ABB Force Measurement

ABB Force Measurement is a business unit within the world wide engineering company ABB and has the global responsibility for force measurement, control products and systems within the ABB Group. We provide a comprehensive range of force measurement products designed to improve control, productivity and quality in a wide variety of processes and industries. Our products measure mechanical and geometrical variables in harsh and demanding environ­ments with high demands on consistent and reliable measurement.

In the industry ABB is well known for the Pressductor^® technology that is used in load cells world wide for applications in steel mills and paper mills where reliability and durability are of utmost importance. Other products to the same market are used to measure flatness, position and thickness of metal strips with the same requirements on accuracy and reliability.

With these products ABB Force Measurement has an experience of over 50 years of reliable measurement technology in demanding environment. This experience is the basis for the development of the Torductor^®-S.

The Torque Sensor, Torductor^®-S

Cut-away view of the non-contact torque sensor Torductor^®-S

For the automotive industry ABB has developed the non-contact torque sensor Torductor^®-S for reliable and consistent torque measurement in the powertrain. The sensor is designed for continuous use and is well suited for automotive applications where reliability and accuracy are important.

The sensor is based on the magneto­strictive property of the load carrying shaft, which is surrounded by a stationary coil arrangement. The sensor is excited by a current in the primary winding and any changes in permeability is picked up by the secondary winding. This gives an output signal directly indicative of the load state of the shaft. The sensor measures directly on the load carrying shaft and can therefore present a very reliable signal of the current torque in the drivetrain.

Automotive Applications

Access to a torque signal in the powertrain opens up a number of different opportunities in areas ranging from engine management and control as well as gearbox control and driveline monitoring.

Crankshaft integration of the Torductor^®-S

For engine applications a real time torque signal can revolutionize the control of the engine. Instead of relying on indirect measures the engine management system has access to the actual output of the engine, which is available for every single combustion. This makes it possible to adapt to changing conditions of the engine and to maintain the performance throughout the lifetime of the engine.

This information is especially crucial for a number of different new combustion technologies such as LTC (Low Temperature Combustion), PPCI (Partial Premixed Compression Ignition) or HCCI (Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition) which requires a feedback signal of the combustion in order to guarantee a stable operation.

For gearbox applications the torque signal can be used to reveal detailed information about transients and oscillations from gearshifts, clutch engagement and other transient operation. This information is particularly useful to monitor and optimize the speed and efficiency of automatic or semi-automatic transmissions such as AMT, DCT or CVT.

Contact

For more information please visit our website: www.abb.com/pressductor

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