Measurements and

Instruments (ET-314)
Lecture 1 - 3
Introduction to the Subject
Ammar Naseer
Lecturer
University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore
KSK Campus Electrical Technology
email: [email protected]

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 Instructor Details

Instructor: Ammar Naseer Office: Faculty Room

Email: [email protected] Telephone: 03326360801
Research Interest: Instrumentation and Control
Office timing: Tuesday 13:00-14:00
Wednesday 11:00-12:00
Thursday:11:00-14:00
 Course Details
Lecture No. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

1 (08:00)

2 (09:00)

MI Lec. – 17
3 (10:00)
MI Lab. – 17 Contact timing (KE-2)
(APL)
4 (11:00) Contact timing Contact timing

BREAK

5 (13:00) Contact timing

MI Lec. – 17
6 (14:00) Contact timing
(KE-2)
MI Lec. – 17
7 (15:00)
(KE-2)

Lecture could be downloaded from: http://ammaruet.weebly.com/

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 Text Books
1. Measurements and Instrumentation
Principles; (3rd Edition)
By Alan S. Morris

2. An Introduction to Electrical
Instrumentation and Measurement
Systems:, (2nd Edition)
By: B A Gregory.

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 Reference Books

1. Principles of Industrial Instrument By D Patranabis

2. Lessons In Industrial Instrumentation By Tony R.

Kuphaldt

3. Internet

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Scoring & Grading

Assessment Weightag
Technique e
Quizzes 30%
Midterm 30%
Final 40%
 Outline
• Classification of Instruments
• Important Definitions
• Instrumentation document
o Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs)
o Process and Instrument diagrams (P&IDs)
o Loop diagrams
• Static Characteristics of Instrument
o Precision
o Accuracy
o Range
o Resolution
o Linearity
o Sensitivity to disturbances
• Dynamic Characteristics of Instrument
o Dynamic Error
o Speed of response 7
 Measurement

• Signal Processing: The process of Amplification, filtering,

Modulation and demodulation

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 Classification of
Instrument
Electrical Instrument Industrial Instrument
• Digital Meter • Temperatures measurement
• DVM • Thermocouple
• Potentiometric digital • RTD
voltmeter • Thermistor
• DMM • Pressure Sensor
• Analogue Meter • Manometer
• Moving-coil meters • Peizoresistive
• Moving-iron meters • Flow sensor
• Power meter • Differential Pressure
• Energy meter • Level Measurement
• Cathode Ray Oscilloscope • Capacitive
• Bridge Circuit • Ultrasonic level gauge
• Frequency Measurement • Radar (microwave)
• Phase Measurement • Displacement, Velocity and
Acceleration
• pH and moisture
 Definitions
• Sensor is any device that measures physical quantity and
converts it to an electrical signal. It’s an all-encompassing term
that includes transducers, transmitters, and switches.
• A transducer is an electromechanical device that translates
physical quantity into voltages across a high-impedance load.
• A transmitter on the other hand translates physical quantity
into currents (generally 4-20 mA) across a low-impedance load.

• Switch can trigger at a specific set pressure. That set pressure

can either be high or low and can either engage or disengage
a circuit.

• All transducers, transmitters, and switches are sensors, but

not all sensors are transducers, transmitters, or switches.
• Neither of them,, can change or control the physical quantity.
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 Instrumentation
documents
• Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs): Process Flow Diagram
represent the “big picture” of a process. Individual
instruments are sparsely represented in a PFD

• Process and Instrument diagrams (P&IDs): A P&ID shows

the layout of all relevant process vessels, pipes, and
machinery, but with instruments superimposed on the
diagram showing what gets measured and what gets
controlled.

• Loop diagrams: defines the interconnections of individual

instruments, including all the wire numbers, terminal
numbers, cable types, instrument calibration ranges, etc.

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 Process Flow
Diagrams (PFDs)

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Instrument diagrams
(P&IDs)

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Loop Diagrams

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 Performance
Characteristics
When selecting any instrument they are compared and
analyzed by performance characteristics.
The performance characteristic are divided into
• Static Characteristic: Indicate the response of the
instrument for slowly varying data or time invariant data.
• Dynamic Characteristic denote the behavior of instrument
for time varying quantity

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 Static Characteristic
• Precision
• Accuracy
• Range
• Resolution
• Linearity
• Sensitivity to disturbances

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 Accuracy
The accuracy of an instrument is a measure of how close the
output reading of the instrument is to the correct value.

Example
A pressure gauge of range 0–10 bar has a quoted inaccuracy
of 1.0% full-scale reading. When the instrument is reading 1.0
bar what could be the accurate value
The maximum error to be expected in any reading is 0.1 bar.
This means that when the instrument is reading 1.0 bar, the
accurate value would be between 0.9-1.1bar

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 Precision
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.

