Engi 7930 1

What is this course about?

• This course has two main modules: 1) Instrumentation for mechanical engineering
applications and 2) Design of Experiments (DOE).

• The instrumentation module covers the necessary concepts to analyze static charac-
teristics of measurements, uncertainty of measurements, and dynamic characteristics
of measurements.

• These concepts are applied to design measurement systems for common applications
such as temperature, load, and motion sensing.

• The DOE module covers the necessary concepts to analyze the relationships between
factors (i.e., inputs, causes) and responses (i.e., outputs, effects) of experiments.

• DOE is used to create efficient test plans for experiments, identify significant factors
of an experiment, and optimize factor levels to achieve a desired response.

Illustrated example:
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1 Characteristics of sensors
1.1 Generalized Measurement Model
• A sensor is a device which provides a measurement y, of a physical variable x.

• The measured physical variable is also termed as the measurand (denoted as x). E.g.
Temperature, Force, etc.

• A measurement system performs the task of manipulating and indicating measure-

ments in a manner which is useful for a given application.

• Main components of a basic measurement system can be divided as follows:

• The sensing element has a physical characteristic which significantly changes in re-
sponse to the measurand x.

• Signal manipulation is the task of converting the output of the sensing element to a
form suitable for indication.

• The indicator provides a scale for reading the measurement.

Example 1.1. Common bulb thermometer

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• Modern measurement systems mostly operate using electrical signals. This allows to
exploit digital storage, communication, and control functionalities. The generalized
measurement model given below summarizes components of a modern measurement
system.

Sensor stage Uses a natural phenomenon to extract information of a

physical variable (measurand) x.
Transducer stage converts the sensed information to a measurable (elec-
trical) signal.
Signal conditioning Performs amplification and filtering of signal to de-
sired levels and specifications.
Sampling Performs analog to digital conversion of the signal.
Estimation Performs statistical estimation of the measurand, using a set
of measurements from one or many sensors. The estimate of x pro-
duced by the estimation process is denoted as x̂.
Communicate establishes standard protocols for communication with
other devices to ultimately perform indicating, storing, or controlling
functions.

Example 1.2. Load measurement system

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Example 1.3. Thermistor measurement system

+5V

T co
NTC10K
AMPLIFIER. y NONLINEAR EST.

V2
A/D
R1=10K y(t) yk x^
NI6008 x

Sensor stage Resistive element which changes resistance for a given tem-
perature change
Transducer stage A voltage divider to convert resistance change to a
voltage signal
Signal conditioning non inverting op-amp amplifier scales up the signal
to measurable levels
Sampling An NI USB 6008 DAQ performs the analog to digital conver-
sion.
Estimation A mathematical relationship corresponding to the thermistor
maps the reading to an estimate of the measured temperature

1.2 Types of tests

• Calibration is the process of establishing the relationship between a measurand x and
a measurement y.

• Static calibration: the input (measurand) is held constant at a known value and the
output is measured after it converges to a steady state value, i.e. The dynamic or
transient behaviour is not considered in this test. Performed by applying known
values of the measurand and recording the output in order to identify a functional
relationship ŷ = f (x). The value ŷ denotes the expected value of the measurement
for a given measurand x.
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• Dynamics calibration: The dynamic behaviour of the system is established using time
varying input signals. E.g. Finding the transfer function and frequency response of a
sensor using sinusoidal inputs of different frequencies. (The sensor should be a linear
time invariant system to support this type of modelling).

• Different types of tests are used to model the static and dynamic behaviour of a
sensor.

• Sequential test applies a sequential set of values of the input variable over the
desired input range. This allows to capture any trends in the measurement such as
hysteresis, temperature drifts etc.

• Random tests applies a random set of values of the input variable over the desired
input range. Random tests allow to break trends in the measurement occurring
due to extraneous variables. E.g., increasing environment temperature during the
experiment. Unless it is required to study effects such as hysterisis, it is always
recommended to perform random tests for experiments.

• Repetitions are repeated measurements made in a single test run. Repetitions

allows to better estimate a quantity which is corrupted by noise.

• Replications are measurements made in different test runs under same operating
conditions. Replication permits to asses how well a set of conditions can be dupli-
cated. (captures more extraneous effects than repetitions) Replications are preferred
over repetitions because replications allows to break trends due to extraneous vari-
ables.

• Dynamic tests are performed to asses the dynamic response of a system using
different signals. I.e, Step input, Sinusoidal input, Impulse input.
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1.3 Sensor specifications

Sensitivity (K) The slope of a static calibration curve. K may or may not
be constant over the range of input values.
dŷ
K= (1)
dx
Bias (b) The shift of the static calibration curve from zero. i.e., Output value
when input is held at zero.

ŷ = Kx + b (2)

Range The operating range of the sensor. This can be expressed as minimum
and maximum limits of the input (xmin , xmax ) or the output (ymin , ymax )
of the sensor.
Span (F SO) The difference between maximum measured value and the min-
imum measured value. Can be expressed in units of the input:

ri = xmax − xmin (3)

Or can be expressed in the units of the output. Also termed the full scale
output (FSO)
ro = ymax − ymin (4)

Example 1.4. Find sensitivity, bias, range, and span using the given calibration plot .
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Resolution (δx) smallest increment in the measurand δx that can be mea-

sured. This can also be expressed in the units of the measurement, i.e.,
δy. Digitizing in electrical measurement systems are performed using Ana-
log to Digital Converters (ADC). The resolution δV of an N-bit ADC with
a full scale voltage span of Vspan is,

Vspan
δV = (5)
2N

Example 1.5. Find the resolution of the sensor in grams assuming that a DAQ with a
resolution of 11-bits and a voltage range of -10 to +10 V was used for measurement in the
previous example.

Error (e) The difference between the measured value and the true value of
the measurement (True value is the reading if the measurement system
is unaffected by any errors). Since true value is not known the expected
value is used. A deviation plot is used to illustrate errors which records
the errors along y axis and measurand along the x axis.

e = y − ŷ (6)

Accuracy (A) The accuracy is the maximum error expected from a measure-
ment system when calibrated and used in a specified manner. Consists
systematic errors (interference) and random errors (Noise). This can be
expressed in many forms:
• shown as absolute error bounds = ±emax
±emax
• shown as a percentage of full scale (FS) = ro × 100%
• shown as statistical bounds using sample variance Sx2 (preferred)
• Expressing errors as 95% confidence bounds is preferred throughout
this course. It is reasonable to assume that absolute error bounds
represent a conservative estimate of the 95% confidence bounds, in
cases where statistical information is unavailable.
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±2Sx
A= × 100% (95% C.I) (7)
ro

Example 1.6. Specify the accuracy of the sensor in absolute bounds, and in statistical
bounds using the following deviation plot. Use suitable units (mV, g or %FS).

Precision(eR ) Quantifies the random variation of errors when input is held at

a constant value. This is termed as repeatability, when the sensor is tested
for a relatively short term experiment. This is termed reproducibility when
tested for replications considering many extraneous factors. I.e, different
labs, different batches, different operators.
Precision as statistical bounds
• For each level of x, defined as xlevel find the sample standard deviation
of the errors.i.e, Sx (xlevel )
• Take the maximum of these standard deviations. max(Sx (xlevel ))
• The 95% confidence level of precision expressed in %FSO is
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±2max(Sx (xlevel ))
er = × 100% (95% C.I) (8)
ro
Precision as absolute bounds:
• For each level of x, defined as xlevel find the span of error. r(xlevel ) =
max(xlevel )−min(xlevel )
2
• Precision error is the maximum of these spans across all different
xlevel s.
±max(r(xlevel ))
er = × 100% (9)
ro

Resolution errors (eδ ) The error due to quantization (round off) during sam-
pling the measurement.
±δy
eδ = × 100% (10)
2ro
Example 1.7. Find the resolution error of the NI6008 DAQ [2] operating in reference
single ended mode. The unit can measure voltages from -10V to +10V with a resolution
of 11 bits.
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Hysteresis errors (eh ) The difference in values found in measuring up scale

and down scale in a sequential application of the input values. A sequential
test should be performed to find hysteresis.
• For each level of x, defined as xlevel find the average error of all repli-
cations measured up the scale and down the scale. i.e., ēupscale (xlevel ),
ēdownscale (xlevel )
• Define individual hysteresis errors eh for each xlevel .

eh (xlevel ) = ēupscale (xlevel ) − ēdownscale (xlevel ) (11)

• Hysteresis error is the maximum among all eh ’s expressed as a per-

centage of full scale.

±|max(eh (xlevel ))|

eh = × 100% (12)
ro
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Nonlinearity (eL ) The error between the output and the linear approxima-
tion of the sensor. A random test should be performed to find nonlinearity.
There are two methods to measure this, Terminal point method and the
best fit straight line method. In this course we’ll opt for the terminal point
method which is more accurate than the second option.
• For each level of x, defined as xlevel find the average error for each
xlevel . i.e., ē(xlevel )
• Draw the terminal line which connects the first and last points of the
deviation plot. i.e., connect ē(min(xlevel )) and ē(max(xlevel )).
• Nonlinearity error is the maximum deviation of ē(xlevel ) from the ter-
minal line, expressed as percentage full scale.
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Bias, sensitivity errors(eb , eK ) : The bias and sensitivity of the sensor can
change due to temperature, manufacturing tolerances, aging etc. The
expected error bounds of bias (eb ) and sensitivity (eK ) are reported as
part of sensor specifications by manufacturers.

