Automotive Sensors

and Actuators
By
Mr. Raghuram Hegde
Assistant Professor, Dept. of E&CE.
• sensors provide measurements of important plant variables in a
format suitable for the digital microcontroller
• Actuators are electrically operated devices that regulate inputs to the
plant that directly control its output
 AIR FLOW RATE SENSOR
• measurement of the mass flow rate of air
(Rm) into the engine
• mounted as part of the air cleaner assembly
• ruggedly packaged, single-unit sensor that includes solid-state electronic
signal processing
• MAF sensor generates a continuous signal that varies nearly linearly with
true mass air flow Rm
• hot-filament structure mounted on a substrate
• On the air inlet side is mounted a honeycomb flow straightener that
“smooths” the air flow
• filament element is electrically heated to a constant temperature above
that of the inlet air
• hot-filament element is incorporated in a Wheatstone bridge circuit .
• The power supply for the bridge circuit comes from an amplifier.
Mass Air Flow Sensor
• three fixed resistors R1, R2, and R3 and a hot-filament element having
resistance RHW.
• With no air flow the resistors R1, R2, and R3 are chosen such that
voltage va and vb are equal (i.e., the bridge is said to be balanced)
• As air flows across the hot filament, heat is carried away from the
filament by the moving air.
• The amount of heat carried away varies in proportion to the mass flow
rate of the air
• tends to cause the resistance of the filament to vary, which unbalances
the bridge circuit, thereby producing an input voltage to the amplifier
• amplified voltage changes the resistance in such a way as to maintain a
fixed hot-filament temperature relative to the inlet temperature.
• amplifier output voltage vc varies with MAF and serves as a measure of Rm
• conversion of MAF to voltage is slightly nonlinear
• it is advantageous to convert analog sensor voltages to a digital format
within the solid-state electronics associated with the sensor
 scheme for converting the analog output voltage to a digital signal
• voltage-to-frequency (v/f ) converter - a variable-frequency oscillator whose
frequency f is proportional to the input voltage (in this case, the amplifier output
voltage)
• variable-frequency output voltage (vf ) is applied through an electronic gate,
which is essentially an electrically operated switch, which closes for a fixed
interval ‘t’ and opens repeatedly.
• v/f circuit is connected to the binary counter (BC), which counts at the
instantaneous frequency of the v/f
• BC count B is given by the binary equivalent of
B=ft
Where B = BC count, f = frequency of v/f, t = duration of closure of electronic gate
• After the engine controller reads the count, the BC is reset to zero to be ready
for the next sample
Indirect Measurement of Mass Air Flow
• computes an estimate of mass air flow from measurements of
manifold absolute pressure (MAP), RPM, and inlet air temperature
• Speed-Density method
 Strain Gauge MAP Sensor
• relatively inexpensive MAP sensor configuration is the silicon-diaphragm
diffused strain gauge sensor
• Uses silicon chip that is approximately 3 millimeters square
• outer edges, the chip is approximately 250 micrometers thick, but center area is
only 25 micrometers thick and forms a diaphragm
• edge of the chip is sealed to a pyrex plate under vacuum, thereby forming a
vacuum chamber between the plate and the center area of the silicon chip
• set of sensing resistors is formed around the edge of this chamber, which are
formed by diffusing a doping impurity into the silicon
• External connections to these resistors are made through wires connected to
the metal bonding pads
• entire assembly is placed in a sealed housing that is connected to the intake
manifold by a small-diameter tube
 operation
• Manifold pressure applied to the diaphragm causes it to deflect
