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Some practical resistive transducers
Many measurements depend on the variation of the resistance of a sensor.
Hot wire anemometer.
A wire filament is heated by a current to just below glowing temperature in ambient air.
When there is an air flow over the wire it cools and its resistance decreases. The device is
much less robust than the rotating cup anemometer but can be made very sensitive, e.g. it
can pick up air movements due to speech. Typical values would be a resistance of 1 and
a heating current of 0.5A.
Pirani gauge
A simple gauge used for measuring pressures down to 10
-4
mm Hg (i.e. 0.1 micron). It
utilises a temperature dependent resistance in much the same way as the hot wire
anemometer. Here the gas whose pressure is to be measured acts as the thermal coupling
between a hot wire and the walls of the chamber. The lower the pressure of the gas the
hotter the wire becomes and the greater its resistance. The gauge must be calibrated for
the gas under measurement since the rate at which heat is removed from the wire depends
on properties of the gas. A thermistor may replace the resistance wire or, in another
variation the temperature of the heated element may be measured with a thermocouple.
Strain gauge
A change in dimension (strain) accompanies stress in a component. If a wire or foil is
glued to the component it will change its physical dimensions when the component is
stressed. This causes a change in resistance which may be used to measure the strain.
Also, when under stress the resistivity of a material may change and causes an additional
contribution to the change in resistance. A typical strain gauge may have a resistance of
120 and carry an excitation current of 10mA.
Resistance temperature detectors (RTDs)
In this application the variation of device resistance with temperature is used as a measure
of temperature. The temperature coefficient of resistance may have either sign being
positive for a platinum resistance thermometer and negative for a thermistor. Typical
platinum resistance thermometers have resistances of a few hundred ohms and low
excitation currents of a few mA, to avoid self heating.
Photoresistors
The carrier density of certain semiconductors can be altered by incident light. The
effective resistance alters inversely with light intensity. Photosensitive resistors find
greatest use in light dependent switching devices.
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Obtaining signals from resistive transducers
The most obvious, but not the best, way is to use a constant current source to obtain a
voltage proportional to the resistance. Consider a strain gauge example.
If the unstrained gauge has a resistance R
0
and the
strain produces a change in resistance of r, then
the signal voltage, V
S
, is
V
S
= i
0
(R
0
+ r)
Typically, R
0
is about 300 and i
0
about 10mA,
so the signal from the unstrained gauge (r = 0) is
about 3V. Strains vary of course but a representative value for r is r = 10
3
R
0
.
The problem with the above circuit is that the useful part of the signal (i
o
r) is only a small
fraction of V
S
.
When measuring small variations in the strain we are interested in the accuracy with which
we can measure small changes in r. If, say, we wish to measure the strain to 1% accuracy,
then we must be sensitive to changes in r of r = 10
2
r.
The change in signal voltage is V
S
= i
0
r
and this must be detected against a background voltage V
S
= i
0
(R
0
+ r)
The fractional change in V
S
is
0 0 S
S
R
r
r R
r
V
V
=
+

since R
0
r.
In the present example a fractional change in strain of 10
2
produces a fractional change in
the signal of 10
5
since R
0
= 10
3
r = 10
5
r. Against a background signal of V
S
= 3V
we need to measure changes of V
S
= 30V.
To measure this small change requires an extremely high precision instrument, capable of
displaying voltages such as 3.00003 V, i.e. six figures of precision; and all to measure a
1% change! Something is obviously wrong.
The problem is, of course, R
0
. We would like the fractional change in V
S
to be
r
r
V
V
S
S

=

instead of
r R
r
V
V
0 S
S
+

,
so we have to get rid of R
0
. The process of getting rid of the undesired fixed component in
the signal voltage is called offsetting and the classic method for resistance transducers is to
use a bridge circuit.
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Offsetting
Offsetting is the removal of a fixed component from the signal voltage.
In the case we have been discussing, we would like the fractional change in the signal
voltage to be determined by the fractional change in the strain, i.e. by the fractional change
in r.
However, simply measuring the voltage across the gauge, gives
r R
r
V
V
0 S
S
+

instead of the desired

r
r
V
V
S
S

=

We need to get rid of the R

0
that appears in the equation due to the fact that the fixed
component i
0
R
0
is always present in the signal voltage. The classic method for resistance
transducers is to employ a bridge arrangement.
When r = 0 the bridge is balanced and the signal voltage, V
s
, is zero (instead of i
0
R
0
).
When the gauge resistance changes by r, the signal voltage becomes:
0
s C B 0 0
0 0 0
R r 1 r
V V V V V
R r R 2 4R
( +
= = =
(
+ +

