Accepted Manuscript

Title: Fuel Level Measurement System Based on Absolute

Shaft Encoder

Author: Tuhin Subhra Sarkar Subir Das Badal Chakraborty

Himadri Sekhar Dutta

PII: S0924-4247(17)30471-5
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.sna.2017.03.028
Reference: SNA 10043

To appear in: Sensors and Actuators A

Received date: 16-7-2016

Revised date: 7-3-2017
Accepted date: 20-3-2017

Please cite this article as: T.S. Sarkar, S. Das, B. Chakraborty, H.S. Dutta, Fuel Level
Measurement System Based on Absolute Shaft Encoder, Sensors and Actuators: A
Physical (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2017.03.028

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Highlights:

• Here, an absolute shaft encoder is designed by a single track gray color code.

• Only an optical trans-receiver is required to decode this code.

• It is sensed the float arm movement during the variation of fuel level in a tank.

• A signal processing circuit calibrates the encoder output with fuel level.

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• This prototype has merits of high accuracy, resolution and sensitivity.

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Page 1 of 11
 Fuel Level Measurement System Based on
Absolute Shaft Encoder
Tuhin Subhra Sarkar, Subir Das, Badal Chakraborty, Himadri Sekhar Dutta
Abstract—In this paper a new type of absolute shaft encoder is
presented for the measurement of fuel level in a tank. This
measurement technique is based on the principle of sensing the
float arm displacement with respect to the fuel level. Here, the
mechanical displacement is detected by an absolute shaft encoder
and each position is represented by variant intensity of lights.
Furthermore, the variation of light intensity is converted into
voltage level by using a Signal Processing Circuit (SPC) and
calibrated with measured fuel level. Experimentally, it is
observed that the developed prototype is able to measure the fuel
level up to the range of 30 cm within the accuracy of ±1%FSO.
Keywords— Float, Absolute Encoder, Modulated Light
Intensity, Fuel Level Sensor, Signal Processing Circuit.
I. INTRODUCTION
C ONTINUOUS measurement and monitoring of the fuel
M
level in a storage tank is an important subject. A sensor
and transducer are required to know what amount of fuel is
available in a tank such as aircraft, public transport, service
station tank or any other large container. A fuel level sensor
d
not only operates under very severe environmental conditions
like heavily varying temperature and vibration. But also it
e
survives the fuel itself, including ethanol, methanol, corrosive
sulphur or fuel additives etc. that can impact on the reliability
of the sensor. For sensing or providing information of fuel
pt
level in such conditions, non intrusive analog devices are
widely used today. It provides an electrical signal due to
angular or linear displacement of a float arm with respect to
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the continuous change of fuel level in the storage tank. The
efficiency of such method depends on the accuracy and
integrity of the instruments which are being used. One of the
most common angular displacements sensing method used a
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rotary potentiometer as a sensor, which is coupled with a float
arm. In this embodiment, the change of fuel level causes
angular motion in the arm through a float and eventually it is
represented as a change of resistance. Furthermore, it is
converted into an electrical signal viz. voltage or current by
using suitable signal processing circuit. This arm movement or
Tuhin Subhra Sarkar and Subir Das are with Department of Applied
Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering, Murshidabad College of
Engineering and Technology, Berhampore 742102, West Bengal, India (e-
mail: subir.mcet@gmail.com; sarkar.tuhinsubhra@gmail.com).
Dr. Badal Chakraborty is with Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Bidhan
Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India (e-
mail: badal.chakraborti@gmail.com).
Dr. Himadri Sekhar Dutta is with Department of Electronics and
Communication Engineering, Kalyani Government Engineering College,
Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal, India (e-mail: himadri.dutta@gmail.com).
displacement might be rotational or linear according to the
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mechanical arrangement of arm in a tank wall. Now, the float
ip
arm displacement can be sensed by several different ways,
including but not limited to inductive, magnetic, fiber optic
and optical encoder techniques.
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In the prior art of fuel level monitoring system, a Linear
Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) [1] or a modified
inductive transducer [2] is used as a sensor to detect the float
arm displacement. In these arts, a float arm is made with
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ferromagnetic material and moved vertically through a
cylindrical type pick-up coils during the variation of fuel level
in a tank. Here, two identical coils are uniformly wounded
around a hollow cylindrical rod. Thus, the rod itself acts as a
an
guide to the float arm. Therefore, the excessive frictional force
between the rod and arm may cause insufficient displacement
of the float arm for very small change in fuel level. Also,
fabrication cost of this sensor is high and not immune to
electromagnetic interference. Besides, a strain gauge load cell
based method [3, 4] is free from any frictional force error.
Because it measures the fuel level by evaluating weight of the
fuel filled tank and immune to magnetic interference. But it
exhibits poor hysteresis and zero drift with the temperature
variation.
In terms of safety is concerned the magnetic type
displacement sensor is very reliable for flammable liquids as
because of non electrical interface within it. Traditionally,
magnetostrictive [5] and Hall probe [6] sensors are used for
fuel level measurement. In this method, a float or float arm is
accomplished with a permanent magnet and sensors are able to
detect the position of the float arm via change in magnetic
field. But beside its popularity over safety, it has some
limitations such as critical specification for correct float
selection, less resistance against mechanical misalignment and
especially float is inaccessible without shutdown the system.
Also, it is inapplicable at dirty environment and or a process
where magnetite may produce.
Whereas optical type fuel level sensor has key advantages
over the prior art, including immunity against electromagnetic
or magnetic field, highly sensitive, independent to thermal
effects, more accurate and linear. Moreover, it provides good
safety over the flammable liquids as reported by E. Udd [7]
and K. T. V. Grattan and T. Sun[8]. As per the industrial
requirements typically two types of optical sensors are mostly
used today, such as fiber optic and optical encoder. Using the
fiber-optic sensor, fuel level can be sensed by reflective light
intensity modulation technique. Here, a float with a permanent
magnet is placed at the outer surface of a tube and a magnet
with a mirror is kept inside the same tube. Thus, during the
variation of fuel level outside the tube, mirror can move
upward or downward by the magnetic linkage of float magnet.
Page 2 of 11
Now, a pair of fiber optic probe is placed at the top of the tube
