Module 2

Applications of Transducers

Syllabus: Displace measurement: Resistance potentiometer, Capacitive and Inductive. Capacitive

differential pressure measurement Torsional, shearing stress and rotating shaft Torque measurement
using strain gauge. Flow measurement :Hotwire anemometer, constant resistance Constant current
type Eddy current sensors, Variable reluctance tachometers
Phase measurement: Analog and digital phase detectors, Nano Instrumentation

Text books:

1. Doeblin E.O, ‘Measurement Systems: Application and Design, Fourth Edition, McGraw Hill,
Newyork, 1992
2. DVS. Murty, ‘Transducers and Instrumentation’ Second Edition, PHI Learning Pvt Ltd New
Delhi ,2013

2.1 Displace measurement:

2.1.1 Resistance potentiometer

The transducer whose resistance varies because of the environmental effects such type of
transducer is known as the resistive transducer. The change in resistance is measured by the ac or
dc measuring devices. The resistive transducer is used for measuring the physical quantities like
temperature, displacement, vibration etc.
The measurement of the physical quantity is quite difficult. The resistive transducer converts the
physical quantities into variable resistance which is easily measured by the meters. The process
of variation in resistance is widely used in the industrial applications.

The resistive transducer can work both as the primary as well as the secondary transducer. The
primary transducer changes the physical quantities into a mechanical signal, and secondary
transducer directly transforms it into an electrical signal.

Example – The circuit of the sliding resistive transducer is shown in the figure below. The
sliding contacts are placed on the resistive element. The slider moves horizontally. The
movement of the slider changes the value of the resistive element of the transducer which is
measured by the voltage source E.

The displacement of the slider is converted into an electrical signal.

There are two types of potentiometer, linear and rotary potentiometer. The linear potentiometer
has a slide or wiper. The rotary potentiometer can be a single turn or multi turn.

The important parameters while selecting a potentiometer are

 Operating temperature

 Shock and vibration

 Humidity
  Contamination and seals

 life cycle

Advantages of Resistive Transducer

The following are the advantages of the resistive transducer.

1. Both the AC and DC, current or voltage is appropriate for the measurement of variable
resistance.
2. The resistive transducer gives the fast response.
3. It is available in various sizes and having a high range of resistance.

Disadvantages

1. The wiper is sliding across the resistive element there is a possibility of friction and wear.
Hence the number of operating cycles is limited.
2. Limited bandwidth
3. Inertial loading

Working Principle of Resistive Transducer

The resistive transducer element works on the principle that the resistance of the element is
directly proportional to the length of the conductor and inversely proportional to the area of the
conductor.

Where

R – resistance in ohms.
A – cross-section area of the conductor in meter square.
L – Length of the conductor in meter square.
ρ – the resistivity of the conductor in materials in ohm meter.

The resistive transducer is designed by considering the variation of the length, area and
resistivity of the metal.
 Applications of Resistive Transducer
The following are the applications of the resistive transducer.

1. Potentiometer – The translation and rotatory potentiometer are the examples of the resistive
transducers. The resistance of their conductor varies with the variation in their lengths which is
used for the measurement of displacement.
2. Strain gauges – The resistance of their semiconductor material changes when the strain occurs
on it. This property of metals is used for the measurement of the pressure, force-displacement
etc.
3. Resistance Thermometer – The resistance of the metals changes because of changes in
temperature. This property of conductor is used for measuring the temperature.
4. Thermistor – It works on the principle that the temperature coefficient of the thermistor
material varies with the temperature. The thermistor has the negative temperature coefficient.
The Negative temperature coefficient means the temperature is inversely proportional to
resistance.

There are a number of ways because of which the resistance of the metal changes with the
changed in the physical phenomenon. And this property of conductors is used for measuring the
physical quantities of material.

2.1.2 Capacitive Transducer

The capacitive transducer is used for measuring the displacement, pressure and other physical
quantities. It is a passive transducer that means it requires external power for operation. The
capacitive transducer works on the principle of variable capacitances. The capacitance of the
capacitive transducer changes because of many reasons like overlapping of plates, change in
distance between the plates and dielectric constant.

