Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013

SENSORS & ACTUATORS SENSORS & ACTUATORS SENSORS & ACTUATORS SENSORS & ACTUATORS
UNIT 8: UNIT 8: UNIT 8: UNIT 8:
1
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS
Power/energy transduction
Sensor from physical property to electrical/optical
Actuator from electrical/optical to physical/mechanical
Power density
Sensor from potentially high power density to relative low power
density (signal level)
Actuator high power density conversion, using signal level (low
power density) to modulate/control the power conversion
2
Sensor
(Transducer)
Actuator
Physical Property
(may be high
power density)
Signal
Conditioning
Power
Amplification
Mechanical
Work
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
SENSOR
CHARACTERISTICS
Sensitivity
Transducer's ability to respond to changes in measured quantity (ratio of output
change to input change).
Resolution
Smallest increment of measured value that can be detected.
Dynamic range
The maximum of number of the smallest increment changes that the sensor can
measure.
Accuracy
Difference between measured and actual values depends on the inherent
instrument limitations.
Precision
Sensor's ability to reproduce readings within a given accuracy a measure of its
reliability.
Repeatability
An ability to exactly reproduce a particular output signal when the same
excitation is repeatedly applied.
3
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
SENSOR
CHARACTERISTICS
Linearity
Percentage departure from a linear value, i.e. the maximum deviation of an
output curve from the best-fit straight calibration line.
Output impedance
Impedance of the sensor output as it is connected either in series or parallel
to an electrical circuit.
Response time
Time needed for the sensor to reach a certain percentage (95%) of the final
value after an input step change.
Time constant
The 63.2% response time.
Bandwidth
Frequency range over which the magnitude variation is within 3 dB, or the
magnitude is within 3dB, of the DC magnitude.
4
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
TYPES OF SENSORS
Resistance
Potentiometer
Strain gage
Inductance
Linear variable
differential transducer (LVDT)
Proximity sensor
Capacitance
Piezoelectric
Accelerometer
Pressure/tactile
Hall effect
Rotational
Eddy current
Optical
Encoder
IR sensor
5
Temperature
Thermocouple
Resistive temperature detectors (RTD)
Thermistor
Infrared
Image or light
Photodiode
Phototransistor
Charge-coupled device (CCD)
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
OUT
POTENTIOMETER
Measures resistance variation.
Simple, low-cost
Slider generates electrical noise,
wears out, and contamination.
Nonlinearity due to measurement input impedance
Maximum nonlinearity occurs at:
Max nonlinearity: fs!
6
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
LVDT
Linear Variable Differential Transformer
AC excited (Primary coil)
Core changes relative coupling to secondary coils
AC output (AM) must be converted to DC to be useful.
Primary Coil
Secondary Coils
Moving
Core
c
s,1
= H
1
Ji
P
Jt

