Mechanical Sensors

Mechanical Sensors
• Class of sensors to measure mechanical
phenomena
• For example
– Displacement, location, position sensors
– Strain sensors
– Motion sensors
– Pressure sensors
– Flow sensors
Displacement, location, position
sensors
• In industrial process, it is sometimes
required to measure position
– location of object on conveyor system
– orientation of steel plates in a rolling mill
– liquid or solid level
 Potentiometer sensors
• Potentiometer consists of wire wound
around a rod with fixed resistor R
• Movement of wiper change the resistance
of the potentiometer
Example
A potentiometric displacement sensor is to
be used to measure work-piece motion
from 0 to 10 cm. The resistance changes
linearly over this range from 0 to 1 k.
Develop signal conditioning to provide a
linear, 0- to 10- V output
 Capacitive and Inductive
Sensors
• The displacement measurement due to
the change in capacitive or inductive
• Capacitive
A
C  K 0
d

K  the dielectric constant

 0  permittivity
A  plate area
d  plate separation
• There are 3 ways to change capacity
– variation of plate separation
– variation of plate area
– variation of dielectric constant
• Inductive
– a motion of permeable core changes the
inductance
– AC bridge can be used to detect the change
in inductance

   B  dS
s


L
i
 Variable Reluctance Sensor
• A motion of coil varies the magnetic flux
coupling between the two coils
• Used in measure translation and rotational
motion
• called linear variable differential
transformer (LVDT)
 LVDT
• LVDT consists of 3 coils
– The primary is connected to AC source, thus
inducing ac voltage in coils 2 and 3
• coil 2 and 3 are connected in series with
opposition direction
– when core is in middle, zero voltage output
– when core is move to one side, the net
voltage will be increase
• The circuit for LVDT is shown below
 Level Sensors
• Level sensors measure the level of solid
and liquid
• Example
– Mechanical
– Electrical
– Ultrasonic
Example
The level of ethyl alcohol is to be measured from
0 to 5 m using a capacitive system. The
following specifications define the system:
for ethyl alcohol: K = 26 (for air, K = 1)
cylinder separation: d = 0.5 cm
plate area: A = 2RL
where
R = 5.75 cm = average radius
L = distance along cylinder axis

Find the range of capacity variation as the

alcohol level varies from 0 to 5 m.
 Strain Sensors
• The sensor to measure the deformation of
solid object due to stress
• Stress can be categorized in 3 types
– Tensile stress
– Compressional stress
– Shear stress
 F F
tensile stress  compressional stress 
A A

F
shear stress 
A
 Strain
• Strain is defined as the fractional change
in length of the sample due to stress
l
tensile strain 
l
l
compressional strain 
l

x
shear strain 
l
Stress-Strain Curve
• In linear region,
the slope is
constant which is
called modulus of
elasticity, Young’s
Modulus

stress F / A
E 
strain l / l
Modulus of Elasticity

Material Modulus (N/m2)

Aluminum 6.89x1010
Copper 11.73x1010
Steel 20.70x1010
Polyethylene 3.45x108
Example
Find the strain that results from a tensile
force of 1000 N applied to a 10 m
aluminum beam having a 4x10-4 m2 cross-
sectional area
 Strain Gauge Principles
• The resistance of sample material is
l0
R0  
A0

• After the application of stress

l0  l
R
A0  A

• The change in resistance due to stress is

l
R 2 R0
l0
Example
Find the approximate change in a metal
wire of resistance 120  that results from
a strain of 1000 m/m
 Measurement Principles
• The strain gauge (SG) is glued to the
element whose strain is to be measured
• When stress is applied, the element and
the SG is deformed at the same manner
 Metal Strain Gauges
• The device used to measured strain
• Gauge factor is defined as
R / R
GF 
strain

Indicates how easy the strain can be

measured
Large GF means large change in
resistance for a given strain
 Construction
• Wire or foil
• Design to make it long
in order to give large
resistance change
• Sufficiently fine, not to
resist the deformation
• Unidirectional
• Nominal value is 60,
120, 240, 350, 500 and
1000 
 Signal Conditioning
• The bridge circuit is used to detect the
change in resistance of the SG
• The resistor value is set equal to nominal
resistance of unstrained SG
R1  R2  RD  R

