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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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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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Conservation Laws

Conservation Laws

The Law of Mass Conservation states that matter can neither be created nor destroyed. The Law of Energy…


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Functional Diagrams: the Flow of Information within a Control System

Functional Diagrams: the Flow of Information within a Control System

A unique form of technical diagram for describing the abstract functions comprising a control system (e.g. 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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“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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Derivative (Rate) Control

Derivative (Rate) Control

The final element of PID control is the “D” term, which stands for derivative. This is a calculus…


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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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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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Practical Measures of Reliability

Practical Measures of Reliability

In reliability engineering, it is important to be able to quantity the reliability (or conversely, the…


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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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Proximity Switches

Proximity Switches

A proximity switch is one detecting the proximity (closeness) of some object. By definition, these switches…


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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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Temperature Sensor Accessories

Temperature Sensor Accessories

One of the most important accessories for any temperature-sensing element is a pressure-tight sheath known as…


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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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Practical Topic Coverage

Practical Topic Coverage

Nearly every technical course teaches and tests students on definitions, basic concepts, and at least some…


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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…


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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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Fundamental Principles of Industrial Instrumentation

Fundamental Principles of Industrial Instrumentation

Shown here is a partial listing of principles applied in the subject matter of this chapter, given for the…


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Instrument Turndown (Rangedown)

Instrument Turndown (Rangedown)

An important performance parameter for transmitter instruments is something often referred to as turndown or…


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A Comparison of PID Controller Tuning Techniques

A Comparison of PID Controller Tuning Techniques

In this section I will show screenshots from a process loop simulation program illustrating the effectiveness…


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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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Control Valve Characterization

Control Valve Characterization

Control valves are supposed to deliver reliable, repeatable control of process fluid flow rate over a wide…


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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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Active Reading and Outlining Documentation

Active Reading and Outlining Documentation

Learning from reading printed text is a kind of problem-solving activity it is own right. The problem is how…


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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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Ladder Diagram (LD) Structure Commands

Ladder Diagram (LD) Structure Commands

The simple PLC ladder diagram (LD) commands consist of contacts and coils, arranged in sequences that mimic…


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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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Radiative Temperature Measurement

Radiative Temperature Measurement

Temperature measurement devices may be classified into two broad types: contact and non-contact. Contact-type…


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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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FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 Protocol Device Configuration and Commissioning

FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 Protocol Device Configuration and Commissioning

Fieldbus devices require far more attention in their initial setup and commissioning than their analog…


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LRV and URV Settings, Digital Trim (Digital Transmitters)

LRV and URV Settings, Digital Trim (Digital Transmitters)

The advent of “smart” field instruments containing microprocessors has been a great advance for…


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Instantaneous and Time-overcurrent (50/51) Protection

Instantaneous and Time-overcurrent (50/51) Protection

Perhaps the most basic and necessary protective relay function is overcurrent: commanding a circuit breaker to…


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Radio-energy Pulse in Guided-wave Radar Level Measurement

Radio-energy Pulse in Guided-wave Radar Level Measurement

The following animation shows how a radio-energy pulse travels down and then up the waveguide of a guided-wave…


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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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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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Difference Between Calibration and Re-ranging

Difference Between Calibration and Re-ranging

What is Calibration? To calibrate an instrument means to check and adjust (if necessary) its response so the…


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Concepts and Laws of Probability

Concepts and Laws of Probability

While the term “probability” may evoke images of imprecision, probability is in fact an exact…


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Industrial Instrumentation Summary for Teachers

Industrial Instrumentation Summary for Teachers

To summarize some of the key points and concepts for teaching: Do not waste class time transmitting facts to…


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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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