DISPLACEMENT

MEASUREMENT
BY- Anil Pathak, Manoj Kumar,
Mayank Tripathi,
ME( Ist Year), I & C Dept.,
NITTTR ,Chandigarh
Why Displacement measurement
needed?
• In an industry it is not possible to measure the
unknown parameters like pressure,
temperature, force, etc directly.

• So we first convert these unknown parameter

in to the displacement and then convert it in
to electrical form.
Bourdon tube(Pressure to
displacement measurement)
Primary and Secondary Transducers

• Now the displacement is can be converted in

to electrical in nature with the help of Linear
variable differential transformer(LVDT),
which works as a secondary transducers

• Where as the bourdon tube is working as a

primary transducers(because it is converting
first the pressure in to displacement)
Primary and Secondary Transducers
Types of Displacement

• The displacement can be dived into two

parts.

• a) Relative Displacement

• b) Absolute Displacement
Relative Displacement

• The relative displacement is measured with

respect to a fixed reference.

• In such device one terminal of the instrument

is attached to a point fixed in space and the
other terminal is attached( mechanically or
electrically) to the point whose motion is to
be measured.
Types of Relative Dicplasement

• It can be dived in two parts

• a) Linear or Translational
• (Motion in a straight line i.e., march past , car
in a straight road)
• b) Angular or Rotational
• (In two point one point is fixed point and
other point moves around the fixed point)
Linear or Translational Displacement
Angular or Rotational Displacement
Relative Displacement Measuring
Devices
• The devices used for the measurement of
relative displacement are :-

i) Inductive Type
ii) Capacitive type
iii) Piezo-electric Type
iv) Digital Displacement measuring type
v) Resistive Type
vi) Ultrasonic Type
Inductive Type Devices

• The most widely used inductive transducers

to translate the linear displacement into
electrical signal are –
• Linear Variable Differential Transformer
(LVDT)
• And for the translation of rotational
displacement into electrical signals are-
• Rotary Variable Differential Transformer
(RVDT)
 Linear Variable
Differential Transformer (LVDT)
The Basic Construction of LVDT

• The transformer consists of a single primary

winding(P) and two secondary windings S1 and S2
wound on a cylindrical former.
• The secondary windings have equal numbers 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 Basic Construction of LVDT

• The displacement to be measured is applied

to the arm attached to the soft iron core.
• The assembly is placed in a stainless steel
housing.
Working of LVDT

• Since the primary winding is excited by an alternating

current source, it produce an alternating magnetic field
which in turn induces alternating voltages in the two
windings.
• The output voltage of secondary S1 and S2 are Es1 and
Es2 respectively.
Working of LVDT

• To convert the output from S1 and S2 into single

voltage signal, the two secondaries S1 and S2 are
connected in series-opposition.

• Thus the output voltage of the transducers is the

difference of the two voltages.
• The differential voltage, E0 = Es1 ~ Es2
Working of LVDT

• At NULL position, the flux linking with both secondary

windings is equal and hence equal emfs are induced in
them.(i.e., Es1 = Es2 )and then the output differential
voltage will be zero, E0 = 0.
• Now if the core is moved to the left of the NULL
position ,more flux links with S1 and less with S2 , so emf
induced in S1 , Es1 is more then emfs induced in S2 , Es2
(i.e.,Es1 > Es2). So the output differential voltage will be, E0
= Es1 - Es2
• And this voltage is in phase with primary voltage.
Working of LVDT

• Now if the core is moved to the right of the NULL

position ,more flux links with S2 and less with S1 , so
emf induced in S2 , Es2 is more then emf induced in S1
, Es1 (i.e., Es2 > Es1). So the output differential voltage
will be, E0 = Es2 - Es1
• And this voltage is 180° out of phase with primary
voltage.
Working of LVDT

• Therefore , The two voltages(Es1 & Es2 ) are 180° out

of phase with each other .
Working of LVDT

• So the amount of voltage change neither

secondary winding is proportional to the
amount of movement of the core.

• By noting which output voltage is increasing

or decreasing ,we can determine the
direction of motion.
 The Variation of Output Voltage Against
Displacement for Various Positions of Core

• By comparing the magnitude and phase of the

output(differential)voltage with that of the source, the
amount and direction of the movement of the core
and hence of displacement may be determined.
• The output voltage of an LVDT is
a linear function of Core
displacement with a limited range
of motion ,say about 5 mm from
null position.
Residual Voltage

• Ideally the differential output voltage at the null

position should be equal to zero.
• However ,in actual practice there exists a small
voltage at the null position .This small voltage is
known as residual voltage.
• The causes of residual voltage are:-
i) Presence of harmonics in input supply.
ii) Harmonics produced in output voltage on account
iron core.
iii) Due to temperature
Advantages of LVDT

• High range:- LVDT can be used used for measurement

of displacement of 1.25 mm to 250 mm.

