Industrial Instrumentation

Ch.E- 401

Muhammad Rashed Javed

Performance Characteristics of
Instruments

 Static Characteristics
 Considered for instruments used to measure an
unvarying process conditions
 Dynamic Characteristics
 For measuring quantities that fluctuates with time.
3 Static Characteristics
 Accuracy and Precision
 Repeatability/Reproducibility
 Tolerance
 Range or span
 Linearity
 Sensitivity of measurement
 Threshold
 Resolution
 Sensitivity to disturbance
 Hysteresis effects
 Dead space

Industrial Instrumentation
4
Accuracy
 The accuracy of an instrument is a measure of how close the
output reading of the instrument is to the correct value.
 Accuracy is usually expressed in engineering units or as a
percentage of the sensor range, for example:
 Thermocouple temperature sensor with accuracy of ±1.5 K.
 Orifice flow meters with accuracy of ± 3% of maximum flow range
 Because the maximum measurement error in an instrument is
usually related to the full-scale reading of the instrument,
measuring quantities that are substantially less than the full-
scale reading means that the possible measurement error is
amplified. Clearly, if we are measuring pressures with
expected values between 0 and 1 bar, we would not use an
instrument with a measurement range of 0-10 bar.

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5 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.
 Precision is often, though incorrectly, confused with
accuracy. High precision does not imply anything about
measurement accuracy.

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6 Accuracy and Precision

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.

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 Repeatability/Reproducibility
 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.
 Reproducibility describes 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.
 Both terms thus describe the spread of output readings for the
same input.
 This spread is referred to as repeatability if the measurement
conditions are constant and as reproducibility if the measurement
conditions vary.
8 Tolerance
 Tolerance is a term that is closely related to accuracy and
defines the maximum error that is to be expected in some
value.
 Electric circuit components such as resistors have
tolerances of perhaps 5%. One resistor chosen at random
from a batch having a nominal value 1000W and
tolerance 5% might have an actual value anywhere
between 950W and 1050 W.

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9 Range/Span
 Range represents the minimum and maximum values
which can be determined by an instrument or
equipment.
 Difference between upper and lower range is known
as Span.
 Span can be the same for two different range
instruments.
 Example: Range- 100 0C to 250 0C and Span- 150 0C
 Range- -50 0C to 100 0C and Span- 150 0C
 If a chemical reactor typically operates at 300 0C, the
engineer might select a range of 250-350 0C.
 Since the reactor will be started up from ambient
temperature occasionally, an additional sensor should
be provided with a range of -50 to 400 0C.
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 Linearity
10
 It is normally desirable that the
output reading of an instrument is
linearly proportional to the quantity
being measured. The Xs marked on
Figure show a plot of the typical
output readings of an instrument
when a sequence of input quantities
are applied to it.
 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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11 Sensitivity of Measurement
 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:

 The sensitivity of measurement is

therefore the slope of the straight line
drawn on Figure. If, for example, a
pressure of 2 bar produces a
deflection of 10 degrees in a pressure
transducer, the sensitivity of the
instrument is 5 degrees/bar (assuming
that the deflection is zero with zero
pressure applied).

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12 Threshold
 If the 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 vary in the way that they specify
threshold for instruments. Some quote absolute values,
whereas others quote threshold as a percentage of
full-scale readings.
 As an illustration, a car speedometer typically has a
threshold of about 15 km/h. This means that, if the
vehicle starts from rest and accelerates, no output
reading is observed on the speedometer until the
speed reaches 15 km/h.

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13 Resolution
 Resolution refers to the smallest increment measureable
by the measuring instrument.
 Resolution is the property of the measuring instrument.
 It is determined by the number of digits able to be read
by the measuring instrument.
 One of the major factors influencing the resolution of an
instrument is how finely its output scale is divided into
subdivisions.
 Example: High Resolution: 0.001 g (Electronic Balance)
Low Resolution: 0.1 g (triple beam balance)

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14 Sensitivity to Disturbance
 All calibrations and specifications of an instrument are
only valid under controlled conditions of temperature,
pressure etc. These standard ambient conditions are
usually defined in the instrument specification.
 As variations occur in the ambient temperature etc.,
certain static instrument characteristics change, and
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. Zero drift is sometimes
known by the alternative term, bias.

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15 Zero Drift or Bias
 Zero drift or bias describes the effect where the zero
reading of an instrument is modified by a change in
ambient conditions. This causes a constant error that exists
over the full range of measurement of the instrument.
 Example: Weighing Scale
 Zero drift is also commonly found in instruments like
voltmeters that are affected by ambient temperature
changes. Typical units by which such zero drift is
measured are volts/°C. This is often called the zero drift
coefficient related to temperature changes.
 If the characteristic of an instrument is sensitive to several
environmental parameters, then it will have several zero
drift coefficients, one for each environmental parameter.

