W07 Sensors and
Measurement (1/2)
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
ELK 2018 - Contents
W01 Basic Concepts in Electronics
W02 AC to DC Conversion
W03 Analysis of DC Circuits (self and condenser)
W04 Transistors and Applications (H-Bridge)
W05 Op Amps and Applications
W06 Midterm
W07 Sensors and Measurement (1/2)
W08 Sensors and Measurement (2/2)
W09 Basic Concepts in Digital Electronics (Boolean Algebra, Decimal to binary, gates)
W10 Digital Logic Circuits (Gates and Flip Flops)
W11 PLC’s
W12 Microprocessors
W13 Data Acquisition, D/A and A/D Converters.
2
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ELK 2018 – W01 Contents
1. Measurement
2. Position Sensors
3. Velocity Sensors
4. Range Sensors
5. Acceleration Sensors
6. Straingauges, Load Cells and Force Transducers
7. Motion Sensor
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Reminder…
N
i 1
xi x1 x2 x3 x N Summation function
x
i 1
i x1 x2 x3 x N Product function
The mean is a measure of the centrality of a set of data.
1 N
x xi Mean (arithmetical)
N i 1
N
xg N x1 x2 x3 x N N
x
i 1
i
Mean (geometric)
The geometric mean is primarily used to average ratios or rates of
change. Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Reminder…
Mean (harmonic)
Root mean square (RMS)
x x x x
2 2 2
1 2 N
xrms 1 2
N
3
N i 1
2
N
xi
Reminder…
N
x w i i
xw i 1
N
The Weighted Mean
wi 1
i
The mode is the value that occurs most often.
The midrange is the mean of the highest and lowest values.
The median is the value for which half of the remaining values
are above and half are below it. I.e., in an ordered array of 15
values, the 8th value is the median. If the array has 16 values,
the median is the mean of the 8th and 9th values.
The variance is the mean of the squared differences between
individual data points and the mean of the array.
1 N
V ( xi x ) 2 The Variance
N i 1
Reminder…
The standard deviation is the square root of the variance. Standard
deviation is not the mean difference between individual data points
and the mean of the array.
1 N
V i
N i 1
( x x ) 2
The Standard Deviation
CV 100 The Coefficient of Variation
x
x
x
Standard Deviation (or Error)
of the Mean
N
Reminder…
The probability of x in a
1 ( x ) 2 / 2 2
P ( x; , ) e Gaussian distribution with
2 mean and standard
deviation
Probability
.67
.95
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
z
Precision, Range and Accuracy
In virtually every engineering application there is the need to
measure some physical quantities, such as displacements, speeds,
forces, pressures, temperatures, stresses, flows, and so on. These
measurements are performed using physical devices called
sensors, which are capable of converting a physical quantity to a
more readily manipulated electrical quantity (ref:
).
Precision, Range and Accuracy
The key issues in the selection of sensors are:
(a) the field of view and range;
(b) accuracy;
(c) repeatability and resolution;
(d) responsiveness in the target-domain;
(e) power consumption;
(f) hardware reliability;
(g) size; and
(h) interpretation reliability.
Often the active element of a sensor is referred to as a
transducer. Most sensors, therefore, convert the change of a
physical quantity (e.g. pressure, temperature) to a corresponding
and usually proportional change in an electrical quantity (e.g.
voltage or current). Often the direct output from a sensor needs
additional manipulation before the electrical output is available
to the user.
Precision, Range and Accuracy
The accuracy of a measurement system is the degree of closeness of
measurements of a quantity to that quantity's actual (true) value.
The precision of a measurement system, also called reproducibility
or repeatability, is the degree to which repeated measurements
under unchanged conditions show the same results.
Range is the maximum and the minimum values that can be
measured.
Linearity, Sensitivityand Accuracy
Linearity
maximum deviation from a ‘straight-line’ response
normally expressed as a percentage of the full-scale value.
Sensitivity
a measure of the change produced at the output for a given
change in the quantity being measured.
Physical Measurement
phenomenon Output
potentiometer
Position Sensors
The most commonly used of all the "Position Sensors", is the potentiometer
because it is an inexpensive and easy to use position sensor. It has a wiper
contact linked to a mechanical shaft that can be either angular (rotational) or
linear (slider type) in its movement, and which causes the resistance value
between the wiper/slider and the two end connections to change giving an
electrical signal output that has a proportional relationship between the
actual wiper position on the resistive track and its resistance value. In other
words, resistance is proportional to position.
The output signal (Vout)
from the potentiometer
is taken from the centre
wiper connection as it
moves along the
resistive track, and is
proportional to the
angular position of the
shaft.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
potentiometer
Position Sensors
When used as a positional sensor the moveable object is connected directly
to the shaft or slider of the potentiometer and a DC reference voltage is
applied across the two outer fixed connections forming the resistive element
while the output signal is taken from the wiper terminal of the sliding contact
as shown below thus producing a potential or voltage divider type circuit
output.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
LVDT
Position Sensors
One type of positional sensor that does not suffer
from mechanical wear problems is the "Linear
Variable Differential Transformer" or LVDT for short.
This is an inductive type position sensor which works
on the same principle as the AC transformer that is
used to measure movement. It is a very accurate
device for measuring linear displacement and whose
output is proportional to the position of its
moveable core.
It basically consists of three coils wound on a hollow tube
former, one forming the primary coil and the other two
coils forming identical secondaries connected electrically
together in series but 180o out of phase either side of the
primary coil. A moveable soft iron ferromagnetic core
(sometimes called an "armature") which is connected to
the object being measured, slides or moves up and down
inside the tube.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
LVDT
Position Sensors
A small AC reference
voltage called the
"excitation signal" (2 -
20V rms, 2 - 20kHz) is
applied to the primary
winding which inturn
induces an EMF signal
into the two adjacent
secondary windings
(transformer principles).
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
LVDT
Position Sensors
A typical application of this type of sensor would be a pressure
transducers, were the pressure being measured pushes against a
diaphragm to produce a force. Advantages of the linear variable
differential transformer, or LVDT compared to a resistive potentiometer are
that its linearity, that is its voltage output to displacement is excellent, very
good accuracy, good resolution, high sensitivity as well as frictionless
operation and is sealed against hostile environments.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
LVDT
Position Sensors
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Proximity Sensors
Position Sensors
Another type of inductive sensor in common use is the Inductive
Proximity Sensor also called an Eddy current sensor. While they do
not actually measure displacement or angular rotation they are
mainly used to detect the presence of an object in front of them or
within a close proximity, hence the name proximity sensors.
Proximity sensors, are non-contact devices that use a magnetic field
for detection with the simplest magnetic sensor being the reed
switch. In an inductive sensor, a coil is wound around an iron core
within an electromagnetic field to form an inductive loop. When a
ferromagnetic material is placed within the eddy current field
generated around the sensor, such as a ferromagnetic metal plate or
metal screw, the inductance of the coil changes significantly. The
proximity sensors detection circuit detects this change producing an
output voltage. Therefore, inductive proximity sensors operate under
the electrical principle of Faraday's Law of inductance.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Proximity Sensors
Position Sensors
An inductive proximity sensor has four
main components; The oscillator which
produces the electromagnetic field, the
coil which generates the magnetic field,
the detection circuit which detects any
change in the field when an object enters
it and the output circuit which produces
the output signal, either with normally
closed (NC) or normally open (NO)
contacts. Inductive proximity sensors allow
for the detection of metallic objects in
front of the sensor head without any
physical contact of the object itself being
detected. This makes them ideal for use in
dirty or wet environments. The "sensing"
range of proximity sensors is very small,
typically 0.1mm to 12mm.
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Proximity Sensors (capacitive)
Position Sensors
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Encoders
Position Sensors
Rotary Encoders resemble potentiometers mentioned earlier but are non-
contact optical devices used for converting the angular position of a rotating
shaft into an analogue or digital data code. In other words, they convert
mechanical movement into an electrical signal (preferably digital). All optical
encoders work on the same basic principle. Light from an LED or infra-red light
source is passed through a rotating high-resolution encoded disk that contains
the required code patterns, either binary, grey code or BCD. Photo detectors
scan the disk as it rotates and an electronic circuit processes the information
into a digital form as a stream of binary output pulses that are fed to counters
or controllers which determine the actual angular position of the shaft.
There are two basic types of rotary optical encoders, Incremental Encoders and
Absolute Position Encoders.
