Republic of the Philippines

University of Antique
College of Technology
Sibalom, Antique

ELEXT 5 - INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL DEVICES

Lesson 1:

INTRODUCTION TO INSTRUMENTATION

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
 Explain the meaning and importance of
Instrumentation
 Discuss the history of Instrumentation

ASSIGNMENT:

Please answer the following in a one whole sheet of paper (at

least 3 sentences each).

What is What are the Give atleast five

A.

B.

C.

instrumentation functions of application of

and it's importance Instrumentation? instrumentation in
in the field of electronics
electronics? industry.

INTRODUCTION:

Instrumentation is a technology of measurement which serves not

only science but all branches of engineering, medicine and almost
human endeavour. The knowledge of parameter largely depends
on the measurement. Measuring is basically used to monitor a
process or operation, or as well as the controlling process.
 Republic of the Philippines
University of Antique
College of Technology
Sibalom, Antique

Instrumentation is a technology of using instruments to measure

and control the physical and chemical properties of materials.
(deals with controlling and measuring process variables such as
temperature, level, pressure and flow)

The major problem encountered with any measuring instrument is

error. Therefore, it is obviously necessary to select appropriate
measuring instrument and measuring method which minimises
error. To avoid errors in any experimental work, careful planning,
execution and evaluation of the experiment are essential.

It is also a collective term for measuring instruments, used for

indicating, measuring, and recording physical quantities.
Instrumentation can refer to devices as simple as direct-reading
thermometers, or as complex as multi-sensor components of
industrial control systems.

Instrumentation is used to measure many parameters (physical

values), including:
o Pressure
o Flow
o Temperature
o Levels
o Frequency
o Current
o Voltage

HISTORY OF INSTRUMENTATION

Pre-industrial

Elements of industrial instrumentation have long histories. Scales

for comparing weights and simple pointers to indicate position are
ancient technologies. Some of the earliest measurements were of
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University of Antique
College of Technology
Sibalom, Antique

time. One of the oldest water clocks was found in the tomb of the
ancient Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep I, buried around 1500 BCE.
Improvements were incorporated in the clocks. By 270 BCE they
had the rudiments of an automatic control system device.

In 1663 Christopher Wren presented the Royal Society with a

design for a "weather clock". A drawing shows meteorological
sensors moving pens over paper driven by clockwork. Such
devices did not become standard in meteorology for two
centuries. The concept has remained virtually unchanged as
evidenced by pneumatic chart recorders, where a pressurized
bellows displaces a pen.

Integrating sensors, displays, recorders, and controls was

uncommon until the industrial revolution, limited by both need
and practicality.

Early industrial

The evolution of analogue

control loop signalling from
the pneumatic era to the
electronic era.
Early systems used direct
process connections to
local control panels for
control and indication,
which from the early 1930s
saw the introduction of
pneumatic transmitters
and automatic 3-term (PID)
controllers.

The ranges of pneumatic transmitters were defined by the need

to control valves and actuators in the field. Typically, a signal
ranged from 3 to 15 psi (20 to 100kPa or 0.2 to 1.0 kg/cm2) as a
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College of Technology
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standard, was standardized with 6 to 30 psi occasionally being

used for larger valves.

Transistor electronics enabled wiring to replace pipes, initially

with a range of 20 to 100mA at up to 90V for loop powered
devices, reducing to 4 to 20mA at 12 to 24V in more modern
systems.

A transmitter is a device that produces an output signal, often in

the form of a 4–20 mA electrical current signal, although many
other options using voltage, frequency, pressure, or ethernet are
possible. The transistor was commercialized by the mid-1950s.

Instruments attached to a control system provided signals used to

operate solenoids, valves, regulators, circuit breakers, relays and
other devices. Such devices could control a desired output
variable, and provide either remote monitoring or automated
control capabilities.