c
s,2
= H
2
Ji
P
Jt

c
P
= H
1
-H
2
Ji
S
Jt
"
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
HALL EFFECT
Hall effect sensors detect magnetic fields.
Permanent magnets + Hall effect sensor = position sensor
Magnetic field changes the pattern of current flow in a
thin semiconductor sheet
Voltage across the thin sheet changes, ~100 V.
Either magnet or the Hall sensor can move.
Non-contacting positioning sensing.
Requires magnets, which could generate unwanted
forces.
Hall element
(semiconductor)
Magnet
V
out
#
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
TYPES OF ACTUATORS
Electro-Mechanical
Electromagnetic
Electric motors
DC motors
Stepper motors
AC induction motors
Servomotors
Solenoid and relays
Piezoelectric
Hydraulic and Pneumatics
Valves
Actuators pumps, motors, and cylinders
Combustion
IC engines
Turbine engines
$
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
TYPES OF ACTUATORS
Hobby Servomotors
Characteristics
Voltage: usually 5-6 VDC
Sizes: micro, standard, giant (1/4 scale)
Speed: time to rotate 60 (standard is 0.24 sec/60)
Torque: up to 200 oz-in (standard around 40 oz-in)
Operation
Angle defined by duration of pulse (not duty cycle!)
1.5 ms pulse goes to neutral (90 degrees)
1 ms is generally min duration, and 2 ms is max duration
RC PWM is used differently than other forms of PWM
1.5 ms pulse every 6 ms goes to same position as 1.5 ms pulse every 16 ms.
Servo will hold position up to its torque rating
Analog (50 Hz)
Limited in speed and torque
Sluggish for small command signals (deadband)
Digital (300 Hz)
Smaller deadband, quicker acceleration, less ripple in holding torque
Improved performance comes at the cost of greater power consumption
10
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
POSITION AND VELOCITY
MEASUREMENT
Position and velocity measurements are used in all
mechanical systems.
They can be processed through many media. We will
concentrate on sensors with electrical output.
11
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
POSITION AND VELOCITY
MEASUREMENT
Analog or Digital?
Analog Information Coding (Processing)
Difficult to achieve a high dynamic range (ratio between the
smallest resolvable increment and the maximum displacement).
Efficient coding single wire carries all the information.
Intuitive
Need careful design for grounding and shielding this increases
cost per wire.
Digital Information Coding
Decoupled design between minimum count (physical constraint)
and maximum range (word size).
Computation speed is the major limitation.
12
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
ANALOG VELOCITY
MEASUREMENT
Tachometer Same operating principle as DC motor/generator
Runs as an unloaded generator.
Produces open-loop voltage proportional to rotational speed:
Back-emf constant is the primary functional parameter, which is also called the
voltage constant:
Output is usually fed into a device with high input impedance
negligible current drain.
Since the current is zero, the other side of the motor electrical equation is
irrelevant.
Brush and commutation switching are the two main noise source for
analog tachometer.
Noise reduction is the main design consideration heat is not an issue.
High velocity limitation is the voltage limit of the attached equipment.
Low velocity performance limited by noise level.
I
1
= K
LMP
= K
v

