1. Define the transducer.

A measuring device which measures and converts nonelectrical variable into

electrical variable is known as transducer.

2. Explain on following types of transducer:

(a) Active and passive transducer with examples and applications.
Active transducer
The transducer which does not requires any external excitation (source) to provide their
output. They generate their own electrical voltage during conversion process.
Example: Active pressure transducer Piezo electric crystal

Active temperature transducer Thermocouple

Passive transducer
The transducer which requires an external excitation (source) to provide their output. It
requires ex. external battery as a source of voltage to operate. It only changes its parameter,
like change in resistance or capacitance during conversion process.
Example: Passive pressure transducer Strain gauge
Passive temperature transducer Thermistor

Inductive
There is a variety of transducers whose operation is inductive.
Maybe either active or passive type, depending on the generation of the induced magnetic
field.
For motion measurement applications, a change in the quantity to be measured must be
converted into a change in inductance (and then to voltage using a circuit).
The (self) inductance L is an indication of the ability of a coil to oppose any change in current
flowing through the coil. The inductance L of a cylindrical coil is given by

Resistive
The principle of the resistive position transducer is that the measured quantity causes a
resistance change in the sensing element.
A common requirement in industrial measurement and control work is to be able to sense the
position of an object, or the distance it has moved.

Two examples of resistive position transducer are strain gauge and potentiometer
(displacement transducer)

Capacitive transducer
Passive transducer with sensing element Capacitor (electrical quantity: capacitance)
In this type of transducers, the measured quantity causes a change in the transducers
capacitance, which can be achieved by changing d, A, or K .
Capacitive transducer is of non-contact type transducer and is primarily used to measure the
linear displacements from few millimeters to hundreds of millimeters. It is also widely used
in pressure measurement.

3. List three examples of temperature transducers. Explain the principles operation,

temperature range, advantages, disadvantages and the applications of each example
given.
The temperature transducers can be divided into three main categories:
Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTD)
RTD and Thermistors are passive devices, whose resistance changes with temperature hence
need an electrical supply to give output.
Thermocouples are active transducers and are based on the principles of generation of
thermoelectricity, when two dissimilar metals are connected together to form a junction

called the sensing junction, an emf is generated proportional to the temperature of the
junction.
Operation

Most RTD use a Wheatstone bridge or its modified version.

RTD is used with Wheatstone bridge as the signal conditioning circuit for
temperature measurement

RTD and its leads are connected in one of its arms.

The bridge is essentially a resistance measuring device, which converts the resistance
of the RTD into an electrical signal that is used for monitoring or controlling
temperature.

The basic Wheatstone Bridge with a two wire RTD connected

Temperature Range

ADVANTAGES

Platinum RTDs provide high accuracy and stability. They have the following
advantages:

I. Linearity over a wide operating range.

2. Wide operating range
3. Higher temperature operation
4. Better stability at high temperature

DISADVANTAGES OF RTD:
Low sensitivity.
It can be affected by contact resistance, shock and vibration.
Requires no point sensing.
Higher cost than other temperature transducer.
Requires 3 or 4 wire for its operation and associated instrumentation to eliminates errors due
to lead resistance.
Application
Producing a rich, aromatic cup of java requires a blend of art, science, and good coffee beans.
A critical step is the roasting of the beans. There are hundreds of complex organic chemicals
that produce the flavors and aromas. Roasting brings out some of these, and produces others,
in a manner highly dependent on timing and temperatures. Good roasting techniques can
produce quite acceptable results from relatively low-grade beans; bad roasting can produce
quite dreadful results from the best high-grade beans.
Profile roasting
Green coffee beans are placed into a drum or chamber, where they are agitated or tumbled as
they are roasted by hot air. There are four controllable variables:
temperature of the hot air
air flow rate
temperature of the beans
stir rate
The most successful and repeatable control strategy is called profile control. Rather than
trying to hold specific temperatures, the temperature targets are treated as a continuously

changing trajectory. The amount of heating at "each level" depends on the rates of
temperature change.
Temperature sensing
The critical variable is the temperature of the beans. Other variables can help to improve the
control of the critical variable. The heated air is easier to measure, but it can differ from the
bean temperature by as much as 200 degrees F, so it is not a sufficient indicator by itself.
A thermal probe measuring the temperature within the coffee beans provides the most
important feedback. The probe must withstand the pounding as beans are tumbled. Because
of its rugged sheath, this kind of probe will not respond quickly, but the temperature profile
will not change very fast either, and a reasonable balance is maintained.
Either a thermocouple or RTD probe could work for this application. We will select an RTD
probe because it is reliable, accurate, stable, easy to use, and well suited for an operating
temperature range of 100 to 500 degrees F.

