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Unit 3. Mechanical Sensors - II

1. Introduction
2. Force sensors
3. Accelerometers
4. Pressure sensors
5. Velocity sensing
6. Inertial sensors

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RestFrame 静 坐标系
3. Accelerometers
Machin
Rotating 凝转机器  Accelerometer is a device that measures proper acceleration, which is the
acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest
frame (but not coordinate acceleration, which is acceleration in a fixed coordinate
system). 坐标加速度 固定坐标
1
的加速度
Tablet Competers 平板电脑  Accelerometers paly a very important role in both industry and science. For examples,
Vehides vibration in rotating machines is monitored by accelerometers. Tablet computers and
UnmanndAerial
digital cameras use accelerometers to keep the images on screens displayed upright.
机 In unmanned aerial vehicles, accelerometers help to stabilize flight.
 Acceleration is quantified in the SI unit metre per second per second (i.e., metre per
second squared; m/s2) or popularly in terms of standard gravity (g).

1
无
人
止
止
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 Newton’s Second Law

By virtue of Newton’s second law (F = ma), a sensor may be made to sense acceleration
by simply measuring the force on a mass. This force may be sensed with many methods,
such as strain gauge or magnetic method or electrostatic (capacitive) method.

Fig. 1 shows a mechanical model of an

accelerometer based on the sensing of forces on d ae
a mass. If the mass can only move in one
direction, Newton’s second law can be written
as
dx
m( a  ae )  kx  b [N] (1)
dt
Here it is assumed that the mass has moved a ma
distance x under the influence of acceleration, k
is the restoring (spring) constant, and b is the ae
damping coefficient. Given the mass m and the
constants k and b, a measurement of x, and the Fig. 1 (a) Mechanical model of an
external acceleration ae. The mass is often called accelerometer based on sensing the force on a
mass. (b) Free body diagram of the
an inertial mass or proof mass.
accelerometer in (a).
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3.1 Capacitive Accelerometers

=> As the capacitance of a capacitor with two parallel plates of both of area A and a small
distance of d in free space is: C=ε0A/d, where ε0 is the permittivity of free space or electric
constant (≈ 8.854×10-12 F·m-1), a capacitive accelerometer can be constructed by using a
fixed plate and a moving one serving as the inertial mass of the sensor.
Fig. 2 shows three basic configurations of capacitive acceleration sensors, in which the
resorting force is provided by springs or by a cantilever beam:
 In Figs. 2a and 2b, the distance d between the plates changes with acceleration.
 In Figure 2c, the effective area A of the capacitor plates changes while the distance
between the plates stays constant.
In either case, acceleration either increases or decreases the capacitance, depending on
the direction of motion.

Fig. 2 Three basic capacitive acceleration sensors. (a) Moving plate against a spring.
(b) Beam-suspended plate. (c) Sideways moving plate against a spring. 4

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 Practical designs of accelerometers

Fig. 3 shows two designs of capacitive accelerometers: the first is a cantilever structure;
the second is a bridge structure, in which a mass moves between two plates and forms
an upper and lower capacitor.

Fig. 3 Two basic forms of practical accelerometers. (a) Cantilever. (b) Bridge.
 For a practical accelerometer, the plates must be prevented from touching by stoppers
and a damping mechanism must be added to prevent the springs or the beam from
oscillating.
 As the change of capacitance in accelerometers is very small and therefore, indirect
methods using the capacitor in an LC or RC oscillator are often used. Then, the
frequency of oscillation is a direct measure of acceleration, which can be easily converted
into a digital reading at the output.
 These accelerometers can be produced as semiconductor devices by etching both the
mass, fixed plate, and springs directly into silicon. By doing so, microaccelerometers can
be produced quite easily.
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Example 1. Capacitive Accelerometers

Consider a simplified design of a capacitive accelerometer to
be used in a car. Its ultimate function is to deploy an airbag in
case of collision. Suppose the configuration in Fig. 2a is used Fig. 2a
and the sensor is mounted so that in case of collision the spring elongates and the plates get
closer together, increasing capacitance. Airbags are supposed to deploy when a
deceleration of 60 g is detected (equivalent to crashing into a barrier at 23 km/h). The
sensor has a fixed plate and a moving plate of mass 20 g. The two plates are separated a
distance 0.5 mm apart, producing a capacitance of 330 pF at rest.
To trigger airbag deployment, the capacitance must double. To ensure that the
capacitance doubles at a deceleration of 60 g, the spring constant must be selected
carefully. Find the necessary spring constant to accomplish this.
Solution:
The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor is known as
A
C  [F]
d
Thus, to double the capacitance, one knows that the distance d must be halved. That is, the
airbag will trigger when the plates are 0.25 mm apart.
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Therefore, the spring should have elongated a distance

