BCE3216: Instrumentation &

Measurements.

EEE3 & BCE3

Lecture 1
 Introduction
• There is increased computerization of industrial process
control and monitoring
• Hence the necessity to measure, record and control process
variables.
• Instrument choice a compromise between performance
characteristics, durability, maintenance requirements and
purchase cost.
Measurement units
 Imperial System of units
• Varying multiplication factors e.g. 3 feet/yard and 12
inches/foot
 Metric System
• Multiples & subdivisions of basic metric units related to the
base by factors of ten e.g meter, millimeter, centimeter
 Standard units; Also called SI units. 2
Fundamental Units

3
Derived Units

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5
Types of instruments
a) Active versus passive instruments

(1) Passive instruments: The instrument output is entirely

produced by the quantity being measured, e.g. the pressure-
measuring device below:

• The pressure of the fluid is

translated into a movement of
a pointer against a scale

• The energy expended in

moving the pointer is derived
entirely from the change in
pressure measured; there are
no other energy inputs to the
system 6
(2) Active instruments: The quantity being measured simply
modulates the magnitude of some external power source (usually
electrical, also hydraulic) e.g. the float-type petrol tank level
indicator below:
• A change in petrol level
moves a potentiometer
arm.

• the output signal consists of

a proportion of external
voltage source applied
across the two ends of the
potentiometer.
Note:
• Passive instruments are normally of a more simple construction than
active ones and are thus cheaper to manufacture

• Active instruments have greater scope for improving measurement

resolution.
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b) Null-type versus deflection-type instruments

(1) Deflection type instruments: The value of the quantity being

measured is displayed in terms of the amount of movement
of a pointer e.g the deflection-type of pressure gauge

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(2) Null type instruments:

• An instrument in which zero or null indication determines the

magnitude of measured quantity such type of instrument is called a
null type instrument. It uses a null detector which indicates the null
condition when the measured quantity and the opposite quantity
are same.

• For the operation of the null type instrument, the following are
vital;
i. The effect produced by the measured quantity.
ii. The opposing effect whose value is accurately known. It is
necessary for determining the numerical value of the
measured quantity accurately.
iii. A detector which detects the null conditions, i.e., a detector is
a device which indicates zero deflection when the balance
condition occurs.
• Consider a null point instrument i.e., the DC
potentiometer below wherein an unknown emf Ex is
measured.

• The unknown emf is measured with the help of standard

emf source.

• The null detector is a current galvanometer whose

deflection is proportional to the difference between the
emf Eab across portion ab of slide wire and the unknown
emf Ex. As soon as both are equal.

Therefore the unknown emf Ex is equal to

Eab which is directly indicated by the
measured scale places along the slide wire.
Advantages of Null Type Instruments

1. The accuracy of the instrument is high. This is because the

opposing effect is measured with the help of the standards
which have a high degree of accuracy.

2. The instrument is highly sensitive. In null type instrument,

the balanced quantity is measured out. The detector has to
cover a small range around the balanced point and hence
it is highly sensitive.

Note:
 Generally, null-type instruments are more accurate than deflection
type ones, hence they are preferred for calibration purposes

 Deflection type instruments are more convenient to use (it is simpler

to read the position of a pointer against a scale so they find
application in the workplace.
c) Analogue versus digital instruments

(1) Analogue instruments: Give an output that varies

continuously as the quantity being measured changes. The
output can have an infinite number of values within the
range e.g the deflection-type of pressure gauge

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(2) Digital instruments: Have an output that varies in discrete
steps and so can only have a finite number of values.

Examples??

Note:
• Digital instruments are easily interfaced with the digital
computerized control systems that are common today.
• Analogue instruments however must be interfaced to the
microcomputer by an analogue-to-digital (A/D) converter,
with these disadvantages:
i. Adds a cost to the system.
ii. The A/D conversion takes a finite time, thus degrading
the speed of operation of the control computer and
impairing the accuracy by which a process is controlled.
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d) Indicating instruments and instruments with a
signal output

Read; What are they? Differences? Examples?

