DGC50093

PROCESS
INSTRUMENTATION &
CONTROL
Department of Petrochemical Engineering
Rusmay Bin Abdullah
Hj. Mustafa Kamal Bin Surif
Mohd Azhar Bin Ibrahim
2.0 MESUREMENT OF PROCESS VARIABLES

Upon completion of this topic, students should be

able to:
 Deduce the Pressure Measurement
 Deduce the Level Measurement
 Deduce the Flow Measurement
 Pressure Measurement
• Pressure is the force exerted by gases and liquids due to their
weight, such as the pressure of the atmosphere on the surface
of the earth and the pressure containerized liquids exert on the
bottom and walls of a container.
• Pressure units are a measure of the force acting over a
specified area.
• It is most commonly expressed in 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒
– pounds per square inch (psi) 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 =
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎
– pounds per square foot(psf) in English units;
– Pascals (Pa) in metric units, 𝐹
𝑃=
– Newtons per square meter (N/m 2 ). 𝐴
Example:
The liquid in a container has a total weight of 152 kN, and the container
has a 8.9 m2 base. What is the pressure on the base?.

Solution:
152 𝑘𝑁 𝑘𝑁 =
𝑃= = 17.08 2 17.08 𝑘𝑃𝑎
8.9 𝑚2 𝑚

Example:
The liquid in a container has a total weight of 250 lb; the container has
a 3.0 ft2 base. What is the pressure in pounds per square inch?

Solution:
250 𝑙𝑏 𝑙𝑏
𝑃= = 0.579 2 = 0.579 𝑝𝑠𝑖
3.0 𝑓𝑡2 × 144 𝑖𝑛2Τ𝑓𝑡2 𝑖𝑛
Hydrostatic Pressure
• The pressure at a specific depth in a liquid is termed hydrostatic pressure.
• The pressure increases as the depth in a liquid increases.
• This increase is due to the weight of the fluid above the measurement point the
pressure p is given by:

𝑃 = 𝜌𝑔ℎ = 𝛾ℎ

Where, ρ is the density of the liquid, ρwater =1000kg/m3

g is the acceleration due to gravity, g = 9.81m/s2
γ is specific weight (lb/ft 3 in English units, or N/m3 in SI units).
h is the vertical height or head.

Example:
What is the depth in a lake, if the pressure is 0.1 MPa?

Solution:
𝑃=𝜌𝑔ℎ
𝑃 0.1 × 106
ℎ= = = 10.19 𝑚
𝜌𝑔 1000 × 9.81
Example:
What is the pressure at the base of a water tower that has 35m of head?

Solution:
𝑃 = 𝜌𝑔ℎ
= 1000 × 9.81 × 35 = 343.35 𝑘𝑃a

Specific Gravity
• The specific gravity (SG) of a liquid or solid is defined as the density of a
material divided by the density of water.
• Specific gravity can also be defined as the specific weight of the material
divided by the specific weight of water at a specified temperature; specific
gravity is a dimensionless parameter.
𝜌𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝛾𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙
S𝐺 = =
𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝛾𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
Example:
What is the specific gravity of glycerin, if the specific weight of glycerin is 12.4
kN/m3?

Solution:

𝛾𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 12.4
S𝐺 = = = 1.27
𝛾𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 9.8

Pressure Conversions

Exercise:
1. What pressure in Psi corresponds to
98.5kPa?
2. What is the gauge pressure in (a)
kPa, and (b) N/cm2, at a distance
5.5 ft below the surface of a column
of water?
 Vacuum pressure - Pressures below
atmospheric pressure are called
vacuum pressures and are
measured by vacuum gages that
indicate the difference between
the atmospheric pressure and the
absolute pressure.

 Atmospheric pressure is the

pressure on the Earth’s surface,
due to the weight of the gases in
the Earth’s atmosphere (14.7 psi or
101.36 kPa absolute).

 The pressure decreases above sea level. For example, at an elevation of 5,000 ft, it
has dropped to approximately 12.2 psi (84.122 kPa).

 Absolute pressure is the pressure measured from absolute zero pressure. The pressure
that would occur at absolute vacuum, or zero pounds per square inch (psi).
𝑃𝑎𝑏𝑠 = 𝑃𝑔𝑎𝑢𝑔𝑒 + 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚 .
 Gauge pressure is the pressure measured with respect to atmospheric pressure
and is normally expressed in psig or kPa(g).

