Lecture 1: Introduction to

Measurement & Instrumentation

Contents
➢ Definition of measurement and instrumentation
➢ Types of Measurements
➢ Types of Instruments in measurements
➢ Review in Units of measurement
➢ Standard of measurement
➢ Application of measurement and instrumentation
➢ Elements of a measurement system
 Definition
 Measurement
Measurement is a method to obtain information about the physical value of the variable being
measured.

Measurement systems are traditionally used to measure physical and electrical quantities such as
mass, temperature, pressure and voltage. However, they can be designed to locate things or events,
such as the epicentre of an earthquake, number of employees in a building e.t.c.

 Instrumentation
Devices used in measurement system.
Instrumentation is the link between physical, chemical and biological phenomena and their
perception by humans.
 Importance of measurements
1. For Engineers, measuring is the way to validate a design
2. For Scientists, measuring is the way to test a theory
3. Measuring implies, knowing what you don’t know. And the
control and instrumentation Engineers often say, “ if you
can measure it, you can control it”.
4. To improve the quality of the product
5. To improve the efficiency of the production
6. To maintain the proper and standard operation

Why Instrumentation
To acquire data or Information
 Types of measurements
Direct and Indirect Comparison
• Direct comparison measurements are easy to do and often less accurate. E.g to measure a steel bar
• Indirect comparison consists of several devices that helps to convert, process and display the output
of a measured quantity. E.g, to measure the hardness property of a material, to measure the stress
and strain of a material.

General Structure of Measuring System

 Types of Instruments
Active Instruments: The quantity being measured simply modulates the
magnitude of some external power source. E.g petrol tank level indicator.
The change in petrol level moves a potentiometer arm
Passive Instruments: The instrument output is entirely produced by the
quantity being measured. E.g Pressure-measuring device. The pressure of the
fluid is translated into a movement of a pointer on the scale.

Pressuring measuring device

 Types of Instruments
 Analogue Instruments: This type of instrument gives
an output that varies continuously as the quantity
being measured changes. As the input value changes,
the pointer moves with a smooth continuous motion.
E.g fuel indicator in a car.
 Digital Instruments: This type has an output that
varies in discrete steps and can also have a finite
number of values. Typical examples are Revolution
counter and the thermometer.
 Types of Instruments

 Smart & Non-smart Instruments: Those that incorporate

microprocessor or ships (Smart), and those that don’t
(Non-smart)
Measurement Units
 The first measurements units were those used in barter trade to quantify the amounts being
exchanged. For the purpose of measurement length, the human torso was used. However, this idea
was very inaccurate and imprecise. Technology brough about many improvements in measurement,
e.g, length can be measured in yards, metres e.tc.

Physical Quantity Standard Unit Symbol

Length Metre m

Time Second S

Temperature Kelvin 273.16 K

Luminous Intensity Candela Cd

Torque Newton metre Nm

Thermal conductivity Watt per metre kelvin w/mk

Electric capacitance ohm

 Applications of measurement &
Instrumentation
1. Use in regular trading, by applying instruments that measure physical quantities such as
length, volume and mass.
2. Use to monitor functions. These provides information that enables human beings to take
some prescribed action accordingly. E.g the Gardner uses a thermometer to determine
whether he should turn the heater on or not, also, the study of a barometer helps to
know if we should go out with umbrella or not. In a chemical process, the progress of
chemical reaction is indicated by the measurement of temperature and pressure at various
points.
3. Used as part of automatic feedback control system

Common Applications are;

1. Home :- Thermometer, Barometer, Watch
2. Road Vehicles :- Speedometer, fuel gauge
3. Industry :- Automation, Process control, Boiler control
 Elements of a measurement system
 The first element in any measuring system is the primary sensor, this gives
an output that is a function of the input(measurand)
 Another element is the variable conversion element, where the output
variable is an inconvenient form and has to be converted to a more
convenient form. In some cases, the primary sensor and the variable
conversion element are combined, and the combination is known as
Transducer
 Another element is the Signal Processing element. A common type is the
electronic amplifier, which amplifies the output of the primary transducer.
This element is very important where the primary transducer has a low
output of only few millivolts. In some devices, signal processing is
incorporated into a transducer which is then known as a transmitter.
 Performance Characteristics in Instruments
• Static Characteristics

• Accuracy
• Sensitivity
• Linearity
• Reaction to Ambient condition changes
• Resolution
• Precision / Repeatability
• Range or Span
• Threshold
Accuracy of Measurement
• Accuracy of an instrument is a measure of how close the output
reading of the instrument is to the correct value. Inaccuracy is the
extend to which a reading might be wrong.
• If the thermometer in a room is showing a temperature of 20oC, then
it does not matter if the true temperature of the room is 19.5oC or
20oC. Such small variation around 20oC are too small to affect
whether we feel warm enough or not since our bodies can’t
differentiate. Therefore a thermometer of -+ 0.5oC inaccuracy is
perfectly adequate. If we measure the temperature of certain
chemical processes, a variation of 0.5oC might have a significant effect
on the rate of reaction or even the products of a process, hence, a
measurement inaccuracy of -+ 0.5oC will be a problem.
Precision/Repeatability
• Precision is a term that describes an instrument’s degree of freedom
from random error. If a large number of readings are taken of the
same quantity by a high precision instrument, then the spread of
readings will be very small. High precision does not imply anything
about measurement accuracy. A high precision instrument may have
a low accuracy. Low accuracy measurements from a high precision
instrument are normally caused by a bias in the measurements,
which is removable by recalibration.