The capacitive transducer contains two parallel metal plates. These plates are separated by the
dielectric medium which is either air, material, gas or liquid. In the normal capacitor the distance
between the plates are fixed, but in capacitive transducer the distance between them are varied.

The capacitive transducer uses the electrical quantity of capacitance for converting the
mechanical movement into an electrical signal. The input quantity causes the change of the
capacitance which is directly measured by the capacitive transducer.

The capacitors measure both the static and dynamic changes. The displacement is also measured
directly by connecting the measurable devices to the movable plate of the capacitor. It works on
with both the contacting and non-contacting modes.
Principle of Operation
The equations below express the capacitance between the plates of a capacitor

Where

A – overlapping area of plates in m2

d – the distance between two plates in meter
ε – permittivity of the medium in F/m
εr – relative permittivity
ε0 – the permittivity of free space

The schematic diagram of a parallel plate capacitive transducer is shown in the figure below.

The change in capacitance occurs because of the physicals variables like displacement, force,
pressure, etc. The capacitance of the transducer also changes by the variation in their dielectric
constant which is usually because of the measurement of liquid or gas level.

The capacitance of the transducer is measured with the bridge circuit. The output impedance of
transducer is given as
Where,

C – capacitance
f – frequency of excitation in Hz.

The capacitive transducer is mainly used for measurement of linear displacement. The capacitive
transducer uses the following three effects.

1. Variation in capacitance of transducer is because of the overlapping of capacitor plates.

2. The change in capacitance is because of the change in distances between the plates.
3. The capacitance changes because of dielectric constant.

The following methods are used for the measuring displacement.

1. A transducer using the change in the Area of Plates – The equation below shows that the
capacitance is directly proportional to the area of the plates. The capacitance changes
correspondingly with the change in the position of the plates.
The capacitive transducers are used for measuring the large displacement approximately from
1mm to several cms. The area of the capacitive transducer changes linearly with the capacitance
and the displacement. Initially, the nonlinearity occurs in the system because of the edges.
Otherwise, it gives the linear response.

The capacitance of the parallel plates is given as

where

x – the length of overlapping part of plates

ω – the width of overlapping part of plates.

The sensitivity of the displacement is constant, and therefore it gives the linear relation between
the capacitance and displacement.

The capacitive transducer is used for measuring the angular displacement. It is measured by the
movable plates shown below. One of the plates of the transducer is fixed, and the other is
movable.

The phasor diagram of the transducer is shown in the figure below.

The angular movement changes the capacitance of the transducers. The capacitance between
them is maximum when these plates overlap each other. The maximum value of capacitance is
expressed as

The capacitance at angle θ is given expressed as,

θ – angular displacement in radian. The sensitivity for the change in capacitance is given as

The 180° is the maximum value of the angular displacement of the capacitor.

2. The transducer using the change in distance between the plates – The capacitance of the
transducer is inversely proportional to the distance between the plates. The one plate of the
transducer is fixed, and the other is movable. The displacement which is to be measured links to
the movable plates.
 The capacitance is inversely proportional to the distance because of which the capacitor shows
the nonlinear response. Such type of transducer is used for measuring the small displacement.
The phasor diagram of the capacitor is shown in the figure below.

The sensitivity of the transducer is not constant and varies from places to places.

Advantage of Capacitive Transducer

The following are the major advantages of capacitive transducers.

1. It requires an external force for operation and hence very useful for small systems.
2. The capacitive transducer is very sensitive.
3. It gives good frequency response because of which it is used for the dynamic study.
4. The transducer has high input impedance hence they have a small loading effect.
5. It requires small output power for operation.

Disadvantages of capacitive Transducer

The main disadvantages of the transducer are as follows.

1. The metallic parts of the transducers require insulation.

2. The frame of the capacitor requires earthing for reducing the effect of the stray magnetic field.
3. Sometimes the transducer shows the nonlinear behaviours because of the edge effect which is
controlled by using the guard ring.
4. The cable connecting across the transducer causes an error.

Uses of Capacitive Transducer

The following are the uses of capacitive transducer.