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16 Sensitivity Drift
 Sensitivity drift (also known as scale factor drift) defines
the amount by which an instrument’s sensitivity of
measurement varies as ambient conditions change.
 It 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.
 Sensitivity drift is measured in units of the form (angular
degree/bar)/°C.
 Many components within an instrument are affected
by environmental fluctuations, such as temperature
changes: for instance, the modulus of elasticity of a
spring is temperature dependent.

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17 Zero and Sensitivity Drift

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18
Hysteresis

 Figure illustrates the output characteristic of an instrument that exhibits

hysteresis. If the input measured quantity to the instrument is steadily
increased from a negative value, the output reading varies in the
manner shown in curve (a). If the input variable is then steadily
decreased, the output varies in the manner shown in curve (b).
 The non-coincidence between these loading and unloading curves is
known as hysteresis.
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19 Hysteresis
 Hysteresis is most commonly found in instruments that
contain springs, such as the passive pressure gauge
 Hysteresis can also occur in instruments that contain
electrical windings formed round an iron core, due to
magnetic hysteresis in the iron. This occurs in devices
such as the variable inductance displacement
transducer, the linear variable differential transformer,
and the rotary differential transformer.

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20
Dead Space

 Dead space is defined as the range of different input values

over which there is no change in output value. Any instrument
that exhibits hysteresis also displays dead space. Some
instruments that do not suffer from any significant hysteresis can
still exhibit a dead space in their output characteristics,
however.
 Backlash in gears is a typical cause of dead space, and results
in the sort of instrument output characteristic shown in Figure.
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21
Dynamic Characteristics
 The static characteristics refer to the results when a
constant input is applied. What happens if the input is not
constant but is changing?
 How does the instrument respond? That depends on the
dynamic characteristics.
 For example, a standard thermometer is suitable for
measuring the temperature in this room. This changes
slowly during the day and night, without sudden changes.
 Compare this to the measurement of cylinder temperature
in a combustion engine. This changes extremely suddenly
and by a large amount. The output from the standard
thermometer to this type of input would be useless.
 Different instruments handle changing inputs in different
ways.
 To compare instruments fairly, we should apply the same
type of input to each and measure the result. An easily
repeatable changing input is required.
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22 Standard types of changing inputs

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23
Step Input
 This is a an abrupt change from one steady input value to
another. The response of the system to it is called the transient
response and is a measure of how well the system can respond
to sudden changes.
 Think of the situation where a thermometer is suddenly moved
from a beaker of ice and water into a bath of boiling water.
 Is this a step change in the input?
 Describe what happens to the reading on the thermometer.
 Does it take a long time to get to the new value?

Industrial Instrumentation
24 Ramp Input

 The ramp input varies linearly with time and the ramp response of
the system is observed to give the steady state error between the
output and the input.
 For example a thermometer is placed in a bath of water and ice
and a constant heat is applied to the bath.
 The thermometer reading is recorded as the bath temperature is
ramped from 0 to 100degC.

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25 Sine Wave Input
 The sine wave input is used to provide the frequency response
of the system. It shows how the system responds to inputs of
cyclic nature at different frequencies.

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26 Classification of Systems
 A measuring system can be characterized by examining its
behavior to each of the three test inputs.
 What has been found is that different systems can produce
identical forms of response.
 For example, the response of the thermometer to the step
change in temperature might have an identical pattern to a
pressure sensor that is exposed to a step change in pressure.
 Measurement systems can be classified based on their response
into one of three groups
 • Zero Order
 • First Order
 • Second Order
 Each type of system has a different response to each of the
three types of input we have mentioned.
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27 Zero Order Instrument
 Following a step change in the measured quantity at time
t, the instrument output moves immediately to a new
value at the same time instant t, as shown in Figure.
 A potentiometer, which measures motion, is a good
example of such an instrument, where the output voltage
changes instantaneously as the slider is displaced along
the potentiometer track.

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28 First Order Instrument
 The liquid-in-glass thermometer is a good example of a
first order instrument. It is well known that, if a
thermometer at room temperature is plunged into boiling
water, the output e.m.f. does not rise instantaneously to a
level indicating 100°C, but instead approaches a reading
indicating 100°C in a manner similar to that shown in
Figure.
 This is of particular importance in control systems where it
is necessary to take account of the time lag that occurs
between a measured quantity changing in value and the
measuring instrument indicating the change.

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29 Second Order Instrument
 Instruments that require second order differential
equation to describe its dynamic response.
 Example: Force measuring spring scale, galvanometer

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