ECE 151

Transducers
1. Resistive Position Transducers
2. Strain Gauge
3. Displacement Transducers
4. Capacitive Transducers
5. Inductive Transducers

Reported and Prepared by:

JUDY ANN B. VARGAS

Transducers
Definition of Transducers
Transducer is any device that converts energy in one form to another energy.
The majority either convert electrical energy to mechanical displacement
or convert some non-electrical physical quantity, such as temperature, sound or
light to an electrical signal.

Types of Transducers
1. Resistive Position Transducers
2. Strain Gauge
3. Displacement Transducers
4. Capacitive Transducers
5. Inductive Transducers
6. Variable Inductance Transducers
7. Temperature Transducers
8. Photoelectric Transducer
Covered in this report is the first five (5) transducers.

RESISTIVE POSITION TRANSDUCER

The principle of the resistive position transducer is that the physical variable
under measurement causes a resistance change in the sensing element.
A displacement transducer uses a resistance element with a sliding contact or
wiper linked to an object being monitored or measured. Thus, the resistance between
slider and one end of the resistive element depends on the position of the object.

(a)
(b)
Figure 1 (a) Construction of a resistive position transducer and (b) typical method

Considering Figure 1(b), if the circuit is unloaded, the output voltage V O is a

certain fraction of VT, depending on the equation of the wiper,

2
=
1 + 2
or
=

1 + 2

This equation shows that the output voltage is directly proportional to the
position of the wiper, if the resistance of the transducer is distributed uniformly along
the length of travel of the wiper.

EXAMPLE-1:
A displacement transducer with a shaft stroke of 4 in. is used in the circuit of figure
1 (b). R1 +R2 is 1000 and VT = 4 V. The wiper is 1.5 in from B. Find VO?

Solution:
Assuming that the resistance is evenly distributed, we will get the resistance
per inch from point A to point B.
1 + 2
1

=
=
= 0.25

Since R2 is the resistance 1.5 in from point B, we can get R 2 by multiplying

the ratio of resistance per inch and length from B.
2 = () = 0.25

(1.5 ) = 375

Using the formula from the discussion,

=

2
375
(4 ) = 1.5
=
1 + 2
1

STRAIN GAUGE
The strain gauge is an example of a passive transducer that uses electric
resistance variation in wires to sense the strain produced by a force on the wires.
It is a very versatile detector and used for measuring weight, pressure,
mechanical force, or displacement.

Figure 2 Resistive strain gauges: wire construction

The construction of a bonded strain gauge (see figure) shows a fine wire
element looped back and forth on a mounting plate, which is usually cemented to
the member undergoing stress.
When a gauge is subjected to a stress, its length increases while its crosssectional area decreases.
From Hooke Theory, stress, S, is defined as force per unit area.
=

where
F = the force in kilograms
A = area in square meters (m2)
The increase in resistance can be seen from the following equation:
=

where
= the specific resistance of the conductor material in ohm meters
L = length of conductor (meters)
A = area of the conductor (m2)

Since the resistance of a conductor is directly proportional to its length and

inversely proportional to its cross-sectional area, the resistance of the gauge
increases with strain.
Strain, G is defined as elongation or compression per unit length, or:
=

where
L = initial length in meters
L = the change in initial length in meters

As consequence of strain, TWO (2) physical qualities are of particular

interest:
1) The change in gauge resistance
2) The change in length
The relationship between these two variables called gauge factor, K, is
expressed mathematically as
=

/ /
=
/

where
K = the gauge factor
R = the initial resistance in ohms (without strain)
R = the change in initial resistance in ohms
The constant of proportionality between stress and strain for a linear stressstrain curve is known as the modulus of elasticity of material E or called Youngs
modulus. It is written as:
=
where

E = Youngs modulus in kilograms per square meters

S = the stress in kilograms per square meters
G = the strain (no units)

EXAMPLE-2:
A resistant strain gauge with a gauge factor of 2 is fastened to a steel member,
which is subjected to a strain 1 x 10-6. If the original resistance value of the gauge is
130, calculate the change in resistance.