 Differential pressure is the pressure measured with respect to another pressure

and is expressed as the difference between the two values. This represents two
points in a pressure or flow system, and is referred to as the “delta p,” or ∆p.

Example:
The atmospheric pressure is 14.5 Psi. If the absolute pressure is 2,865.6 Psf, what is the
gauge pressure?

𝑃𝑎𝑏𝑠 = 𝑃𝑔𝑎𝑢𝑔𝑒 + 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚

𝑃𝑔𝑎𝑢𝑔𝑒 = 𝑃𝑎𝑏𝑠 − 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚
1𝑓𝑡2
𝑃𝑔𝑎𝑢𝑔𝑒 = 28656.6 𝑙𝑏ൗ𝑓𝑡2 × 2
− 14.5 = 20.06𝑝𝑠𝑖 − 14.5𝑝𝑠𝑖
144𝑖𝑛
= 5.56 𝑝𝑠𝑖
Example:
The atmospheric pressure is 14.5 psi. If a pressure gauge reads 1200 psf, what is the
absolute pressure?

𝑃𝑎𝑏𝑠 = 𝑃𝑔𝑎𝑢𝑔𝑒 + 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚

1𝑓𝑡2
𝑃𝑎𝑏𝑠 = 1200 𝑙𝑏ൗ𝑓𝑡2 × 2
+ 14.5𝑝𝑠𝑖 = 8.4𝑝𝑠𝑖 + 14.5𝑝𝑠𝑖 = 5.56 𝑝𝑠𝑖𝑎
144𝑖𝑛
Self Assessment
1. What pressure in psi corresponds to 98.5 kPa?
2. Convert a pressure of 150 cm. water, to a pressure expressed in pascal.
3. What is the specific gravity of mercury if the specific weight of mercury is
846.3 lb/ft3?
4. The psia pressure instrument gives the reading as 36.8 psi. If the
atmospheric pressure is 16 psi, then calculate the corresponding gauge
pressure.
5. What is the pressure at the base of a water tower which has 50 ft of head?
6. A diver is currently located at depth of 50 m in the ocean.
a) What is the gauge pressure at this point.
b) What is the absolute pressure.
The density of sea water is 1025 kg/m3
Buoyancy
 Buoyancy is the upward force
exerted on an object immersed
or floating in a liquid.
 The weight is less than it is in air,
due to the weight of the
displaced fluid.
 The upward force on the object
causes the weight loss, called
the buoyant force and is given
by:

𝐵 = 𝛾𝑉
where B is the buoyant force in
pounds/newtons,
𝑊𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝛾 is the specific weight in pounds
V𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 = per cubic foot/ newtons per
𝛾𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
cubic meter,
V is the volume of the displaced
liquid in cubic feet/cubic meters.
Example:
What is the buoyant force on a plastic cube with 2.5m sides, floating in water, if
three-quarters of the block is submerged?

Solution:
𝐵 = 𝛾𝑉
3
𝐵 = 9.81 × 1000 × 2.5 × 2.5 × 2.5 = 114.8 𝑘𝑁
4

Example:
What is the apparent weight of a 3.7m3 block of wood totally immersed in
acetone? Assume the specific weight of wood is 8.5 kN/m3.

Solution:
𝑚 𝑤 = 𝑚𝑔
𝑊𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑖𝑟 = 𝛾𝑉 = 8.5𝑘 3.7 = 31.45𝑘𝑁 𝜌=
𝐵𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 = 𝛾𝑉 = 7.74𝑘(3.7) = 28.64 𝑘𝑁 𝑉 = 𝜌𝑉𝑔
𝑚 = 𝜌𝑉 = 𝛾𝑉
𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 = 31.45𝑘 − 28.64𝑘 = 2.81 𝑘𝑁
Example:
Find the position of centre of buoyancy for a wooden block of width 3.5 m and
depth 1 m, when it floats horizontally in water. The density of wooden block is 850
kg/m3 and its length 7.0 m.