to transmit or receive the variant intensity of reflected light
beams from the mirror, is reported by Robert J. Bardoorian
[9]. This mechanism is suffered from mechanical
misalignment of the float. Due to this drawback, a simple float
type light intensity modulation technique is described by
Sengupta et. al. [10]-[12] and H. Z.Yang et. al. [13]. All these
systems can measure the fuel level in the range of few µm to
cm depending on the optical path guidance by a wall or lens.
But moisture, dust and liquid evaporation may produce
disturbance in the mirror reflection. Also, the sensitivity of
such systems will be degraded with the increase of measured
level range. In [14]-[17], authors proposed an intrinsic and
intrusive fiber-optic sensor for monitoring the discrete steps of
fuel level in a tank. These sensors [14]-[16] working principle
are based on the radiation losses in an optical fiber n bends. It
occurs at the boundary surface between two different media,
where the fiber-optic sensor is located. Whereas, article [17]
measured the hydrostatic pressure of liquid column at several
discrete steps; utilizing polymer fiber Bragg gratings. Those
systems are able to determine the fuel density and as well as
the fuel level in a tank at discrete points. In addition it requires
frequent maintenance.
Besides the fiber optic sensor, optical encoder is employed
in numerous fuel level sensing mechanisms due to its high
linearity, low hysteresis and simplicity. Moreover, its
sensitivity is independent to the fuel properties and level
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range. The sensitivity of such method depends only on the
resolution of encoded scale, which can be modified externally
without hampering the existing hardware structure. Due to this
simplicity, it is physically reliable in this domain. W. Zhang
et. al. [18] described a process where a float arm displaced a
d
linear encoded scale vertically through a light spectrum source
and receiver. Thus, different wavelength of light is received by
e
an optical spectrum analyzer (OSA) after passing through the
unmask slot of multi track binary coded scale. These binary
bits are identified by different wavelengths of light and
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combination of those bits represents each fuel level position.
Such practice is difficult to develop in portable devices and
also it is an expensive one. In the other embodiments [19, 20],
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float arm rotates an encoded scale during the variation of fuel
level by direct coupling or pulley mechanism with it. This
encoded scale comprises with multiple track code [20] or
linear array of tiny photo-detector cells [19]. In multiple track
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code design, a plurality of transmitter and receiver has been
used to decode the binary or gray code bits of each track.
Combination of such bits represents the fuel level after
calibration with angular positions of the float arm. Instead of
track code, a circular scale has been designed by placing an
array of photo-detector in one track and a single transmitter is
placed parallel by maintaining an air gap with it. Thus, a
comparatively high amplitude output of one such detector
represents the angular position of encoding scale and as well
as the fuel level in a tank. This system serves portability but
decoding circuit counteracts on the simplicity of this design.
In this paper, a novel absolute shaft encoder is presented to
simplify the complexity in hardware and as well as in encoded
scale design. It is composed with a single trans-receiver and a
single track code. By using this absolute encoder, the fuel
level in a tank is sensed by measuring the angular position of
the float arm. Here, the encoder acts as a sensor and every
code of its represent distinct angular position. Unlike of binary
code, this code carries distinct information of light intensity
which is decoded by a single photo-detector and output of the
detector is directly calibrated with the fuel level by a Signal
Processing Circuit (SPC); acts as a transducer. The proposed
preliminary study demonstrates a proof of concept of this
developed prototype. The introduction is followed by a
representation of the encoder design, constructional details,
experimental investigation, and a series of discussion topics
based on the experimental results.
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II. ENCODER DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF THE PROPOSED
METHOD
In this work, an absolute shaft encoder is designed with a
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single track code and contains 256 numbers of coded
positional information. Unlike of binary code, this information
is made by different gray color code. Here, a MATLAB
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programming has been used to fabricate it. Using the
‘meshgrid’ function of MATLAB an image has plotted with
256 numbers of equally spaced cells along the horizontal axis.
These cells are filled up by the different intense of gray color.
We know that 8-bit grayscale image has 256 numbers of gray
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levels, where each color represented by a number, such as
value 0 and 255 denotes black and white color respectively.
Here, the first and last cell contains high (i.e. black) and low
(i.e. White) intensity of gray color and intermediate cells
contain variant intensities of gray color. These gray levels are
computed as follows
Highvalue
graycolorvalue( gv) = ×k
N −1
255
= ×k (1)
N −1
Where, N is the total number of cells and k is the index of
the cells. To illustrate this phenomenon, different images have
been plotted with different numbers of cells having equally
distributed gray color levels; as shown in Fig. 1. Hence, from
Fig.1 (c), it is obvious that all possible gray colors (256
numbers of gray levels) are sequentially placed into 256
numbers of separate cells. Hence an image is describing a
linear change of colors from black to white. Now, if this image
is displaced under the source of visible wavelength of light,
then 256 separate intensity of reflected light beams will
received by a detector. It happens due to the different light
absorption factor of various gray color levels. Therefore, it is
obvious that the designed encoded scale can represent 256
numbers of linear or angular positions by different unique
light intensity levels. In this prototype, the scale has been
affixed around a segment of the circumference edge of a
plastic disc as shown in Fig.2. Here, the diameter of the disc is
80mm and width of the edge is 20mm. Hence, to cover up the
one fourth segment of the disc edge by this developed scale;
an image dimension should be set as 60mm X 20mm. This is
done by changing the aspect ratio of this plot. Henceforth, this
designed encoder is able to measure the smallest displacement
of 0.25mm because the total length of that image is sliced into
256 numbers of different color coded cells.
Page 3 of 11
 displacement by varying intensity of light and it is done by a
single photo-detector. Therefore, it may be stated that the
variation of fuel level is directly proportional to the measured
light intensity. Hence, to demonstrate the proof of this concept
a theoretical model is developed herein.
Let us assume, the emitted light intensity from an optical
source is denoted by I0 and reflected light intensity from the