=
=

= = 2(1 106 )(130) = 260

DISPLACEMENT TRANSDUCERS
Most displacement transducers sense displacement by means of a sensing
shaft, which is mechanically connected to the point or object whose displacement is
to be measured.
The mechanical elements that are used to convert the applied force into a
displacement are called force-summing devices.
Various types of displacement transducers:
i.
ii.
iii.

Reluctive transducer used in AC measuring circuits.

Potentiometric transducer used in DC systems.
Digital output transducer used when very close accuracy of
measurements required.

CAPACITIVE TRANSDUCERS
A change in capacitance with changes in position of a moving element is used
to provide an electrical indication.

The general equation to determine the capacitance is given by

=

where
k = dielectric constant
A = the area of the plate, in m2
o = 8.854 x 10-12 in farads per meter (F/m)
d = distance between two capacitive surface in m
From this equation, can be seen that the capacitance increases if the effective
area is increased and it decreases if the distance between two capacitive surface
(usually, spacing of parallel plates) is increased.
FORMS OF CAPACITIVE TRANSDUCERS
1. Rotary Plate Capacitor

This transducer is made up of a fixed plate called Stator and a movable plate
called Rotor.
When the rotor changes its position relative to the stator, the effective area
between the plates is also changed and in turns, changing the capacitance.
2. Rectilinear Capacitance Transducer

It consists of a fixed cylinder and a movable cylinder. These pieces are

configured so the moving piece fits inside the fixed piece but insulated from it.
3. Thin Diaphragm

Thin diaphragm is a transducer that makes use of variation in capacitance

resulting from a change in spacing between capacitive surfaces. This transducer is
designed to measure pressure. The dielectric can be either air or vacuum.
The change in pressure may be easily detected by the variation of capacity
between a fixed plate and another plate free to move as the pressure changes.
The resulting variation follows the basic capacity formula:
= 0.085
where,

( 1)
()

A = area of one side of one plate in cm2

n = number of plates
t = thickness of dielectric in cm
K = dielectric constant
Advantages:
1. Has excellent frequency response
2. Can measure both static and dynamic phenomena.
3. Simple to construct
4. Inexpensive to produce
Disadvantages:
1. Sensitive to temperature variations.
2. Sensitive to the possibility of erratic or distortion signals owing to long lead
length
Applications:
1. As frequency modulator in RF oscillator
2. In capacitive microphone
3. Used as one part of an AC bridge circuit to produce an AC output signal

EXAMPLE-3:
An electrode-diaphragm pressure transducer has plates whose area is 5 x 10-3
m2 and whose distance between plates is 1 x 10 -3 m. Calculate its capacitance if it
measures air pressure. The dielectric constant of air is k = 1.
1(5 10
=
=

2 ) (8.853 1012
1 103

) = 44.25

INDUCTIVE TRANSDUCERS
In inductive transducer, magnetic characteristics of an electric circuit changes
due to motion of object. A simple type of displacement sensor is the variable
inductance type wherein the variation of inductance as a function of displacement is
achieved either by variation in mutual inductance or self-inductance.
The principle on which the meter, which these transducers are used, used is
that of a dc generator. The generator rotor is replaced by a pipe between two
magnetic poles. As fluid flows through the magnetic field, an electromotive force is
induced in it and can be picked up by the electrodes. This can be expressed
mathematically as
=
where
E = the EMF in volts
B = the field strength, webers per square meters (Teslas)
l = conductor length, meters
v = velocity of conductor, meters per second.

EXAMPLE-4:
Given an inductive input transducer for flow measurement, the diameter of
the conduit is 0.0125 m. If a flow velocity of 10 m/sec produces a magnetic field
strength of 0.2 T, find the electromotive force generated.
= = (0.2

(0.0125
)
)
(10
) = 0.025
2
sec