• The resistance of active SG is

 R 
RA  R  1  
 R 

• The offset voltage is then

 RD RA 
V  Vs   
 RD  R1 RA  R2 
• Finally,
Vs R
V  
4 R

• or
Vs l
V   GF
4 l
Example
A strain gauge with GF = 2.03 and R =
350  is used in the bridge. The bridge
resistors are R1 = R2 = 350  and the
dummy gauge has R = 350 . If a tensile
strain of 1450 m/m is applied, find the
bridge offset voltage if Vs = 10.0 V. Find
the relation between bridge off-null voltage
and strain. How much voltage results from
a strain of 1 micro
 Load Cells
• The direct application of
SG is the measurement of
force or weight
• The load cell measure the
deformation produces from
the fore or weight
• A beam or yoke assembly
is used that has several
SGs mounted
Example
The load cell consists of an aluminum post
of 2.500 cm radius with a detector and
compensation strain gauges. The 120 
strain gauges are used in the bridge with V
= 2 V, R1 = R2 = RD = 120.0 , and GF =
2.13. Find the variation of bridge offset
voltage for a load of 0 to 5000 lb.
 Motion Sensors
• Motion sensors are designed to measure
the rate of change of position, location, or
displacement
• The primary form of motion sensor is the
accelerometer
• The speed, and position can be found
from integration
t
v(t )  v(0)   a(t )dt
0
t
x(t )  x(0)   v(t )dt
0
 Principle of Accelerometer
• In industrial application, the design of
accelerometer is based on Newton’s Law
and Hooke’s Law of Spring

k  spring constant in N/m

ma  k x x  spring extension in m
m  mass in kg
a  acceleration in m/s 2
 Natural Frequency
• A spring and attached mass always
exhibits oscillations at some characteristic
natural frequency.
• This natural frequency is given by
1 k
fN 
2 m

f N  natural frequency in Hz
k  spring constant in N/m
m  seismic mass in kg
 Damping
• The friction that eventually brings the
mass to rest is defined by a damping
coefficient , which has the units of s-1
X T (t )  X o e- t sin(2 f N t )

X T (t )  transient mass position

X o  peak position, initially
  damping coefficient
f N  natural frequency
• If the spring-mass system is exposed to a
vibration, then the resultant acceleration of
the base is given by
a (t )   2 x0 sin t
Example
An accelerometer has a seismic mass of
0.05 kg and a spring constant of 3.0x103
N/m. Maximum mass displacement is
±0.02 m. Calculate (a) the maximum
measurable acceleration in g, and (b) the
natural frequency
 Type of Accelerometers
• Potentiometer
• LVDT
• Variable Reluctance
• Piezoelectric
 Potentiometer
• Attaching the spring mass to the wiper arm
of a potentiometer
• The displacement is converted to
resistance
 LVDT
• In these instruments, the
LVDT core itself is the
seismic mass.
• Displacements of the
core are converted
directly into a linearly
proportional ac voltage.
 Variable Reluctance
• The test mass is usually a permanent
magnet.
• The measurement is made from the
voltage induced in a surrounding coil as
the magnetic mass moves under the
influence of an acceleration.
 Piezoelectric
• The piezoelectric
accelerometer is based
on a property exhibited
by certain crystals
where a voltage is
generated across the
crystal when stressed.
Example
An accelerometer outputs 14 mV per g.
Design a signal-conditioning system that
provides a velocity signal at 0.25 V for
every m/s, and determine the gain of the
system and the feedback resistance ratio
 Pressure Sensor
• Pressure sensor is use to measure the
pressure of fluid and gas in industrial
application
 Pressure Principles
• Pressure is force per area that fluid exerts
on its surroundings

• Static Pressure
– The fluid is not moving P2  P1  gh
• Dynamic Pressure
– The fluid is moving
1 1
P1   v1   gy1  P2   v2 2   gy2 = constant
2

2 2
• Units for Pressure
– SI unit: N/m2 (Pa)
– English unit: lb/in2 (psi)
– Atmosphere unit (1 atm = 14.7 psi = 101.325
kPa )
• Gauge pressure
– Describe a pressure in a relative sense,
compared to atmospheric pressure
pg  pabs  pat
• Head Pressure
– Used to describe pressure for liquid in tank or
pipe
– The pressure that are produced by the weight
of liquid above that measured point

p   gh
Example
A tank holds water with a depth of 7.0 ft.
What is the pressure at the tank bottom in
psi and Pa (density = 103 kg/m3)
 Pressure Sensors (p > 1 atm)
• A device measures pressure more than 1
atm
• Normally, convert pressure into physical
displacement which is then converted to
electrical signal
 Diaphragm
• A thin, flexible piece of metal as shown in
the picture

