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Lecture 1

The document provides an introduction to measurements and instrumentation engineering, outlining the basic concepts of measurement systems, their elements, and characteristics of measuring instruments. It discusses types of instruments, including active vs. passive, null vs. deflection, and analogue vs. digital, as well as key performance metrics such as accuracy, precision, and resolution. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of choosing appropriate measuring instruments based on specifications and environmental conditions.

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11 views27 pages

Lecture 1

The document provides an introduction to measurements and instrumentation engineering, outlining the basic concepts of measurement systems, their elements, and characteristics of measuring instruments. It discusses types of instruments, including active vs. passive, null vs. deflection, and analogue vs. digital, as well as key performance metrics such as accuracy, precision, and resolution. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of choosing appropriate measuring instruments based on specifications and environmental conditions.

Uploaded by

ff5352235
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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EC 212:

MEASUREMENTS AND
INSTRUMENTATION ENGINEERING
Instructor: Mr. Mwalongo M, R
Assistant Lecturer
Office No. AB 12 (Admin Block)
E-mail: [email protected]
LECTURE # 1

INTRODUCTION TO
MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS AND
CHARACTERISTICS OF
MEASUREMENTS INSTRUMENTS
INTRODUCTION
 Instrument: device that measures a physical
quantity such as flow, temperature, level,
distance etc.
 Instrumentation: art and science of measurement
and control of process variable within a
production laboratory or manufacturing area.
A measuring system exists to provide
information about the physical value of some
variable being measured.
 The system can consist of only a single unit that
gives an output reading or signal according to
the magnitude of the unknown variable applied
to it.
ELEMENTS OF MEASUREMENT SYSTEM
ELEMENTS OF MEASUREMENT SYSTEM
 Primary sensor: this gives an output that is a
function of the measurand (the input applied to
it)
Some examples of primary sensors are a
liquid-in glass thermometer, a
thermocouple, and a strain gauge
 Variable conversion element: needed where the
output variable of a primary transducer is in an
inconvenient form and has to be converted to a
more convenient form.
ELEMENTS CONT…
 Signalprocessing elements: improves the quality of
the output of a measurement system in some way.
A very common type of signal processing
element is the electronic amplifier.
Improves the sensitivity and resolution of
measurement particularly important
where the primary transducer has a low
output
Others filter out induced noise and
remove mean levels
ELEMENTS CONT…
 Some measurement systems have one or two
other components
 First to transmit the signal to some
remote point and;
 Second to display or record the
signal if it is not fed automatically
into a feedback control system.
 Signal transmission is needed when the
observation or application point of the output of
a measurement system is some distance away
from the site of the primary transducer.
MEASUREMENT SYSTEM APPLICATIONS
 Regulating trade
applying instruments that measure
physical quantities such as length,
volume, and mass in terms of standard
units.
 Monitoring functions

These provide information that enables


human beings to take some prescribed
action accordingly.
 Used as part of automatic control system.
CHOOSING APPROPRIATE MEASURING
INSTRUMENT

 Specification of the instrument characteristics


required
parameters such as desired measurement accuracy,
resolution, sensitivity, and dynamic performance
 Environmental conditions that the instrument will be
subjected
 Skilled instrument engineer
able to evaluate the possible list of instruments in
terms of their accuracy, cost, and suitability for the
environmental conditions and thus choose the most
appropriate instrument
CHOOSING APPROPRIATE MEASURING
INSTRUMENT

 Purchase cost
 Durability

 Maintenance requirements

have cost implications


TYPES OF MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS /INSTRUMENTS

 Important aspects of measurement


how to choose appropriate instruments
for a particular application and a
review of the main applications of
measurement
 Both of these activities require knowledge of the
characteristics of different classes of instruments
and, in particular, how these different classes of
instrument perform in different applications and
operating environments.
INSTRUMENTS TYPE
 Active and passive instruments
 Null type and deflection type instruments