• resistance of the sensing resistors changes in proportion to the applied manifold
pressure by a phenomenon that is known as piezoresistivity.
• strain induced in each resistor is proportional to the diaphragm deflection, which,
in turn, is proportional to the pressure on the outside surface of the diaphragm
• electrical signal that is proportional to the manifold pressure is obtained by
connecting the resistors in a circuit called a Wheatstone bridge
• When there is no strain on the diaphragm, all four resistances are equal, the
bridge is balanced, and the voltage between points A and B is zero
• When manifold pressure changes, it causes these resistances to change in such a
way that R1 and R3 increase by an amount that is proportional to pressure; at the
same time, R2 and R4 decrease by an identical amount. This unbalances the
bridge and a net difference voltage is present between points A and B.
• The differential amplifier generates an output voltage proportional to the
difference between the two input voltages
 ENGINE CRANKSHAFT ANGULAR POSITION SENSOR
• Measurements of the angular position or
velocity of shafts(RPM) - without any
mechanical contact with the rotating shaft
• Uses magnetic or optical phenomena as
the physical basis. Magnetic means of
such measurements are generally
preferred in engine applications since they
are unaffected by oil, dirt, or other
contaminants.
Engine Crankshaft Angular Position Measurement
•Point on reference line corresponds to zero degree (TDC)
•One complete engine cycle corresponds to the crankshaft angular position going from
zero to 720°
•During each cycle, it is important to measure the crankshaft position with reference
to TDC for each cylinder.
 Magnetic Reluctance Position Sensor
• consists of a permanent
magnet with a coil of wire
wound around it
• A steel disk that is mounted on
the crankshaft (usually in front
of the engine) has tabs that
pass between the pole pieces
of this magnet
• passage of each tab can
correspond to the TDC
position of a cylinder on its
power stroke
• based on the concept of a magnetic circuit and magnetic reluctance
• A magnetic circuit is a closed path through a magnetic material (e.g., iron,
cobalt, nickel, or synthetic magnetic material called ferrite)
• In the case of this sensor, the magnetic circuit is the closed path through
the magnet material and across the gap between the pole pieces.
• magnetic field intensity - exerts a force similar to the voltage of a battery
magnetic flux – response of the magnetic circuit to the magnetic field
intensity - similar to the current
• strength of the magnetic flux is determined by the reluctance of the
magnetic circuit
• reluctance of a magnetic circuit is inversely proportional to the magnetic
permeability of the material along the path
• Magnetic permeability of steel is a few thousand times larger than air;
therefore, the reluctance of steel is much lower than air
• when one of the tabs of the steel disk is located between the pole pieces
of the magnet, a large part of the gap between the pole pieces is filled by
the steel.
• Since the steel has a lower reluctance than air, the “flow” of magnetic flux
increases to a relatively large value.
• magnetic flux is least when none of the tabs is near the magnet pole
pieces. As a tab begins to pass through the gap, the magnetic flux
increases
• position of maximum magnetic flux has a fixed relationship to TDC for one
of the cylinders
• change in magnetic flux induces a voltage, Vo, in the sensing coil that is
proportional to the rate of change of the magnetic flux.
 • if the disk is mounted on the crankshaft, then the number of tabs for
this crankshaft position sensor always will be half the number of
cylinders because it takes two crankshaft rotations for a complete
engine cycle
• Can be used to measure engine speed – divide the count value by
number of tabs

