ME 455, Precision Engg.

&
Metrology

Topic: Static and Dynamic Characteristics of Sensor

week: 3
Lecture: 3
Level: 4th Semester 2nd Year
program: BE Mechanical Engineering

Course Teacher: Engr. Adnan ([email protected])

Access At: portal.suit.edu.pk
Department of Mechanical Engineering, SUIT Peshawar
Engr. Adnan Mechanical Engineering Department SUIT
1
Peshawar
 Static
characteristics of
instruments

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Static Performance
parameters
Accuracy and inaccuracy
Precision/repeatability/reproducibility
Tolerance
Range or span
Linearity
Sensitivity of measurement
Threshold
Resolution
Sensitivity to disturbance
Hysteresis effects

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Accuracy and 1/100

inaccuracy
It is the closeness with which an instrument reading approaches the
true value of the quantity being measured.
The measured quantity may be different from the true quantity due to
effects of tempreture, humidity etc.
The accuracy of an instrument is defined as the difference between the
true value of the measurand and the measured value indicated by the
instrument
it is more usual to quote the inaccuracy
for example, a pressure gauge of range 0–10 bar has a quoted
inaccuracy of 1.0% f.s. (% of full-scale reading), then the maximum
error to be expected in any reading is 0.1 bar

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Precision/Repeatability

Precision is a term that describes an instrument’s degree of freedom

from random errors (How closely the results agree with each other).
Repeatability describes the closeness of output readings when the
same input is applied repetitively over a short period of time, with the
same measurement conditions, same instrument and observer, same
location and same conditions of use maintained throughout.

Ability to provide similar results when one person measure the same
part several times, with the same equipment and in the same
conditions.

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Reproducibility
Reproducibility describes: the closeness of output readings for the
same input or ability to provide similar results when several appraisers
measure the same parts, with the same equipment and in the same
conditions.

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Range or span
The range or span of an instrument defines the minimum and maximum
values of a quantity that the instrument is designed to measure.

Span
0-6
Range
6 bar

0-----100 C

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Linearity

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Linearity
It is normally desirable that the output reading of an
instrument is linearly proportional to the quantity being
measured.
Normal procedure is to draw a good fit straight line through
the Xs it is always preferable to apply a mathematical least-
squares line-fitting technique
Non-linearity is usually expressed as a percentage of full-
scale reading.

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Sensitivity of
measurement
The sensitivity of an instrument is the
ratio of the change produced in the
instrument output to the change in the
measured variable

Example: a pressure of 2 bar produces a deflection of 10

degrees in a pressure transducer, the sensitivity of the
instrument is 5 degrees/bar (assuming that the deflection
is zero with zero pressure applied).

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 20/2= 10

a 10/2=5

20

b
10

2 bar

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Threshold
If the input to an instrument is gradually increased from
zero, the input will have to reach a certain minimum level
before the change in the instrument output reading is of a
large enough magnitude to be detectable. This minimum
level of input is known as the threshold of the instrument
Example: speedometer
As an illustration, a car speedometer typically has a
threshold of about 15 km/h. This means that, if the vehicle
starts from rest and accelerates, no output reading is
observed on the speedometer until the speed reaches 15
km/h

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Resolution
Smallest detectable change, e.g. 5km/hr on speedometer.

The resolution represents the smallest increment in the

measured value that can be differentiated. In terms of a
measurement system, it is quantified by the smallest scale
increment or least count (least significant digit) of the
output readout indicator.

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Sensitivity to
disturbance
All calibrations and specifications of an instrument are only valid under
controlled conditions of temperature, pressure etc. These standard
ambient conditions are usually defined in the instrument specification.

As variations occur in the ambient temperature etc., certain static

instrument characteristics change, and the sensitivity to disturbance is
a measure of the magnitude of this change. Such environmental
changes affect instruments in two main ways, known as zero drift and
sensitivity drift. Zero drift is sometimes known by the alternative term,
bias.

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Sensitivity to
disturbance
Drift:
Drift is an undesired departure of the instrument output
over a period of time.
variation in the output of a measurement device which is
not caused by any changes in the input signal

Zero drift: the effect where the zero reading of an

instrument is modified by a change in ambient conditions.
This causes a constant error that exists over the full range of
measurement of the instrument

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Zero Drift or Bias describes the effect where the zero
reading of an instrument is modified by a change in ambient
conditions. This causes a constant error that exists over the
full range of measurement of the instrument. Zero drift is
normally removable by calibration.
Zero drift is also commonly found in instruments like
voltmeters that are affected by ambient temperature
changes. Typical units by which such zero drift is measured
are volts/°C. This is often called the zero drift coefficient
related to temperature changes.

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Sensitivity drift (also known as scale factor drift) defines the amount by
which an instrument’s sensitivity of measurement varies as ambient
conditions change.

It is quantified by sensitivity drift coefficients that define how much drift

there is for a unit change in each environmental parameter that the
instrument characteristics are sensitive to.

Many components within an instrument are affected by environmental

fluctuations, such as temperature changes: for instance, the modulus of
elasticity of a spring is temperature dependent.

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Sensitivity drift (also known as scale factor drift) defines the
amount by which an instrument’s sensitivity of measurement
varies as ambient conditions change.

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Effects of disturbance: (a) Zero Drift (b) Sensitivity Drift (c) Zero Drift Plus
Sensitivity Drift

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Example: 1

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 Hysteresis effect
If an instrument provides different readings for the same measured values
depending on whether measured is increased or decreased, then the I/O
characteristic of this instrument is said to have an hysteresis
Transducers can give different outputs from the same value of quantity
being measured according to whether that value has been reached by a
continuously increasing change or a continuously decreasing change. This
effect is called hysteresis.
These are normally expressed as a percentage of the full-scale input or
output reading respectively.
Hysteresis is most commonly found in instruments that contain springs, such
as the passive pressure gauge and the Prony brake (used for measuring
torque).

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Hysteresis
effects

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Dead Space
Dead space is defined as the range of different input values over which
there is no change in output value. Any instrument that exhibits
hysteresis also displays dead space.
Some instruments that do not suffer from any significant hysteresis can
still exhibit a dead space in their output characteristics.
Backlash in gears is a typical cause of dead space, and results in the sort
of instrument output characteristic shown in Figure.

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 Dynamic
characteristics
of instruments

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DYNAMIC CHARECTERISTICS
Response Time: It is the time a system takes to
react to a given input e.g. if a thermometer is put into a hot
liquid, there can be quite an appreciable time lapse ,
perhaps as much as 100sec or more, before the
thermometer indicates 95% of the actual temperature of
the liquid.

Time Constant: It is the time a system takes to reach

63% of the final value. It will tell how fast a sensor will take
to react to changes in its input. The bigger the time
constant, the slower will be its reaction to a changing input
signal.

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DYNAMIC CHARECTERISTICS
Rise Time: It is the time taken by a signal to change
from a specified low value to a specified high value. Often
the rise time refers to the time taken for the output to rise
from 10% of the steady state value to 90-95% of the
steady state value.

Settling time: This is the time for the sensor to

reach a stable output once it is turned on.

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End

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QUIZ#1

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Q1. Draw and label a closed loop feedback control system
diagram. (5) [CLO 1]

Q2. What are the three main applications of

measurement. (5) [CLO 1]

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