Measurements and Instrumentation

by Enable Education

This course covers the fundamental concepts of measurement and signal acquisition. Through theory and experimentation, students will be introduced through the four main components of taking a measurement: converting physical phenomena to a measurable signal, conditioning the signal, acquiring the signal, and analyzing the signal. Students will learn about the fundamental theory and explore what actually goes on when you use a device to measure a physical phenomena. Upon completion, students will know how to design a measurement system to measure real-world phenomena and the trade-offs involved in designing such a system.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to describe the stages of the signal chain, identify the result of each stage, and implement a measurement system.
Students will be able to identify types of electrical signals (currents, voltages, and resistances) and configure a measurement system to measure these signals
Students will be able to define th epurpose of signal conditioning circuits, identify needed signal conditioning, and implement signal conditioning within a measurement.
Students will be able to measure physical phenomena, digitizing an electrical signal
Students will be able to analyze measurements, process data, and display results

COURSE ALIGNMENT

Level	Undergraduate
Topic	Measurements and Instrumentation; Experimental Methods; Signal Chain
Style	Laboratory
Prerequisite Skills	Introductory Physics Introductory Circuits Basic LabVIEW Proficiency

Included Course Labs

INTRODUCING YOUR AUTOMATED MEASUREMENTS BOARD

Students are introduced to the NI Automated Measurements Board, the NI ELVIS III system, and the software tools they will use, as well as learning more about the goals and structure of this course. Students get hands-on experience through a couple simple activities, wiring connections, launching software and instruments, and taking measurements with the on-board instrumentation.

SIGNAL CHAIN

In this lab students will get acquainted from a high-level perspective with the signal chain process. Through hands-on experimentation students will explore the steps involved in the process that starts with drawing an electric signal from a sensor and ends with meaningful information about the physical phenomenon that this sensor is measuring. This involves measuring an electric signal, amplifying the signal, converting the analog signal into a digital signal, and analyzing and interpreting the signal through software analysis.

VOLTAGE MEASUREMENTS

Students are introduced to the concept and properties of voltage, including how it relates to current and resistance and how it is measured across various points in a circuit. First students will explore using a DMM to take voltage measurements of everyday objects. Following that, they will explore the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance in a circuit through Ohm's law and Kirchoff's Voltage Law. Finally they will look at several types of voltage measurements including AC/DC measurements as well as Single-Ended and Differential measurements

VOLTAGE MEASUREMENTS PART II

In this lab, students will take a deeper look at measuring voltage. First students will explore the impact of range and resolution on a voltage measurement. Next, students will learn how to account for signal frequency components when measuring signals. Lastly, students will look at the difference between scanning and simultaneous acquisition when measuring multiple voltage signals

CURRENT

In this lab, students will learn about the concept and properties of current. Students will simulate circuits with ideal voltage and current sources and experiment using Ohm’s law to understand how current is derived from known voltages and resistances. Finally, students investigate Kirchoff’s Current law and the result of having multiple current pathways.

RESISTANCE

In this lab, students will explore concepts of resistance, while experimenting with constant current sources and the effect of changing resistance. Students will use a Wheatstone bridge to measure and calculate changing resistance values.

AMPLIFIERS

In this lab, students will explore, through hands-on experience, the properties of open-loop op amps and closed-loop amplifier configurations. Students will measure and compare the input and output states of inverting, non-inverting, unity gain, and instrumentation amplifiers. Student will calculate expected gain values for different resistance configurations, and will measure the effect of an output load on unity gain and instrumentation amplifiers.

FILTERS

In this lab, students will implement high pass and low pass filters, while learning about cut-off frequencies and stopband roll-off. Students will learn the differences between ideal and real-world filters, while implementing active and passive filters, as well as 1st and 2nd order filters. Students will identify the effect of a load on a passive filter.

ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL CONVERTERS

In this lab, students will identify the pertinent parameters of an ADC and of signal acquisition. They will measure an analog value represented as a 12-bit number and convert that raw digital value to a voltage. Additionally, they will experiment with the sampling rate of the ADC and investigate the raw digital output of the ADC and the timing and shape of data coming from the ADC.

ERROR, NOISE, PRECISION, AND ACCURACY

In this lab, students explore the concept of error and its sources. They will measure and calculate the precision and accuracy of a simulated measurement and multiple instruments. Finally, they observe noise on a measurement signal and a method of mitigating that noise through filtering. These concepts combine to indicate that there’s a difference between a measured value and its true value. By quantifying and expressing things like precision and accuracy, we can identify the performance of our system and compare it with the tolerances that our solution requires.

MEASUREMENT SOFTWARE ANALYSIS - FREQUENCY AND MIN/MAX-IMA

In this lab, students will explore, through hands-on experience, the concept and properties of Software Analysis of acquired signals. Students will implement FFT analysis to interpret the frequency domain of a signal, peak/valley analysis to detect local minima and maxima, and implement file saving.

MEASUREMENT SOFTWARE ANALYSIS II - CALIBRATION AND CURVE FITTING

In this lab, students will learn about the need for calibration and the different sensor properties that lead to different calibration types. Furthermore, students will experiment with thermocouple measurements and voltage-temperature curve fitting and to verify the coefficients of a K-type thermocouple using a simulated data set.

TEMPERATURE SENSORS

In this lab, students will implement temperature measurements using three different temperature sensors: thermocouple, thermistor, and RTD. They will learn some of the differences in their behavior. Finally, they will implement their own temperature measurement system to solve a measurement problem using the sensors and tools they’ve learned about.

STRAIN AND FORCE

In this lab, students will implement strain and force measurements using a strain gauge and a load cell. They will experiment with different resistive measurements: quarter bridges and full bridges. Finally, they will implement their own measurement system to solve a measurement problem using the sensors and tools they’ve learned about.

VIBRATION, HALL EFFECT, & LIGHT INTENSITY

In this lab, students will implement vibration, distance, and light intensity measurements using three different sensors. Additionally, they will implement their own measurement system to solve a measurement problem using the sensors and tools they’ve learned about.

GETTING STARTED WITH IOT USING SYSTEMLINK CLOUD

In this lab, students will implement a cloud-based IoT platform using SystemLink Cloud. Students will experiment with a monitoring system and central processing web package. Additionally, they will learn about best practices, tools, and capabilities of the SystemLink Cloud platform. Finally, students implement a measurement from their own edge-node device and write it to the cloud.

MEASUREMENT SYSTEM DESIGN WITH THE NI AUTOMATED MEASUREMENTS BOARD

In this open-ended lab, students build a specialized measurement system for a device under test (DUT). Students will design, architect, build, and validate their measurement system based on a realistic test or monitoring application.

Requirements

NI ELVIS III

Engineering laboratory solution for project-based learning that combines instrumentation and embedded design with a web-driven experience, delivering a greater understanding of engineering fundamentals and system design. Learn more

Automated Measurements Board for NI ELVIS III

An application board for NI ELVIS III that provides students with a experimental platform for understanding and designing a signal chain for sensor integration. Learn more

LabVIEW

LabVIEW is systems engineering software for applications that require test, measurement, and control with rapid access to hardware and data insights. Learn more

Multisim Live

Multisim Live is an online, touch-optimized component of Multisim, so students can design and simulate their circuits anywhere, anytime, on any device. Learn more

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Measurements and Instrumentation Labs - Spanish

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