SENZORI CAPACITIVE PENTRU DEPLASRI LINIARE

Principiul de funcionare a senzorilor capacitive:

Principle of capacitive sensors

Design of capacitive sensors
Capacitive sensors basically consist of a capacitor with variable capacitance. The diagram to the left shows a simple plate capacitor and the formula for determining its capacitance C. A is the effective surface area of the plate, d is the plate separation, 0 is the field constant and r is the dielectric constant of the medium between the plates. The principle of the sensor is based on causing changes in the non electrical variable that interests us to be reflected in changes in the capacitance of the capacitor so that they can then be measured using a suitable circuit. These changes in capacitance can either be due to changes in the plate surface area, in the plate separation or in the relative dielectric permittivity.

Changes in the plate separation

The capacitance of a plate capacitor is inversely proportional to the distance d between the plates, as shown in the above equation. Therefore, if external effects cause the separation to increase, the capacitance decreases and vice versa (see animation right). Changes in separation can thus used to measured small displacements. Due to the inverse proportionality, though, the relationship between the separation and the capacitance is non-linear. The characteristic curve is a hyperbola.

Changes in the effective plate surface area

Instead of measuring displacement by varying the plate separation, it is possible to move the plates parallel to one another (as in the diagram right). This causes the effective surface area of the capacitor A to decrease since the plates only partially overlap, which results in a lowering of the capacitance. Since the capacitance is directly proportional to the overlapping surface area, the characteristic in this case is linear.

Changes in the relative dielectric permittivity

The capacitance of the capacitor is proportional to the relative permittivity of the medium between the two plates as shown in the above equation. An increase in the relative permittivity due to the presence of a different dielectric increases the capacitance (see graphic right). If the second dielectric is only partially situated within the capacitor, this can can be represented as a parallel connection of two different capacitors, each of which exclusively has one of the two materials as its dielectric medium. If the original medium between the plates is air ( r=1), the capacitance increases linearly when the second medium is introduced. The principle described here can, for example, be used to measure how full a vessel is (see animation left). As the vessel fills up, the liquid takes the place of the air between the plates increasing the relative dielectric permittivity and thus the capacitance of the capacitor. If this method is used to measure a conducting liquid, one of the electrodes must be isolated, in which case the vessel itself acts as the second electrode. In a similar way, such a capacitive sensor can also be used to measure moisture levels or humidity.

Design of a tube capacitor

An alternative body design to the plate capacitor is as a tube capacitor (see right). The first electrode is formed by the enclosing tube, while the second electrode runs through the middle of the capacitor. With this design, the plate separation is guaranteed to be constant and even if the axis is rotated it does not effect the capacitance. Displacement is measured in this case by moving the central electrode. This motion leads to a change in the effective surface area and thus the capacitance as a whole.

Placa experimental cu senzorul capacitiv:

'Capacitive displacement sensor' card SO4203-5W

General
The UNI-TRAIN Capacitive displacement sensor card contains a capacitive displacement sensor in the form of a plate capacitor with variable effective plate area. The detection of displacement is achieved when one of the plates is moved. This leads to a change on the capacitor's effective surface area A, which can be measured when the capacitor is part of a measuring bridge supplied with AC current. Move your mouse over the info icons on the picture of the card to learn more details.

The following graphic shows the circuit for a capacitive displacement sensor.

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The effective plate surface area determines the capacitance. The capacitor is part of a resonance or tuning circuit (1) and determines the resonant frequency f of the circuit. A frequency-voltage (f/V) converter(2) is connected after this circuit and it serves to convert the frequency into a proportional voltage output. A differential amplifier (3) with adjustable offset and gain modifies the output from the converter to provide the final output of the displacement sensor at the Out socket.

