Ain
Shams
University
Faculty
of
Engineering
Design
Of
Applied
Measurements
Systems
3rd
Year
Mechatronics
Sensors
&
Transducers
By:
Sherif
Mostafa
Mohamed
Gamal
El
Din
Eltoukhi
Sec:
1
A-‐
Sensors
&
Transducers:
Sensor
is
used
for
an
element
produces
signal
related
to
the
measured
quanDty
(Unusable
signal).
Transducer
is
used
for
an
element
when
subject
to
physical
change
experiences
a
related
change
(i.e
produces
a
usable
signal).
B-‐Performance
Terminology:
These
terms
used
to
define
the
performance
of
sensors
&
transducers:
1-‐
Range
&
Span
:
Range
means
the
limits
for
input
to
vary
between,
while
span
means
maximum
input
value
-‐
minimum
input
value.
2-‐
Error:
Difference
between
measured
value
&
true
value.
3-‐
Accuracy:
SummaDon
of
all
possible
errors
that
are
likely
to
occur.
4-‐
SensiDvity:
the
raDo
between
how
much
o/p
you
get
per
unit
input.
5-‐
Hysteresis
error:
Different
o/p
values
from
the
same
value
of
measured
quanDty.
6-‐
Non
linearity
error:
it’s
assumed
the
relaDon
between
i/p
&
o/p
to
be
linear
&
so
error
is
the
difference
from
the
straight
line.
7-‐
Repeatability:
Ability
to
give
the
same
o/p
for
repeated
applicaDons
of
the
same
i/p
Repeatability
=
[
(Max-‐
Min
Values
given)
*
100
]
/
(Full
range).
8-‐
Stability:
Ability
to
give
the
same
o/p
for
the
same
i/p
measured
over
a
period
of
Dme.
9-‐
Dead
Band:
The
range
of
i/p
for
which
there
is
no
o/p.
10-‐
ResoluDon:
Smallest
change
in
i/p
that
produce
an
observable
change
in
the
o/p.
11-‐
Output
impedance
of
the
sensor
or
the
transducer.
C-‐
Sta?c
&
Dynamic
Characteris?cs:
StaDc
CharacterisDcs:
Values
given
when
steady
state
condiDon
occurs.
Dynamic
CharacterisDcs:
Behavior
between
the
Dme
of
i/p
values
change
&
the
Dme
that
the
o/p
value
sefles
to
steady
state
values.
There
are
some
terms
for
dynamic
behavior:
1-‐
Response
Dme:
Time
elapse
ager
a
constant
i/p
is
applied
to
the
sensor
up
to
the
point
at
which
it
gives
95%
of
the
o/p
value.
2-‐
Time
constant:
63.2%
of
the
response
Dme.
3-‐
Rise
Dme:
Time
taken
for
o/p
to
raise
to
specified
percentage
of
steady-‐state
o/p.
4-‐
Sefling
Dme:
Time
taken
for
o/p
to
sefle
within
some
percentage
(commonly
2%
of
the
steady-‐state
value).
D-‐
Displacement,
Posi?on
&
Proximity:
Displacement
sensors
-‐-‐>
used
to
measure
amount
how
much
object
has
moved.
PosiDon
sensors
-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐>
used
to
determine
posiDon
with
reference
point.
Proximity
sensors
-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐>
used
to
determine
when
object
has
moved
to
with
parDcular
distance.
There
are
some
point
to
consider
when
selecDon
which
of
them
to
use:
1-‐
The
size
of
displacement.
2-‐
The
type
of
displacement.
3-‐
The
resoluDon
required.
4-‐
The
accuracy
required.
5-‐
Measured
object
material.
6-‐
The
cost.
There
are
two
basic
types
of
displacement
sensors:
Contact
Sensors
:
where
the
object
is
in
physical
contact
with
the
sensor.
Non
-‐
Contact
Senors:
where
the
object
is
not
in
contact
with
the
sensor.
The
most
commonly
used
displacement
sensors
are:
1-‐
PotenDometer
senor:
Consists
of
a
resistance
element
with
a
sliding
contact
can
be
moved
over
the
element
length,
this
displacement
is
changed
to
potenDal
difference.
2-‐
Strain
gauged
element:
It
is
a
metal
wire
&
metal
foil
strip
can
be
stuck
onto
surfaces
like
stamp,
When
it
is
subjected
to
strain,
it’s
resistance
change
proporDonal
to
the
strain.
