Performance Analysis of a Reduced Form-Factor High Accuracy Three-Axis Teslameter

In the framework of the SwissFEL project at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), a Hall probe bench is being developed for the high-precision magnetic characterization of the insertion devices for the ATHOS soft X-ray beamline. For this purpose, a novel three-axis teslameter has been developed, which will be placed between the undulator and its outer shell in a very limited volumetric space of 150 x 50 x 45 mm. Together with a Hall probe at the center of the cross sectional area of the undulator, the setup will traverse along the undulator length on a specifically designed rig with minimal vibrations. This teslameter has all the analog signal conditioning circuitry for the Hall probe and also has on board 24-bit digitization. The instrument also handles an interface to a linear absolute encoder. The old instrumentation used only had analog signal conditioning circuitry whilst digitization was done off board. The new instrument also provides a very accurate magnetic field map in the µT range with simultaneous readings from the position encoder at an accuracy of ±3 µm. In this paper, a series of tests are described, which were performed at PSI in order to establish the measuring precision and repeatability of the instrument.

Contactless Silicon-Based Multi-Dimensional Hall Sensor with Simultaneous Magnetic Sensing and Omni-Rotational Angle Measurement

This experimental research proposes a contactless silicon-based two-dimensional (2D) Hall sensor capable of simultaneous parallel-and perpendicular-directional magnetic sensing, with a 360° angle measurement. The Hall sensor was of non-symmetrical five-ohmic contact configuration (C1 – C5). In the study, experiments were carried out in three stages. In the first-stage experiment, the current (I) and voltage (V) of the 2D Hall sensor were determined under three schemes: schemes A (C1&C2), B (C2&C5), and C (C3&C4). In the second-stage experiment, the parallel and perpendicular absolute sensitivities of the 2D sensor were examined. Considering the discrepancy between the parallel and perpendicular absolute sensitivities, signal conditioning circuitry was incorporated into the sensor system to compensate, and the rotational angles measured in the final-stage experiment. The results revealed that the I-V curves were dominantly linear, corresponding to Ohm’s law. However, the parallel and perpendicular absolute sensitivities were low and unequal. Thus, signal conditioning circuitry was incorporated into the system to address the discrepancy and improve the performance. Importantly, the 2D Hall sensor exhibited a mere ±3odiscrepancy between the measured and reference rotational angles, given the magnetic flux density of 1000 G, with the hysteresis error of 2.8%. In essence, the proposed contactless silicon-based 2D Hall sensor possesses high potential for high-precision industrial applications.

On the Continuous Monitoring of Oil-Film Thickness in an Engine Bearing

This paper describes research involving the measurement of oil-film thickness in a large end bearing of a medium-sized medium-speed marine diesel engine. The design of the transducer and its novel signal conditioning circuitry is discussed. Comparisons are made between the measured results and numerical predictions.