Transducers Enable Thorough Motor Testing

Rotork Torqsense transducers from Sensor Technology enables the thorough testing of motors for valve actuators used in some of the world's most demanding and critical applications. The company's electric valve actuator division offers an electrical solution to industrial valve control and actuation applications of virtually any size, description and complexity. Its capabilities encompass actuators and control systems for new plants, plant extensions and upgrades, together with life-of-plant support.

The division's range of products offers a robust and economic solution for every valve duty and operating environment. Rotork actuators can be used in applications as diverse as power generation, water and sewage, industrial processes, subsea, marine, HVAC, incinerators and cement plants. Common features in many of these applications are challenging environmental conditions, extremes of temperatures and high costs associated with any downtime. Rotork Controls designs custom actuators built around motorised gearboxes, using non-standard open-frame motors.

The company designed its own rig to test the motors, with Sensor Technology Torqsense transducers at its heart. Torqsense transducers are non-contact devices that operate using surface acoustic wave (SAW) principles. In a Torqsense transducer, surface waves are produced by passing an alternating voltage across the terminals of two interleaved comb-shaped arrays, laid onto one end of a piezoelectric substrate. A receiving array at the other end of the transducer converts the wave into an electric signal. The frequency is dependent upon the spacing of the teeth in the array and, as the direction of wave propagation is at right angles to the teeth, any change in its length alters the spacing of the teeth and hence the operating frequency.

Tension in the transducer reduces the operating frequency while compression increases it. To measure the torque in a rotating shaft, two saw sensors are bonded to a shaft at 45deg to the axis of rotation. When the shaft is subjected to torque, a signal is produced that is transmitted to a stationary pick up via a capacitive couple comprising two discs - one of which rotates with the shaft, the other being static. An advantage of the Torqsense transducers in the Rotork test rig is that they provide both analogue and digital outputs.

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