SENSING PRINCIPLES

Various kinds of principles are employed in speed sensors. Some of them are listed below 1. Variable reluctance based 2. Hall effect based 3. Eddy Current based 4. Radar Doppler based 5. LIDAR based 6. Accelerometer based 7. Pitot tube based. 8. Pitometer based. VARIABLE RELUCTANCE SPEED SENSORS Variable Reluctance (VR) sensors convert mechanical motion to electric energy without direct contact when positioned near a gear, shaft, rotor, or other regularly moving device. The output signal can be fed electronic circuit. The sensor provides a uncomplicated, accurate, reliable, inexpensive transducer for highly sophisticated control systems. Variable Reluctance sensor consists of a coil of wire wound around a cylindrical magnetic material, typically a ferrous material and is referred to as a pole piece. A magnet is attached behind the pole piece, creating a magnetic field through the pole piece and winding. This magnetic field projects out from the pole piece front, also known as the sensor tip.

As the ferromagnetic material, e.g., gear teeth, flywheel or other target features, pass by the sensor tip, the magnetic field is disrupted. The amount of magnetic flux passing through the magnet, and consequently the coil, to varies. Due to the time varying flux, a voltage is induced in the coil. When the target feature is moved close to the sensor, i.e. the air gap between the sensor and the target is reduced, the flux increases. When the target is moved further away, the flux reduces. Thus, the motion of the target feature results in a time-varying flux that induces a proportional voltage in the coil. The amplitude and frequency of the induced voltage is proportional to the speed of the target feature. This voltage signal is fed to the electronic circuitry that processes it to output the signal in the desired format. Typical applications of these sensors are the measurement of speed of Gear tooth (in Crankshaft, Camshaft) and sensing the turbine speed of a jet engine.

Advantages Variable reluctance sensors are passive sensors as they dont require external power supply

As the wire and magnets used are pretty inexpensive, these sensors are low cost

sensors They are light weight, robust and can work in harsh(high temperature and high

vibration) environments

Disadvantages

Target material must be ferrous only. As the magnitude of the induced voltage in these sensors is proportional to target

speed, it becomes difficult to design circuitry appropriate for very low speed signals. Thus Variable Reluctance sensors have a definite lower limit on the speed of the target. Though sensors themselves are cheap, the cost advantage is offset by the

additional electronic circuitry required to process the low amplitude induced voltages.

What is a Shaft Speed Switch and where is it used?

A Shaft Speed Switch is a device that monitors rotating shafts that are critical to the proper operation of many types of machinery. It can be used to alarm an operator of any undesirable or critical speed condition of the monitored shaft such as rotating too fast, too slowly, or a combination of these. Undesirable speed changes usually indicate that damage can (or will) occur to machinery as a result of failing mechanics or process problems. A Shaft Speed Switch signals a critical condition or speed via a relay output that typically sounds an alarm, triggers an alarm indicator light, and/or shuts down the machine before damage occurs. Other common uses for Shaft Speed Switch relay outputs are to trigger a secondary process to start or stop when the shaft reaches a certain speed, speed to analog conversion, position monitoring, or rate metering. A number of process monitoring and control enhancements are facilitated by the reliable performance of Shaft Speed Switches.

Speed Switch monitoring a Belt Conoveyor Application

What are the benefits of using Shaft Speed Switches?

Shaft Speed Switches provide many valuable direct and indirect benefits to any application in which they are applied. First and foremost, using Speed Switches allows equipment to have a longer life with less downtime because maintenance can be performed proactively and ahead of unexpected failures that can cause damage. This will greatly reduce your downtime, maintenance cost, and lower your material waste cost. And operational life is maximized without the risk of unexpected failures. In addition, Shaft Speed Switches can give you better control and accuracy of your process by keeping your machine speeds within their acceptable tolerances. finally, by enabling machine monitoring, Shaft Speed Switches will allow you to focus on more important things in your operation. As a result, your operation will be more productive and efficient, and your process will deliver greater consistencyboth major goals for any industrial facility. The benefits of using a Shaft Speed Switch heavily outweigh the cost and provide immediate return on investment.

A Shaft Speed Switch delivers these benefits:

Increased Efficiency

Lower Material Waste Increased Process Accuracy Increased Process Control

Increased Productivity

Longer Machine Life

Less Downtime Lower Maintenance Costs

Safer Work Environment Increased Profitability