Installing Instrumentation and Control

Devices
Introduction to Instrumentation and control
• Instrumentation is the basis for process control in
industrial. Without measuring the input and the output
values of the process, it is impossible to control.
• Control in process industries refers to the regulation
of all aspects of the process. Precise control of
temperature, pressure , level, flow and PH are
important in many process applications.
 Instrumentation and control
Instrumentation
 An instrument is a device that transforms a physical
variable of interest (the measurand) into a form that is
suitable for recording (the measurement).
 In order for the measurement to have broad and
consistent meaning, it is common to employ a standard
system of units by which the measurement from one
instrument can be compared with the measurement of
another.
 An example of a basic instrument is a ruler. In this case
the measured is the length of some object
 and the measurement is the number of units (meters,
inches, etc.) that represent the length.
 Cont.
• Process as used in the terms process control
and process industry, refers to the methods of
changing or refining raw materials to create
end products. The raw materials, which either
pass through or remain in a liquid, gaseous, or
slurry (a mix of solids and liquids) state during
the process, are transferred, measured, mixed,
heated or cooled, filtered, stored, or handled in
some other way to produce the end product.
 Cont.
• Process industries include the chemical industry, the
oil and gas industry, the food and beverage industry,
the pharmaceutical industry , the water treatment
industry, and the power industry.
• Process control refers to the methods that are used
to control process variables when manufacturing a
product. For example, factors such as the proportion
of one ingredient to another, the temperature of the
materials, how well the ingredients are mixed, and
the pressure under which the materials are held can
significantly impact the quality of an end product.
 Cont.
• Refining, combining, handling, and otherwise manipulating
fluids to profitably produce end products can be a precise,
demanding, and potentially hazardous process. Small
changes in a process can have a large impact on the end
result. Variations in proportions, temperature, flow,
turbulence, and many other factors must be carefully and
consistently controlled to produce the desired end product
with a minimum of raw materials and energy.
• Process control technology is the tool that enables
manufacturers to keep their operations running within
specified limits and to set more precise limits to maximize
profitability, ensure quality and safety.
• Hence, measure first then control.
Measurement system applications
• The massive growth in the application of computers to
industrial process control and monitoring tasks has intiated
a parallel growth in the requirement for instruments to
measure, record and control process variables.
• Present-day applications of measuring instruments can be
classified into three major areas:
1 . Regulating trade, applying instruments that measure
physical quantities such as length, volume and mass in
terms of standard units.
2.For monitoring functions: these provide information that
enables human beings to take some prescribed action
accordingly.
3. Use as part of automatic feedback control systems
 Elements of a measurement system
• A measuring system exists to provide information
about the physical value of some variable being
measured. In simple cases, 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. However, in more
complex measurement situations, a measuring
system consists of several separate elements as
shown in the block diagram bellow.
Cont.
 Cont.
Sensor: It is the first element in any measuring system which senses the
physical Environment and convert the sensed information to signal
form.
• It gives an output that is a function of the measurand (the input
applied to it).
• Variable conversion elements : they are needed where the output
variable of a primary transducer is in an inconvenient form and has to
be converted to a more convenient form.
• For instance, the displacement-measuring strain gauge has an output
in the form of a varying resistance. The resistance change cannot be
easily measured and so it is converted to a change in voltage by a
bridge circuit, which is a typical example of a variable conversion
element. In some cases, the primary sensor and variable conversion
element are combined, and the combination is known as a transducer.
 Cont.
• Signal processing (Signal conditioning)elements exist
to improve the quality of the output of a measurement
system in some way. A very common type of signal
processing elements are Signal amplification and
filtering.
• Electronic amplifier amplifies the output of the primary
transducer or variable conversion element, thus
improving the sensitivity and resolution of measurement.
This element of a measuring system is particularly
important where the primary transducer has a low output.
• Filtering removes unwanted noise from the signal of
interest. A noise filter is used on slowly varying signals
such as temperature to attenuate higher frequency signals
that can reduce the accuracy of your measurement.
 Cont.
• 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.
Sometimes, this separation is made solely for purposes of
convenience, but more often it follows from the physical
inaccessibility or environmental unsuitability of the site of the
primary transducer for mounting the signal
presentation/recording unit.
• Fibre-optic cables are being used in ever increasing numbers in
modern installations, in part because of their low transmission
loss and imperviousness to the effects of electrical and magnetic
fields.
 Cont.
• A transducer is a device that translates a mechanical signal into an
electrical signal. For example, inside a capacitance pressure device, a
transducer converts changes in pressure into a proportional change in
capacitance.
• A converter is a device that converts one type of signal into another type of
signal. For example, a converter may convert current into voltage or an
analog signal into a digital signal. In process control, a converter used to
convert a 4–20 mA current signal into a 3–15 psig pneumatic signal
(commonly used by valve actuators) is called a current-to-pressure
converter.
• A transmitter is a device that converts a reading from a sensor or
transducer into a standard signal and transmits that signal to a monitor or
controller. Transmitter types include:
Pressure transmitters, Flow transmitters, Temperature transmitters
Level transmitters, Analytic (O2 [oxygen], CO [carbon monoxide], and pH)
 Cont.

