Transducers

Instrumentation & Measurement

 Need for Sensors
• Sensors are universal. They are embedded in
our bodies, automobiles, airplanes, cellular
telephones, radios, chemical plants, industrial
plants and countless other applications.
• Without the use of sensors, there would be no
automation !!
 Terminology
• Transducers convert one form of energy into another
• Sensors/Actuators are input/output transducers
• Sensors can be passive (e.g. change in resistance)
or active (output is a voltage or current level)
• Sensors can be analog (e.g. thermocouples) or
digital (e.g. digital tachometer)

Sens Actuato
or r 3
 Transducer types
Quantity
Input Device Output Device
being
(Sensor) (Actuator)
Measured
Light Dependant Resistor (LDR), Lights & Lamps, LED's &
Light Level
Photodiode, Phototransistor, Solar Cell Displays, Fiber Optics
Thermocouple, Thermistor,
Heater, Fan, Peltier
Temperature Thermostat, Resistive temperature
Elements
detectors (RTD)
Force/Pressur Strain Gauge, Pressure Switch, Load Lifts & Jacks,
e Cells Electromagnetic, Vibration
Potentiometer, Encoders, Motor, Solenoid, Panel
Position
Reflective/Slotted Opto-switch, LVDT Meters
Tacho-generator, Reflective/Slotted AC and DC Motors, Stepper
Speed
Opto-coupler, Doppler Effect Sensors Motor, Brake
Carbon Microphone, Piezo-electric
Sound Bell, Buzzer, Loudspeaker
Crystal
4
Choosing a Sensor
Application

Transducers are used in various fields of industry

&research

They are mainly used in measurement of electrical&

mechanical properties of different material

In industry transducers are used in measuring

&controlling various parameters in a process or
product
 TRANSDUCER

A transducer is a device which converts energy from

one form to another

A transducer performs the following functions in

instrumentation

A)Detects the presence , magnitude & changes in a

physical quantity being measured

B ) Provides a proportional electrical output signal

 Active transducers :-These
transducers generate their own
signal when subject to
measurement

e.g.
1) Piezo electric transducer
2) Photo voltaic cell
3) Thermocouples
 Passive transducers :-

These are called as externally

powered transducers.
They don't generate their own
signal but require a secondary
power source for energy
conversion

e.g.
1)Thermistors
2)LVDT
3) RTD
 Selection Parameters
To select the right transducer requires careful consideration of each of
the following specification

• Sensitivity:
Must be greater enough for the best resolution of the system
• Range
Respond over minimum to maximum values of the parameters
• Physical Properties
Method of mounting, protecting and shielding its electrical connections must be considered
• Loading Effects and Distortion
Must be certain that transducer will not significantly distort or load down the measured
quantity
• Frequency Response
Respond to the maximum rate of change of the phenomena
• Electrical Output Format
The form of the output signal must be compatible with the rest of the measuring system
• Output Impedance
Output impedance must be compatible
• Power Requirement
Proper supply voltage/voltages must be provided for externally powered devices
• Noise
Output signal from transducer should be as for as possible, unaffected by noise
• Accuracy or Error
Ensure that quoted specifications for which the transducer is required must be
applicable.
• Calibration
The properties of many transducer can drift with time and aging, this must be
compensated for by periodic recalibration.
• Environment
Performance can be critically affected by such environmental factors as temperature,
humidity, and dust.
• Cost
In general, you get what you pay for. Judge according to your requirements.
 Temperature Sensor
• Temperature sensors appear in building, chemical
process plants, engines, appliances, computers, and
many other devices that require temperature
monitoring

