Instrumentation for Test and Measurement

Course No. 163

(Course Outline shown below.)

Some organizations are wasting time and money using archaic, unreliable instrumentation. They are using outdated technologies to monitor today’s products and processes. Course 163 offers understanding of modern instrumentation and systems, with which data can be acquired with a speed, volume and accuracy unknown a decade ago.

For Whom Intended  Engineers, aides and technicians. Some background in electronics is helpful but is not essential. The course will be tailored to student objectives.

Objectives  To provide a basic understanding of measurement systems. To alert the students to the many varieties of transducers available, their operating principles, strengths and weaknesses. To give students enough applications information that they can select optimum transducer, amplifier, recording and readout devices to assemble a system for routine measurements of environmental and dynamic phenomena.

Brief Course Description  Mainly lectures, supported by slides, transparencies, videotapes and sample hardware. Students are expected to participate in classroom discussions and in a small group case study exercise, as well as read text materials and class notes. See syllabus, below.

Course 163 presents basic information on selection, application, calibration and usage of modern measurement systems to measure electrical, environmental and dynamic phenomena. The course emphasizes a non-mathematical approach to understanding concepts and mechanisms. A variety of measurands and transducer types is covered, as well as signal conditioning, recording and analysis.

Participants are encouraged to bring a specific measurement problem to class for use as a case study. The instructor will introduce one or more student problems (and/or a preselected case) on the first day. Each day’s course material will further develop the case study. A solution will be given at the end.

Certificate Programs  This course is required for several of TTi’s Specialist Certificate Programs (see http://www.ttiedu.com).

Prerequisites  There are no definite prerequisites, but participation in TTi’s course Electronics for Non-Electronic Engineers (http://www.ttiedu.com/104-5cat.html) or the equivalent would be helpful.

Text  Each student will receive a course workbook, including most of the viewgraphs used in the course presentation.

Course Hours, Certificate and CEUs  Open courses meet seven hours per day. Upcoming presentation dates can be found on our current open course schedule (http://www.ttiedu.com/schedule.html). Class hours/days for on-site courses can vary from 14-35 hours over 2-5 days as requested by our clients. Upon successful course completion, each participant receives a certificate of completion and one Continuing Education Unit (CEU) for every ten class hours.