1. The capacitive transducer uses for measurement of both the linear and angular displacement. It
is extremely sensitive and used for the measurement of very small distance.
2. It is used for the measurement of the force and pressures. The force or pressure, which is to be
measured, is first converted into a displacement, and then the displacement changes the
capacitances of the transducer.
3. It is used as a pressure transducer in some cases, where the dielectric constant of the transducer
changes with the pressure.
4. The humidity in gases is measured through the capacitive transducer.
5. The transducer uses the mechanical modifier for measuring the volume, density, weight etc.

The accuracy of the transducer depends on the variation of temperature to the high level.

2.1.3 Inductive Transducers

The inductive transducers work on the principle of inductance change due to any appreciable
change in the quantity to be measured. For example, LVDT, a kind of inductive transducers,
measures displacement in terms of voltage difference between its two secondary voltages.
Secondary voltages are nothing but the result of induction due to the flux change in the
secondary coil with the displacement of the iron bar.
Now first our motive is to find how the inductive transducers can be made to work. This can be
done by changing the flux with the help of measured and this changing flux obviously changes
the inductance and this inductance change can be calibrated in terms of measured. Hence
inductive transducers use one of the following principles for its working.

1. Change of self inductance

2. Change of mutual inductance
3. Production of eddy current

Change of Self Inductance of Inductive Transducer

The self inductance of a coil is given by

Where,
N = number of turns.
R = reluctance of the magnetic circuit.
Also we know that reluctance R is given by

Where,

μ = effective permeability of the medium in and around the coil.

Where,
G = geometric form factor.
A = area of cross-section of coil.
l = length of the coil.

So, we can vary self inductance by

 Change in number of turns, N,

 Changing geometric configuration, G,
 Changing permeability
For the sake of understanding we can say that if the displacement is to be measured by the
inductive transducers, it should change any of the above parameter for causing in the change in
self inductance.
Change of Mutual Inductance of Inductive Transducer

Here transducers, which work on change of mutual inductance principle, use multiple coils. We
use here two coils for the sake of understanding. Both coils have their self inductance as well. So
let’s denote their self inductance by L1 and L2.

Mutual inductance between these two coils is given by

Thus mutual inductance can be changed by varying self inductance or by varying coefficient of
coupling, K. The methods of changing self inductance we already discussed. Now coefficient of
coupling depends on the distance and orientation between two coils. Thus for the measurement
of displacement we can fix one coil and make other movable which moves with the source
whose displacement is to be measured. With the change in distance in displacement coefficient
of coupling changes and it causes the change in mutual inductance. This change in mutual
inductance can be calibrated with the displacement and measurement can be done.

Production of Eddy Current of Inductive Transducer

We know that when a conducting plate is placed near a coil carrying alternating current, a
circulating current is induced in the plate called “EDDY CURRENT”. This principle is used in
such type of inductive transducers. When a coil is placed near to coil carrying alternating
current, a circulating current is induced in it which in turn produces its own flux which try to
reduce the flux of the coil carrying the current and hence inductance of the coil changes. Nearer
the plate is to the coil, higher will be eddy current and higher is the reduction in inductance and
vice versa. Thus inductance of coil varied with the variation of distance between coil and plate.
Thus the movement of the plate can be calibrated in terms of inductance change to measure the
quantity like displacement.

Real Life Application of Inductive Transducer

Inductive transducers find application in proximity sensors which are used for position
measurement, dynamic motion measurement, touch pads etc. Particularly inductive transducer
is used for the detection of type of metal, finding missing parts or counting the number of
objects.

2.2 Capacitive differential pressure measurement

 2.3 Flow measurement

2.3.1 Hot wire anemometer

The hot wire anemometer is a device used for measuring the velocity and direction of the fluid.
This can be done by measuring the heat loss of the wire which is placed in the fluid stream. The
wire is heated by electrical current. The hot wire when placed in the stream of the fluid, in that
case, the heat is transferred from wire to fluid, and hence the temperature of wire reduces. The
resistance of wire measures the flow rate of the fluid.

The hot wire anemometer is used as a research tool in fluid mechanics. It works on the principle
of transfer of heat from high temperature to low temperature.

Construction of Hot Wire Anemometer

The hot wire anemometer consists two main parts.

1. Conducting wire
2. Wheat stone bridge.

The conducting wire is housed inside the ceramic body. The wires are taking out from the
ceramic body and connecting to the Wheatstone bridge. The wheat stone bridge measures the
variation of resistance.

