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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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Loop Diagrams (Loop Sheets)

Loop Diagrams (Loop Sheets)

Finally, we arrive at the loop diagram (sometimes called a loop sheet) for the compressor surge control system…


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Single-line Electrical Diagrams

Single-line Electrical Diagrams

Electrical power grids primarily consist of three-phase AC circuits. This means most power lines (transmission…


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Equivalent Series and Parallel Circuits

Equivalent Series and Parallel Circuits

Impedance in a series circuit is the orthogonal sum of resistance and reactance: \[Z = \sqrt{R^2 + (X_L -…


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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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Mechanical Pressure Elements

Mechanical Pressure Elements

Mechanical pressure-sensing elements include the bellows, the diaphragm, and the bourdon tube. Each of these…


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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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WirelessHART Radio Communication Standard

WirelessHART Radio Communication Standard

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


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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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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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4 to 20 mA Analog Current Signals

4 to 20 mA Analog Current Signals

The most popular form of signal transmission used in modern industrial instrumentation systems (as of this…


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Common Control Valve Problems

Common Control Valve Problems

Valves can experience a number of problems, most of them either preventable or repairable. These problems can…


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Measuring Electrical Conductivity

Measuring Electrical Conductivity

The electrical conductivity of liquids is an important analytical measurement in many industrial processes.…


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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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Non-contact Temperature Sensors

Non-contact Temperature Sensors

Virtually any mass above absolute zero temperature emits electromagnetic radiation (photons, or light) as a…


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Relation Control

Relation Control

A control strategy similar to ratio control is relation control. This is similar to ratio control in that a…


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Examples of PLC Systems

Examples of PLC Systems

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


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Radiation Level Measurement

Radiation Level Measurement

Certain types of nuclear radiation easily penetrates the walls of industrial vessels, but is attenuated by…


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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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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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Understanding Area, Volume and Common Geometry

Understanding Area, Volume and Common Geometry

Area refers to the size of two-dimensional surface. Volume refers to the size of a three-dimensional space. To…


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Root Mean Square (RMS) Quantities

Root Mean Square (RMS) Quantities

It is often useful to express the amplitude of an alternating quantity such as voltage or current in terms…


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Problem-solving by Simplification

Problem-solving by Simplification

A whole class of problem-solving techniques focuses on altering the given problem into a simpler form that is…


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Rotary-stem Valves

Rotary-stem Valves

A different strategy for controlling the flow of fluid is to insert a rotary element into the flow path.…


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Electrical Sensors: Potential Transformers (PTs) and Current Transformers (CTs)

Electrical Sensors: Potential Transformers (PTs) and Current Transformers (CTs)

The two “process variables” we rely on most heavily in the field of electrical measurement and…


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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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Metric Prefixes and Prefix Scale

Metric Prefixes and Prefix Scale


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Null-balance Voltage Measurement

Null-balance Voltage Measurement

A number of different sensors used in instrumentation generate DC voltage signals proportional to the process…


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Loop Diagrams (Loop Sheets)

Loop Diagrams (Loop Sheets)

Finally, we arrive at the loop diagram (sometimes called a loop sheet) for the compressor surge control system…


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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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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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“Normal” status of a Process Switch

“Normal” status of a Process Switch

Perhaps the most confusing aspect of discrete sensors is the definition of a sensor’s normal status.…


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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…


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Proportional-only Control

Proportional-only Control

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


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Introduction to Power System Automation

Introduction to Power System Automation

Those familiar with industrial instrumentation will find much within the electric power industry remarkably…


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Pressure Sensor Accessories

Pressure Sensor Accessories

Multiple accessories exist for pressure-sensing devices to function optimally in challenging process…


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Resistance, Reactance and Impedance

Resistance, Reactance and Impedance

Electrical Resistance Resistance (\(R\)) is the dissipative opposition to an electric current, analogous to…


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Analysis of Practical Pneumatic Instruments

Analysis of Practical Pneumatic Instruments

To better understand the design and operation of self-balancing pneumatic mechanisms, it is helpful to examine…


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Fluid Power Systems

Fluid Power Systems

Given the ability of pressurized fluids to transmit force over long distances, it is not surprising that many…


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Pneumatic Actuator Response

Pneumatic Actuator Response

A limitation inherent to pneumatic valve actuators is the amount of air flow required to or from the actuator…


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