Bridge and Strain Conditioning Overview
Precision 28000 Solutions for Measuring Static or Dynamic Strain
Precision Filters, Inc. (PFI) offers a complete line of bridge and strain conditioners to measure static or dynamic strain (including high temperature strain) or any bridge type transducer including pressure sensors, piezo-resistive accelerometers, load cells and more. Choose from our line-up of four and eight channel cards with performance to match your requirements.
PFI’s Balanced Constant Current™ technology is the industry’s best technique to measure dynamic strain, even in harsh environments, and uses only a two-wire connection to the gage. The circuit is insensitive to changes in lead resistance with temperature. Because the circuit is balanced, the differential input amplifier rejects noise pickup in the leads. Below are just a few of our recent innovations.
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The 28000 Bridge and Strain Conditioning Suite of Cards.
MEASUREMENTS:
- Piezo-resistive Pressure Sensors (Kulite)
- Static or Dynamic Strain
- High Temperature Strain
- Piezo-resistive Accelerometer for Shock
- Static or Dynamic Full Bridge
- Pressure Sensor
- RTD
- Load Cells
- Low-level AC or DC Voltage
Innovative Performance Technologies
Sensor Health Monitoring
At Precision Filters, we know that even the best signal conditioner is of little value if the sensor or input wiring is faulty. A failed sensor or cable discovered after the test is too late and will result in lost data that can never be recovered. Quick and easy visibility of cable and sensor health allows timely corrective actions to save crucial data. Test hardware and software in our bridge conditioner products automate sensor and cable health checks. Transducer excitation, resistance and even leakage to ground are reported in real time.
Balanced Constant Current
Precision Filters’ proprietary Balanced Constant Current (BCC™) excitation is optimized for making dynamic strain measurements on single active strain gages. Balanced constant current excitation provides an accurate means of measuring dynamic strain with a single active strain gage using only a two-wire connection.
BCC excitation provides a true balanced input for rejection of common- mode signals. Electrostatic pickup is reduced when compared to single-ended constant current excitation or a quarter-bridge configuration with remote completion resistors or unbalanced current sources. The balanced current excitation circuit operates properly even under certain common gage fault conditions such as a direct short of the gage to the test model.
Measuring Resonant Transducers
Some transducers such as piezo-resistive pressure transducers can have very high resonant frequencies that can be excited by transient events and this out-band signal can be larger than the signal of interest.
The 28000 amplifier gain is distributed as “pre-filter” and “post-filter” gain to allow the filter to remove out-band signals such as transducer resonance while still achieving the required full-scale in-band signal level. Using the 28000 “reserve” feature, the user can specify the required protection against out-band noise and the pre- and post-filter gain are automatically distributed to provide this protection. The pre-filter gain is set to achieve the required amplifier headroom for the out-band signals prior to the filter while maximizing dynamic range. After the filter removes the out-band signals, the post-filter gain is set to achieve the desired full-scale output. The 28144 card may be equipped with either a low-pass filter or a high-pass filter cascaded with a low-pass filter to form a band-pass filter. The band-pass configuration and the distributed amplifier gain provide the user ultimate flexibility to eliminate sources of either high frequency or low frequency noise.
Frequency or Time Domain Measurements
The Precision Filters’ FLAT/PULSE filter technology allows the user to set the frequency response characteristics of the signal conditioner under program control. For transient tests or tests where time-domain wave shape preservation is important, program the filter characteristic to PULSE mode. The PULSE mode provides linear phase response, which is required for time-domain wave shape reproduction and outstanding transient response with low overshoot and ringing. For frequency domain analysis, selecting the FLAT filter characteristic will result in outstanding transfer function flatness and a sharp, selective filter response. FLAT/PULSE filter technology is available on all Precision Filters’ strain and bridge conditioners.
