Advanced Sensors and

Instrumentation
Syllabus:
Contents:
• Smart sensors: Definitions, Comparisons, Smart Sensor Interface Standards. Recent / Advanced
trends in sensor technology MEMS Sensors Comparison with Past technologies. , Fabrication
Techniques, Case study of MEMS Sensors.
Sensors and their applications. Basics of computer aided process control systems. Microcomputer
based process control. I) A programmable logic controller ii) A distributed control system
• Controllers:- On-off controllers , Analog controllers, Digital controllers, Fuzzy controllers,
• Working Principle, Merits- Demerits, Typical Application Areas and comparisons.
• Controller tuning and system design, Optimal control theory,
• Case study of Temperature controller, Case study of position controller, Case study of fuzzy controller.
• Study of PLC and Microcontroller based instrumentation Systems.

Books
Course Outcomes:
• Students will
1. Understand basics and operating principle of a few advanced sensors.
2. Understand the behaviour of various physical systems and model them
using some advanced technology.
3. learn charateristics of different controllers.
4. have fundamental and some special knowledge in process automation
in industries using PLC\SCADA.
5. know basic process parameters that are applied in most processing
industries for both measurement and control applications.
Definations:

• Sensor: A device that detects and respond to some type of input from physical
environment.

• Smart Sensor: The integration of Electronics and sensors to make an intelligent sensor

is known as a smart sensor.

What Smart Sensors can do:

• Decision making
• Environment Monitoring
• Self diagnostic
• Self healing
• Improve maintainance
Basic Block Diagram
Application Areas:

• Industrial :
• In the industrial field, productivity, quality, reliability, and safety heavily depend
on the performance of the sensors employed. The industrial equipment is
monitored and controlled for analyzing compression, temperature, moisture, and
vibrations.

• In the new wave of the ‘Internet of Things’, smart sensors could not only
dramatically change the system design of traditional applications, but enable the
development of new applications.
• Healthcare:
• With the advancement of technology, many intelligent or medical
sensors have emerged that continually analyze individual patient
activity and automatically predict a heart attack before the patient

feels sick, for example.

• Telecommunication:

• A smart card known as a Wireless Identity Module (WIM) is similar to the

Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) used on existing GSM cellular phones.

• The smart card guarantees 100% security for e-commerce transactions by

providing authentication of the parties involved, by means of encryption
and digital signatures.
• Smart Dust:
• Smart dust is a hypothetical wireless network of tiny MEMS sensors, robots, or
devices, which can detect light, temperature, and vibrations.

• The devices will eventually be the size of a particle of sand or even a dust particle.
The main purpose of each particle is to collect and relay information up to 1 km.
• Military
• Military equipment is expected to be increasingly equipped with processing
interfaces and communication abilities, which can be used to inspect or modify
the status of the equipment.

• To some extent, the equipment could be considered as sensors and integrated

into the rest of the military information infrastructure.
Some more applications:
• Water Level and Food Monitoring
• Traffic Monitoring and Control
• Environmental Monitoring
• Conserving energy in artificial lighting
• Fault diagnosis of equipment
• Home Security systems
 Sensors:
• A device that detects and respond to some type of input from physical environment.
OR
• A Sensor as an input device which provides an output (signal) with respect to a specific physical
quantity (input).

• In our daily lives, sensors are everywhere, quietly working behind the scenes.
• They not only make life easier but can also keep us safe by detecting dangers like smoke or fire.
 Classification of Sensors:
1. Depending on the need of Power supply:

Active Passive

2. Based on Conversion Phenomenon :

Photoelectric Thermoelectric Electrochemical Electromagnetic Thermooptic

3. According to output:

Analog Digital

4.Means of Detection:

Electric Biological Chemical Radioactive

Different Types of sensors and their
uses:
Type of Sensor Used For
Temperature Sensor Controlling HVAC systems in
homes and offices
Accelerometer Sensor Screen orientation in
smartphones
IR Sensor (Infrared Sensor) Remote controls for TVs and
other devices
Pressure Sensor Monitoring tire pressure in
vehicles
Light Sensor Adjusting screen brightness on
smartphones
Type of Sensor Used For