• If a pressure p1 exists on one side, p2 on

the other side, the net force is then
F   p2  p1  A
Bellows

• Convert pressure into physical displacement

• The displacement is converted to voltage using
LVDT
 Bourdon Tube
• A hard metal tube is
flattened and one
end is closed
• The other end is
attached to header
by which pressure is
introduced
 Electronic conversions
• Convert mechanical displacement to
electrical signal by mechanical linkage
– Connect to potentiometer
– Connect to strain gauge
– Connect to LVDT
Diaphragm with Feedback
 Solid State Pressure Sensor
• Integrated circuit sensor
• Range from 0 to 100 kPa (0 to 14.7 psi)
• The silicon wafer acts like a diaphragm
that deflects in response to a pressure
difference
 Pressure Sensors (p < 1 atm)
• Measurement of pressure less than 1 atm
are done using purely electronic method
• The device is based on the rate at which
heat is conducted and radiated away from
the heated filament
• Heat loss is proportional to number of gas
molecule per unit volume (Pressure)
• Pirani Gauge
– Determine the filament
temperature thought a
measurement of filament
resistance
– Pirani gauge is used with
bridge
• High pressure causes gas
molecules to collide with
filament and gas molecule
absorb energy from the
filament, resulting in
cooling of the filament
• Ionization Gauge
– Use to measure a very low
pressures about 10-3 to 10-13 atm
– A regulated electron current
(typically 10 mA) is emitted from a
heated filament. The electrons are
attracted to the helical grid by a dc +150 V
potential of about +150 volts
– Some electrons collide with gas
molecules in the gauge envelope -30 V
causing a fraction of them to be
ionized
– The gas ions are attracted to the
central ion collector wire by the
negative voltage on the collector
(typically a minus 30 volts). Ion
currents are on the order of 1
mA/Pa. This current is amplified and
displayed by a high gain differential
amplifier
 Flow Sensors
• Manufacturing processes involve the
movement of raw materials, product, and
waste throughout the process
– Automobile parts through assembly line
– Methyl chloride through pipe
• Flow can be categorized into solid, liquid,
and gas
 Solid-Flow Measurement
• Such as crushed material or powder
carried on conveyer
• The flow rate is measured in mass or
weight per unit of time
– Kg/min
– lb/min
 • Flow rate is measured by weighting the
amount of material on a platform of length
L

WR
Q
L

Q  flow (kg/min or lb/min)

W  weight of material on section of length L (kg or lb)
R  conveyor speed (m/min, or ft/min)
L  length of weighting platform
• The flow sensor to measure weight
passing through the platform
– Load cell
– LVDT
 Liquid Flow
• The unit of flow are
– Volume flow rate (gals/min, m3/h, ft3/h)
– Flow velocity: express as the distance the
liquid travels in the carrier per unit of time
(m/min, ft/min)
Q
V
A

V  flow velocity
Q  volume flow rate
A  cross-sectional area of flow carrier
– Mass or weight flow rate: expressed as mass
or weight flowing per unit of time

F  Q

F  mass or weight flow rate

  mass density or weight density
Q  volume flow rate
Example
Water is pumped through a 1.5 in diameter
pipe with a flow velocity of 2.5 ft/s. Find
the volume flow rate (ft3/min) and weight
flow rate (lb/min). The weight density is
62.4 lb/ft3
 Restriction Flow Sensor
• Introduce a restriction in the pipe.
• Measure the pressure drop across the
pipe
– With restriction, velocity of fluid increases but
pressure decreases
Q  K p

Q  volume flow rate

K  constant for pipe and liquid type
p  drop in pressure across the restriction
 1 1
P1  V12  P2  V22
2 2
P1  P2   V22  V12 
1
2
1  Q2 Q2 
P    2  2 
2  A2 A1 
2  A22  A12 
Q   2
2
P
2 
  A1  A2 
2  A22  A12 
Q  2   P
2 
  A1  A2 
 K  P

2  A22  A12 
where K   2 
2 
  A1  A2 
Example
Flow is to be controlled from 20 to 150
gal/min. The flow is measured using an
orifice plate system. The orifice plate is
described by K =119.5 (gal/min)/psi0.5 . A
bellow measures the pressure with an
LVDT so that the output is 1.8 V/psi. Find
the range of voltages that results from the
given flow range.
 Obstruction Flow Sensor
• Operates by the effect of obstruction
placed in the flow stream
– Rotameter flow meter
– Moving vane flow meter
– Turbine flow meter
 Magnetic Flow Meter
• Charged particle move across the
magnetic field, potential is established
across the flow