(a)

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ip
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(b)

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an
Fig. 3 Geometrical representation of this proposed method; where dotted lines
depict changes of fuel level, float movement and shifting of encoded image
respectively. To visualize disc segment & pointing out angular rotation of disc
dotted arrows has been drawn.

surface of encoding plate is I. Then it can be expressed as

M
I = GI 0 (2)
(c)
Where, G is the light absorption factor of any cell. Also
Fig.1. Mapping of gray color code into different numbers of cells. (a) assume that the length of the encoding plate is L and placed on
Three cells contain three steps of gray colors value. (b) Five steps of gray the circumference edge of a disc. So, it can be represented as
color equally distributed into five cells. (c) Designed encoded plate having
d

π
256 numbers of gray colors into same numbers of cell. L= rθ g . (3)
180 °
e

Where, r is the radius of the disc and θg is the angle (in

degree) between two edges of the plate. Since the plate covers
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the one fourth segment of the disc, therefore the value of θg

will be 90°.
Now, assume that the fuel level is increased in a tank up to
the height of H and accordingly the encoder disc rotates in
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clockwise direction under the optical trans-receiver by the

angle of θh. Let, the encoded plate shifted with a length of L1
from its initial point of edge with respect to the vertical centre
axis. So, it can be determined as
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π
L1 = rθ g 1 (4)
180 °
Fig. 2 Encoded disc cover with an angular scale to visualize & measure Where, θg1 is the angle (in degree) in between of centre axis
actual angular displacement of this disc due to movement of float with and the edge of L1 as shown in Fig.3. After the displacement
variation of fuel level.
of plate L1, optical trans-receiver detects distinct level of
Using this encoder a fuel level sensing method has been reflected light intensity in lieu of initial one due to the
analyzed by a graphical model as shown in Fig.3. A float arm presence of gradient gray color in some of the cells. Now the
is attached with this encoded disc through a center tapped rod, cell index may be expressed as
which is mounted to the wall of the tank. Thus, the float
k = 1 × (N − 1)
L
experienced a bouncy force during the variation of fuel level (5)
in a tank and associate arm will rotate the disc accordingly L
either in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction. By measuring Again put the value of L1 and L in (5) and we have
θg 1
the angular displacement of the disc and utilizing some k= × (N − 1) (6)
mathematical computation, the fuel level in a tank is θg
determined. Here, the encoded scale represents the