• Many physical phenomena depend on temperature,

so we can often measure temperature indirectly by
measuring pressure, volume, electrical resistance,
and strain
 Types of temperature sensors
• RTD (Resistance Temperature Detector)
• Thermistor
• Thermocouple
Resistance temperature detectors (RTD)
• Resistance temperature detectors (RTD) accurately sense
temperature with an excellent degree of repeatability and
interchangeability of elements.
• The RTD is composed of certain metallic elements whose
change in resistance is a function of temperature.
• In operation, a small excitation current is passed across the
element, and the voltage, which is proportional to resistance,
is then measured and converted to units of temperature
calibration.
• The RTD element is manufactured by winding a wire (wire
wound elements) or plating a film (thin film elements) on a
ceramic or glass core and sealing the element within a ceramic
or glass capsule.
 RTDs
• Platinum often used since it can be used for a wide
temperature range and has excellent stability. Nickel or nickel
alloys are used as well, but they aren’t as accurate.
• In several common configurations, the platinum wire is
exposed directly to air (called a bird-cage element), wound
around a bobbin and then sealed in molten glass, or threaded
through a ceramic cylinder.
• Metal film RTDs are new. To make these, a platinum or
metal-glass slurry film is deposited onto a ceramic substrate.
The substrate is then etched with a laser. These RTDs are very
small but aren’t as stable (and hence accurate).
• RTDs are more accurate but also larger and more expensive
than thermocouples.
 RTD
• How it works:
– Utilizes the fact that resistance
of a metal changes with
temperature.
• Make up:
– Traditionally made up of
platinum, nickel, iron or copper
wound around an insulator.
• Temperature range:
– From about -196°C to 482°C.
– But by selecting the proper
elements and protective
sheathing, RTDs can operate in
a temperature range of (-200 to
650) °C [-328 to 1202] °F.
Thin Film RTD
RTD
 RTD
• Resistance temperature
device.
 RTD Advantages and Disadvantages

• Advantages: • Disadvantages:
– Stable – Expensive
– Very accurate – Current source required
– Change in resistance is – Small change in
linear resistance
– Self heating
– Less rugged than
thermocouples.
 Resistance Measurement
• Several different bridge circuits are used to
determine the resistance. Bridge circuits help
improve the accuracy of the measurements
significantly. Bridge output voltage is a
function of the RTD resistance.
 Resistance/Temperature
Conversion
• Published equations relating bridge voltage to
temperature can be used.
• For very accurate results, do your own
calibration.
– Several electronic calibrators are available.
– The most accurate calibration that you can do
easily yourself is to use a constant temperature
bath and NIST-traceable thermometers. You then
can make your own calibration curve correlating
temperature and voltage.
Accuracy and Response Time

• Response time is longer than

thermocouples; for a ¼ sheath, response
time can easily be 10 s.
 Potential Problems
• RTDs are more delicate than thermocouples.
• An external current must be supplied to the RTD. This current
can heat the RTD, altering the results. For situations with high
heat transfer coefficients, this error is small since the heat is
dissipated to air. For small diameter thermocouples and still
air this error is the largest. Use the largest RTD possible and
smallest external current possible to minimize this error.
• Be careful about the way you set up your measurement
device. Attaching it can change the voltage.
• When the platinum is connected to copper connectors, a
voltage difference will occur (as in thermocouples). This
voltage must be subtracted off.
 Thermistor, the basics of
• How it works:
– Like the RTD a thermistor
uses the fact that resistance
of a metal changes with
temperature.
• Make up:
– Generally made up of
semiconductor materials
• Temperature Range:
– About -45°C - 150°C

Thermistor
 Thermistors
• Thermistors also measure the change in resistance with
temperature.
• Thermistors are very sensitive (up to 100 times more than
RTDs and 1000 times more than thermocouples) and can
detect very small changes in temperature. They are also very
fast.
• Due to their speed, they are used for precision temperature
control and any time very small temperature differences must
be detected.
• They are made of ceramic semiconductor material (metal
oxides).
• The change in thermistor resistance with temperature is very
non-linear.
Most Thermistors exhibits a negative temperature co-efficient, although
devices having a positive temperature co-efficient are available.

