Sensor classification schemes

Sensors can be classified, according to one of the following criteria

Power supply requirements

– Passive and active
• Nature of the output signal
– Digital and analog
• Input/output dynamic relationships
– Zero, first, second order, etc.
• Measurand
– Mechanical, thermal, magnetic, radiant, chemical
• Physical measurement variable
– Resistance, inductance, capacitance, etc.
• Application
 Passive and active sensors
• Passive or self-generating
– Directly generate an electrical signal in response to an
external stimuli without the need for an external power
supply
– Output signal power comes from the stimulus, Examples:
• Thermocouple
• Piezoelectric sensors
• Active or modulating
– These sensors require external power supply or an
excitation signal for their operation
– Output signal power comes from the power supply,
 Analog and digital sensors
• Analog sensors
– Provide a signal that is continuous
in both its magnitude and temporal
or spatial content
Most of the physical measurands are
analog in nature
Examples: Temperature,
displacement, light intensity

• Digital sensors
Their output takes the form of
discrete steps or states
Digital signals are more repeatable,
reliable and easier to transmit
Examples: Shaft encoder, contact
switch
 Displacement, Position and Proximity
sensors
• Displacement sensors are concerned with the
amount of movement of an object
• Position sensors are concerned with the position of
an object with reference to some reference point
• Proximity sensors are a form of position sensors
which are used to determine when an object has
moved to within a critical distance of the sensor
 Displacement Measurement
• Measurement of displacement is the basis of
measuring:
• Position
• Velocity
• Acceleration
• Stress
• Force
• Pressure
•…
 Displacement Sensors types
• Strain Gages
• Potentiometers
• Differential Transformers

• Capacitive displacement transducers

• Optical Motion sensors
• Eddy current displacement Transducers
• Ultrasonic Displacement Transducers
• Hall Effect Motion sensors
 Strain-gauge

The electrical resistance strain is a metal wire, metal foil strip,or

a strip of semiconductor material which is wafer-like and can
be stuck onto surfaces like a postage stamp.
When subject to strain, its resistance R changes, the fractional
change in resistance ΔR/R being proportional to the strain i.e.
ΔR/R= ΔL/L (1/G)
where G is the gage factor
 Stress vs. Strain
Strain: Stress:
Hooke’s law:

Where:
E = Modulus of Elasticity
σ = stress
ε = strain
For the bike fork material E = 29.0 x 106 psi.
 Strain gauges (cont.)
• Strain gauges are devices whose resistance changes with stress (piezo-resistive
effect)
– Strain is a fractional change (ΔL/L) in the dimensions of an object as a result of
mechanical stress (force/area) The resistance R of a strip of material of length
L, cross-section A and resistivity ρ is:
– R= ρ L/A

Differentiating,
dR = A(ρ dL + L d ρ ) – ρL dA / A2
Also we have:
V = LA and dV = LdA + AdL
Also:
dV = L(1+ε) A (1- ε ν)2 – AL
Where ν is the Poisson’s ratio, which determines the strain in directions normal
to L
Solving these together, the following equation would be resulted:

dR/R = dL/L (1+2 ν) + d ρ/ ρ

 Different types of resistance strain gages

• Metal-Wire gage
• Metal-foil gage
• Thin metal film gage
• Thick metal film strain gages
• Semiconductor strain gage (more sensitive to strain, but
very sensitive to temperature changes as well)
Typical bonded strain gages
 Strain gauges Fabrication and use
• Typical strain gauges consist of a foil or
wire grid covered by two sheets of
insulation. The gauge is attached to the
desired object with an adhesive and
Longitudinal segments are aligned with
the direction of stress
• Strain Gages are applied in:
– Experimental Stress Analysis
– Construction of transducers for force,
pressure, flow, acceleration, and …
 Strain Gages structure
• The sensor consists of a set of preloaded
resistance wires or foils connected in a
wheatstone bridge.
• At the initial conditions the strains and
resistance of the four wires are nominally
equal which gives a balanced bridge.
 Wheatstone Bridge
• The four arms of the bridge
circuit are formed by the
resistance R1 to R4. 2
R R
• The corner points 2 and 3 are
connected to the bridge 1 4
excitation voltage Vs. 1 4 V
s
• The bridge output voltage
Vo, which is also the R R
measurement signal, is 3
2
available on the points 1 and 3
4.
• Typical resistance changes V
for a 120 μ foil strain gage at
1000 μs is about 0.001 μ o
 Strain-Gage rosettes
• Suitable to specific
stress analysis in which
surface stresses are to
be measured and the
magnitude and
direction of stress is
unknown
 Strain Gages’ characteristics
Wire and Semiconduc Thick film
• High Gage Factor Foil S.G tor S.G. S.G.
(small strain causes
large changes in Gage factor 2 50-60 10-20
resistance)
Resistance 120, 350, More than More than
• High Linearity 600, and 500 ohm 10 kohm
• Breaking Strain 1000 ohm
• High fatigue life Linearity ± 0.1% up ± 1% up to ± 1% up to
to 1000 μs 1000 micro 1000
and 1% up strain
to 10000 μs
Breaking 25000 μs 5000 μs 5000 μs
Strain
Fatigue Life 10 million 1 million 1 million
strain strain strain
reversal reversal reversal
 Thermal effects
• Temperature will change the
resistance of the gage.
• Compensation approaches:
– Using dummy gages
– Using special, inherently
temperature compensated gages
Thermal Effects
The bridge is balanced when

From temperature effect:

The bridge is no longer balanced!

