15EC 226E: Sensors and Transducers

UNIT I

Lecture 1: Introduction

KD
 Outline

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 Transducers, Sensors and Actuators
Transducers:
Devices used to transform one kind of energy to another. e.g: sensors and actuators
Sensors:
Transducer that converts a measurable quantity (sound, pressure level, optical intensity,
magnetic field, etc.) to an electrical voltage or an electrical current. e.g: thermometer
Actuator:
Transducer that converts an electrical signal into another form of energy, such as
sound, pressure, light, mechanical movement etc. e.g: heater

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 Block Diagram
TRANSDUCER – Latin tranducere – “ to convert”
Input transducer – sensor
Output transducer - actuator

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A typical sensor applications

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 What a sensor can do ?
Position, velocity, acceleration, displacement, proximity,
level, flow, pressure, temperature, force, strain, torque,
angle, light intensity, surface roughness, density, mass,
capacity, electromagnetic flow, voltage, current,
resistance, humidity, vibration ………………..

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CLASSIFICATION OF SENSORS AND ACTUATORS
1. Active and Passive sensors

2. Contact and non-contact sensors

3. Absolute and relative sensors

4. Analog and Digital

5. Other schemes

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1. ACTIVE AND PASSIVE SENSORS
PASSIVE SENSORS
2. CONTACT AND NONCONTACT SENSORS
3. ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE SENSORS
4. ANALOG AND DIGITAL SENSORS
 5. OTHER SCHEMES
▪ Mechanical : Length, area, quantity, mass flow, force, torque (moment), pressure,
velocity, acceleration, position, sound
▪ Thermal : Temperature, heat flow
▪ Electrical : Voltage, current, load, resistance, inductance, capacitance,
dielectric coefficient, polarization, electrical field & frequency
▪ Magnetic : Field density, flux density, magnetic moment, permeability
▪ Light (Optical) : Intensity, wavelength, polarization, phase
▪ Chemical : Density, content, pH, reaction speed
▪ Electromagnetic : Magnetic Field
▪ Acoustic : Wind and sound wave parameters
▪ Radiation : Skin sensitivity
▪ Biological : Medical delivery parameters
 OTHER SCHEMES (CONT.)

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 OTHER SCHEMES (CONT.)

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 OTHER SCHEMES (CONT.)

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 CLASSIFICATION OF ACTUATORS

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 15EC 226E: Sensors and Transducers

UNIT I

Lecture 2&3: Static and Dynamic Characterization

KD
 Characteristics of measurement system

To choose the one most suited

sensor/transducer to a particular measurement
application, we have to know the system
characteristics

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 OTHER SCHEMES (CONT.)

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Static and Dynamic Characteristics
 Characterization

The performance characteristics of an instrument depends on:

i) Static characteristics and ii) Dynamic characteristics

Static characteristics: Quantities which are slowly varying with time or mostly
constant, i.e., do not vary with time.

The various static characteristics are:

i) Range ii) Span iii) error
iv) Accuracy v) Sensitivity vi) Linearity /non-linearity
vii) Hysteresis viii) Resolution ix) Stability
x) Precision xi) Repeatability/reprodu. xii) Threshold
xiii) Drift 22
1. Range:
Indicates the limits between which the input can vary. For example, temperature may have a
range of 25-225 0C

2. Span:
Difference between the maximum and minimum values of input, e.g. for a range of 25-225
0C, span is 200 0C.

3. Error:
Difference between the results of the measurement and the true value of the quantity being
measured, e.g. a sensor measures the displacement reading of 29.8 mm, where the actual
displacement may be 30 mm, hence error is -0.2 mm.
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4. Accuracy:
Defines the closeness of the agreement between the actual measurement result and a true
value of the measurand.
Eg.: If bullseye on a target is the known value (true value), accurate shots (actual measured)
would be where the average of the shots would be at or near the bullseye. The shot in this
picture are accurate, but they are distributed all over the target. This brings in the concept of
precision.

Shots with high accuracy and low

precision

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5. Precision:
Is measure of how close your experimental measurements agree with each other. The closer
each measurement is to other measurement, the more precise the measurement is.
If the measurements were shots in a target, the closer the holes are to each other, the more
precise the shots but less accurate.

Which is more important, precision or accuracy?