• Frication less:- There is no physical contact between

the movable core and the coil structure which means
the LVDT is a frictionless device

• Low Power Consumption: Most of LVDTs consume

power which is less then 1 watt.
Disadvantages of LVDT
• Many a times, the transducer performance is
affected by vibrations.
• Large displacement are required for
differential output.
• Temperature affects the performance of the
LVDT.
Application of LVDT

• LVDT can be use as a secondary transducers so we can

convert pressure, force and weight into displacement
and then into electrical output.
Rotary Variable Differential Transformer
(RVDT)
 Construction of RVDT

• A variation of linear variable differential transformer

(LVDT) may be used to sense angular displacement.
• This is the rotary variable differential transformer
(RVDT).
• The construction of RVDT is shown bellow -
 Working of RVDT

• The operation of RVDT is similar of an LVDT.

• At NULL position of the core, the output voltage
Secondary windings S1 and S2 are equal and in
opposition, therefore the net output is zero(E0 = 0)
• Any angular displacement from the
null position will result in a differential
voltage output.
Hence the response of the transducer
is linear.
 Working of RVDT

• Clockwise rotation produces an Increasing voltage

of a secondary winding of one phase.

• while counterclock-wise rotation produces an

increasing voltage of opposite phase.
Capacitive transducers
Principle of operation

• The principal of operation of capacitive

transducer is based upon equation of a
parallel plate capacitor.
• Which is

• Where, A=Overlapping area of plates(m2)

d=Distance between the plates(m)
ε=Permittivity of the medium (F/m)
 Parallel Plate Capacitor

• A parallel plate capacitor is shown in figure-

• The capacitive transducer works on the principle of

change of capacitance which may be caused by:-
i) Change in overlapping area A
ii) Change in the distance d between
the plates
iii) Change in dielectric constant
 Parallel Plate Capacitor

• These changes are caused by physical variable like

displacement, force and pressure in most of the cases.

• The change in change in dielectric constant as is the

case in measurement of liquid or gas levels.

• The capacitance may be measured with bridge circuit.

 Capacitive Transducers

• The capacitive transducer are commonly

used for measurement of linear
displacement.
• These transducers use the following effect-
i) Change in capacitance due to change in
overlapping area of plates.
ii) Change in capacitance due to change in
distance between the two plates.
 Transducers Using Change in
Overlapping Area of Plates

• From the equation , it is clear that the

capacitance is directly proportional to the area A, of the
plates.
• Thus the capacitance changes linearly with change in
area of plates. So

C= εwx/d
x=length of overlapping part of
plates (m) ,
w=width of overlapping part of plates(m2)
 Transducers Using Change in
Overlapping Area of Plates

• The area changes linearly with displacement

and also the capacitance.

• As mentioned earlier the

response is linear as shown,
the initial non-linearity is
due to edge effect.
 Transducers Using Change in
Distance Between The Plates
• Figure shows the basic form of a capacitive
transducer utilizing the effect of change in distance
between the two plates.
• One is a fixed plate and displacement to be
measured is applied to the other plate, which is
movable.
 Transducers Using Change in
Distance Between The Plates
• Since the capacitance , C, varies inversely as the
distance d; between the plates the response of this
transducer is not linear, as shown in the figure-

Thus this transducer is useful only for

measurement of extremely small
displacements.
 Advantages of Capacitive
Transducers
• They require extremely small forces to
operate them and hence are very useful for
use in small systems.

• They are extremely sensitive.

• They require small power to operate them.

 Disadvantages of Capacitive
Transducers

• The capacitive transducers are temperature

sensitive and therefore any change in
temperature affects their performance.
• The instrumentation circuitry used with these
transducers is very complex.
• The capacitance transducers may be affect
due to dust and moisture.
Uses of Capacitive Transducers

• Capacitive transducers are used for the

measurement of both linear and angular
motion.
• Capacitive transducers are used for the
measurement of pressure and force, this
force and pressure is first will converted into
displacement which causes change in
capacitance.
 Piezo-electric Transducers
Piezo-electric Transducers mainly used for measurement of
displacement. They can be used for measurement of force,
pressure, or acceleration. these quantities when measured
with piezo- electric Transducers are first converted in to
displacement is subsequently applied to these Transducers
to produce an out put voltage.
Piezo- electric material

