Chapter 2: Signal Conditioning
Measurement Systems with Electrical Signals
• displacement,
• linear velocity,
• Angular velocity, • gage, • Amplification
• acceleration, • cell, • Attenuation
• force, • Transmitter • Filtering
• pressure, Converts • Differentiation
• temperature, • Integration
physical
• heat flux,
changes to • Linearization
• humidity,
• fluid flow rate, electrical pulses • Converting a resistance to
• light intensity, a voltage signal
• Chemical • Converting a current
Characteristic signal to a voltage signal
• chemical
composition.
2
Introduction
Signal processing is concerned with improving the quality of the reading or signal at the
output of a measurement system, and one particular aim is to attenuate any noise in the
measurement signal that has not been eliminated by careful design of the measurement
system.
However, signal processing performs many other functions apart from dealing with noise,
and the exact procedures that are applied depend on the nature of the raw output signal
from a measurement transducer. Such functions are 1) Filters 2) Amplification 3)
Attenuation and 4) Signal linearization.
Amplification
Signal amplification is carried out when the typical signal output level of a
measurement transducer is considered to be too low.
Amplification by analogue means is carried out by an operational amplifier.
The operational amplifier is an electronic device that has two input terminals and
one output terminal, the two inputs being known as the inverting input and non-
inverting input respectively.
The raw (unprocessed) signal Vi is connected to the inverting input through a resistor
R1 and the non-inverting input is connected to ground. A feedback path is provided
from the output terminal through a resistor R2 to the inverting input terminal.
Assuming ideal operational amplifier characteristics, the processed signal V0 at the
output terminal is then related to the voltage Vi at the input terminal by the
expression:
R2Vi
V0
R1
In general two types of amplifiers are there
Inverting amplifiers
Non-inverting amplifiers
Inverting amplifiers:
In inverting amplifiers if the input pulse is positive, then the output pulse will be
negative and vice versa.
The input signal Vi is connected to the inverting input through a resistor R1 and the
non-inverting input is connected to ground. A feedback path is provided from the
output terminal through a resistor R2 to the inverting input terminal.
R2
R1 vin vo
vin -
vo
0
I R1 R 2
+
Non-inverting amplifiers
In non-inverting amplifiers the phase of input signal will not change. R1
should be connected with inverting input of the amplifier and Vi should be
connected with non-inverting input of the amplifier.
R2
R1
-
vo
I
+
vin
R2 R1
vo vin
R1
Instrumentation amplifier
For some applications requiring the amplification of very low-level signals, a special
type of amplifier known as an instrumentation amplifier is used. This consists of a
circuit containing three standard operational amplifiers
vi1 +
R2 R3 R4
vo1
-
i1 R1 vo
+
R2 vo2 R3 vi1 vi2
i1
- R4 R1
vi2 +
v01 vi1 R 2i1
voltage and current relationships
v02 vi2 R 2i1
voltage substitutions
vi1 vi2 R2 R2
v01 vi1 R 2 v 01 1 vi1 vi2
R1 R1 R1
vi1 vi2 R2 R2
v02 vi2 R 2 v02 1 vi2 vi1
R1 R1 R1
R4
v0 v02 v01
R3
R 4 2R 2
v0 1 vi2 vi1
R3 R1
Differential amplification
A common amplifier configuration that is used to amplify the small difference that
may exist between two voltage signals V1 and V2. These may represent, for example,
the pressures either side of an obstruction device put in a pipe to measure the
volume flow rate of fluid flowing through it. The output voltage V0 is given by:
R2
R1
v1 -
vo
R1
v2 +
R2
R2 v o (v 2 v1 )
R1
summing amplifier
R1 RF
v1
R2
v2 -
R3 vo
v3 +
i1 i 2 i3 i o
v1 v 2 v3 v
o
R1 R 2 R 3 RF
R F RF RF
v o v1 v2 v3
R1 R2 R 3
If Rf = R1 = R2 = Rn
v o (v1 v 2 v3 )
Current to voltage convertor
Rf
v o Iin R f
-
Iin
+
vo
voltage to current convertor
vin
-
vo vin
IL
+ IL RL
Differentiator
Rf
dvin
C1 vo R f C1
-
dt
vin
Time constant is dependent
+
vo
on C1 and Rf
Integrator
1
C1 vo vin dt
R1
R1C1
- vo
vin
+
Examples of Instrumentation Amplifiers
Passive Transducer Measurement Configuration:
For passive transducers in a bridge configuration the voltage of interest is the differential
voltage e = VB - VA
Therefore need a difference amplifier with a committed adjustable gain Ad
Vo = Ad(VB - VA) = Ad e
R
R+DR
R
R
IA
Vo = Ad e
Active Transducer Measurement Configuration:
For an active transducer the differential voltage e
created by the transducer is of interest
Therefore need a difference amplifier
with a committed adjustable gain Ad
Vo = Ad e IA
Surface whose temperature
is to be measured may be at
Vo = Ad e
some non-zero potential (VCM)
relative to ground
Signal Filters
A filter is a device or process that removes some unwanted components or frequencies
from an input signal. Signal filtering consists of processing a signal to remove a certain
band of frequencies within it.
Types of filters
1) Low-pass filters
2) High-pass filters
3) Band-pass filters
4) Band stop filters
1) Low-pass filters
A low pass filter is a filter that passes signals with a frequency lower that a certain cutoff
frequency and attenuates signals with frequency higher than the cutoff frequency.
2) High-pass filters
A high-pass filter is a filter that passes signals with a frequency higher than a certain cutoff
frequency and attenuates signals with frequencies lower than the cutoff frequency.
3) Band-pass filters
A band pass filters passes signals within a certain range of frequency and attenuates signals
outside the range.
4) Band stop filters
It is opposite to band pass filters. It will pass the signals not match with the specific band and
attenuates those in specific range.
End of the Chapter