(for r R
0
)
Putting in some numerical values:
10mA through R
0
(300) requires that V
0
= 6 V.
So the out of balance signal for
0
r
R
= 0.1% is V
s
=
0
0
r
V
4R
= 1.5mV
Notes:
(1) When r = 0, the bridge is balanced and V
s
= 0. (The unwanted fixed component of the
signal voltage has been offset).
(2) The bridge configuration offers a measure of immunity to changes in the supply
voltage since, at balance, V
s
remains at zero even if V
0
changes. (There was no such
immunity to changes in the supply current in the previous method. A change in the
supply current would be interpreted as a signal due to strain).
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(3) Since the signal voltage is now very small [ ~1.5mV instead of ~(3V + 1.5mV) in the
previous example] gain can be applied. A gain of 1000 applied to the bridge signal
gives a useful output voltage of 1.5V. Applied to the constant current method, a gain
of 1000 simply drives the amplifier into saturation giving no useful signal.
(4) The signal voltage is now directly proportional to r (the change) instead of R
0
+ r (the
total resistance). To record a change of 1% in r now requires a meter accurate to
1%, instead of 0.001% as before.
Sensitivity
For the bridge arrangement, the variation of V
s
with r is given by:
s 0 0
0 0
dV rV V d
dr dr 4R 4R
| |
= =
|
\ .
To relate this to the sensitivity to changes in the measurand (m), we need to have
information about how r changes with m (e.g. temperature, pressure, strain, wind speed
etc.).
The sensitivity of the measuring instrument is then
s s 0
0
dV dV V dr dr
d dr d 4R d m m m
| |
= =
|
\ .
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The Hot Wire Anemometer (HWA)
The gauge resistor is now a thin wire with resistance typically 1.5. It carries a current of
0.5A which heats it to just below glowing temperature.
We will investigate the behaviour of the temperature of the wire on the assumptions that:
(i) the power input that is keeping the wire hot, is constant.
(ii) the heat loss to the surroundings is proportional to the temperature difference
between the hot wire and the surroundings.
(iii) the proportionality depends on the wind speed.
(This is not quite right but it simplifies the analysis, which retains all the main features of
the real behaviour of a HWA).
In this approximation the equation governing the temperature (T) of the HWA is a first
order LDE. The power input goes into heating the wire and feeding the heat losses to the
surroundings.
0 A
dT
P H k(T T )
dt
= + (1)
P
0
is the fixed power input.
H is the heat capacity of the wire.
T
A
is the ambient temperature.
k describes the heat loss (watts/degree) to ambient.
We shall use k
0
to designate the value of k in still air. When the system is in a steady state
dT
0
dt
= . So, from equation (1), the equilibrium temperature, T
0
, in still air, is given by:
0 0 0 A
P k (T T ) = (2)
i.e.
0
0 A
0
P
T T
k
= + (3)
Equation (1) shows that, after P
0
is switched on, the steady state in still air is reached with
a first order time constant
0
0
H
k
= (4)
The HWA is mounted in a bridge arrangement that is balanced in still air, i.e. when the
HWA has the resistance corresponding to the temperature T
0
.
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When there is air movement across the HWA, the thermal coupling of the wire to the
surroundings increases; i.e. k makes a step change from k
0
to an increased value, k
1
:
k
1
= k
0
+ k (5)
The governing equation is now:
0 1 A
dT
P H k (T T )
dt
= + (6)
This indicates that the HWA moves towards a new steady state temperature, T
1
, given by
0
1 A
1
P
T T
k
= + (7)
This is somewhat less than T
0
, since k
1
> k
0
.
The amount by which the temperature falls is:
T
o
T
1
=
o A
1
k
(T T )
k