Page 4 of 11
 To evaluate the change in light intensity level after III. EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP AND MEASURING
reflecting from that cell, a light absorption factor (G) of this PROCEDURE
cell is determined. It can be expressed as the ratio of its actual An experimental prototype has been used to evaluate the
gray color value and maximum possible value that it can hold. sensor performance of the proposed design, as shown in Fig.4.
So, The prototype is composed with a PVC tank (52cm X 54cm)
g having Inlet and outlet ports through which liquid can be
G= v (7)
255 introduced inside and sucked out easily as required from time
Since the range of gv is 0 to 255. Therefore, the value of G
may vary from 0 to 1. Hence, put the value of gv in (7) and we
have

t
k
G=

ip
(8)
N −1
Rewrite the (8) by replacing the value of k
θ g1
G=

cr
(9)
θg
Again put the value of absorption factor (G) in (2), we get
θ g1

us
I= I0 (10)
θg
Now, fuel level may express as H = R − h without (a)
considering the diameter of float. The parameter R defines the
length of float arm and h represents the length in between of
the fuel surface and centre of the disc; thus it can be rewritten
as h = R cosθ h
an
Therefore, H = R − R cos θ h
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H
So, cosθ h = (1 − )
R
−1 H
Or, θ h = cos (1 − ) (11)
R
d

From Fig.3 it is obvious that the angle θg1 and θh are

symmetrical to each other. Hence, after rearranging (10) and
e

(11) we found that

 −1 H 
 cos (1 − R ) 
pt

I = I0 (12)
 θg 
 
All the parameters of the right hand side of (12) are constant (b)
ce

except the value of H. Hence, it is concluded that when the
container will be empty (i.e. H = 0), optical detector will
detects weakest intensity of reflected light (i.e. I = 0) and
would be reached at strongest intensity point when the angular
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Fig.4 (a) Block diagram representation of the proposed system. (b) An
image has been taken at laboratory during testing and analysis of this
method also an enlarge view illustrated the inner structure of the covered
optical trans-receiver.

position of the disc will achieve 90°. It will occur when the
height of fuel level will equal to the length of the float arm
(i.e. H = R). Therefore, to measure the angular rotation of disc,
an encoded plate should be placed over a quadrant segment of
the disc edge and each encoded gray color will represent a
unique disc position. Where, each position will be identified
by variant intensity of light and eventually it will be calibrated
with fuel level in a tank. Furthermore, in this model it is
noticed that maximum measureable height of fuel level in a
tank depends only on the length (R) of the float arm. So,
proper selection of the float arm length is very important for
any desired range of fuel level measurement in various heights
of tank.
to time, a float (diameter 10 cm and made with PVC material),
a float arm or shaft (length 30 cm and made with stainless
steel), an encoded disc (material: plastic, diameter 8 cm and
width 2 cm), an optical trans-receiver; made with an optical
source (light emitting diode i.e. LED) and an optical detector
(light dependent resistor i.e. LDR), a signal processing circuit,
and a PC based 10 bit data logger (DAL) unit. The mechanical
arrangement between the encoded disc and a float arm is
shown in Fig.5. This arrangement is mounted on a tank wall
by a metal rod through which it can rotate in any direction
while the float will experience a buoyancy force by the
variation of fuel level in a tank. To ensure the effective contact
between the float and fuel surface, a spherical type float is
used in this setup. Besides, the float arm and disc are made
with fuel resistant material to protect this unit from any kind