Msurtori experimentale:

Experiments - Capacitive displacement measurement I

Zero-point calibration and adjusting the amplifier
The following experiment starts by investigating the functioning of a displacement sensor. Alongside this the zero point of the displacement sensor should be calibrated and the amplifier set up so that the sensor outputs a voltage in the range 0 - 10 V. The following diagram shows the appropriate measuring circuit.

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Assemble the following experiment circuit.

Open the oscilloscope and set the following parameters:

Oscilloscope settings Operating mode Timebase Coupling channel A Sensitivity channel A Coupling channel B Trigger X/T 20 s DC 200 mV OFF Channel A

In order to set the offset and amplification, set the trimmer to its left-hand limit and move the capacitor plate to its lower limit (position 0). Copy the resulting oscilloscope trace into the placeholder below. Se citete de pe osciloscop perioada semnalului, se calculeaz frecvena i

rezultatele se trec n referat. Now move the capacitor plate to its upper limit (position 60) and repeat the experiment. Copy the resulting oscilloscope trace into the placeholder below. Se citete de pe osciloscop perioada semnalului, se calculeaz frecvena i rezultatele se trec n referat. What effect does the position of the displacement sensor have on the frequency of the tuned circuit? Enter your answer into the text box below. ntrebarea i rspunsul se trec n referat. Now close the oscilloscope. Open Voltmeter B and set the following parameters:
Settings for Voltmeter B Operating mode Display Measuring range DC AV 20 V

Now move the displacement transducer to position 0 and adjust the offset trimmer so that the sensor outputs a voltage of 0. Then move the sensor to position 60 and set the trimmer for the gain so that output voltage reaches 10 V. Close the voltmeter again and open the oscilloscope again. Move the capacitor plate to the bottom to the lower limit and determine the corresponding frequency f of the tuned circuit. Move the capacitor plate upwards in steps of of 5 scale divisions and measure the frequencies at each step. Enter the value pairs into the table then switch it to Chart mode to display the characteristic. Se deseneaz n referat un tabel n care se scriu rezultatele msurtorilor (poziia senzorului, perioada semnalului, frecvena) i pe baza rezultatului se traseaz graficul poziie-frecven. What is the shape of the resulting characteristic? How do you explain the result? Enter your answer into the text box below. ntrebarea i rspunsul se trec n referat.

Experiments - Capacitive displacement measurement II

Determining the sensor characteristic
The following experiment will determine the static characteristic of the sensor. The movable capacitor plates are moved in steps starting from the lower limit to the upper limit. For each position x the corresponding output voltage uOut is measured via the measurement circuit. Voltmeter A is used to measure the output voltage. The following diagram shows the appropriate measurement circuit.

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Assemble the following experiment circuit.

Open Voltmeter A and set the following parameters:

Settings for Voltmeter A Operating mode Display Measuring range DC AV 10 V

Move the capacitor plate to its lower limit and measure the corresponding output voltage uOut. Move the core upwards in steps of 5 scale divisions and measure the output voltage on each occasion. Enter the pairs of values into the table below then switch it into Chart mode to see the characteristic of the sensor. Se deseneaz n referat un tabel n care se scriu rezultatele msurtorilor (poziia senzorului, tensiunea de ieire al amplificatorului) i pe baza rezultatului se traseaz graficul poziie-tensiune. What is the shape of the characteristic? How do you explain the results? Enter your answer into the text box below. ntrebarea i rspunsul se trec n referat.

ntrebri suplimentare: n ce mrime electric s-a transformat deplasarea liniar? Ce fel de circuit este primul circuit i ce rol ndeplinete? Ce fel de circuit este al doilea circuit i ce funcie are? Ce fel de circuit este al treilea circuit i cu ce scop se folosete? Prin ce metode se poate msura o capacitate? Cum s-a msurat n cadrul acestei lucrri? 6. Ce parametru al condensatorului s-a modificat cu deplasarea? 7. Ce alt parametru al condensatorului se mai poate modifica pentru a transforma deplasarea liniar n variaie de capacitate? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

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