MODULE 7: Measurement of Angular Velocity (2 Lectures)

(i) AC and DC tachometer generators (ii) Drag cup rotor AC (iii) Photo-electric tachometer (iv)
Stroboscopic methods

The tachometer is a measuring instrument used for measuring the angular (rotary) velocity
of a rotating object. They measure rotational speed in revolutions per minute (RPM). It is
important to measure the rotating speed of machines in various industrial applications,
automobiles, etc which can be done by tachometers.

The tachometers can be of two types mechanical and electrical type. The mechanical
tachometer directly measures the angular velocity in rpm. While the electrical tachometers
convert angular velocity into a proportional electrical signal (voltage). By measuring the
electrical voltage with help of measuring instruments the rotational speed or angular velocity can
be determined. The electrical tachometers are classified into two different types. They are,
 DC tachometer generator
 AC tachometer generator.
These types of tachometers consist of ac or dc generators that convert the rotational or
angular speed into dc or ac voltage. The electrical voltage developed in the conductor is due to
the relative perpendicular motion between the magnetic field and the conductor. The magnitude
of the voltage which is developed in the conductor is proportional to the angular velocity of the
conductor.

DC Tachometer Generator:
It consists of a permanent magnet and a small armature. The armature is placed between the
poles of the magnet. The rotating shaft whose rotating speed or whose angular speed/velocity is
to be measured is coupled to the armature. The figure below shows a dc tachometer generator.

So, when the shaft rotates the armature also revolves in the magnetic field of the permanent
magnet. As the armature is made up of a conducting material its rotation results in the generation
of emf. The current flowing in the armature is collected through commutator and brushes and
thus voltage is generated which can be measured using a moving coil voltmeter. In the case of a
short circuit, the current from the generator is limited by series resistance.
 The generated emf in the armature is proportional to the rotating speed of the shaft coupled
to the armature and the polarity of induced emf gives the direction of rotation. Therefore, the
measure of the voltage generated gives the unknown speed and its direction of rotation.

Advantages of DC Tachometer Generator:

 The generated emf is directly proportional to speed.
 The direction of rotation of armature is known by the polarity of generated voltage.
 The range of output voltage is about 10mV/rpm and it can be measured by means of a
moving coil voltmeter that contains a uniform scale.
 The presence of a series resistor limits the current from the generator in case of a short
circuit on the output side.
 The relationship between input (speed) and output (voltage) is linear.
Disadvantages of DC Tachometer Generator:
 Maintenance of brushes and commutator have to be done frequently in order to avoid
errors that may be produced due to any change in the contact resistance between
brushes and commutator.
 Large values of armature current result in distortion of the field of the permanent
magnet. So to restrict the armature current to low values the input resistance of the
meter should be larger than the output resistance of the generator.
AC Tachometer Generator:
The drawbacks of dc tachometers due to the presents of the commutator are not present in ac
tachometers. Because in ac tachometers the coil is wound on the stator and the magnet is allowed
to rotate. The rotating magnet can be either an electromagnet or a permanent magnet.

The machine whose angular speed is to be measured is connected to the rotating magnet.
When the magnet rotates the flux lines are cut by the stationary coil and thus according to the
electromagnetic induction law an emf is induced in the stator coil. The amplitude or frequency of
the induced voltage gives the measure of speed as both the parameters are proportional to the
speed of rotation.
 The circuit shown above is used when it is required to measure speed in terms of the
amplitude of the induced voltage. The voltage generated by the ac tachometer generator is
rectified and smoothened before it is measured by moving coil voltmeter.

Advantages of AC Tachometer Generator:

 The amplitude and frequency of voltage induced in stator winding are proportional to
speed.
 The unknown speed can be measured in two ways. One is by measuring the amplitude
and the other is by measuring the frequency of the induced voltage.
 The rectified output voltage can be measured by means of a moving coil voltmeter that
contains a uniform scale.
 The problems of the dc tachometer generator due to the presents of the commutator are
absent.
 The relationship between input (speed) and output (amplitude and frequency of voltage)
is linear.
Disadvantages of AC Tachometer Generator:
 Under low-speed conditions, the resulting output voltage frequency is low.
 Under high-speed conditions impedance of coils increases along with frequency. So in
order to have good linearity, the input impedance of the display device should be high
compared to the impedance of coils.
Drag Cup Type AC Tacho-generator:
In this type of ac tacho-generator, the rotor is in the form of a cup shown in the figure
below. The cup is made of a highly conductive material such as aluminum and it has very low
inertia (i.e., the cup is thin). The stator of the generator consists of two field windings wound on
it. These two field windings are mounted on the stator, such that they are at right angles to each
other. These windings are said to be in space quadrature with each other and are referred to as
quadrature winding and reference winding.
 The reference winding is supplied with an ac voltage and the output voltage is taken from
the quadrature winding. The cup is known as the drag cup as it is connected to the object whose
speed is to be measured. A reference voltage Vr cos ωct is applied to the reference coil. If the
resistance and reactance of the coil are negligible, then a reference flux Φr sin ωct is produced
which lags the reference voltage by 90°.

When the drag cup rotates in the air gap of this field an emf is induced in the cup and a
current flows through it. Due to this induced emf, a quadrature flux Φq is produced which in turn
leads to a transformer action and an emf eq is induced in the quadrature coil.

