Building on Sensonics established range of vibration and positional sensors for rotating machinery, the latest AIR GAP SENSOR RANGE for use in high magnetic field applications offers a range of measurement options in combination with excellent stability and noise performance.
SENSONICS Capacitive Air Gap Sensor
Designed for use on hydro turbine generators and large electric motors the sensor provides a rotor to stator air gap measurement which can be used to monitor both the eccentricity of the rotor relative to the stator and individual pole to stator air gaps.
The CS range of air gap sensors from Sensonics are a non-contact dynamic position transducer utilising a capacitive technique to provide an accurate displacement measurement from the sensor face to a metal target. The advantage of the capacitive technique in generator applications is the high immunity to magnetic fields; the CS series also provides high resolution and relative insensitivity to different (metal) target materials.
The sensor is designed in a robust stripline mechanical arrangement for mounting on the stator wall. It features separate transmit and receive integral coaxial cables which are routed over the stator wall or through ventilation holes to the driver which provides the transmission signal for the stripline and receiver detection.
Linearised opto-isolated outputs are provided in both voltage and current format which can be configured to represent various rotor pole measurements with respect to the stator. These include pole and rotor profile as well as an overall minimum gap output with sensor ranges of 25mm, 50mm and 75mm.