Process Instrumentation

Introduction
Dr. Lipika Parida
 Chemical Process Industries
convert raw materials into processed marketable products
these are commercial scale operations
operations must be economic
safe and sustainable.
 THE PURPOSE OF MEASUREMENT
Measurement is an essential activity in every branch of science and technology.

In a chemical process industry, we will always want to know:

What is the temperature in the reactor or what is the temperature at the furnace or
What is the temperature at the reboiler?
What is the pressure in a high pressure reactor vessel?
What is the flow rate of a process fluid in a pipe?
What is the flow rate of reflux stream in the distillation column?
What is the level of liquid in a storage tank or reboiler?
What is the concentration in the product stream coming out of the reactor?
What is the pH, moisture content, density and conductivity of the given sample?
 THE PURPOSE OF MEASUREMENT

The fundamental purpose of measurement in industrial manufacturing and processing is to

obtain a numerical value corresponding to the variable being measured, so that we can
determine and improve the quality of a product or the efficiency of the production.
Example: control of water level in a tank
Example: Distillation Column
TYPES OF MEASUREMENT APPLICATIONS
1. Monitoring or supervision of processes and operations.
 Keep track of some quantity
 No control action taken
 Example: water meter or gas meter or electric meter

2. Control of process and operations.

 most important application
 refers to automatic control of processes
 Example: Level control, control of bath temperature.
Control of process and operations: Example
Control of process and operations: Example
TYPES OF MEASUREMENT APPLICATIONS

3. Experimental engineering analysis.

 Test the validity of prediction from theories.
 Build emipirical model from data
 Characterization of materials and devices etc.
 Direct measurement and Indirect measurement
Direct measurement: the quantity to be measured is determined directly.
measure of distance by scale micrometer, vernier calipers etcetera.
the weight of a substance

Indirect measurement: the quality to be measured is not measured directly, but other
related parameter is measured and inference is drawn from there.
measure of distance by optical method where we use telescope to calculate distance.
measure power from voltage and current
Similarly to measure resistance we measure voltage and current and then compute
resistance as voltage divided by current.
VARIOUS TYPES OF FUNCTIONS OF AN INSTRUMENT
The primary job of an instrument is to measure a process variable. While doing so, it
performs several functions such as

Transmitting
Signaling
Registering
Indicating
Recording
 Transmitting: Examples
Instrument conveys the information concerning the measured quantity over some
distance or to a remote point.
Examples: Telephones, transmitters are used in process control loop.
 Signaling: Examples
Instrument indicates the general value or range of values of it is measured quantity.
Example, grocers scale
 Registering: Examples
Instrument indicates by numbers or some other symbols of discrete increments
the value of the quantity being measured.
Example: cash register
 Indicating: Examples
Indicating instrument indicates the instantaneous value of the variable being
measured at that time, such an instrument normally used are calibrated scale and
the pointer
Example is the clock, ammeter, voltmeter, wattmeter, laboratory pressure gauge
 Recording: examples
Instrument makes a written record of the value of the measured quantity against
some other variable and most commonly it is against time.

Example: Circular chart, computer

 Functional elements of an instrument
All instruments contain various parts that perform specific functions in converting a
variable quantity to a corresponding indication, any instrument and its operation can be
described in terms of such functional elements.

How to identify these functional elements?

Functional elements: A pressure Thermometer
 Functional elements: Definition
Primary sensing element: this element first interacts with the measured medium and first senses the
quantity under measurement.

Variable conversion element: This modifies suitably the output of the primary sensing element to a
physically different form more suitable for measurement. Note that information content should not be
lost.

Variable manipulation element: this element manipulates (magnify/diminish) signal preserving the
original nature of it. For example : a voltage amplifier.

Data transmission element: this element transmit data from point to another. A tube can transmit
pressure. For a spacecraft, the control signals are sent from the control stations by using radio signals.

Data presentation element: presents data to the experimenter. Ex. Display devices, pointer and scale.

Data storage element: This stores data for future use. Ex. Computer, memory device.
Functional elements: Definition
 FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS : POINTS TO REMEMBER

 Functional elements are not physical elements.