Δx = 0.25 mm. The force equation now requires that k
the force due to deceleration equals the force by the
spring: Δx a

ma
ma  k  x  k  [N/m],
x
where k is the spring constant, m is the mass of the moving plate, a is deceleration, and
Δx is the displacement of the plate. Thus we get

ma 20 103  (60  9.81)

k = = 47,088 N/m.
x 0.25  10 3

 The calculation here is rather simple and doesn’t address issues such as keeping the
plates parallel.
 Some acceleration sensors used for this purposes a contact sensors, that is, when the
necessary pressure has been achieved, a contact is closed (such as, e.g., the two plates
touching each other).

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3.2 Strain Gauge Accelerometers

Fig. 4 shows a strain-gauge accelerometer, in which the mass is suspended on a
cantilever beam and a strain gauge senses the bending of the beam. A second strain
gauge may be attached under the beam to sense acceleration in both directions.

Fig. 4 An accelerometer in which the beam bending is sensed by two strain gauges to
sense acceleration in both vertical directions.

 Strain gauge sensors can be as sensitive as capacitive sensors and in some cases may be
easier to work with since the measurement of resistance is typically simpler than that of
capacitance.
 The operation remains the same as for capacitive accelerometers.
 On the other hand, strain gauges are temperature sensitive and must be properly
compensated.
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3.3 Magnetic Accelerometers

Fig. 5a shows a simple magnetic accelerometer based on a variable inductance device in
which a ferromagnetic rod connected with the mass links magnetically to a coil.
The inductance of the coil is proportional to the position of the ferromagnetic rod/mass
and increases when the rod penetrates the coil.

(a) (b)

Fig. 5 (a) An inductive accelerometer based on the inductance of a coil. (b) An accelerometer
based on a Hall element.
Fig. 5b shows another magnetic accelerometer using permanent magnet that acts as or
connected with a mass on a spring (or cantilever beam), and the varying field of the
permanent magnet is sensed by a Hall element or a magnetoresistive sensor.
As the Hall element can detect the magnitude of the magnetic field using the Hall effect,
the proximity of the mass changes the flux density, providing an indication of
acceleration.
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Example 2. Magnetic accelerometer

Fig. 6 shows a magnetic accelerometer built with the mass being a cylinder of diameter d =
4 mm and some length l. The mass is 10 g and a spring with spring constant k = 400 N/m
holds the mass in place. The mass is made of silicon steel with a relative permeability of
4000. The coil has n = 1 turn/mm and its inductance is sensed as a measure of the position of
the mass. As the mass moves in or out of the coil, its inductance increases or decreases
accordingly. In a long coil, the inductance per unit length can be approximated as

L '   n2 S [H/m].
where µ is permeability, n is the number of turns per unit length, and S is the cross-sectional
area of the coil. Calculate the change in voltage on the coil for an acceleration of ±10 g if
the coil is driven with a sinusoidal current of amplitude 0.5 A and a frequency of 1 kHz.
Hint: the voltage across an inductor is related to its current as V  LdI (t ) / dt [V].

Fig. 6 Magnetic accelerometer.

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Solution:
The maximum distance that the mass moves
according to the acceleration is
Fig. 6
ma 10  103  (10  9.81)
ma  kx  x  = = 2.4525 mm
k 400
Then, the inductance can be calculated as
L  L ' x   n 2 Sx [H]
With the permeability in air μ0=4π×10-7 H/m, the change in inductance induced by
in and out a maximum of x can be obtained as
L   r 0 n 2 S  2 x  4000  4  10-7  10002     2  10-3   2  2.4525  10-3
2

 310  10-6 H
The change in voltage due to the change in inductance is therefore
dI ( t ) d
V  L  310  10-6  [0.5sin  2  1000t ]
dt dt
 310  10-6  0.5  2  1000cos(2  1000t )
 0.974cos(2000 t ) [V]
Thus, the voltage across the coil changes by ± 0.974 V, a change sufficient for sensing.
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3.4 Other Accelerometers

