TRANSDUCERS

TRANSDUCERS
• The transducer changes the physical quantity into an electrical signal.
• It is an electronic device which has two main functions,
• Sensing
• Transduction
• It senses the physical quantity and then converts it into mechanical
works or electrical signals.
• The input quantity is the non-electrical quantity, and the output
electrical signal is in the form of the current, voltage or frequency.
Classification of Transducers
Classification of Transducers
• There are many basis on which transducers could be classified.
• They can be classified according to application, method of energy
conversion, nature of output signals and so on.
Classification of Transducers(cont.):
Transducer and Inverse
Transducer
Transducer and Inverse Transducer
Transducer
• The device which converts the
non-electrical quantity into an
electric quantity is known as the
transducer.
• E.g. Strain gauge, Resistance
thermometers etc.
Inverse Transducer
• The transducer which converts
the electric quantity into a
physical quantity, such type of
transducers is known as the
inverse transducer.
• E.g. Current-carrying conductor
placed in a magnetic field is the
example of the inverse
transducer.
Analog and Digital Transducer
Analog and Digital Transducer
Analog Transducer
• The Analog transducer changes
the input quantity into a
continuous function.
• E.g.. The strain gauge, L.V.D.T,
thermocouple, thermistor
Digital Transducer
• These transducers convert an
input quantity into a digital
signal or in the form of the
pulse.
• The digital signals work on high
or low power.
• E.g. Encoder, Limit switches,
Digital tachometers etc.
Active and Passive Transducers
Active and Passive transducers
Active transducers
• The transducer which does not
require the external power source
is known as the active transducer.
• Such type of transducer develops
their own voltage or current, hence
known as a self-generating
transducer.
• E.g.. The piezoelectric crystal,
photo-voltaic cell, tacho generator,
thermocouples, photovoltaic cell.
Passive transducers
• The transducer which requires the
power from an external supply
source is known as the passive
transducer.
• They are also known as the
external power transducer.
• E.g.. The capacitive, resistive and
inductive transducers.
Primary and Secondary
Transducers
Primary and Secondary Transducers
• Primary Transducer
• The transducer consists the mechanical as well as the electrical devices.
• The mechanical devices of the transducer change the physical input
quantities into a mechanical signal(displacement).
• This mechanical device is known as the primary transducers.
• Secondary Transducer
• The secondary transducer converts the mechanical signal into an electrical
signal.
• The magnitude of the output signal depends on the input mechanical signal.
Example of Primary and Secondary
transducers
• Bourdon’s tube – It is used to measure
pressure.
• The tube act as a primary transducer.
• It detects the pressure and converts it into a
displacement from its free end.
• The displacement of the free ends moves
the core of the linear variable displacement
transformer.
• The movement of the core induces the
output voltage which is directly proportional
to the displacement of the tube free end.
• Thus, the two type of transduction occurs
in the Bourdon’s tube.
Example of Primary and Secondary
transducers(cont.):
• First, the pressure is converted into a displacement using bourdon’s
tube which is the primary transducer and then it is converted into the
voltage by the help of the L.V.D.T., which is called as Secondary
transducer.
Example of Primary and Secondary
transducers (Cont.):
• Few examples of primary transducer element include:
• Bourdon tube - Pressure to displacement.
• Diaphragm - Pressure to displacement.
• Orifice - Velocity to pressure.
• Some examples of secondary transducers include:
• LVDT
• Piezoelectric crystals
Classification of Transducers On
the basis of transduction
Classification based on the Principle of
Transduction
• The transducer is classified by the transduction medium.
• The transduction medium may be resistive, inductive or capacitive
depending on the conversion process by which transducer converts
the input signal into resistance, inductance and capacitance
respectively.
Resistive Transducers
Resistive transducers
• The resistance of a metal conductor is expressed as
• R=
• Where ,
• R=resistance;
• L=length of conductor; m,
• A=cross-sectional area of conductor
• =resistivity of conductor material

• Any method of varying one of the quantities involved in the above

relationship is the design basis of an electrical resistive transducer.
• Strain gauge is an example of resistive transducer.
Strain Gauge
Strain Gauge

