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Transducer and Their Classification

Transducers are devices that respond to physical or chemical conditions and produce an output related to the magnitude of the stimulus. They can be mechanical or electrical depending on their output. Transducers are often composed of multiple elements connected in series, like a primary sensor that detects a condition and a transducer that converts it to an electrical signal. Electrical signals are advantageous for transducers because they allow for minimal friction, easy amplification and processing, and low power control. Transducers can be classified by their role, structure, or operating principle, and may produce analog, digital, or frequency signals depending on their application. Proper transducer selection is important for accurate measurement systems and requires considering factors like sensitivity, effects on the measured

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220 views2 pages

Transducer and Their Classification

Transducers are devices that respond to physical or chemical conditions and produce an output related to the magnitude of the stimulus. They can be mechanical or electrical depending on their output. Transducers are often composed of multiple elements connected in series, like a primary sensor that detects a condition and a transducer that converts it to an electrical signal. Electrical signals are advantageous for transducers because they allow for minimal friction, easy amplification and processing, and low power control. Transducers can be classified by their role, structure, or operating principle, and may produce analog, digital, or frequency signals depending on their application. Proper transducer selection is important for accurate measurement systems and requires considering factors like sensitivity, effects on the measured

Uploaded by

PujaChaudhury
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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TRANSDUCERS AND DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS

The term “Transducer” can be understood as a device or combination of elements, which


responds to the physical condition or chemical state of a substance and develop an output
functionally related to the magnitude of the stimulus. In the field of electrical and mechanical
measurements, one comes across a range of devices that respond to the physical condition or
state of a system. These devices are treated as electrical transducers or mechanical transducers if
their output is electrical or mechanical respectively. Where a treated is composed of more than
one element, it can be treated as open loop system, with the elements connected in cascade as
shown, especially when a single element cannot function as electrical transducers.

Input
Mechanical Electro Electrical
Primary Mechanical
Physical Sensor Output
Displacement transducer
Variable
(to be or strain
measured)

The first element which is directly coupled to the system under study is known as
Primary transducers, Primary Sensor or simply Sensor. A sensor may be employed for detecting
the existence or absence of a condition or sensing the degree of level of a physical condition,
apart from responding to the condition under measurement. The second element is that part
which responds to physical phenomenon and transforms it into electrical signal and called as
transduction element.
The signal or the non-electrical quantity is converted to electrical due to the following
advantages.

Advantages of Electrical Signals or the Electrical Transducers

 Friction effect is reduced to minimum possible.


 Electrical and Electronic systems can be controlled with very small power level.
 Electrical amplification and attenuation can be done easily with static devices itself.
 Mass- inertia effects are minimized.
 Processing and transmission of electrical signals are easier.

Classification of Transducers

Classification of transducers is possible in several ways depending on the role they play,
their structure or the basic phenomena on which they are used.
Treating the transducers as signal converters, it is easy to classify them as input and
output transducers. Input transducers are meant for measurement non-electrical quantities and
hence they are usually converters of the same quantities which are electrical by nature. They
may also be known as instrument transducers. On the other hand output transducers operate in
reverse fashion and deliver output signals of either force, torque pressure or displacement when
the input signals are electrical by nature. They may also be known as power transducers if the
P.Vijayapriya
M and I 2012 batch
output power is considerable and as inverse transducers if the signal power at either end is
negligible.
Depending on the basic principles of operation, transducers may be known as
Mechanical, Electrical, Thermal, Magnetic or radiation type transducers.
A transducer is known to consist of more than one physical element, in which case it is
treated as system. The pattern of connection of the several elements may result in an open – loop
transducer or feed back type transducer.
Although most of the sensors and transducer produce output which is analog in nature
and hence named analog transducers, the role of computers in modern instrumentation and
control activity is making designers of transducers find way of obtaining digital signals directly
from the transducers. Thus transducers that can directly develop digital signals are gaining
popularity and hence termed as Digital transducers.
In their absence, transducers whose output signals are ac voltages or pulse trains become
the next choice as the number of cycles or pulses during a certain interval of time can be
counted. They are classified as Frequency generating transducers
As far as the user is concerned, transducers may be classified to represent the quantity
they are designed to measure. They may be classified as Pressure or force transducers
irrespective of their basic principle of operation, for ex. Piezo electric pressure transducers,
resistive displacement transducers.
Electrical transducers may be classified as active or passive type transducers. Passive
transducers are those that need to be excited by electrical supply in order to recognize their
response to the measurand. Active Transducers are those that function as energy converters.
They draw a certain amount of energy from the medium or system under study and convert it
into electrical signal in the form of voltage or current.

Selection of transducers

In any measurement system, selection of transducer is the most important step in getting
accurate results. Therefore some desirable characteristics of a transducer element that should be
borne in mind while selecting a transducer for a particular application are

1. The transducer element should recognize and sense the desired input signal and should be
insensitive to other signal present simultaneously in the measurand.
2. It should not alter the event to be measurand
3. It should be amenable to modifications using appropriate processing and display devices.
4. It should have good precision and accuracy
5. It should have amplitude linearity and good dynamic response(ie adequate frequency
response)
6. It should not introduce any phase distortions
7. It should be able to withstand hostile environments without damage and should maintain
the accuracy within acceptable limits
8. It should be easily available and reasonably priced

P.Vijayapriya
M and I 2012 batch

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