Sensors and Actuators

How Pitot Sensor Works

2012-02-03T08:01:00.010+01:00

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How Solenoid Valve works

2009-09-05T00:00:00.004+02:00

A solenoid valve is an electro mechanical valve which works on the solenoid principle. It uses the electrical energy to do the mechanical work. The solenoid consists of a coil wrapped around the core. When current is passed through the coil a magnetic field is generated around the coil. This magnetic field causes the piston to move causing the valve to open and close. The valves can be normally

What is an Actuator

2009-09-04T23:55:00.001+02:00

An actuator is a mechanical device which takes the energy and converts it into motion. The motion can be linear, rotary or oscillatory motion. The source of energy to the actuator can be air, liquid or electricity. The most common actuators are motors, pumps and solenoid valves.

How Variable Reluctance Sensor works

2009-08-31T00:03:00.002+02:00

The variable reluctance sensor consists of a wire wrapped around a permanent magnet. When the ferromagnetic material such as a flywheel tooth passes the sensor the magnetic field is disrupted. Due to this an AC voltage is generated, the amplitude and frequency of which depends on the speed of the flywheel. Here the polarity of the voltage is not important. The amplitude of this AC voltage also

How Magnetoresistive Sensor works

2009-08-30T23:58:00.002+02:00

The magnetoresistive sensors are based on the magnetoresistive effect. The magnetoresistive effect is the change of the resistivity of a current carrying ferromagnetic material due to a magnetic field. MGR sensor can be called as magnetically controllable resistorsThe below figure shows the Magnetoresistive effect.When the current is passed through the ferromagnetic material the internal

How Hall Effect Sensor works

2009-08-30T23:53:00.001+02:00

A Hall Effect sensor is a device that detects the presence of magnetic field. It is based on the Hall Effect. The Hall Effect was discovered by Edwin hall in 1869. When current is passed through the conductor and the same conductor is placed in magnetic field perpendicular to the current flow then a voltage called the hall voltage is generated perpendicular to both the current and magnetic field.

How Magnetostrictive Sensor works

2009-08-30T23:47:00.001+02:00

Magnetostriction is a property of ferromagnetic materials such as iron, nickel, cobalt and their alloys to expand or contract when placed in magnetic field.Initially when these ferromagnetic materials are not magnetised the magnetic domains of the ferromagnetic material are randomly distributed. But when they are placed in magnetic field the magnetic domains undergo changes and are arranged in

Temperature range for different environments

2009-08-30T23:44:00.000+02:00

The operating temperature is very important parameter to be considered while selecting the sensor. The manufacturer of the sensor specifies the operating temperature in the specs sheet of the sensor.Below is the standard operating temperature range in commercial, Industrial, Military and Automotive environment.Commercial: The standard temperature range for commercial applications is 0° to +70° (

How LVDT works

2009-08-30T23:06:00.001+02:00

The Linear Variable Differential Transformer(LVDT) is a device used to measure linear displacement. The LVDT has 3 coils-one primary and two secondary, and an armature. The armature is basically a ferromagnetic core such as iron. An AC voltage is applied to the primary coil.The two secondary coils are connected in opposite such that the output voltage is the difference of the individual voltages

How Laser Triangulation Sensor works

2009-08-30T23:01:00.001+02:00

The laser triangulation sensor consists of a laser, detector and a lens before the detector to focus the beam on the detector. The detector is normally a CCD array. To do the measurement of height the laser emits a light on the surface. This laser beam is reflected from the surface and falls on the detector through the lens. Depending on the position of the beam on the detectors CCD array, the

Ingress protection(IP)

2009-08-30T22:58:00.000+02:00

Ingress protection rating is developed by European Committee for specifying the level of protection for an electrical device. The IP rating normally has two numbers. First Digit: specifies protection from solid objects.Second Digit: specifies Protection from liquids.First Digit: Protection against solid objects0 No protection1 Protected from object of size 50 mm or more. For example hand touch2

How Photoelectric proximity sensor works

2009-08-30T22:40:00.001+02:00

The Photo electric sensor can be used to detect both metallic and non metallic targets. The main components of a photo electric sensor are the emitter and detector.The emitter sends a beam of light which is then detected by detector.Photoelectric sensors works in different modesThru-Beam: In this case the emitter and detector are 2 separate units. The emitter emits the light which is detected by

How Ultrasonic proximity sensor works

2009-08-30T22:28:00.001+02:00

An ultrasonic proximity sensor uses a piezoelectric transducer to send and detect sound waves. Transducer generate high frequency sound waves and evaluate the echo by the detector which is received back after reflecting off the target. Sensors calculate the time interval between sending the signal and receiving the echo to determine the distance to the target. When the target enters the operating