• The strain gauges are used for

measurement of strain and
associated stress in experimental
stress analysis.
• Secondly, many other detectors
and transducers, notably the load
cells , diaphragm type pressure
gauges, temperature sensors,
accelerometers and flow meters,
employ strain gauges as
secondary transducers.
Working Principle of Strain gauge:
• If a metal conductor is stretched or compressed, its resistance
changes on account of the fact that both length and diameter of
conductor change.
• Also there is a change in the value of resistivity of the conductor
when it is strained and this property is called Piezo resistive effect.
• Therefore, resistance strain gauges are also known as piezo resistive
gauges.
Working Principle of Strain gauge(Cont.):
• If a strip of elastic material is subjected to tension, or in other words positively
strained, its longitudinal dimension will increase while there will be a reduction
in the lateral dimension.
• So when a gauge is subjected to a positive strain, its length increases while its area of
cross-section decreases.
• Since the resistance of a conductor is proportional to its length and inversely proportional
to its area of cross section, the resistance of the gauge increases with positive strain.
• The change in the value of resistance of strained conductor is more than what
can be accounted for an increase in resistance due to dimensional changes.
• The extra change in the value of resistance is attributed to a change in the value
of resistivity of a conductor when strained. This property is known as piezo
resistive effect.
Gauge factor
• The sensitivity of the strain gauge is expressed in the terms of a characteristic
called the Gauge factor.
• Strain wire Gauge factor G is the ratio between relative change in resistance due to
the change in relative length.

• Where
• ∆R is the change in resistance occurred in the wire whose resistance has to be measured.
• ∆L is the change in length of the wire whose resistance has to be measured.
• L is the length of the wire
• R is the resistance of the wire
Deriving an expression for Gauge factor:
• In order to find how ΔR depends upon the material physical quantities, the
expression for R is differentiated with respect to stress s.
• Thus we get

…………………………..(1)

• Dividing Eqn(1) throughout by resistance R=ρL/ A, we have

……………………………………………(2)

• Its is clear that per unit change in resistance is due to :

• per unit change in length= ΔL/L.
• per unit change in area = Δ A/A.
Deriving an expression for Gauge factor
(Cont.):

• Equation (2) could be written as

Deriving an expression for Gauge
factor(Cont.):
Deriving an expression for Gauge
factor(Cont.):
• Gauge factor :
The gauge factor is defined as the ratio of per Unit change in resistance to per
unit change in length.

Where ,
Deriving an expression for Gauge
factor(Cont.):
• The gauge factor can be written as

• If the change in the value of resistivity of a material when strained is

neglected, the gauge factor is

…………………….(3)
• Eqn (3) is valid only when piezo resistive effect i.e. change in resistivity
due to strain is almost negligible.
Deriving an expression for Gauge
factor(Cont.):
• The Poisson's ratio for all metals is between 0 and 0.5.
• This gives a gauge factor of approximately 2.
• The common value for Poisson's ratio for wires is 0.3 , This gives a
value of 1.6 for wire wound strain gauges.
Classification of Strain gauge :

• Strain gauges are classified as:

• Wire wound strain gauges,
• Foil type strain gauges,
• Semiconductor strain gauges.
Classification of Strain gauge (cont.):
Strain gauge

Foil type strain Wire wound Semiconductor

gauge strain gauge strain gauges

Unbonded
Strain gauge

Bonded Strain
gauge
Wire Wound Strain Gauges
Wire wound strain gauges

Unbonded Strain gauge Bonded Strain gauge

Wire wound strain gauges(Cont.):
• Unbonded Strain gauge
• The unbonded resistance strain
gauge uses strain-sensitive wire
with one end fixed or the other
end attached to a movable
element.
• Un bonded strain gauges measure
the very small motion of the order
of 50 micrometres and very small
forces.
• The device is less robust than the
bonded gauges.
• Bonded Strain gauge
• The Resistance element is
cemented to the base which may
be a thin sheet of paper or a thin
sheet of Bakelite or Teflon
• The bonded strain gauge is
connected to the Wheatstone
bridge circuit.
• This is the most common type of
strain gauge .
Foil Strain Gauges
Foil Strain Gauges
• This class of strain gauges is only an extension of the resistance wire
strain gauges.
• The strain is sensed with the help of metal foils as against metal wires
as in wire strain gauges.
• Foil gauges have a much greater dissipation capacity as compared
with wire wound gauges on account of their greater surface area for
the same volume.
• For this reason they can be used for higher operating temperature
range.
Foil Strain Gauges (cont.):
• Foil type strain gauges have
similar characteristics to those of
wire wound strain gauges and
their gauge factors are typically
the same as that of wire wound
strain gauges.
• The advantage of foil type strain
gauges is that they can be
fabricated economically on a
mass scale.
Solved example:
A resistance wire strain gauge with a gauge factor of 2 is bonded to a steel
structural member subjected to a stress of 100 MN/m2. The modulus of elasticity of
steel is 200 GN/m2. Calculate the percentage change in the value of the gauge
resistance due to the applied stress.
Solution:
Young’s modulus,E = Stress/ Strain.