• signal presentation unit or signal-recording

unit is the final optional element in a
measurement system where the measured
signal is utilized.
• This element is omitted altogether because the
measurement is used as part of an automatic
control scheme, and the transmitted signal is
fed directly into the control system.
 characteristics of instruments
Two types of major performance characteristics of instruments are :
• static -the performance criteria for the measurement of quantities that remain
constant, or vary only quite slowly.
• dynamic-the relationship between the system input and output when the
measured quantity (measurand) is varying rapidly.

 Static characteristics of an instrument includes;

• Accuracy
• Precision
• Repeatability
• Resolution
• Sensitivity
• Others ( Range, Dead zone etc.)
 Cont.
Accuracy refers to the closeness of agreement between the
measurement and the true value of the measured quantity.
In general accuracy expressed as “Limit of Error or its inaccuracy).If ,
fore example, a pressure gage of range 0-10 has inaccuracy of plus or
minus1% of full scale reading then the maximum error to be expected
in any reading is 0.1 bar. The centres of the circles below are the focus
of perfect measurements and the actual measurements are indicated by
cross(+) sign .Accuracy and precision measurements are compared.
 Cont.

• Precision is a term that describes an instrument’s degree of freedom

from random errors. 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. Precision is often, though 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 describes the closeness of output readings when the
same input is applied repetitively over a short period of time, with
the same measurement conditions, same instrument and observer,
same location and same conditions of use maintained throughout.
 Cont.
• Resolution: When an instrument is showing a particular
output reading, there is a lower limit on the magnitude
of the change in the input measured quantity that
produces an observable change in the instrument output.
• One of the major factors influencing the resolution of an
instrument is how finely its output scale is divided into
subdivisions.
• Sensitivity : 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.
Thus, sensitivity is the ratio : scale deflection to value of
measurand producing deflection
Principal measurements desired in industry

• Principal measurements desired in industry

• (a) Temperature
• (b) Pressure
• (c) Level
• (d) Flow
• (e) Others ( Composition, pH etc.)
 Temperature Sensors

1. Thermocouples
2. Thermistors
3. Electrical resistance change (RTD)
4. Expansion of materials
5. Pyrometers
 Thermocouple
When two dissimilar metals are
joined together to
form a junction, an emf is produced
which is proportional to the
temperature being sensed.

Seebeck Effect: the generation of

current in a circuit comprising of two
wires of dissimilar metals in the
presence of temperature difference
 Thermisistor
Thermistor, a word formed by
combining thermal with
resistor, is a temperature-sensitive
resistor fabricated from
semiconducting materials.
The resistance of thermistors
decreases proportionally
with increases in temperature.
 The operating range can be
200°C to + 1000°C

The thermistors can be in the

shape of a rod, bead or disc.
 Cont.
Advantages:
 Small sizes and fast response
 Low cost
 Suitability for narrow spans
Disadvantages:
 More susceptible to permanent decalibration at high
temperatures.
 Use is limited to a few hundred degrees Celsius.
 Respond quickly to temperature changes, thus,
especially susceptible to self-heating errors.
 Very fragile
 Resistance Temperature Detector- RTD

Resistance Temperature Detector- RTD

RTD is a temperature sensitive resistor.

 It is a positive temperature coefficient
device, which means that the resistance
increases with temperature.
 The resistive property of the metal is
called its resistivity.

