INDUSTRIAL SENSORS AND

TRANSDUCERS

TER KUMATER PETER

13/ENG05/016

MECHATRONICS ENGINEERING

MCT 508

MODELLING AND SIMULATION

INTRODUCTION

In order for a system to perform any useful task or function it needs to be able to communicate
with the physical world, whether this is by reading an input signal or by activating some form of
output device.

The words 'sensor' and 'transducer' are both widely used interchangeably for industrial
measurement systems. But on further examination, it can be stated that the two are different, both
in definition and application.

Based on definition, a transducer is a device that converts energy from one form to another. Usually
a transducer converts a signal in one form of energy to a signal in another a sensor on the other
hand sensor is a device, module, or subsystem whose purpose is to detect events or changes in its
environment and send the information to other electronics, frequently a computer processor.

A sensor on the other hand sensor is a device, module, or subsystem whose purpose is to detect
events or changes in its environment and send the information to other electronics, frequently a
computer processor.

Typically, sensors convert a recognized signal into an electrical output that is readable. Consider
the previous examples of transducers. They convert one form of energy to another, but they do not
quantify the conversions. The light bulb converts electrical energy into light and heat; however, it
does not quantify how much light or heat. A battery converts chemical energy into electrical energy
but it does not quantify exactly how much electrical energy is being converted. If the purpose of a
device is to quantify an energy level, it is a sensor.

FEATURES OF SENSORS

Sensitivity: The transducers must be sensitive enough to allow sufficient output. The sensitivity
of the sensor is defined as the slope of the output characteristic curve or, more generally, the
minimum input of physical parameter that will create a detectable output change. In some sensors,
the sensitivity is defined as the input parameter change required to produce a standardized output
change. In others, it is defined as an output voltage change for a given change in input parameter.
For example, a typical blood pressure transducer may have a sensitivity rating of 10 mV/V/mm
Hg; that is, there will be a 10-mV output voltage for each volt of excitation potential and each mm
Hg of applied pressure.

Range: The range of the sensor is the maximum and minimum values of applied parameter that
can be measured. For example, a given pressure sensor may have a range of -400 to +400 mm Hg.
Alternatively, the positive and negative ranges often are unequal. For example, a certain medical
blood pressure transducer is specified to have a minimum (vacuum) limit of -50 mm Hg (Ymin in
Figure 1) and a maximum (pressure) limit of +450 mm Hg (Ymax in Figure 1). This specification
is common, incidentally, and is one reason doctors and nurses sometimes destroy blood pressure
sensors when attempting to draw blood through an arterial line without being mindful of the
position of the fluid stopcocks in the system. A small syringe can exert a tremendous vacuum on
a closed system.

Response time: Sensors do not change output state immediately when an input parameter change
occurs. Rather, it will change to the new state over a period of time, called the response time. The
response time can be defined as the time required for a sensor output to change from its previous
state to a final settled value within a tolerance band of the correct new value.

Environmental compatibility: The temperature range of the transducer, its corrosive fluids, the
pressures shocks and interaction it is subject to, its size and mounting restrictions must be suitable
for the environment it is being placed in.

Precision: The concept of precision refers to the degree of reproducibility of a measurement. In

other words, if exactly the same value were measured a number of times, an ideal sensor would
output exactly the same value every time. But real sensors output a range of values distributed in
some manner relative to the actual correct value. For example, suppose a pressure of exactly 150
mm Hg is applied to a sensor. Even if the applied pressure never changes, the output values from
the sensor will vary considerably. Some subtle problems arise in the matter of precision when the
true value and the sensor's mean value are not within a certain distance of each other.

Accuracy: The accuracy of the sensor is the maximum difference that will exist between the actual
value (which must be measured by a primary or good secondary standard) and the indicated value
at the output of the sensor. The accuracy can be expressed either as a percentage of full scale or in
absolute terms.
Electrical: What length and type of cable is required, what are the signal to noise ratios when
combined with amplifiers and frequency response.

Hysteresis: A transducer should be capable of following the changes of the input parameter
regardless of which direction the change is made; hysteresis is the measure of this property.

CLASSIFICATION OF SENSORS/TRANSDUCERS

Sensors and transducers are classified into two, namely active and passive.

Passive sensors require an external power source to operate, which is called an excitation signal.
These sensors produce a change in some passive electrical quantity, such as capacitance,
resistance, or inductance, as a result of stimulation. These usually require additional electrical
energy for excitation. A simple example of a passive transducer is a device containing a length of
wire and a moving contact touching the wire. The position of the contact determines the effective
length of the wire, varying the resistance of the length of wire. Other examples of passive
transducers are strain gauges, resistance temperature detectors (RTDs), and thermistors.