Page 5 of 11
of fuel contamination. But the laminated encoded plate is not
fuel resistant. Although, it would not be blur by the fuel itself.
Because, it cover the disc by a quadrant circumference edge
only and affixed in such a way that it will stay above the liquid
surface when fuel level reached to its maximum point.
Moreover, the float diameter will impact on the experimental
setup and its size is kept larger than the disc diameter. Hence,
fuel level can’t touch the disc at its maximum range. In
addition, a wall mounted optical trans-receiver module is
placed over the encoded disc, where a LED emits light at
constant intensity and a LDR sensed the different reflected
intensity. In this study, an encoded disc along with optical
trans-receiver module is described as an absolute shaft
encoder and it acts as a sensor.
Fig.5. Mechanical arrangement in between of float and disc
Experimental observations are carried out by using
Kerosene oil only and allow it in a tank gradually up to the
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maximum limit (30cm). This measuring range is adjusted as
per the length of float arm; already described in the
concluding part of section II. Now gradually increasing of oil
level in the tank puts a vertically upward thrust on the float
and thus, encoded disc rotate in counter clockwise direction as
d
because of the pivot like mechanical arrangement between
them. Consequently, the LDR follows the reflected light
e
intensity variation through different encoded gray color level
of the pattern and received maximum or minimum intense of
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reflected light while the tank is empty or oil (fuel) level
reached at maximum limit. An equation is used to calibrate
this LDR output with fuel level.
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RDark
RLDR = (13)
Ib
Where, R LDR is the output resistance of LDR, I is the reflected
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light intensity and b is the material constant of LDR. Here, the
material constant is assumed as unity and RDark is the output
resistance of LDR when it gets minimum intensity of light. At
the beginning of measurement RDark was evaluated by
keeping the optical trans-receiver over the 0th position of the
cell (gray value of this cell is ‘0’ i.e. black). Rearranging (13)
by the value of I as found in (12) and we have
RDarkθg
RLDR = b
 −1 H  (14)
cos (1 − R ) I 0 
 
Therefore, it is obvious from (14) that the output resistance
of LDR is inversely proportional to the fuel level when the
other parameters remain constant. Thereafter, output of the
encoder i.e. LDR resistance is converted into voltage variation
in the range of 0 to 5 volts by a Signal Processing Circuit
(SPC). This is followed by different steps of conversion;
firstly, a current to voltage converter circuit with constant
current source is used for getting voltage variation according
to the change of encoder output resistance and eventually this
voltage variation has been confined into 0 to 5 volt range by
zero and span adjustment circuit. Finally, the digitized data of
these voltages have been accumulated into PC hard drive
using the DAL. By utilizing this data, a real time fuel level
monitoring software has been developed in visual basic 6.0
t
platform.
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IV. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Static characteristics of the sensor (encoder) and transducer
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(SPC) of the proposed methodology are described in three
steps. At each step, experimental observations are carried out
through gradual increase and decrease of fuel level in a tank
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with a space of 5mm. To obtain the desired level repeatedly, a
standard linear scale and a manually operated valve are used at
the inlet and outlet port of this tank.
In the first step, static characteristic of the proposed encoder
is evaluated from three increasing and decreasing modes of
an
fuel level variation. In each mode the output resistance of the
encoder ( R LDR ) is measured using a digital ohmmeter at every
step of fuel level. This value has been graphically plotted
against fuel level, as shown in Fig. 6 (a). Here it is found that
the output resistance of LDR is inversely proportional with the
fuel level. Hence, it is true that during this variation the LDR
received linear variable reflected light intensity from the
encoded cells. Therefore, it is concurred the mathematical
approximation as stated in (12) and (14) respectively. Also, a
comparison between experimental result and theoretical data
(determined using (14)) is shown in Table I.
TABLE I
COMPARISON BETWEEN EXPERIMENTAL RESULT AND THEORETICAL DATA
OF LDR AT SOME SELECTED FUEL LEVEL
FUEL LEVEL THEORETICAL VALUE EXPERIMENTAL VALUE
0 CM ∞ 5.12 KΩ
4 CM 4.51 KΩ 4.45 KΩ
8 CM 3.15 KΩ 3.76 KΩ
15 CM 2.24 KΩ 2.65 KΩ
20 CM 1.91 KΩ 1.83 KΩ
25 CM 1.67 KΩ 1.13 KΩ
30 CM 1.50 KΩ 0.20 KΩ
It is apparent from the Table I that while the tank is empty
or full, the LDR exhibits high or low resistance accordingly,
but it is not high or low enough as a theoretical approximation
demonstrate. Also, some other points exhibit same inaccuracy.
Because, at those points LDR received unexpected low and
high intensity of diffused or reflected lights from the surface
encoded plate. It occurred due to the non-linear distribution of
gray color over the plate. In theoretical analysis, optical source
intensity was considered as 100 Lux and LDR dark resistance
(RDark) is 150KΩ, which was evaluated by keeping it into dark
places where light intensity is less than 1 Lux. Consequently,
it can be stated that an experimental result follows the
theoretical value at this peer points. Since, we observed a
linear change of LDR resistance within the range of 0-30cm,
Page 6 of 11
so the sensitivity of the proposed sensor didn’t vary In the second step the static characteristic curve of the
throughout the measuring range and it is determined as signal processing circuit (SPC) is determined. The output
15.2Ω/mm. In addition, the percentage deviation from ideal voltage of SPC is measured using 4(1/2) digital multimeter at
linearity is calculated between measured and best-fit straight each step (5mm) of fuel level and plotted in Fig. 7 (a) after
line data. Subsequently, a percentage deviation curve of the repeatedly measured the voltage of three increasing and
encoder output is drawn in Fig.6 (b) against all steps of fuel decreasing modes of fuel level within the specified limits. The
level. A standard deviation curve is also drawn using this data respective percentage deviation curve from ideal linearity is
as shown in Fig.6 (c). Furthermore, the output resistance of drawn in Fig.7 (b). Here, ideal linearity is obtained from the
encoder is converted into bounded voltage limits (0 to 5volts) data range of 0 to 5 volts with respect to the fuel level of 0-
using SPC. 30cm by using the best-fit straight line method. Besides, the
maximum non-linearity error (0.16%FSO) was observed at