The change in resistance is only 0.1%.

Semiconductor Strain Gauge
Semiconductor Strain Gauge
• Semiconductor strain gauges are used where a very high gauge factor
is required.
• The resistance of the semi-conductors changes with change in applied
strain.
• Unlike the case of metallic gauges where the change in resistance is
mainly due to change in dimensions when strained, the semiconductor
strain gauges depend for their action upon piezo resistive effect i.e. the
change in the value of the resistance due to change in resistivity.
• Semiconducting materials such as silicon and germanium are used as
resistive materials for semi-conductor strain gauges
Semiconductor Strain Gauge (cont.):
• A typical strain gauge consists of a
strain sensitive crystal material and
leads that are sandwiched in a
protective matrix.
• The production of these gauges
employs conventional semiconductor
technology using semiconducting
wafers or filaments which have a
thickness of 0.05 mm and bonding
them on a suitable insulating
substrates, such as Teflon .
• Gold leads are generally employed for
making the contacts.
Semiconductor Strain Gauge (cont.):
Advantages
• They have a high gauge factor of about
±130.
• This allows measurement of very small
strains of the order of 0·01 micro strain.
• Hysteresis characteristics of semi-
conductor strain gauges are excellent.
• Semi-conductor strain gauges can be
very small ranging in length from 0.7 to
7 mm.
• They are very useful for measurement of
local strains.
Diadvantages
• They are very sensitive to
changes in temperature.
• Linearity of the semi-conductor
strain gauges is poor.
• Semi-conductor strain gauges
are more expensive and difficult
to attach to the object under
study.
Resistance Thermometer
Resistance Thermometer

• The resistance of a conductor

changes when its temperature
is changed. This property is
utilized for measurement of
temperature.
• Metals commonly used for
resistance thermometers are
• Platinum
• Copper
• Tungsten
• Nickel
Resistance Thermometer(cont.):
Resistance Thermometer (cont.):
• Platinum, nickel and copper are the most commonly used metals to
measure temperature.
• The principle of Resistance thermometer is given by :

• Where,
• Rϴ = Approximate resistance at 0°C
• Rϴ0 = Approximate resistance at ϴ°C
• α = Resistance Temperature coefficient of resistance.
• ϴ = Change in temperature.
Resistance Thermometer (cont.):
• The value of α for platinum between 0-100° C is about 0.004/°C.
• In fact the resistivity of platinum tends to increase less rapidly at
higher temperatures than for other metals and therefore it is most
commonly used material for resistance thermometers.
Resistive transducers
Thermocouple
Thermocouple
• Thermocouples are also used in the measurement of temperature.
• It is used to sense temperature in the range of –200°C to +2500°C.
• It works on the principle of Seebeck effect.
Thermocouple (Cont.):
Thermocouples are manufactured in a variety of styles, such as
• Thermocouple probes,
• Thermocouple probes with connectors,
• Transition joint thermocouple probes,
• Infrared thermocouples,
• Bare wire thermocouple or
• Even just thermocouple wire.
Working Principle of Thermocouple
• When two wires composed of dissimilar metals are joined at both
ends and one of the ends is heated, there is a continuous current
which flows in the thermoelectric circuit.
• If this circuit is broken at the center, the net open circuit voltage (the
Seebeck voltage) is a function of the junction temperature and the
composition of the two metals.
• Which means that when the junction of the two metals is heated or cooled a
voltage is produced that can be correlated back to the temperature.
Working Principle of Thermocouple (Cont.):
Types of Thermocouple
• Thermocouples are available in different combinations of metals or
calibrations.
• The most common are the “Base Metal thermocouples” known as
Types J, K, T, E and N.
• There are also high temperature calibrations - also known as “Noble
Metal thermocouples” - Types R, S, C and GB.
• Although thermocouple calibration dictates the temperature range,
the maximum range is also limited by the diameter of the
thermocouple wire.
Types of Thermocouple (Cont.):
• K Type Thermocouples are known as general purpose thermocouple.
• A Type K thermocouple refers to any temperature sensor containing
Chromel and Alumel conductors and has a general temperature range
of -200° to 1260°C.
• It is the most commonly used thermocouple due to the wide range of
temperature it could measure and due to its low cost.
Output voltage range of K type thermocouple
• The following is a selection of output values for Type K thermocouples
at selected temperatures.
Output voltage range of K type
thermocouple(Cont.):
Temperature Output
Thermocouple
Advantages
• Thermocouples are best for working
at high temperatures.
• More than 90% of RTDs are designed
for temperatures below 400°C.
• In contrast, some thermocouples can
be used at up to 2500°C.
• Thermocouples are cheaper than
the resistance thermometers.
• Thermocouples respond three times
faster than PT100 RTD.
Disadvantages
• They have a lower accuracy and hence
they cannot be used for precision work.
• To prevent contamination of the
thermo-couple, when precious metals
like platinum or its alloys are being used,
the protecting tube has to be made
chemically inert and vacuum tight.
• The thermocouple is placed remote
from measuring devices.
• Connections are thus made by means of
wires called extension wires.
K type thermocouple
Thermocouple leads and colour code:
K type thermocouple(cont.):
K type thermocouple(cont.):
K [TEMI] type thermocouple
K type thermocouple(cont.):
Classification of Transducers On
the basis of transduction
Inductive Transducers
Inductive Transducers
• A transducer that works on the principle of electromagnetic induction
or transduction mechanism is called an inductive transducer.
• A self-inductance or mutual inductance is varied to measure required
physical quantities like displacement (rotary or linear), force, pressure,
velocity, torque, acceleration, etc. These physical quantities are noted
as measurands.
• Linear Variable Differential Transducer (LVDT) is an example of an
inductive transducer.
• Using LVDT, displacement is measured in terms of the voltage induced
in the winding by moving the core in one direction.
Inductive Transducers
Linear Variable Differential Transformer/Transducer(LVDT):
Linear Variable Differential Transformer [LVDT]

• LVDT is a common type of electromechanical transducer that can

convert the rectilinear motion of an object to which it is coupled
mechanically into a corresponding electrical signal.
• LVDT linear position sensors are readily available that can measure
movements as small as a few millionths of an inch up to several
inches.
• They are also capable of measuring positions up to ±30 inches (±0.762
meter).
Construction of LVDT:
LVDT – Construction:
• The transformer consists of a single primary winding P1 and two
secondary windings S1 and S2 wound on a cylindrical former.
• The secondary windings have equal number of turns and are identically
placed on either side of the primary windings.
• The primary winding is connected to an alternating current source.
• A movable soft iron core is placed inside the former.
• The displacement to be measured is applied to an arm attached to
the soft iron core.
• The core is made of nickel iron alloy which is slotted longitudinally to reduce
eddy current losses.
Working principle of LVDT:
• The output voltage of secondary, S1,
is ES1 and that of secondary, S2, is ES2.
• In order to convert the outputs from
S1 and S2 into a single voltage signal,
the two secondaries S1 and S2 are
connected in series opposition.
• Thus the output voltage of the
transducer is the difference of the
two voltages.
• Differential output voltage,
• E0= Es1 – Es2
Working principle of LVDT(Cont.):
• When the core is at its normal
(NULL) position, the flux linking
with both the secondary
windings is equal and hence
equal emfs are induced in them.
• Thus at null position Es1= Es2 .
• Since the output voltage of the
transducer is the difference of
the two voltages, the output
voltage Eo is zero at null position.
Working principle of LVDT(Cont.):
• Now if the core is moved to the left of the NULL position, more flux links with
winding S1 and less with winding S2.
• Accordingly output voltage ES1 of the secondary winding S1 is more than ES2, the
output voltage of secondary winding S2.
• The magnitude of output voltage is, thus ES1- Es2 and the output voltage is in phase
with ES1 i.e. the output voltage of secondary winding S 1.
• Similarly, if the core is moved to the right of the null position, the flux linking with
winding s2 becomes larger than that linking with winding S 1. This results in ES2
becoming larger than ES1.
• The output voltage in this case is Eo= ES2-Es1 and is in phase with ES2 ie. the output
voltage of secondary winding S2 .
Working principle of LVDT(Cont.):
• The amount of voltage change in either secondary winding is
proportional to the amount of movement of the core.
• Hence, we have an indication of amount of linear motion.
• The difference of the two voltages appears across the output
terminals of the transducer and gives a measure of the physical
position of core and hence the displacement.
Advantages of LVDT
• The output voltage of this transducer is practically linear for
displacements up to 5 mm.
• The transducer possesses a high sensitivity as high as 40 V/mm.
• These transducers can usually tolerate a high degree of shock and
vibration without any adverse effects.
• There are no sliding contacts and hence there is less friction and less
noise.
• Most of the LVDTs consume a power of less than 1 W.
Disadvantages of LVDT
• Relatively large displacements are required for appreciable differential
output.
• They are sensitive to stray magnetic fields but shielding is possible.
This is done by providing magnetic shields with longitudinal slots.
• Temperature affects the performance of the transducer.
Classification of Transducers On
the basis of transduction
Capacitive transducers
Capacitive transducers
• A passive transducer which is used to
measure the pressure, displacement, and
other physical quantities is called a
capacitive transducer.
• This kind of transducer needs additional
power for its operation.
• This transducer includes two parallel metal
plates which are divided through the
dielectric medium like material, air, liquid,
or gas.
• In the typical capacitor, the main distance
between the two plates is stable whereas,
in the capacitive transducer, it will be
changed.
Capacitive transducers
• The principle of operation of capacitive transducers is based upon the
equation

