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Analytical Measurements of Chemical Compositions

Analytical Measurements of Chemical Compositions

A great many chemical composition measurements may be made indirectly by means of electricity, if those…


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Atomic Theory and Chemical Symbols

Atomic Theory and Chemical Symbols

The three “elementary” particles of matter comprising all atoms are electrons, protons, and…


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Feedforward with Dynamic Compensation

Feedforward with Dynamic Compensation

As we have seen, feedforward control is a way to improve the stability of a feedback control system in the…


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Basic Feedback Control Principles

Basic Feedback Control Principles

Feedback Control System Components Before we begin our discussion on process control, we must define a few key…


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Safety Instrumented Functions and Systems

Safety Instrumented Functions and Systems

A Safety Instrumented Function, or SIF, is one or more components designed to execute a specific…


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Energy in Chemical Reactions

Energy in Chemical Reactions

A chemical reaction resulting in a net release of energy is called exothermic. Conversely, a chemical reaction…


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Chemical Reactor Temperature Control Example

Chemical Reactor Temperature Control Example

Sometimes we encounter a diversity of instrument signal standards in one control system. Such is the case with…


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Wastewater Disinfection Example

Wastewater Disinfection Example

The final step in treating wastewater before releasing it into the natural environment is to kill any harmful…


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Formulae for Common Chemical Compounds

Formulae for Common Chemical Compounds

Most of these formulae appear in molecular chemical form rather than structural form. For example, ethanol…


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Colorimetric and Potentiometric pH Measurement

Colorimetric and Potentiometric pH Measurement

pH is the measurement of the hydrogen ion activity in a liquid solution. It is one of the most common forms of…


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Safety Gas Analyzers

Safety Gas Analyzers

Process analyzers measure the concentration of specific substances for the purpose of measuring and/or…


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Motives for Compromising the Security of an Industrial Control System

Motives for Compromising the Security of an Industrial Control System

There are multiple motives for compromising the security of an industrial control system, some of which…


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Process and Instrument Diagrams

Process and Instrument Diagrams

The next level of detail is the Process and Instrument Diagram, or P&ID. Here, we see a “zooming…


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Tuning PID Controllers

Tuning PID Controllers

Learning how to tune PID controllers is a skill born of much practice. Regardless of how thoroughly you may…


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Ladder Diagram (LD) Programming Contacts and Coils

Ladder Diagram (LD) Programming Contacts and Coils

In the United States, the most common language used to program PLCs is Ladder Diagram (LD), also known as…


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Chemical Reactor Temperature Control Example

Chemical Reactor Temperature Control Example

Sometimes we encounter a diversity of instrument signal standards in one control system. Such is the case with…


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Limit, Selector, and Override Controls

Limit, Selector, and Override Controls

Another category of control strategies involves the use of signal relays or function blocks with the ability…


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Hand Switches and Stackable Switches

Hand Switches and Stackable Switches

A hand switch is exactly what the name implies: an electrical switch actuated by a person’s hand motion.…


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Vibration Sensors

Vibration Sensors

Sensors used to measure vibration come in three basic types: displacement, velocity, and acceleration.…


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Understanding How Three-phase Electric Motors Work

Understanding How Three-phase Electric Motors Work

The key to understanding how three-phase electric motors work is to have an accurate mental picture of the…


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Quantitative PID Tuning Procedures

Quantitative PID Tuning Procedures

A quantitative PID tuning procedure is a step-by-step approach leading directly to a set of numerical values…


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Teaching Technical Theory

Teaching Technical Theory

Learning is not merely a process of information transfer. It is first and foremost a transformation of…


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Practical PID Controller Features

Practical PID Controller Features

In order for any PID controller to be practical, it must be able to do more than just implement the PID…


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Function Block Diagram (FBD) Programming

Function Block Diagram (FBD) Programming

(Will be addressed in future versions of this book)


