INSTRUMENTATION & MEASUREMENT

By:

Engr. Tarique R. Memon

 Books Recommended
• Modern Electronic Instrumentation &
Measurements Techniques
– By: W.D Cooper
• A Course in Electrical and Electronic
Measurements and Instrumentation
– A.K. Sawhney
• Introduction to Instrumentation and
Measurements.
– Northrop
 Instrument
A device used to determine the value of or
magnitude of a quantity or variable
or
An instrument is a device that measures and/or
regulates physical quantity/process variables such as
flow, temperature, level, or pressure.
tools researchers use to collect data for research
studies (alternatively called “tests”)
Instruments contd..
 Instrument VS Tools
• Tools are the devices required to perform and/or
expedite a task. There are various types of tools
including cutting tools, moving tools, shaping tools,
fastening tools, guiding & measuring tools.

Instruments are the devices basically used to

measure, record or identify any entity. It includes
devices used in following sectors: electrical or
electronic or scientific , medical, laboratory,
vehicle, weather and measurement.
 Measurement
• It is the process by which one can convert
physical parameters to meaning full value.
• Compare unknown quantity and pre defined
standards.
Basic requirements of Measurment
1. Standard used for comparison purpose must
be accurately defined and should be
commonly accepted.
2. The apparatus used and the method adopted
must be provable
 Methods of Measurement
Measurement of any quantity involves two
parameters:
the magnitude of the value and
unit of measurement.
 For instance, if we have to measure the temperature we can say
it is 10 degree C. Here the value “10” is the magnitude
 “C” which stands for “Celsius” is the unit of measurement.
Methods
1. Direct
2. In-direct
 Direct Method
Direct measurement' refers to measuring exactly the thing
that you're looking to measure
compare the quantity directly with the primary or secondary
standard.
Here we are comparing the quantity to be measured directly with the standard.
• Weighing scale
– to measure the length of the bar,
 measure it with the help of the measuring tape or scale that acts as the
secondary standard.
The primary standards are the original standards made from certain standard
values or formulas
secondary standards are made from the primary standards
the strain in the bar due to applied force
directly.
to record the temperature and pressure in the
deep depths of the ground or in some far
off remote places.

In such cases indirect methods of measurements

are used.
 In-direct Method
• There are number of quantities that cannot be
measured directly by using some instrument.
– Measure the wind's actual speed,
– With windmill, one can measure how much power
the windmill is making.
• Then, using this information, u could work
backwards to figure out how fast the wind
must be. This would be an example in-direct
method
In the indirect method of measurements some transducing
device, called transducer, is used, which is coupled to a chain of
the connecting apparatus that forms the part of the measuring
system. In this system the quantity which is to be measured
(input) is converted into some other measurable quantity
(output) by the transducer. The transducer used is such that the
input and the output are proportional to each other. The
readings obtained from the transducer are calibrated to as per
the relations between the input and the output thus the
reading obtained from the transducer is the actual value of the
quantity to be measured. Such type of conversion is often
necessary to make the desired information intelligible.
 Classification of Instruments
• Mechanical instruments
• Electrical
• Electronic
 Types of Instruments
Indicating Instruments. Indicating instruments are those instruments
which indicate the magnitude of a quantity being measured. They
generally make use of a dial and a pointer for this purpose. Ordinary
voltmeters, ammeters and wattmeters belong to this category.
Recording Instruments: Recording instruments give a continuous
record of the quantity being measured over a specified time interval.
The record may be used for future reference or computation work. The
variations of the quantity being measured are recorded usually on a
sheet of paper.
Integrating Instruments; Integrating instruments totalize events over
a specified period of time. The summation, which they give, is the
product of time and an electrical quantity. The integration is generally
given by a register consisting of a set of a pointers, dial and displays.
 Characteristics of instruments
• Static Characteristics: The static characteristics are
defined for the instruments which measure quantities which
do not vary with time.
• Dynamic characteristics
 Static characteristics