Accuracy: When trying to hit a target. It does no good to Shots with high
be precise if you miss all your shots precision and low
accuracy
Precision: important in calculations. When using a measured value in a calculation, you can
only be as precise as possible. Friday, November 29, 2019 26
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6. Static Sensitivity:
Is defined as the ratio of magnitude of the output response to the magnitude of input signal or
the quantity being measured. For linear curves, the sensitivity of the instrument can be
defined as the slope of the curve, since the sensitivity (slope) is constant over the entire range.

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7. Non-linearity:
Non linearity indicates the maximum deviation of the actual measured curve of a
sensor from the ideal curve. A non-linear behavior does not essentially lead to
inaccuracy. Such an instrument may be highly accurate as well.

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8 (a). Distortion:
A consequence of non-linearity is distortion which is defined as the deviation
from an expected output of the sensor or the transducer.
For example: As shown in the figure.

8 (b). Reliability:
Probability that a device will adequately perform (as specified) for a period of
time under specified operating conditions. Some sensors are required for safety
or product quality and therefore they should be very reliable. 30
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9. Hysteresis:
Is an error of a sensor, which is defined as the maximum difference in output at any
measurement value within the sensor's specified range when approaching the point
first with increasing and then with decreasing the input parameter
Hysteresis can be eliminated by taking readings in both direction and then taking the
arithmetic mean.
For example, the figure shows the hysteresis error that have occurred during the
measurement of temperature using thermocouple

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10. Resolution
Is the smallest detectable incremental change of input parameter that can be detected
in the output signal

For example, if a LVDT sensor measures a

displacement up to 20 mm and it provides an output as
a number between 1 and 100, then the resolution of the
sensor device is 0.2 mm.
A high resolution does not necessarily imply a high
accuracy (a watch may resolve to the nearest second,
while it may be a few minutes off)

11. Stability
Is the ability of a sensor device to give same output when used to measure constant
input over a period of time. Friday, November 29, 2019 32
12. Repeatability/ Reproducibility
It is defined as the ability of a instrument to reproduce a group of measurements of
same measured quantity, made by same observer, using same instrument, under same
conditions.

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13. Threshold:
At the zero value condition of the measurand, the smallest input change that produces a
detectable output is called the threshold.
For example, The current in a MOS device is only detectable after the gate voltage
crosses a certain voltage called the MOSFET threshold voltage.

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14. Instrument Drift

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15. Linearity:
A linear relationship is mostly desirable for many applications. The linear behavior of a
circuit simplifies the analysis and the design of the system.
y = mx + c

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Dynamic Characteristics

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1. Speed of Response/Response Time

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2. Dead Band/Dead Time and Dead Zone

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3. Fidelity
 4. Lag

Lag
5. Dynamic Error
6. Frequency Response
Filters

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 7. Dynamic Sensitivity
Is defined as the ratio of change in output value of a sensor to the per unit change in input
value that causes the output change. For ex: a thermocouple may have a sensitivity of 41
µV/0C. The sensitivity is sometimes called the gain of the instrument. e.g:
music amplifiers

y
S=
x

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Additional Dynamic Characteristics

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Summary

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 15EC 226E: Sensors and Transducers

UNIT I

Lecture 4: Static and Dynamic Characterization

KD
Errors in Measurements
Types of Error

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1. Systematic Error

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a). Instrumental Error

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b). Environmental Error

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 2. Gross Error

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 3. Random Error
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 Random Error: Probability of Errors
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❑

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❑

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❑

❑  

 
prob error ( ) = 0.6745 prob error of mean = or
n n −1 62
 Odds in Specifications

odds 2.15
prob of occurance = for odds 2.15:1  Prob= = 0.6828
odds + 1 2.15 + 1
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 Odds in Specifications

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Summary

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 15EC 226E: Sensors and Transducers

UNIT I

Lecture 5: Static and Dynamic Characterization

KD
Error Calculations
Statistical Analysis
V = 2
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 15EC 226E: Sensors and Transducers

UNIT I

Lecture 6: Static and Dynamic Characterization

KD
Classification of sensors
Classification of Sensors

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Classification…..

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Characterization
Why characterization is required ?

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Classification of Characterization

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Electrical Characterization

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Electrical Characterization

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Electrical Characterization

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Electrical Characterization

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Electrical Characterization….

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Electrical Characterization….

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Electrical Characterization…

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Mechanical Characterization

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Optical Characterization

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Optical Characterization

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Thermal Characterization

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Chemical Characterization

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Biological Characterization

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