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MEP-ECE (Data Gathering and A/D &D/A Conversion)

ASSIGNMENT1:
1. Briefly explain the advantage of handling digital data in comparison with analogue data.
Answer:
1. The main advantage of digital signals over analog signals is that the precise signal level of the
digital signal is not vital. This means that digital signals are fairly immune to the imperfections
of real electronic systems which tend to spoil analog signals. As a result, digital CD's are much
more robust than analog LP's.
2. Codes are often used in the transmission of information. These codes can be used either as a
means of keeping the information secret or as a means of breaking the information into pieces
that are manageable by the technology used to transmit the code, e.g. The letters and numbers to
be sent by a Morse code are coded into dots and dashes.
3. Digital signals can convey information with greater noise immunity, because each
information component (byte etc) is determined by the presence or absence of a data bit (0 or
one). Analog signals vary continuously and their value is affected by all levels of noise.
4. Digital signals can be processed by digital circuit components, which are cheap and easily
produced in many components on a single chip. Again, noise propagation through the
demodulation system is minimized with digital techniques.
5. Digital signals do not get corrupted by noise etc. You are sending a series of numbers that
represent the signal of interest (i.e. audio, video etc.)
6. Digital signals typically use less bandwidth. This is just another way to say you can cram
more information (audio, video) into the same space.
7. Digital can be encrypted so that only the intended receiver can decode it (like pay per view
video, secure telephone etc.)
8. Enables transmission of signals over a long distance.
9. Transmission is at a higher rate and with a wider broadband width.
10. It is more secure.
11. It is also easier to translate human audio and video signals and other messages into machine
language.
12. There is minimal electromagnetic interference in digital technology.
13. It enables multi-directional transmission simultaneously.
2. Explain briefly how you select a sensor for a given application.
ANSWER:
Selecting an industrial sensor can be a daunting task. With so many different sensing
technologies and the endless variety of products in the market, how is it possible to find that one
ideal sensor for any given application?
Turns out, its not really so much a process of selecting the right sensorits really about
eliminating all the wrong choices. Selecting a sensor is a process of asking a series of questions
to eliminate any technology or product that doesnt fit the application requirements. For
example:
1) Type of Sensing
Am I sensing a process parameter (e.g. temperature, pressure, flow), the presence of an object,
the distance to a target, or the position of a mechanism? Lets say I want to detect the presence
of an object. That means I am looking for some kind of proximity sensor (sometimes called
presence sensors or object detection sensors). There are several kinds of sensor technologies
that can detect the presence (or absence) of an object. Inductive, photoelectric, capacitive,
magnetic, and ultrasonic sensors are all possible candidates at this stage of the selection process.
2) Composition of Target
What is the material composition of the object (metallic, non-metallic, solid, liquid, granular)?
Lets say the object is metallic. Inductive, photoelectric, capacitive, and ultrasonic sensors are
all capable of detecting metallic objects, so we need to ask some more questions.
3) Distance to Target
How far away from the object must the sensor be? Well, if I am building a compact piece of
automation machinery, I want to keep everything as close together as possible. I expect the
sensor to be installed pretty close to the metallic object that I want to detect. In this case, an
inductive proximity sensor would be the best choice. Although inductive sensors have rather
short sensing distances (typically 1mm up to about 50mm) compared to other sensing
technologies, they have some strong advantages: a) they ignore all materials except metal (e.g.
water, oil, non-metallic dust) b) they are very robust physically and c) they are relatively
inexpensive. Lets say that I have decided the sensor needs to see the metallic target at a
distance of 4mm.
4) Form Factor
What sort of physical form-factor best fits my application? In our example, its fairly tight space
and there isnt much room to mount something with a lot of length to it. That eliminates the
most common inductive proximity sensor type: the threaded tubular housing. Were going to be
looking at some kind of low-profile, flat sensor, typically called a block style or rectangular type.
5) Control Interface
What kind of controller interface and switching logic is required? These days, most sensors are
3-wire DC types. There are other types out there, such as 2-wire DC and 2-wire AC/DC, but by
far the vast majority of control systems will require a 3-wire DC sensor. In our case, we need a
3-wire PNP N.O. sensor, meaning 3 wires (+24DC, 0VDC, and output), a PNP-type
sourcing output (current is sourced from the sensor to the controller), and normally open
switching logic (means the output is off when the sensor does not see the target).
6) Special Requirements
Are there any special application requirements? Special application requirements might be
things like high temperatures (more than 80 degrees C), nearby welding processes, or high-
pressure washdown procedures. In our machine, we dont expect anything worse than a little
machine tool oil getting splashed around. This is completely normal for inductive sensors to
work around, so nothing special is required other than an IP67 liquid ingress protection rating
(standard on most good-quality sensors).