(8)
The time constant for the approach to T
1
is
1 0
H H
k k k
= =
+
(9)
If k is small compared to k
0
, the time constant is not significantly different from
0
[=
o
H
k
].
The pattern of events, that we have described, may be illustrated graphically.
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The response tends to be slow because the time constant is associated with a change to a
new thermal equilibrium. [Time constants that depend on heat transfer are generally very
much slower than electronic time constants].
To minimise it is necessary to
(i) minimise the heat capacity (H), and
(ii) maximise the thermal contact to the environment (k).
Thus it is that HWAs take the form of thin wires or foils with low heat capacity and large
surface/volume ratio. Typical is a short thin platinum wire a few mm long and ~ 2.5m in
diameter.
Even with optimal construction the HWA cannot cope with high frequency air movements
such as are encountered in, e.g., sound waves. To achieve a quicker response, a new
approach is needed.
The constant temperature hot wire anemometer (CTHWA)
This is an example of active measurement that combines transducer response with
control theory. The problem with the hot wire anemometer is that, although k changes
abruptly, the wire can only change temperature at a rate determined by its heat capacity
and its thermal contact with the environment. In general the time constants of systems
whose response depends on attaining a new thermal equilibrium, are long compared to
electronic time constants.
An approach that speeds up the response is that of the CTHWA. Instead of allowing the
wire to move to a new equilibrium temperature when air movement cools it, additional
power is provided to maintain the wire at a constant temperature. Since the additional
power is provided electronically it can be changed very quickly. The amount of extra
power required is a measure of the air speed.
Of course, there has to be some change of temperature, and hence change in resistance of
the wire, for the apparatus to detect that extra power is needed. This is essentially a
control problem in which the apparatus works to stabilise the hot wire temperature despite
the efforts of the air movement to change it.
The first element of any control loop is usually what is called proportional control. The
correction signal provided is arranged to be proportional to the difference between the
present value of the variable (in this case, the wire temperature, T) and the target constant
value (in this case, the temperature in still air, T
0
).
Calling the constant of proportionality , the extra input power is P = (T
0
T). This
clearly meets the requirement that no extra power is supplied if the wire is already at T
0
,
i.e. when the air is still. Note that the extra power input is positive for T < T
0
.
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The differential equation for the model is:
) T T ( k
dt
dT
H ) T T ( P P
A 0 0 in
+ = + = (10)
P
0
is, as before, the power input that maintains the hot wire at T
0
when it is in still air at
ambient temperature T
A
. i.e.
P
0
= k
0
(T
0
T
A
)
where k
0
is the coupling to the surroundings in still air.
When there is air movement k increases from k
0
to k
1
= k
0
+ k, and equation (10)
becomes
A 1 0 0 1
T k T P T ) k (
dt
dT
H + + = + + (11)
This is a first order LDE. The solution is a first order approach of T to a new steady state
temperature (T
1
) with time constant (
1
). We look at T
1
and
1
in turn.
Steady state temperature:
T
1
is given by ( + k
1
)T
1
= P
0
+ T
0
+ k
1
T
A
which reduces, after some algebra, to
1 0 0 A
1
k
T T (T T )
k

=
+
(12)
The value of the parameter is under the instrument designers control and can be made
k
1
. It follows that
1
k k
k

+
1
and so, from equation (12), T
1
is close to, but slightly less than T
0
. The amount by which
the temperature drops is
0 1 0 A
k
T T (T T )

This underlines the point that, when there is air movement, the proportional control kicks
in but cannot restore the wire temperature, T
1
, to the value T
0
since an error signal
(T
0
T
1
) is required in order to sustain the extra power.
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The amount of extra power can be found from equation (3), with k
1
.
P = (T
0
T
1
) = k (T
0
T
A
)
P is, as expected, proportional to k and so can be used as a measure of the change in k
and hence the air speed.
Note that the instrument cannot distinguish between a change in k and a change in T
A
. For
T
0
= 1000K and T
A
= 300K a change of 7
0
in T
A
would be a 1% effect. The CTHWA is
best used in measurement situations in which the ambient air temperature is reasonably
constant.
Time constant:
Equation (11) is first order with a time constant

+
=
H
k
H
1
1
Since can be made much greater than k
0
, the new time constant
1
is
0
[
o
=
o
H
k
is the
time constant for the HWA]. So there is a considerable improvement in the response time
of the CTHWA relative to the HWA.
The overall result is that, when the air speed changes, the hot wire undergoes a very small
temperature change and, because of the active nature of the system, the new equilibrium
is reached much more quickly. The diagram below exaggerates T
0
T
1
and does not show
adequately the improvement in the time constant (compared to the HWA) which is a factor
of 1000 or so.

1
= 0.5 ms is realisable. This value corresponds to a 3dB frequency of about 300Hz,
which makes the anemometer fast enough to respond to low frequency sound waves. The
sensitivity is such that whispers can be detected at a few metres.
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The CTWHA bridge
The schematic set up is as shown below. The resistance of the HWA in still air is 1.5
and it carries a current of 0.6A. So the bridge is balanced with 1.8V across it in this
example.
If there is air movement this resistance tends to fall; the consequent out of balance signal,
V
B
V
A
, is amplified and applied to increase the current through the power transistor.
The increased current provides the extra power, P, that prevents the HWA temperature
falling and keeps the bridge close to balance.
The increase in voltage that appears at D is a measure of the extra current through the
HWA and this can be calibrated to air speed.
Note that changes in the voltage at D appear on top of a fixed component of 1.8V. An
offsetting method is needed to subtract the fixed component before amplification of the
signal. This is essentially a summing operation that can be achieved by either of the
opamp configurations shown below.