There are many other types of accelerometers, but all employ a moving mass in one
form or another.
Fig. 7 shows a heated gas accelerometer, in which the gas in a cavity is heated to an
equilibrium temperature and two (or more) thermocouples are provided equidistant from
the heater.
 Under rest condition, the two
thermocouples are at the same
temperature and hence their
differential reading is zero.
 When acceleration occurs, the gas
shifts to the direction opposite of
the motion, causing a temperature
Fig. 7 The heated gas accelerometer.
rise that can be calibrated in terms
of acceleration.
 Other accelerometers include optical accelerometers that activate a shutter by means of the
moving mass, optical fiber accelerometers that uses an optical fiber position sensor,
vibrating reeds whose vibration rate changes with acceleration, and many more.
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* Example 3. A seismic sensor a

An accelerometer for detection of seismic activity is shown in Fig. 8. A mass
steel bar with 8 mm  8 mm cross section is fixed in a concrete slab and
extends vertically 50 cm above the slab. A 12 kg mass is welded on the top
of the steel bar. To detect acceleration due to motion of the earth, a Steel bar
semiconductor strain gauge with a nominal resistance of 350 Ω and a gauge
factor of 125 is fixed on one of the surfaces of the steel bar at the point
where the bar emerges from the concrete slab. Assume the distance
between the center of the mass and sensor is exactly 50 cm. Assume as well
Strain
that the strain gauge is temperature compensated and the minimum change gauge
in resistance of the strain gauge that can be reliably measured is 0.01 Ω.
Calculate the minimum acceleration the seismic sensor can detect. The Fig. 8 seismic sensor
elasticity modulus of the steel is 200 GPa.
Hint: for a given bending moment M, its induced strain on the surface of a square steel bar
with the width of d is 6M/(E·d3), where E is the elasticity modulus of the steel.
Solution:
As the gauge factor is 125, the resistance of the train gauge under stain is:
R     R0 1  g   350  350  125 [].
Therefore, minimum strain can be detected by the strain gauge is:
43750  0.01    min  0.01 / 43750  2.3  10 7
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As the ground moves, the acceleration a produces a force on the mass and
cause a bending moment at the position of strain gauge as
M  Fl  mal [N  m],
where l = 50 cm is the distance between the mass and the sensor.
Then, the strain on the surface of the square steel bar is:
6M 6mal
  .
Ed 3 Ed 3
Therefore, the minimum detectable acceleration is

2.3  10 7  200  109   0.008 

3
 Ed 3
a   0.65  103 m/s 2 .
6ml 6  12  0.5

This is a very small acceleration that is about 0.66×10-4 g.

 The sensitivity of the accelerometer can be further improved if one can use less “stiff” bar, or
use a thinner steel bar, or increase the mass.
 The accelerometer can only to monitor acceleration perpendicular to the surface on which the
strain gain is placed.

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4. Pressure Sensors
 Sensing of pressure, which is force per unit area, is perhaps only second in importance
to sensing of strain in mechanical systems:
i. One of the reasons for their prominence is that, in sensing of gases and fluids, direct
measurement of force is not an attractive option.
ii. Another reason is their widespread applications in e.g., cars, atmospheric weather
prediction, and other consumer-oriented devices.
 There are four basic types of pressure sensors:
 Absolute pressure sensor: pressure is sensed relative to absolute vacuum.
 Differential pressure sensor: the difference between two pressures on two ports of the
sensor is sensed.
 Gauge pressure sensor: senses the pressure relative to ambient pressure.
 Sealed gauge pressure sensor: the pressure relative to a sealed pressure chamber (usually
1 atm at sea level or 14.7 psi) is sensed.

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4.1 Mechanical Pressure Sensors

 The sensing of pressure started with purely mechanical devices that did not require
electrical transduction - a direct transduction from pressure to mechanical displacement
was used.
 They are usually simple, inexpensive and only usefully for relatively high pressure.

Fig. 9 (a) shows a typical

mechanical pressure sensor,
bourdon tube sensor, in which the
dial indicator is connected
directly to the tube (invented by
Eugene Bourdon in 1849).
Fig. 9 (b) shows another kind of Fig. 9 (a) The bourdon tube pressure sensor. (b) The
diaphragm pressure sensor.
widely used method of sensing
pressure mechanically, which is based on the expansion or contraction of a diaphragm.
Its motion can be used to directly drive an indicator or can be sensed by a displacement
sensor (capacitive, magnetic, etc.) to provide a reading of pressure.

