SECONDORDERMEASUREMENTSYSTEMS.pdfVIP

SECOND ORDER MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS Earlier in this course we considered first order measurements systems such as the thermocouple. A transducer was defined as a first order system if there was one dominating energy store. In the case of the thermocouple, this energy store was the heat capacity of the thermocouple’s bead or crimp. We now turn to second order transducers. A transducer is defined as a second order system if it has two predominant energy stores. Consider, as an example, a spring balance. The spring can obviously store strain energy. Additionally the mass of the system (the mechanism as well as the mass we are measuring) can store energy – kinetic energy. When taking dynamic measurements (i.e. measuring something that is changing with time), the energy in the system transfers back and forth between the two forms. In the spring balance example, strain energy transforms to kinetic energy, which transforms back to strain energy, and so on. In this section of the course, we investigate the effect this has on a transducer’s performance. We start by looking at the basic equations of motion for a 2nd order system. Since most mechanical engineering second order transducers are built on mass/spring/damper concepts, we develop the theory for this type of system. We then apply it to a force gage, the seismograph and the accelerometer. Other types of systems can be analyzed by a suitable substitution of symbols. A note: This handout does not develop the details of the theory. The handout is primarily intended to present the background to 2nd order systems, and then give information that can be used for the interpretation of measurement systems. For those interested in the theoretical basis, there are many standard textbooks available that give a rigorous mathematical development. Second Order Systems - 1 T