Transducer and Sensor Measurement System

Functional elements of an instrument; active & passive transducers; analog & digital modes of operation; null & deflection methods; I/O configuration of measuring instruments & instrument system – methods of correction for interfering & modifying inputs. Static characteristics; Meaning of static calibration, accuracy, precision & bias. Combination of component errors in overall system-accuracy calculation. Static sensitivity, linearity, threshold, resolution, hysteresis and dead space. Scale readability. Span. Generalized static stiffness & input impedance. Computer aided calibration & measurement, multiple regressions.

Principle of measurement of displacement. Resistive potentiometers, variable inductance & variable reluctance pickups, LVDT, capacitance pickup. Principle of measurement of Force, Torque, Shaft power standards & calibration; basic methods of force measurement; characteristics of elastic force transducer- Bonded strain gauge, differential transformer, piezo electric transducer, variable reluctance/FM-oscillator, digital systems. Loading effects; Torque measurement on rotating shafts, shaft power measurement (dynamometers).

Standards & calibration; thermal expansion methods-bimetallic thermometers, liquid-in-glass thermometers, pressure thermometers; thermoelectric sensor (thermocouple) – common thermocouple, special materials, configuration & techniques; electrical resistance sensors – conductive sensor (resistance thermometers), bulk semiconductor sensors (thermistors), bulk semiconductor sensors (thermistors); junction semiconductor sensors; digital thermometers. Radiation Methods – radiation fundamentals, radiation detectors, unchopped (dc) broadband radiation thermometers. Chopped (AC) selective band (photon) radiation thermometers, automatic null balance radiation thermometers (optical pyrometers). Two color radiation thermometers, Black body-tipped fibre optic radiation thermometer, IR imaging systems. Fluoroptic temperature measurement.

Standards & calibration; basic methods of pressure measurement; dead weight gauges & manometer, manometer dynamics; elastic transducers; high pressure measurement; low pressure (vaccum) measurement – Mcleod gage, Knudsen gage, momentum-transfer (viscosity) gages, thermal conductivity gages, ionization gages, dual gage technique.

Local flow velocity, magnitude and direction. Flow visualization. Hot wire and hot film anemometer. Hot-film shock-tube velocity sensor. Laser Doppler velocity meter; gross volume flow rate: calibration and standards. Constant-area, variable-pressure-drop meters (obstruction meters). Averaging pilot tubes. Constant pressure drop, variable area meters (rotameters), turbine meters, and positive displacement meters. Metering pumps. Electromagnetic flow meters. Drag force flow meters. Ultrasonic flow meters, vortex shedding flow meters. LEVEL MEASUREMENT: Capacitance probe; conductivity probes; diaphragm level detector, deferential pressure level detector, radiation level sensors, RADAR level gauges, level transmitter, ultrasonic level detector.