Mechanical Sensors

Mechanical Sensors

• Class of sensors to measure mechanical phenomena

• For example
– Displacement, location, position sensors
– Strain sensors
– Motion sensors
– Pressure sensors
– Flow sensors
• In industrial process, it is sometimes
required to measure position
– location of object on conveyor system
– orientation of steel plates in a rolling mill
– liquid or solid level
 Potentiometer sensors

• Potentiometer consists of wire wound around a

rod with fixed resistor R
• Movement of wiper change the resistance of the
potentiometer
 Example
A potentiometric displacement sensor is to be used to measure work-
piece motion from 0 to 10 cm. The resistance changes linearly over
this range from 0 to 1 k. Develop signal conditioning to provide a
linear, 0- to 10- V output
 Capacitive and Inductive Sensors
• The displacement measurement due to the change in
capacitive or inductive
• Capacitive
A
C  K 0
d
K  the dielectric constant
 0  permittivity
A  plate area
d  plate separation
 Capacitive Sensors
• There are 3 ways to change capacity
– variation of plate separation
– variation of plate area
– variation of dielectric constant
 Inductive Sensors
– a motion of permeable core changes the inductance
– AC bridge can be used to detect the change in
inductance

   B  dS
s


L
i
Example
 Variable Reluctance Sensor
• A motion of coil varies the magnetic flux coupling
between the two coils
• Used in measure translation and rotational
motion
• called linear variable differential transformer
(LVDT)
Linear Variable Differential transformer
(LVDT)
• LVDT consists of 3 coils
– The primary is connected to AC source, thus inducing ac voltage
in coils 2 and 3
• coil 2 and 3 are connected in series with opposition
direction
– when core is in middle, zero voltage output
– when core is move to one side, the net voltage will be increase
• The circuit for LVDT is shown below
Practice problem
 Level Sensors
• Level sensors measure
the level of solid and liquid
• Example
– Mechanical
– Electrical
– Ultrasonic
 Example
The level of ethyl alcohol is to be measured from 0 to 5 m using a capacitive system.
The following specifications define the system:
for ethyl alcohol: K = 26 (for air, K = 1)
cylinder separation: d = 0.5 cm
plate area: A = 2RL
where
R = 5.75 cm = average radius
L = distance along cylinder axis
Find the range of capacity variation as the alcohol level varies from 0 to 5 m.