Analytical Approach to the Development and Implementation of Capacitive Proximity Sensor for the Non-Contact Distance Measurement

摘要

Capacitive sensor technologies are based on capacitance as the electrical property of capacitors. The capacitance depends on the surface area of the conducting plates, their distance and the relative static permittivity (dielectric constant) of the material, non-conducting substancecalled dielectric, between the plates. A new model of capacitive proximity sensor was designed, laboratory tested, analyzed and implemented. Tested prototype of the proximity capacitive sensor was evaluated in laboratory experiments. The analytical evaluation used statistical modelling approachas well as the methods of numeric mathematic. Developed equipment with its implementation to measure the distance between the metal cylinders showed high accuracy of the design tool. Implementation proved ability of the capacitive proximity sensor to work in extreme conditions such as temperatureup to 80 °C and during mechanical vibrations increasing up to 300 Hz, with the necessity of the water resistance.