 Static characteristics of instruments

• Are usually provided in the data sheet for a given

instrument

• The stated characteristics only apply when the

instruments are used under specified standard
calibration conditions
a) Accuracy
• Accuracy is a 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 figure

• Inaccuracy (measurement uncertainty): The extent to which a

reading might be wrong, often quoted as a percentage of the full-
scale (f.s.) reading of an instrument
e.g. if a pressure gauge of range 0–10 bar has a quoted
inaccuracy of 1.0% f.s., the maximum error to be expected in
any reading is 0.1 bar.
Errors can occur in a multitude of ways.
Although not always present simultaneously, the following errors should be
considered:
i. Errors due to tolerances of electronic components.
ii. Mechanical errors in meter movements.
iii. Component errors due to temperature variation.
iv. Errors due to poor frequency response.
v. Reading errors due to inadequate illumination, etc
b) Precision/repeatability/reproducibility

• Precision: 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, the spread of readings will be
very small
• A high precision instrument may have a low accuracy, which
can be caused by a bias in the measurements and which is
removable by recalibration.

• Repeatability: 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.
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• Reproducibility: The closeness of 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

Note:
Repeatability and Reproducibility describe the spread of
output readings for the same input. The spread is called
repeatability if the measurement conditions are constant and
reproducibility if the measurement conditions vary.

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 Results of tests on 3 industrial robots programmed to place
components at a particular point on a table

The target point was at the center of the concentric circles,

and the black dots represent the points where each robot
actually deposited components at each attempt

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c) Tolerance
• Defines the maximum error that is to be expected in a value.
• The accuracy of some instruments is sometimes quoted as a
tolerance figure.

• Tolerance describes the maximum deviation of a manufactured

component from some specified value

e.g. a resistor with nominal value of 1000W and tolerance of

5% may have an actual value anywhere between 950W
and 1050 W

d) Range or span
• Defines the minimum and maximum values of a quantity that
the instrument is designed to measure
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e) Linearity
• Normally it is desirable that an instrument’s output reading is linearly
proportional e.g the relationship of V and I across a resistor (Ohm's law). The
linear relation between V and I will give a straight line for a given resistance.

Figure showing the plot of typical output readings (marked by an X) of an

instrument for a sequence of input quantities
• Normal procedure is to draw
a good fit straight line
through the Xs.

• The non-linearity is then

defined as the maximum
deviation of any of the
output readings marked X
from this straight line.

• Non-linearity is usually
expressed as a percentage of
full-scale reading.
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f) Sensitivity of measurement
• Is a measure of the change in instrument output that occurs
when the quantity being measured changes by a given
amount

Sensitivity  scale deflection

value of measurand producing deflection

• The sensitivity of measurement is therefore the slope of the

straight line drawn in the preceding figure.
• The sensitivity directly determines the
resolution of the device, which is the
minimum variation that can accurately
be read.
• Too high a sensitivity often results in
nonlinearities or instability. 22
Example:
The following resistance values of a platinum resistance thermometer
were measured at a range of temperatures. Determine the
measurement sensitivity of the instrument in ohms/°C.
Temperature (°C) Resistance (Ω)

200 307

230 314

260 321

290 328

Solution
If these values are plotted on a graph, the straight-line relationship
between resistance change and temperature change is obvious.
For a change in temperature of 30°C, the change in resistance is 7Ω.
Hence the measurement sensitivity = 7/30 = 0.233 Ω /°C.
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g) Threshold

• If input to an instrument is gradually increased from zero, the

input will have to reach a certain minimum level before the
change in the instrument output reading is of a large enough
magnitude to be detectable.

• This minimum level of input is known as the threshold of the

instrument.

• Manufacturers often specify threshold as absolute values or as a

percentage of full-scale readings.

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h) Resolution

• The smallest change in a quantity that gives a change in the

reading that can be seen.

• Like threshold, resolution is sometimes specified as an absolute

value and 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.

A thermometer with a mark at every

1.0°C has a resolution of 1.0°C.

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i) Sensitivity to disturbance
• All calibrations and specifications of an instrument are
only valid under controlled conditions of temperature,
pressure etc (which ambient conditions are usually
defined in the instrument specification).

