Lecture 16
Lecture 16
Lecture 16
Prof. Phillips
March 14, 2003
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Electrical Instrumentation
Electrical instrumentation is the process of
acquiring data about one or more physical
quantities of interest using electrical sensors
and instruments.
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Instrumentation Examples
• Every engineering discipline uses electrical
instrumentation to collect and analyze data.
• The following examples are illustrative of
the different types of sensors and
instrumentation that different engineering
disciplines use.
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Strain Measurements
Strain
gauge
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Non-destructive Testing
Ultrasound
transducer
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Automotive Sensors
Accelerometer Oxygen
Sensor
Airflow
Sensor
Oil
CO Sensor Pressure Water
Temperature
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Biomedical
Ultrasound
Transducer
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Typical Instrumentation System
Sensor A/D
Amplifier Computer
Converter
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Amplifier
• The output of the amplifier is (usually) a
voltage.
• The gain of the amplifier is set so that the
voltage falls between lower and upper limits
(for example, -10V to 10V).
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A/D Converter
• Analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion consists
of two operations:
– Sampling: measuring the voltage signal at
equally spaced points in time.
– Quantization: approximating a voltage
using 8, 12 or 16 bits.
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Instrumentation Issues
• Noise
• Signal bandwidth
• Sampling
• Amplifier characteristics
• Feedback
• Real-time processing
• Control systems
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Noise
2
-2
Signal 1
-2
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Sources of Noise
• Thermal noise caused by the random
motion of charged particles in the sensor
and the amplifier.
• Electromagnetic noise from electrical
equipment (e.g., computers) or
communication devices.
• Shot noise from quantum mechanical
events.
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Effects of Noise
• Reduces accuracy and repeatability of
measurements.
• Introduces distortion in sound signals.
• Introduces errors in control systems.
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What to Do?
How can we eliminate or reduce the
undesirable effects of noise?
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Signal Bandwidth
Conceptually, bandwidth (BW) is related to
the rate at which a signal changes:
High BW Low BW
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Bandwidth and Sampling
A higher bandwidth requires more
samples/second:
High BW Low BW
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Bandwidth Limitations
Every component in the instrumentation
system has bandwidth limitations:
• Sensors do not respond immediately to
changes in the environment.
• The amplifier output does not change
immediately in response to changes in the
input.
• The A/D converter sampling rate is limited.
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Effects of BW Limitations
1
0.5
-1
0.5
Amplifier 0
-1 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Output -0.5
-1
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Amplifier Characteristics
Amplifiers are characterized in terms of
attributes such as:
• Gain
• Bandwidth and/or frequency response
• Linearity
• Harmonic distortion
• Input and output impedance
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Op Amps
• One commonly used type of amplifier is the
Operational Amplifier (Op Amp).
• Op Amps have differential inputs: output
voltage is the amplified difference of two
input voltages.
• Op Amps have very large gains (>10 3).
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Op Amps (cont.)
• Most op-amp circuits use negative feedback
• Op-amp circuits can be designed to:
– Provide voltage gain or attenuation.
– Convert current to voltage.
– Integrate or differentiate.
– Filter out noise or interference.
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Feedback
Often, sensors measure quantities associated
with systems. The sensor output is used to
control the system in a desired manner.
System
(Plant, Process)
Control
Feedback Path
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Example: Industrial Process
Control
• In many manufacturing processes
(integrated circuits, for example)
temperatures must be closely controlled.
• Feedback can be used to maintain a
constant temperature.
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Temperature Control
Furnace
Desired Control Temperature
and
Temperature System Sensor
Material
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Benefits of Feedback
• Provides stability with respect to changes in
system parameter values.
• Helps to obtain a (nearly) linear response
from non-linear components.
• Can be used to change the characteristics of
a system under control.
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Class Example
• Instrumentation Design Problem
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