Perhaps the most important rule of controller tuning is to know the process before attempting to adjust the…
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Process measurements are often of an analog nature: the temperature of a furnace, the rate of fluid flow…
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Classical mechanics (often called Newtonian mechanics in honor of Isaac Newton) deal with forces and motions…
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An electric motor is often used as a discrete control element in a control system if driving a pump, conveyor…
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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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The Law of Mass Conservation states that matter can neither be created nor destroyed. The Law of Energy…
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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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Fluid pressure exerts force on any surface area it contacts, as described by the formula \(F = PA\). One…
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Instrument technicians should not have to concern themselves over the programming details internal to digital…
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Up until this point, we have explored various types of instrumentation diagram, each one making reference to…
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An electromechanical relay is an electrical switch actuated by an electromagnet coil. As switching devices,…
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An engineer named Bob Metcalfe conceived the idea of Ethernet in 1973, while working for the Xerox research…
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The very purpose of physics is to quantitatively describe and explain the physical world in as few terms as…
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(Will be addressed in future versions of this book)
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An interesting parallel to the “unity fraction” unit conversion technique is something referred to…
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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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A very common form of on/off valve used for pneumatic and hydraulic systems alike is the solenoid valve. A…
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Some self-powered (4-wire) analog electronic transmitters are designed to behave as electrical loads rather…
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Certain types of nuclear radiation easily penetrates the walls of industrial vessels, but is attenuated by…
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The final step in treating wastewater before releasing it into the natural environment is to kill any harmful…
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Few areas of mathematics are as powerfully useful in describing and analyzing the physical world as calculus:…
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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 great many precision instruments use the principle of balance to measure some quantity. Perhaps the simplest…
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As defined previously, calibration means the comparison and adjustment (if necessary) of an instrument’s…
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Programmable logic controllers are essentially nothing more than special-purpose, industrial computers. As…
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