• As variations occur in the ambient conditions, certain static

instrument characteristics change - the 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 (or bias) describes the effect where the zero reading of an
instrument is modified by a change in ambient conditions
• Causes a constant error that exists over the full range of
measurement of the instrument. e.g. bathroom scale
• Zero drift is normally removable by calibration.
• Zero drift is also commonly found in instruments like voltmeters
that are affected by ambient temperature changes.
• Units are volts/°C.

(2) Sensitivity drift (or scale factor drift) defines the amount by which
an instrument’s sensitivity of measurement varies as ambient
conditions change.
• Is quantified by sensitivity drift coefficients that define how much
drift there is for a unit change in each environmental parameter that
the instrument characteristics are sensitive to.

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Effects of disturbance:
(a) zero drift;
(b) sensitivity drift;
(c) zero drift plus
sensitivity drift
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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.
Load (kg) 0 1 2 3
Deflection (mm) 0 20 40 60
It is then used in an environment at a temperature of 30°C and the following
deflection/load characteristic is measured.
Load (kg): 0 1 2 3
Deflection (mm) 5 27 49 71
Determine the zero drift and sensitivity drift per °C change in ambient
temperature.

Solution
At 20°C, deflection/load characteristic is a straight line. Sensitivity = 20 mm/kg
At 30°C, deflection/load characteristic is still a line. Sensitivity= 22 mm/kg

Bias (zero drift) = 5mm (the no-load deflection)

Sensitivity drift = 22 mm/kg - 20 mm/kg = 2 mm/kg

Zero drift/°C = 5/10 = 0.5 mm/°C

Sensitivity drift/°C = 2/10 = 0.2 (mm per kg)/°C
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(j) Hysteresis effects • Hysteresis is the deviation of
separate measurements taken at
the same point, the first is taken
during increasing measurement
values, and the other during a
series of decreasing measurement
values.

• Caused by the natural reluctance

of a material to return to an
original state after adding &
removing a physical change, e.g.
an increase and decrease in
temperature or pressure.

• Most commonly found in

instruments that contain springs,
e.g the passive pressure gauge.
Illustration of the output characteristic of an
instrument that exhibits hysteresis 30
(k) Dead space

• the range of different input values over which there is no change in output
value

• Any instrument that exhibits hysteresis also displays dead space, as marked
in the preceding figure

• Instruments without any significant

hysteresis can still exhibit a dead space
in their output characteristics.

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• Instrument choice is a compromise between
performance characteristics, ruggedness and
durability, maintenance requirements and purchase
cost.

• To carry out such an evaluation properly, the

engineer must have wide knowledge of instruments
available for measuring particular physical
quantities, and he/she must also have a deep
understanding of how instrument characteristics are
affected by particular measurement situations and
operating conditions.

How does one choose the appropriate measuring

instrument?
Review Questions
1. Explain what is meant by:
(a) active instruments
(b) passive instruments.
2. Give examples of each and discuss the relative merits of these
two classes of instruments.
3. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of null and
deflection types of measuring instrument. What are null types
of instrument mainly used for and why?
4. Briefly define and explain all the static characteristics of
measuring instruments.
5. Explain the difference between accuracy and precision in an
instrument.
6. A tungsten/5% rhenium–tungsten/26% rhenium thermocouple
has an output e.m.f. as shown in the following table when its
hot (measuring) junction is at the temperatures shown.
Determine the sensitivity of measurement for the
thermocouple in mV/°C.
7. Define sensitivity drift and zero drift. What factors can cause
sensitivity drift and zero drift in instrument characteristics?

8. A load cell is calibrated in an environment at a temperature

of 21°C and has the following deflection/load characteristic:

When used in an environment at 35°C, its characteristic

changes to the following:

a) Determine the sensitivity at 21°C and 35°C.

b) Calculate the total zero drift and sensitivity drift at 35°C.
c) Hence determine the zero drift and sensitivity drift
coefficients (in units of μm/°C and (μm per kg)/(°C)).