ME 310 Lab Manual, Spring 2004 University of Kentucky

EXPERIMENT 4
SENSORS AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING

I. SUMMARY Hotplate, steel washer

Miscellaneous connectors, clips and plugs
Many mechanical sensors (stage 1 devices) work
on the principal of a change in resistance. The
IV. READINGS MATERIAL
most common are temperature sensors
(thermistors) and position sensors Section 1.4
(potentiometers). However, most data acquisition Section 6.3-6.4
systems are set up to measure and acquire Lab manual
voltage, not resistance. Therefore, signal Appendix D
conditioning (a stage 2 device) is required to
convert the change in resistance to a change in
voltage. A common circuit used for this purpose is V. PROCEDURES AND CALCULATIONS
the voltage dividing circuit (Section 6.3, page 199).
Activity #1: Analysis of a Potentiometer Used in
A thermistor is a device whose resistance changes
a Voltage Dividing Circuit (Due at the Beginning
as its temperature changes. It is a commonly
of the Lab)
used temperature sensing device in industry and
in laboratories. The simplest way to use a
1. Read Appendix C about potentiometers.
thermistor is to hook up a DMM across its leads
2. For the voltage dividing circuit shown in Figure 1
and measure resistance directly. Thermistors
below, derive the expression for Vout/Vin using
come with calibration curves that relate resistance
Kirchoff’s and Ohm’s law.
to temperature. Alternatively, you could make
your own calibration curve. Since most data
acquisition system measures voltage, we wish to
hook up the thermistor into a signal conditioning
circuit that converts temperature to resistance and
then resistance to voltage. One way to do this is
to use a voltage-sensitive Wheatstone bridge.

II. OUTCOMES
Figure 1: Voltage Dividing Circuit
Upon completion of the experiment, the student
will be able to: 3. If R1 is a rotary potentiometer with a sensor
Understand some of the primary mechanisms sensitivity of 10 Ω/degree and Vin = 5 V,
used in stage 1 (sensing) devices calculate and put in an table the value of Vout for
Understand some simple stage 2 (signal different angular position of R1 starting from 00 to
conditioning) devices 3000 with a step of 300. Do this for each of the
Set-up and use some of the most common cases below:
sensing schemes a. R2=0
Construct a calibration curve and estimate b. R2=1 kΩ
system sensitivity c. R2=10 kΩ
d. R2= ∞
III. REQUIRED EQUIPMENT Plot Vout vs angular position of R1 for the
different cases in one plot. Comment on this
Breadboard plot!
A selection of resistors
A 5 or 10 kΩ rotary potentiometer 4. Analysis: the above voltage dividing circuit with
A thermistor a potentiometer is widely used as an angular
Handheld Digital Multimeter position sensor. Generally, the input voltage (Vin)
DC power supply and R2 are known.

1
ME 310 Lab Manual, Spring 2004 University of Kentucky

a. Explain briefly on how the above circuit 2. Prediction of system sensitivity

can be used as a position sensor. a. Using the voltage divider equation from
b. What information about R1 needs to be Activity #1 and the measured data from
determined first before the circuit can be Procedure #2 (resistance vs. angular
used as a position sensor? position of the potentiometer) above,
calculate and plot Vout vs. angular position of
the potentiometer for the same input voltage
Activity #2: Position Sensor with Voltage and fixed resistor used in the experiment.
Dividing Circuit b. Plot the best fit line through the linear range
of the data (this is the predicted system
Procedures: calibration curve). What is the predicted
system sensitivity (volts/degree)?
1. Connect the 5 kΩ or the 10 kΩ rotary
potentiometer (variable resistor) directly to the 3. Determination of system sensitivity
DMM and set the DMM to read resistance. a. Using the measured data obtained from
2. Measure the resistance of the potentiometer Procedure #5, plot the output voltage vs.
for angular positions from 00 to 3000 every 300. angular position of the potentiometer for all
Do this procedure two times, first going up and data points.
then coming back down. Record the data each b. Plot the best fit line through the linear range
time of the data. Show this line on the same plot
3. Remove the DMM. Then, attach a 10 kΩ fixed as the data points and write the equation of
resistor in series with the rotary potentiometer this line on the graph (this is the measured
and the DC power supply. (Make sure the DC system calibration curve). What is the
power supply is off!) Place the DMM such that measured system sensitivity (volts/degree)?
it measures voltage across the fixed resistor. c. Does this sensitivity match that predicted in
This is the voltage dividing potentiometer Calculation #2 above?
circuit. Record the resistance of the fixed d. What would be the source of any errors?
resistor. Are they bias or precision?
4. Set the angular position of the potentiometer
to 00. Turn on the power supply, set the
excitation to 5 volts. Activity #3: Thermistor with Voltage Sensitive
5. Measure and record the output voltage for Wheatstone Bridge
different angular positions of the
potentiometer, starting from 00 to 3000 every Procedures:
300.
1. Connect the thermistor to the steel thermal
Calculations: washer using thermal compound. Place the
thermal washer onto the hotplate. (The hotplate
1. Determination of sensor sensitivity should be off and at room temperature.)
a. Plot the measured resistance vs. angular 2. Select three identical resistors and record their
position of the potentiometer for all data nominal value and tolerance. Using these
points. (Show the points going up using resistors, the thermistor, a breadboard, and the
one type of symbol and the points coming DC power supply, connect the voltage-sensitive
back down using another type of symbol). Wheatstone bridge circuit shown in Figure 2.
b. Is there a range of the data where there is 3. Turn on the DC power supply (this is Vi in the
a linear relationship between resistance circuit) and set it to 5 volt.
and angular position of the potentiometer? 4. Make a table with three columns: temperature,
c. Plot the best fit line through the linear resistance, and voltage. Using the thermal
range of the data. Show this line on the sensing device, measure the temperature of the
same plot as the data points and write the washer (should be room temperature). Then
equation of this line on the graph (this is a use the DMM to measure the resistance across
calibration curve). What is the sensor the leads of the thermistor. Finally, use the
sensitivity (ohms/degree)? DMM to measure the output voltage Vo from the
d. Define the term hysteresis. Is there any Wheatstone bridge. Record these.
hysteresis in your data? 5. Turn on the hotplate and increase its
temperature by turning the knob to four different

2
ME 310 Lab Manual, Spring 2004 University of Kentucky

positions below setting #2. Each time let the

temperature reach equilibrium by waiting until
the resistance reaches a steady value. Each
time record the temperature, resistance and
voltage.
6. Turn off the hotplate and the DC power
supply. Let everything cool down and
disconnect all leads.

R2 R3

Vo

R1 R therm

Vi

Figure 2: Set up for Activity #3

Calculations:

1. Plot the resistance vs. temperature data

points. Fit the data with the best fit curve (not
necessarily linear, so use MATLAB or Excel.)
2. Plot the voltage vs. temperature data points.
Fit the data with the best fit curve (again, not
necessarily linear, so use MATLAB or Excel.)
3. What is the sensor sensitivity (ohms/°F) at a
temperature of 130 °F? What is the system
sensitivity (volts/°F) at a temperature of 130
°F? What is the sensitivity of the bridge circuit
alone (volts/ohm) at a temperature of 130 °F?
Using equation 6.16, compute the predicted
value of bridge sensitivity (volts/ohm) and
compare this to the measured value. Are they
the same? Why or why not?