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Instrumentation: Figure 3: A Display Showing How Measurements Have Changed Over Time

The document discusses instrumentation and measurement. It defines instrumentation as measuring process variables like temperature, pressure, and flow. Measurement instruments detect physical changes, amplify small signals, and display readings. Instruments are classified by location, power source, and signals. Pneumatic instruments use air power over short distances. Electronic instruments transmit analog or digital signals over greater distances. Key concepts are the measurement range, span, elevation, and overrange protection. An example outlines requirements to measure tank temperature remotely and locally within a given range.

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26 views

Instrumentation: Figure 3: A Display Showing How Measurements Have Changed Over Time

The document discusses instrumentation and measurement. It defines instrumentation as measuring process variables like temperature, pressure, and flow. Measurement instruments detect physical changes, amplify small signals, and display readings. Instruments are classified by location, power source, and signals. Pneumatic instruments use air power over short distances. Electronic instruments transmit analog or digital signals over greater distances. Key concepts are the measurement range, span, elevation, and overrange protection. An example outlines requirements to measure tank temperature remotely and locally within a given range.

Uploaded by

greg
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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INTRODUCTION

Instrumentation is defined as the art and science of Recorder


measurement and control of process variables within a A device that can store data allows us to observe the current
production or manufacturing area. The process variables used state of the variable and how it behaved in the past. A
in industries are Level, Pressure, Temperature, Humidity, recorder provides us with the history of the variable.
Flow, pH, Force, Speed etc.

Control engineering or control systems engineering is the


engineering discipline that applies control theory to design
systems with desired behaviors. The practice uses sensors to
measure the output performance of the device being
controlled and those measurements can be used to give
feedback to the input actuators that can make corrections
toward desired performance.

Instrumentation and control are interdisciplinary fields.


They require knowledge of chemistry, mechanics, electricity
and magnetism, electronics, microcontrollers and
microprocessors, software languages, process control, and
Figure 3: A display showing how measurements have changed
even more such as the principles of pneumatics and over time
hydraulics and communications.
ELEMENTS OF A MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENT
ELEMENTS
Measurement instruments consist primarily of the following
A measurement instrument is a device capable of detecting parts:
change, physical or otherwise, in a particular process.
It then converts these physical changes into some form
Sensor: This element is a device that experiences changes in
of information understandable by the user.
its physical properties as a result of changes in the process it's
measuring.
Example:
Amplifier / Conditioner: Changes detected by the sensor may
be very small, so they must be amplified and then
conditioned such that they can be properly displayed.

Display: The measured data should be presented in an


understandable way. This can be done using a graduated
instrument or an electronic display. Sometimes the display
additionally acts as a recorder in order to convey the
measurement's history or trends.

Figure 1: An example of a measurement instrument

Indication
This is the simplest form of measurement; it allows us to
know the current state of the variable.

Figure 4: Elements of a measurement instrument

Figure 2: Monitoring a variable via indication


Usually, the measurement information generated by an Electrical / Electronic Instruments
instrument must be sent to a control center (or control room) Electronic instruments can be divided into three general
that is physically distant from the instrument. In general, this categories: analog, smart analog, and digital.
information must conform to established specifications.
Analog electronic instrument uses an analog signal standard
to communicate information
o Output signal: 4 - 20 mA
o Transmission distance: 1200 m (typical)
o Data for one variable is transmitted
o Good accuracy
o Easy maintenance

Figure 5: Measurement information is sent from the


instrument to the control room

When an instrument has the ability to send information, we


call it a transmitter (XMTR).

CLASSIFICATION OF INSTRUMENTS
Figure 7: Basic diagram of an electronic instrument (XMTR)
There are different classifications for measurement
instruments. We can classify them, for example, as in-field
Smart Analog:
instruments or panel instruments. The in-field instrument is
o Characterization of the sensor as measuring
installed close to the process or measuring point. It must be
temperature, static pressure, etc.
physically robust if it will be exposed to harsh environmental
o Excellent accuracy
conditions. Panel instruments are in a controlled-
o Self-diagnosis (i.e., the sensor can analyze problems
environment room (often a clean space with air conditioning
in its own functionality)
and controlled humidity).
o One variable
Another classification is pneumatic instruments vs.
Digital:
electrical/electronic instruments.
o Multiple instruments can use a single cable
o Transmission of multiple values for each instrument
Pneumatic Instruments
(process variables, calibration, diagnostics, range)
As the name suggests, these are devices that are powered by
o Distance: approximately 1900 m without a repeater
air.
o Data capacity is influenced by the mode of
One of the advantages of these instruments is that they do
transmission (cable, fiber optic, wireless)
not consume electricity, so they can be used in areas where it
would be dangerous or inconvenient to use electrical power.
They work with a single variable, are imprecise instruments,
are affected by vibrations and temperature changes, and
have high maintenance requirements. The output signal of
the transmitters is between 3 and 15 psi, and the maximum
transmission distance is approximately 200 meters.

Figure 8: Digital transmitters

GENERAL CONCEPTS
Range: The region between the limits within which a variable
is measured. It indicates the minimum and maximum values
that limit the region. The range is expressed with two
Figure 6: Basic diagram of a pneumatic instrument numbers, e.g., 10 to 20 °C, 10 to 150 V, 0 to 100%
Span: Calculated as the maximum value of the range minus
the minimum value of the range. Span is expressed with a
single number in process units, e.g., 120 °C, 30 V, 150 liters Example:
per second. We have an oil tank where we are required to continuously
Elevation: If the lower limit of the range is a positive value, measure the temperature. The operating conditions for this
this lower limit is the elevation. Example: If the range is 50 °C process are as follows:
to 200 °C, we can say that the elevation is 50 °C or 33.3% of Minimum temperature: -10 °C
the span. Maximum temperature: 90 °C
Depression (also referred to as suppression): If the lower The measurement accuracy must be 1% of the span or better
limit of the range is negative, the absolute value of this lower The temperature measurement must be displayed locally and
limit is the depression. Example: If the range is -10 °C to 80 °C, remotely
we can say that the depression is 10 °C or 11.1% of the span.
Overrange: When a device is calibrated to operate within a
certain range but may be subjected to values above or below
that range, then it requires a protection mechanism to
prevent damage to the instrument or to prevent the indicator
from exceeding its upper or lower limit. When the measured
values are above the maximum value, we have positive
overrange. When the measured values are below the
minimum value, we have negative overrange.

Figure 10: Our example system

Figure 9: Examples of range, span, elevation, and depression

Error: The difference between the measured value and the


actual (or expected, or desired) value of a physical variable.
The error can be positive or negative. When the measured
value is greater than the actual value, the error is positive.
When the measured value is less than the actual value, the
error is negative.
If measured > actual, error > 0
If measured < actual, error < 0
The error can be expressed in engineering units (e.g., °C, psi)
as a percentage of the span (e.g., +/- 3% of the span) as a
percentage of the measurement (e.g., +/- 5% of the
measurement)
Reference value: In a general sense, this refers to the actual,
expected, or desired value of a variable. In the context of a
feedback control system, the measured value is fed back and
subtracted from the reference value in order to generate the
error signal.
Accuracy: A number that defines the limits of the error. When
we say that an instrument has an accuracy of 0.1% of the
span, this means that anywhere within the range, the
readings do not differ from the actual value by more than
0.1% of the span.

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