Sensors

• Optical rotary encoder

• Tachometer
• Pressure & Force Sensors
 Optical Rotary Encoders
• An optical rotary encoder produces
angular position data directly in
digital form, eliminating any need
for the ADC converter.
• The concept is illustrated in Figure,
which shows a slotted disk attached
to a shaft. A light source and
photocell arrangement are
mounted so that the slots pass the
light beam as the disk rotates. The
angle of the shaft is deduced from
the output of the photocell.
• There are two types of optical
rotary encoders:
– absolute encoder
– incremental encoder.
 Absolute optical encoders
• Absolute optical encoders use a
glass disk marked off with a
pattern of concentric tracks. A
separate light beam is sent
through each track to individual
photo sensors.
• Each photo sensor contributes 1
bit to the output digital word. The
encoder in Figure outputs a 4-bit
word with the LSB coming from
the outer track. The disk is divided
into 16 sectors, so the resolution
in this case is 360°/16 = 22.5°.
• For better resolution, more tracks
would be required. For example,
eight tracks (providing 256 states)
yield 360°/256 = 1.4°/state, and
ten tracks (providing 1024 states)
yield 360°/1024 = 0.35°/state.
An incremental optical encoder
 Tachometer :Angular Velocity Sensors

DC Generator
α

or
α
Toothed Tachometer
 Hall-Effect
• Hall-Effect Sensor

-To time the speed of wheels and shafts,

such as for internal combustion
engine ignition timing,tachometers and anti
-lock braking systems.
-Used in brushless DC electric motors to
detect the position of the permanent
 Hall-Effect
• To time the speed of wheels and shafts, such as
for internal combustion
engine ignition timing,tachometers and anti-lock braking
systems.

• Used in brushless DC electric motors to detect the position

of the permanent magnet.

• Two equally spaced magnets, the voltage from the sensor

will peak twice for each revolution. This arrangement is
commonly used to regulate the speed of disk drives.
 Examples
Q. A toothed-rotor sensor has 18 teeth. Find the rpm
if the sensor outputs pulses at 140 Hz.
.
x =

.
x

Q. The CK20-B tachometer is being used in a system.

The output is 0.85 V. What is the velocity in rpm?
Measurement of Pressure and
Force
Industrial Automation, EE-403
Fall 2013
 Objectives
• Know different methods for pressure measurement
using elastic transducers.
• Learn the construction and principle of operation of a
Bourdon tube pressure gauge.
• Define gauge factor of a strain gauge
• Different strain gauge materials and their gauge
factors.
• Working of an unbalanced bridge with four strain
gauges to obtain maximum sensitivity and perfect
temperature compensation.
• Know methods for force measurement with strain
gauges.
Blacksmith's bellows
 Measurement of Pressure
• Elastic elements
– diaphragms,

– Bellows and

– Bourdon tubes
• Mainly used for pressure
measurement
 Pressure Measurements
• Measurement of pressure inside a pipeline or a container in an
industrial environment is a challenging task, keeping in mind that
pressure may be very high, or very low (vacuum); the medium may
be liquid, or gaseous.
• Pressure measuring techniques
• pressure higher than the atmospheric.
• using elastic elements: diaphragms,
bellows and Bourdon tubes.
o These elastic elements change their
shape with applied pressure
o Change of shape can be measured
using suitable deflection transducers.
 Diapharagms

• Diaphragms may be of three types: Thin plate, Membrane

and Corrugated diaphragm.
• This classification is based on the applied pressure and the
corresponding displacements.
 Diapharagms
• Thin plate is made by machining a solid block and
making a circular cross sectional area with smaller
thickness in the middle. It is used for measurement of
relatively higher pressure.
• In a membrane, the sensing section is glued in
between two solid blocks . The thickness is smaller; as
a result, when pressure is applied on one side, the
displacement is larger. The sensitivity can be further
enhanced in a corrugated diaphragm , and a large
deflection can be obtained for a small change in
pressure; however at the cost of linearity.
• The materials used are Bronze, Brass, and Stainless
steel. In recent times, Silicon has been extensively used
the diaphragm material in MEMS (Micro Electro
Mechanical Systems) pressure sensor.
 Accelerometer

MEMS

To track birds, a MEMS-based system houses a

solar-powered GPS tag with rechargeable
batteries, a tri-axial accelerometer, two-way
data communication to a ground-station
network, and automated data processing and
visualization.
 Diapharagms
• Natural frequency of a diaphragm can be
expressed as:

• The operating frequency of the pressure to be

measured must be less than the natural
frequency of the diaphragm.
 Pressure Measurement with a Diapharagm
• When pressure is applied to a diaphragm, it
deflates and the maximum deflection at the
centre (yₒ) can measured using a
displacement transducer.
• For a Thin plate, the maximum deflection yₒ
is small (yₒ< 0.3 t) and a linear relationship
between p and yₒ exists as:

• For a membrane, the deflection is larger, and

the relationship between p and yₒ is nonlinear
and can be expressed as (for ν= 0.3):
 Bellows
• Bellows are made with a number of
convolutions from a soft material and one end
of it is fixed, wherein air can go through a port.
The other end of the bellows is free to move.
• The displacement of the free end increases
with the number of convolutions used.
Number of convolutions varies between 5 to
20.