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Molecular Quantities

Molecular Quantities

Sample sizes of chemical substances are often measured in moles. One mole of a substance is defined as a…


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New Content

New Content

Coy, John J. et. al. (December 2012) Sampled graphic illustrations from his NASA Reference Publication…


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Directional Overcurrent (67) Protection

Directional Overcurrent (67) Protection

While 50 and 51 (instantaneous and time overcurrent) relay functions monitor line current magnitude and guard…


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Introduction to Inductors and Inductance

Introduction to Inductors and Inductance

Any conductor possesses a characteristic called inductance: the ability to store energy in the form of a…


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Numerical Integration

Numerical Integration

As we have seen, the concept of integration is finding the accumulation of one variable multiplied by another…


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Force-balance Pressure Transmitters

Force-balance Pressure Transmitters

An important legacy technology for all kinds of continuous measurement is the self-balancing system. A…


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Dampers and Louvres

Dampers and Louvres

A damper (otherwise known as a louvre) is a multi-element flow control device generally used to throttle large…


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On/off Electric Motor Control Circuits

On/off Electric Motor Control Circuits

An electric motor is often used as a discrete control element in a control system if driving a pump, conveyor…


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National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Traceability

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Traceability

As defined previously, calibration means the comparison and adjustment (if necessary) of an instrument’s…


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The International System of Units

The International System of Units

The very purpose of physics is to quantitatively describe and explain the physical world in as few terms as…


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Boiler Water Level Control System Example

Boiler Water Level Control System Example

Steam boilers are very common in industry, principally because steam power is so useful. Common uses for steam…


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Assessing Student Learning

Assessing Student Learning

As a general rule, high achievement only takes place in an atmosphere of high expectations. Sometimes these…


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Instrument and Process Equipment Symbols

Instrument and Process Equipment Symbols

This section shows some of the many instrument symbols found in different types of technical diagrams used to…


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Elementary Thermodynamics

Elementary Thermodynamics

Thermodynamics is the study of heat, temperature, and their related effects in physical systems. As a subject,…


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What is Hydrostatic Pressure?

What is Hydrostatic Pressure?

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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Numerical Differentiation

Numerical Differentiation

As we have seen, the concept of differentiation is finding the rate-of-change of one variable compared to…


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Transmitter Damping Adjustments

Transmitter Damping Adjustments

The vast majority of modern process transmitters (both analog and digital) come equipped with a feature known…


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WirelessHART Radio Communication Standard

WirelessHART Radio Communication Standard

An exciting development in industrial instrumentation is the WirelessHART radio communication standard,…


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General Problem-solving Techniques

General Problem-solving Techniques

A variety of problem-solving techniques have been presented for students over the years which are all helpful…


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Legal Code

Legal Code

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License By exercising the Licensed Rights (defined…


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Proper Care and Feeding of Pneumatic Instruments

Proper Care and Feeding of Pneumatic Instruments

Perhaps the most important rule to obey when using pneumatic instruments is to maintain clean and dry…


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Valve Failure Modes

Valve Failure Modes

An important design parameter of a control valve is the position it will “fail” to if it loses…


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Solenoid Valves

Solenoid Valves

A very common form of on/off valve used for pneumatic and hydraulic systems alike is the solenoid valve. A…


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the Negative Consequences of Poor PID Controller Tuning

the Negative Consequences of Poor PID Controller Tuning

Much has been written about the benefits of robust PID control. Increased productivity, decreased equipment…


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Continuous Float Level Transmitters

Continuous Float Level Transmitters

Perhaps the simplest form of solid or liquid level measurement is with a float: a device that rides on the…


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Understanding the Calculus Concepts of Differentiation and Integration

Understanding the Calculus Concepts of Differentiation and Integration

The following animation shows the calculus concepts of differentiation and integration (with respect to time)…


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Different PID Equations

Different PID Equations

For better or worse, there are no fewer than three different forms of PID equations implemented in modern PID…


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