How Infrared temperature sensor works

2009-08-30T22:23:00.002+02:00

Infrared is an Electromagnetic radiation with wavelength between 750nm to 1mm. Other part of electromagnetic radiation includes radio waves, micro waves, visible light, ultraviolet, x rays and Gamma rays.The Infrared technology can be used to measure the temperature of the target. Every object with temperature above absolute zero emits electromagnetic radiation. Infrared radiation using optics is

How Oil Quality Sensor works

2009-08-26T00:12:00.002+02:00

The Oil quality sensor uses a capacitive technology for determining the oil quality. Two metal plates form the plates of the capacitor and oil is used as a dielectric between the plates to form a capacitor. Thus a field is generated between the plates. when any dirt or foreign bodies enters the oil or when the number of kilometers increases the oil degrades. The dielectric changes thus changing

How Capacitive Proximity Sensor works

2009-08-26T00:11:00.002+02:00

Capacitive proximity sensors can be used to detect metallic and also non metallic targets like paper, wood, plastic, glass, wood, powder, liquid..etc without physical contact. The capacitive proximity sensor works on the capacitor principle. The main components of the capacitive proximity sensor are plate, oscillator, threshold detector and the output circuit.The plate inside the sensor acts as

How Displacement Sensor works

2009-08-26T00:10:00.004+02:00

The Important parameters to be considered while selecting a displacement sensor areContact/Non Contact: The selection of a contact or non contact sensor depends on your application. Although non contact technology seems advantages it is not possible to use non contact sensors for each and every application. Some non contact sensors like laser and ultrasonic sensors may be dangerous. The advantage

How Inductive Proximity Sensor works

2009-08-26T00:10:00.003+02:00

The inductive proximity sensor can be used to detect metallic targets only. The main components of the inductive proximity sensor are coil, oscillator, detector and the output circuit.The coil generates the high frequency magnetic field in front of the face. When the metallic target comes in this magnetic field it absorbs some of the energy. Hence the oscillator field is affected. This is

How Thermocouple works

2009-08-26T00:08:00.002+02:00

A thermocouple is a temperature measuring device which is formed when two dissimilar metals are joined together. When both the ends are joined together continuous current flows through the wires when one end is heated. This is called thermoelectric effect or seeback effect. When there is difference in temperature at both the ends a small voltage(in mV) is generated. This voltage increases as the

How RTD works

2009-08-26T00:06:00.002+02:00

A resistance temperature detector(RTD) is a temperature measuring device made of materials such as platinum whose resistance change is known at different temperatures. The R v/s T curve is used to determine the temperature. The platinum RTD's are the most stable, linear and accurate among all the RTD'sThe Common material used to make RTD's are Platinum Nickel Copper However Tungsten and Balco are

How Proximity Sensor works

2009-08-26T00:05:00.005+02:00

A proximity sensor is a type of sensor which detects the presence of nearby objects called target without any physical contact. There are different types of proximity sensors such as inductive proximity sensor, capacitive proximity sensor, ultrasonic proximity sensor, photoelectric proximity sensor. Depending on the type of technology used proximity sensor emits an electromagnetic or

How Lambda Sensor works

2009-08-26T00:05:00.003+02:00

The Lambda sensor is also called the oxygen or the O2 sensor and is a very important sensor for automotive applications. It is mounted in the exhaust manifold of the car and it senses the amount of oxygen present in the exhaust gas. Basically this sensor helps determine if the air-fuel ratio is rich or lean. By determining this and adjusting the air-fuel ration the engine can be made to run more

How Potentiometer works

2009-08-26T00:03:00.004+02:00

A potentiometer is a resistive sensor used to measure linear displacements as well as rotary motion. In a potentiometer an electrically conductive wiper slides across a fixed resistive element. A voltage is applied across the resistive element. Thus a voltage divider circuit is formed. The output voltage(Vout) is measured as shown in the figure below. The output voltage is proportional to the

How Thermistor works

2009-08-26T00:03:00.003+02:00

The Thermally sensitive resistors(Thermistors) are similar to RTD's and are electrical resistors whose resistance changes with temperature. Thermistors are made of semiconductor material. There are 2 types of thermistors, The PTC and the NTC.The resistance of the PTC(positive thermal coefficient) increases with increasing temperature. The resistance of the NTC(negative thermal coefficient)

What is a Sensor

2009-08-26T00:02:00.001+02:00

A sensor is an electronic component that measures the physical quantity and converts to the type that can be read by the user or other electronic device such as for example a microprocessor.