13
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
ANALOG VELOCITY
MEASUREMENT
Low Velocity Behavior
Stop How to determine?
Obvious and intuitive definition
Difficult to determine under noise and resolution limitation.
Wait for a specific period of time after reaching and maintaining below
the lowest measurable velocity.
Apply brake when reaching a suitably low (but measurable) velocity.
Stiction
Unique to mechanical systems.
Two surfaces will lose relative motion when the relative velocity drops
below a sticking velocity the system will stop!
Good when system needs to stop and bad when trying to start
motion.
Especially bad for precision positioning.
Low velocity scanning
Requires constant (low) speed to perform operation such as
inspection, welding, cutting, and laser texturing.
14
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
PULSE MEASUREMENT
OF VELOCITY
Pulses generated at uniform intervals, creating discrete points of
motion.
Pulse Frequency Modulation Analog velocity information is carried in
the pulse frequency.
Good for unidirectional motion or when the direction can be inferred
from other information.
Pulse Generating Device
Optical reflective, optical occluding, magnetic, pressure, reluctance, and
mechanical switches all can be used to generate pulses.
Pulse should be reasonably clean to avoid false triggering.
Frequency-to-Voltage Converter
Generate an analog voltage that is proportional to the frequency.
Additional ADC needed for digital systems.
Noise is always a limiting factor.
15
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
LOGIC OF FREQUENCY
MEASUREMENT
A timer, a counter and a few control circuits are needed to
measure frequency.
Measure (count) the number of pulses that occur within a fixed
period of time result is frequency, which is proportional to
velocity (if the time period does not change).
Timer control the timing and the counter counts the number of
pulses:
Q: What are the potential errors that can occur in this system?
%lear
&ut'ut
(atch
)eset %ounter
Set *imer
Start *imer
)unnin+
)ea! %ounter
,(oa! &ut'ut (atch-
*imer not
!one
*imer !one
S*.)*
16
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
LOGIC OF FREQUENCY
MEASUREMENT
Add check for counter overflow to avoid erroneous readings:
Further Safety Measure Use handshake to make sure output
latch information (data) is only read when it is valid.
Can be implemented in software:
Timer is normally still done with hardware timer. Timer interrupt will
be initiated to trigger the software to count. A hardware counter can
also be used.
Processor speed is the major limitation.
*imer not
!one an!
no o/erflo0
*imer !one
an! no
o/erflo0
%lear
&ut'ut
(atch
)eset %ounter
Set *imer
Start *imer
)ea! %ounter
,(oa! &ut'ut (atch-
)unnin+
S*.)*
Set &ut'ut
(atch to
Max
%ounter
o/erflo0
1"
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
PULSE FREQUENCY
MEASUREMENT
Factors affecting the precision in pulse frequency
measurement:
The ratio of the timing period to the pulse period
Velocity dependent
High velocity Lots of pulses High precision (can detect small
changes in velocity)
Low velocity Fewer pulse Low precision
Increase timing period will increase precision will be limited by the
sampling period limitation of the system.
Use a denser pulse-generating device (increase pulse rate) limited
by the process rate and the counter word length.
Accuracy of the timing
Depends on the stability of the clock frequency as well as the latency
with in the logic circuits.
Latency
Time period between the end of timing period and when the counter is
read.
Time period between the start of the timer and the start of the counter.
1#
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
DIGITAL POSITION
MEASUREMENT
Incremental Encoders
Related to pulse generators.
Extends the dynamic range of analog position instruments.
Uses quadrature + index pulse.
Quadrature consists of two channel signals
that are 90out-of-phase.
Quadrature Decoding
Decoders usually convert quadrature signals to two pulse channels:
One for forward counts and one for backward
Can be send directly to up/down counters.
Channel A
Channel B
Index
1$
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
QUADRATURE DECODING
Quadrature decoding can be 1X, 2X, or 4X.
1X Decoding decodes the positive edges in one channel
only
The other channel is used to detect direction changes.
2X Decoding decodes only the positive edges or all the
edges in one channel.
4X Decoding decodes all transition edges.
%hannel .
%hannel 1
42
22
12
20
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
QUADRATURE DECODING
Decoders must be able to send the result of the counter to the
computer.
Decoder cannot lose count.
If the counter is binary (as it usually is), a data-valid handshake
is required.
Avago HCTL-2001-A00
21
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
INCREMENTAL ENCODER
Primary disadvantage incremental position information only.
Index pules can be used for homing purposes.
No way to recover from error errors are cumulative.
Decoder must not miss any transition must not lose count.
Quadrature rate can often be up in the MHz range
Limited by the speed of the decoder circuit (clock rate).
No theoretical limit to dynamic range.
Quadrature is grey code if two bits change that is an error.
Can use to develop error checking capability.
Encoder interface
Single ended vs differential (IEEE-422)
(A,B,GND) vs (A,A,B,B)
Alignment is very important!
22
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
INCREMENTAL ENCODERS
Optical Shutter
Moving grate with light source on one side and detector on the
other.
Allows grid size to be smaller than light source.
Two receivers are appropriately aligned (critical) to give quadrature.
Light Source
Moving Grate
Light Receiver
Collimated
Beam
23
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
INCREMENTAL ENCODERS
Micro-Decoding
Analog signal from each channel is (ideally) triangular
real signals are more sinusoidal.
As long as the shape is reproducible and stationary, it
can be decoded (ADC) to get finer position.
Limitation is the stability of the signal waveform and
analog noise.
Channel A
Channel B
24
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
INCREMENTAL ENCODERS
Velocity from Encoders
Same approaches as pulse frequency measurement.
Logic is complicated by the potential change in direction.
Simplest method is to approximate velocity by compute the differences in position
(counts) between fixed samples times.
Precision is not so good at low velocity (why?).
Period measurement can be used, but must take direction change into account.
Linear vs. Rotary Encoders
Rotary Motion measured directly with rotary encoders.
Linear Motion
Linear Encoder must be of the length of the motion
Gives greatest accuracy, but expensive.
Rotary Encoder use with either rack/pinion or lead screw type transmission
Can be less expensive
Accuracy depends on quality of the transmission mechanism.
25
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
INCREMENTAL ENCODERS
Laser Interferometry
Precise but expensive!
Very high resolution down to about 2 nanometer (10-9).
Output depends on phase difference between signal reflected from
moving object and a reference signal.
Laser is necessary to get phase-coherent mono-frequency light.
Major errors are from alignment problems, temperature changes in
the air path, motion of air cause density changes, ...
Target
Retro-reflector
Beam Splitter
Interferometer Receiver
& Signal Processing
Collimated
Laser Beam
Electrical Signal
Quadrature Output
26
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
ABSOLUTE ENCODER
Multi-channel extension of incremental encoders.
One track for each digital channel.
Rotary only difficult to implement in linear applications. It is a digital
alternative to a resolver.
Optical or brush contact.
Common coding:
Natural binary.
Grey code.
Binary-coded decimal.
Q: How would one implement a Grey coded absolute encoder?
2"
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
SYNCHROS AND
RESOLVERS
Analog devices that measure absolute angular position.
Resolvers and synchros are, in principle, rotating transformers.
Excite winding B with sinusoid: E

