Sensors, Actuators and PLC
• Be able to develop a knowledge base system about the different
types of sensors / actuators used in the industry.
• Be able to assess the suitability of the different sensors / actuators to
any application based on the device specs, accuracy, bandwidth,
limits…etc.
• Be able to understand the physical fundamentals on which are based
the operation of sensors.
• Be able to simulate and implement control algorithms of electric
actuators.
• Be able to program PLC to various tasks.
• Be able to integrate PLC with different sensors / actuators resembling
different technologies (electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic).
• Block 1. Sensors
a. Position, displacement and velocity measurement: Proximity sensors.
LVDT. Potentiometric sensors. Encoders
b. Force and strain measurement: Strain gauges. Bridges. Load cells
c. Temperature measurement: RTD. Thermocouples. NTC and others
d. Vibration and acceleration measurement: Capacitive sensors.
Piezoelectric sensors.
e. Flow and pressure measurement
• Block 2: Actuators
f. Introduction: Types of actuators. Linearity vs. Efficiency
g. Electric actuators: Electric machines: principles of operation and
utilization. Dc machines. Synchronous (winded) machines. Asynchronous
machines. PM machines. Other types of machines. Other electric
actuators
h. Power electronics for electric actuators: Linear vs. switched power
amplifiers. Inverter: single phase and three phase. Rectifiers. AC/AC
converters. Current controller inverters. Outer control loops: position,
speed, torque. Sensors for electric drives
• Block 3: PLC
k. Hardware Configuration.
l. Roles of input and output modules. Latching, timers, and counters.
m. Calculations, data types and variables, data registers.
n. Digital Operations, Analog modules
o. Functions and Function Blocks. Troubleshooting