Loading errors : The sensing element undergoes an energy transfer with the
physical world whenever we attempt to measure. This causes the measured
physical quantity to change from its initial value. Similarly each stage
of the measurement system undergoes transfer of energy causing loading
errors in readings.
• As an example, a resistive temperature sensor also acts as a heating
element. Therefore if we use a high excitation voltage we may end up
measuring the effect due to self heating of the sensing element.
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• All of the characteristics discussed above define the static response of a sensor. This
is the response of a sensor if the input is held at a constant level and all transient
behaviour of the sensor is decayed before reading. i.e, the steady state response of a
sensor for an input with zero frequency.

• The following set of specifications defines the dynamic characteristics of sensors. i.e,
the response of a sensor for an input with different frequency components. (These
concepts are covered in detail in topic “Measurement Dynamics”).

Transient response : Transient response characteristics (time constant, rise

time, settling time, overshoot, natural frequency) of a sensor found using
a test input (step, impulse, ramp signal). These can be defined using a
transfer function for a sensor if it has a Linear Time Invariant (LTI) input
output relationship.

Frequency response : The steady state response of the sensor for sinusoidal
inputs. This is illustrated using a magnitude and phase plots (similar to
the plots you used in the control systems course).

Bandwidth : Specifies the minimum and maximum frequency that the sensor
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produces constant sensitivity (flat magnitude response). Usually a 3dB

specification is used. (corresponds to 70% sensitivity change).
Noise density (power spectral density of noise) : The precision error of
a sensor is caused due to electrical noise. This noise can be modelled as a
summation of Gaussian noise signals with different frequencies and similar
power levels at each frequency, i.e, additive white Gaussian noise. This
constant power level is termed the noise density. Noise density allows us
to calculate the standard deviation of noise using the following equation:
√
σnoise = N oise Density Bandwidth (13)

Example 1.8. Mark all sensor specification indicated by boxes in the following static re-
sponse plot and frequency response plot of the ADXL335 accelerometer. (use the datasheet
of ADXL 335 [3] to answer this question)

20log|K|
V

b 3dB

f
g`s

dB/dec
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1.4 Standards
• Calibration process uses known values of the measurand, which is assumed to be
highly accurate. These “known values” used for calibration purposes are referred to
as standards.

• Standards are related to fundamental dimensions and units.

• Dimensions define some aspect of a physical variable. Units define a quantitative

measure of a dimension. SI standard defines 7 basic dimensions and their units.

• For each basic unit a primary standard is defined which exactly quantifies the unit
(with zero error).

Dimension SI Units Primary Standard

Mass (kilogram) kg Mass of Platinum Irradium
bar maintained at IBWM -
Severs, France. “Le Grand K”
Time (second) s Time elapsed during
9,192,631,770 periods of
the radiation emitted be-
tween two excitation levels
of the fundamental state of
cesium-133
Length (meter) m Length traveled by light in
3.335641e−9 s in a vacuum
Temperature (Kelvin) K Different standards are used
depending on the scale. E.g.
triple point of hydrogen 13.81
K
Current (Ampere) A The current that produces
2e−7 N between two parallel
conductors

• The primary standards (which corresponds to zero error) are difficult to obtain for
calibration. Therefore secondary or derived standards can be used (which has some
error relative to the primary standard). The accuracy of the standard deteriorates
down the hierarchy of the derived standard.

• Therefore the error of the standard used for calibration (±es ) deteriorates the ac-
curacy of a sensor. This is taken in to account when a manufacturer specifies the
accuracy of a sensor in the datasheet. If we perform a separate calibration of a sensor
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using some standard, then we should take in to account the standard error (±es ) as
a error component which affects the system.

1.5 Total error - RSS method

• We talked about many types of component errors of a measurement system. (e.g.
precision, resolution, nonlinearity, standard, hysteresis, bias and sensitivity errors)

• A conservative estimate of the overall measurement system error is the root sum
squared (RSS) of all component errors.
q
etotal = e2L + e2h + e2b + e2K + e2r + e2s (14)

• This calculation assumes that the square of each error term is proportional to its
variance.

• All error components should be established using a statistically large sample (N ≥

30). All component errors should be expressed in same units and all component
errors should be expressed at same confidence level (e.g, 95% ) before applying the
equation.

• If only the absolute bounds of a component error is available, then it is reasonable

to assume it as a conservative estimate of 95% confidence bound of the component
error.

Example 1.9. The following table summarizes specifications of a LM35 Temperature

measurement IC. Find the total accuracy of the measurement system in ◦ C using the
provided data.
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References
[1] Figliola, R.S. and Beasley, D., Theory and Design for Mechanical Measurements, 6th
Edition, Wiley, 2015.

[2] NI USB-6008/6009 - User Guide, National Instruments, 2015. URL: 371303n.pdf

[3] Analog Devices 335 3 axis accelerometer datasheet, Analog Devices, 2015. URL:
adxl335.pdf