The industry standard is the platinum wire

RTD(Pt100) whose base resistance is exactly
100.00 ohms at 0.0 °C.
 Cont.
Platinum Wire RTDs (PRTs) have
established themselves as the default
industry standard for temperature
measurement, and for many reasons
Linear temperature sensors Resistance
vs temperature characteristics are stable
and reproducible linear positive
temperature coefficient (-200 to 800 °C)
very accurate and suitable for use as a
secondary standard
A Pt1000 will have a base resistance of 1000 ohms at 0 deg. C
 Expansion Thermometers
Bimetallic
Thermometer
(Expansion of solids)

Effect of unequal expansion of a

bimetallic strip:
-Different metals have difference
coefficient.
-Configured as spiral or helix for
compactness
- Can be used with a pointer to make
an inexpensive compact rugged
Bimetallic thermometer
thermometer.
 Cont.
Filled Thermal Systems
(Filled System Thermometer, Filled Bulb
Thermometer)
Expansion Thermometers
Similar operation as the liquid in glass Spiral Type
Bourdon Tube
Bulb
 Capillary tube
 Pressure element
 Scale
Summary of Temperature Sensor Characteristics
 Pressure Sensors
• “In any given plant, the number of pressure gauges
used is probably larger than all other instruments
put together”
1.Elastic pressure transducers
2. Electric pressure transducers
3. Pressure measurement by measuring vacuum
4. Pressure measurement by balancing forces
produced on a known area by a measured force
5. Manometer method
 Elastic Pressure Transducers
1.Bourdon tubes are generally
are of three types;

3. C-type
1. Spiral type 2. Helical type
2.Diaphragm pressure transducers
They are used to measure gauge pressures
over very low ranges.
Two types of diaphragm pressure guages are:
1. Metallic diaphragms gauge
2. Slack diaphragms gauge
 Bellows

More sensitive
than bourdon type gauge.
 Used to measure low pressures
 Electric Pressure Transducers
Electrical pressure transducers consists of three elements
1. Pressure sensing element such as a bellow , a
diaphragm or a bourdon tube
2. Primary conversion element e.g. resistance or
voltage
3. Secondary conversion element
Types of Electric Pressure Transducers
• Strain gauge pressure transducers
• Potentiometer pressure transducers
• Capacitive pressure transducers
 Strain Gauge Pressure Transducer
A strain gauge is a passive type resistance pressure transducer
whose electrical resistance changes when it is stretched or
Compressed.
A pressure transducer contains a diaphragm which is deformed
by the pressure which can cause a strain gauge to stretch or
compress. This deformation of the strain gauge causes the
variation in length and cross sectional area due to which its
resistance changes.

The sensing diaphragm and capacitor form a differential

variable separation capacitor. When the two input
pressures are equal the diaphragm is positioned centrally
and the capacitance are equal. A difference in the two
input pressure causes displacement of the sensing
diaphragm and is sensed as a difference between the two
capacitances
 Level Sensors
• Level is another common process variable that is measured in
many industries. The method used will vary widely depending
on the nature of the industry, the process, and the application.
• Inventory: to check constant supply or storage of material
• Control: for continuous, batch, blending, and mixing control
and to stabilize flow to the next process
• Alarming: to check high or low limits of limit of liquid
tanker, safety shut down
• Data Logging: material quantities for inventory and billing
purposes and where regulatory requirements are necessary
 DIP STICK
Simple and cheap
Can be used with any wet material and not affected by
density.
 Can not be used with pressurized tanks
 Visual indication only (electronic versions are available)
RodGauge - similar to a dipstick found in a car, it has
weighted line markings to indicate depth or volume
Resistance Tape
The pressure of the fluid in the tank
causes the tape to short-circuit, thus
changing the total resistance of the
measuring tape.
An electronic circuit measures the
resistance; it's directly related to the
liquid level in the tank.
 Magnetic Level Sensor
Used where the sight glass level gauge
can not be used.
Magneto-resistive types can provide an
electrical output.
Liquid/liquid interface (such as water
and oil) can be measured by changing the
buoyancy of the magnetic float
Floats
Float rides the surface level to
provide the measurement. Many
different styles are available.
Liquid density does not affect
measurement.