Constant Current Method

In the constant current method, the anemometer is placed in the stream of the fluid whose flow
rate needs to be measured. The current of constant magnitude is passed through the wire. The
Wheatstone bridge is also kept on the constant voltage.
When the wire is kept in the stream of liquid, in that case, the heat is transferred from the wire to
the fluid. The heat is directly proportional to the resistance of the wire. If heat reduces, that
means the resistance of wire also reduces. The Wheatstone bridge measures the variation in
resistance which is equal to the flow rate of the liquid.

Constant Temperature Method

In this arrangement, the wire is heated by the electric current. The hot wire when placed in the
fluid stream, the heat transfer from wire to the fluid. Thus, the temperature of the wire changes
which also changes their resistance. It works on the principle that the temperature of the wire
remains constant. The total current requires to bring the wire in the initial condition is equal to
the flow rate of the gas.

Measurement of the rate of a fluid using a Hot Wire Instrument

In hot wire anemometer, the heat transferred electrically to the wire which is placed in the fluid
stream. The Wheatstone bridge is used for measuring the temperature of wire regarding their
resistance. The temperature of the wire remains constant for measuring the heating current. Thus,
the bridge remains balanced.

The standard resistor is connected in series with the heating wire. The current across the wire is
determined by knowing the voltage drop across the resistor. And the value of voltage drop is
determined by the potentiometer. The equation determines the heat loss from the heated wire

Where,

v – velocity of heat flow,

ρ – the density of fluid,

a, b are the constants. Their value depends on the dimension and the physical properties of the
fluid and wire.

Suppose I, is the current of the wire and the R is their resistance. In equilibrium condition,

Heat generated = Heat Lost

The resistance and temperature of the instrument are kept constant for measuring the rate of the
fluid by measuring the current I.

2.3.2 Eddy Current Transducer

Eddy Currents
Eddy currents, are currents induced in a conductor due to the magnetic field produced by the
active coil. The conductor is placed in a changing magnetic field and the current is produced
according to the change of magnetic field with time. The amount of eddy current produced will
be more if the field strength is greater. When there is high field strength, the conductivity of the
metal conductor increases, causing faster reversals of the field and hence more flow of eddy
currents. Eddy currents will be produced in both conditions where either the conductor moves
through a magnetic field or a magnetic field changes around a stationary conductor. Even a
small amount of the current will be produced in cases where a small change in magnetic field
intensity is experienced on a conductor.

Like other currents in a conductor, eddy currents can also generate heat, EMF, and all types of
losses. Its biggest disadvantage can be seen in a transformer, where power loss due to this,
affects the device’s efficiency. This can be reduced by reducing the area of the conductor, or by
laminating it. Since the insulator in the lamination area stops the electrons from moving forward,
they will not be able to flow on wide arcs. Thus, they accumulate at the insulated ends and resist
further accumulation of charges. This, in turn will reduce the flow of eddy currents. The amount
of currents produced can also be reduced by using conductors having less electrical conductivity.

Eddy Current Transducer

This type of transducer is comparatively low in the measurement field and depends mostly on the
quality of a high alternating source which is fed to a set of coils. One coil is called the active coil
and the other provides temperature compensation (Compensating coil) by being the adjacent arm
of a bridge circuit. A conducting material is kept close to the active coil so as to make it
influenced by its absence or presence, or, by being any closer or away. Magnetic flux is induced
in the active coil and is passed through the conductor producing eddy currents. The density of
this current will be maximum at the surface and will less as the depth increases. This penetration
depth can be calculated using the equation given below.

δ=1/fπμσ

where, δ-Penetration Depth (m), f-Frequency (Hz), μ-Magnetci Permeability, σ-Electrical

Conductivity (S/m)

The circuit diagram of an eddy current transducer/sensor is shown below.