Active sensors, in contrast, generate an electric current in response to an external stimulus which
serves as the output signal without the need of an additional energy source. Examples of active
transducers are thermocouples and piezoelectric accelerometers. Thermocouples produce voltage
difference on its terminals that is proportional to the temperature of the environment.

Active

Piezoelectric transducers generate electric polarization, which is linearly related to the applied
force (stress). Examples include gas igniters, microphones, older record player cartridges,
stress/strain gauges. Piezoelectric crystals are used to measure small displacements and also as
actuators to implement small displacements in scanning tunneling microscopes (STM) and Atomic
force microscopes (AFM).

Thermoelectric transducers: A thermocouple junction is formed when two dissimilar metals are
joined at one end. When the junction is heated, a small voltage appears between the two wires
which one end. When the junction is heated, a small voltage appears between the two wires which
increases with temperature increasing with temperature.
Passive

Variable resistance transducers: The change in resistance of an element can be readily measured.
Various components exist whose resistance changes in response to some external parameter,
including potentiometers, strain gauges, resistive temperature detectors (RTDs), thermistors,
photoconductive devices, and of course, potentiometers. The resistance of most metals and
semiconductors depends on magnetic field, but usually in a very minor way. A recent development
is that some alloys exhibit Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR). GMR sensors are used in the read
heads of many modern hard disk drives.

Photoconductors - photoconductive material drops its resistance when light is shone on it.

Strain gauges - A strain gauge is a piezo resistive element designed to change resistance when a
force is applied. A strain gauge is essentially a thin metallic conductor. Stretching (tension)
increases the length of the wire while reducing cross-sectional area, thus increasing resistance.
Compression has the opposite effect. Strain gauges are generally classified as either bonded or
unbonded. An unbonded gauge typically consists of a wire resistance element stretched between
two supports. A bonded gauge consists of a thin pattern of conducting foil (e.g. copper-nickel
alloy) intimately bonded to a backing material, which is in turn firmly affixed onto a solid object.

TYPE OF SENSORS

Thermal Sensors

 Thermometer – measures absolute temperature.

 Thermocouple gauge– measures temperature by its effect on two dissimilar metals.
 Calorimeter – measures the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes and heat
capacity.

A thermocouple is a device that directly converts thermal energy into electrical energy. When two
dissimilar metal wires are connected at one end forming a junction, and that junction is heated, a
voltage is generated across the junction. If the opposite ends of the wires are connected to a meter,
the amount of generated voltage can be measured.
APPLICATION OF SENSORS AND TRANSDUCERS

Electromagnetic

Antennae: Antennas are required by any radio receiver or transmitter to couple its electrical
connection to the electromagnetic field. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves which carry
signals through the air (or through space) at the speed of light with almost no transmission loss.
Radio transmitters and receivers are used to convey signals in broadcast (audio) radio, television,
mobile telephones, Wi-Fi (WLAN) data networks, and remote-control devices among many
others. Radio waves are also used directly for measurements in radar, GPS, and radio astronomy.
Transmitters and receivers require antennas, although these are sometimes hidden (such as the
antenna inside an AM radio or inside a laptop computer equipped with Wi-Fi).

Magnetic Cartridge

A magnetic cartridge, more commonly called a phonograph cartridge or phono cartridge or

(colloquially) a pickup, is an electromechanical transducer used in the playback of analog sound
recordings called records on a record player, now commonly called a turntable because of its most
prominent component but formally known as a phonograph in the US and a gramophone in the
UK.

The cartridge contains a removable or permanently mounted stylus, the tip - usually a gemstone
like diamond or sapphire - of which makes physical contact with the record's groove. In popular
usage and in disc jockey jargon, the stylus, and sometimes the entire cartridge, is often called the
needle. As the stylus tracks the serrated groove, it vibrates a cantilever on which is mounted a
permanent magnet which moves between the magnetic fields of sets of electromagnetic coils in
the cartridge (or vice versa: the coils are mounted on the cantilever, and the magnets are in the
cartridge). The shifting magnetic fields generate an electrical current in the coils. The electrical
signal generated by the cartridge can be amplified and then converted into sound by a loudspeaker.

Hall Effect Sensor

A Hall effect sensor is a transducer that varies its output voltage in response to a magnetic field.
Hall effect sensors are used for proximity switching, positioning, speed detection, and current
sensing applications.
In a Hall effect sensor, a thin strip of metal has a current applied along it, in the presence of a
magnetic field the electrons are deflected towards one edge of the metal strip, producing a voltage
gradient across the short-side of the strip (perpendicular to the feed current). Inductive sensors are
just a coil of wire, in the presence of a changing magnetic field a current will be induced in the
coil, producing a voltage at its output. Hall effect sensors have the advantage that they can detect
static (non-changing) magnetic fields.

