INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF DESIGN PARAMETERS ON OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS OF CAPACITIVE ANGULAR DISPLACEMENT SENSORS BY FINITE-ELEMENT FIELD MODELING

The effects of design parameters on performance characteristics of a c apacitive angular displacement sensor used in limited angle torque mot ors are investigated. This is done by 2D finite element modelling and computation of electrostatic fields in the complex geometry of the sen sor, Results are presented in terms of sensor's output characteristic showing the effects of some of its material and geometric parameters. The output characteristic investigated is the variation of sensor outp ut voltage V with angular position theta of the motor rotor, V=f(theta ), The design parameters used comprise permittivities of various diele ctric materials and angular width w(1) of the sensor.