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25cm of fuel level. Also, by using this data a standard

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6
Fuel level Increase 1
Fuel level Decrease 1
5 Fuel level Increase 2
Fuel level Decrease 2 6
LDR Resistance (Kilo Ohm)

Fuel level Increase 3 Fuel level Increased 1

4

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Fuel level Decrease 3 Fuel level Decreased 1
Best-fit straight line 5 Fuel level Increased 2
Fuel level Decreased 2
3 Fuel level Increased 3
4 Fuel level Decreased 3

SPC Output (Volt)

Best-fit straight line
2

us
3

1
2

0
1

0 5 10 15 20

Fuel Level (cm)

(a)
25 30 35

an 0

0 5 10 15 20

Fuel Level (cm)

25 30 35

(a)
M
2

1.5

1
1.0

0.5
% Deviation

0
d
% Deviation

0.0

-1
e

-0.5
Increase 1
Decrease 1 -1.0 Increase 1
-2 Increase 2
pt

Decrease 1
Decrease 2 Increase 1
Increase 3 -1.5 Decrease 2
Decrease 3 Increase 1
-3 Decrease 3
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 -2.0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
ce

Fuel Level (cm)

Fuel Level (cm)
(b) (b)
0.030
0.030
Ac

0.025
0.025
Standard Deviation

0.020
Standard Deviation

0.020

0.015
0.015

0.010

0.010
0.005

0.005
0.000
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
0.000
Fuel Level (cm) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
(c) Fuel Level (cm)
Fig.6. Static characteristic graph of proposed encoder. (a) Encoder (c)
response curve. (b) Percentage deviation of Encoder linearity. (c)
Standard deviation curve of Encoder output for six repeated
measurements. Fig.7. Static characteristic graph of Signal Processing Circuit (SPC). (a)
SPC output characteristic curve. (b) Percentage deviation of SPC output
linearity. (c) Standard deviation curve of SPC output for six repeated
measurements.

Page 7 of 11
deviation curve of SPC is plotted in Fig.7 (c). to the width of a cell hence, the resolution of the proposed
Since, at the ideal condition LDR is able to detect minimum absolute encoder is 0.25mm. Furthermore, measurement error
light intensity of 1 Lux. Hence due to the diffused light has been recorded in Fig. 8(b) against the true and observed
intensity of approximately 15 lux (while tank is empty), it value of fuel level in the tank and found the accuracy of ±1%
exhibits too much low resistance rather than the dark FSO (full scale output). In order to compare the performance
resistance. Thus, maximum output voltage of SPC unit has of proposed system with respect to the others, quantitative
been calibrated by considering this level of resistance in lieu information has been placed in Table II.
of theoretical dark resistance. Whereas, the minimum output It is obvious from Table II that the proposed system exhibits
voltage is calibrated as per the minimum resistance of LDR; similar accuracy likewise the commercial sensor. But its
while it is received maximum intensity of light (≈ 110 Lux). resolution is too good rather than the others. Also its non-
Thus, from Fig.7 (a), it is obvious that the output voltage of linearity error is very low and sensitivity is very promising as

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SPC unit is inversely proportional with fuel level in the tank the prior art [10]-[17]. Since, its sensing part is completely

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and the slope of the curve determines the sensitivity of isolated from the measuring fluid hence it is suitable for the
160mV/cm. In order to observe the repeatability of the SPC flammable liquids. Whereas, the sensor like proposed encoder
unit, the output voltage deviation between each modes of is enclosed by housing so its sensitivity is fully independent to

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operation has been drawn in Fig. 8(a) and found the value of moisture, dust etc. In addition, the positional information is
±0.04cm. encoded as color image instead of multiple track code [15]-
[17], hence its fabrication cost is low. Also, the use of optical
type sensing equipment inside the fuel tank makes this

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0.06
instrument safe for the flammable liquids and it is immune to
Difference of LDR Output (Kohm)

0.04 electromagnetic interference.

