INDUSTRIAL SENSORS

1. OBJECTIVES

This is a hands-on session to explore the operational principles and characteristics of

common industrial sensors. To benefit more fully from this session, students should
read the manual before going to the laboratory.

2. APPARATUS

A single panel Transducer and Instrumentation Trainer, the DIGIAC 1750 will
be used. The unit provides examples of a full range of sensors and actuators, signal
conditioning circuits and display devices. The unit is self-contained and enables the
characteristics of many individual sensors to be investigated, building to form
complete closed-loop systems. A layout diagram of the DIGIAC 1750 unit is
shown below in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Layout of the DIGIAC 1750

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3. TEMPERATURE SENSORS

In this part, we will look at a platinum RTD resistance transducer. The construction of the
transducer is shown in Figure 2.

It consists of:
• A thin film of platinum deposited on a ceramic substrate
• Gold contact plates at either end

Figure 2 : RTD Resistance Transducer

3.1 Operational Principles

The operational principles are briefly given below:

• The platinum film is trimmed with a laser beam to cut a spiral for a resistance of
100Ω at 0oC.
• The resistance of the film increases with temperature. It has a positive
temperature coefficient (p.t.c)
• The increase in resistance is linear, the relationship between resistance change and
temperature rise being 0.385Ω/oC.

Rt = R0 + 0.385t

where Rt = resistance at temperature t oC, R0 =100Ω = resistance at temperature

0oC .
• Normally, the unit would be connected to a DC supply via a series resistor and the
voltage developed across the transducer is measured, which represents the
measurement temperature
.

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3.2 Characteristics

Figure 3: Connection for RTD experiment

• Set the slider of the 10kΩ carbon resistor to mid-way and connect the circuit as
shown in Figure 3, with the digital multi-meter set to its 200mV or 2V DC range.

• Switch ON the power supply and adjust the slider control of the 10kΩ resistor so that
the voltage drop across the platinum RTD is 108mV as indicated by the digital multi-
meter.

This calibrates the platinum RTD for an assumed ambient temperature of 20°C, since the
resistance of the RTD at 20°C will be 108Ω. Note that the voltage reading across the
RTD in mV is the same as the RTD resistance in Ω, since the current flowing must be
108/108=1mA.

Note: If the ambient temperature differs from 20°C, the voltage can be set to the correct
value for this ambient temperature if desired:

1. Set the voltmeter to its 20V range and measure the INT output from the IC
Temperature Sensor to obtain the ambient temperature in °K by multiply the
output with 100 (°K = output of INT × 100), then °C=°K-273. This provides the
reference temperature.
2. RTD resistance = 100 + 0.385 * °C. Set the voltage drop across the RTD for this
value.

• Connect the +12V supply to the Heater Element input and note the values of the
voltage across the RTD with the voltmeter set to its 200mV (this representing the
RTD resistance) and the output voltage from the IC Temperature Sensor with
the voltmeter set to its 20V range, (this representing the temperature of the RTD) at
the time set in Table 1.

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 • Convert the two voltage readings to RTD Temperature (°K) and RTD Resistance (Ω)
and record the values in Table 1.

Table 1: Resistance-Temperature relationship

Time (minutes) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
RTD °K
Temperature °C
RTD Voltage (mV) 111.5 113.0 115.5 117.0 118.5 120.0 121.0 122.5 123.5 124.5 125.5
RTD Resistance (Ω)
IC Voltage (V) 3.03 3.07 3.12 3.17 3.21 3.25 3.28 3.31 3.34 3.37 3.39

• Convert the RTD Temperature into °C(°K-273) and add to Table 1.

• Plot the graph of RTD resistance (Ω) against temperature (°C) on the axes provided
below (Graph 1). Extend your graph down to cover 0°C.

Graph 1

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3.3 Questions

1. Enter the total change in the resistance of the RTD Transducer over the temperature
range 20-50°C in Ω.

2. Is the resistance/temperature characteristic linear?

3. Enter your estimated (extrapolated) resistance of the RTD Transducer from the graph
at 0°C.

4. Calculate the power dissipation in the RTD Transducer at a temperature of 50°C

when the standard circuit current of 1mA flows in it: µW.

Switch OFF the power supply.

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