Electrochemical

Ph meter:

A pH meter is a scientific instrument that measures the hydrogen-ion activity in water-based

solutions, indicating its acidity or alkalinity expressed as pH. The pH meter measures the
difference in electrical potential between a pH electrode and a reference electrode, and so the pH
meter is sometimes referred to as a "potentiometric pH meter". The difference in electrical
potential relates to the acidity or pH of the solution. The pH meter is used in many applications
ranging from laboratory experimentation to quality control.

Electro-galvanic oxygen sensor:

An electro-galvanic fuel cell is an electrochemical device which consumes a fuel to produce an

electrical output by a chemical reaction. One form of electro-galvanic fuel cell based on the
oxidation of lead is commonly used to measure the concentration of oxygen gas in underwater
diving and medical breathing gases.

Electronically monitored or controlled diving rebreather systems, saturation diving systems, and
many medical life-support systems use galvanic oxygen sensors in their control circuits to directly
monitor oxygen partial pressure during operation. They are also used in oxygen analyzers in
recreational, technical diving and surface supplied mixed gas diving to analyze the proportion of
oxygen in a nitrox, heliox or trimix breathing gas before a dive.

Hydrogen sensor:

A hydrogen sensor is a gas detector that detects the presence of hydrogen. They contain micro-
fabricated point-contact hydrogen sensors and are used to locate hydrogen leaks. They are
considered low-cost, compact, durable, and easy to maintain as compared to conventional gas
detecting instruments.

ANALOGUE AND DIGITAL SENSORS

Analogue Sensors

Analogue Sensors produce a continuous output signal or voltage which is generally proportional
to the quantity being measured. Physical quantities such as Temperature, Speed, Pressure,
Displacement, Strain, etc. are all analogue quantities as they tend to be continuous in nature. For
example, the temperature of a liquid can be measured using a thermometer or thermocouple which
continuously responds to temperature changes as the liquid is heated up or cooled down.

Analogue sensors tend to produce output signals that are changing smoothly and continuously over
time. These signals tend to be very small in value from a few micro-volts (uV) to several milli-
volts (mV), so some form of amplification is required.

Then circuits which measure analogue signals usually have a slow response and/or low accuracy.
Also, analogue signals can be easily converted into digital type signals for use in micro-controller
systems by the use of analogue-to-digital converters, or ADC’s.

Digital Sensors

As its name implies, Digital Sensors produce a discrete digital output signals or voltages that are
a digital representation of the quantity being measured. Digital sensors produce a Binary output
signal in the form of a logic “1” or a logic “0”, (“ON” or “OFF”). This means then that a digital
signal only produces discrete (non-continuous) values which may be outputted as a single “bit”,
(serial transmission) or by combining the bits to produce a single “byte” output (parallel
transmission).
INDUSTRIAL SENSORS

Proximity

These are sensors that are widely used in general industrial automation. They can be used on
conveyor lines for counting, jam detection, etc. they can also be used for machine tooling for safety
unlocking and sequencing.

i. Mechanical Sensors- This is basically an ON/ OFF switch, it has two general modes
which are normally open and normally closed.
When to use Mechanical Switches
i. Mechanical switches are used where physical contact is possible.
ii. Where definitive position is required.
iii. In operation- critical or safety- critical situation.
iv. Where environmental conditions preclude the use of inductive sensors.

ii. Optical- Consist of a light source (LED) and light detector (photo transistor)
Modulation of signal to minimize ambient lighting conditions
Operation Modes
i. Through Beam
ii. Retro- reflective
iii. Diffuse-reflective
Advantages of Optical Proximity Sensor
i. No-contact, no moving parts, small.
ii. Fast switching, no switch bounce.
iii. Insensitive to vibration and shock
iv. Many configurations available.
Disadvantages of Optical Proximity Sensor
i. Alignment always required
ii. Can be blinded by ambient light conditions (welding for example)
iii. Requires clean, dust and water free, environment
Applications of Optical Proximity Sensor
i. Stack height control/box counting
 ii. Fluid level control (filling and clarity)
iii. Breakage and jam detection

iii. Inductive/ Capacitive

Inductive sensors use change in local magnetic field to detect presence of metal target.
Capacitive Sensors use change in local capacitance caused by non-metallic objects.
They are generally used for short ranges only but are regarded as very robust and
reliable.

