On Shaft Wireless Spinning Torque Transducer

Student: Boon Ya Teo

Supervisor: Geoffrey Walker

Category: Engineering Thesis Project - Electronics

Revolutionary advancement in sensor technology provides an inexpensive means of accurately measuring torque on rotating shaft. Torque has been a very important quantity in many industrial applications. In its simplest form, torque is defined as force applied over distance. The popularity of torque can be seen from this definition where torque measurement has a wide application field in the industries; from measuring metal removal rates in machine tools, calibrating torque tools and sensors to testing springs and making biodynamic measurements.

Torque measurement can be generally classified as direct measurement and indirect measurement. For shaft applications, engineers have spent many years looking for methods to measure torque directly and therefore derive the power that is transmitted through these rotating shafts. Direct measurement of torque is important in that it allows the management of key aspects of a mechanical system, which affects both the performance and reliability of the overall system. Some examples of direct measurement techniques include the Bonded Strain Gauge Direct Torque sensor, Phase Shift Direct Torque sensor and Magneto-Elastic Direct Torque sensor.

This paper reviews the development of the on shaft wireless spinning torque transducer that uses strain gauges to measure torque directly. This approach is not new and it has been extensively used in industries for the past thirty years. In this wireless spinning torque transducer, the strain gauges are bonded to the shaft for torque measurement and electronics are mounted on the shaft for detection and amplification of the strain gauge signals. A telemetry system is also built for the wireless transmission of signals from the rotating shaft to the computer for data evaluation and display.

Thesis Document (PDF)