= sin t
Voltage will be induced across
winding A: I
A
= E

sin 0
Place winding C at 90 w.r.t.
winding A: I
C
= E

cos 0
Resolver has a 4-wire output while
a synchro has a 3-wire output
2#
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
RESOLVER OUTPUTS
Outputs from the resolver (synchro) are amplitude modulated AC
signals:
Angular position information is encoded in the amplitude of the
modulated signal.
Processing the modulated signal is often thought as phase detection.
It is NOT!
Phase and carrier frequency of the outputs are nominally (ideally) the
same (fixed).
Two important deviations are:
Phase shift between the input excitation (AC carrier signal) and the output
signals.
Rotor motion induced voltage fluctuation (back EMF).
I
A
= sin0 sin t
I
B
= cos 0 sin t
Resolvei
I
X
= sin0 sin t
I

= cos 0 + 12u sin t

I
z
= cos 0 - 12u sin t
Synchio
2$
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
RESOLVER SIGNAL
CONVERSION
Estimate the shaft angle to be DC analog signal.
Output of the multipliers are:
When subtracted, the signal is proportional to:
Which has the error in position estimation can be used as the input to a
feedback loop to eliminate the position error.
I
A
= cos sin0 sin t
I
B
= sin cos 0 sin t
sin 0 - sin t
30
sin 0 -
sin t
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
RESOLVER SIGNAL
CONVERSION
One way of demodulation is to divide the previous signal by the reference AC
excitation signal:
Will not work when sine is zero apply only when the absolute of
the reference AC excitation is above a specified limit.
Two stage PI and I controller is used to eliminate steady-state
position error under constant velocity operation.
Input to the second integrator is the estimated velocity.
uemou =
sin 0 - sin t
sin t
= sin 0 -
31
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
RESOLVER-TO-DIGITAL
CONVERTER
Same basic scheme:
Replace second stage integrator with an up/down counter.
Drive counter with VCO (voltage controlled oscillator).
Input to the VCO is the output of the PI compensator.
Overall precision is 12 to 16 bits.
The output represents the absolute angular position within one resolver rotation.
32
Jeff Shelton 26 February 2013
BRUSHLESS RESOLVER
Contact resolvers have the same drawback as DC motors; brush
contact is needed to commutate the rotor coils.
Brush or slip-ring contact introduces additional friction and
regular wear-and-tear to the system
Rotor excitation can be inductively coupled (induced) through
additional windings to eliminate the need for slip-ring contacts.
33