Measurements 1, EML3303C, EAS 3800C

Study Set 1

1. A certain strain sensor is mounted on an aircraft wing that is subject to periodic wing gusts. The
sensor is attached to a measurement system that indicates that the strain can be approximated by a
sinusoidal function (i.e. sine wave) ranging from 3560 x 10-6 cm/cm to 5216 x 10-6 cm/cm at a
frequency of 6 Hz. At a second flight condition, the strain had an additional sinusoidal component
(i.e., in addition to the first sinusoid above) that has three times the above frequency, half of the
magnitudes, and 90 degrees out of phase (leading). Determine:
a. The average strain value for the 1st and the additional sinusoidal functions.
b. The oscillating amplitude for the 1st and the additional sinusoidal functions.
c. Write the Fourier series for the strain signal for each flight condition, separately.
d. Show a diagram of the amplitude spectrum for the sensor signal, for each flight conditions
separately.

(Hint: Each given sinusoidal wave can be expressed analytically without needing to perform a Fourier
transform)
Answers (write those Clearly)
a) Average1= 4388.10-6cm/cm ,Average2= 2194.10-6cm/cm

b) Amplitude1= 828.10-6cm/cm, Amplitude2= 414.10-6cm/cm

c) Fourier series1: 𝑌𝑌1 (𝑡𝑡) = (4388 +

828 sin(12𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋)) . 10−6 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐/𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

Fourier series2: 𝑌𝑌1 (𝑡𝑡) + 𝑌𝑌2 (𝑡𝑡) = (6582 + 828 sin 12𝜋𝜋𝑡𝑡 +
414 cos 36𝜋𝜋𝑡𝑡). 10−6 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐/𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

d) show diagram separately

Solution

a) Since the signal waveform is sinusoidal, its mean value equals the average of the maximum and
minimum. Hence, for this waveform, we can calculate the average value as ½ (maximum +
minimum). This would be applicable for each signal separately.

3560 + 5216
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 1𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = 𝐴𝐴𝑜𝑜 = = 4388 . 10−6 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐/𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
2
𝐴𝐴𝑜𝑜
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 2𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = = 2194 . 10−6 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐/𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
2
b) The amplitude of a sinusoidal signal is half of the peak-to-peak value. The latter is the difference
between the maximum and minimum signal values. We can then calculate the signal amplitude
as ½ (maximum-minimum). Hence, frequency and amplitude of the first and second signals are:

1st signal 𝜔𝜔 = 𝜔𝜔1 = 2𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋 = 12𝜋𝜋 ; 𝑓𝑓 = 6 𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻

 5216 − 3560
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑎𝑎𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 𝐵𝐵 = = 828 . 10−6 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐/𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
2

2nd signal 𝜔𝜔 = 3𝜔𝜔1 = 36𝜋𝜋

𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑎𝑎𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 0.5 𝐵𝐵 = 414 . 10−6 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐/𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

Since the signal average, the amplitude, the frequency and the phase are now known for both
signals, they can be expressed as:

1st signal 𝑌𝑌1 (𝑡𝑡) = 𝐴𝐴𝑜𝑜 + 𝐵𝐵 sin 𝜔𝜔1 𝑡𝑡 = (4388 + 828 sin 12𝜋𝜋𝑡𝑡) . 10−6 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐/𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

𝐴𝐴𝑜𝑜 𝐵𝐵 𝜋𝜋 𝐴𝐴𝑜𝑜 𝐵𝐵
2nd signal 𝑌𝑌2 (𝑡𝑡) = + sin(3𝜔𝜔1 𝑡𝑡 + ) = + cos(3𝜔𝜔1 𝑡𝑡) =(2194 + 414 cos 36𝜋𝜋𝑡𝑡). 10−6 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐/
2 2 2 2 2
𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

c) At the 1st flight condition, only the first signal exists. Therefore, the oscillations under this
condition will be represented only by the first signal Y1 as:

𝑌𝑌1 (𝑡𝑡) = 𝐴𝐴𝑜𝑜 + 𝐵𝐵 sin 𝜔𝜔1 𝑡𝑡 = (4388 + 828 sin 12𝜋𝜋𝑡𝑡) . 10−6 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐/𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