In this design the float and arm material should be selected
0.02
according to the fuel properties by which it cannot conduct
0.00

-0.02
an
any chemical reaction. In this preliminary work only one type
of fuel has been considered during experiments, but this
methodology is also applicable for any other fuel, where the
effect of different buoyancy force can be optimized by
Trail 1 vs Trail 2
M
-0.04
Trail 2 vs Trail 3 properly calibration of SPC unit. Whereas, in laboratory setup
Trail 3 vs Trail 4

-0.06
Trail 4 vs Trail 1 light source intensity is assumed as constant, but practically it
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 may varies with the power fluctuation or other undesirable
Fuel Level (cm) conditions. This caused can be resolved by implementing a
(a) self-referencing technique in SPC and improving the trans-
d

receiver module. Also, proposed system will not be affected

1.5 by small amplitude of the liquid surface ripple and tilt caused
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by the vibration. During the experiment, a ripple occurred in

1.0
fuel surface, when the fuel enters into the tank through an inlet
Measurement Error (%FSO)

port. In order to optimize the error in level monitoring due to

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0.5

this ripple, a software based approach has been considered.

0.0 Here, the uneven change in voltage level within a least
significant time instant is not considered in GUI programming.
ce

-0.5
It is possible for fluid level measurement because this process
-1.0 response time is too slow. Moreover, if this scenario occurred
Measured SPC Output
for a long time, then it computed moving average data of level
-1.5
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
and displays the value with an indicator that implies very high
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Fuel Level (cm)

ripple present in the liquid surface. However, it is not suitable
(b) for high amplitude liquid sloshing environment like: airborne
Fig.8. (a) Error curves between several repeated measurements data. (b) application. The proposed method is able to measure the level
Measurement error. in the range of a few mm to cm and the selected range is
suitable for real world application like a vehicle fuel storage
In the final step, the output of SPC is connected with a 10- tank, underground fuel tank etc.
bit ADC for digitization of this analog voltage; which is built
on DAL board itself. Since the resolution of 10-bit ADC is V. CONCLUSION
4.89mV/bit (i.e. 5V/1024) so the resolution of the proposed An optical type float operated fuel level measurement
system is evaluated as 0.03 cm/bit. Afterwards, getting the system generally detects the float arm displacement by
digitize data into PC hard drive using RS232 port; a GUI temporal changes of light intensity. Often it is suffered for
based calibration program determined the tank fuel level. This poor linearity, sensitivity and accuracy. To improve these
software is able to display the minimum variation of fuel level drawbacks an absolute shaft encoder based fuel level sensing
of 0.3mm which is equal to the disc angular displacement of method have been demonstrated and discussed. In contrast of
0.25mm (obtained using (4)). Since the displacement is equal traditional multi track binary coded absolute encoding

Page 8 of 11
 TABLE II
COMPARISON OF STATIC CHARACTERISTIC BETWEEN THE PROPOSED AND AVAILABLE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR
Sensor type Range Accuracy Resolution Sensitivity Non-Linearity Error Repeatability Cost
(FSO)
Float Based Inductive
25 cm ±1.5% FSO
Sensor[2]
Load cell based sensor[3] ±2%
Magnetostrictive Fuel
±0.18% 0.084%FSO 0.1536%
Sensor[5]
Float based fiber optic
Research Paper

35 cm 231mV/cm
sensor[10]
Float based fiber optic
19 cm 154 mV/cm 0.3%FSO

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sensor[11]
Float based fiber optic

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950µm 7.3mV/µm
sensor[12]
4.8mm 1.45mV/mm
Fiber optic sensor[13]
25 mm 1.3mV/mm
0.5V/discrete

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Fiber optic sensor[14] 4% FSO
point
Polymer fiber Bragg grating
75 cm 2 mm
sensor[17]

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Model:LLS-20160 ±1% ±1 mm
Commercial Sensor

Capacitive type
20cm ±1% $50
[Model:FST700-204]
Resistive type
5mm $12
[Model:JK-CLFS-P1]
Resistive type
[Model:S3-E250]
Magneto strictive type
[Model:KDFS]
25cm

30cm ±0.5%
21mm

1mm
an $38
Proposed
Sensor

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Optical sensor 35cm ±1% 0.25mm 160mV/cm 0.16%FSO ±0.04cm $5

structures, the proposed encoder is composed with a single and accuracy in high temperature zone. Besides, the
track code and requires only a single trans-receiver to decode undesirable error like light intensity variation caused by power
d

the encoded position in terms of an analog signal. This fluctuation can be corrected as well by implementing a self-
encoded structure provides a hassle free coding design and reference technique. Since, its inaccuracy is exists for the
e

fabrication. Also it requires a simple SPC for calibration the image printing error hence it can be improved by precise
analog signal with the fuel level. This technique exhibits good manufacturing. These all are the future scope of work of this
pt

linearity, sensitivity and resolution in laboratory conditions as preliminary study.

