Design and characterization of a smart turbidity transducer for distributed measurement system

This paper presents the design and characterization of a turbidity transducer, intended for measuring water turbidity in distributed measurement system (DMS). The design of the transducer based on IEEE 1451 standard focus on the networking capability in distributed measurement applications. The design of Smart Transducers Interface Module (STIM), Transducers Electronic Data Sheets (TEDS), self-recognition of STIM and temperature self-compensating are presented. The electrical characterization and fabrication of the transducer are also investigated. The Transducer Independent Interface (TII) has been replaced with a more conventional and widely used RS-485. The turbidity transducer proposed suitable for continuous monitoring of water turbidity, and the prototype developed is appropriate for turbidity measurement in the range of 0–100 NTU. The transducer described here has the characteristics of good linearity, high reproducibility, high accuracy, low power dissipation and no significant temperature effect on the turbidity transducer.

► Low power dissipation realized by decreasing power voltage.
► The turbidity transducer possesses self-recognition capability provided by its TEDS.
► Intelligent sensor interface module based on IEEE1451 standard achieving plug-and-play functionality.