Sensors & Measurement (ENT 164)

Laboratory Module

EXPERIMENT 3 (a)
GAS SENSOR
1. OBJECTIVES:
1.1 To understand the characteristics of gas sensors and their applications.
1.2 To understand the working principles of a gas alarming device.

2. COMPONENTS & EQUIPMENTS:

1 DC power supply
1 Sensor Unit SU-6807B
1 Multimeter
1 Gas Lighter

3. INTRODUCTION:
There are many different types of gases available to us. Some of the gases
which are more of our concern would be hydrogen, carbon monoxide, LPG, LNG and
methane. When conducting experiments with gases, the user should be aware of the
following:

Gas can explode under certain conditions. Also some gases are hazardous to
human health. It is very important that experiments are conducted only under the
supervision of an instructor.

The characteristics of a gas changes due to the ambient temperature of the humidity.
Therefore, when precision measurements are needed, the detection system should
be equipped with a circuitry which compensates for the temperature and humidity. As
a case in point, the deviation of a sensor resistance due to the temperature and
humidity of TGS-813 is shown in Figure 3.1.

Sensors require warm-up time when the internal heater is turned off for a long time.
Warm-up time constants of TGS-813 and TGS-109 are shown in Figure 3.2 (a) and
(b).

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Figure 3.1

Figure 3.2

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Figure 3.3
Reliability is the most critical parameter to a gas alarm device. Also, the device
should offer some type of detection threshold setting, because the density and type of
gas will vary. In SU-6807B Sensor Unit, the alarm level is classified from 1 to 10 in 10
steps, and the user can select the desired step. The alarm is expressed in audio sound
as well as a visual lamp. The type of this gas sensor is a semiconductor type sensor.
In Figure 3.4, a different type of gas sensor is shown. As can be seen in Figure
3.4(b), the detection circuit is a bridge circuit with two coils. The C coil is not directly
exposed to the sample gas, while D coil makes direct contact to the gas. Therefore,
when a gas exists, the resistance of the coil D changes, causing an imbalanced
situation in the bridge.
The detected bridge signal is fed into a differential amplifier for processing.
Although many sensors function on AC power, DC supply is used in this experiment for
convenience. The TGS-813 heater power of 5V is developed from +15V supply. The
detection level can be preset by adjusting the volume resistor at the differential input.

(a) Contact type sensor

(b) Bridge detector circuit

Figure 3.4

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Laboratory Module

4. PROCEDURE:
[Caution]

The gas used in this experiment is flammable. Do not bring any type of
flame, or burning objects to the gas. Always be careful when handling a
gas. Some gases are toxic too.

4.1 Gas Detection

1. Prepare a power supply ( 15 V) and keep the power off.
2. Measure the resistance across pin 6 and 8, or pin 4 and 7, of the gas sensor in
the sensor unit and record the value in Table 3.1.
3. Connect pin 1 to pin 2 so that the heater voltage can be applied to the heater.
Also connect a multimeter (R x 10 k range) across pin 6 and pin 8.

Figure 3.5
4. Turn the power of the power supply on. Immediately read the resistance value,
and record it in Table 3.1. Continue to measure the resistance at every minute
and record the values to the appropriate section of the table. In case the
resistance changes as time goes by, explain why.
5. Turn off the power supply, and rearrange the setup as per Figure 3.6. Set the
multimeter measuring range to DC 1015 V.

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Laboratory Module

Figure 3.6
6. Turn the power switch on again. Take the multimeter readings at one and two
minutes and record the values for the clean air row in Table 3.2.
7. Using the gas lighter, discharge some gas toward the gas sensor. Take the
meter readings over again, and record the values for the gas row in Table 3.2.
8. Stop discharging gas. Clear gas around the sensor in less than 10 seconds by
blowing some air onto the sensor, and take readings as in the previous steps.
Record the values for the recover section in Table 3.2.

4.2 Gas Alarm

1. Keep the power switch of the power supply off. Wire the sensor unit per Figure
3.7. Notice the connections at the differential amp, comparator and the alarm
circuit. Please connect together the IN OUT IN pin of differential amplifier and
comparator circuit.

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Laboratory Module

Figure 3.7
2. Set the Alarm Level to maximum (10), and turn the power on. Check the Level
Indicator. The indicator LED should not be on if the air is clean.
3. Allow about two minutes. Discharge small amount of gas from the gas lighter to
the gas sensor a few times, and observe the Level Indicator. Check if the Level
Indicator indication changes as the density of the gas increases.
4. Stop discharging the gas. Wait until the Level Indicator indicates 0. Change the
Alarm Level to anywhere between 3 to 5. Repeat Step 3. Observe the changes of
indicator LED for various changes of Alarm Level. When the alarm goes off, raise
the Alarm Level or press Reset button to stop the alarm.

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Laboratory Module

Name:____________________________ Matrix No.:_____________ Date:_________

5. RESULT
Table 3.1
Sensor
Resistance at off

Sensor
Resistance
immediately after
turn on

Sensor Resistance after turn on

After 1 min.

After 2 min.

After 3 min.

Table 3.2
Readings after 1 min. (V)

Readings after 2 min. (V)

Clean Air
Gas
Recover

Instructor Approval: .

Date:

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Laboratory Module

Name:____________________________ Matrix No.:_____________ Date:_________

6. DISCUSSION

7. CONCLUSION

Instructor Approval: .

Date:

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Laboratory Module

Name:____________________________ Matrix No.:_____________ Date:_________

PROBLEMS

1. Why is it important for the gas sensor to be initialized every time before its
operation?
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2. A platinum resistance sensor has a resistance of 125.0 at 0C and a

temperature coefficient of resistance of 4 x 10-3 C-1. If the resistance of the
sensor is 150 , find the corresponding temperature of the sensor.

Instructor Approval: .

Date: