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handbook of modern sensors

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302 8 Velocity and Acceleration<br />

Fig. 8.1. Operating principle <strong>of</strong> an electromagnetic velocity sensor. (Courtesy <strong>of</strong> Trans-Tek,<br />

Inc., Ellington, CT.)<br />

to Faraday’s law. This voltage is proportional to the magnet’s velocity and the field<br />

strength [Eq. (3.39) <strong>of</strong> Chapter 3]. Linear velocity transducers use this principle <strong>of</strong><br />

magnetic induction, with a permanent magnet and a fixed geometry coil, so the output<br />

voltage <strong>of</strong> the coil is directly proportional to the magnet’s relative velocity over its<br />

working range.<br />

In the velocity sensor, both ends <strong>of</strong> the magnet are inside the coil. With a single coil,<br />

this would give a zero output because the voltage generated by one end <strong>of</strong> the magnet<br />

would cancel the voltage generated by the other end. To overcome this limitation, the<br />

coil is divided into two sections. The north pole <strong>of</strong> the magnet induces a current in<br />

one coil, and the south pole induces a current in the other coil (Fig. 8.1). The two coils<br />

are connected in a series-opposite direction to obtain an output proportional to the<br />

magnet’s velocity. The maximum detectable velocity depends primarily on the input<br />

stages <strong>of</strong> the interface electronic circuit. The minimum detectable velocity depends<br />

on the noise floor and especially <strong>of</strong> transmitted noise from nearby high-ac-current<br />

equipment. Typical specifications <strong>of</strong> an electromagnetic sensor are given in Table<br />

8.1. This design is very similar to a linear variable differential transformer (LVDT)<br />

position sensor (Section 7.4 <strong>of</strong> Chapter 7), except that the LVDT is an active sensor<br />

with a moving ferromagnetic core, whereas the velocity sensor is a passive device<br />

with a moving permanent magnet; that is, this sensor is a current-generating device<br />

Table 8.1. Specification Ranges <strong>of</strong> Electromagnetic Velocity Sensors<br />

Characteristic<br />

Value<br />

Magnet core displacement (in.) 0.5–24<br />

Sensitivity (mV/in./s) 35–500<br />

Coil resistance (k) 2–45<br />

Coil inductance (H) 0.06–7.5<br />

Frequency response (Hz) (at load >100 times the coil resistance) 500–1500<br />

Weight (g) 20–1500<br />

Source: Courtesy <strong>of</strong> Trans-Tek, Inc., Ellington, CT.

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