We must compensate with our experimental

setup
How can we compensate for temperature?
By adding an unstrained gauge on a
similar material, on an adjacent arm.
When both specimens strain from temp
effects we get:

Eo
Thus the bridge remains balanced
Bridge output is unaffected by the change in
EI temperature
When a gauge is used to cancel out
temperature effects like this, we call it a
dummy gauge or compensation gauge.
 Fastening Strain gages
• Adhesives
• Welding
• Flame-spraying
Potentiometer displacement
sensors
Resistive displacement sensors
• A resistance with a movable
contact (a potentiometer) may
be used to measure linear or
rotational displacements
• A known voltage is applied to
the resistor ends. The contact
is attached to the moving
object of interest
• The output voltage at the
contact is proportional to the
displacement
Potentiometer sensor
• Non-linearities as a result of
loading effects Resolution due to
limited number of turns per unit
distance
• Contact wear as a result of
frictions
 Noise

The noise of potentiometer refers to

the fluctuations in the output voltage
during motion of the slider

Causes:
-Bouncing of the slider
-wire spacing and resonance
-Dirt and wear
Using two sliders with different
natural freq.
Solutions:
- two sliders
-Elastomeric damping material
Three types of potentiometer devices for
measuring displacement
 Potentiometer types
• Turn counting dial
potentiometer
• Linear motion
• Multi turn
Potentiometer
 Choosing a potentiometer
• The important parameters are:
– Temprature
– Shock and vibration
– Humidity
– Altitude

– Others:
• Life cycle
• Dither
 Inductive displacement sensors
Linear Variable Differential Transformer
(LVDT)
Motion of a magnetic core changes the mutual
inductance of two secondary coils relative to a
primary coil

Primary coil voltage: VSsin(ωt)

Secondary coil induced emf: V1=k1sin(ωt+) and
V2=k2sin(ωt+)
k1 and k2 depend on the amount of coupling
between the primary and the secondary coils,
which is proportional to the position of the coil
When the coil is in the central position, k1=k2 ⇒
VOUT=V1-V2=0
When the coil is is displaced x units, k1≠k2 ⇒
VOUT=(k1-k2)sin(ωt+)
Positive or negative displacements are determined
from the phase of VOUT
Inductive displacement sensors (cont)

• LVDT Characteristics
– Typical LVDTs run at 3 to 15V, and freq. 60 to 20000Hz
– LVDTs can measure from 75 mm down to 0.1 mm
– Due to small variations in the windings, a small residual voltage
appears at the output when the coil is in the central position
• Advantages of the LVDT over other displacement sensors
– No mechanical wear ensures a long life Complete electrical isolation
– DC versions with integrated oscillators are available
• The linear variable differential transducer (LVDT) is
a type of electrical transformer used for measuring
linear displacement.
• The transformer has three solenoidal coils placed
end-to-end around a tube.
• The center coil is the primary, and the two outer
coils are the secondary.
• A cylindrical ferromagnetic core, attached to the
object whose position is to be measured, slides along
the axis of the tube.
• As the core moves, these mutual inductances
change, causing the voltages induced in the
secondaries to change.
• The coils are connected in reverse series, so that the
output voltage is the difference (hence "differential")
between the two secondary voltages.
• When the core is in its central position, equidistant
between the two secondaries, equal but opposite
voltages are induced in these two coils, so the output
voltage is zero.
 Force and acceleration sensors
• Force sensors
• The coupled-double-beam load cell
• Dumb-bell cut-out provides areas of
• maximum strain for the gauges
• Cantilever beam bends in an S-shape
• This induces both compressive and
• tensile strains that can be easily
• measured in a bridge arrangement
• Acceleration sensors
• Spring-mass-damper accelerometer
• Covered in the previous lecture
• Cantilever-beam with strain gauges
• A seismic mass is attached to the end
• of the cantilever
• Dampening is usually performed with
• viscous fluids or permanent magnets
• From [BW96]
 Capacitive displacement sensors
The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor is

• d is the separation between the plates, A is the area of the plates, ε0 is the permitivity of air and εr is the
relative permitivity of the dielectric
• A moving object is attached to the dielectric or the plates to generate
• capacitance changes

Notes
• Variable distance (d) sensors operate over a range of a few millimeters
• Cross-sensitivity to temperature and humidity (specially if the dielectric is air)
• Capacitive sensors are also commonly used to measure pressure
• “Condenser” microphones measure changes in air pressure of incoming sound waves