Each instrument company introduced their own standard

instrumentation signal, causing confusion until the 4–20 mA range
was used as the standard electronic instrument signal for
transmitters and valves. This signal was eventually standardized
as ANSI/ISA S50, "Compatibility of Analog Signals for Electronic
Industrial Process Instruments", in the 1970s. The transformation
of instrumentation from mechanical pneumatic transmitters,
controllers, and valves to electronic instruments reduced
maintenance costs as electronic instruments were more
dependable than mechanical instruments. This also increased
efficiency and production due to their increase in accuracy.
Pneumatics enjoyed some advantages, being favored in corrosive
and explosive atmospheres.[5]

Automatic process control

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University of Antique
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Example of a single
industrial control loop,
showing continuously
modulated control of
process flow
In the early years of
process control, process
indicators and control
elements such as valves
were monitored by an
operator,that walked
around the unit
adjusting the valves to
obtain the desired
temperatures,
pressures, and flows.

As technology evolved
pneumatic controllers
were invented and mounted in the field that monitored the
process and controlled the valves.

This reduced the amount of time process operators needed to

monitor the process.

Latter years, the actual controllers were moved to a central room

and signals were sent into the control room to monitor the
process and outputs signals were sent to the final control element
such as a valve to adjust the process as needed. These controllers
and indicators were mounted on a wall called a control board. The
operators stood in front of this board walking back and forth
monitoring the process indicators. This again reduced the number
and amount of time process operators were needed to walk
around the units. The most standard pneumatic signal level used
during these years was 3–15 psig.[6]
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University of Antique
College of Technology
Sibalom, Antique

Large integrated computer-based systems

Pneumatic "three term" pneumatic PID
controller, widely used before electronics
became reliable and cheaper and safe to use
in hazardous areas (Siemens Telepneu
Example)

A pre-DCS/SCADA era central control room.

Whilst the controls are centralised in one
place, they are still discrete and not
integrated into one system.

A DCS control room where plant information

and controls are displayed on computer graphics screens. The
operators are seated and can view and control any part of the
process from their screens, whilst retaining a plant overview.
Process control of large industrial plants has evolved through
many stages. Initially, control would be from panels local to the
process plant. However, this required a large
manpower resource to attend to these
dispersed panels, and there was no overall
view of the process. The next logical
development was the transmission of all plant
measurements to a permanently staffed
central control room. Effectively this was the
centralization of all the localized panels, with
the advantages of lower manning levels and
easy overview of the process. Often the
controllers were behind the control room
panels, and all automatic and manual control outputs were
transmitted back to plant.

However, whilst providing a central control

focus, this arrangement was inflexible as each
control loop had its own controller hardware,
and continual operator movement within the
control room was required to view different
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parts of the process. With coming of electronic processors and

graphic displays it became possible to replace these discrete
controllers with computer-based algorithms, hosted on a network
of input/output racks with their own control processors. These
could be distributed around plant, and
Communicate with the graphic display in the control room or
rooms. The distributed control concept was born.

The introduction of DCSs and SCADA allowed easy

interconnection and re-configuration of plant controls such as
cascaded loops and interlocks, and easy interfacing with other
production computer systems. It enabled sophisticated alarm
handling, introduced automatic event logging, removed the need
for physical records such as chart recorders, allowed the control
racks to be networked and thereby located locally to plant to
reduce cabling runs, and provided high level overviews of plant
status and production levels.
FUNCTION AND ADVANTAGES
The three basic functions of instrumentation:

A. Indicating – visualize the process/operation

B. Recording – observe and save the measurement reading
C. Controlling – to control measurement and process

Application

In some cases, the sensor is a very minor element of the

mechanism. Digital cameras and wristwatches might technically
meet the loose definition of instrumentation because they record
and/or display sensed information. Under most circumstances
neither would be called instrumentation, but when used to
measure the elapsed time of a race and to document the winner
at the finish line, both would be called instrumentation.

Household
A very simple example of an instrumentation system is a
mechanical thermostat, used to control a household furnace
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and thus to control room temperature. A typical unit senses

temperature with a bi-metallic strip. It displays temperature by a
needle on the free end of the strip. It activates the furnace by a
mercury switch. As the switch is rotated by the strip, the mercury
makes physical (and thus electrical) contact between electrodes.

