There are many process control applications in the industry where it is desirable to have multiple control…
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Learning PLC programming is a very important skill. If your job involves programming, then you will likely…
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The vast majority of PID controllers in service today are digital in nature. Microprocessors executing PID…
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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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“Polyphase” means “many phases,” describing a form of AC electrical system where…
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As previously defined, calibration refers to the checking and adjustment of an instrument so that its output…
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Non-dispersive analysis, while newer in discovery than dispersive analysis (Isaac Newton’s 17th-century…
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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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Hydrogen ion activity in aqueous (water-solvent) solutions is a very important parameter for a wide variety of…
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“Feedforward” is a rather under-used control strategy capable of managing a great many types of…
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Three-phase AC is the dominant mode of electric power generation and distribution in modern societies.…
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The Law of Continuity for fluids states that the product of mass density (\(\rho\)), cross-sectional pipe area…
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Perhaps the most valuable skill an instrument technician can possess is the ability to efficiently diagnose…
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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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Diagnostic ability is arguably the most difficult skill to develop within a student, and also the most…
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An extremely important topic in engineering is that of transfer functions. Simply defined, a transfer function…
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Valves can experience a number of problems, most of them either preventable or repairable. These problems can…
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As we have seen, feedforward control is a way to improve the stability of a feedback control system in the…
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Constructing PID control systems using discrete components is a fairly simple method involving operational…
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As discussed at the beginning of this chapter, instrumentation safety may be broadly divided into two…
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The next level of detail is the Process and Instrument Diagram, or P&ID. Here, we see a “zooming…
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The following animation shows how the “rotating” magnetic field of a three-phase AC induction…
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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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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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These fortifications focus on human behavior rather than system design or component selection. In some ways…
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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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To summarize some of the key points and concepts for teaching: Do not waste class time transmitting facts to…
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A fundamental limitation of proportional control has to do with its response to changes in setpoint and…
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The key to understanding how three-phase electric motors work is to have an accurate mental picture of the…
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In a manually-controlled process, a human operator directly actuates some form of final control element…
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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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To understand just how different FOUNDATION Fieldbus is from other digital instrument systems, consider a…
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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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Imagine a major marathon race, where hundreds of runners gather in one place to compete. When the starting gun…
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This animation shows the basic operation of a gas chromatograph, showing the separation of different molecular…
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The advent of “smart” field instruments containing microprocessors has been a great advance for…
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In addition to directly performing logic functions, electromechanical relays may also be used as interposing…
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A level switch is one detecting the level of liquid or solid (granules or powder) in a vessel. Level switches…
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Solids tend to expand when heated. The amount that a solid sample will expand with increased temperature…
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A chemical reaction resulting in a net release of energy is called exothermic. Conversely, a chemical reaction…
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An interesting parallel to the “unity fraction” unit conversion technique is something referred to…
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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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(Will be addressed in future versions of this book)
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To review, voltage is the measure of potential energy available to electric charges. Current is the uniform…
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Modern DC and AC motor drives provide features useful when using electric motors as final control elements.…
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Most of these formulae appear in molecular chemical form rather than structural form. For example, ethanol…
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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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Constructing PID control systems using discrete components is a fairly simple method involving operational…
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As discussed at the beginning of this chapter, instrumentation safety may be broadly divided into two…
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Self-balancing pneumatic instrument mechanisms are very similar to negative-feedback operational amplifier…
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The term “grid” refers to the conductors and equipment interconnecting power sources to power…
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The two “process variables” we rely on most heavily in the field of electrical measurement and…
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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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While the term “probability” may evoke images of imprecision, probability is in fact an exact…
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The digital multimeter (DMM) is quite possibly the most useful tool in the instrument technician’s…
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Electromechanical relays may be connected together to perform logic and control functions, acting as logic…
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A limitation inherent to pneumatic valve actuators is the amount of air flow required to or from the actuator…
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Valves can experience a number of problems, most of them either preventable or repairable. These problems can…
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In this section I will show screenshots from a process loop simulation program illustrating the effectiveness…
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A variety of technologies exist to measure the quantity of stored material in a vessel. For liquid…
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