Solution:

𝑊𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 = 𝛾𝑉 = (850 × 9.81) 7 × 3.5 × 1 = 204.29𝑘𝑁

𝑊𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 204.29
V𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 = = = 20.82𝑚3
𝛾𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 9.81

V𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 = w × 𝑙 × ℎ

𝑉𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 20.82
ℎ= = = 0.85𝑚
𝑤 × 𝑙 3.5 × 7
Self Assessment
1. A cubical block is dipped completely in water. Each edge of the block is
1cm in length. Find the buoyant force acting on the cubical block.
2. A block of wood with a density of 35.3 lb/ft3 floats in a liquid with
three-fourths of its volume submersed. What is the specific gravity of
the liquid?
3. A piece of wood floats in water so that two-thirds of its volume V is
beneath the water level. Repeat that experiment and place the
wood in oil. This time, the submerged volume in oil is 0.8V. Find the
density of
a) the wood and
b) the oil.
Pascal’s Law
• Pascal’s Law states that the pressure applied to a fluid in a closed container is
transmitted equally to all points in the fluid and act in all directions of the
container.
• Pascal’s Law is applicable to both solids and liquids.

𝑃1 = 𝑃2

𝐹1 𝐹2
=
𝐴1 𝐴2
Example:
Two pistons of a hydraulic lift have diameters of 60 cm and 5 cm. What is the force
exerted by the larger piston when 50 N is placed on the smaller piston?

Solution:

𝐹1 𝐹2
=
𝐴1 𝐴2

𝐹1 𝐹2
=
𝐷1 2 𝐷2 2

𝐹1 50
=
60 2 5 2

50 2
𝐹1 = × 60 = 7200 𝑁
5 2
Example:
if the area of the small piston AS is 8.2 in2 and the area of the large piston AL is 2.3
ft 2, what is the force FL on the large piston, if the force FS on the small piston is 25N?

Solution:

𝐹𝐿 𝐹𝑆
=
𝐴𝐿 𝐴𝑆

𝐹1 25
=
2.3 × 144 8.2

25
𝐹1 = × 331.2 = 1009.76 𝑁
8.2
MEASURING INSTRUMENT
• Several instruments are available for pressure measurement, these
instruments can be divided into pressure measuring devices and vacuum
measuring devices.

manometers
• Manometers are good examples
of pressure measuring instruments,
although they are not as
common as they previously were,
because of the development of
new, smaller, more rugged, and
easier to use pressure sensors .

∆𝑃 = 𝑃 − 𝑃0 = 𝛾ℎ
Example:
The liquid in a manometer has a specific weight of 8.5 kN/m3. If the liquid rises 83
cm higher in the lower pressure leg, what is difference in the pressure between the
higher and the lower legs?

Solution:

83 𝑘𝑁
∆𝑃 = 𝛾ℎ = 8.5 × = 7.06 2
100 𝑚

Example:
What is the liquid density in a manometer, if the difference in the liquid levels in the
manometer tubes is 1.35m, and the differential pressure between the tubes is 7.85
kPa?

Solution:

∆𝑃 = 𝛾ℎ
∆𝑃 7.85𝑘
𝜌= ∴𝜌= = 592.74𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
ℎ𝑔 1.35 × 9.81
Self Assessment
1. Calculate the pressure at a depth of 3.0 m in a swimming pool and the
atmosphere pressure is 1.013 x 105 Pa.
2. In a hydraulic system, a piston with a cross-sectional area of 32 square
centimeters pushes on an incompressible liquid with a force of 70 newton.
The far end of the hydraulic pipe connects to a second piston with
diameter 40 centimeters. Determine the force on the second piston?
Bourdon tube pressure gauge
 The Bourdon tube pressure gauge consists of a circular tube which is bent
over an angle of generally 270°, and of which one end is closed and the
other is connected to the process pressure.
 The closed end can move freely. This
movement is transmitted via a
transmission mechanism to the pointer of
the pressure gauge.
 With the rack and pinion of the
transmission mechanism, the movement
of the Bourdon tube may be amplified so
that the pointer rotates from start to end
of the scale.
 The Bourdon tube behaves like a spring
which is deformed by the internal pressure
in the tube.
 In practice this measuring principle can
be found for measuring ranges between
0.6 bar (9 psi or 60 kPa) and 7000 bar
(105,000 psi or 700,000 kPa).

 The C-shaped tube is used for the lower

measurement ranges up to about 60 bar
(900 psi, or 6000 kPa).