 Analogue and digital instruments


ACTIVE AND PASSIVE INSTRUMENTS

 Instrumentsare divided into active or passive


ones according to whether instrument output is
produced entirely by the quantity being
measured or whether the quantity being
measured simply modulates the magnitude of
some external power source.
PASSIVE
 An example of a passive instrument is the pressure-
measuring device shown in the Figure
 The pressure of the fluid is translated into movement of a
pointer against a scale
 There are no other energy inputs to the system
ACTIVE
 An example of an active instrument is a float-type petrol tank
level indicator as sketched in the figure of Petrol-tank level
indicator
 The change in petrol level moves a potentiometer arm, and the
output signal consists of a proportion of the external voltage
source applied across the two ends of the potentiometer
 The energy in the output signal comes from the external power
source
NULL TYPE AND DEFLECTION TYPE INSTRUMENTS
 The pressure gauge is a good example of a deflection type of
instrument, where the value of the quantity being measured is
displayed in terms of the amount of movement of a pointer
 The dead-weight gauge is a null-type instrument, weights are put
on top of the piston until the downward force balances the fluid
pressure
 Weights are added until the piston reaches a datum level, known
as the null point.
 Pressure measurement is made in terms of the value of the
weights needed to reach this null position. ---- repeat
ANALOGUE AND DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS
 An analogue instrument gives an output that varies
continuously as the quantity being measured changes.
 The output can have an infinite number of values within the
range that the instrument is designed to measure
 As the input value changes, the pointer moves with a smooth
continuous motion.
 A digital instrument has an output that varies in discrete steps
and so can only have a finite number of values.
 This system can only count whole revolutions and cannot
discriminate any motion that is less than a full revolution.
STATIC CHARACTERISTICS
 Sensor performance can be described by reference to a
standardized set of performance definitions.

 These characteristics are used by manufacturers to


describe instruments and as purchase specifications by
buyers.

 Static: static characteristics are those obtained when


the sensor input and output are static (not changing
with time).
STATIC CHARACTERISTICS OF INSTRUMENTS
Accuracy and Inaccuracy (Measurement Uncertainty)
 measure of how close the output reading of the
instrument is to the correct value
 In practice, it is more usual to quote the inaccuracy or
measurement uncertainty value rather than the
accuracy value for an instrument
 Inaccuracy or measurement uncertainty is the extent to
which a reading might be wrong quoted as a
percentage of the full-scale (f.s.) reading of an
instrument
Homework
A pressure gauge with a measurement range of 0–10 bar
has a quoted inaccuracy of 1.0% f.s. (1% of full-scale
reading).
(a) What is the maximum measurement error expected
for this instrument?
(b) What is the likely measurement error expressed as a
percentage of the output reading if this pressure gauge is
measuring a pressure of 1 bar?
PRECISION/REPEATABILITY/REPRODUCIBILITY
 Precision is a term that describes an instrument’s
degree of freedom from random errors
 Precision is often, although incorrectly, confused with
accuracy
 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
REPEATABILITY/ REPRODUCIBILITY
 Repeatability and reproducibility mean
approximately the same but are applied in
different contexts
 If a large number of readings of the output O are
taken, then the expected value of 1.0 volt is not
obtained on every occasion; a range of values
such as 0.99, 1.01, 1.00, 1.02, 0.98, etc.,
scattered about the expected value, is obtained.
 This effect is termed a lack of repeatability in the
element.
 Repeatability is the ability of an element to give the
same output for the same input, when repeatedly
applied to it.
 Lack of repeatability is due to random effects in the
element and its environment reproducibility if the
measurement conditions vary
 The degree of repeatability or reproducibility in
measurements from an instrument is an alternative
way of expressing its precision.
RESOLUTION
 The smallest change in a measured value that the
instrument can detect
 Resolution is also known as sensitivity

 Resolution may be specified as an absolute value or


sometimes as a percentage of f.s. deflection.
 One of the major factors influencing the resolution of
an instrument is how finely its output scale is divided
into subdivisions.
END

Reading Assignment

1. Hysteresis

2. Dead Space

27

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