Introduction to Sensors

And types of Sensors

 Sensors?

• American National Standards Institute

– A device which provides a usable output in response to a specified
measurand Input Signal Output Signal

Sensor

• A sensor acquires a physical quantity and converts it into a

signal suitable for processing (e.g. optical, electrical,
mechanical)
• Nowadays common sensors convert measurement of physical
phenomena into an electrical signal
• Active element of a sensor is called a transducer
 Transducer?
A device which converts one form of energy to another
When input is a physical quantity and output electrical → Sensor
When input is electrical and output a physical quantity → Actuator

e.g. Piezoelectric:
Sensors Actuators Force -> voltage

Electrical Voltage-> Force

Physical
parameter Input

=> Ultrasound!
Electrical Physical
Output Microphone, Loud Speaker
Output
 Commonly Detectable Phenomena

•Biological
•Chemical
•Electric
•Electromagnetic
•Heat/Temperature
•Magnetic
•Mechanical motion (displacement, velocity, acceleration, etc.)
•Optical
•Radioactivity
 Common Conversion Methods

•Physical
–thermo-electric, thermo-elastic, thermo-magnetic, thermo-optic
–photo-electric, photo-elastic, photo-magnetic,
–electro-elastic, electro-magnetic
–magneto-electric
•Chemical
–chemical transport, physical transformation, electro-chemical
•Biological
–biological transformation, physical transformation
Commonly Measured Quantities

Stimulus Quantity
Acoustic Wave (amplitude, phase, polarization), Spectrum, Wave
Velocity

Biological & Chemical Fluid Concentrations (Gas or Liquid)

Electric Charge, Voltage, Current, Electric Field (amplitude, phase,

polarization), Conductivity, Permittivity

Magnetic Magnetic Field (amplitude, phase, polarization), Flux,

Permeability

Optical Refractive Index, Reflectivity, Absorption

Thermal Temperature, Flux, Specific Heat, Thermal Conductivity

Mechanical Position, Velocity, Acceleration, Force, Strain, Stress,

Pressure, Torque
 Physical Principles: Examples
• Amperes’s Law
– A current carrying conductor in a magnetic field experiences a force (e.g.
galvanometer)

• Curie-Weiss Law
– There is a transition temperature at which ferromagnetic materials exhibit
paramagnetic behavior

• Faraday’s Law of Induction

– A coil resist a change in magnetic field by generating an opposing
voltage/current (e.g. transformer)

• Photoconductive Effect
– When light strikes certain semiconductor materials, the resistance of the
material decreases (e.g. photoresistor)
Choosing a Sensor
 Need for Sensors

• Sensors are pervasive. 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 !!
– Imagine having to manually fill Poland Spring
bottles
Sensor Mechanisms for Force
 In the force sensor design given, no specific
sensing mechanism was implied. The constraint
placed on the stiffness exists for any type of force
sensor.
 It is clear, however, that the force sensor will have
to respond to a force and provide an output
voltage. This can be done in different ways.
 Sensing Mechanisms
 To measure force, it is usually necessary to
design a mechanical structure that determines the
stiffness. This structure may itself be a sensing
material.
 Force will induce stress, leading to strain which
can be
detected, most commonly, by
– strain gages (via piezoresistive effect)
– some crystals or ceramics (via piezoelectric
effect)
 Force can also be detected using a displacement
 Strain-gage Force Sensor
Design
 Let’s consider now the force sensor studied
earlier, and consider a design that will use one
strain gage on an axially loaded material.
 Strain guages
 Many types of force\torque sensors are based on strain
gage measurements.
 The measurements can be directly related to stress and
force and may be used to measure other types of
variables including displacement and acceleration
 What’s a strain gauge?
 The electrical resistance of a length of wire varies in
direct proportion to the change in any strain applied to
it. That’s the principle upon which the strain gauge
works.
 The most accurate way to measure this change in
resistance is by using the wheatstone bridge.
 The majority of strain gauges are foil types, available
in a wide choice of shapes and sizes to suit a variety of
applications.
 They consist of a pattern of resistive foil which is
mounted on a backing material.
 Strain gauge contd..
 They operate on the principle that as the foil is
subjected to stress, the resistance of the foil
changes in a defined way.
 Strain gauge Configuration
 The strain gauge is
connected into a wheatstone
Bridge circuit with a
combination of four active
gauges(full bridge),two
guages (half bridge) or,less
commonly, a single gauge
(quarter bridge).
 Guage factor
 A fundamental parameter of the strain guage is its
sensitivity to strain, expressed quantitatively as the
guage factor (GF).

 Guage factor is defined as the ratio of fractional

change in electrical resistance to the fractional change
in length (strain).
 Strain guage contd..
 The complete wheatstone brigde is excited with a
stabilized DC supply.
 As stress is applied to the bonded strain guage, a
resistive change takes place and unbalances the
wheatstone bridge which results in signal output with
respect to stress value.
 As the signal value is small the signal conditioning
electronics provides amplification to increase the
signal.
Optical Encoders
What are Optical Encoders ?
An Optical Rotary Encoder is an electro-mechanical device that
converts the angular position of a shaft to a digital code.

What are they used for?

 Provide information on angular position, speed, and direction.
 The information is used for system control (e.g. motor velocity
feedback control).
 It is the most popular type of encoder.
How do they work?

 Use light and photo detectors to produce a digital code

 As the encoder shaft rotates, output signals are produced
proportional to the angle of rotation.
 The signal may be a square wave (for an incremental encoder) or
an absolute measure of position (for an absolute encoder).
 Optical Encoder parts

Light source: produces the light that

will “trigger” the photodetectors
during motion. Usually LEDs or IR
LEDs

Photodetector: electronic sensor

that reacts to light. Usually a
phototransistor or photodiode.

Code disk: has one or more tracks

with slits (windows) to allow light to
pass through.

Mask: collimates the beams of light

Optical Encoder parts

Shaft: mechanically attached to the

system we want to measure; usually
a motor.

Housing: protection from the

environment.

Electronic board: filters signal into

square wave used by microcontroller.
 Types of Optical Encoders

Incremental Optical Encoders:

• Single channel
• Dual channel
• Dual channel with Z index

Absolute Optical Encoders

 Incremental Encoders
• Generate a series of pulses as the shaft moves and provide
relative position information.
• They are typically simpler and cheaper than absolute encoders.
• Need external processing of signals.

TYPES
 Incremental Optical Encoder: Single channel

 Has only one output channel for encoding information.

 Used in unidirectional systems or where you don’t need to
know direction.

Voltage Lo Hi Lo Hi Lo

Binary 0 1 0 1 0
 Incremental Optical Encoder: Dual channel
• The output has two lines of pulses (“A” and “B” channel)
• They are 90° offset in order to determine rotation direction.
• This phasing between the two signals is called quadrature.

Channel A Lo Hi Hi Lo Repetitive sequence

Channel B Lo Lo Hi Hi
Incremental Optical Encoder: Dual channel
 Incremental Optical Encoder:
Dual channel with Z index
• Some quadrature encoders include a third channel (Z or Index)
• It supplies a single pulse per revolution used for precise
determination of a reference position.
• Need to do “homing” for it to work. Doesn’t hold after power
down.

Z
 Absolute Encoders
• Provides a unique digital output for each shaft position
• The code disk has many tracks. The number determines resolution.
• Upon a loss of power it keeps the correct position value.
• Uses binary or “grey” code.
VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn83jR2mchw
 Absolute encoders:
Binary vs. Gray code

010 001

011 000

100 111

101 110

Transition possible results: 011 - 010 - 001 - 011- 111 - 100

Absolute encoders:
Binary vs. Gray code

011 001

010 000

110 100

111 101

Transition possible results: 010 - 110

 Encoder Resolution

Absolute Optical Encoder

• Resolution can be given in number of bits or degrees

• Depends on the number of tracks on the code disk. Each
track requires an output signal, also known as an “encoder
bit”.
Resolution = 360°/(2N)
N = number of encoder bits (number of tracks)

Example:
An absolute encoder has 8 tracks on the disc. What is its angular
resolution in degrees?
Resolution = 360°/(2N) = 360°/(28) = 1.4°
 Encoder Resolution

Incremental Optical Encoder

• Resolution essentially depends on the number of

windows on the code disk
Resolution = 360/N
N = number of windows on code disk

Example:
What number of windows are needed on the code disk of an
incremental optical encoder to measure displacements of 1.5°?
Resolution =360° /N =1.5 ° → N = 240 windows

• BUT, we can increase resolution by using channels A and B

 Encoder Resolution

Incremental Optical Encoder

• We may count rising and

falling edges in both
channel’s signals

Today’s standard

X4 Resolution = 360/4N
N = number of windows (slits or lines) on the code disk
 Example: (Sabri Centinkunt, page 236)

Consider an incremental encoder that produces 2500-pulses/revolution.

Assume that the photo detectors in the decoder circuit can handle signals
up to 1 MHz frequency.
Determine the maximum shaft speed (RPM) the encoder and decoder
circuit can handle.
 Applications
Incremental Single channel Incremental Dual channel

Incremental with Z index Absolute Encoder

Pressure Sensors
Pressure Measurement

• Pressure = Force / Area

• Pressure can be used inferentially to measure other

variables such as Flow and Level

• Pressure plays a major role in determining the Boiling

Point of Liquids

• Fluids exerts pressure on the containing vessel

equally and in all directions
Pressure Measurement

Pressure is commonly quoted as being Absolute or Gauge

Easiest way of thinking

Some Fluid = Some Pressure = Some absolute pressure

No Fluid = No Pressure = Zero absolute pressure

Whereas

Fluid Pressure + Atmospheric Pressure = Some Gauge Pressure

No Fluid + Atmospheric Pressure = Zero Gauge Pressure
Which follows

Gauge Pressure – Atmospheric Pressure = Pressure due to fluid itself = Absolute fluid
pressure
Pressure Measurement
Pressure Measurement Methods

1. Mechanical Methods

1. Electrical Methods
Pressure Measurement Methods

1. Elastic pressure transducers

1. Manometer method

1. Pressure measurement by measuring vacuum

1. Electric pressure transducers

1. Pressure measurement by balancing forces produced on a

known area by a measured force
Elastic Pressure Transducers

1. Bourdon tube pressure gauge

1. Diaphragm pressure transducers

1. Bellows

Uses flexible element as sensor. As pressure changed

,the flexible element moved, and this motion was
used to rotate a pointer in front of dail.
Bourdon Tube Pressure Gauge

Bourdon tubes are generally are of

three types;
1. C-type
2. Helical type
3. Spiral type
Electric Pressure Transducers

Why Electrical Pressure Transducers?

 Transmission requirements for remote display as electric signal
transmission can be through cable or cordless.
 Electric signals give quicker responses and high accuracy in digital
measurements.
 The linearity property of the electric signal produced to pressure
applied favors simplicity.
 They can be used for extreme pressure applications, i.e. high
vacuum and pressure measurements.
 EPTs are immune to hysteresis, shock and mechanical vibrations.
Electric Pressure Transducers

1. Pressure sensing element such as a bellow , a diaphragm or a bourdon tube

1. Primary conversion element e.g. resistance or voltage

1. Secondary conversion element

Types of Electric Pressure Transducers

 Strain gauge pressure transducers

 Capacitive pressure transducers

 Potentiometer pressure transducers

 Resonant Wire pressure transducers

 Piezeoelectric pressure transducers

Capacitive Pressure Transducer

C=ε0 εr A/d
Where,
C = the capacitance of a capacitor in farad
A = area of each plate in m2
d = distance between two plates in m
εr= dielectric constant
ε0 = 8.854*10^-12 farad/m2

Thus, capacitance can be varied by changing distance

between the plates, area of the plate or value of the
dielectric medium between the plates. Any change in
these factors cause change in capacitance.

In capacitive transducers, pressure is utilized to vary any of the above mentioned

factors which will cause change in capacitance and that is a measureable by any
suitable electric bridge circuit and is proportional to the pressure.
Capacitive Pressure Transducer

-- Originally developed for use in low vacuum research

-- Wide rangeability from high vacuum in the micron range to 10,000 psig

-- Differential pressure as low as 0.01 inch can be readable

-- Accurate within 0.1 % of reading or 0.01 % of full scale

-- More Corrosion resistant

Potentiometer Pressure Transducer

-- Extremely small and installed in very tight quarters such inside the
housing of 4.5 in dial pressure gauge
-- Provide strong output so no need of additional amplifier
-- Range 5 to 10,000 psig
-- Accurate within 0.5 % and 1 % of full scale