• Tolerance :- Is the maximum allowable error that is to be expected in

some value. Sometimes accuracy of some instruments is quoted as a
tolerance figure.
 Range or Span of an Instrument
• Defines the maximum and minimum values of a quantity that the
instrument is designed to measure.
Linearity
The Xs marked in the figure below show a plot of the typical output
readings of an instrument when a sequence of input quantities are
applied to it. Normal procedure is to draw a good fit straight line through
the Xs. The non-linearity is then defined as the maximum deviation of any
of the output readings marked X from this straight line.
 Sensitivity of Measurement
The sensitivity of measurement is a measure of the change in instrument output
that occurs when the quantity being measured changes by a given amount
Sensitivity Ratio =

The sensitivity of measurement is therefore the slope of the straight line drawn on
Figure above. If, for example, a pressure of 2 bar produces a deflection of 10
degrees in a pressure transducer, the sensitivity of the instrument is 5 degrees/bar
(assuming that the deflection is zero with zero pressure applied).
Example of Sensitivity
The following resistance values of a platinum resistance thermometer were
measured at a range of temperatures. Determine the measurement sensitivity of
the instrument in ohms/°C.
Resistance ( ) Temperature (°C)
307 200
314 230
321 260
328 290

Solution
If these values are plotted on a graph, the straight-line relationship between
resistance change and temperature change is obvious. For a change in temperature
of 30°C, the change in resistance is 7. Hence the measurement sensitivity = 7/30 =
0.233 /°C.
 Threshold
The minimum level of input is known as threshold of the instrument. If
the input to an instrument if gradually increased from zero, the input
will have to reach a certain minimum level before the change in the
instrument output reading.
As an illustration, a car speedometer typically has a threshold of about
15 km/h. This means that, if the vehicle starts from rest and
accelerates, no output reading is observed on the speedometer until
the speed reaches 15 km/h.
 Resolution
Resolution is defined as the smallest increment in the measured value that
can be detected with certainty by the instrument. In other words, it is the
degree of fineness with which a measurement can be made. The least count
of any instrument is taken as the resolution of the instrument.
Dead Space
Defined as the range of different input values over which there is no change in output
value. E.g, backlash in gears. Backlash is commonly experienced in gearsets used to
convert between translational and rotational motion (which is a common technique used
to measure translational velocity).
 • All calibrations and specifications of an instrument are only valid
under controlled conditions of temperature, pressure e.t.c. As
variation occur in the ambient condition, certain static instrument
characteristics change, and the sensitivity to disturbance is a
measure of the magnitude of this change.
• Such environmental changes affect instruments in two ways.
• Zero Drift or Bias

Sensitivity to • Sensitivity Drift

• Zero drift is an effect where the zero reading of an instrument is
disturbance modified by a change in ambient condition. Found in voltmeters that
are affected by ambient temperature changes. If an instrument is
sensitive to several environmental parameter, then it will have zero
drift coefficients
• Sensitivity drift (Also known as Scale factor drift) defines the
amount by which an instrument’s sensitivity of measurement varies
as ambient conditions change. The sensitivity drift coefficient is how
much drift exist in each environmental parameters that the
instrument characteristics are sensitive to.
 Exercise 1
A spring balance is calibrated in an environment at a temperature of 20°C
and has the following deflection/load characteristic.
Load (kg) 0 1 2 3

Deflection (mm) 0 20 40 60

It is then used in an environment at a temperature of 30°C and the

following deflection/load characteristic is measured.
Load (kg) 0 1 2 3

Deflection (mm) 5 27 49 71

Determine the zero drift and sensitivity drift per °C change in ambient
temperature
 Exercise 2
• An instrument is calibrated in an environment at a temperature of 20°C
and the following output readings y are obtained for various input
values x:
y 13.1 26.2 39.3 52.4 65.5 78.6

x 5 10 15 20 25 30

(a) Determine the measurement sensitivity, expressed as the ratio y/x.

(b) When the instrument is subsequently used in an environment at a
temperature of 50°C, the input/output characteristic changes to the
following:
y 14.7 29.4 44.1 58.8 73.5 88.2
x 5 10 15 20 25 30
 The static characteristics of measuring instruments are
concerned only with the steady state reading that the
instrument settles down to, such as the accuracy of the
reading etc.
The dynamic characteristics of a measuring instrument
describe its behaviour between the time a measured
Dynamic quantity changes value and the time when the instrument
output attains a steady value in response. As with static
Characteristic characteristics, any values for dynamic characteristics
quoted in instrument data sheets only apply when the
of Instrument instrument is used under specified environmental
conditions. Outside these calibration conditions, some
variation in the dynamic parameters can be expected.
1. Zero order instrument
2. First Order Instrument
3. Second Order Instrument