At the 2nd flight condition, both signal 1 and 2 exist. Oscillations under this condition will be the
summation of signal 1 and 2 (i.e., Y1 + Y2) as:

3𝐴𝐴𝑜𝑜 𝐵𝐵
𝑌𝑌1 (𝑡𝑡) + 𝑌𝑌2 (𝑡𝑡) = + 𝐵𝐵 sin 𝜔𝜔1 𝑡𝑡 + cos(3𝜔𝜔1 𝑡𝑡) ; 𝜔𝜔1 = 12𝜋𝜋
2 2

𝑌𝑌1 (𝑡𝑡) + 𝑌𝑌2 (𝑡𝑡) = (6582 + 828 sin 12𝜋𝜋𝑡𝑡 + 414 cos 36𝜋𝜋𝑡𝑡) . 10−6 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐/𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

Hence, the Fourier series for the two conditions are:

1st condition: 𝑌𝑌1 (𝑡𝑡) = (4388 + 828 sin(12𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋)) . 10−6 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐/𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

2nd condition: 𝑌𝑌1 (𝑡𝑡) + 𝑌𝑌2 (𝑡𝑡) = (6582 + 828 sin 12𝜋𝜋𝑡𝑡 + 414 cos 36𝜋𝜋𝑡𝑡). 10−6 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐/𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
 d) The amplitude spectrum can be drawn using the amplitudes in the above equations. Here, at each
frequency the amplitude is plotted. Note that the signal average corresponds to zero frequency. The
figures below show the amplitude spectrum for the two flight conditions separately.

10-6 Condition 1 10-6 Condition 2

5000 7000
6000
4000
5000

amplitudes
amplitudes

3000 4000

2000 3000
2000
1000
1000
0 0
0 6 18 0 6 18
Frequency [Hz] Frequency [Hz]
2. For the periodic signal y(t) shown, Calculate: y[V]
a. The signal fundamental frequency, ω, in rad/s.
b. The Fourier series coefficients, Ao, An, Bn (n=1,2,3,…) 4
such that: y(t)= Ao+ Σ (An cos nωt + Bn sin nωt)
c. Plot the first 5 partial sums of the series (i.e., the 0
first non-zero term of the series, then the sum of -2 0 2 4 6 time [s]
the first 2 non-zero terms, then 3 terms, etc). And
compare to the original signal, y(t). -4
d. Construct the amplitude spectrum plot for this
function (show the first 5 peaks).
Write your answers CLEARLY
a ω= π/2 rad/s
Solution b Ao = 0 V
An= 0
a) The signal period T=4 sec. Then, the fundamental 8
frequency, f =1/T=0.250 Hz,
, 𝑛𝑛 = 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜
𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
Bn= � −8
The sinusoidal frequency 𝜔𝜔 =2 π f = π/2 rad/s , 𝑛𝑛 = 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒
𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
b) Ao = Signal mean. Since the signal mean is zero, then; Ao =
0V c Show the plot separately
Next we calculate An and Bn. Examining y(t) shows that y(t) is d Show the plot separately
odd ( y = 4t/2 ). Hence all even components will vanish, An =0
2 2 4𝑡𝑡 2𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 8 2 𝑡𝑡 2𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 2
𝐵𝐵𝑛𝑛 = � � � 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 = � � � 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 = � 𝑡𝑡 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑎 𝑡𝑡 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑇𝑇 −2 2 𝑇𝑇 4 −2 2 4 −2

𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
; 𝑎𝑎 =
2

1 𝑡𝑡
𝐵𝐵𝑛𝑛 = � sin 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 − cos 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎� with the limits from t = -2 to t = 2
𝑎𝑎2 𝑎𝑎

1 4
𝐵𝐵𝑛𝑛 = � {sin(𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛) − sin(−𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛)} − {cos(𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛) + cos(−𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛)} �
𝑎𝑎2 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛

8
−2 −8
, 𝑛𝑛 = 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜
𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
𝐵𝐵𝑛𝑛 = 4 � cos(𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛) � = cos(𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛), 𝐵𝐵𝑛𝑛 = � −8
𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
, 𝑛𝑛 = 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒
𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛

8 𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋 4 8 3𝜋𝜋 2
𝑦𝑦(𝑡𝑡) = sin − sin𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋 + sin 𝑡𝑡 − sin 2𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋 − …
𝜋𝜋 2 𝜋𝜋 3𝜋𝜋 2 𝜋𝜋

c) Partial Sum
 5

0
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
-1
Original
-2 1 term
-3 2 trems
3 terms
-4
4 terms
-5 5 terms

d) with Cn=| Bn|=|[2.546, 1.273, 0.849, 0.637, 0.509]|

3.000

2.500

2.000
amplitudes

1.500

1.000

0.500

0.000
0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25
Frequency Hz
3. A signal was acquired at 200 Hz and the spectrum showed a peak at 80 Hz. No anti-
aliasing filter was used. Use the folding diagram to find the lowest 5 possible frequencies
that the original signal may have, in Hz. (Hint: Read lecture example)

Solution:

The sampling frequency Fs=200 Hz. The Nyquist frequency is then, FN= Fs/2 = 100 Hz

We first calculate the ratio:

Fsignal/FN= 80/100 = 0.8

Using the folding diagram, this ratio also corresponds to F/FN of 1.2, 2.8, 3.2, 4.8.

Hence the 80 Hz may be also an alias for 120, 280, 320, f1 f2 f3 f4 f5

480 Hz. 80 120 280 320 480
Hz Hz Hz Hz Hz
4. A pressure sensor was used to measure the unsteady pressure in cylinder. The sensor
output was acquired for 16 s at a rate of 256 Hz and spectral analysis was performed using
FFT.

1) What is the frequency range (minimum and maximum frequencies) that can be displayed on
the power spectrum plot?
2) What is the approximate frequency resolution (in the power spectrum plot), if the data is not
divided into segments?
3) Will any truncation or zero padding needed for this data set when using the FFT algorithm?
4) Do you recommend data windowing? Why?
5) If the data set was split into 8 segments (2 s long each), what is the resulting frequency
range, frequency resolution, and the variance of the spectral values?
6) If the above data segments overlap (in the time domain) by 50% of their length, this results
in 15 (2 s long each) segments instead of 8. What improvement or deterioration (in the
frequency range, frequency resolution, and variance) would be expected?
Answers (write those Clearly)

1) Fmin = 0 ,F max = 128

Solution: 2) Freq Resolution: 0.0625 Hz

1) The maximum frequency that can be 3) Padding: No ,Truncation: No

shown in the spectral plot is the Nyquist
4) Rec Windowing: Yes
frequency (=half of the sampling
frequency). Hence Fmax = F sampling /2 = Why: Reducing leakage
256/2 = 128 Hz. The minimum frequency
is zero. Therefore, the frequency range in 5) Freq range: remains constant (0, 128)
the spectral plot is 0 to 128 Hz.
2) The freq resolution = 1/actual duration of Freq res: 0.5 Hz
data input to the FFT, which needs to be a Variance: improve from ~ Pxx2 to ~ Pxx2/8
power of 2. For example, 16 seconds of
data (sampling duration) sampled at 256 Hz 6) ) Freq range: remains constant (0, 128)
has a number of data points that is a power Freq res: 0.5 Hz
of 2. This will yield a Frequency resolution
of 1/16 = 0.0625 Hz Variance: improve to ~Pxx2/15

3) Number of data points = 16 * 256 = 4096, which is a power of 2. Zero padding or signal truncation
will not be needed when using FFT.
4) Data windowing (with a window other than the rectangular window) is recommended to reduce
spectral leakage. Windowing is always recommended.
5) Frequency range will not change as Fmax will stay at 128 Hz and Fmin at zero. The sampling duration
for the sub records will become 2 seconds, hence, the Frequency resolution will become 1/2= 0.5
Hz. The variance will improve from ~ Pxx2 to ~ Pxx2/8.
6) Only the number of sub records will now increase. Therefore, the variance will further improve to
~Pxx2/15. Frequency range and resolution will stay at (0 to 128) Hz, and 0.5 Hz, respectively.