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 Membrane or thin-plate diaphragm

The most common diaphragms used for mechanical
pressure sensing are membrane or thin plate.
i. For a membrane with negligible thickness, as shown in
Fig. 10a, the deflection of the center of membrane
(maximum deflection) ymax and the stress σm under
pressure P are given as： Fig. 10 (a) The membrane with
r2P S negligible thickness; (b) Thin plate
ymax  [m],  m  [N/m 2 ], (2) with a finite thickness.
4S t
where r is the radius, S is the radial tension, and t is the thickness.
ii. If the thickness t is not negligible, as shown in Fig. 10b, the device is a thin plate, and the
behavior is given as:
3 1  v 2  r 4 P 3r 2 P
ymax  3
[m], m= [N/m 2 ], (3)
16 Et 4t 2
where E is Young’s modulus and v is Poisson’s ratio.
 In either case, the displacement is linear with pressure, which can be measured capacitively,
inductively, or even optically.
 The advantage of measuring the stress σm by e.g. strain gauge is that the displacement needed
is very small, allowing for very rugged construction and sensing of very high pressure.
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 Piston-based mechanical pressure sensor

Similar to the diaphragm, a piston acting against a spring can also serve as a
simple pressure sensor, as shown schematically in Fig. 11:
• A typical gauge rated at 700 kPa (100 psi) is made as a short cylinder, about
15 ~ 20 cm long and 10 ~ 15 mm in diameter.
• A valve at the bottom allows one-way gas entry to pressurize the cylinder.
• The inner stem moves against the spring and the graduations on the stem
indicate the pressure. The stem typically extends a maximum of about 5 cm.

Fig. 11 Piston-based mechanical pressure sensor.

 This mechanical sensor is commonly used to measure pressure in tires.

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Example 4. Piston-based mechanical pressure sensor

A company produce the products of piston-based
mechanical pressure sensor, as shown in Fig. 11,
for measuring pressure in tires. The diameter of
inner cylinder is 10 mm. It is designed to make
the stem to extend 50 mm for a typical pressure
Fig. 11
of 700 kPa.
a) What is the graduation on the stem of the mechanical pressure sensor?
b) Calculate the required spring constant k to make the mechanical pressure sensor.

Solution:
a) The graduation on stem is 700/50=14 kPa/mm (which is the sensitivity of the sensor).
b) The force generated by a pressure of 700 kPa on the piston is

F  PS  700  103     5  103  =54.978 N

2

The spring must compress 50 mm. This means the spring constant k, must be
F 54.978
F  kx  k    1100 N/m
x 0.05
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4.2 Piezoresistive Pressure Sensors

Although a piezoresistor is simply a semiconductor strain gauge and can always be replaced
with a conductor strain gauge, most modern pressure sensors use it rather than the
conductor-type strain gauge.
A basic structure of a piezoresistive pressure sensor is shown in Fig. 12. The two gauges
are parallel to one dimension of the diaphragm. Different arrangement of the
piezoresistors will result in different values for the change in resistance.
Fig. 13 shows a differential sensor by placing the diaphragm between two chambers, each
vented through a port. If the cavity under the diaphragm is sealed with a pressure P0 , the
sensor then becomes a sealed gauge pressure sensor sensing the pressure P - P0 .

P
P0

Fig. 12 A piezoresistive pressure sensor. (a) Placement Fig. 13 Construction of a differential

of the piezoresistances. (b) Construction showing the pressure sensor. The diaphragm is placed
diaphragm and vent hole. between the two ports.
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A different approach is to use a single strain gauge, as shown in Fig. 14, with a current
passing through it and pressure applied perpendicular to the current. The voltage across
the element is measured as an indication of the stress, and thus pressure.

Fig. 14 A single piezoresistance pressure sensor.

 Although the most common method of sensing is through the use of

semiconductor strain gauges, the construction of the body of the sensor and, in
particular, that of the diaphragm varies based on applications.
 Stainless steel, titanium, and ceramics are used in corrosive environments and
other materials, including glass, can be used for coatings.