Thus, the voltage output Vo(t) at the terminals of the quadrature coil is proportional to the
speed of rotation and is a function of speed.

Advantages of Drag Cup Type Tacho-generator:

 The output of the drag cup type tacho generator is ripple-free.
 The direction of rotation can also be determined by measuring the phase of its output
voltage using a phase detector.
 The output voltage of the tacho-generator can be made linear with respect to speed if
the frequency of excitation voltage (i.e., the carrier frequency) is 5-10 times the
frequency of speed signal (for example, 400Hz).
  They are rugged, require less maintenance, and are not expensive.
Disadvantages of Drag Cup Type Tacho-generator:
 The output voltage varies non-linearly with respect to the input voltage at high speeds
of rotation. Linearity can be obtained by exciting the reference winding with higher
frequencies (above 400 Hz) carrier voltage or by making some corrections.
 Since the output voltage is proportional to the product of input voltage and speed, the
input voltage should be kept constant in order to have appropriate calibration. But, as
the operation of the drag cup tacho-generator requires an alternating input voltage, the
calibration of the drag cup tacho-generator is difficult.

The electromechanical tachometers (dc and ac tachometer generators) are suited for
measuring angular velocity up to 10000 rpm. For measurement of high speeds effectively,
various digital methods are employed, where there is no physical contact between the tachometer
and rotating shaft whose speed is to be measured. As the speed is measured without any physical
contact, the loading of the shaft is avoided. The most commonly used digital methods for
measuring angular velocity or rate of rotation or angular speed are,
 Photoelectric type tachometer
 Inductive type tachometer.
Photoelectric Type Digital Tachometer:
Construction:
The measuring assembly of the photoelectric method consists of an opaque disc having a
number of equidistant holes on its periphery, a light source, and a light sensor. The light sensor
can be a photosensitive device or a phototube.

The disc is mounted on the shaft whose speed is to be measured. The light source is placed
at one side of the disc and the light sensor is placed in the same line with the source at another
side of the disc. They are placed in such a way that the light passes through the holes of the disc
when it rotates. The below figure shows the photoelectric tachometer for measuring angular
velocity.
Working:
When the shaft rotates whose angular velocity or angular speed is to be measured, the
opaque disc also rotates with the shaft. During the rotation of the disc, when the opaque portion
of the disc is between the light source and photosensitive sensor, the light beam emitted by the
light source doesn't reach the light sensor (i.e., photosensitive sensor). Thus there is no effect on
the sensor and no output pulse will be produced by the sensor.

But, when a hole on the disc comes between the light source and sensor, light falls on the
sensor and there is a pulse output signal from the sensor. The frequency of the pulses produced
by the sensor is proportional to the number of holes on the disc and the speed of the disc rotation.
As the number of holes is fixed, the pulse rate completely becomes the function of speed.
The output pulses produced by the sensor are measured by a digital frequency counter. The
measure of pulse rate gives the speed of rotation of the disc (angular velocity) once the counter is
calibrated in terms of speed (rpm).
Advantages of Photoelectric Tachometer:
 This arrangement uses simple electronic circuitry since the amplitudes of generated
pulses are constant.
 The digital output can be available. Hence can be used in digital instrumentation
systems.
Disadvantages of Photoelectric Tachometer:
 The lifetime of the light source is limited. It is around 50,000 hrs. Therefore, it has to be
replaced frequently.
 The small gating period of digital meters leads to serious errors. To minimize the errors
the operator has to control gating and also the number of pulses produced per
revolution.
Measurement of Angular Velocity by Stroboscopic methods:
A stroboscope or strobe is an instrument that works on the phenomenon of stroboscopic
effect. It creates a stop motion effect of a rotating object by flashing a high-intensity light on it.
This appearance of a moving object to be stationary can be used to study rotating, oscillating or
vibrating objects.
Hence, a stroboscopic instrument can be used for the measurement of rotational speed or
rotary motion or angular velocity (RPM) of a motor or any rotating object. Angular speeds
ranging between 600 to 20000 rpm can be measured with the help of a stroboscope tachometer.
A stroboscope tachometer uses a variable frequency flashing light called strobotron.

Stroboscope Tachometer:
A stroboscope or stroboscopic tachometer is also called a flashlight stroboscope used for the
measurement of angular velocity or rotational speed by the stroboscopic method. It consists of a
flashing light of variable frequency in which the flashing frequency of the stroboscope light can
be adjusted. A variable frequency oscillator is employed to control the flashing frequency of the
light. By adjusting the oscillator frequency the angular speed can be measured. The below shows
the measurement of rotational speed using the stroboscopic method.

In order to measure the angular velocity of a shaft or any rotating body, a disc with distinctive
marks is mounted to the rotating shaft whose angular velocity is to be measured. The stroboscope
is provided with a neon gas discharge bulb. The stroboscope is adjusted such that the light
flashes directly on the reference marks.

The frequency of these flashes is varied and adjusted by means of a frequency adjustment
knob until the reference marks on the disc appear to be stationary. This occurs when the
frequency of the flash lamp is equal to the speed of rotation of the reference marks on the disk
and hence the shaft. Thus, the frequency of flashing light of stroboscope gives the angular
velocity or speed when calibrated in terms of speed.