 A piezo-electric material is one in which electric

potential appears across certain surface of a crystal
if the dimensions of the crystal are changed by the
application of a mechanical force, this potential is
produced by the displacement of charges. This
effect is also reversible, i.e if a varying potential is
applied to the Piezo-electric material.
Explanation-
 The materials that exhibit a significant and useful-
piezo- electric effect are divided in to 2 categories.
 (1) Natural group- quartz and Rochelle salt.
 (2) synthetic group- lithium sulphate, ethylene
diamine tartarate, potassium dihydrogen
phosphate.
The Piezo-electric effect can be made to respond to
mechanical deformations of the material in many
different modes. Mode can be thickness expansion,
transverse expansion, thickness shear, face shear.
 Digital displacement Transducer

Digital displacement Transducers that communicate with

digital computer and which have a digital out put. Such
transducer have to use (A/D) converters to realize the digital
data.
Digital Transducers are Called Encoders. They are normally in
the form of linear or Rotary displacement transducers. Other
name is Digitizers OR Digital encoders OR linear digitizers.
Contd..

 Classification of Encoders-
 Digital Displacement transducers can be
classified in to 3 categories.
 1- Tachometer transducers
 2- incremental Transducers
 3- absolute Transducers
1- Tachometer transducers

 A Tachometer transducers has only a single

output signal which consists of a pulse for
each increment of displacement.
 AS shown in fig.

Displacement (Rotary or translational)

2- Incremental Transducers-

 the problem caused by reverse motion in the case of

tachometer encoder are solved by using incremental
encoder. the incremental Transducer uses at least two
signal generating elements.

 If the motion were always in one direction, a digital

counter could accumulate these pulses to
determine the displacement . How ever , any
motion in the opposite direction would also
produce identical pulses, which would produce
errors.
Diagram for Incremental
Transducer:
Explanation.

 Two tracks mechanically shifted by ¼ cycle

relative to each other. this is allows detection of
motion which signal rises first. Thus up down pulse
counter can be used to subtract pulses . Whenever
the motion reverses. Thus a third out put , which
produces one pulse per revolution at a distinct
point. Or zero reference track.
 Advantage that any false pulse resulting from
electric noise will cause errors. Incremental
encoder used.
Absolute encoder:

 Absolute transducers-
 Generally limited to measurement of single
revolution. They use multiple tracks and
outputs, which are read out in parallel to
produce a binary representation of angular
shaft input position. Since, there is a one- to-
one correspondence between binary
output.
Construction of Encoders

Three type of encoders are given below.

 1- Tachometer encoders
 2- incremental encoders
 3- absolute encoders
These are Constructed as
(1)Contacting type OR Brush type (Resistive
encoders)
(2) Non Contacting type
The shaded areas are made of conducting material
& unshaded areas are made of non conducting
materials. As shown in fig.
Diagram of Contacting or
Brush Type:
Advantage:

1. It is relatively inexpensive.
2. It can be to any degree of desired accuracy
provided that the sector is made large enough to
accommodate the large no. of rows for binary
nos. and are quite adequate for slowly moving
system.
Disadvantages:

1. The major problem with the use of these encoders

is on account of wear of contactors &
maintenance .
2. The resolution of digital transducer upon the no.
of digits comprising the binary no. The resolution
of 1/2n of full scale where n is the no. of digits.
RESISTIVE POTENTIOMETER
•It consists of a resistance with a
movable contact
•The motion of contact can be
translational, rotational or helical
CONSTRUCTION
SINGLE SLIDE WIRE:
 Step less variation of resistance as wiper travels over it
Length of the wire is limited by the desired stroke in
translational device and by the diameter in rotational
device
Limited to small value of resistances
Resistance per unit length can be increased by decreasing
the area but then it suffers in the point of view of strength
WIRE WOUND:
 Resistive wire is wound on a straight or circular card
depending on the type of device
CONSTRUCTION
 This provide a stepwise increase in
resistance as the wiper moves from one
wire to another.
 It imposing a restriction on resolution.
 Resistance and resolution are inter
dependent
 High resolution demands thinner wire
which in turns provide a high total
resistance
• MATERIAL USED
The wires of Ni-Cr( Nichrome), Ni-Cu(Constantan) are
generally used as resistive element
Hard alloys like phosphorous bronze, beryllium copper are
used to construct wipers and are shaped in such a way to
reduce friction and to make firm contact
 FACTORS TO BE CONSIDER