Position/ Velocity

Position and velocity measurement is often required in feedback loops for measuring position and
velocity.

i. Potentiometer
ii. Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT)
An LVDT consists of a magnetic core that moves in a cylinder. The sleeve of the
cylinder contains a primary coil that is driven by an oscillating voltage. The sleeve also
contains two secondary coils that detect this oscillating voltage with a magnitude equal
to displacement. The automatic nulling that can be achieved using two coils
makes LVDTs very accurate (submillimeter)
iii. Encoders
Encoders are digital Sensors commonly used to provide position feedback for actuators.
Consist of a glass or plastic disc that rotates between a light source (LED) and a pair of
photo-detectors. Disk is encoded with alternate light and dark sectors so pulses are
produced as disk rotates.
iv. Tachometer
It is used in measurement of rotary speed using a DC generator. It is essentially a motor
running in reverse. In recent times, they have been replaced in the industry by the more
digital encoders.
Force/Pressure

Force and Pressure are generally measured indirectly through deflection of an alternate surface

Mechanisms for measurement include:

i. Physical motion and measurement using a LVDT

ii. Strain gauges (metal that changes resistance when stressed).
iii. Piezo electric materials that generate a current when deformed.

Vibration/ Acceleration

Acceleration is also measured via the force exerted by an accelerating mass, distortion of a piezo,
motion of a cantilever, strain on mass restraints. Accelerometers mainly used to measure vibration

An accelerometer is a device that measures the vibration, or acceleration of motion of a structure.

The force caused by vibration or a change in motion (acceleration) causes the mass to "squeeze"
the piezoelectric material which produces an electrical charge that is proportional to the force
exerted upon it. Since the charge is proportional to the force, and the mass is a constant, then the
charge is also proportional to the acceleration.

Apart from the classification that has been stated above, some other sensors are used industrially.
Some of these are listed below

 Barometer – measures atmospheric pressure.

 Altimeter – measures the altitude of an object above a fixed level.
 Liquid flow sensor – measures liquid flow rate.
 Gas flow sensor – measures velocity, direction, and/or flow rate of a gas.

VIBRATION SENSOR INDUSTRY APPLICATION

CASE STUDY: (Detection of Faults in Bearings)

The implementation of industrial vibration monitoring sensors for industrial predictive

maintenance programs has proven for many maintenance and plant engineers to be an effective
strategy for reducing downtime and improving overall machinery health. Vibration monitoring
technology is widely used because of its ability to detect and diagnose a wide variety of machinery
faults, such as bearing faults, gear problems, misalignment, looseness, mass imbalance and others,
on a wide variety of rotating machinery.

In many industrial monitoring applications, piezo-velocity transducers (PVTs) have distinct

advantages over other accelerometers and traditional velocity pickups. Integration to velocity
within the sensor overcomes low frequency cable pickup and the input noise of data acquisition
equipment. In addition, the inherent high frequency attenuation of the velocity output greatly
reduces overload distortion.

The PVT is essentially a piezoelectric accelerometer with an on-board velocity converter. The
transducer employs a piezoceramic sensing element and dense seismic mass to produce a charge
output proportional to acceleration. The high impedance charge signal is converted within the
sensors to a low impedance voltage output and integrated to velocity. Section views of
compression mode PVTs is shown in figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Compression mode piezo- velocity transducer

Industrial accelerometers consist of a piezoceramic material sandwiched between a seismic mass

and the structure base. The seismic mass and piezoceramic create a simple mass/spring system
with a very high natural frequency. Accelerometers and PVTs use Tungsten masses and Lead-
Zirconate Titanate piezoceramic to maximize sensitivity at low frequencies.
In the region below resonance, the mass from the bearing applies a force to the piezoceramic
material proportional to the vibratory acceleration of the structure. The piezoceramic, in response
to the applied force, generates a proportional electric charge on its surface; the charge output is
then available as a signal that is fed to the measurement circuit.

Accelerometers are extremely versatile and widely used for industrial machinery monitoring.
Typical industrial accelerometers measure micro-g vibration levels from (1 to 15,000 Hz).
However, the PVT provides a stronger output on slow to moderate speed bearings. In many slow
speed applications, an accelerometer is externally integrated to velocity inside the data collecting
monitor. Along with vibration information, the integration circuit amplifies low frequency
electronic noise from the sensor and the monitor.

PVTs have distinct advantages in industrial machine applications where low frequency noise
reduction is a primary objective. Paper machine running speed faults are typically measured in
the 100 to 1200 CPM band. PVTs prevent external integration noise from hiding looseness,
misalignment and imbalance information. They also attenuate noise from steam seal leaks and
electrostatic discharge.

REFERENCES

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