presented in the experimental results.
It may be mentioned here that as per the standardization of ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
industrial requirements, the widely accepted fuel level sensor
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can measure the level up to few ‘cm’ like capacitive and
resistive type fuel level sensor. They provide linear output
voltage within the accuracy of ±1% for the range of 25cm. But
compared to the available commercial products the proposed
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The authors are thankful to Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswa
Vidyalaya, Kalyani Government Engineering College and
Murshidabad College of Engineering and Technology for
providing the facilities to carry out this research work.

prototype is able to measure the fuel level in the range of 0-

30cm with the same accuracy. Also, the output linearity is not
affected by the magnetite zone. Moreover, its design is very
simple, easy to install and cost is low compared to the other
commercially available fuel level sensor. This laboratory
prototype cost is estimated at $5 only, but the average standard
sensor cost is approximately $50.
In order to proof the concept, a prototype is designed,
developed and tested in laboratory conditions. Here, the
measured length of prototype can be expanded by modifying
its float arm's length and as well as the encoded disc diameter.
But its resolution may degrade with large disc diameter. This
problem can be solved by introducing an index track code
along with the main coded track. However, the use of photo-
diode detector instead of LDR may produce better sensitivity
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 BIOGRAPHIES OF ALL AUTHORS

Tuhin Subhra Sarkar was born in West Bengal India in 1981. He received Bachelor’s degree in electronics &
instrumentation engineering from University of Kalyani, West Bengal, India in 2004 and M.Tech degree in computer
science and engineering from University of Kalyani, West Bengal, India in 2006.
He is currently an Assistant Professor in Applied Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering at Murshidabad College of
Engineering & Technology, Berhampore, West Bengal, India. He has been a visiting Lecturer in Sheikhpara A. R. M.
Polytechnic, West Bengal, India between 2006 and 2007. His research interests include the design of sensors and
transducers, VLSI, network security and image processing. He has authored or coauthored nearly 6 research papers in the

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areas of the sensors and transducers, network security and VLSI.

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Subir Das was born in West Bengal, India in 1984. He received Bachelor’s degree in electronics & instrumentation
engineering from West Bengal University of Technology, West Bengal, India in 2006 and M.Tech degree in

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instrumentation & control engineering from University of Calcutta, West Bengal, India in 2010.
He is currently an Assistant Professor in Applied Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering at Murshidabad College of
Engineering & Technology, Berhampore, West Bengal, India. He worked with Danieli Automation, West Bengal, India,
Core-Technologies, West Bengal, India and Stesalit India Ltd. West Bengal, India between 2006 and 2008. His research

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interests include the design of sensors and transducers, robotics automation, industrial automation and image processing.
He has authored or coauthored more than 8 research papers in the areas of the sensors and transducers, and design of
electronics measuring systems.

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Badal Chakraborty received his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from National Institute of Technology;
Agartala, India in 1998.He obtained his Master degree in Instrumentation and Control Engineering and Ph.D. (Tech) in
Instrumentation and Measurement from University of Calcutta in 2000 and 2009 respectively. He completed his Post
Doctoral work on Biomedical Engineering from Indian Institute of Science; Bangalore, India in 2010.He was working
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as a faculty member in Murshidabad College of Engineering and Technology from 2000 to 2005. He is currently faculty
member of Department of Post Harvest Engineering, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidayalaya, India. His research
interest includes Sensors, Measurement, Biomedical Instrumentation and Application of electronics in agricultural
fields. Dr.Chakraborty published more than 30 research papers in international and national journals. He is reviewer of
so many international journals.
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Himadri Sekhar Dutta received his B.Tech degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Kalyani
Government Enginerring Colle, Kalyani, India in 2001, M.Tech. degree in Optics and Opto-Electronics from
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University of Calcutta,Kolkata, India in 2003 and Ph. D. in Technology from Institute of Radio Physics and
Electronics, Kolkata, India in 2012 respectively. He is presently working as Assistant Professor at ECE Department of
Kalyani Government Engineering College, Kalyani. He is an executive committee member of IEEE Photonics Society
and IEEE Gold Affinity Group and actively participate in different activities conducted by IEEE. His research areas
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include Opto-electronic Devices, Medical Image Processing, and Embedded Systems. He has published more than
twenty five research papers in various journals and conferences and also reviewed several papers for journals and
international conferences.
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