The Time,Frequency & Modal Domains-Signal Analysis

https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/299576718

The analysis of electrical signals is a fundamental problem for many engineers and scientists. Even if the immediate problem is not electrical, the basic parameters of interest are often changed into electrical signals by means of transducers. Common transducers include accelerometers and load cells in mechanical work, EEG electrodes and blood pressure probes in biology and medicine, and pH and conductivity probes in chemistry. The rewards for transforming physical parameters to electrical signals are great, as many instruments are available for the analysis of electrical signals in the time, frequency and modal domains. The powerful measurement and analysis capabilities of these instruments can lead to rapid understanding of the system under study.

A Matter of Perspective

In this chapter we introduce the concepts of the time, frequency and modal domains. These three ways of looking at a problem are interchange-able; that is, no information is lost in changing from one domain to another. The advantage in introducing these three domains is that of a change of perspective. By changing per spective from the time domain, the solution to difficult problems can often become quite clear in the frequency or modal domains.

After developing the concepts of each domain, we will introduce the types of instrumentation available. The merits of each generic instrument type are discussed to give the reader an appreciation of the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.

Section 1: The Time Domain

The traditional way of observing signals is to view them in the time domain. The time domain is a record of what happened to a parameter of the system versus time. For instance, Figure 2.1 shows a simple spring-mass system where we have attached a pen to the mass and pulled a piece of paper past the pen at a constant rate. The resulting graph is a record of the displacement of the mass versus time, a time do main view of displacement.

Such direct recording schemes are sometimes used, but it usually is much more practical to convert the parameter of interest to an electrical signal using a transducer. Transducers are commonly available to change a wide variety of parameters to electrical signals. Microphones, accelerometers, load cells, conductivity and pressure probes are just a few examples.

This electrical signal, which represents a parameter of the system, can be recorded on a strip chart recorder as in Figure 2.2. We can adjust the gain of the system to calibrate our measurement. Then we can reproduce exactly the results of our simple direct recording system in Figure 2.1.

Why should we use this indirect approach? One reason is that we are not always measuring displacement. We then must convert the desired parameter to the displacement of the recorder pen. Usually, the easiest way to do this is through the intermediary of electronics. However, even when measuring displacement we would normally use an indirect approach. Why? Primarily be cause the system in Figure 2.1 is hopelessly ideal. The mass must be large enough and the spring stiff enough so that the pen’s mass and drag on the paper will not affect the results appreciably. Also, the deflection of the mass must be large enough to give a usable result, otherwise a mechanical lever system to amplify the motion would have to be add ed with its attendant mass and friction.

With the indirect system a transducer can usually be selected which will not significantly affect the measurement. This can go to the extreme of commercially available displacement transducers which do not even contact the mass. The pen deflection can be easily set to any desired value by controlling the gain of the electronic amplifiers.

This indirect system works well until our measured parameter be gins to change rapidly. Because of the mass of the pen and recorder mechanism and the power limitations of its drive, the pen can only move at finite velocity. If the measured parameter changes faster, the output of the recorder will be in error. A common way to reduce this problem is to eliminate the pen and record on a pho to sensitive paper by deflecting a light beam. Such a device is called an oscillograph. Since it is only necessary to move a small, light-weight mirror through a very small angle, the oscillograph can respond much faster than a strip chart recorder.

Another common device for displaying signals in the time domain is the oscilloscope. Here an electron beam is moved using electric fields. The electron beam is made visible by a screen of phosphorescent material. It is capable of accurately displaying signals that vary even more rapidly than the oscillograph can handle. This is because it is only necessary to move an electron beam, not a mirror.

The strip chart, oscillograph and oscilloscope all show displacement versus time. We say that changes in this displacement represent the variation of some parameter versus time. We will now look at another way of representing the variation of a parameter.