Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton

Knowledge and understanding
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• Basic electrical parameters and their relevance to measurement systems, including resistance, capacitance, inductance, impedance, gain and frequency response.
  
• Techniques and principles of operation of transducers for measuring acceleration, velocity, displacement, force, pressure, sound and temperature.
  
• Signal conditioning circuitry including voltage amplifiers, charge amplifiers, filters and integrators..

Cognitive (thinking) skills
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:

• Analyse simple electronic circuits.
  
• Read, understand and interpret the literature relating to transducer specification.
  
• Recognise and select appropriate transducers for specific applications.

Practical, subject specific skills
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to specify measurement systems to acquire data in practical situations.

Key transferable skills
Having successfully completed the module, you will be better able to use electronic test equipment such as oscilloscopes, meters and signal generators.

The aims of this module are to:

• introduce basic electrical circuit theory and the principles of operation of transducers and measurement systems.

• To introduce the student to basic electronic components and their function.
  
• To describe the principles of operation and limitations of measurement systems for sensing physical quantities of interest in service and in laboratory testing.
  
• To create an understanding of the fundamental principles of operation of some common types of transducing elements and their incorporation in transducers, together with the associated signal conditioning and transmission systems.

Electricity
Basic concepts: Frequency, phase, complex numbers. (l lecture)

Electrical circuits
Resistance, inductance, capacitance and time constant.
Impedance, a-c circuits.
Resonance, Q factor, gain/decibel, filters. (5 lectures)

The diode and rectification

Transformers (l lecture)
Operational amplifiers (l lecture)

Measurement systems
Introduction (2 lectures)
Transducer characteristics.

Quantities to be measured.
Transducing elements, transducers, and associated devices:
Strain
Acceleration
Relative displacement
Pressure - including microphones
Temperature. (13 lectures)

Signal acquisition

2 lectures a week with written notes provided.

Guided laboratory exercises using purpose-built demonstration circuitry.

Students join the course with widely varying experience of electronics. No prior experience with electronic circuits is assumed.

Working on exercises to practise circuit analysis.

Performing laboratory exercises to give familiarity with common electronic components and the use of test equipment to study circuit behaviour.

Core text

An Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Part 1, M. Clifford et al, Hodder Education

Secondary text

Circuits and Fields: A First Course, 1996, P. Aaron
W.N. Taberner, Prentice Hall
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