Sensor & Transducers

EKT 451
CHAPTER 6
Sensor & Transducers
Definition
 Transducer is any device that converts energy in one
form to energy in another.
 It is also known as sensor
 Convert electrical energy to mechanical displacement.
 Convert non-electrical physical quantity to electrical
signal.
e.g. temperature, sound or light to an electrical signal.
Definition of a Transducers
Function of transducer
 To sense the presence, magnitude, change in and frequency
of some measurand.
 To provide an electrical output, when appropriately
processed and applied to a readout device.
Measurand
Transducer Electrical
output
Excitation
Classification of Transducers
 Transducer can be classified according to their
application, based primarily on their physical quantity,
property or condition to be measured.
1) Passive transducers
– require an external power.
– Their output is a measure of some variation, such resistance and
capacitance.
2) Self generating transducer
– do not require an external power.
– they produce analog voltage or current when stimulated by
some physical form of energy
Selecting a Transducers
 Transducer has to be compatible with its application
1) Operating range – should maintain range requirements and

good resolution.
2) Sensitivity – must be sensitive enough to allow sufficient
output.
3) Frequency response and resonant frequency – is the
transducer flat over the needed range.
4) Environment compatibility - corrosive fluids, the pressures,
shocks and interactions.
Selecting a Transducers
5) Minimum sensitivity – minimally sensitive to expected
stimuli other than measurand.
6) Accuracy – subject to repeatability and calibration errors.
7) Usage and ruggedness - mechanical and electrical intensities
versus size and weight.
8) Electrical – what are signal-to-noise ratios when combined
with amplifiers and frequency response limitations.
Resistive Transducers
 Also called displacement transducer.

 to detect and transmit the physical position of mechanical
parts via electrical signals
Strain Gauge Transducers
• a passive transducer
• Uses electric resistance variation in wires to sense the
strain produced by a force on wires.
• Measuring weight, pressure, mechanical force, or
displacement.
• A tensile stress tends to elongate the wire and thereby
increase its length and decrease its cross sectional area
Capacitive Transducers
 capacitive transducers can be made
to be self-contained units.
 Some transducers work by making
one of the capacitor plates
movable, either in such a way as to
vary the overlapping area or the
distance between the plates.
 Other transducers work by moving
a dielectric material in and out
between two fixed plates to detect
kA o
and transmit the physical position C ( farads )
d
of mechanical parts via electrical
where,
signals k = dielectric constant.
A = Area of the plate
o = 8.854x10-12, in farad per meter.
d= the plate spacing in meters.
Differential Capacitive Transducers
 have 3 wire connections: one wire for each of the "end" plates
and one for the "common" plate.
 implementation in a bridge circuit
Differential Capacitive Transducers
 This bridge circuit is similar in function with strain gauges: it

is not intended to be in a "balanced" condition all the time, but
rather the degree of imbalance represents the magnitude of the
quantity being measured.
The Advantages of Capacitive Transducer.
 Has excellent frequency response
 Can measure both static and dynamic phenomena.
The Disadvantages of Capacitive Transducer.

 Sensitivity to temperature variations
 the possibility of erratic or distortion signals owing to
long lead length
The Application of Capacitive Transducer.

 As frequency modulator in RF oscillator
 In capacitance microphone
 Use the capacitance transducer in an ac bridge circuit
Inductive Transducers
• Inductive transducers may be either of the self
generating or passive type.
• The self generating type utilizes the basic electrical
generator principle, a motion between a conductor and
magnetic field induces a voltage in the conductor
(generator action).
• A tachometer is an inductive transducer that directly
converts speed or velocity into electrical signal.
Variable Inductive Transducers
 this device is a transformer:

 primary winding powered by an external source of AC voltage, and
two secondary windings connected in series-bucking fashion.
 It is variable because the core is free to move between the windings.
 When the core is centered and both windings are outputting the same
voltage, the net result at the output terminals will be zero volts.
Thermocouple Transducers
 The Thermocouple is a thermoelectric temperature sensor which consists of

two dissimilar metallic wires
 These two wires are connected at two different junctions, one for temperature
measurement and the other for reference
 The temperature difference between the two junctions is detected by
measuring the change in voltage across the dissimilar metals at the
temperature measurement junction
Thermocouple Transducers
 Low cost.
 No moving parts, less likely to be broken.
 Wide temperature range.
 Reasonably short response time.
 Reasonable repeatability and accuracy.
Thermistor Transducers
 Have great resistance at low
temperatures but when they warm up
their resistance decreases rapidly.
 Current can then flow through them.
 When the thermistor is warmed up by
the hair drier its resistance drops.
 As its resistance drops, current flows
into the base of the transistors allowing
the LED to light.
The Advantages of Thermistor.
 Small size and low cost.
 Fast response over narrow temperature range.
 Good sensitivity in Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) region.
 Cold junction compensation not required due to dependence of resistance on
absolute temperature.
 Contact and lead resistance problems not encountered due to large resistance.
The Limitation Thermistor.
 Non linearity in resistance versus temperature characteristics.
 Unsuitable for wide temperature range.
 Very low excitation current to avoids self heating.
 Need of shielded power lines, filters, etc due to high resistance .
Piezoelectric Transducers.
 When a mechanical pressure is to a crystal, a displacement of
the crystal causes a potential difference occur.
 The thickness, length, and width directions can be stretched or
compressed to generate electrical output.
Piezoelectric Transducers.
Assignment
Design and explain the operation of a system
that can control the level and the temperature
of water in a tank.

Sensor & Transducers

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Sensor & Transducers

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EKT 451

1) Operating range – should maintain range requirements and

 Also called displacement transducer.

 This bridge circuit is similar in function with strain gauges: it

The Disadvantages of Capacitive Transducer.

The Application of Capacitive Transducer.

 this device is a transformer:

 The Thermocouple is a thermoelectric temperature sensor which consists of

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