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Digital Representation of Text

Digital Representation of Text

Binary patterns are not just able to represent numerical values. Given a standardized code, they may represent…


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Introduction to Modbus

Introduction to Modbus

Developed by the Modicon company (the original manufacturer of the Programmable Logic Controller, or PLC) in…


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FOUNDATION Fieldbus Design Philosophy

FOUNDATION Fieldbus Design Philosophy

To understand just how different FOUNDATION Fieldbus is from other digital instrument systems, consider a…


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Pipe and Pipe Fittings

Pipe and Pipe Fittings

Pipe is a hollow structure designed to provide an enclosed pathway for fluids to flow, usually manufactured…


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Scientific System diagnosis and Scientific Reasoning

Scientific System diagnosis and Scientific Reasoning

At the root of successful system diagnosis is a rigorous adherence to scientific reasoning. There exists no…


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Supervisory Control

Supervisory Control

In a manually-controlled process, a human operator directly actuates some form of final control element…


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EIA/TIA-232, 422, and 485 Networks

EIA/TIA-232, 422, and 485 Networks

Some of the simplest types of digital communication networks found in industry are defined by the EIA…


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FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 Protocol Segment Troubleshooting

FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 Protocol Segment Troubleshooting

Feedback obtained from industrial users of FF reveal a common pattern: Fieldbus is a powerful and reliable…


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Policy-based Fortifications

Policy-based Fortifications

These fortifications focus on human behavior rather than system design or component selection. In some ways…


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Teaching Technical Practices (Labwork)

Teaching Technical Practices (Labwork)

Labwork is an essential part of any science-based curriculum. Here, much improvement may be made over the…


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FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 Protocol Data Link Layer

FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 Protocol Data Link Layer

Like so many other industrial data networks, FOUNDATION Fieldbus is an “unswitched” or…


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Fiber Optic Data Communication

Fiber Optic Data Communication

Light has long been used as a long-range signaling medium. While communication by light through open air is…


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High-reliability Control Systems

High-reliability Control Systems

As discussed at the beginning of this chapter, instrumentation safety may be broadly divided into two…


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Design-based Fortifications

Design-based Fortifications

A design-based fortification is one rooted in technical details of system architecture and functionality. Some…


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Ethernet networks: Repeaters, Cabling and Switching Hubs

Ethernet networks: Repeaters, Cabling and Switching Hubs

An engineer named Bob Metcalfe conceived the idea of Ethernet in 1973, while working for the Xerox research…


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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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Open-ended, Shorted and Properly Terminated Transmission Lines

Open-ended, Shorted and Properly Terminated Transmission Lines

Many years ago, when I was first learning about electricity, I happened to discover a length of coaxial…


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Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

At the next OSI Reference Model layer (layer 4) is a set of protocols specifying how reliable communication…


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ANSI/IEEE Function Number Codes

ANSI/IEEE Function Number Codes

In the United States, the ANSI and IEEE organizations have standardized a set of numerical codes referring to…


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Chromatography: Methods, Detectors and Species

Chromatography: Methods, Detectors and Species

Imagine a major marathon race, where hundreds of runners gather in one place to compete. When the starting gun…


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What is Internet Protocol (IP)?

What is Internet Protocol (IP)?

I remember first learning about the world-wide Internet, and wondering what it actually looked like. The first…


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Supervisory Control

Supervisory Control

In a manually-controlled process, a human operator directly actuates some form of final control element…


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Glossary of Cyber-security Terms

Glossary of Cyber-security Terms

Cyber-security seems to have its own vocabulary, ranging from unwieldy technical acronyms to slang terms…


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WirelessHART Radio Communication Standard

WirelessHART Radio Communication Standard

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


Textbook

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

At the next OSI Reference Model layer (layer 4) is a set of protocols specifying how reliable communication…


Textbook

Examples of PLC Systems

Examples of PLC Systems

Programmable logic controllers are essentially nothing more than special-purpose, industrial computers. As…


Textbook

ANSI/IEEE Function Number Codes

ANSI/IEEE Function Number Codes

In the United States, the ANSI and IEEE organizations have standardized a set of numerical codes referring to…


Textbook

Ethernet networks: Repeaters, Cabling and Switching Hubs

Ethernet networks: Repeaters, Cabling and Switching Hubs

An engineer named Bob Metcalfe conceived the idea of Ethernet in 1973, while working for the Xerox research…


Textbook

Policy-based Fortifications

Policy-based Fortifications

These fortifications focus on human behavior rather than system design or component selection. In some ways…


