Measurement system in engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Measurement system in engineering - Essay Example These were, at best, crude devices which gives a â€Å"feel† of the magnitude of the physical quantity. They do not provide accurate measurements and therefore cannot be recorded and kept for future reference. To overcome this, a new type of device was created. This is called transducer. These transducers are used to convert mechanical quantities into electrical signals which can be recorded. Measurement systems started gaining prominence in engineering and a new genre called â€Å"instrumentation† engineering was born. This is done using Strain gauges. Strain gauges are constructed with materials whose electrical resistance value changes when force is applied on them. The variation in resistance is directly proportional to the force applied. The variation in resistance can be measured using a wheatstone bridge or a simple voltmeter-ammeter method. The basic strain gauge is used in the industry in weighing scales, weighing systems etc. Different variations of the same are also used in measuring tension in a material (like paper, steel strip etc) as tension is also essentially force. A variation of the same can also be used to measure â€Å"torque† - which is the angular force i.e force x distance. There are several ways of measuring pressure. The cruder ways of measuring pressure using manometers or bourdon tubes have now been replaced by more sophisticated measurement techniques. The most common way to measure pressure of a flowing liquid is to use a venturi. As the liquid passes through a â€Å"venturi†, the velocity of the liquid increases and the corresponding pressure decreases known as â€Å"Bernoullis Equation† (â€Å"FlowMax engineering,†n.d.) This principle is used to measure the pressure. As a derivative of the same, the venturi meter can be used to measure â€Å"flow† of the liquid as well – since â€Å"flow† is proportional to square root of the pressure drop. An electronic circuit to generate the