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 Dart Game
• Precision and Accuracy relationship

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 Range
• The range or span of an instrument defines the minimum
and maximum values of a quantity that the instrument is
designed to measure.

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 Resolution
Resolution of any instrument is the smallest change in the
input signal (quantity under measurement) which can be
detected by the instrument

Example
A moving coil ammeter has a uniform scale with 50 divisions
and gives a full-scale reading of 5 A. Determine the resolution
of the instrument in mA.
Full-scale reading = 5 A
Number of divisions on scale = 50
1 scale/division=

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 Linearity
It is normally desirable that the output reading of an
instrument is linearly proportional to the quantity being
measured.

A Linear system is defined by the equation

Where
y = Output from instrument
x = Input to instrument
m = Slope
b = y-intercept point (i.e. live zero of the instrument’s
range)

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 Example
An electronic temperature transmitter is ranged and has a 4-
20 mA output signal. Calculate the current output by this
transmitter if the measured temperature is .

Using point (4,50)

For

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 Sensitivity to
disturbances
All calibrations and specifications of an instrument are only
valid under controlled conditions of temperature, pressure etc.
As variations occur in the ambient temperature etc., certain
static instrument characteristics change, sensitivity to
disturbance is a measure of the magnitude of this change.
Such environmental changes affect instruments in two main
ways, known as zero drift and sensitivity drift.
1. Zero drift describes the effect where the zero reading of
an instrument is modified by a change in ambient
conditions.
2. Sensitivity drift defines the amount by which an
instrument’s sensitivity of measurement varies as ambient
conditions change.

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 Example
A spring balance is calibrated in an environment at a
temperature of 20°C and has the following deflection/load
characteristic.

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

and the following deflection/load characteristic is measured.

Determine the zero drift and sensitivity drift per °C change in

ambient temperature

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 Example
Bias (zero drift) = 5 mm (the no-load deflection)
Zero drift/°C = 5/10 = 0.5 mm/°C

At 20°C, deflection/load characteristic is a straight line.

Sensitivity = = 20 mm/kg.
At 30°C, deflection/load characteristic is still a straight line.
Sensitivity = = 22 mm/kg.
Sensitivity drift = 2 mm/kg
Sensitivity drift/°C = 2/10 = 0.2 (mm per kg)/°C

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 Dynamic
characteristic
Dynamic characteristic depend on the order of
system. Typical dynamic characteristic are
• Dynamic Error
• Speed of response

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 Dynamic Error
Error in reading is the difference between the true
value and the measured value. If the error is not
constant but changing it is dynamic error

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 Speed of Response
It is the rapidity with which the instrument responds
to change in input

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 Contents
• Absolute Errors
• Types of error
o Gross Error
o Systematic Error
• Instrumental error
• Environmental error
o Random Error

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 Absolute Errors
The difference between the true or exact value (A) and the
measured value of the unknown quantity is known as the
absolute error of the measurement

The relative error is the ratio of absolute error to the true

value of the unknown quantity to be measured

The magnitude of a given quantity having a specified

magnitude and a maximum or a limiting error ± must have a
magnitude between the limits

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 Example
A 0-25 A ammeter has a guaranteed accuracy of 1 percent of
full scale reading. The current measured by this instrument is
10 A. Determine the limiting error in percentage.

Absolute error of the meter at full scale reading

Limiting error at current measurement

limiting error=2.5%

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 Types of Error
The origination of error may be in a variety of ways.
They are categorized in three main types
• Gross Error
• Systematic Error
• Random Error

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 Gross Error
The errors occur because of mistakes in observed readings.
The instrument may be good and may not give any error but
still mistake in recording and calculating measurement results
can cause gross error.

Main reason of gross error are

• Taking wrong reading
• Parallax error
• In correct adjustment of zero and full scale
• Improper application of instrument

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 Systematic Errors
These are the errors that remain constant or change according
to a definite law. These errors can be evaluated and their
influence on the results of measurement can be eliminated by
the introduction of proper correction.

There are two types of systematic errors:

• Instrumental error
• Environmental error

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 Instrumental Errors
Instrumental errors are inherent in the measuring instruments
because of their mechanical structure and calibration or
operation of the apparatus used.
For example
• Improper zero adjustment.
• Poor construction, irregular spring tensions,
• variations in the air gap

The above errors can be corrected by applying lubricants,

adjusting spring tension and calibrating the instrument

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Environmental Errors
Environmental errors are much more troublesome as the
errors change with time in an unpredictable manner. These
errors are introduced due to using an instrument in different
conditions than in which it was assembled and calibrated.

Proper housing and maintaining the temperature can rectify

these errors

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 Random Error
These errors are of variable magnitude and sign and do not
maintain any known law example noise

• The effect of random errors is minimized by measuring the

given quantity many times under the same conditions and
calculating the arithmetical mean of the results obtained

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End of Lecture 1-3
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