In, general, the output voltage is given by the straight-line equation:

Vo = +/- mT + b
Where, m is slop in volts/C°, b is value of To when T = 0, and T is
temperature in °C
Thermistor
Thermistor
 Thermistor Advantages and
Disadvantages
• Advantages: • Disadvantages:
– Very sensitive (has the – Output is a non-linear
largest output change function
from input temperature) – Limited temperature
– Quick response range.
– More accurate than RTD – Require a current source
and Thermocouples – Self heating
– Fragile
 Magnetic-Induction Transducers
• When a permanent magnet is mounted within
a coil of wire, any movement of the magnet
with respect to the coil induces a voltage
across the coil. This is the principle used in the
magnetic induction transducer.
• The output voltage is the function of both the
rate of flux and the amplitude of the relative
motion.
 Electromagnetic Flow Meter
• E=BLv
• E=Induced EMF
• B=Field Strength (Wb/m2)
• L= Actual Conductor Length
cutting the field (m)
• V=Velocity of the conductor (m/s)
Inductive Transducer
Linear Transformer
Advantages

1. Maintains a linear relationship between the voltage

difference output and displacement from each
position of the core for a displacement of about 4
millimeter.
2. Produces a high resolution of more than 10
millimeter.
3.Produces a high sensitivity of more than 40
volts/millimeter.
4. Small in size and weighs less. It is rugged in design
and can also be assigned easily.
5. Produces low hysteresis and thus has easy
repeatability.
Disadvantages
1. The whole circuit is to be shielded as the
accuracy can be affected by external magnetic
field.
2. The displacement may produce vibrations which
may affect the performance of the device.
3. Produces output with less power.
4. The efficiency of the device is easily affected by
temperature. An increase in temperature causes a
phase shift. This can be decreased to a certain
extent by placing a capacitor across either one of
the secondary windings.
5. A demodulator will be needed to obtain a DC
output.
 Light Sensors
• Photovoltaic
– light falling on a pn-junction
can be used to generate
electricity from light energy
(as in a solar cell)
– small devices used as sensors
are called photodiodes
– fast acting, but the voltage
produced is not linearly A typical photodiode

related to light intensity

• Photoconductive
– such devices do not produce
electricity, but simply change
their resistance
– photodiode (as described
earlier) can be used in this
way to produce a linear
device
– phototransistors act like
photodiodes but with greater A light-dependent resistor
sensitivity (LDR)

– light-dependent resistors
(LDRs) are slow, but respond
like the human eye
 Photo Transistors and Photo
diodes
• Electromagnetic radiation, such as light, can
effect the p-n junction characteristics of a
semiconductor device; thus, both diodes and
transistors can be made sensitive to light.
• Both are used in fiber optic receivers,
isolators, and light-sensitive relays.
• The photodiode is constructed with a
transparent window placed over the p-n
junction, allowing light to fall on the junction.
• The reverse current flowing in the diode is directly
proportional to the intensity of light.
• The response time of photodiode is much faster than
photoconductive cell.
• By the addition of an additional p-n junction, a
phototransistor has a sensitivity to light many times
greater than that of diode.
• As the light intensity increases , the collector current
increases, causes the transistors collector to emitter
voltage to decrease, and vice versa.
• Consequently, IC is directly and VCE is inversely
proportional to light intensity.
 Capacitive Transducers
• Most capacitance changing transducers have
one moveable and one fixed capacitor plate
separated by a nominal distance d
» C = k ε₀A/d
Where A is area of each plate, k is dielectric constant, ε₀ is
8.85x10-12 (F/m) and d is distance between both plates
Capacitive sensors are noncontact
devices capable of high-resolution
measurement of the position and/or
change of position of any conductive
target. The nanometer resolution of
high-performance capacitive sensors
makes them indispensible in today's
nanotechnology world. They can also be
used to measure the position or other
properties of nonconductive targets