• Often an external spring is used opposing the movement of the bellows;

as a result a linear relationship can be obtained from the equation:
pA=kx
o where, A is the area of the bellows,
o k is the spring constant and
o x is the displacement of the bellows.
• Bellows are generally made of Phosphor Bronze, Brass, Beryllium Copper,
Stainless Steel.
 Bourdon tube pressure gauges
• Bourdon tube pressure gauges were first
developed by E. Bourdon in 1849 and are
extensively used for local indication of
pressure.

• Bourdon tube basically consists of a C-

shaped hollow tube, whose one end is
fixed and connected to the pressure
tapping, the other end is free to move.

• The cross section of the tube is elliptical. When

pressure is applied, the elliptical tube tries to
acquire a circular cross section; as a result,
stress is developed and the tube tries to
straighten up.
 Bourdon tube pressure gages
• When pressure is applied, the
elliptical tube tries to acquire a circular
cross section; as a result, stress is
developed and the tube tries to
straighten up.

• Thus the free end of the tube moves up, depending on

magnitude of pressure. A deflecting and indicating mechanism
is attached to the free end that rotates the pointer.

• For a 2“ overall diameter of the C-tube the useful travel of the free
end is approximately 1/8".
• Though the C-type tubes are most common, other shapes of tubes,
such as helical, twisted or spiral tubes are also in use.
Industrial Pressure Sensors
MEASUREMENT OF FORCE
 Measurement of Force
• The most popular method for measuring force is using
strain gauge.
• We measure the strain developed due to force using
strain gauges; and we can obtain force by multiplying
the strain with the effective cross sectional area and
Young’s modulus of the material.
• Force = Strain (ρ) . Area (A) . Young’s Modulus (E)
• Load cells and Proving rings ()are two common
methods for force measurement using strain gauges.
– the principle of strain gauge
– force measuring techniques.
Load Cell & Proving Ring
• Construction
• Gauge Factor Strain Gauge
• Metallic Strain Gauges
• Semi-conductor Strain Gauges
 Strain Gauge
• a long straight metallic wire of
length l circular cross section with
diameter d. When this wire is
subjected to a force applied at
the two ends, a strain will be
generated and as a result, the
dimension will change

• From the above expression, the change in

resistance due to strain:
Derivation

• The Poisson’s Ratio is

the property of the
material, and does not

• The Poisson’s Ratio is the property of

the material, and does not depend
on the dimension. So, (6) can be
rewritten as:
 Poisson Ratio
• Poisson's ratio is the ratio of transverse
contraction strain to longitudinal extension strain
in the direction of stretching force. Tensile
deformation is considered positive and
compressive deformation is considered negative.
The definition of Poisson's ratio contains a minus
sign so that normal materials have a positive
ratio.
• http://silver.neep.wisc.edu/~lakes/PoissonIntro.h
tml
 Gauge Factor
• The Poisson’s Ratio is the property
of the material, and does not
depend on the dimension
• The last term in the right hand side
of the expression, represents the
change in resistivity of the material
due to applied strain that occurs
due to the piezo-resistance
property of the material.
• Note that all the elements in the
right hand side of the above
equation are independent of the
geometry of the wire, subjected to
strain, but rather depend on the
material property of the wire.
• Due to this reason, a term Gauge
Factor is used to characterize the
performance of a strain gauge.
• The Gauge Factor is defined as:
 Strain Gauge Characteristics

• Gauge Factor • The Gauge Factor of metallic strain

gauges varies in the range 1.8 to 2.6.
• However, the semiconductor type strain
gauges have a very large Gauge Factor, in
the range of 100-150. This is attained due
• For normal metals the to dominant piezo-resistance property of
Poisson’s ratio υ varies in the semiconductors.
range:
• The commercially available strain gauges
have certain fixed resistance values, such
as, 120Ω, 350 Ω, 1000 Ω, etc.
• The manufacturer also specifies the
Gauge Factor and the maximum gauge
• while the piezo-resistance current to avoid self-heating (normally in
coefficient varies in the range: the range 15 mA to 100 mA).