Overview

Installing the transducer correctly is as important as selecting and integrating it correctly with the balance of the signal conditioning system. Ideally, the installation should not affect the test environment, and the test environment should not affect the transducer. The test environment parameters must be known before selecting the transducer, and the effects of the parameters on the transducer's performance must be evaluated and accounted for in the data reduction phase. The transducer's specification sheets should specify limits to the test environment parameters and detail how much the transducer output will be affected for a given change in the environment. These parameters include temperature, pressure, moisture, radiation, vibration, shock, and corrosive atmosphere. Moisture specifications can include relative humidity, water spray, or depth of water submersion.

The user's manual or specification sheet should also outline recommendations for installing the transducer. These may include recommendations involving mounting bolt torque, mating thread torque, surface flatness and finish, mounting dimensions, method of sealing, sealing torque, off-axis load limit, minimum bend radius, lubrication requirements, and tests required to validate installation. Other specifications include electrical connector requirements, wiring information, excitation voltage and current requirements, and output signal load limit. Wiring information will include connector pin designations, wire color codes, wire size, maximum wire length, cable type (co-axial, twisted pair, etc.), and shielding requirements.

If the manufacturer cannot supply certain specifications, then the user must carry out tests to determine the effect of any missing environmental or installation parameters that he or she may encounter while...