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Example 5. Water depth sensor

Fig. 15 shows a depth sensor for an autonomous driving vehicle.
It is built with a 0.5-mm thick stainless steel disk of radius 6 mm,
supported by a ring with an inner radius of 5 mm and an outer
radius of 6 mm. The top is open to the water and the bottom is
sealed at atmospheric pressure (1 atm) before lowering the
vehicle into the water. A radially oriented strain gauge is attached
to the lower part of the disk and senses the strain in the disk.
Find the dependence of the resistance of the strain gauge on depth
if it has nominal resistance of 240 Ω and a gauge factor of 2.5.
Fig. 15 A water depth sensor.
Assume atmospheric pressure of 1 atm, the modulus of elasticity
of stainless steel is 195 GPa, and the average water density is
1025 kg/m3.
Hint: the stress on a t-thick thin-plate with the radius of r under pressure P can be calculated by
 m =3r 2 P / 4t 2 .
Solution:
The pressure in water as a function of depth from the surface is
d  gA
P  d  1025  9.8  10045d
A
where d is the depth in meters.
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For a thin disk with thickness t, the strain on the disk then is
m 3r 2 P 3r 2  10045d r 2d
m   2
 2
=7.5  103 2 [N/m 2 ].
E 4 Et 4 Et Et
With the strain-resistance equation, we get
 r 2d 
R     R0 1  gs m  =R0  1  7.5  103gs 2  [],
 Et 
where R0 is the nominal resistance of the strain gauge and gs is the gauge factor. Therefore,
the change in resistance due to depth is
g s r 2d
R  7.5  103 R0 [].
Et 2
With the values given here, we have

7.5  103  240  2.5  0.0052

R = d =0.0023d [].
195  109  0.00052
That is, for every 1 m depth, the strain gauge resistance will change by 0.0023 Ω.
If the strain gauge is temperature compensated, the depth can be measured accurately.

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4.3 Capacitive Pressure Sensors

 Many capacitors, in which the deflection of the suspended plate with respect to a fixed
conducting plate depends on pressure, could be used as pressure sensors.
Fig. 16 shows a capacitive pressure sensor with a P
configuration similar to capacitive accelerometer.
It can be used to measure low pressure, at which
the strain caused by deflection is small but a
relatively large change of capacitance can be Fig. 16 Capacitive pressure
measured. sensors.

 Since the capacitance may be part of an oscillator, the change in its frequency may be
sufficiently large to make for a very sensitive sensor.
 Another advantage of capacitive pressure sensors is that they are less temperature
dependent and they are less sensitive to overpressure because stops on motion of the
plate can be incorporated. Usually overpressures two to three orders of magnitude larger
than rated pressure may be easily tolerated without ill effects.
 The sensors are linear for small displacements, but at greater pressures the diaphragm
tends to bow, causing nonlinear output.
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4.4 Magnetic Pressure Sensors

To measure a low pressure, variable reluctance pressure sensors can also be used, in which
the magnetic core and the diaphragm are made of high-permeability ferromagnetic materials,
as shown in Fig. 17a, and thereby the reluctance is directly proportional to the length of the
air gap between the diaphragm and the E-core.

Fig. 17 A variable reluctance pressure sensor: (a) Structure and operation; (b) Equivalent
circuit; (c) Operation with an AC source.
Fig. 17b shows the equivalent circuit where RF indicates the inductances of paths in iron, Rg
indicates gaps, and Rd indicates paths in the diaphragm. This inductance can be sensed
directly, but more often the current in the circuit made of a fixed impedance and a variable
impedance due to the motion of the diaphragm is measured, as shown in Fig.17c.
More details about magnetic circuits will be discussed in Unit 5.
Advantages: 1) sensitive to small deflection; 2) devoid of temperature sensitivity.
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5. Velocity Sensing
 We often need measure velocity or something proportional to it, such as the velocity of a
car from the rotation of wheels, the number of rotations of a shaft per unit time in an
electric motor, or the velocity of watercraft and aircraft can also be measured relative to
stationary or moving fluids.
The velocity of fluids and gasses can be sensed by using a relatively simple way. Here the
methods used to do so are often indirect, e.g. to sense the cooling of a thermistor relative
to a thermistor that is not (or less) exposed to the fluid flow, see Fig. 18.

Fig. 18 Flow velocity sensor.