 For higher measuring ranges spiral or

helical Bourdon tubes are used.
Bellows pressure gauge
 Bellows are thin-walled metallic cylinders, with deep convolutions, of which
one end is sealed and the other end remains open.
 The closed end can move freely while the open end is fixed.
 When pressure is applied to the closed
end, the bellows will be compressed.
 The closed end will move upwards and
the link, which is the rod in between the
closed end of the bellows and the
transmission mechanism, will go up and
rotate the pointer.
 Advantages
i. Its cost is moderate.
ii. It is able to deliver high force.
iii. It is adaptable for absolute and differential pressures.
iv. It is good to low-to moderate range.

 Disadvantages
i. It needs ambient temperature compensation.
ii. It is unsuitable for high pressures.
iii. The availability of construction metals is limited.
Diaphragm pressure gauge
 The diaphragm pressure gauge consists of a circular membrane, made
from sheet metal of precise dimensions, which can either be flat or
corrugated.
 The diaphragm is mechanically
connected to the transmission mechanism
which will amplify the small deflections of
the diaphragm and transfer them to the
pointer.
 The process pressure is applied to the
lower side of the diaphragm, while the
upper side is at atmospheric pressure.
 The differential pressure arising across the
diaphragm, lifts up the diaphragm and
puts the pointer in motion.
 Diaphragm pressure gauges are used for relative pressure as well as for
vacuum, compound and differential pressure applications.
Differential Pressure Transmitters
 The most common and useful industrial pressure
measuring instrument is the differential pressure
transmitter.
 This equipment will sense the difference in pressure
between two ports and produce an output signal with
reference to a calibrated pressure range.
 Pressure sensing element(s), the mechanical and/or
electronic components necessary to translate the sensed
pressure into a standard instrumentation signal (e.g. 3-15
PSI, 4-20 mA).
Direct Pressure sensing element
 DP transmitter applications
There are unlimited industrial applications of Differential Pressure
Transmitters.

i. Oil and Gas flow metering in onshore, offshore and subsea

applications.
ii. Water and effluent treatment plants. It is largely used to
monitor filters in these plants.
iii. It is used to monitor Sprinkler Systems.
iv. Remote sensing of Heating Systems for Steam or Hot Water.
v. Pressure drops across valves can be monitored.
vi. Pump control monitoring.
MEASURING PROCESS VESSEL CLOGGING

 In many industrial plants, it is common to find DP transmitters connected

across process vessels especially those with the tendency to be clogged
or become dirty.
• The DP transmitter is used here to indicate
when the process vessel will become dirty
and be due for cleaning.
• In these applications, the DP transmitter is
used to measure the difference in pressure
across the process vessel e.g a filter, a heat
exchanger, or a chemical reactor.
• The diagram shows a common scheme for
this kind of application.
• The high side of the DP transmitter connects
to the upstream side of the filter, and the
low side of the transmitter to the
downstream side of the filter. This way,
increased filter clogging will result in an
increased transmitter output.
MEASURING POSITIVE GAUGE PRESSURE

• DP instruments may also serve as simple gauge pressure instruments if

needed, responding to pressures in excess of atmosphere.

• If we simply connect the “high” side of a

DP instrument to a process vessel using
an impulse tube, while leaving the “low”
side vented to atmosphere, the
instrument will interpret any positive
pressure in the vessel as a positive
difference between the vessel and
atmosphere.
MEASURING ABSOLUTE PRESSURE

• Absolute pressure is defined as the difference between a given fluid

pressure and a perfect vacuum, as opposed to gauge pressure which is the
difference between a fluid’s pressure and the atmospheric air pressure.

• We may build an absolute pressure

sensing instrument by taking a DP
instrument and sealing the “low” side of
its pressure-sensing element in
connection to a vacuum chamber.
• This way, any pressure greater than a
perfect vacuum will register as a positive
difference.
MEASURING ABSOLUTE PRESSURE

• The same principle of connecting one port of a DP device to a process and

venting the other works well as a means of measuring vacuum (pressures
below that of atmosphere).

• All we need to do is connect the “low”

side to the vacuum process and vent
the “high” side to atmosphere.
• Any pressure in the process vessel less
than atmospheric will register to the DP
transmitter as a positive difference (Phigh
with greater than Plow).
• Thus, the stronger the vacuum in the
process vessel, the greater the signal
output by the transmitter.
Q&A