Inductive sensor Opto-switch sensor
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Encoders
Position Sensors
Inductive sensor Opto-switch sensor
Incremental Encoders, also known as quadrature encoders or relative rotary encoder, are
the simplest of the two position sensors. Their output is a series of square wave pulses
generated by a photocell arrangement as the coded disk, with evenly spaced transparent
and dark lines called segments on its surface, moves or rotates past the light source. The
encoder produces a stream of square wave pulses which, when counted, indicates the
angular position of the rotating shaft. Incremental encoders have two outputs called
quadrature outputs that are 90o out of phase and the direction of rotation can be
determined from output sequence. The number of transparent and dark segments or
slots on the disk determines the resolution of the device and increasing the number of
lines in the pattern increases the resolution per degree of rotation. Typical encoded discs
have a resolution of up to 256 pulses or 8-bits per rotation.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Encoders
Position Sensors
The simplest incremental encoder is called a tachometer. It has one single
square wave output and is often used in unidirectional applications where basic
position or speed information only is required. The "Quadrature" or "Sine wave"
encoder is the more common and has two output square waves commonly
called channel A and channel B. This device uses two photo detectors, slightly
offset from each other by 90o thereby producing two separate sine and cosine
output signals.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Encoders
Position Sensors
By using the Arc Tangent mathematical function the angle of the shaft in
radians can be calculated. Generally, the optical disk used in rotary position
encoders is circular, then the resolution of the output will be given as:
θ = 360/n, where n equals the number of segments on coded disk. Then for
example, the number of segments required to give an incremental encoder a
resolution of 1o will be: 1o = 360/n, therefore, n = 360 windows, etc. Also the
direction of rotation is determined by noting which channel produces an
output first, either channel A or channel B giving two directions of rotation, A
leads B or B leads A. This arrangement is shown below.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Absolute Position
Position Sensors Encoders
Absolute Position Encoders are more complex than quadrature encoders.
They provide a unique output code for every single position of rotation
indicating both position and direction. Their coded disk consists of multiple
concentric "tracks" of light and dark segments. Each track is independent with
its own photo detector to simultaneously read a unique coded position value
for each angle of movement. The number of tracks on the disk corresponds to
the binary "bit"-resolution of the encoder so a 12-bit absolute encoder would
have 12 tracks and the same coded value only appears once per revolution
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Absolute Position
Position Sensors Encoders
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Velocity Sensors
Encoders and Tachometers may be also used as velocity sensors. Other types
of velocity sensors can be specifeid as,
• Doppler Sensors
• GPS sensors
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Doppler Sensors
Velocity Sensors
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Laser Range Sensors
Range Sensors
Scanning laser range finders provide a relatively new and
exciting high-resolution robotics sensor. Common in
high-end robotics for many years, these sensors are
becoming more common on relatively inexpensive
robotics applications due to the rich, high resolution, and
high frequency data they generate.
USB Interface
240º Field of View
0.36º Angular Resolution
10Hz Refresh Rate
20mm to 4m
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Ultrasonic Sensors
Range Sensors
Ultrasonic sensors (also known as transceivers when they both
send and receive) work on a principle similar to radar or sonar
which evaluate attributes of a target by interpreting the echoes
from radio or sound waves respectively. Ultrasonic sensors
generate high frequency sound waves and evaluate the echo
which is received back by the sensor. Sensors calculate the time
interval between sending the signal and receiving the echo to
determine the distance to an object.
Systems typically use a transducer which generates sound
waves in the ultrasonic range, above 18,000 hertz, by
turning electrical energy into sound, then upon receiving
the echo turn the sound waves into electrical energy which
can be measured and displayed.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Ultrasonic Sensors
Range Sensors
In reflection mode (also known as “echo ranging”), an ultrasonic
transmitter emits a short burst of sound in a particular direction.
The pulse bounces off a target and returns to the receiver after a
time interval t. The receiver records the length of this time
interval, and calculates the distance travelled r based on the
speed of sound c:
r=c*t
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Acceleration Sensors
Acceleration is related to motion, a vector quantity, exhibiting a direction as
well as magnitude. The direction of motion is described in terms of some
arbitrary Cartesian or orthogonal coordinate systems.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Acceleration Sensors
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Acceleration Sensors
Piezoelectric accelerometers are widely used
for general-purpose acceleration, shock, and
vibration measurements.
They are basically motion transducers with
large output signals and comparatively small
sizes and they are self generators not
requiring external power sources. They are
available with very high
natural frequencies and are therefore suitable
for high-frequency applications and shock
measurements.
where q is the charge developed and dij is the
piezoelectric coefficient of the material.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Acceleration Sensors
Piezoelectric accelerometer
Nonzero lower cutoff frequency (0.1 – 1 Hz for 5%)
Light, compact size (miniature accelerometer weighing 0.7 g
is available)
Measurement range up to +/- 500 g
Less expensive than capacitive accelerometer
Sensitivity typically from 5 – 100 mv/g
Broad frequency bandwidth (typically 0.2 – 5 kHz)
Operating temperature: -70 – 150 C
Capacitive accelerometer
Good performance over low frequency range, can measure gravity!
Heavier (~ 100 g) and bigger size than piezoelectric accelerometer
Measurement range up to +/- 200 g
More expensive than piezoelectric accelerometer
Sensitivity typically from 10 – 1000 mV/g
Frequency bandwidth typically from 0 to 800 Hz
Operating temperature: -65 – 120 C
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Piezoresistive Accelerometers
Acceleration Sensors
Piezoresistive accelerometers are essentially
semiconductor strain gauges with large gauge
factors. High gauge factors are obtained since
the material resistivity is dependent primarily
on the stress, not only on
the dimensions.