7) Electrical Connection
How do I want to make the electrical connection? Sensors are typically available with three
kinds of electrical connections: a) pre-wired cable with flying leads b) integrated quick-
disconnect connector c) a pre-wired cable with a molded-on connector (often called a pigtail
connector). A fourth connection type terminal chamber was once common in the days when
proximity sensors were used to replace mechanical limit switches, but is becoming less common
in todays industrial environment.

3. Give advantages of differential measurements over single ended measurements.
The main benefit of a differential measurement is noise rejection, because the noise is added to
both wires and can then be filtered out by the common mode rejection of the data acquisition
system. Differential measurements should be used if the sensor is in a noisy environment or for
sensors with output voltages susceptible to noise interference.
Differential inputs provide a more stable reading when EMI or RFI is present, and therefore, it is
recommended to use them whenever noise is generally a problem. This is especially true when
measuring THERMOCOUPLE, STRAIN GAGE and BRIDGE TYPE PRESSURE SENSOR
inputs, since they produce very small signals that are very susceptible to noise.
Single-ended inputs are lower in cost, and provide twice the number of inputs for the same size
wiring connector, since they require only one analog HIGH (+) input per channel and one
LLGND (-) shared by all inputs. Differential inputs require signal HIGH and LOW inputs for
each channel and one common shared LLGND. Single-ended inputs save connector space, cost,
and are easier to install.

4. Explain the need for A/D converter in data acquisition system.
In the real world, most data is characterized by analog signals. In order to manipulate the data
using a microprocessor, we need to convert the analog signals to the digital signals, so that the
microprocessor will be able to read, understand and manipulate the data.
The main goal of the A/D converter is to digitize the analog signals, which means to record and
store the ANALOG SIGNALS into NUMBERS. There are two parameters to control in
converting the analog signals into digital signals:
Sampling Rate, fs controls the number of samples taken in a second.
Sampling Precision, N controls the number of different gradiations (quantization levels) for
the sampling process.



5. With the help of suitable block diagram, explain the configuration of a single channel
data acquisition system.

Single-ended multichannel measurements require that all voltages be referenced to the same
common node to prevent certain types of measurement errors. For most single-ended DAQ
systems, the common reference must be earth ground as established by the computer, which
makes the measurement vulnerable to both EMI and any ground noise at the signal source.
The image shows a single-ended configuration with a common mode voltage (V
cm
). Any voltage
difference between grounds g1 and g2 shows up as an error signal at the input amplifier. If an
ideal common point is not available for single-ended inputs, a differential input configuration is
needed.


7. Discuss the significance of environmental specifications and physical specifications of
sensors with reference to a typical measurement.

8. Give block diagram for data acquisition system which can be used for measurement of
two parameters, and to save the data for offline analysis. Discuss briefly the need for each
block.
Answer:
The schematic block diagram of the system is as shown in Figure 1. Other than the
detector electronics, motors and encoders, this system consists of PC add-on cards for
input{output (I/O) and timer/counter operations, interface card and motor driver cards.
Commercially available PC add-on cards are used for I/O and timer/counter operations. PCL221,
a multifunction I/O card, provides 48 programmable I/O lines using two Intel-8255 integrated
circuit (IC) chips. Eight lines on each IC constitute a port; hence each IC has three ports
(designated as ports A, B and C).



Ports A and B of both the IC's are programmed as output ports. Each output port is
configured to control two motors. Port C of both the ICs is used as input port. PCL223 is a
timer/counter card. It provides a total of nine counters using Intel IC 8253. Six counters are used
for counting the pulses delivered by the rotary optical encoders connected to the motors and two
counters are used for counting the discriminated amplified voltage pulses generated by the
neutrons reaching the monitor and signal detectors.

The interface card has been developed indigenously and includes logic circuits and
hardware interlocks required for motor movements and data acquisition. Further, DC motor
drivers have been developed for permanent magnet type motors. These enable the switching
on/off of the motors, forward/reverse and slow/fast speed operation of the motors. In this driver
solid state relays are used for switching. As mentioned earlier, position feedback to the system is
obtained from the rotary optical encoder. Also, mechanical limit switches are connected to the
different arms of the instrument. The limit switches are employed to cut off the power supply to
the motors, when required.