Ultrasonic Sensor Parking assistance in cars

Flow and Level Sensor Managing water levels in tanks

Smoke, Gas Sensor Detecting smoke and gas leaks in homes

Microphone (Sound Sensor) Voice recognition in smart speakers

Touch Sensor Touchscreens on smartphones and tablets

Color Sensor Color detection in industrial sorting

machines
Humidity Sensor Controlling humidity levels in greenhouses

Magnetic Sensor (Hall Effect Sensor) Detecting the position of a rotating object

Position Sensor Tracking the position of machine parts

Type of Sensor Used For

Strain and Weight Sensor Weighing items on digital scales

Gyroscope Sensor Stabilizing drones during flight

Optical Sensor Adjusting lighting in smart home systems

Capacitive Sensor Touchpads on laptops

Thermal Sensor Temperature control in ovens

RFID Sensor Tracking inventory in warehouses

Chemical Sensor Monitoring air quality

Basics of computer aided
process control :
• The computer process control can be described as
controlling a manufacturing process with the help of a digital
computer.
• The automated system is operating by using a computer.
• The computer process control system would measure the
process variables such as temperature, flow rate, and
pressure.
• It would do some optimizing strategy, and also actuate
certain devices such as valves, switches, and furnaces which
is the final control element in a process.
A Basic Computer aided control system
What are the functions of computer aided
process control:
• It would do the measurements and data aquisition.
• Data conversion
• It would display the process details
• Controlling and transferring of data
• Process output will be compared with required output
• It would monitor the monitor and record the events and sequence
• Data computations
• Control actions
What are the advantages of computer process control?
• Maintains the plant conditions and also would quickly respond to the
plant problems
• It would coordinate the system
• Production can be increased
• The reliability of the plant will be increased
• It would do the production planning
• Less maintenance
• Benefit from Increased Production Quality and Capacity.
Types of computer process control:
• Computer process monitoring
• Direct digital control
• Distributed control systems
• Numerical control and robotics
• Programmable logic control
• Supervisory control
 Computer process monitoring:

The computer won’t control the process directly.

The computer would collect three types of data while the process monitoring and they are
process data, equipment data, and product data.
 Process data
This is the measured value of the input parameters and also the output variables which
represent the process performance.
 Equipment data
This is the data that shows the equipment status while it is in the process and how it does
the process.
 Product data
This will the production data of a manufacturing plant
 Direct digital control

 The direct digital control is known as a loop control too, because the digital computer
can do the functions of a comparator, controller, and they can also do certain
safeguarding operations.
 The major drawback of direct digital control is that it only uses one processor to do the
process, because of this a single error could disturb a large number of controlled
variables and also it could stop the process.
 Distributed control system

In a distributed control system there are many computers and the total work will be divided into all

these computers.

A DCS is composed of many process control stations and these stations can be seen all around the

plant so that the individual loop and also the devices of the process can be controlled.

The interaction of the process is done with the help of communication networks.

Due to the usage of multiple microcomputers, the workload of the process control is distributed.
Numerical control and robotics:

Numerical control is another form of industrial computer control

In this type of control where a machine tool will be directed

through a sequence of processing steps.

There will be a program of instructions that specifies the step

details and sequence.

This type of computer control would position the tool which is

being used in a process so that the process can be improved.

Programmable logic control (PLC)

This type of computer control is mostly used to do the discrete control,

it is simple and continuous control.
 The response time is very quick

 This is a microprocessor-based control

 It can store instructions in a programmable memory

 It can do logic, sequencing, timing, counting, and arithmetic control

functions in a process, or in a machine
 Supervisory Control

The computer would do the supervisory work as the local controller

would do the controlling functions.
• Programmable Logic Controller:
• A programmable logic controller (PLC) is a special form of
microprocessor-based controller

• It is a genera

• l purpose computer modified to perform control task.

• It is used for Industrial automation.

• PLC is developed for an electronic replacement for hard wired

RLC(Relay Logic Circuit) for machine control
 Programmable Logic Controller
Hard Wired Relay Logic System
• Typically a PLC system has the basic functional components of processor unit,
memory, power supply unit, input/output interface section, communications
interface, and the programming device in the basic arrangement.

Fig.The PLC System

Data Types in PLCs:
Sr.N Data Types Storage Identifiers Signed/Unsigned
o. capacity
1 Bool 1 bit X N/A
2 Integer 16 bits I Signed
3 Double integer 32 bits DI Signed
4 Word 16 bits W Unsigned
5 Double word 32 bits DW Unsigned
6 Real 32 bits Real Signed
I/O Addressing:
Data Blocks Identifiers
Input I
Output Q
Timers T
Counters C

Datatype Input Output

Bool I0.0 Q0.0
Byte IB 10 QB 10
Word IW 16 QW 16
Double ID 24 QD 24
Word
Data Handling Instructions:
• Moving or Transferring Numbers from one location to another
• Comparing Data Values
• Simple Arithmetic Instructions
• Arithmetic Instructions:
1. ADD
2. SUB
3. MUL
4. DIV
Comparing Data Values:
1

2
 MOVE Instructions:
• This output instruction moves the source value to the destination location.
• As long as
The rung remains true, the instruction moves the data on each scan.

Entering Parameters

Source is the address or constant of the data you want to move.

Destination is the address where the instruction moves the data.

• Masked Move (MVM) Instruction
• The MVM instruction is a word instruction that moves data from a
source location to a destination and allows portions of the destination
data to be masked by a separate word.

Entering Parameters
Source is the address of the data you want to move.
Mask is the address of the mask through which the
instruction moves data; the mask can be a
hexadecimal value (constant).
Destination is the address where the instruction
moves the data.
• As long as the rung remains true, the instruction moves the
data on each scan.
Bitwise And (AND) Instruction:
• This instruction performs a bit-by-bit logical AND.
• The operation is performed using the value at source A and the value
at source B. The result is stored in the destination.

• Source A and B can either be a word address or a constant;

however, both sources cannot be a constant. The destination
must be a word address.
SCADA Software: