DATA ACQUISITION

Todays Topics

Define DAQ and DAQ systems

Signals (digital and analogue types)

Transducers

Signal Conditioning
- Importance of grounding
- Differential, Referenced and nonferenced single
ended signals
- A to D conversion considerations (resolution,
device and signal range, sampling rate)

In Class Example Signal input range calculation

Assign homework and begin in class

DATA ACQUISITION - DEFINED

DATA ACQUISITION (DAQ) is the measurement
or generation of physical signals.
DAQ systems typically consists of five elements:
1. Signals
2. Transducers
3. Signal-conditioning hardware
4. DAQ device or module
5. Application software

TYPICAL DAQ SYSTEM ELEMENTS

SIGNALS
Signals are physical quantities that are functions
of an independent variable (such as time) and
contain information about a natural
phenomenon
Two types of signals may be defined; digital and
analogue.
- Digital signals provide information regarding
the voltage state (typically hi or low) and/or
the rate of change of these states
- An analogue signal typically provides voltage
level, shape or frequency content information.

Signal types and classes

Two types of Digital signals:

- on-off
Three types of analogue
- DC
- AC
Total of 5 signal classes

- pulse train,
- frequency domain

ADC - analogue to digital converter, which converts the analogue signal

into a digital signal which can be read by a computer
DAC - digital to analogue converter, which converts a digital signal to an
analogue signal
TTL - transistor to transistor logic

TRANSDUCERS
A transducer is a device which converts a physical
phenomenon into a measurable electrical signal.

SIGNAL CONDITIONING
Transducer output is usually computer ready and must be
conditioned, either using hardware or software:
Transducer excitation use of an external voltage or
current to excite the transducer (ex: strain gauges)
Linearization creation of a linear relationship between
the transducer output and the physical phenomenon being
measured
Isolation - isolation of the transducer signal from the
computer and other transducers
Filtering - conditioning of a signal to reduce unwanted
components (i.e., noise, high or low frequency components,
etc.)
Amplification - increace of the output signal of the
transducer to increace accuracy and signal to noise ratio

LABVIEW SCXI
SIGNAL CONDITIONING
SCXI (Signal Conditioning Xtensions for
Instrumentation) is a hardware device
designed to condition low level signals in a
noisy environment within an external
chassis located near the sensor.
Some signal conditioning, such as
linearization and filtering, can often be
performed using software, and LabVIEW
provides several VIs for these purposes.

SIGNAL GROUNDING
Two types of signal sources
- grounded: signals which are referenced
to a system ground
ex:110V outlets, signal generators, power
supplies
- floating: signals which are not connected
to an absolute reference
ex: battery powered sources, thermocouples
transformers

NOTES ON
MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS
A measurement system can be placed into on of three categories:
1. Differential:
- Neither the positive or negative terminal of the source or
transducer is connected to ground.
- The system only measures the difference between the terminals,
and rejects other voltages in the system. - It is therefore
preferred.
2. Referenced single ended (RSE)
- Measures a signal with respect to the system ground.
- Use if more channels are required.
3. Non-referenced single ended (NRSE)
- all measurements are made with respect to a common reference
other than the system ground.

ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL
CONVERSION CONSIDERATIONS
The quality of the analogue to digital conversion is
dependent on the following four parameters:
1. Resolution
2. Device range
3. Signal input range
4. Sampling rate
These will be set using hardware (board switches)
or software (Measurement and Automation
Explorer in Labview)

1. RESOLUTION
Resolution: The number of bits used to
represent the analogue signal
16-bit

The above example shows the difference

between 3 (23 =8 divisions) and 16 bit (216 =
65,536 divisions) resolution

2. DEVICE RANGE
device range: minimum and maximum
analogue signal levels that the ADC can
convert.
The device range should be matched
to the range of the analogue input
signal to best take advantage of the
available resolution!

2. DEVICE RANGE (conts)

Example: If a 3-bit ADC (having 8 divisions) is used over
a range of 0 to 10 volts, voltage changes of 1.25V can be
measured.
However, if the range is increased to -10 to 10V, then the
smallest voltage change which can be measured rises to
2.5V

3. SIGNAL INPUT RANGE

signal input range: the maximum and minimum value
of the signal being measured.
The closer the signal input range is to the incoming
analogue signal max and min, the more digital divisions
will be available to the ADC to represent the signal

SMALLEST DETECTABLE
VOLTAGE CHANGE
Determined by the resolution and range of a DAQ
device and the signal input range.
This change in voltage represents 1 least
significant bit (LSB) of the digital value and is
often called the code width.
This smallest code width, Vcw is calculated as
follows (Where the resolution is given in bits)

Example: a 12 bit DAQ device with a 0 to 10V range

can detect a 2.4 mV change.
Unipolar signals range from 0 to a positive value
bipolar signals range from a negative to a positive value.

4. SAMPLING RATE
sampling rate: the rate at which the DAQ device samples
an incoming analogue signal
Determines how often an analogue to digital conversion
takes place.
Computing the proper sampling rate requires knowledge of
the max frequency of the incoming signal and the accuracy
required for digital representation.
In general, a fast sampling rate acquires more points per
unit time and results in a better representation of the
incoming signal.