 In the first case, the downstream sensor remains at a constant temperature that only
depends on the static temperature.
 In the second, the upstream sensor is cooled by the flow while the downstream sensor is
cooled much less because of the heated fluid downstream caused by the upstream
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 Pitot tube
 Another common method of sensing speed is based on differential pressure:
the change in pressure due to motion in the fluid gives an indication of the speed.

Fig. 19 The Pitot tube.

As shown in Fig. 19a, with the increase of water velocity, the total pressure in the tube
increases and the water head rises, indicating fluid speed.
The modern pitot tube as used in aircraft consists of a bent tube with its opening facing
forward (parallel to the body of the aircraft), shown in Fig. 19b. The tube is sealed at the
interior end and the pressure at that point is measured by a sensor.
Under these conditions, the total pressure in the tube is given by Bernouli’s principle:
Pt  Ps  Pd [Pa], (6)
where Pt is the total (or stagnant) pressure, Ps is the static pressure, and Pd is the dynamic
pressure.
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 Velocity & Dynamic pressure

In the case of aircraft (or boat), Pd is the pressure due to the motion of the aircraft (or, in
water, the motion of a boat) and is given as
V2
Pd   [Pa], (7)
2
where ρ is the density of the fluid (air, water) and V is the velocity of the craft. Since the
interest here is measurement of velocity, it can be written as:

2  Pt  Ps  (8)
V [m/s].

The density, ρ, can be measured separately or may be known (such as in the case of water).
For flight speed purposes it is important to remember that density varies with pressure,
along with the increase of altitude. The density may approximately be deduced from
pressure as
P
 t [kg/m 3 ], (9)
RT
where R is the specific gas constant (equal to 287.05 J/kg/K for dry air) and T [K] is the
absolute temperature. More accurate relations take into account humidity through the use of
vapor pressure, but this approximation is often sufficient in “dry air” conditions.
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 Static pressure of atmosphere

The static pressure at height h in the atmosphere can be calculated from the altitude (or
the altitude can be calculated from static pressure) using the following relation:
gm
 Lh  RL
Ps  P0  1   [Pa], (10)
 T0 
where P0 is the standard pressure at sea level (101,325 Pa), L is the temperature change
with elevation, also called temperature lapse rate (0.0065 K/m), h is the altitude in meters,
T0 is the standard temperature at sea level (288.15 K), g = 9.80665 m/s2 is the gravitational
acceleration, m is the molar mass of dry air (0.0289644 kg/mol), and R is the gas constant
(8.31447 J/mol/K).
A simpler relation, often called the barometric equation, is given as follows:
Mgh

Ps (h )  P0e RT0
[Pa], (11)

Although this formula overestimates the pressure at height h, it is commonly used, and in
fact serves as the basis of many altimeters, including those in aircraft.

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 Prandtl tube
Because the difference between the total
pressure and the static pressure is needed
to measure speed, the Pitot tube has been
modified to measure static pressure
independently. This is known as the
Prandtl tube.
Fig. 20 The Prandtl tube.
As shown in Fig. 20, Prandtl tube has an
additional port open to the side of the tube to measure the static pressure. A differential
pressure sensor measures the pressure difference between the total pressure (forward-
facing opening) and the static pressure (side-facing opening). The velocity then can be
measured directly from Eqn. 8.
 The Pitot tube or Prandtl tube has narrow openings that, particularly in aircraft, are prone to
icing.
 It is important to recognize that the sensor measures the relative fluid velocity, so in the case
of aircraft, the sensor gives the aircraft velocity relative to air (the airspeed).
 The exact same idea can be used in water for surface watercraft or underwater for
submarines, again measuring the speed relative to the fluid.
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* Example 6. Water speed in a river

A Pitot tube is used to measure in the water flow in a river. To do
so, the water head around the surface of the water is measured, as Water

shown in Fig. 21. Assume that water density is 1000 kg/m3.

Neglect the effect of temperature.
a) If the measured pressure is 102.5 kPa, calculate the speed of the
water flow. Fig. 21
b) What is the dynamic pressure of the water at the depth of 3 m?

Solution:
a) Around the surface of water, the static pressure is essentially that of the atmosphere
which is known as 101.325 kPa. Then, the water speed of the flow can be calculated as
2  Pt  Ps  2 102500  101325 
V = =1.53 [m/s]
 1000
b) The dynamic pressure remains the same as long as the speed and density remain constant.
At greater depths the density changes somewhat (increases) and the dynamic pressure at a
constant velocity increases as well.