This effect can be greatly enhanced by
appropriate doping of semiconductors such as
silicon. Most piezoresistive accelerometers use
two or four active gauges arranged in a
Wheatstone bridge.
Extra precision resistors are used, as part of the circuit, in series with the input
to control the sensitivity, for balancing, and for offsetting temperature effects.
The sensitivity of a piezoresistive sensor comes from the elastic response of its
structure and resistivity of the material. Wire and thick or thin film resistors
have low gauge factors, that is, the resistance change due to strain is small.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Strain-gauge accelerometers
Acceleration Sensors
Strain-gauge accelerometers are based on resistance properties of electrical
conductors. If a conductor is stretched or compressed, its resistance alters due
to (a) dimensional changes, and (b) the changes in the fundamental property
of material called piezoresistance. This indicates that the resistivity ρ of the
conductor depends on the mechanical strain applied onto it.
Electrostatic accelerometers are based on Coulomb’s law between two
charged electrodes; therefore, they are capacitive types. Depending on the
operation principles and external circuits they can be broadly classified as (a)
electrostatic-force-feedback accelerometers, and (b) differential-capacitance
accelerometers.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Micro- and Nanoaccelerometers
Acceleration Sensors
Multiple accelerometers can be mounted on a single chip, sensing accelerations
in x, y, and z directions. The primary signal conditioning is also provided in the
same chip. The output from the chip is usually read in the digital form.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Gyroscope
A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the
principles of angular momentum. In essence, a mechanical gyroscope is a
spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation. Although this
orientation does not remain fixed, it changes in response to an external torque
much less and in a different direction than it would without the large angular
momentum associated with the disk's high rate of spin and moment of inertia.
Since external torque is minimized by mounting the device in gimbals, its
orientation remains nearly fixed, regardless of any motion of the platform on
which it is mounted.
Gyroscopes based on other operating principles also exist, such as the
electronic, microchip-packaged MEMS gyroscope* devices found in consumer
electronic devices, solid-state ring lasers, fibre optic gyroscopes, and the
extremely sensitive quantum gyroscope.
* Acronym for
Microelectromechanical
Systems
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Gyroscope
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Gyroscope
• Gyroscope measures Rate Of Turn.
• Integrate for angle Digital-output X-, Y-, and Z-Axis angular
rate sensors (gyros) on one integrated
circuit
Digitally-programmable low-pass filter
Low 6.5mA operating current
consumption for long battery life
Wide VDD supply voltage range of 2.1V
to 3.6V
Standby current: 5μA
Digital-output temperature sensor
Fast Mode I2C (400kHz) serial interface
Optional external clock inputs of
32.768kHz or 19.2MHz to synchronize
with system clock
Pins broken out to a breadboard
friendly 7-pin 0.1" pitch header
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Straingauges, Load Cells,
Force Transducers Force Transducers
The use of strain gages is based on the fact
that the resistance of a conductor changes
when the conductor is subjected to strain.
The resistance of an electrically conductive
material changes with dimensional changes
which take place when the conductor is
deformed elastically. When such a material is
stretched, the conductors become longer and
narrower, which causes an increase in
resistance.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Straingauges, Load Cells,
Force Transducers Force Transducers
Static balanced
Wheatstone Bridge.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Straingauges, Load Cells,
Force Transducers Force Transducers
Straingauges, Load Cells,
Force Transducers Force Transducers
Both half-bridge and full-bridge configurations
grant greater sensitivity over the quarter-
bridge circuit, but often it is not possible to
bond complementary pairs of strain gauges to
the test specimen. Thus, the quarter-bridge
circuit is frequently used in strain
measurement systems.
When possible, the full-bridge configuration is
the best to use. This is true not only because it
is more sensitive than the others, but because
it is linear while the others are not.
Quarter-bridge and half-bridge circuits provide an output (imbalance) signal that is
only approximately proportional to applied strain gauge force. Linearity, or
proportionality, of these bridge circuits is best when the amount of resistance
change due to applied force is very small compared to the nominal resistance of
the gauge(s). With a full-bridge, however, the output voltage is directly
proportional to applied force, with no approximation.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Straingauges, Load Cells,
Force Transducers Force Transducers
Tension – Compression Load Cell
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç Gören
Motion Sensor
Pyroelectricity is the ability of certain materials to generate a temporary
voltage when they are heated or cooled.
PIR sensors allow you to sense motion, almost always used to detect whether a
human has moved in or out of the sensors range. The PIR sensor itself has two
slots in it, each slot is made of a special material that is sensitive to Infra Red.
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PIR Sensor
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• Yrd. Doç. Dr. Aytaç51Gören
