Interchangeability: Key to Choosing RH Sensors

Written by Mark Brownawell

Article appeared in the April 1995 issue of SENSORS Magazine

A few simple performance tests should be conducted before building any humidity sensor into
the final product.

Humidity measurement is always a difficult task for the design engineer. Few production
facilities are capable of the in-process calibration required for some humidity sensors before
they are built into the final product. Unwary engineers have been known to damage their
companies’ reputations by relying on unproven RH sensors and performance data extrapolated
from manufacturers’ specifications.

Selection of the best humidity sensor requires knowledge of what it is and how it works. The
two basic types are fundamental, or primary, sensors and secondary sensors. Fundamental
sensors are accurate and easy to understand, but typically very expensive. Secondary sensors,
although easier to use, require a deeper knowledge of humidity for an understanding of their
operating principles and how best to use them. All low-cost RH sensors are secondary
sensors.

Fundamental sensors are based on well-defined thermodynamic principles, such as the

condensation temperature of water as a function of vapor pressure, or the mass of water
contained in a volume of air. These physical properties do not require direct calibration.
Examples include continuously controlled chilled mirror sensors, aspirated psychrometers,
electrolytic sensors, and gravimetric instruments.

Secondary sensors are based on an observed property of a material that changes in response to
humidity. They can be calibrated to correspond to either relative or absolute humidity. They
respond to:
- Change in length, e.g., of hair, plant fiber, or nylon, as in the extension hygrometer
- Change in weight, as in the absorption hygrometer
- Change in impedance or capacitance, as in many electronic hygrometers

All of these secondary sensors require that both the base value from which the change occurs
and the rate of change corresponding to humidity are either calibrated or controlled. Other
types of secondary sensors have recently been developed, such as the cycling chilled mirror
hygrometer, where the rate of dew formation must be calibrated. For most OEM applications,
however, this type is too costly and complex compared to other secondary sensors.

The RH purchaser can:

- Buy raw sensors and calibrate the final product by subjecting it to a series of known humidities
during the production process.
- Buy sensors with individual calibration data and adjust the electronics to match the individual
curves of the supplied sensors.
- Buy sensors manufactured to a tight tolerance of interchangeability, and load them into well-
designed or well-calibrated circuits (the best approach).

General Eastern has introduced a new capacitive RH sensor designed specifically for OEMs to
easily integrate into a production environment. The primary advantage of the G-Cap sensor is
interchangeability at low cost, allowing OEM designers to use the unit without consideration of
humidity calibration in a production environment. As a raw sensor, the G-CAP is
interchangeable to ±3% in RH, compared to a typical raw sensor interchangeability of ±10% in
capacitance, which translates to ±30% or more in relative humidity.

To evaluate this feature, a designer’s kit is available that includes a working circuit and several
sensors to interchange. Additional sensors can be ordered at any time during the design cycle
to evaluate the consistency of production lots. To help designers through a possibly unfamiliar
field, we recommend that a few simple tests be conducted before any humidity sensor is
incorporated into a product.

Test 1 : Interchangeability

The first test, intended to determine suitability for F.S. production use, should be a simple one:
to find out if the sensor is a laboratory curiosity or a consistent component. To perform this test
you must become fluent in humidity practice.

The engineering lab is not the ideal place to carry out interchangeability tests, primarily because
of the presence of people who are breathing, perspiring, and generating locally variable humidity
environments that make testing difficult. A proper test for interchangeability requires a stable
and consistent test environment free of random variations in humidity that might mask the
consistency of the sensor. Ideally, you will know the humidity of your environment before you
begin the test. Benchtop RH generators are available for easy and precise testing, or,
alternatively, you can build a humidity test fixture.

A sealed container in a temperature-stable (± 0.25°C) environment can protect the sensors

from the influence of nearby people and allow controlled testing of the effects the target
environmental contaminants exert on sensor performance. For extra stability, secure the test
setup in an enclosure of its own before placing the whole assembly into the temperature-stable
environment.

Note: Environmental test chambers typically are not suitable by themselves. The temperature
controls cycle the temperature over some deadband, and the humidity controls on most
chambers are primitive at best. At 1°C variation in temperature can change the RH by as much
as 6%. However, by first double-insulating the humidity sensors in their own environment, and
thereby decoupling them from the oscillations of an environmental test chamber, you can achieve
good results.

Saturated salts are the simplest way to generate a known humidity environment that will produce
credible results. The technique calls for selecting the proper salt to generate the humidity
desired, placing the salt in a sealable container, and adding water, but not enough to dissolve the
salt. A substantial quantity of undissolved salt should be drifting in the bottom of the container at
all times. Use only pure salts and distilled water, and thoroughly clean the setup every time you
change salts. Salt contamination will adversely affect results.

Once the test chamber is sealed, the saturated salt solution will create the proper humidity in the
air space above the water, but only if given enough time for the water temperature, air
temperature, and humidity to all come to equilibrium. Do not attempt to stir the salt, mix the air,
or bubble the air through the solution. These techniques do not work and only make a mess of
the test setup and the results. Do not immerse the sensor in the liquid - constant humidity is
maintained in the air space above the salt solution. If the solution comes into contact with the
sensor, the local humidity at the sensor surface will be affected and produce bad data at all
humidities.

The entire test assembly must be kept in the temperature-stable environment for the duration of
the test, or the results will be ambiguous. A 1°C fluctuation at 97.6% RH and 20°C will give an
error of 6% RH. The same 1°C fluctuation at 54.4% RH will cause an error of 3.5% RH.

This technique can give a known humidity accurate to ±2% RH if all the precautions are
followed. Incidentally, this is the reason you do not want to perform in-process production
calibration of humidity based products.

Now you are prepared to test the interchangeability of the sensors. One by one, substitute
sensors into the circuit or measure the raw capacitance of the sensor at several humidities.

Test 2: Suitability and Long-Term Reliability

The next step is to evaluate the suitability of the sensors for the job at hand. Determine the
humidity, temperature, pressure, or chemical environment in which the sensors are to operate,
giving particular attention to any critical specifications or operating conditions. Think of a way
to test the sensors under real-world conditions: run a prototype, try an accelerated test, simulate
the environment.

In addition, identify any extraordinary circumstances. Will the sensor be exposed to harsh
chemicals, household cleaning solutions, industrial solvents, or carbon particles? Expose the unit
to very high concentrations of the possible environmental hazards for known periods, and then
repeat the first set of tests for output or capacitance at known humidities. Comparing
successive test data with the original data will help identify any potential field problems.
Note: To function properly, a humidity sensor must be fully exposed to the environment.
Because it is sensing one component of many in the atmosphere, it must be introduced to all of
them rather than being isolated like a temperature or a pressure sensor. These cross-
contamination tests indicate the critical failure points of most humidity applications.

Once the sensors have passed all the required tests, they can be designed into the product.

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