Course Outline No. 163

• Review of Electrical Fundamentals
  • Electrostatic Field and Potentials
  • Electrical Charge
  • Conductors and Insulators
  • Current
  • Resistance
  • Voltage
  • Ohm's Law
  • EMFs in Series and Parallel
  • Resistors
  • Series Circuits
  • Capacitance
  • Inductance
  • Alternating Current
  • Sine Wave
  • Effective or RMS Value of Current and Power
  • Sinusoidal Waveform
  • SDoF--Sinusoidal Relationships
  • Reactance
  • Impedance
  • Frequency and Phase
  • Phasors-Rectangular Coordinates
  • The j Operator
  • Polar Coordinates
  • Inductive Reactance
  • Capacitive Reactance
  • Impedance in Series R-L-C AC Circuits
  • Series Resonance
  • Resonant Frequency
  • Q of a Series Circuit
  • Bandwidth of Series R-L-C Circuit
  • Band Pass Filter
  • Band Stop Filter
  • Complex Signals
  • Square Wave Signals
  • Complex Spectrum of a Periodic Time Function
  • Transient Signals
  • Complex (Pyroshock) Time History
  • Random Signals
  • Mutual Inductance
  • Transformers
  • Transformer Equivalent Circuit
  • Transformer Turns Ratio
  • Impedance-Matching, cont.
  • Electrical Power in AC Circuits
  • Electrical Power and Energy
  • Three Phase [Delta] Connected Generator
  • Three Phase Power Distribution
  • Local Power Distribution Systems
  • Transmission
  • Typical Voltages in Use
  • Voltage Transformations
  • Polyphase Power and Measurements
  • Polyphase Measurements
  • Laboratory Practice-Safety
  • Safety
  • Safety Rules
  • Types of Grounds
  • Grounds-Three Wire Outlet
  • Example of Incorrect Grounding Technique
  • Grounds [Bare Wire]
• Understanding Decibels (dB) and Octaves
  • Decibels
  • Decibels--Power Ratio
  • Decibels--Voltage Ratio
  • Application of dB Notation
  • dB Ratio Conversions
  • Reference Levels for deciBel Notation
  • Adding Two Power Ratios in dB
  • Logarithmic vs Linear Scaling
  • Logarithmic vs Linear Scaling in PSD plots
  • Sound Perception
  • Frequency Spectra for Various Noise Sources
  • Diatonic Musical Scale
  • 1/3 Octave Bandwidth Definitions
  • Octaves
  • 1/3 Octave Bandwidth, Center Frequency
• Parameters of Linear Systems
  • Sensors and Systems
  • Components of an Instrumentation System
  • Frequency Response (Parameters of Linear Systems)
  • Dynamic Range and Linearity
  • Non-Linear Mechanical System
  • Non-Linear Systems
  • Input-Output Characteristic Curve
  • Distortion of a Sine Wave
  • Some examples of Systematic Errors
  • Methods of Computing Linearity
  • Signal and Spectrum Before and After Clipping
  • Design/Performance Characteristics of Sensors
  • Effects of Inadequate Frequency Response
  • System Response to a Rectangular Pulse
  • Low-pass, High-pass and Bandpass Networks
  • Phase Response
  • Response of a Linear Network to a Sine Wave
• Accuracy, Calibration and Error Assessment
  • Simple Statistics of Measurement
  • Random Data and the Gaussian Distribution
  • Cumulative Distribution Functions (cdf)
  • Probability Density Functions (pdf)
  • Confidence Levels
  • Measurement Error
  • Systematic Error
  • Total System Error: a Function of Elemental Errors
  • Some examples of Systematic Errors
  • "System Accuracy" or "Calibration" Plot
  • Temperature Error
  • Transducer Error
  • Areas of the Normal Curve
  • t (Student) Distribution
  • Chi-Square Distribution
• Transducers: Mechanisms and Measurands
  • Applying Force to a Body
  • Linear Displacement
  • Angular Displacement; Linear Velocity
  • Linear Velocity, Acceleration
  • Angular Velocity and Acceleration
  • Centripetal Force, Acceleration
  • Stress and Strain
  • Strain Gages
  • Torque and its Results
  • Stress and Strain in a Beam
  • Uses of Pressure Transducers
  • Flow Meters
  • Acoustic Waves
  • Temperature Measurements
  • Electromagnetic Spectrum
  • The Ideal Transducer
  • Mechanisms in General
  • Displacement - Direct Measurement
  • Silicon Semiconductor Transducers
  • Accelerometer Sensing Element
  • Pressure Transducers
  • Potentiometric Transducers
  • Transduction Principles of Capacitive Transducers
  • Laser Holography
  • Infrared Sensors
  • Ultrasonic Range Finder
  • Microwave/Radar
  • Angle Measurement Transducer
  • Angular Accelerometer
  • Force Summing
  • Force Summing Devices
  • Piezoelectric Transduction
  • Centro-Symmetric vs. Assymetric Crystal Structure
  • Temperature Effects
  • Thermoresistive Transducers
  • Thermoelectric Transducers
  • Thermopile
  • Linear Displacement Transducer
  • Electromagnetic
  • Proximity Detectors
  • The Hall Effect Transducer
  • Radiation: Photoemission
  • Radiation: Photoconduction
  • Radiation: Photovoltaic Action
  • Motion Sensor
  • Velocity Sensing Module
  • Beam Patterns
  • Laser Vibrometers
  • Doppler Shifts
  • Velocity Measurement Range Nomogram
  • Laser Vibrometers
  • Interferometer and Vibrometer
  • Bragg Cell Type Vibrometer
  • Dynamic Sensors
  • Accelerometers: The Measurand
  • Frequency Response
  • Acceleration Response
  • Seismic Transducer
  • Transmissibility
  • Resonance Isolation
  • Vibration Transducers
  • Piezoelectric Accelerometers
• Amplifiers and signal conditioners
