A Linear Eddy Current Speed Sensor With a Perpendicular Coils Configuration

This paper presents a new linear eddy current speed sensor with rectangular-shaped coils. The excitation coil and the pick-up coil have a perpendicular configuration without a magnetic yoke. The proposed sensor is shorter than the previous designs. The sensor works for a conductive moving target; in this paper we present calculations and an experimental verification for solid iron and aluminum moving part materials. A novel 3D analytical method is presented for the description and for the design of an eddy current speed sensor that is fast and has high precision. The source fields and the reaction fields caused by induced eddy currents are separated in our 3D analytical method, which facilitates an enhanced investigation of the features of the speed sensor. Evaluations of the effects of the moving part material and of coil lift off on the performance of the speed sensor are made with the use of a 3D analytical method. Measurements are performed for an eddy current speed sensor at different speeds up to 11.65 m/s and at different frequencies with a novel analytical model in terms of the induced voltage in the pickup coil versus speed. Simplicity and high precision are the main advantages of the proposed speed sensor. The achieved linearity error is 0.47% (measured) up to 11.6 m/s, and 0.43% (calculated) up to 117 m/s (420 km/h).