• Accuracy
• Sesitivity
• Resolution
• Error
• Range
• Linearity
• Threshold
• drift
 Accuracy
• The quality of being near to the true value
• The accuracy of a measurement system is the
degree of closeness of measurements of
a quantity to that quantity's actual (true) value
 STATIC CHARACTERISTICS

Example :
A pressure gauge with a range between
0-1 bar with an accuracy of ± 5% fs
(full-scale) has a maximum error of:
5 x 1 bar = ± 0.05 bar
100
Notes: It is essential to choose an
equipment which has a suitable operating
range.
 STATIC CHARACTERISTICS

Example :
A pressure gauge with a range between
0 - 10 bar is found to have an error of
± 0.15 bar when calibrated by the
manufacturer.
Calculate :
a. The error percentage of the gauge.
b. The error percentage when the
reading obtained is 2.0 bar.
 STATIC CHARACTERISTICS

Answer :
a. Error Percentage = ± 0.15 bar x 100 = ± 1.5%
10.0 bar
b. Error Percentage = ± 0.15 bar x 100 = ± 7.5 %
2.0 bar

• The gauge is not suitable for use for low range

reading.
• Alternative : use gauge with a suitable range.
 STATIC CHARACTERISTICS
Example :
Two pressure gauges (pressure gauge A and B) have a
full scale accuracy of ± 5%. Sensor A has a range of
0-1 bar and Sensor B 0-10 bar. Which gauge is more
suitable to be used if the reading is 0.9 bar?

Answer :
Sensor A :
Equipment max error = ± 5 x 1 bar = ± 0.05 bar
100
Equipment accuracy
@ 0.9 bar ( in %) = ± 0.05 bar x 100 = ± 5.6%
0.9 bar
 STATIC CHARACTERISTICS

Sensor B :
Equipment max error = ± 5 x 10 bar = ± 0.5 bar
100
Equipment accuracy
@ 0.9 bar ( in %) = ± 0.5 bar x 100 = ± 55%
0.9 bar
Conclusion :
Sensor A is more suitable to use at a reading of 0.9 bar
because the error percentage (± 5.6%) is smaller compared
to the percentage error of Sensor B (± 55%).
 Repeatability

The ability of a measuring instrument to give identical

indications, or responses, for repeated applications of the
same value of the measured quantity under the same
conditions of use.

The quantitative definition of repeatability may be defined as:

the half range random uncertainty of a typical measurement

under specific conditions of use and at a defined level of
confidence.
 Accuracy and Precision

Low accuracy High accuracy High accuracy

High Precision low Precision High Precision
 TOLERANCE

• Closely related to accuracy of an

equipment where the accuracy of an
equipment is sometimes referred to in
the form of tolerance limit.
• Defined as the maximum error
expected in an instrument.
• Explains the maximum deviation of an
output component at a certain value.
 RANGE OF SPAN

• Defined as the range of reading between

minimum value and maximum value for
the measurement of an instrument.
• Has a positive value e.g..:
The range of span of an instrument
which has a reading range of –100°C to
100 °C is 200 °C.
 BIAS

• Constant error which occurs during the

measurement of an instrument.
• This error is usually rectified through calibration.
Example :
A weighing scale always gives a bias reading. This
equipment always gives a reading of 1 kg even
without any load applied. Therefore, if A with a
weight of 70 kg weighs himself, the given reading
would be 71 kg. This would indicate that there is
a constant bias of 1 kg to be corrected.
 Linearity

• Most instruments are specified to function over a particular

range and the instruments can be said to be linear when
incremental changes in the input and output are constant over
the specified range.
NON LINEAR SCALES
 Resolution

• This is defined as the smallest input

increment change that gives some small
but definite numerical change in the
output.
 Threshold

• If the instrument input is very gradually increased from zero

there will be a minimum value required to give a detectable
output change. This minimum value defines the threshold of
the instrument
Output

input
 Readability

• This is defined as the ease with which readings

may be taken with an instrument. Readability
difficulties may often occur due to parallax
errors when an observer is noting the position
of a pointer on a calibrated scale.
 Range
The ‘scale range’ is defined as the difference between the
nominal values of the measured quantities corresponding to
the terminal scale marks. This is normally expressed in the
form ‘A’ to ‘B’ where A is the minimum scale value and B the
maximum scale value.