Eddy Current Transducer

 Working
The active coil is kept closer to the conducting material and both of them are placed inside a
probe. The compensating coil is kept further away from the conducting material. The high
frequency source acts as the bridge circuit and feeds the coil across the two capacitors. The
amount of eddy current produced becomes more as the distance between the conducting material
and the active coil becomes less. This causes a change in the impedance of the active coil and
thus unbalances the bridge circuit. The bridge circuit produces an output proportional to the
amount of closeness between the conducting material and the active coil. The output of the
bridge circuit is given to a low pass filter (LPF) and then its dc output is calculated. The high
frequency allows a thin target to be used and also with this, the frequency response becomes
good up to a target frequency 1/10th the supply frequency.
It should be noted that the diameter of the conducting material should be larger or at least same
as that of a probe. If not, the output is prone to reduce linearity. If shafts are used as conducting
materials, they should have a bigger diameter so that their curved surfaces effectively behaves as
flat surfaces.

Applications
Since it is a non-contact device, it is suitable for higher resolution measurement applications. The
device is used for finding out the position of an object that is conductive in nature.

 Position Measurement
Since the output of an eddy current transducer represents the size of the distance between the
probe and the conductor, the device can be calibrated to measure the position or displacement of
the target. Thus, it can be applicable in monitoring or sensing the precise location of an object
such as a machine tool. It can also be used to locate the final position of precise equipments such
as a disk drive.

 Vibrating Motion Measurement

The device is also suitable for finding the alternate positions of a vibrating conductor. Since a
contact device is impracticable for this application, a non-contact device such as eddy current
transducer is highly recommended. Thus, it can be applicable in measuring the distance of a shaft
from a reference point or the to-and-fro movement of vibrating instruments.

Advantages
1. Measurement of distance can be carried out even in rough or mixed environments.

2. Cost-effective.

3. The device is insensitive to material in the gap between the probe and the conductor.
4. The device is less expensive and has higher frequency response than a capacitive transducer.

Disadvantages
1. The result will be precise only if the gap between the probe and the conductor is small.

2. The device cannot be used for finding the position of non-conductive materials. Another way is
to connect a thick conductor onto the non-conductive material.

3. There always occurs a non-linear relationship between the distance and impedance of the active
coil of the device. This problem can be overcome only by calibrating the device at fixed
intervals.

4. The device is highly temperature sensitive. This can be overcome by adding a suitable balance
coil to the circuit
2.4 Phase measurement:

2.4.1 Analog and digital phase detectors

The phase sensitive detector can be used in a number of circuits – anywhere that it is necessary to detect the
phase between two signals. One of the main areas where phase detectors are used is within phase locked loops.
The phase detector enables phase differences to be detected and the resultant "error" voltage to be produced.

The different types of phase detectors are given below:

 Phase only sensitive detectors

 Phase / frequency detectors

Phase only sensitive detectors

Phase detectors that are only sensitive to phase are the most straightforward form of phase detector. As the
name indicates their output is only dependent upon the phase difference between the two signals. When the
phase difference between the two incoming signals is steady, they produce a constant voltage. When there is a
frequency difference between the two signals, they produce a varying voltage at a frequency equal to the
frequency difference.

The difference frequency product is the one used to give the phase difference. However it is quite possible that
the difference frequency signal will fall outside the pass-band of the loop filter, and hence the overall phase
locked loop. If this occurs then no error voltage pass through the PLL loop filter and on to the Voltage
Controlled Oscillator, VCO, to bring it into lock. This means that there only is a limited range over which the
phase locked loop can be brought into lock. This range is called the capture range. Once in lock the loop can
generally be pulled over a much wider frequency band.

Apart from using a phase frequency detector, there are several ways in which this problem can be overcome.
The oscillator must be steered close to the reference oscillator frequency. This can be achieved in a number of
ways. One is to reduce the tuning range of the oscillator so that the difference product will always fall within
the pass-band of the loop filter. In other instances another tune voltage can be combined with the feedback
from the loop to ensure that the oscillator is in the correct region. This is approach is often adopted in
microprocessor systems where the correct voltage can be calculated for any given circumstance.

Several forms of phase only sensitive phase detectors exist:

 Double balanced mixer phase detector: The double balanced mixer or diode ring mixer is one of the
simplest forms of phase detector. The double balanced mixer of diode ring phase detector is a simple and
effective form of phase detector that can be implemented using a standard diode ring module.
The mathematic shows that the voltage at the IF port of the diode ring mixer varies as the cosine of the phase
different between the inputs RF and LO to the diode ring. This means that null or 0V readings are obtained for
a zero degree phase difference, but also at odd multiples of π/2. Maximum and minimum voltages are seen at
points where the phase difference is a multiple of π.