Read more about Precision Filters’ FLAT/PULSE Filter Technology >
28000 Bridge and Strain Conditioners
Dual Mode Bridge and Dynamic Strain
Precision’s line-up of quad-channel conditioners provides the versatility to condition a wide variety of constant voltage excited sensors including full bridges and sensors that require precise bridge completion. Use the balanced constant current excitation technology to measure 2 or 4-wire dynamic or static strain gage measurements. Choose the full-featured high performance 28144 card, the 28124 card for multiple filtered/wideband outputs or the 28114 for the best value.
Read more about Dual Mode Bridge and Dynamic Strain solutions >
Dual Mode Bridge and Dynamic Strain Conditioners Common Features:
- 4-channels/card, 64 channels/system
- Balanced programmable constant current or constant voltage excitation w/automatic bridge balance/transducer zero suppress
- On-the-fly report of measured transducer excitation, resistance, open/short and leakage to ground
- Programmable bridge completion (120 ohms, 350 ohms, 1k ohms), configuration (1, 2, 4-arms)
- Programmable 5,000 step shunt calibration
- Programmable 2/4-wire constant current mode
- Programmable AC/DC input coupling
28144 4-Channel Wideband Transducer Conditioner
- Choice of 4 or 8-pole FLAT/PULSE low-pass filters or 8-pole band-pass filters
- Over 2,000 unique cutoff frequency settings from 1 Hz to 204.6 kHz
- Low noise, high CMRR amplification from x1/16 to x8192 with 0.05% resolution
- REZCOMP™ technology to extend frequency response of accelerometer, unsteady pressure and microphone sensor measurements
28124 4-Channel Wideband Transducer Conditioner
- 4-pole FLAT/PULSE low-pass filters
- Over 2,000 unique cutoff frequency settings from 1 Hz to 102.3 kHz
- Low noise, high CMRR amplification from x1/16 to x8192 with 0.05% resolution
- AC Shunt Calibration for frequency response evaluation of bridge-based sensors
28114 4-Channel Transducer
Conditioner
- 4-pole FLAT/PULSE low-pass filters
- Five programmable cutoffs to 100 kHz
- Amplification from x1/16 to x1024 with 0.05% resolution
Bridge Conditioners with Voltage Excitation
Where applications call for high performance, high channel-density bridge conditioning, the 28108 and 28118 octal filter/amplifiers with constant voltage excitation deliver low-noise and DC stability for either AC or DC bridge-based sensor or low-level voltage measurements.
Read more about the Bridge Conditioners with Voltage Excitation >
Bridge Conditioners with Voltage Excitation Common Features:
- 8-channels/card, 128-channels/system
- Balanced programmable constant voltage excitation
- 6-wire + shield transducer interface
- Automatic bridge balance
- Transducer suppress up to 10V of DC bias
- 4-pole FLAT/PULSE low-pass filters w/filter bypass
- Test Modes: Test-bus, Short, Zero-Excitation, Excitation Monitor
28108 4-Channel Bridge Conditioner
- 255 programmable cutoff frequency settings
- 25 kHz filtered or 100 kHz “wideband” bandwidth
- Low noise, high CMRR amplification from x1/16 to x8192 with 0.05% resolution
28118 4-Channel Bridge Conditioner
- 5 programmable cutoff frequency settings from 100 Hz to 30 kHz
- 30 kHz filtered or 190 kHz “wideband” bandwidth
- Programmable amplification from x1/16 to x1,024 with 0.05% resolution
Dynamic Strain with Current Excitation
Measurements of dynamic strain with PFI’s balanced constant current technology are much less susceptible to EMI pickup and lead resistance desensitization that plague single-ended constant current topologies.