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6. Inertial Sensors : Gyroscopes

 A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles
of conservation of angular momentum.
 Gyroscope is a navigational tool to keep the direction of a device or vehicle or to indicate
attitude. As such, they are used in all satellites, in smart weapons, and in all other
applications that require attitude and position stabilization.
 The name gyroscope comes from concatenation of the Greek words gyro (rotation or
circle) and skopeein (to see), coined by Leon Foucault, who used it to see or demonstrate
the rotation of the earth around 1852. The principle was known at least since 1817, when
it was first mentioned by Johann Bohnenberger, although it is not clear whether he
discovered it or was the first to use it.

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6.1 Mechanical or Rotor Gyroscopes

 Rotating mass gyroscope
Fig. 22 shows a mechanical gyroscope consists of a rotating mass (heavy wheel) on an
axis in a frame. The spinning mass provides an angular momentum.
If a torque is applied to the frame of the gyroscope around the input axis, a torque is
developed in the direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation and that of the applied
torque, which force a precession motion.
Therefore, this precession is the output of
the gyroscope and is proportional to the
torque applied to its frame and the inertia
of the rotating mass.
The precession becomes a measure of the
applied torque and can be used to, for
example, correct the direction of an
airplane or the position of a satellite
antenna.
Fig. 22 The rotating mass gyroscope.
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 Angular velocity of precession

The relation between applied torque and the angular
velocity of precession Ω is
T  I  [N  m], (12)
where T is the applied torque [N·m], I is the inertia of
the rotating mass [kg·m2 ], ω is the angular velocity
[rad/s], and Ω is the angular velocity of precession
[1/rad·s], also called the rotational rate. Iω is the
angular momentum [kg·m2·rad/s]. Clearly, the angular
velocity of precession Ω is a measure of the torque
Fig. 22
applied to the frame of the device:
T
 [1/rad  s], (13)
I
Obviously the faster the spin and the large the mass, the larger the angular momentum (Iω)
and the lower the frequency of precession for a given appiled torque.
 The device shown in Fig. 22 is a single-axis gyroscope. Two- or three-axis gyroscopes can
be built by duplicating this structure with rotation axes perpendicular to each other.
 This type of gyroscope has been used for many decades in aircraft, but it is a fairly large,
heavy, and complex device, not easily adapted to small systems.
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6.2 Optical Gyroscopes

One of the more exciting developments in gyroscopes is the optical gyroscope, which,
unlike the rotating mass gyroscope or the vibrating mass gyroscope, has no moving
elements.
These modern devices are used extensively for guidance and control and are based on the
Sagnac effect, which refers to a time difference or phase shift observed between two
beams of light traversing in opposite directions the same closed path around a rotating
object, as shown in Fig. 23.

Fig. 23 (a) The Sagnac effect in an optical fiber ring rotating at an angular frequency ω.
(b) Implementation of the ring resonator using mirrors to ‘‘close’’ the ring.
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The time of a light beam traveling travel a ring with the radius of
R is known as:
t  2 Rn c , (14)
where n is the refractive index of the medium (e.g., optical fiber)
and c is the speed of light in vacuum. ω

Suppose that the ring rotates clockwise at an angular velocity ω

[rad/s]. The beams now travel different paths in each direction. The
CW beam will travel a distance 2πR+ωRt and the CCW beam will Fig. 23 (a)
travel a distance 2πR-ωRt. The difference between the two paths is
4 R 2 n
l  2 Rt  [m] (15)
c
If divide this distance by the speed of light in the medium (i.e., c/n), we get Δt as:
ln 4  R 2 n 2
t   [s] (16)
c c2
Eqn (16) provides a linear relation between ω and the induced time difference, which provides
a measure for sensing rotation or the change in orientation.
 Due to its intrinsic reliability, high resolution and long lifetime, optical fiber gyroscope has
become the most representative optical gyroscope, which will be further studied in Unit 7.
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Classwork 3:

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References:
1. Sensors, actuators, and their interfaces: a multidisciplinary
introduction, Nathan Ida, SciTech Publishing, 2014.
2. Sensors for Mechatronics, 2nd edition, Paul P. L Regtien,
Edwin Dertien, Elsevier, 2018.

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