General-purpose software to accomplish data acquisition and instrument control for
various spectrometers has been implemented in Visual C++ in the MS Windows operating
system. Programming for a typical experiment requires determining (either through computation
or user input) the values of the angles for the various motors and subsequent positioning of the
respective motors at those positions. In particular, for the single crystal diffractometer at Dhruva
reactor, this software accepts an input file containing motor positions for various reflections.
Positions for standard reflections can be inserted in the input file at the desired places.

The software controls the manner in which the motor positioning and data acquisition module
interacts with the electronic hardware module described previously.

A simple user-friendly active window has various experiment control (including software limits
for the various motors) and data display. Data are stored in files on the hard disk of the PC.

9. (i). Which are the basic elements of a data acquisition system?
i.1. Sensors
A digital data acquisition system utilizes sensors that interpret a physical property
in analog form as an electrical signal such as a voltage or a current. The type of
sensor varies depending on the observable data. For example, a thermocouple
would measure temperature, a strain gauge would measure force and a transducer
would measure gas pressure. The digital data acquisition system should include the
proper sensors to measure the necessary physical properties that the computer
software will report.
i.2. Signal Conditioning Circuitry
Signal conditioning circuitry modifies the electrical signal from the sensors
through amplification and filtering to make the signals compatible with the digital
data acquisition software. The signal conditioning circuitry transmits the electrical
signal to an analog-to-digital converter.
i.3. Analog-to-Digital Converter
An analog-to digital converter changes the electrical signal into digital data with
numeric value. Computer software displays the numeric value. An analog-to-
digital converter for a digital data acquisition system possesses high-speed data
transfer capability, a FIFO (First In First Out) memory buffer and circuitry to
interface with the hardware and software of the system.

i.4. Computer Software
Digital data acquisition systems utilize computer software that is flexible
enough and functional enough to accommodate the necessary tasks of data
acquisition. The computer software for the digital data acquisition system must be
compatible with the operating system of both the computer and the system. Digital
data acquisition software logs data for analysis and processing. Digital data
acquisition software is your tool to control and interface with the data acquisition
system as well as interpreting the data through software features such as charts and
graphs. The software is responsible for unifying the sensors, signal conditioning
circuitry and analog-to-digital converter into a reliable working system.

(ii). Clearly distinguish between signal, information and data.
Data usually refers to raw data, or unprocessed data. It is the basic form of data, data that
hasnt been analyzed or processed in any manner. Once the data is analyzed, it is considered as
information.
Information is data that has been processed in such a way as to
be meaningful to the person who receives it. In order for data to be transferred
electronically, it must first be converted into electromagnetic signals.
The signal can then be used to transfer data from one device to another device. The signal
can be either analog or digital in nature.





(iii). Distinguish between analogue and digital signals.
ANALOG DIGITAL
Signal
Analog signal is a continuous
signal which represents physical
measurements.
Digital signals are discrete time signals
generated by digital modulation.
Waves Denoted by sine waves Denoted by square waves
Representation
Uses continuous range of values
to represent information
Uses discrete or discontinuous values to
represent information
Example
Human voice in air, analog
electronic devices.
Computers, CDs, DVDs, and other
digital electronic devices.
Technology
Analog technology records
waveforms as they are.
Samples analog waveforms into a
limited set of numbers and records them.
Data
transmissions
Subjected to deterioration by noise
during transmission and write/read
cycle.
Can be noise-immune without
deterioration during transmission and
write/read cycle.
Response to
Noise
More likely to get affected
reducing accuracy
Less affected since noise response are
analog in nature
Flexibility
Analog hardware is not flexible. Digital hardware is flexible in
implementation.
Uses
Can be used in analog devices
only. Best suited for audio and
video transmission.
Best suited for Computing and digital
electronics.
Applications Thermometer PCs, PDAs
Bandwidth
Analog signal processing can be
done in real time and consumes
less bandwidth.
There is no guarantee that digital signal
processing can be done in real time and
consumes more bandwidth to carry out
the same information.
Memory Stored in the form of wave signal Stored in the form of binary bit
Power
Analog instrument draws large
power
Digital instrument drawS only negligible
power
Cost Low cost and portable Cost is high and not easily portable
Impedance Low High order of 100 megaohm
Errors
Analog instruments usually have a
scale which is cramped at lower
end and give considerable
observational errors.
Digital instruments are free from
observational errors like parallax and
approximation errors.

10. Discuss the following sensors: Give idea on its working principle and response
parameters selection criteria including functional specifications, environmental
specifications and physical specifications.
resistive, capacitive, and inductive sensors; temperature sensors; position sensors,
displacement sensors, speed sensors; force sensors pressure sensors; vibration sensors,
acceleration sensors; proximity sensors; flow sensors, flow-rate sensors; liquid-level
sensors, humidity sensors.

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