3-‐
CapaciDve
element:
The
capacitance
(C)
consists
of
two
parallel
plates
&
it
is
value
depends
on
the
overlaped
area
between
the
two
plates,
When
one
of
the
two
plates
is
displaced
away
from
its
posiDon,
the
capacitance
value
changes
due
to
the
overlap
area.
4-‐
DifferenDal
transformers:
Known
as
Linear
Variable
DifferenDal
Transformer
(LVDT)
consists
of
three
coils
symmetrically
spaced
along
an
insulated
tube,
The
middle
coil
is
the
primary
one
while
the
other
two
are
idenDcal
secondary
coils
connected
in
series.
a
magneDc
core
moves
through
the
tube
so
the
displacement
is
being
monitored
from
the
change
of
change
in
e.m.f
induced
in
each
of
the
secondary
coils
due
to
the
magneDc
core
displacement.
5-‐
Eddy
current
proximity
sensors:
If
a
coil
is
supplied
with
AC
current,
an
alternaDng
magneDc
field
is
produced
and
if
there
is
a
metal
object
proximity
to
this
field
eddy
currents
are
induced
in
it,
these
eddy
currents
produce
an
other
magneDc
field
distorts
the
original
magneDc
field
form
the
AC
current,
So
the
impedance
of
the
coil
changes
and
so
the
amplitude
of
the
AC
current.
6-‐InducDve
proximity
switch:
It
consists
of
a
coil
wound
around
a
core,
when
the
end
of
the
coil
is
close
to
metal
object
its
inductance
changes,
this
change
could
be
monitored
by
its
effect
on
an
electric
circuit
and
the
change
used
to
trigger
a
switch.
7-‐
PneumaDc
senors:
PneumaDc
sensors
involve
the
use
of
compressed
air
as
the
displacement
or
the
proximity
of
an
object
is
changed
into
a
change
in
pressure.
8-‐
Proximity
switches:
The
switch
is
a
small
electrical
device
requires
a
physical
contact
and
a
small
operaDng
force
to
close
the
contacts
and
so
the
switch
is
on
or
off,
there
are
many
types
of
them
can
be
used
to
detect
an
object
proximity.
Reed
switch
is
the
most
commonly
used
for
checking
the
closure
of
doors,
it
is
considered
non-‐contacDng
switch
since
it
depends
on
magnet
on
the
proximate
object
to
close
or
open
the
switch.
9-‐
PhotosensiDve
devices:
These
devices
can
be
used
to
detect
the
presence
of
an
opaque
object
by
it
breaking
a
beam
of
light
or
infrared
radiaDon,
falling
on
such
device
or
by
detecDng
the
light
reflected
back
by
the
object.
E-‐
Velocity
&
Mo?on:
The
following
sensors
can
be
used
to
detect
velocity
&
moDon:
1-‐Tachogenerator:
It
is
used
to
measure
the
angular
velocity,
it
consisted
of
a
toothed
wheel
of
ferromagneDc
material
afached
to
the
rotaDng
shag,
pick
up
coil
is
wound
on
a
magnet,
as
the
wheel
rotates,
the
teeth
move
past
the
coil
and
the
air
gap
between
the
coil
&
the
ferromagneDc
material
changes
thus
the
flux
linked
by
a
pick
up
coil
changes
resulDng
in
producing
an
alternaDve
e.m.f
in
the
coil.
2-‐
Pyroelectric
sensors:
Pyroelectric
materials
are
crystalline
materials
which
generates
charge
in
response
to
heat
flow,
when
this
material
is
heated
to
temp.
just
below
the
curie
temp.
in
an
electric
field
and
then
cooled
while
remaining
in
this
field
electric
dipoles
in
this
material
line
up
&
it
becomes
polarized,
when
the
field
is
removed
the
material
remain
polarized.
When
the
pyroelectric
material
is
exposed
to
infrared
radiaDon,
its
temperature
rises
leading
to
reduce
the
amount
of
polarizaDon
in
the
material.
The
pyroelectric
sensor
consists
of
a
polarized
pyroelectric
crystal
with
thin
metal
film
electrodes
on
opposite
faces,
since
this
crystal
is
polarized,
ions
are
drawn
from
air
&
electrons
from
any
connected
circuit
to
the
sensor
to
balance
the
surface
charge.
if
IR
is
incident
on
the
crystal
and
changes
the
temp.
reducing
polarizaDon
and
there
is
then
an
excess
of
charge
on
crystal
surface
which
leaks
away
to
the
connected
circuit
and
thus
the
pyroelectric
sensor
behaves
as
a
charge
generator.