  • Conditioning the Signal
  • DC Carrier Amplifier
  • Carrier Amplifier used with AC-Excited Bridge
  • FM Carrier Amplifier
  • Lock-in Amplifier
  • Capacitive Source Impedance
  • Resistive Source Impedance
  • The Bridge Circuit
  • Strain Gage Compensation
  • Equivalent Circuits, Bridge Transducers
  • Shunt Calibration
  • Voltage Insertion Calibration
  • RC High-Pass Filter
• Avoiding Unwanted Signals
  • Electrical Noise: High Signal Source Impedance
  • Low Signal Source Impedance
  • Source Shunting Effect
  • Parallel Conductors
  • Twisted Signal Conductors
  • Microvolt-Level Signal Cables
  • Basic Amplifier Types
  • Typical Low-level Chopper Amplifier
  • Grounding and Shielding
  • Ground Loops
  • Eliminating Multiple Grounds
  • A Stable System Ground
  • Incorrect Grounding!
  • Correct Grounding!
  • Using the Amplifier Guard Shield
  • Common Mode Rejection
  • System Common Mode Rejection
  • Good Wiring Practice Must be Used
• System considerations
  • Amplifier-Source Compatibility
  • Source Shunting Effect
  • Calibrated Zero Suppression
  • Amplifier Characteristics
  • Four Basic Types of Amplifiers
  • Typical Uses of Different Amplifier Types
  • Differential Amplifier
  • Amplifier Compatibility Summary
  • Piezo Voltage Amplifier
  • Impedance Transforming Amplifiers
  • Pieozelectric Transducers with Amplifier
  • Insufficient RC Time Constant
  • Charge Converters
  • Other Amplifier Characteristics
• Integrating and Differentiating Circuits, Filtering
  • Integrating Circuits
  • High-Pass Filtering and Differentiating Circuits
  • Input/Output Curves for Differentiating Circuit
  • Filtering
  • Acoustic Weighting
  • Bandpass Filter
  • Undamped (high Q) vs. Damped (low Q) Filters
  • Selective Filtering
  • Filter Characteristics
  • Characteristics of Butterworth Filters
  • Characteristics of Chebyshev Filters
  • Characteristics of Bessel Filters
  • RC and LR Circuits-Charge & Delay Curves
  • Reaction of an R-C Circuit to a Square Wave
  • Amplifier Limiting
• Working with Digital Signals
  • Waveform Reproduction as Function of Sample Rate
  • Analog-Digital and Digital-Analog Conversion
  • Quantization Error for a 3-Bit Converter
  • Aperture Error
  • Aperture Error
  • Aperture Time
  • Relationship between Number of Bits and LSB
• Digital analytical techniques
  • Fourier Without Pain
  • Adding Sine Waves
  • Time and Frequency Domain
  • Discrete Fourier Analysis
  • Fast Fourier Transform
  • Time and Frequency Domain Terminology
  • Phase of Frequency Domain Components
  • Lowest Frequency Resolvable by the FFT
  • Frequencies of all the Spectral Lines of the FFT
  • Dynamic Signal Analyzer
  • Spectrum Analyzers
  • Analog Frequency Analyzer
  • How Analyzer Presents a Single Sinusoid
  • Amplitude Error from Sweeping Too Fast
  • Parallel Filter Analyzer
  • Digital Frequency Analyzer
  • Quick Look vs. Detailed Analysis
  • Random Frequency Analysis
  • Statistical Precision of a Spectrum Analysis
  • Aliasing
  • Aliasing in the Frequency Domain
  • Anti-Aliasing Filters
  • Two Types of Aliasing Filters
  • Analog and Digital Filtering
  • Windowing
  • "FFT Distortion" or "Windowing, cont."
  • Effect of Windowing in the Time Domain
  • Leakage Reduction with Windowing
  • Transient Events
  • Response Window vs. Force Window
  • Comparison of Weighting Functions
  • Correlation
  • Auto- and Cross-spectra
  • Auto Correlation of Periodic Waveforms
  • Auto Correlation of a Sine Buried by Noise
  • Simulated Cross Correlation
  • Coherence
• Oscilloscopes
  • Oscilloscope Display Screen
  • Display Subsystem
  • Analog Oscilloscope Controls
  • Scope-Probe Assembly
  • Oscilloscope Probes
  • How to Operate an Oscilloscope
  • Making Connections
  • Triggering
  • Voltage Measurements
  • Time and Frequency
  • Phase Measurements
  • Pulse Measurements
  • Oscilloscope Errors
  • Special Purpose Oscilloscopes
  • Sampling Oscilloscopes
  • Storage Oscilloscopes
  • Digital Oscilloscope
  • Digital Oscilloscope-Two Channel
  • Digital Oscilloscope Considerations
  • Use of Lissajous Patterns to Evaluate Vibration Responses
• Shock Measurement
  • Force Sensors
  • Load Cell Characteristics
  • Motion-Displacement Trackers
  • Characteristics of Motion Trackers
  • High Speed Photography
  • Electro-Magnetic Induction
  • Motion-Velocity Sensors
  • Motion-Acceleration
  • Seismic Transducers
  • Seismic Transducer Characteristics
  • Pendulum Calibration
  • Dynamic Calibration of Motion Sensors
  • Cabling
  • Accelerometer Attachment
  • Accelerometer Quick-Check Calibration/Accelerometer Loading Effect
• Recording and Readout Instruments
  • Portable 18-Channel Data Acquisition Recorder
  • Portable Data Acquisition Recorder
  • Portable Hybrid Recorder
  • LabView Graphical Solutions
• Summary and overview
• Final presentation of “case study” project
• Final examination
• Award of certificates for successful completion

For a printable (.pdf) version of course outline no. 163, see http:/www.ttiedu.com/PDF/163cat.pdf

For schedules, enrollment information and more, visit http://www.ttiedu.com.