UNIT-1

Instrument selection
• 1. A test requires that low g, low-frequency
information be measured on the axle bearings of
railroad cars to assess the state of the roadbed.
• After considerable evaluation of the range of
conditions to be measured, a high-sensitivity, low
resonance piezoelectric accelerometer is
selected.
• The shocks generated when the wheels hit the
gaps between track sections saturate the
amplifier, making it impossible to gather any
meaningful data.
• 2. A test article must be exposed to a
combined environment of vibration and a
rapidly changing temperature.
• The engineer selects an accelerometer for its
high temperature rating without consulting
the manufacturer.
• Thermal transient output swamps the
vibration data.
• 3. Concern over ground loops prompts the
selection of an isolated accelerometer.
• The test structure is made partially from
lightweight composites, and the cases of some
accelerometers are not referenced to ground.
• Capacitive coupling of radiated interference to
the signal line overwhelms the data.
• All environmental, mechanical, and
measurement conditions must be considered.
• Installation must be carefully planned and
carried out.
• The following guidelines are offered as an aid
to selecting and installing measurement
systems for the best possible accuracy.
 Sensor
• The most important element in measurement
system is the sensor. If the data is distorted or
corrupted by the sensor, there is often little
that can be done to correct it.
 Cable
• Cables and connectors are usually the weakest
link in the measurement system chain.
• Will the cable operate satisfactorily in the
measurement environment?
Power Supply
 Amplifier
• The amplifier must provide gain, impedance
matching, output drive current, and other
signal processing.
• Will the amplifier operate satisfactorily in the
measurement environment?
 Data Acquisition and Readout
• Data acquisition systems consider the
following analog signals.
• Analog signals, which are obtained from the
direct measurement of electrical quantities
such as DC & AC voltages, DC & AC currents,
resistance and etc.
• Analog signals, which are obtained from
transducers such as LVDT, Thermocouple &
etc.
• Types of Data Acquisition Systems
• Data acquisition systems can be classified into
the following two types.
• Analog Data Acquisition Systems
• Digital Data Acquisition Systems
• Analog Data Acquisition Systems
• The data acquisition systems, which can be operated with analog
signals, are known as analog data acquisition systems. Following
are the blocks of analog data acquisition systems.
• Transducer − It converts physical quantities into electrical signals.
• Signal conditioner − It performs the functions like amplification and
selection of desired portion of the signal.
• Display device − It displays the input signals for monitoring
purpose.
• Graphic recording instruments − These can be used to make the
record of input data permanently.
• Magnetic tape instrumentation − It is used for acquiring, storing &
reproducing of input data.
• Digital Data Acquisition Systems
• The data acquisition systems, which can be operated
with digital signals, are known as digital data
acquisition systems. So, they use digital components
for storing or displaying the information.
• Mainly, the following operations take place in digital
data acquisition.
• Acquisition of analog signals
• Conversion of analog signals into digital signals or
digital data
• Processing of digital signals or digital data
• 1. Transducer:-
• A transducer is used to convert the physical parameters corning
from the field into electrical signals or it is used to measure directly
the electrical quantities such as resistance, voltage, frequency, etc.
• 2. Signal Conditioner:-
• Usually the output signals of the transducer will be of very low level
(weak) signals which cannot be used for further processing. In order
to make the signals strong enough to drive the other elements
signal conditioners are used such as amplifiers, modifiers, filters etc.
• 3. Multiplexer:-
• The function of the multiplexer is to accept multiple analog inputs
(after signal conditioning) and provide a single output sequentially
according to the requirements.
• 4. A/D Converter:-
• The analog-to-digital (A/D) converter is generally used to convert
the analog data into digital form. The digital data is used for the
purpose of easy processing, transmission, digital display and
storage.
• Processing involves various operations on data such as
comparison, mathematical manipulations, data is collected,
converted into useful form and utilized for various purposes like for
control operation and display etc.
• The transmission of data in digital form is possible over short
distances as well as long distances of and has advantages over
transmission in analog form. The data can be stored permanently
or temporarily and can be displayed on a CRT or digital panel.
• 5. Recorders and Display Devices:-
• In display devices the data is displayed in a suitable form in order to
monitor the input signals. Examples of display devices are
oscilloscopes, numerical displays, panel meters, etc.
• In order to have either a temporary or permanent record of the
useful data recorders are used and analog data can be recorded
either graphically or on a magnetic tape. Optical recorders,
ultraviolet recorders, styles-and-ink recorders are some of its
examples.
• The digital data can be recorded through digital recorders. The
digital data is first converted into a suitable form for recording by
means of a coupling unit and then recorded on a magnetic tape,
punched cards or a perforated paper tape.
UNIT-2
 RESISTIVE TRANSDUSERS
• Resistance of an electrical conductor is given by,
• R=ρl/A
• Where ,
• R = Resistance in „Ω‟
• Ρ = Resistivity of the conductor (Ω - cm)
• l = Length of the conductor in cm.
• A = Cross-sectional area of the metal conductor in cm2
• It is clear from the equation that, the electrical resistance
can be varied by varying,
• (i) Length
• (ii) Cross-sectional area and
• (iii) Resistivity or combination of these.
• Principle:-
• A change in resistance of a circuit due to the displacement of an object is
the measure of displacement of that object ,method of changing the
resistance and the resulting devices are summarized in the following
• Method of changing resistance-
• Length - Resistance can be changed varying the length of the
conductor,(linear and rotary).
• Dimensions - When a metal conductor is subjected to mechanical strain,
change in dimensions of the conductor occurs, that changes the resistance
of the conductor.
• Resistivity -
• When a metal conductor is subjected to a change in temperature and
change in resistivity occurs which changes resistance of the conductor.
• Resulting device:-
• Resistance potentiometers or sliding contact devices displacements
,Electrical resistance strain gauges.Thermistor and RTD
 Potentiometer
• A potentiometer is a resistive sensor used to
measure linear displacements as well as rotary
motion.
• In a potentiometer an electrically conductive
wiper slides across a fixed resistive element. A
voltage is applied across the resistive element.
Thus a voltage divider circuit is formed.
• The output voltage(Vout) is measured as shown
in the figure below.
• The output voltage is proportional to the distance
travelled.
• There are two types of potentiometer, linear
and rotary potentiometer.
• The linear potentiometer has a slide or wiper.
The rotary potentiometer can be a single turn
or multi turn.
Types
Strain Gauge
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