Textbook

Fiber Optic Data Communication

Fiber Optic Data Communication

Light has long been used as a long-range signaling medium. While communication by light through open air is…


Textbook

Chromatography: Methods, Detectors and Species

Chromatography: Methods, Detectors and Species

Imagine a major marathon race, where hundreds of runners gather in one place to compete. When the starting gun…


Textbook

Open-ended, Shorted and Properly Terminated Transmission Lines

Open-ended, Shorted and Properly Terminated Transmission Lines

Many years ago, when I was first learning about electricity, I happened to discover a length of coaxial…


Textbook

Design-based Fortifications

Design-based Fortifications

A design-based fortification is one rooted in technical details of system architecture and functionality. Some…


Textbook

Digital PID Controllers

Digital PID Controllers

The vast majority of PID controllers in service today are digital in nature. Microprocessors executing PID…


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Ultrasonic (Sound) Echo Level Measurement

Ultrasonic (Sound) Echo Level Measurement

A completely different way of measuring liquid level in vessels is to bounce a traveling wave off the surface…


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Digital Data Communication Theory

Digital Data Communication Theory

One of the great benefits of digital technology is the ability to communicate vast amounts of information over…


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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…


Textbook

Basics of Bridge Circuits

Basics of Bridge Circuits

A bridge circuit is basically a pair of voltage dividers where the circuit output is taken as the difference…


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Input/Output (I/O) Capabilities of PLCs

Input/Output (I/O) Capabilities of PLCs

Every programmable logic controller must have some means of receiving and interpreting signals from real-world…


Textbook

Introduction to Modbus

Introduction to Modbus

Developed by the Modicon company (the original manufacturer of the Programmable Logic Controller, or PLC) in…


Textbook

Integral (Reset) Control

Integral (Reset) Control

Imagine a liquid-level control system for a vessel, where the position of a level-sensing float sets the…


Textbook

Control Valve Sizing

Control Valve Sizing

When control valves operate between fully open and fully shut, they serve much the same purpose in process…


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4-wire (“self-powered”) Transmitter Current Loops

4-wire (“self-powered”) Transmitter Current Loops

DC electric current signals may also be used to communicate process measurement information from transmitters…


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Variable-area Flowmeters

Variable-area Flowmeters

An variable-area flowmeter is one where the fluid must pass through a restriction whose area increases with…


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P, I, and D Responses Graphed

P, I, and D Responses Graphed

Visualizing the actions of P, I, and D tuning parameters using graphs is extremely useful in predicting the…


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Indicators, Recorders, Process Switches and Alarms

Indicators, Recorders, Process Switches and Alarms

So far we have just looked at instruments that sense, control, and influence process variables. Transmitters,…


Textbook

Legal Code

Legal Code

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


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Input/Output (I/O) Capabilities of PLCs

Input/Output (I/O) Capabilities of PLCs

Every programmable logic controller must have some means of receiving and interpreting signals from real-world…


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References

References

Lipták, Béla G. et al., Instrument Engineers’ Handbook – Process Measurement and Analysis Volume I,…


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Positive Displacement Flowmeters

Positive Displacement Flowmeters

A positive displacement flowmeter is a cyclic mechanism built to pass a fixed volume of fluid through with…


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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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On/off Control (Bang-bang Control)

On/off Control (Bang-bang Control)

Once while working as an instrument technician in an aluminum foundry, a mechanic asked me what it was that I…


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Symbolic Versus Numerical Calculus

Symbolic Versus Numerical Calculus

Calculus has a reputation for being difficult to learn, and with good reason. The traditional approach to…


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Rotating Phasor in Three-dimensional Form

Rotating Phasor in Three-dimensional Form

The following animation shows a rotating phasor in three-dimensional form. The phasor rotates in a complex…


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Zero and Span Adjustments (Analog Instruments)

Zero and Span Adjustments (Analog Instruments)

Linearity of Measurement Instruments The purpose of calibration is to ensure the input and output of an…


Textbook

Scientific System diagnosis and Scientific Reasoning

Scientific System diagnosis and Scientific Reasoning

At the root of successful system diagnosis is a rigorous adherence to scientific reasoning. There exists no…


Textbook

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…


Textbook

Thermocouple Types, Junctions, Connector and Tip Styles

Thermocouple Types, Junctions, Connector and Tip Styles

RTDs are completely passive sensing elements, requiring the application of an externally-sourced electric…


Textbook

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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Weight-based Level Measurement

Weight-based Level Measurement

Weight-based level instruments sense process level in a vessel by directly measuring the weight of the vessel.…


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