 We discussed one possible arrangement of functional elements.
 An instrument may involve the functional elements in any number and any
combinations
 Instruments are in general not separated into such blocks.
 A physical component may serve the role of several functional elements.
 PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF INSTRUMENTS
• How do we describe quality of an instrument?
• How do we compare the performance of two instruments?

Performance characteristics are quantitative basis for comparing the performance of

an instrument with possible alternatives.

There are 2 sets of performance characteristics and both are used to evaluate the
performance of instruments or to compare the performance of instruments.
 static characteristics
 dynamic characteristics
 PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF INSTRUMENTS

Static characteristics
• Attributes associated with static measurement.
• static characteristics are set of criteria that are used to describe the quality of
measurement when you measure a quantity that is constant or changes very slowly.
Dynamic characteristics
• attributes associated with dynamic measurement
• set of criteria that are used to describe the quality of measurement, when you measure a
quantity that is rapidly varying with time.

Note: static characteristics influence the quality of measurement under dynamic

environment. But, we treat static characteristics and dynamic characteristics separately
 STATIC CHARACTERISTICS OF INSTRUMENTS
Static Calibration: The procedure used to establish the relation between the output and
the input of an instrument, if all the influencing parameters are controlled within working
range.

 calibration is accomplished by applying known magnitudes of the input and observing

the measurement systems or instruments output.
 static calibration refers to the input output relations obtained when only 1 input of
the instrument is valid at a time all other inputs being kept constant.
 STEPS FOR STATIC CALIBRATION
• Identify all the possible inputs for the given instrument
• Decide which of the inputs will be significant for intended
application.
• Determine the apparatus and methods to control that means vary
or maintain constant, all significant inputs over the desired range
• Vary 1 input and hold all other inputs constant and then establish
the instruments input and output relations. This input output
relations can be an equation, it can be a graph.
• Note: the calibration should be used only under the state at
constant conditions of all other inputs.
 DYNAMIC CALIBRATION

• When time dependent variables are to be measured, a dynamic

calibration is performed in addition to the static calibration.

• A dynamic calibration determines the relationship between an

input of known dynamic behavior and the instruments output.

• Usually, dynamic calibrations involve introducing a sinusoidal

signal or a step change as the known input signal and then
recording the instrument’s output with time.
 STATIC CHARACTERISTICS OF INSTRUMENTS: RANGE AND SPAN

Range: The range of an instrument is the lowest and highest value it can measure within its specification.

Span: the span of an instrument is the high end of the range minus the low end of the range.

Example: let the lowest point of calibration be a units and the highest point of calibration be b units.
Instruments range = a to b
Instruments span = b – a

 We should select instruments such that its range includes all values a process will normally encounter
and it should include the expected disturbances and possible failures during the measurement.
STATIC CHARACTERISTICS OF INSTRUMENTS

Static Characteristics

Desirable Undesirable
Accuracy Static Error Threshold
Sensitivity Dead zone
Precision Drift Hysteresis
 ACCURACY
• Accuracy of a measurement describes how close the measurement approaches
the true value of the process variable.

• Accuracy is expressed in many ways: accurate within ± x percent. This will mean
accurate to within ± x percent of instrument span at all points of the scale.
Example:
• Pyrometer calibrated 1000 to 1800 C, and the accuracy is stated as within 0.5
percent.

• Accuracy = ± 0.5 percent times(1800 – 1000) = ±4 C

ACCURACY
 PRECISION
• Precision is the ability of an instrument to reproduce a certain
set of readings within a given accuracy.

• Measurements that are close to each other are precise.

 ACCURACY VS PRECISION
• High accuracy signifies that the mean is close to the true value.

• High precision means the spread of the distribution is low or the

standard deviation is low.
 REPRODUCIBILITY AND REPEATABILITY

• Repeatability describes the degree of agreement among the output

readings when the same input is applied repetitively over a short
period of time within the same measurement conditions, same
instrument, same observer, same location and same conditions of use
maintained throughout.