The ‘instrument range’ is the total range of values which an

instrument is capable of measuring. In a single range
instrument this corresponds to the scale range. In a multi-
range instrument the difference is taken between the
maximum scale value for the scale of highest values and the
minimum scale value for the scale of lowest values, provided
that adjacent ranges overlap
 Drift

• Zero drift is variation in the output of an

instrument which is not caused by any change
in the input; it is commonly caused by internal
temperature changes and component
instability.

• Sensitivity drift defines the amount by which

instrument’s sensitivity varies as ambient
conditions change.
 37

Output Output

sensitivity
drift
zero
drift

input input

sensitivity
Output
drift

zero
drift

input
 Zero stability

• This is a measure of the ability of the instrument to return to

zero reading after the measurand has returned to zero and
other variations such as temperature, pressure, vibration, etc.
have been removed
 Dead band

• This is the range of different input values over which there is no

change in output value. This is produced by friction, in the
instrument.
 8. DEAD SPACE / DEAD BAND

Output
Reading

- +

Measured
Variables

Dead Space

• Defined as the range of input reading when there

is no change in output (unresponsive system).
 Sensitivity

• This is the relationship between a change in

the output reading for a given change of the
input. (This relationship may be linear or non-
linear.)

• Sensitivity is often known as scale factor or

instrument magnification and an instrument
with a large sensitivity (scale factor) will
indicate a large movement of the indicator for
a small input change.
 7. SENSIVITY
• Defined as the ratio of change in output towards
the change in input at a steady state condition.
• Sensitivity (K) = Δθο
Δθi
Δθο : change in output; Δθi : change in input
Example 1:
The resistance value of a Platinum Resistance
Thermometer changes when the temperature
increases. Therefore, the unit of sensitivity for
this equipment is Ohm/°C.
 Sensitivity

Most sensitive

Variation of the physical variables

 TYPES OF ERROR

• Types of error

1) Gross error/human error

2) Systematic Error
3) Random Error
 TYPES OF ERROR

1) Gross Error
 cause by human mistakes in reading/using instruments
 may also occur due to incorrect adjustment of the instrument and the
computational mistakes
 cannot be treated mathematically
 cannot eliminate but can minimize
 Eg: Improper use of an instrument.
 This error can be minimized by taking proper care in reading and
recording measurement parameter.
 In general, indicating instruments change ambient conditions to some
extent when connected into a complete circuit.
 Therefore, several readings (at three readings) must be taken to minimize
the effect of ambient condition changes.
 TYPES OF STATIC ERROR (cont)

2) Systematic Error
- due to shortcomings of the instrument (such as
defective or worn parts, ageing or effects of the
environment on the instrument)
• In general, systematic errors can be subdivided into static and dynamic
errors.
– Static – caused by limitations of the measuring device or the physical
laws governing its behavior.
– Dynamic – caused by the instrument not responding very fast enough to
follow the changes in a measured variable.
 TYPES OF STATIC ERROR (cont)

- 3 types of systematic error :-

(i) Instrumental error
(ii) Environmental error
(iii) Observational error
 TYPES OF STATIC ERROR (cont)

(i) Instrumental error

- inherent while measuring instrument because of
their mechanical structure (eg: in a D’Arsonval meter, friction in
the bearings of various moving component, irregular spring tension,
stretching of spring, etc)
- error can be avoid by:
(a) selecting a suitable instrument for the particular
measurement application
(b) apply correction factor by determining
instrumental error
(c) calibrate the instrument against standard
 TYPES OF STATIC ERROR (cont)

(ii) Environmental error

- due to external condition effecting the
measurement including surrounding area condition
such as change in temperature, humidity,
barometer pressure, etc
- to avoid the error :-
(a) use air conditioner
(b) sealing certain component in the instruments
(c) use magnetic shields

(iii) Observational error

- introduce by the observer
- most common : parallax error and estimation error (while reading the
scale)
- Eg: an observer who tend to hold his head too far to the left
while reading the position of the needle on the scale.
 TYPES OF STATIC ERROR (cont)

3) Random error
- due to unknown causes, occur when all systematic
error has accounted
- accumulation of small effect, require at high degree of
accuracy
- can be avoid by
(a) increasing number of reading
(b) use statistical means to obtain best approximation
of true value

After calculating all systematic errors, it is found that there are still some errors
in measurement are left. These errors are known as random errors. Some of
the reasons of the appearance of these errors are known but still some
reasons are unknown. Hence we cannot fully eliminate these kinds of error.
 Calibration
• The act of checking or adjusting (by
comparison with a standard) the accuracy of a
measuring instrument.
HOW FREQUENTLY SHOULD AN INSTRUMENT BE CALIBRATED.

• all measuring devices-whether they are

simple, or sophisticated-change characteristics
with time; the issue is how much do they
change?

• the required uncertainty of measurement

should be assessed
 DO ALL MEASURING INSTRUMENTS NEED TO BE
CALIBRATED?

• There are situations where an instrument

need not be calibrated,
– its readings are’ for information only’
– and their accuracy has little or no impact on the
process or service being provided.
– Economic issues.
Calibration is required for:
• Testing a new instrument
• Testing an instrument after it has been repaired or modified
• Periodic testing of instruments
• Testing after the specific usage has elapsed
• Prior to and/or after a critical measurement
• When observations are not accurate or instrument indicators do
not match the output of a surrogate instrument
• After events such as:
– An instrument has had a shock, vibration, or exposure to adverse
conditions, which can put it out of calibration or damage it.
– Sudden weather changes
 Risk Involved in Not Calibrating an
Instrument
• Safety procedure: In case of instruments involving perishable
products such as food or thermometers with area of sensitive
nature, uncalibrated instruments may cause potential safety
hazards.
• Wastage: If the instrument is not perfectly calibrated, it might
lead to potential wastage of resources and time consumed in
the operations, resulting in an overall increase in expenses.
• Faulty or Questionable Quality: If the instrument is improperly
calibrated, the chances of faulty or questionable quality of
finished goods arises. Calibration helps maintain the quality in
production at different stages, which gets compromised if any
discrepancy arises.
 • Fines or litigations: Customers who have incurred
damage may return the product against a full refund,
which is still alright; but if they go for litigation due
to damages, you could be up for serious costs in
terms of reputation and restitution payments.
• Increased downtime: Poor quality of finished goods
is the first indicator of disrepair in your equipment.
Regular calibration programs identify warning signs
early, allowing you to take action before any further
damage is caused.
Source:http://www.engineering.com/ElectronicsDesign/ElectronicsDesignArticles/
ArticleID/6098/Why-Calibrate-an-Instrument.aspx
Where to get calibration Requirements
• ?????
Operating forces in indicating instruments

• 1. Deflecting Force
• 2. Controling force
• 3. damping force
 Deflecting force
• moving the pointer from its zero position.

• converts the electric current or potential into

a mechanical force called deflecting force
 Controlling force

• To produce a force equal and opposite of the

deflection force at the final steady position of
pointer in order to make the deflection of the
pointer definite for a particular magnitude of
current.

• • To bring the moving system back to zero when the

force causing the instrument moving system to
deflects is removed.
 Damping force

• It should come to rest at a position where the

deflecting force is balanced by the controlling force

• the deflecting and controlling forces are produced by

systems which have inertia

• the moving system cannot immediately settle at its final

position but overshoots or swings ahead of it.
• Pointer thus oscillates and take time to stable
 Voltmeters and Ampere Meters
• Permanent magnet moving coil
instruments(PMMC)
• Moving Iron instruments