Read more about Dynamic Strain with Current Excitation >
28458 Dynamic Strain Conditioners Features:
- 8-channels/card, 128-channels/system
- Balanced programmable constant current excitation with 20 V compliance
- 2-wire + shield transducer interface
- 4-pole FLAT/PULSE low-pass filters w/filter bypass
- 5 programmable cutoff frequency settings
- 100 kHz filtered or 190 kHz “wideband” bandwidth
- Programmable amplification from x1/16 to x1024 with 0.05% resolution
- On-the-fly report of measured transducer excitation resistance and leakage to ground
- Sensor open and short detection
- Test Modes: Test-bus, Short, Zero-Excitation
Bridge and Strain Conditioner Card Selection Guide
Card |
28144 |
28114 |
28124 |
28108 |
28118 |
28458 |
Type |
AC/DC Voltage, Bridge, Static Strain, Dynamic Strain |
AC/DC Voltage, Bridge, Static Strain, Dynamic Strain |
AC/DC Voltage, Bridge, Static Strain, Dynamic Strain |
AC/DC Voltage, Bridge, Static Strain |
AC/DC Voltage, Bridge, Static Strain |
AC Voltage, Dynamic strain |
Channels/ Card |
4 |
4 |
4 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
Applicable Transducer |
Static or dynamic strain, pressure, RTD, load, accel, AC/DC filter/amp, any bridge type sensor |
Static or dynamic strain, pressure, RTD, load, accel, AC/DC filter/amp, any bridge type sensor |
Static or dynamic strain, pressure, RTD, load, accel, AC/DC filter/amp, any bridge type sensor |
Static strain, pressure, RTD, load, accel, AC/DC filter/amp, any full bridge type sensor |
Static strain, pressure, RTD, load, accel, AC/DC filter/amp, any full bridge type sensor |
Dynamic strain, AC/DC filter/amp |
Interface |
2-10 Wire Constant Voltage w/ Programmable Bridge Completion, Shunt Cal, 2/4 Wire Constant Current |
2-10 Wire Constant Voltage w/ Programmable Bridge Completion, Shunt Cal, 2/4 Wire Constant Current |
2-10 Wire Constant Voltage w/ Programmable Bridge Completion, Shunt Cal, 2/4 Wire Constant Current |
2 to 6 wire w/ Shield |
2 to 6 wire w/ Shield |
2 wire w/ Shield |
Excitation |
Constant Voltage: |
Constant Voltage: 0 to 20.475V; Balanced Constant Current: |
Constant Voltage: 0 to 20.475V; Balanced Constant Current: |
Constant Voltage: 0 to 20.475 V |
Constant Voltage: 0 to 20.475 V |
Balanced Constant Current: 0,5,10,15,20 mA |
Bandwidth |
500 kHz |
190 kHz |
250 kHz |
100 kHz |
190 kHz |
190 kHz |
Gain |
x1/16 to x8192 w/ 0.05% Resolution |
x1/16 to x1024 w/ 0.05% Resolution |
x1/16 to x8192 w/ 0.05% Resolution |
x1/16 to x8192 w/ 0.05% Resolution |
x1/16 to x1024 w/ 0.05% Resolution |
x1/16 to x1024 w/ 0.05% Resolution |
Filter |
4-Pole Low-Pass with optional REZCOMP, 8-Pole Low-Pass or 8-Pole Band-Pass | 4-poles; FLAT/PULSE |
4-poles; FLAT/PULSE |
4-Pole; FLAT/PULSE |
4-Pole, FLAT/PULSE |
4-Pole; FLAT/PULSE |
Cutoff Frequencies |
FLAT: |
FX02: 300, 1k, 3k, 10k, 30 kHz* |
FLAT: |
FLAT: |
FX02: 300, 1k, 3k, 10k, 30 kHz* |
FX02: 300, 1k, 3k, 10k, 30 kHz* |
Outputs |
Single ended with Ground Sense |
Single ended with Ground Sense |
(3) Buffered Prog WB/Filtered SE Outputs per channel w/ Ground Sense |
Single-ended or Differential Output (Option T) |
Single-ended or Differential Output (Option T) |
(2) Buffered Single-Ended Outputs per Channel |