 XOR phase detector: The exclusive OR, XOR phase detector circuit can provide a very useful simple
phase detector for some applications. It comprises of a logic exclusive OR circuit. Being digital in format
it can often fit into a phase locked loop with ease as many of the circuits associated with the phase locked
loop may already be in a digital format. Alternatively an exclusive OR can be made from discrete
components to give a wider variety of levels and other options.
 The way in which an exclusive OR, XOR phase detector works can be seen by the diagram below:

It can be seen that using these waveforms, the XOR logic gate can be used as a simple but effective phase
detector.

As might be expected for such a simple circuit, there are a few drawbacks to using an XOR phase detector:

 The phase detector is sensitive to the clock duty cycle. This means that a steady duty cycle, i.e. 1:1 should
be used. It will lock with a phase error if the input duty cycles are not 50%.

 The output characteristic of the XOR phase detector show repetitions and gain changes. This means that if
there is a frequency difference between the input reference and PLL feedback signals the phase detector
can jump between regions of different gain. The characteristic of the phase detector is as shown below:

 The nominal lock point with an XOR phase detector is also at the 90° static phase shift point.
 Unlike an analogue mixer phase detector, the XOR version is independent of input amplitude and constant
over a π phase range.

Phase-frequency detectors

Another form of detector is said to be phase-frequency sensitive. These circuits have the advantage that whilst
the phase difference is between ±180° a voltage proportional to the phase difference is given. Beyond this the
circuit limits at one of the extremes. In this way no AC component is produced when the loop is out of lock
and the output from the phase detector can pass through the filter to bring the phase locked loop, PLL, into
lock.

There are several types of phase-frequency detectors that can be used.

 Edge triggered JK flip flop phase frequency detector: This form of phase comparator or phase detector is
used in some designs.

The idea behind the JK flip flop based comparator is that it is a sequentially based circuit and this can be used
to provide two signals: one to charge, and one to discharge a capacitor.

Often when using this form of phase detector, an active charge pump is recommended.

JK FLIP FLOP STATES

V1 V2 QN+1
0 0 Qn
0 1 0
1 0 1
1 1 Qn bar
 These waveforms can be interpreted and it is found that the overall response appears as below.

 Dual D type phase comparator: This type of phase frequency detector is widely used in many circuits
because of its performance and ease of design and use. The phase detector is based around two D type flip
flops and an NAND gate, although there are a number of slightly different variants. The circuit for the dual
D-type phase comparator operates by comparing the reference and VCO signals which enter the clock
inputs, one on each D-type. The NAND gate output is fed to the reset, R, inputs of both D-types. The
inputs to the NAND gate are taken from the Q outputs and the output to the loop filter being taken from
one of the Q outputs.
 Obviously various configurations using Q outputs, Q-bar outputs and AND gates are possible, but for
simplicity sake the version using the Q outputs from the D-types and using a NAND gate is shown.

Phase detector dead zone

One of the issues that faces the designers of very low phase noise synthesizers and phase locked loops, is a
phenomenon referred to as the phase detector dead zone.

This occurs where digital phase detectors are used. It is found that when the loop is in lock and there is a small
phase difference between the two signals, very short pulses are created by the phase detector logic gates. Being
very short, these pulses may not propagate and add charge into the charge pump / loop filter. As a result the
loop gain is reduced and this forces up the loop jitter / phase noise.

To overcome this one solution is to add a delay in the phase detector reset path, i.e. on the output of the NAND
gate in the dual D-type detector before the reset terminals of the D-types. This forces a minimum pulse length.
Another solution is to add a small amount of leakage across the loop filter so that the charge pump has to
supply current even when the loop is in lock.

There is a good choice of the type of phase detector that can be used within a phase locked loop. For many
synthesizer applications variants of the dual D-type approach are widely used, as are sample and hold phase
detectors. The analogue approaches have the disadvantage that they are only phase sensitive and not phase
frequency sensitive and therefore the loop bandwidth can be an issue in terms of gaining lock.