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Unit I - Principles of Sensing: Topics - Definition of Sensor - Classification of Sensor - Data Acquisition System

This document discusses sensors and data acquisition systems. It defines a sensor as a device that receives a stimulus and responds with an electrical signal. Sensors can sense various physical quantities like motion, pressure, temperature, and convert them to electrical signals. Sensors can be direct, responding directly to stimuli, or complex, requiring transducers to first convert the stimuli to another form of energy before it can be sensed. The electrical signals from multiple sensors are fed into a data acquisition system which includes components like a multiplexer and analog-to-digital converter to process the signals and send them to a computer for analysis and use in actuators.

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51 views13 pages

Unit I - Principles of Sensing: Topics - Definition of Sensor - Classification of Sensor - Data Acquisition System

This document discusses sensors and data acquisition systems. It defines a sensor as a device that receives a stimulus and responds with an electrical signal. Sensors can sense various physical quantities like motion, pressure, temperature, and convert them to electrical signals. Sensors can be direct, responding directly to stimuli, or complex, requiring transducers to first convert the stimuli to another form of energy before it can be sensed. The electrical signals from multiple sensors are fed into a data acquisition system which includes components like a multiplexer and analog-to-digital converter to process the signals and send them to a computer for analysis and use in actuators.

Uploaded by

vanitha
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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UNIT I –PRINCIPLES OF SENSING

TOPICS
•DEFINITION OF SENSOR
•CLASSIFICATION OF SENSOR
•DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM

1
Definition of Sensor
• A sensor is a device that receives a stimulus and
responds with an electrical signal.

Fig 1.1

Level control system. A sight tube and the


operator’s eye form a sensor.
2
• Information - generated by the sensor - consists of two main parts: the sight
tube on the tank and the operator’s eye - which produces an electric response
in the optic nerve.
• Sight tube designed properly - very quickly reflect variations in the level -
sensor has a fast speed response
• world is divided into natural and human-made objects.
• The natural sensors - found in living organisms - respond with signals, having
an electrochemical character - their physical nature is based on ion transport
like in the nerve fibers
• Manmade devices, information is also transmitted and processed in electrical
form through the transport of electrons.
• The purpose of a sensor is to respond to some kind of an input physical
property (stimulus) and to convert it into an electrical signal that is compatible
with electronic circuits

3
What are some quantities
that can be sensed?

• Motion, position, displacement • Sound


• Velocity and acceleration • Moisture
• Force, strain • Light
• Pressure • Radiation
• Flow • Temperature
• Chemical presence
These quantities are the stimulus.

4
The Response is an Electrical Signal

• When we say electrical we mean a • The voltage, current or charge


signal which can be channeled, may be described by:
amplified and modified by – Amplitude
electronic devices. Sensors output – Frequency
are in the form of
– Phase
– Voltage
– Digital code
– Current
These characteristics are called
– Charge output signal format.

5
• The process of sensing is information transfer which requires transmission of
energy.
• Transmission of energy can flow both ways – may be with a positive sign as
well as with a negative sign (i.e) energy can flow
either from an object to sensor or from the sensor to the object.
• A special case is when the net energy flow is zero
• (Eg.) A thermopile infrared radiation sensor - produce a positive voltage when
the object is warmer than the sensor (infrared
• flux is flowing to the sensor) or the voltage is negative when the object is cooler
than the sensor (infrared flux flows from the sensor to the object).
• When both the sensor and the object are at the same temperature, the flux is
zero and the output voltage is zero. This carries a message that the
temperatures are the same.

6
• Sensor should be distinguished from transducer.
• Transducer is converter of any one type of energy into another, whereas the
sensor converts any type of energy into electrical energy.
• (Eg.)transducer - loudspeaker, converts an electrical signal into a variable
magnetic field and subsequently, into acoustic waves.
• An actuator is opposite to a sensor; it converts electrical signal into generally
nonelectrical energy. (Eg.), an electric motor is an actuator - converts electric
energy into mechanical action.

7
• Transducers part of complex sensor
This conversion can be direct or it may require transducers.

Fig 1.2

Example:

 A chemical sensor may have a part which converts the energy of a


chemical reaction into heat (transducer) and another part, a thermopile,
which converts heat into an electrical signal. 8
• The combination of the two makes a chemical sensor, a device which
produces electrical signal in response to a chemical reagent.
• Many sensors incorporate at least one direct-type sensor and a number of
transducers.
• There are two types of sensors; direct and complex.
• A direct sensor converts a stimulus into an electrical signal or modifies an
electrical signal by using an appropriate physical effect

• A complex sensor needs one or more transducers of energy before a direct


sensor can be employed to generate an

electrical output.

9
Sensors place
• The sensor’s place in a device is either intrinsic or extrinsic.
• Positioned at the input of a device to perceive the outside effects and to signal
the system about variations in the outside stimuli.
• May be an internal part of a device that monitors the devices own state to cause
the appropriate performance.

10
• Sensor 1 perceives the object without a physical contact - a noncontact sensor.
Examples are a radiation detector and a TV camera.
• Sensor 5 serves to monitor internal conditions of a data

acquisition system itself


• Sensors (1 and 3) cannot be directly connected to standard electronic circuits
because of inappropriate output signal formats - require the use of interface
devices (signal conditioners).
• Sensors 1, 2, 3, and 5 are passive. They generate electric signals without energy
consumption from the electronic circuits.
• Sensor 4 is active - requires an operating signal, which is provided by an
excitation circuit.
• Example of an active sensor is a thermistor, which is a temperature-sensitive
resistor. It needs a constant current source, which is an excitation circuit 11
• Electrical signals from the sensors are fed into a multiplexer (MUX), which is a
switch or a gate.
• Its function is to connect sensors one at a time to an analogto-
digital converter (A/D or ADC) if a sensor produces an analog
signal, or directly to a computer if a sensor produces signals in a
digital format.
• The computer controls a multiplexer and an A/D converter for the appropriate
timing.
• Also may send control signals to the actuator, which acts on the object.
• Examples of the actuators are an electric motor, a solenoid, a relay, and a
pneumatic valve.

12
Example
• A simple car door monitoring arrangement.
• Every door in a car is supplied with a sensor - detects the door position (open or
closed).
• In most cars, the sensor is a simple electric switch.
• Signals from all door sensors go to the car’s internal processor
• The processor identifies which door is open and sends an indicating signal to the
peripheral devices (a dashboard display and an audible alarm).
• A car driver (the actuator) gets the message and acts on the object (closes the
door).

13

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