Thermocouples
Temperature range

Advantage and disadvantage of thermocouple is too many.Please see the introduction below.
advantage of thermocouple:
the range of the thermocouple is wide:Thermocouples used in most of the actual temperature
range.the testing temperatue range is between -200 with +2500.the most depend on the
specific using metal wire.
Durable: thermocouple belong to durable device, impact resistant vibration sex good, suitable
for dangerous bad environment.
Fast response: because they are small size, low heat capacity, thermocouple temperature
change of fast response, especially in induction juncture when bare. They can be in hundreds
of milliseconds a response to temperature changes.

without thermal: due to the thermocouple don't need to motivate the power, therefore not
easily spontaneous hot, its itself is safe.
Disadvantage of thermocouple
Signal disposal complex: will convert available thermocouple voltage temperature readings
for the large signal disposal. Since always, signal conditioning wasted a lot of time design,
processing not will be introduced into error, leading to lower accuracy.
Low accuracy: except for the characteristics of metal to internal thermocouples inherent
inaccuracy outside, thermocouple measurement accuracy can only achieve reference juncture
temperature measurement precision, 1 C in general to 2 C inside.
Vulnerable to corrosion: because thermocouple made with two different types of metal
composition,

in

some

conditions,with

time

and

corrosion

may

reduce

the

accuracy.Therefore,they may need protection and the maintenance is indispensable.

Poor noise immunity:when measuring mv signal level is changes, stray electric field and
magnetic field of the noise may cause problems. Stranded inner thermocouples to sharply
reduce magnetic field lines may coupling. Shielded cable or in metal intraductal go line and
protection can reduce electric field coupling. Measuring devices shall provide hardware or
software way signal filtration, strong inhibition work frequently rate (frequency 50 Hz / 60
Hz) and its harmonics.Advantage and disadvantage of thermocoupl

Applications
include temperature measurement for kilns, gas turbine exhaust, diesel engines, other
industrial processes and fog machines.

Steel industry[edit]
Type B, S, R and K thermocouples are used extensively in the steel and iron industries to
monitor temperatures and chemistry throughout the steel making process. Disposable,
immersible, type S thermocouples are regularly used in theelectric arc furnace process to
accurately measure the temperature of steel before tapping. The cooling curve of a small steel
sample can be analyzed and used to estimate the carbon content of molten steel.

Manufacturing[edit]
Thermocouples can generally be used in the testing of prototype electrical and mechanical
apparatus. For example, switchgear under test for its current carrying capacity may have
thermocouples installed and monitored during a heat run test, to confirm that the temperature
rise at rated current does not exceed designed limits.

Thermistor

Temperature range
The commercial resistance at room temperature (250C) for typical units ranges from 100 to
10M. Suitable for use only up to 8000C

Advantages

Small size and low cost.

Fast response over narrow temperature range.
Good sensitivity in the NTC region.
Cold junction compensation not required due to dependence of resistance
on absolute temperature.
Contact and lead resistance problems not encountered due to large Rth
(resistance).

Disadvantages
Lintittions of Thermistor
1. Non-linearity in resistance vs temperature characteristics.
2. Unsuitable for wide temperature range.
3. Very low excitation current to avoid self-heating.
4. Need of shielded power lines, filters, etc. due to high resistance

Application
The form of thermistor obtained in beads, disc, washer or rod and probes. It is based on the
size and resistance range.
Application:
beads: Measuring temperature of liquids (resistance

300 to 100M)

Disc: For temperature control (resistance 1 to 1M)

Washer: Mounting on bolt (resistance 1 to 1M)
Rod:

(resistance 1 to 50k)

Thermistors can be connected in series/parallel combinations for application requiring

increased power handling capability.
Thermistor are chemically stable and can be used in nuclear environments
Their wide range of characteristics also permits the thermistor to be used in limiting and
regulation circuits, as time delays, for integration of power pulses and as memory units

Define the flowmeter.

Flowmeters are devices that measure the amount of liquid, gas or vapor that passes through
them. Some flowmeters measure flow as the amount of fluid passing through the flowmeter
during a time period (such as 100 liters per minute). Other flowmeters measure the totalized
amount of fluid that has passed through the flowmeter (such as 100 liters).

Flowmeters consist of a primary device, transducer and transmitter. The transducer senses the
fluid that passes through the primary device. The transmitter produces a usable flow signal
from the raw transducer signal. These components are often combined, so the actual
flowmeter may be one or more physical devices.
Flow measurement can be described by
Q = A v, which means that the volume of fluid passing through a flowmeter is equal to the
cross-sectional area of the pipe (A) times the average velocity of the fluid (v); and
W = r Q, which means that the mass flow of fluid passing through a flowmeter (A) is equal
to the fluid density (r) times the volume of the fluid (Q).
Volumetric flowmeters directly measure the volume of fluid (Q) passing through the
flowmeter. The only flowmeter technology that measures volume directly is the positive
displacement flowmeter.
Velocity flowmeters utilize techniques that measure the velocity (v) of the flowing stream to
determine the volumetric flow. Examples of flowmeter technologies that measure velocity
include magnetic, turbine, ultrasonic, and vortex shedding and fluidic flowmeters.
Mass flowmeters utilize techniques that measure the mass flow (W) of the flowing stream.
Examples of flowmeter technologies that measure mass flow include Coriolis mass and
thermal flowmeters.
Inferential flowmeters do not measure volume, velocity or mass, but rather measure flow by
inferring its value from other measured parameters. Examples of flowmeter technologies that
measure inferentially include differential pressure, target and variable area flowmeters.
Flow computers are often used to compensate flow measurements for actual process
conditions, such as pressure, temperature, viscosity, and composition.
Additional flowmeter technologies include flowmeters that measure liquid flowing in an open
channel, and insertion flowmeters that measure flow at one location in a pipe and use this

measurement to infer the flow in the entire pipe. Insertion flow measurement systems often
use a flow computer to compensate for hydraulic effects

Explain the principles operation, advantages, disadvantages and the applications of the
flowmeter.