 Loading Effect:
The resistive element is excited by either
DC or AC voltage and the input- output
relation is ideally linear, But in practice
potentiometer loads the output and this
relation is not ideally linear.
e0 / eex= 1/{(1/xi/xt)+(Rp/Rm)(1-xi/xt)}
From here it is clear if Rm=∞
Then e0 / eex = xt / xi
But in actual practice Rm is not infinite so
the system shows nonlinear characteristics
For good linearity we must choose
potentiometer of low resistance and meter
is of high resistance
FACTORS TO BE CONSIDER
 Power loss: if heat dissipated is limited to P
watts the maximum excitation voltage is
given by
eex = (P Rp)1/2
 for high sensitivity output voltage should be
high for this eex should be high it means for
high sensitivity Rp should also high
 This situation contradicts linearity thus the
choice of Rp must be influenced by tradeoff
between linearity and sensitivity condition
FACTORS TO BE CONSIDER
 As we know the meter resistance is generally
fixed . Figure shows a method for improving
the linearity without increasing the R m . Here
we use an external resistance which is same
as meter resistance as shown in figure
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES:
1. Inexpensive and simple to use
2. Rather large displacement can be measured
3. Sufficient output to drive the control circuitry
DISADVANTAGES:
4. Mechanical loading owing to wiper friction
5. Electrical noise from wiper contacts
6. Quick manipulation generates heat
STRAIN GAUGE

 When force is applied, the overall length of the

wire tends to increase while the cross-sectional area decreases.
 The amount of increase in resistance is proportional to the
force that produced the change in length and area. The output
of the strain gauge is a change in resistance that can be
measured by the input circuit of an amplifier.
PRINCIPLE

Wheat stone bridge is utilized to make displacement

measurement.

In normal conditions the bridge is balanced but when a motion

which causes displacement is applied the bridge become
unbalanced and that output voltage is proportional to input
motion, from here displacement is measured
 TYPES OF STRAIN GAUGE

 Un-bonded metal wire gauge: At the

initial preload the strain and resistance
of four wires are normally equal which
gives a balanced bridge. Application of
motion increases tension in two wires
and decreases in two others causing
corresponding change in resistance so
bridge become unbalanced and output
is proportional to input motion
TYPES OF STRAIN GAUGE
 Bonded metal wire gauge: In bonded
wire gauge the gauge is bonded
directly to the surface of the specimen
being tested , with a thin layer of
adhesive cement . cement not only
transmit strain but also act as insulator
 Bonded metal foil type: It is basically
expansion of bonded wire gauge. It
consists of sensing element formed
from thin sheets or foils. The end turns
are made fat so as to reduce the
contribution from the transverse strain
which is a spurious strain
TYPES OF STRAIN GAUGE
 Semiconductor type: The resistivity of doped
silicon and germanium undergoes a change
when stressed. This property is called piezo-
resistivity is utilized to construct strain gauge
with these metals.
ADVANTAGES:
1. No moving parts
2. These are small and inexpensive
DISADVANTAGES:
3. Needs to be calibrated
4. Usually they are nonlinear
ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCER
 It measures displacement by using TOF
principle
 it consists a piezo-ceramic disc that
resonates at a nominal frequency of 20
KHZ to 60 KHZ and radiates and
receives ultrasonic energy.
 Transmitter of the transducer sends a
ping and receiver waits to hear an echo
 Sound waves propagates from the
transmitter and bounce off the target,
returning an echo to receiver
 If the velocity of sound propagation is
known this displacement can be
calculated from the time delay
FACTORS TO BE CONSIDER
 Sound Generator:
 The face of transducer must be kept clean and
damage free to prevent losses
 Transmitter should have low impedance at
resonant frequency to obtain high mechanical
efficiency
 Receiver should have max impedance at resonant
frequency to obtain high electrical efficiency
 Surface to Beam angle:
 Transducers are carefully designed to produce
beam angle as small as possible
 Sometimes beam angle is small, but due to tilted
object echo is deflected away
FACTORS TO BE CONSIDER
 Surface reflection properties:
 Surface should be flat, hard and smooth
 Must be located perpendicular to beam
 Must not be of textured are coarse surface
 Temperature:
 Velocity of propagation of sound varies with
temperature
 As air gets warmer, sound travels faster
 System must incorporate a thermometer to
consider that temperature change
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES:
1. Non contact measurement
2. Works with almost any surface type
3. Resistant to vibration, radiation and noise
4. Low cost
DISADVANTAGES:
5. Requires near perpendicular incidence on the
target
6. Affected by dust, dirt, humidity & air turbulence
7. Less accuracy and limited speed
Absolute Displacement