An electric motor is often used as a discrete control element in a control system if driving a pump, conveyor…
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Although it seems each model of PLC has its own idiosyncratic standard for programming, there does exist an…
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Virtually any mass above absolute zero temperature emits electromagnetic radiation (photons, or light) as a…
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Labwork is an essential part of any science-based curriculum. Here, much improvement may be made over the…
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Those familiar with industrial instrumentation will find much within the electric power industry remarkably…
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Disconnect Switches Disconnects are switches designed to isolate sections of a power system in case of damage…
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One of the fundamental laws of electric circuits is Kirchhoff’s Current Law, which states the algebraic…
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Using filter cells to eliminate wavelengths associated with interfering gases is called positive filtering in…
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Perhaps the most basic and necessary protective relay function is overcurrent: commanding a circuit breaker to…
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Regulating the electric power sent to an electric motor is a task performed by high-speed switching…
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Any physical location in an industrial facility harboring the potential of explosion due to the presence of…
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Classical mechanics (often called Newtonian mechanics in honor of Isaac Newton) deal with forces and motions…
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There are several different methods useful for causing an AC induction motor to brake, or slow down: DC…
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All masses require force to accelerate (we can also think of this in terms of the mass generating a reaction…
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An important type of “accessory” relay, especially for legacy electromechanical protective relays,…
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The simple PLC ladder diagram (LD) commands consist of contacts and coils, arranged in sequences that mimic…
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Circuit breakers used in residential, commercial, and light industrial service are self-tripping devices: they…
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The two “process variables” we rely on most heavily in the field of electrical measurement and…
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A fluid is any substance having the ability to flow: to freely change shape and move under the influence of a…
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A form of protection against faults on long-distance power lines is called distance relaying, so named because…
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Calculus has a reputation for being difficult to learn, and with good reason. The traditional approach to…
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Data-processing modules within FF systems are known as function blocks. Sometimes these blocks serve merely to…
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“Radio” systems use electromagnetic fields to communicate information over long distances through…
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“Feedforward” is a rather under-used control strategy capable of managing a great many types of…
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A 4 to 20 mA current signal represents some signal along a 0 to 100 percent scale. Usually, this scale is…
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Virtually any mass above absolute zero temperature emits electromagnetic radiation (photons, or light) as a…
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Suppose we wished to measure the consumption of propane over time for a large propane storage tank supplying a…
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There are multiple motives for compromising the security of an industrial control system, some of which…
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Perhaps the most valuable skill an instrument technician can possess is the ability to efficiently diagnose…
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Labwork is an essential part of any science-based curriculum. Here, much improvement may be made over the…
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The term “grid” refers to the conductors and equipment interconnecting power sources to power…
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When control valves operate between fully open and fully shut, they serve much the same purpose in process…
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Instrument technicians should not have to concern themselves over the programming details internal to digital…
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Electrical power grids primarily consist of three-phase AC circuits. This means most power lines (transmission…
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The simple PLC ladder diagram (LD) commands consist of contacts and coils, arranged in sequences that mimic…
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Impedance in a series circuit is the orthogonal sum of resistance and reactance: \[Z = \sqrt{R^2 + (X_L -…
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A wise PLC programmer once told me that the first thing any aspiring programmer should learn about the PLC…
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Visualizing the actions of P, I, and D tuning parameters using graphs is extremely useful in predicting the…
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A vertical column of fluid generates a pressure at the bottom of the column owing to the action of gravity on…
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PID control can be a confusing concept to understand. Here, a brief summary of each term within PID (P. I, and…
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