Another example of an instrumentation system is a home security

system. Such a system consists of sensors (motion detection,
switches to detect door openings), simple algorithms to detect
intrusion, local control (arm/disarm) and remote monitoring of the
system so that the police can be summoned. Communication is
an inherent part of the design.

Kitchen appliances use sensors for control.

A refrigerator maintains a constant temperature by actuating the

cooling system when the temperature becomes too high.
An automatic ice machine makes ice until a limit switch is thrown.
Pop-up bread toasters allow the time to be set.
Non-electronic gas ovens will regulate the temperature with a
thermostat controlling the flow of gas to the gas burner. These
may feature a sensor bulb sited within the main chamber of the
oven. In addition, there may be a safety cut-off flame supervision
device: after ignition, the burner's control knob must be held for a
short time in order for a sensor to become hot, and permit the
flow of gas to the burner. If the safety sensor becomes cold, this
may indicate the flame on the burner has become extinguished,
and to prevent a continuous leak of gas the flow is stopped.
Electric ovens use a temperature sensor and will turn on heating
elements when the temperature is too low. More advanced ovens
will actuate fans in response to temperature sensors, to distribute
heat or to cool.
A common toilet refills the water tank until a float closes the
valve. The float is acting as a water level sensor.

Automotive
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Modern automobiles have complex instrumentation. In addition to

displays of engine rotational speed and vehicle linear speed,
there are also displays of battery voltage and current, fluid levels,
fluid temperatures, distance traveled, and feedback of various
controls (turn signals, parking brake, headlights, transmission
position). Cautions may be displayed for special problems (fuel
low, check engine, tire pressure low, door ajar, seat belt
unfastened). Problems are recorded so they can be reported to
diagnostic equipment. Navigation systems can provide voice
commands to reach a destination. Automotive instrumentation
must be cheap and reliable over long periods in harsh
environments. There may be independent airbag systems that
contain sensors, logic and actuators. Anti-skid braking systems
use sensors to control the brakes, while cruise control affects
throttle position. A wide variety of services can be provided via
communication links on the OnStar system. Autonomous cars
(with exotic instrumentation) have been shown.

Aircraft
Early aircraft had a few sensors. [7] "Steam gauges" converted air
pressures into needle deflections that could be interpreted as
altitude and airspeed. A magnetic compass provided a sense of
direction. The displays to the pilot were as critical as the
measurements.

A modern aircraft has a far more sophisticated suite of sensors

and displays, which are embedded into avionics systems. The
aircraft may contain inertial navigation systems, global
positioning systems, weather radar, autopilots, and aircraft
stabilization systems. Redundant sensors are used for reliability.
A subset of the information may be transferred to a crash
recorder to aid mishap investigations. Modern pilot displays now
include computer displays including head-up displays.

Air traffic control radar is a distributed instrumentation system.

The ground part sends an electromagnetic pulse and receives an
echo (at least). Aircraft carry transponders that transmit codes on
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reception of the pulse. The system displays an aircraft map

location, an identifier and optionally altitude. The map location is
based on sensed antenna direction and sensed time delay. The
other information is embedded in the transponder transmission.

Laboratory instrumentation
Among the possible uses of the term is a collection of laboratory
test equipment controlled by a computer through an IEEE-488 bus
(also known as GPIB for General Purpose Instrument Bus or HPIB
for Hewlitt Packard Instrument Bus). Laboratory equipment is
available to measure many electrical and chemical quantities.
Such a collection of equipment might be used to automate the
testing of drinking water for pollutants.

TYPICAL COMPONENT OF INSTRUMENTATION

A. SENSOR – measures a physical quantity and converts into a

signal
B. MODIFIER – change the type of signal
C. DISPLAY UNIT – transmitting arrangements

FUNCTIONAL ELEMENT OF INSTRUMENTATION

Republic of the Philippines
University of Antique
College of Technology
Sibalom, Antique