Tag: Transducers and Sensors
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Variable Capacitance Sensors
Several mechanical input sensors, as well as some sensors which measure humidity or temperature, operate by the transduced quantity causing a change in capacitance, which in turn, is converted to an analog output voltage by an ac bridge circuit or other electronic system. The capacitive sensors have been designed to measure force by means of…
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The Principle of Operation of Optical Encoders
An encoder is a device that provides a digital output as a result of an angular or linear displacement. The position encoders can be grouped into two categories: Incremental Encoders Let’s consider the basic form of an incremental encoder for the measurement of angular displacement of shaft shown below: The incremental encoder shown above consists…
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The Construction & Principle of Operation of Load Cells
A load cell converts a force (usually the gravitation force from an object being weighed) to a strain which can then be converted to an electrical signal by strain gauges. A load cell will typically have a local circuit as illustrated in figure 1(a) with four gauges; two in compression and two in tension and…
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Features & Configuration of a Smart Pressure Transmitter
Smart/Intelligent pressure transmitters are microprocessor-based, and they provide additional functional capabilities beyond their basic role of just sensing and representing a process variable; for example they provide computing, diagnostics, and networking capabilities . We shall consider a capacitive sensing pressure transmitter with a typical functional diagram illustrated below: The process pressure is transmitted through the…
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The Conditioning of Thermocouple Sensor Voltages
Consider the circuit below: From the figure above, the sensing junction and reference junction are connected in series. When the junctions are at the same temperature the voltage output from the junctions is zero and the output from the amplifier is zero. When the junctions are at different temperatures, there is a differential voltage at…
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How to Connect a DP (Differential Pressure) Flow Sensor to a DP Transmitter
The DP Transmitter should be mounted with a manifold block as illustrated in the figure 1(a) below to allow for maintenance. Valves B and C are the isolation valves while valve A is an equalizing valve. Valve A is used along with valves B and C to zero the transmitter. In normal operation valve A…
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Instrumentation Sensors and Transducers – Multiple Choice Questions & Answers (MCQ4)
The Answers have been provided at the end of the Questions: Q1. Which of the following sensors is used to measure displacement? A. Thermistor B. LVDT C. Dall tube D. None of the above Q2. Which of the below listed sensors is used for temperature measurement? A. Strain gauge B. Thermistor C. Piezoelectric crystal D.…
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Types of Sensors used in Measurement and Process Control
A sensor is an element in a measurement system that detects the magnitude of a physical variable or parameter and changes it into a signal that can be processed by the system. The active element of a sensor is often referred to as a transducer. The monitoring and control systems require sensors to measure physical…