Disadvantage:
Since the magnetic flux must be changing to induce a voltage in the
sensing coil, its output voltage is zero whenever the engine is not running,
regardless of the position of the crankshaft, because of which the engine
timing cannot be set statically
 Hall-Effect Position Sensor
•Overcomes the disadvantage of magnetic reluctance sensor i.e. lack of
output when the engine isn’t running

• similar to the reluctance

sensor in that
 it employs a steel disk
having protruding tabs and
a magnet for coupling the
disk to the sensing element.
the steel disk varies the
reluctance of the magnetic
path as the tabs pass
between the magnet pole
pieces.
Principle:
• Whenever an electron moves through a
magnetic field, a force (called the Lorentz
force) that is proportional to the electron
velocity and the strength of the magnetic
flux is exerted on the electron
• The direction of this force is perpendicular
to the direction in which the electron is
moving
The Hall Effect:
• Hall element is a small, thin, flat slab of semiconductor material placed in
the magnetic field
• When a current, I, is passed through this slab by means of an external
circuit, electrons are deflected toward the lower sense electrode.
• Thus, this electrode is more negative than the upper electrode and a
voltage exists between the electrodes
• a voltage is developed across the slab perpendicular to the direction of
current flow and perpendicular to the direction of magnetic flux
• This voltage is proportional to both the current and magnetic flux density
that flows through the slab
• This effect—the generation of a voltage that is dependent on a magnetic
field—is called the Hall effect
• As the strength of the magnetic flux
density increases, more of the
electrons are deflected downward.
• If the current, I, is held constant,
then the voltage, Vo, is proportional
to the strength of the magnetic flux
density, which, in turn, is determined
by the position of the tabs.
• Vo reaches maximum when any of
the tabs is symmetrically located
between the magnet pole pieces
• this sensor can be used for setting
the engine timing when the engine Waveform of Hall Element Output
is not running Voltage for Position Sensor
Optical Crankshaft Position Sensor
• In a sufficiently clean environment
• disk is directly coupled to the crankshaft - the disk has holes in it that correspond
to the number of tabs
• Mounted on each side of the disk are fiber-optic light pipes
• The hole in the disk allows transmission of light through the light pipes from the
light-emitting diode (LED) source to the phototransistor used as a light sensor.
• Light would not be transmitted from source to sensor when there is no hole
because the solid disk blocks the light
• pulse of light is detected by the phototransistor and coupled to an amplifier to
obtain a satisfactory signal level - logic levels of +2.4 V for the high level and +0.8V
for the low level
• Problem: must be protected from dirt and oil
• Advantage: they can sense position without the engine running and that the pulse
amplitude is constant with variation in speed
THROTTLE ANGLE SENSOR
• Most throttle angle sensors are essentially potentiometers -
potentiometer consists of a resistor with a movable contact
• A section of resistance material is placed in an arc around the pivot
axis for the movable contact
• One end of the resistor is connected to ground, the other to a fixed
voltage V
• voltage at the contact point of the movable contact is proportional to
the angle (a) v(a)=ka , where k is a constant
• Disadvantage: its analog output – A/D converter is needed
 TEMPERATURE SENSORS
• In operation of an electronic fuel control
system it is vital to know the
temperature of the coolant, the
temperature of the inlet air, and the
temperature of the exhaust gas oxygen
sensor
Typical Coolant Sensor
• Consists of thermistor mounted in a
housing that is designed to be inserted
in the coolant stream.
• This housing is typically threaded with
pipe threads that seal the assembly
against coolant leakage.
• A thermistor is made of semiconductor material whose resistance varies
inversely with temperature

• sensor output voltage varies inversely with temperature; that is, the
output voltage decreases as the temperature increases.
Exhaust Gas Oxygen Sensor
• EGO sensor , often called a lambda sensor
• two types of EGO sensors : One uses zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) and the
other uses titanium dioxide (TiO2)
ZrO2 EGO sensor
• consists of a thimble-shaped section of ZrO2 with thin platinum
electrodes on the inside and outside of the ZrO2.
• Inside electrode is exposed to air, and the outside electrode is
exposed to exhaust gas through a porous protective overcoat.
• The ZrO2 has a tendency to attract the oxygen ions, which
accumulate on the ZrO2 surface just inside the platinum electrodes.
• Air reference side becomes electrically more negative than the exhaust
gas side; therefore, an electric field exists across the ZrO2 material and a
voltage, Vo, results.
• positive on the exhaust gas side and negative on the air reference side of
the ZrO2
• lean mixture the exhaust gas oxygen concentration is relatively high
• resulting in a relatively low EGO sensor output voltage.
• output voltage is about 1 volt for a rich mixture and about .1 volt for a
lean mixture
Accelerometers
• Measuring the acceleration

• Two types:
- Piezoelectric Accelerometers
- Capacitive Accelerometers
Piezoelectric Accelerometers
Capacitive Accelerometers
Wheel Speed Sensor
• Used in ABS