would still refer to this arrangement as a quarter-bridge.
However, if we were to take the upper strain gauge and position it so that it is exposed to
the opposite force as the lower gauge (i.e. when the upper gauge is compressed, the
lower gauge will be stretched, and vice versa), we will have both gauges responding to
strain, and the bridge will be more responsive to applied force. This utilization is known as
a half-bridge. Since both strain gauges will either increase or decrease resistance by the
same proportion in response to changes in temperature, the effects of temperature
change remain canceled and the circuit will suffer minimal temperature-induced
measurement error:

Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Interface circuit
 An example of how a pair of
strain gauges may be bonded to
a test specimen so as to yield
this effect
 With no force applied to the test
specimen, both strain gauges
have equal resistance and the
bridge circuit is balanced.
However, when a downward
force is applied to the free end of
the specimen, it will bend
downward, stretching gauge #1
and compressing gauge #2 at
the same time:
Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Full-Bridge Circuits
 In applications where such complementary
pairs of strain gauges can be bonded to the
test specimen, it may be advantageous to
make all four elements of the bridge “active”
for even greater sensitivity. This is called
a full-bridge circuit:
 A typical example of a strain gauge of the
type used for measuring force in industrial
environments is 15 mV/V at 1000 pounds.
That is, at exactly 1000 pounds applied force
(either compressive or tensile), the bridge will
be unbalanced by 15 millivolts for every volt
of the excitation voltage. Again, such a figure
is precise if the bridge circuit is full-active
(four active strain gauges, one in each arm of
the bridge), but only approximate for half-
bridge and quarter-bridge arrangements.
Kỹ
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 Electrical load cell
 Example of Wheatstone bridge

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 Electrical load cell
 Example of Wheatstone bridge

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 Electrical load cell
 Example 1

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 Electrical Load cell

Circuit diagram of Load Cell: Basic specifications of a load cell Capacity 45Kg Full
scale Output 45*0.6 = 27mV, Sensitivity 2.25 mV/V, Excitation Voltage 9V or 12V
DC, Input resistance 409 Ω, Output resistance 350 Ω 
 Mass equation

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 Electrical Load cell
 Example of load cell calculation

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 Electrical Load cell
 Example 2:

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 Electrical Load cell
 Example

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 Electrical Load cell
 Example

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 Electrical Load cell
 Industrial hopper scale

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 Electrical load cell
 Example of Potentiometer or Ballast Circuit

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 Electrical load cell
 Example of Potentiometer or Ballast Circuit

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 Electrical load cell
 Example of Potentiometer or Ballast Circuit

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 Electrical load cell
 Example of Potentiometer or Ballast Circuit

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