I am a student of electronic engineering studying in first semester. We are given a project on pressure transducer and we don't know nothing about it. Please guide me as to how to go about the solution of this problem. Also we have not started electronics course up till now and have knowledge of electronics of high school level.

 

Can you post the project information you were given?

Ken

 

You need to be more specific. What have you been asked to do with a pressure transducer? What kind of pressure transducer is it?

If you really know nothing about it, you must find out from whoever is teaching you. You could get general information on pressure transducers from Google, or perhaps from this forum, but how would you know if it was relevant to your problem?

 

The transducer will have an associated data sheet which may be found on the internet by using the device's model number as a search term. The data sheet will describe the electrical output, as well as the voltage necessary to make it operate properly. Once you have the parameters of the output, you can start to decide how to make use of it.

 

the object is to make a pressure transducer that converts a load, when applied, into a corresponding voltage signal. There is no restriction upon the value of voltage against a specific pressure. We are not required to measure pressure in pascals of N/m but only required to generate a specific voltage signal for a specific pressure which is to be applied by some load.

 

As before, get the device's data sheet.

 

the object is to make a pressure transducer that converts a load, when applied, into a corresponding voltage signal. There is no restriction upon the value of voltage against a specific pressure. We are not required to measure pressure in pascals of N/m but only required to generate a specific voltage signal for a specific pressure which is to be applied by some load.

Are you actually expected to construct the transducer yourself? If so, have you really not been given any guidance as to the technologies you might use? Are you allowed to use any commercial components for the transducer, (e.g. strain gauges, QTC pills) or is this something you have to build from scratch? If the latter, this would seem to go well beyond the requirements of an Electronics course - what subject are you actually studying?

 

The choice of technology rests with us and we have to decide as to which components to use. We can use components and don't have to make transducer from scratch. Please help me in understanding the principle on which it works. Following are the subjects that we are studying

1. Electronic engineering drawing
2. Basic electrical engineering
3. Engineering Mechanics
4. Physics
5. English

 

Are you talking about pressure as in gas or liquid pressure, or as in weight. What part of the project are you responsible for?...the mechanical transducer?...the electronics? Can you post the "written requirements" for the assignment?

Ken

 

Are you actually expected to construct the transducer yourself? If so, have you really not been given any guidance as to the technologies you might use? Are you allowed to use any commercial components for the transducer, (e.g. strain gauges, QTC pills) or is this something you have to build from scratch? If the latter, this would seem to go well beyond the requirements of an Electronics course - what subject are you actually studying?

The choice of technology rests with us and we have to decide as to which components to use. We can use components and don't have to make transducer from scratch. Please help me in understanding the principle on which it works. Following are the subjects that we are studying

1. Electronic engineering drawing
2. Basic electrical engineering
3. Engineering Mechanics
4. Physics
5. English

 

Google: pressure transducer sensor
There are too many types for us to explain each and every one to someone that has little or no background to build on. Then come back an tell us which type you might want to use.

I would use a spring scale: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_scale
and attach a linear potentiometer's wiper arm to the scale's pointer. http://www.amazon.com/SparkFun-Slide-Potentiometer-10K/dp/B004G51HMK Connect a battery http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4354027 across the ends of the potentiometer The output voltage measured with a voltmeter http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4214667 between one end and the wiper will be proportional to the applied force.

Ken

 

Google: pressure transducer sensor
There are too many types for us to explain each and every one to someone that has little or no background to build on. Then come back an tell us which type you might want to use.

I would use a spring scale: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_scale
and attach a linear potentiometer's wiper arm to the scale's pointer. http://www.amazon.com/SparkFun-Slide-Potentiometer-10K/dp/B004G51HMK Connect a battery http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4354027 across the ends of the potentiometer The output voltage measured with a voltmeter http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4214667 between one end and the wiper will be proportional to the applied force.

Ken

Or if you had a hard time connecting the pressure being measured to a spring scale, use a typical pressure gauge (270 degree dial), remove the glass cover and tie the needle to a 270 degree pot.

 

Thanks for providing a useful solution to my problem. Please accept my apology if I could not communicate my question to you clearly as I have not very good communicating skills. I talked to my teacher and she said that the transducer should be made on breadboard ,however, the solution which you(KMoffett) posted is acceptable as well. Here is a schematic which i found

http://transducercircuit.blogspot.com/2011/01/interfacing-pressure-transducer-circuit.html

I want to use strain gauges. Is it suitable to work with strain gauges? What are these triangular shaped symbols? Are they opAmps? What if we don't use them?

 

Is it suitable to work with strain gauges?

Yes.

What are these triangular shaped symbols? Are they opAmps?

Yes...but the large one is a special opamp called an instrumentation amplifier.

What if we don't use them?

The output voltage of the stain gauge bridge (the four strain gauge elements in a diamond) will be very, very small and difficult to measure.

Again, this assignment seems to be way beyond what you have been presented or learned in your class.

Ken

 

For a good source of application material and how things work, Omega Engineering is pretty good - http://www.omega.com/pressure/psc.html

Making a pressure transducer from scratch without guidance is going to be tough. The Omega site should give you enough to present a design on paper, though.