Basics Of Transducers

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SANTOSH BHARADWAJ REDDY
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 Application
Transducers are used in various fields of
industry & research
They are mainly used in measurement of
electrical & mechanical properties of
different material
In industry transducers are used in measuring
& controlling various parameters in a process
or product
TRANSDUCER
A transducer is a device which converts energy from
one form to another
A transducer performs the following functions in
instrumentation
A) Detects the presence , magnitude & changes in a
physical quantity being measured
B) Provides a proportional electrical output signal
 Types Of Transducers
There are various types of transducers
A)Active transducers
B) Passive transducers
C) Analog transducers
D) Digital transducers
Active transducers :- These transducers
generate their own signal when subject to
measurement
e.g.
1) Piezo electric transducer
2) Photo voltaic cell
3) Thermocouples
Passive transducers :- These are called as
externally powered transducers.They don't
generate their own signal but require a
secondary power source for energy conversion
e.g.
1) Thermisters
2) LVDT
3) RTD
Transducers can also be classified on the basis
of the physical properties they measure
1) Pressure transducers
e.g. Bourden tube , Bellows, strain gauges
piezoelectric sensor
2) Temperature transducers
e.g. Thermister , Thermocouples , RTD
3) Displacement transducers
e.g. L.V.D.T ,
4) Illumination transducers
e.g. Photo transistors , LDR etc
 Piezo-electric Transducers
A piezoelectric sensor converts pressure into
electrical signal.It is a active transducer
A piezo-electric material is one in which an
electric potential appears across certain
surfaces of a crystal if the dimensions of the
crystal are changed by the application of
mechanical force
This potential is produced by the
displacement of external charges
There are two main groups of materials with
piezolelecric characteristics
A) natural crystals
E.G. Quartz , tourmaline
B) synthetic crystals
E.G. Rochelle salt , lithium sulphate

Electrodes Crystal Output voltage

 Temperature Transducers
The various types of temperature sensors
are
RTD ( resistance temperature detectors)
Thermocouples
Thermisters
Thermo bulb
 Resistance Temperature Detector
A RTD is made of a resistance material of known electrical
properties
This property of resistance can be used to determine the value of
a unknown temperature if the relationship of temperature &
resistance is known
Among metallic conductors pure metals exhibit the greatest
change of resistance
The sensing element of RTD consists of a coil of wire , usually
of platinum , nickel , copper or nickel-iron
Platinum RTD’s have a range of -200 TO 6500 C
 Thermocouples
Thermocouples are active transducers which
generate a electric signal with change in
temperature
Thermocouples work on the Seeback effect,
which says that when two dissimilar metals are
joined together at one end & a meter is
connected at the free end current flows
through the ckt when the joint is heated
The thermocouple consists of two electrical
conductors of different materials connected
together at one end (called at the hot junction)
The other two free ends are connected to a
measuring instrument , a indicator , controller
via the cold (reference) junction
The thermoelectric voltage appearing at the
indicator depends upon the material of the
two wires of the thermocouple & the
temperature difference between the hot &
cold junctions
For accurate measurement the temperature of
reference junction must be kept constant
TYPES OF THERMOCOUPLES & RANGES
TYPE NAME RANGE
T Copper-Constantan -250 to 400
J Iron-Constantan -200 to 850
E Cromel-Constantan -200 to 850
K Chromel-Alumel -180 to 1100
W Tungesten-Rhenium 0 to 2600
R Platinum13%-Rhodium 0 to 1750
S Platinum10%-Rhodium 0 to 1750
B Platinum30%-Rhodium 6% 0 to 1800
 Thermisters
Thermisters are thermally sensitive variable
resistors made of certain & ceramic like
semiconducting materials
Thermisters are composed of sintered mixture of
metallic oxides like Iron , Uranium , Manganese ,
Nickel & Cobalt etc.
Their resistances range from 0.5
Thermisters behave as resistors with high
temperature coefficient of resistance
Thermisters have positive or negative temperature
coefficient of resistance
Thermisters provide a range of -100 to + 100oc
DIFFERENT TYPES OF THERMISTERS
Glass coated bead

Leads

DISC
BEAD Glass

Leads

BULB
 Capacitive Transducers
A capacitive transducer operates on the
principle of variation in capacitance produced
by the physical quantity being measured
Moving plate
Dielectric

Fixed Displacement
plate
OUTPUT
In a capacitive transducer change in
capacitance is caused by displacement , force
or pressure
The change in capacitance is caused by
change in dielectric constant in case of liquid
& gas level measurement
The change in capacitance is measured by a
bridge circuit
This kind of transducer is used mainly for
measuring linear displacement
 Strain Gauges
When a metal conductor is stretched or
compressed , its resistance changes both in
length & diameter
This property of change in resistivity is
called as piezo-resistive effect
Strain gauges are used for the measurement
of stress & strain
The main types of strain gauges are
A) Bonded resistance wire strain gauge
B) Semiconductor strain gauges
 Carrier
Base
Terminals

Wire grid

LINEAR STRAIN GAUGE

A resistance wire strain gauge consists of a grid
fine resistance wire of about 25 micron in
dia.This grid is cemented to a carrier (Base).
The base is generally a thin sheet of paper on a
sheet of Bakelite or Teflon