Evaluation of torque pulses in industrial applications using the torque sensor torductor(R)-S

The Torductor(R)-S is a robust and rugged non-contact torque sensor that utilizes the magnetostrictive property of the load carrying shaft as a working principle. The design of the sensor makes it very durable and reliable, thereby well suited for industrial applications. A particular application that benefits from direct torque sensing is pulsed nutrunners. The integration of a torque sensor in a pulsed nutrunner makes it possible to achieve higher accuracy and better traceability of the fastenings. Due to the highly dynamic process of applying pulses to a joint or fastener, special consideration to the signal processing is required. A novel approach to this problem, results in a reliable and robust algorithm that accurately calculates the torque in the joint based on the measured torque, independent of torque level or joint/fastener combination. The paper presents both the characteristics and the performance of the torque sensor as well as the design and evaluation of the torque evaluation algorithm.