To
detect
the
moDon
of
heat
source.
the
sensing
element
has
to
be
between
general
background
heat
radiaDon
&
the
moving
heat
source,
dual
element
is
used
when
they
both
receive
a
heat
signal
their
o/p
is
cancelled,
&
when
a
heat
source
moves
the
heat
radiaDon
moves
from
one
of
the
sensing
elements
to
the
other
resulDng
in
current
flow.
F-‐
Force:
Force
are
commonly
measured
by
the
measurement
of
displacements
Strain
gauge
load
cell
is
the
best
example
for
this.
A
cylindrical
tube
with
afached
strain
gauges,
when
forces
are
applied
to
the
cylinder
to
compress
it,the
strain
gauges
give
a
resistance
change
which
is
a
measure
of
the
strain
and
hence
the
applied
forces.
G-‐
Fluid
Pressure:
Many
of
the
devices
used
to
monitor
fluid
pressure
involve
monitoring
the
elasDc
deformaDon
of
diaphragms,
capsules,
bellows
&
tubes.
For
diaphragms
when
there
is
a
pressure
difference
the
diaphragm
centre’s
becomes
displaced,
this
displacement
could
be
monitored
by
displacement
sensors.
Capsules
can
be
considered
two
corrugated
diaphragms
combined
and
give
even
greater
sensiDvity.
Bellows
is
a
stack
of
capsules
and
even
more
sensiDve.
A
different
form
of
deformaDon
is
by
using
tube
with
an
ellipDcal
cross
secDon,
by
increasing
pressure,
it
tends
to
more
circular
cross
secDon,
The
helical
shapes
gives
more
sensiDvity.
When
such
tube
in
C
shaped
(Bourdon
tube)
the
c
opens
up
when
the
pressure
increased.
Also
there
are
some
other
sensors
used
to
measure
the
pressure:
1-‐
Piezoelectric
sensors:
Piezoelectric
materials
when
stretched
or
compressed
they
generate
electric
charge
with
one
face
of
the
material
+ve
and
other
-‐ve
charged,
this
result
in
producing
voltage.
For
piezoelectric
sensors
the
net
charges
is
is
proporDonal
with
the
amount
of
displacement
&
since
the
displacement
is
proporDonal
to
the
applied
force.
Piezoelectric
sensors
are
used
for
measurements
of
pressure,
forces
&
acceleraDon
&
they
are
mainly
used
for
transient
rather
than
steady
pressures.
2-‐
TacDle
sensors:
TacDle
sensor
is
form
of
pressure
sensor
used
on
the
fingerDps
of
roboDc
hands
to
determine
when
hands
contacts
a
certain
object,also
used
in
touch
screens,
one
form
of
the
tacDle
sensor
uses
a
piezoelectric
polyvinylidene
fluoride
film
(PVDF),
two
layers
of
the
film
are
used
separated
by
another
sog
one
for
the
vibraDons,
the
lower
one
has
AC
voltage
results
in
mechanical
oscillaDon
of
the
film
transmifed
to
the
upper
film
causing
an
AC
voltage,
when
pressure
is
applied
to
the
upper
film
these
voltage
changes.
H-‐
Liquid
Flow:
Measuring
flow
rate
of
liquids
involves
devices
based
on
the
measurement
of
the
pressure
drop
occurring
when
the
fluid
flows
through
a
construcDon,
The
following
devices
are
used
to
measure
the
flow
rate:
1-‐
Orifice
plate:
It
is
a
disc
with
a
hole
inside,
placed
on
the
tube
through
which
the
fluid
flows.
the
pressure
is
measured
between
a
point
equal
to
the
diameter
of
the
tube
upstream
and
a
point
equal
to
half
the
diameter
downstream.
2-‐Turbine
meter:
It
consists
of
mulD
bladed
rotor
supported
centrally
in
the
pipe
along
which
the
flow
occurs.
the
fluid
rotates
the
rotor
the
angular
velocity
is
approximately
proporDonal
to
the
flow
rate.
the
rate
of
rotor
revoluDon
is
determined
using
a
magneDc
pick-‐up.The
pulses
is
counted
and
so
the
number
of
revoluDons
of
rotor
is
determined.
I-‐
Liquid
Level:
Liquid
level
could
be
directly
monitored
by
the
posiDon
of
liquid
surface
in
a
vessel,
or
indirectly
through
the
vessel
weight
or
by
measuring
the
pressure
at
certain
points.
The
following
devices
are
used
to
measure
the
liquid
level:
1-‐
Floats:
A
direct
method
depends
on
monitoring
the
movement
of
a
float.This
float
may
cause
a
lever
arm
to
rotate
to
move
a
slider
across
a
potenDometer.
the
result
of
o/p
voltage
related
to
the
liquid
height.
2-‐
DifferenDal
pressure:
This
determines
the
pressure
difference
between
the
liquid
at
the
base
of
vessel
and
atmospheric
pressure,
the
vessel
being
open
to
the
atmospheric
pressure,
it
is
easily
to
calculate
the
liquid
level.
J-‐
Temperature:
The
following
methods
are
used
to
measure
temperature:
1-‐
Bimetallic
Strips:
It
consists
of
two
different
metal
strips
bounded
together,
have
different
coefficients
of
expansion,
when
temp.
change
they
bends
into
curved
strip,
with
the
higher
coefficient
metal
on
the
outside
curve.
2-‐
Resistance
temperature
detectors
(RTD):
It
is
based
on
that
the
resistance
of
metals
increase
over
a
limited
temp.
it
consists
of
coils
of
wire
from
metal
wounded
,
held
by
a
high
temperature
glass
adhesive
inside
a
ceramic
tube.
3-‐
Thermistors:
Small
pieces
of
material
made
of
mixtures
of
metal
oxides,
they
are
formed
in
many
shapes,
however
their
resistance
decrease
with
the
temp.
increase.
they
have
very
rapid
response
to
temp.
change.
4-‐Thermocouples:
If
two
metals
are
joined
a
potenDal
difference
occurs
across
this
juncDon,
it
depends
on
the
metal
&
the
juncDon
temp.
The
thermocouples
is
a
complete
circuit
of
two
juncDons
if
both
are
at
the
same
temp.
there
is
no
e.m.f.
however
there
is
a
temp.
difference
there
is
e.m.f.these
juncDons
are
kept
in
a
sheath
to
protect
them
this
sheath
depends
on
the
temp.
at
which
thermocouples
will
be
used.
K-‐
Light
Sensors:
Photodiodes
are
semiconductors
diodes
connected
to
a
circuit
in
reverse
bias,giving
high
resistance
so
when
light
falls
the
diode
resistance
drops
and
the
current
in
the
circuit
rises.
it
has
a
very
rapid
response.
it
is
used
in
cameras
to
adjust
the
exposure
that
will
most
appropriate.
L-‐
Selec?on
of
Sensors:
The
are
some
factors
that
needed
to
be
considered
to
select
sensors
for
a
parDcular
applicaDon:
1-‐
The
nature
of
the
measurement
required
(The
variable,
it’s
nominal
value,
range
of
values,
accuracy
required,
required
speed
of
the
measurement).
2-‐The
nature
of
the
o/p
required
from
the
sensor.
3-‐
The
possible
sensors
can
be
idenDfied
taking
into
account
their
factors
such
as
range,
accuracy,
linearity,
speed
of
response,
power
supply
requirements,
life,
cost.
The
sensors
selecDon
cannot
be
taken
in
isolaDon
from
considering
the
form
of
o/p
ager
the
signal
condiDoning
.
M-‐
InpuOng
Data
By
Switches:
Mechanical
switches
consist
of
one
or
more
pairs
of
contacts
which
can
be
mechanically
opened
or
closed.
1-‐
Debouncing:
Switch
bounce
is
a
problem
occurs
when
mechanical
switch
is
switched
to
close
the
contacts,
it
hits
the
other
and
because
the
contacDng
elements
are
elasDc
bounce
for
a
number
of
Dmes
before
finally
sefled
down,
This
leads
to
problem
with
microprocessor.
&
to
over
come
way
may
use
a
sogware
to
make
the
microprocessor
detect
the
switch
ager
a
certain
period
of
Dme.
Or
we
may
use
a
hardware
to
use
a
flipflop
changes
its
value
when
switch
change
the
contact
,
Or
we
may
use
schmif
trigger
also
to
solve
this
problem.
2-‐
Keypads:
It
is
an
array
of
switches,
when
the
switch
area
on
the
keypad
is
pressed,
the
top
contact
layer
close
with
the
bofom
one
to
make
the
connecDon
and
then
opens
with
a
help
of
a
spring
when
the
pressure
is
released.
