Making High Temperature Rotation Measurements

Jeff Watson, a systems applications engineer in the High Temperature Strategic Marketing Group of Analog Devices, explains the high temperature measurements in ADI’s demo at Sensors Expo 2011 to Randy Frank.

With the 175°C rated ADXL206 accelerometer and the 210°C rated AD8229 instrumentation amplifier, rotation can be measured inside an oven.

For more information about Analog Devices ADXL206, dual-axis, high temperature accelerometer click here and for the AD8229 high temperature instrumentation amplifier, click here.

To watch the video, click here.

ROHM Semiconductor’s Sensors Race Track

At Sensors Expo 2011, Steve Chutka, a field applications engineer at ROHM Semiconductor USA explains the sensors on its small demo truck to Sensor Tips’ Randy Frank.  The six sensors communicate to a sensor hub via ZigBee wireless protocol.

For more information about ROHM Semiconductor’s sensors and other products, click here.

To watch the video, click here.

Accelerometer Designed for Continuous Operation to +482°C (+900°F)

At 482°C, Meggitt Sensing Systems Endevco model 6233C is rated considerably higher than the recently announced 6222S model that had a maximum 260°C operating environment. Available standard ranges of 10, 50 and 100 pC/g, the model 6233C offers a differential output with excellent performance stability over temperature and a wide operational bandwidth. The case isolated units have a standard three-point ARINC mounting and a rugged 2-pin 7/16-27 UNS 2A threaded receptacle. Target applications include high-precision vibration monitoring of high-temperature jet and turboprop engines, helicopter and rotorcraft HUMS, gas turbines and nuclear power plant machinery and equipment.

For more information about the Endevco model 6233C high temperature accelerometer, click here.

Motion Sensing Monitors Swimming Activity

Using motion sensing technology, FINIS Swimsense Performance Monitor automatically detects and distinguishes stroke types, and records the number of laps swum, total distance, calories burned, lap time, pace and stroke count. The monitor fits in a watchband form factor and uses accelerometers, magnetometers and patent-pending proprietary algorithms to identify the user’s swim. The swimmer simply uploads swim data to the Swimsense Training Log to analyze distance, calories, different stroke types, pace, stroke count and SWOLF (swimming efficiency) score. Designed for fitness enthusiasts and recreational swimmers to elite swimmers and triathletes, they can view their current workout while they swim and up to 14 past workouts/swims on the Swimsense monitor

For more information about FINIS Swimsense Performance Monitor, click here.

Triaxial Piezoelectric Accelerometer for General Vibration Testing

A new triaxial accelerometer from Meggitt Sensing Systems addresses a variety of requirements for general vibration testing. Applications from lighting systems and wireless equipment to helicopter engines and combustion turbines can take advantage of the Endevco model 2228C capabilities. These include:

• Sensitivity of 2.8 pC/g
• Ground isolated
• Light weight (15 gm)
• Requires no external power
• Operation over a temperature range of -55˚C to +177˚C (-67˚F to +350˚F)

For more information about Meggitt Sensing Systems Endevco model 2228C, click here.

Accelerometer Adds IEEE 1451.4 TEDS Capabilities

The IEEE 1451.4 Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) established common templates and descriptive language for plug and play sensors. Analog sensors with the self-identification have a paper-less method of managing sensor and calibration information. Meggitt Sensing Systems Endevco model 7290D series is one of latest to incorporate the capability.

The 7290D series employs a variable capacitance element with gas damping and internal over-range stops, allowing the sensor to survive significant shock and acceleration loads of up to 10,000 g, with 2.5% total dynamic accuracy.  Units feature excellent non-linearity, including hysteresis, of typically 0.2% for ranges of 2 g to 50 g. Offered in five different models with available measurement ranges from 2 g to 100 g, the TEDS capability allows the 7290D series to be used within larger channel count instrumentation applications.

For more information on the 7290D series with TEDS, click here.

Monitor Gas Pipeline Vibration with 4-20 mA Transmitters

Monitoring machinery health is common in many industrial applications to reduce downtown and avoid catastrophic failures. When a hazardous environment such as a gas pipeline is involved, special packaging is required.   IMI Sensors newest Series 640 (hazardous area-approved versions) transmitters are manufactured to meet specific natural gas industry design requirements, including certification in accordance with ATEX and CSA for use in hazardous areas.

The two-wire, loop-powered 4-20 mA vibration sensors are enclosed in welded, hermetically sealed, stainless steel housings. With power from a 12-30 Vdc source, the 4-20 mA output can be connected to existing PLC, DCS, and SCADA systems.

For more information on the hazardous area-approved versions of IMI Sensors’ Series 640 industrial vibration transmitters, click here.

MEMS-Based Gas Meter Flow Sensors

Experts predict that gas meters are poised to undergo the same change as electricity meters for smarter, remote meter reading. In response, STMicroelectronics and Omron have collaborated to provide a complete solution for electronic gas meter flow sensors. The design uses an Omron transducer and a companion analog front-end chip developed by ST. The resulting flow sensor incorporates a MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) micro-thermal sensor technology and is intrinsically compensated for both temperature and pressure variations. A built-in circuit compensates for the variation of multiple gas composition.

Mounted on a small PCB (Printed-Circuit-Board) measuring 7.2×8.6 cm, the gas-flow sensor provides high accuracy with very low power consumption. The unit also has built-in motor drivers for valve control and protection against temperature and vibration effects. The sensor board uses the STLM20 temperature sensor and the LIS332AR accelerometer as well as an ultra-low power STM8L152 microcontroller with 32 Kbytes of flash memory and an LCD display driver.

For more information on the electronic gas meter flow sensors, click here.

Highly Integrated MEMS-Based Motion Sensing

Motion sensing is at the heart of several new features in consumer products including cell phone, tablet PCs and games. InvenSense has been a major player in these applications but its newest product family makes motion sensing even easier to design and manufacturer. MPU-6000 product family integrates a 3-axis gyroscope and a 3-axis accelerometer on the same silicon die together with an onboard Digital Motion Processor (DMP). The DMP can process the complex 9-axis sensor fusion algorithms required for motion sensing. Offered in a 4x4x0.9 mm QFN package, the MPU-6000’s sensor fusion algorithms utilize an external magnetometer output through its master I2C bus to provide dead reckoning functionality.

For more information on InvenSense MPU-6000 product family, click here.

15-mm3 Package Contains MEMS Vibration Analysis System

Analog Devices just simplified the lives of industrial equipment designers who are tasked with implementing a vibration analysis system. Building on their MEMS accelerometer expertise, ADI has introduced the ADIS16227 iSensor, a tri-axial, digital vibration monitor that combines its iMEMS sensor, data conversion and sensor processing technologies with data capture and a serial peripheral interface (SPI).

The vibration monitoring aspects are quite unique for a system housed in a 15--mm³ package. The unit boasts embedded frequency domain processing, 512-point real value Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT), and the ability to identify and classify individual sources of vibration, monitor their changes over time and react to programmable threshold levels. The system has configurable spectral alarm bands and windowing options that allow the analysis of the full frequency spectrum with the configuration of 6 bands, a warning threshold (Alarm1) and a fault threshold (Alarm2 ) for earlier and more accurate detection of problems.

For more information on Analog Devices’ ADIS16227 iSensor vibration monitor, click here.

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