• Reproducibility describes the degree of agreement among the output

readings for the same input when there are changes in the method of
measurement, observer, measuring instrument, location, conditions
of use and time of measurement.
 REPRODUCIBILITY AND REPEATABILITY

• Both reproducibility and repeatability describe the spread of output

readings for the same input.

• If there is good agreement among readings there will be low spread of

distribution. If there is not good agreement among the output readings
the spread of the distribution will be large.

• This spread is referred as repeatability if the measurement conditions

are constant and this spread is referred to as reproducibility if the
measurement conditions vary.
 RELIABILITY AND TOLERANCE
Reliability is the probability that a device will adequately perform as specified for a
period of time under specified operating conditions. Some sensors are required
for safety or product quality and therefore, they should be very reliable.

Tolerance, this is closely related to accuracy and defines the maximum error that is
expected in some measurement.

Example:
• If an electric register has a nominal value of resistance as 1000 ohm and
tolerance 5 percent, Then it might have an actual value anywhere between 950
ohm and 1050 ohm.
 SENSITIVITY
Sensitivity is the ratio of change in the output of the instrument to a change of input or
measured variable.

• Indicated by the slope of calibration curve.

• Unit: Δoutput / Δ input

Example:
• The resistance value of a resistance thermometer changes when the temperature
increases therefore, the unit of sensitivity for resistance thermometer is ohms/°C.

• For a mercury-in-glass thermometer, if the mercury level moves by 1 centimeter

when the temperature changes by 10 °C.
Its sensitivity is 1 cm/ 10 °C = 10 mm/10 °C =1 mm/ °C.
 SENSITIVITY

• The output of a platinum resistance thermometer(RTD) is

recorded as follows. Calculate the sensitivity of the RTD.

Input() Output (ohm)

0 0
100 200
200 400
300 600
400 800
 UNDESIRABLE STATIC CHARACTERISTICS: STATIC ERROR

Static error: the difference between the true value of the

quantity (under static conditions) and the measured value
(value indicated by the instrument).

• Static error is expressed as +a units or -a units.

• True value + static error = Instruments reading.

 UNDESIRABLE STATIC CHARACTERISTICS: DEAD ZONE
• Dead zone/Threshold : largest range
of values of a measured variable to
which the instrument does not
respond.

• Resolution (Discrimination) is the

smallest increment in the measured
value that can be detected with
certainty. It can be least count of
instrument. (Ex: 30 cm ruler
resolution is 1mm)
 UNDESIRABLE STATIC CHARACTERISTICS: HYSTERESIS
• It is the characteristic loop we
find when the instrument is
calibrated first in one direction
and then in the other. This is
caused by friction and backlash.

• Backlash is the clearance or lost

motion in a mechanism caused
by gas between the parts.
 UNDESIRABLE STATIC CHARACTERISTICS: ZERO DRIFT
• Drift is the change in the indicated
reading of an instrument over time
when the value of the measuring
quantity remains constant.

• There are different types of drifts; zero

drift, span drift and a combination of
zero drift and span drift.

• Zero drift or zero error: the whole

instrument calibration may gradually
shift by the same amount. This is
caused by permanent set or slippage.
 UNDESIRABLE STATIC CHARACTERISTICS:SPAN DRIFT

• Span drift: a gradual change in

which the calibration from
zero upward changes a
proportional amount.

• It is caused by gradual change

in spring characteristics.
UNDESIRABLE STATIC CHARACTERISTICS: DRIFT
 DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF INSTRUMENTS

Dynamic characteristics:
 set of criteria that are used when you measure a quantity that
is rapidly varying with time.
 attributes associated with dynamic measurements.

Desirable Undesirable
Speed of Response Lag
Fidelity Dynamic error
 DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF INSTRUMENTS

Speed of response: the rapidity with which an instrument

responds to changes in the measured medium.

Lag: delay in response.

 DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF INSTRUMENTS

Fidelity is degree to which an instrument indicates the changes in

measured variable without the dynamic error.

Dynamic error : true value - the value indicated by the instrument

(under dynamic environment)