• Where
• A = Overlapping area of the plates;
• d = distance between two plates;
• Є = permittivity (dielectric constant)
Principle of Capacitive transducers
• The capacitive transducer work on
the principle of change of
capacitance which may be caused
by :
• Change in overlapping area A,
• Change in the distance d between
the plates,
• Change in dielectric constant.
• These changes are caused by
physical variables like
displacement, force, pressure in
most of the cases.
Capacitive transducers
Transducers based on Change in the distance between the plates
Transducers based on Change in the distance between the plates

• The capacitance can be varied by

changing the distance between
two plates.
• From the equation for C, we can
observe that C and d are inversely
proportional to each other.
• This principle can be used in a
transducer by making the left
plate fixed and the right plate
movable by the displacement that
is to be measured.
Capacitive transducers
Transducers based on change in permittivity of the dielectric medium
 Transducers based on change in permittivity
of the dielectric medium
• Another method to change the
capacitance value is by changing the
permittivity of the dielectric material (ϵ).
• The permittivity and capacitance value
are directly proportional to each other.
• In this arrangement, a dielectric material
is filled into the space between the two
fixed plates.
• It can be moved using the arm. This
causes a variation in dielectric constant
in the region.
• The change in dielectric constant will
vary the capacitance of the transducer.
Capacitive transducers
Transducers based on change in the area of overlapping of plates
Transducers based on change in the area of
overlapping of plates
• The capacitance can also be changed
by varying the area of overlapping of
plates.
• One plate is kept fixed and the other
movable.
• When the plate is moved, the area of
overlapping of plates changes, and the
capacitance also changes.
• The capacitance value and area are
directly proportional to each other.
• These types of transducers are used to
measure relatively large displacements.
Capacitive transducers
Advantages
• Capacitive transducers exhibit good frequency
responses as high as 50 kHz.
• Therefore, these can be useful for dynamic
measurement conditions.
• Very small forces are sufficient for the operation
of capacitive transducer.
• Therefore, these can be employed in small systems
• Since its input impedance is high the loading
effects are minimum.
• They give rapid response to the change in
pressure.
• They have the resolution in the order of 2.5 × 10-3
mm
Disadvantages
• The presence of any extraneous matter such as
moisture, dust particles affects the capacitance
value of the transducer.
• If the metallic parts of the capacitive transducer
are not insulated properly from each other.
• The measurement process may get affected by
stray capacitances.
• When these transducers are employed to use
with instrumentation system, very complex
circuitry is required.
• The cables used to connect the capacitive
transducer to a measuring point acts as a
source of error
Applications of Capacitive transducers
• These are used for the measurement of linear displacements and
angular displacements.
• These are used in conjunction with some mechanical components for
the measurement of liquid level, density, weight, volume, etc.
• These can be used to measure pressure and force (For this the applied
pressure or force is changed into displacement and measured).
• These can be used to measure humidity in gases.
• Because dielectric constant of gases varies with humidity and causes the
capacitance of the transducer to vary.
HALL EFFECT
TRANSDUCERS
HALL EFFECT TRANSDUCERS
• The hall effect element is a type of transducer used for measuring the
magnetic field by converting it into an emf.
• The transducer converts the magnetic field into an electric quantity
which is easily measured by the analog and digital meters.
• The Hall effect element is mainly used for magnetic measurement and
for sensing the current.
Working principle of hall effect transducers
• The principle of hall effect
transducer is that if the current
carrying strip of the conductor is
placed in a transverse magnetic
field, then the EMF develops on
the edge of the conductor.
• The magnitude of the developed
voltage depends on the density
of flux
• And this property of a conductor is
called the Hall effect.
Working principle of hall effect transducers
• When the magnetic field is
applied to the strip, the output
voltage develops across the
output leads 3 and 4.
• The developed voltage is directly
proportional to the strength of
the material.
• The output voltage is,

Where,
Hall effect transducers
Applications
Applications of Hall effect sensors
• Hall effect sensors are used in applications like:
• Magnetic to Electric Transducer
• Measurement of Displacement
• Measurement of Current
• Measurement of Power
Applications of hall effect
transducers
Magnetic to Electric Transducer
Hall sensors in measuring magnetic flux
• The Hall effect element is used for converting
the magnetic flux into an electric transducer.
• The magnetic fields are measured by placing
the semiconductor material in the measurand
magnetic field.
• The voltage develops at the end of the
semiconductor strips, and this voltage is
directly proportional to the magnetic field
density.
• The Hall Effect transducer requires small space
and also gives the continuous signal
concerning the magnetic field strength.
• The only disadvantage of the transducer is
that it is highly sensitive to temperature and
thus calibration requires in each case.
Applications of hall effect
transducers
Measurement of Displacement
Measurement of Displacement
• Consider the ferromagnetic
structure which has a permanent
magnet.
• The hall effect transducer placed
between the poles of the
permanent magnet.
• The magnetic field strength
across the hall effect element
changes by changing the position
of the ferromagnetic field.
Applications of hall effect
transducers
Measurement of Current
Measurement of Current
• The hall effect transducer is also used for
measuring the current without any physical
connection between the conductor circuit
and meter.
• The AC or DC is applied across the
conductor for developing the magnetic
field.
• The strength of the magnetic field is directly
proportional to the applied current.
• The magnetic field develops the emf across
the strips.
• And this EMF depends on the strength of
the conductor.
Applications of hall effect
transducers
Measurement of Power
Measurement of Power
• The hall effect transducer is used for
measuring the power of the conductor.
• The current is applied across the
conductor, which develops the
magnetic field.
• The intensity of the field depends on
the current.
• The magnetic field induces the voltage
across the strip.
• The output voltage of the multiplier is
proportional to the power of the
transducer.
PIEZO ELECTRIC
TRANSDUCERS
PIEZO ELECTRIC TRANSDUCERS
• The Piezoelectric transducer is
an electroacoustic transducer
use for conversion of pressure or
mechanical stress into an
alternating electrical force.
• It is used for measuring the
physical quantity like force,
pressure, stress, etc., which is
directly not possible to measure.
Piezoelectric effect
• A piezoelectric transducer uses a piezoelectric material as a transduction element.
• A piezoelectric material is one in which an electrical potential difference appears
across a certain surface of a crystal if the dimension of the crystal is changed by
the application of force.
• This potential difference appears due to displacement of charge.
• The process is reversible which means if potential difference across some specified
surface is changed, the dimension of the piezoelectric material will also change.
• This effect is known is Piezoelectric Effect.
• Elements exhibiting qualities are known as electro-resistive elements.
• Rochelle Salt, Ammonium Dihydrogen Phosphate, Lithium Sulphate, dipotassium tartrate,
quartz and ceramic are some common example of piezoelectric material.
Working principle of Piezo Electric
Transducers
• In a piezoelectric transducer, a
piezoelectric crystal is sandwiched
between the two electrodes.
• When a mechanical deformation
takes place, it generates charge and
hence it acts as a capacitor.
• A voltage is developed across the
electrodes of the transducer which
can be measured and calibrated with
the deforming force to directly
measure the mechanical deforming
force.
Piezoelectric crystals
Advantages
• Very high frequency response.
• Self generating, so no need of
external source.
• Simple to use as they have small
dimensions and large measuring
range.
Disadvantages
• It is not suitable for
measurement in static condition.
• Since the device operates with
the small electric charge, they
need high impedance cable for
electrical interface.
• The output may vary according
to the temperature variation of
the crystal.
Applications of Piezoelectric crystals
• The piezoelectric material has high
stability and hence it is used for
stabilizing the electronic oscillator.
• The ultrasonic generators use the
piezoelectric material. This generator is
used in SONAR for underwater detection
and in industrials apparatus for cleaning.
• It is used in microphones and speakers
for converting the electric signal into
sound.
• The piezoelectric material is used in
electric lighter.