Pimpri Chinchwad polytechnics

COURSE: MEASUREMENT AND

CONTROL (17528)
Sub. Teacher-Ms.Nilesha Patil
CO: Know concept of measurement , errors in
measurement, static and dynamic
characteristics and Transducers.

Chapter-01
INTRODUCTION AND
SIGNIFICANCE OF MEASUREMENT
Measurement
Measurement is actually the process of
estimating the values that is the physical
quantities like; time, temperature, weight, length
etc.
Each measurement value is represented in the
form of some standard units.
The estimated values by these measurements are
actually compared against the standard
quantities that are of same type.
Significance of Measurements
 We require measuring quantities for performance in our
day to day activities.
 Fundamental requirement of any process is the
measurement.

 i.e. input is fed to the system it undergoes a process

output is indicated.
 i.e. output is compared with input-measurement
 Measurement provides the fundamental basis for
research & development as it involves measurement of
various quantities and parameters.
 Measurement is also considered as a method of
inspection
Significance of Measurements
 Establish the cost of products on the basis of
amount of material, power, time & labor, etc.
 Place/give realistic tolerance for each of the

measured values.
Application of Measurements
 1. Design of manufactured goods
 2. Design of machinery to perform manufacturing
operations
 3. Design of power sources
 4. Design of roads, waterways and other system.
 5. To study the operation features, limitation and
difficulties that are inherent in the systems.
 6. For proper maintenance of the equipment.
 7. To determine the system response(Reply of the
systems to given input)
 8. For correct recording of the output data(weather
forecasting, experimental values, interpretation etc.)
Fundamental methods of
Measurement
Two basic methods are commonly employed for
measurement.
 (a) Direct comparison with primary or secondary
standard.
 (b) Indirect comparison through the use of calibrated
system.
Direct comparison
 In this method, measurement is made directly by
comparing the unknown magnitude with a standard &
the result is expressed by a number.
 The simplest example for this would be, length
measurement using a meter scale.
Fundamental methods of
Measurement
 Direct comparison methods are quite
common for measurement of physical
quantities like length, mass, etc.
 It is easy and quick.
 Drawbacks of Direct comparison methods
 The main drawback of this method is, the

method is not always accurate and reliable.

 Also, human senses are not equipped to

make direct comparison of all quantities with

equal facility all the times.
 Also, measurement by direct methods are

not always possible, feasible and practicable.

Indirect comparison

 Most of the measurement systems use indirect method

of measurement.
 In this method a chain of devices which is together
called as measuring system is employed.
 The chain of devices transform the sensed signal into a
more convenient form & indicate this transformed signal
either on an indicator or a recorder or fed to a
controller.
 i.e. it makes use of a transducing device/element which
convert the basic form of input into an analogous form,
which it then processes and presents as a known
function of input.
 For example, to measure strain in a machine member, a
component senses the strain, another component
transforms the sensed signal into an electrical quantity
which is then processed suitably before being fed to a
meter or recorder.
Measurement system
 A general template for a measurement
system is illustrated in fig.
 Basically such a system consists of part or all

of four general stages:

 (1) Sensor-transducer stage
 (2) Signal -conditioning stage
 (3) Output stage
 (4) Feedback -control stage
Measurement system

Signal
sensor – transduc Output
conditioni
stage er stage stage
ng stage

control
stage
Measurement system
 The sensor is a physical element that employs some
natural phenomenon by which it senses the variable
being measured.
 . The transducer converts this sensed information
into a detectable signal, which might be electrical,
mechanical, optical, or otherwise.
 Signal conditioning equipment takes the transducer
signal and modifies it to a desired magnitude.
 output stage indicates or records the value measured.
 control stage, contains a controller that interprets the
measured signal and makes a decision regarding the
control of the process.
Types of instrument
 Mode of measurement:- The instrument can be
classified into three types
 Primary Instrument:
◦ Direct Comparison with reference standard.
◦ For example the length measurement by ruler
Secondary Instrument:
indirect comparison by converting it into some
other form.
◦ For example temperature measurement by
mercury in glass thermometer
 Tertiary Instrument:
 two conversion of parameter are involved.
 For example measuring of shaft speed by electrical
tachometer
Nature of Contact
 -The instruments can be classified into two
types
◦ Contact type:
◦ when initial sensing element comes in direct
contact with the medium whose parameter are to
be measured.
◦ Temperature measurement by thermometer
◦ Non Contact type:
◦ when the initial sensing element does not comes in
contact with the medium whose parameter are to
be measured.
◦ Temperature Measurement by radiation pyrometer.
Condition of Pointer:-
 The Classification is as
 a. Null Type:
 The pointer is maintained at a fixed position

and measurement is done by balancing

 b. Deflection type:
 The pointer is deflected with respect to origin

to get the measured quantity

Power Source Required
 :-The classification is as follows:
 a. Self sufficient Instrument (Active ):
 do not need external power
 Thermometer
 b. Power operated instrument (Passive):
need external source of power
 Tachometer
Nature of output signal
 Analog instrument
 It is a continuous and step less function .
 Voltmeter, wrist watch, fuel gauge.
 Digital instrument
 It is in the form of discrete pulse or steps

utilizing a coding system and involves a

counting process.
 Digital temperature indicator, digital weight

mater, odometer.
•RANGE
•SPAN
•RELIABILITY
•CALIBRATION
•DRIFT
•REPEATABILITY
•REPRODUCIBILIT
Y
Range and spam.
Accuracy and Precision
1) It is the closeness with the true value of the quantity
being measured.
It is a measure of reproducibility of the measurements
2) Accuracy can be improved
Precision cannot be improved
3) Accuracy depends upon simple techniques of analysis
Precision depends upon many factors and requires
many sophisticated techniques of analysis
4) Accuracy is necessary but not sufficient condition for
precision
Precision is necessary but not a sufficient condition
for accuracy
Reliability
 It is defined as the possibility that can an
instrument will perform its assigned function
for given specific period of time under given
conditions.
 The reliability of a device is affected not only

the choice of parts in it but also

manufacturing methods, quality of
maintenance and the type of user.
Standards
 Primary, Secondary, Tertiary & Working Standards:
 Primary standard:
It is only one material standard and is preserved
under the most careful conditions and is used
only for comparison with Secondary standard.
 Secondary standard:
It is similar to Primary standard as nearly as
possible and is distributed to a number of places
for safe custody and is used for occasional
comparison with Tertiary standards.
Standards
 Tertiary standard:
It is used for reference purposes in
laboratories and workshops and is used for
comparison with working standard.
 Working standard:

It is used daily in laboratories and

workshops.
Low grades of materials may be used.
calibration
 Calibration is the process of establishing the
reliability of a measuring instrument.
 This involves the comparison of the

instruments to be calibrated with, either a

primary standard, secondary standard or a
known input source.
Methods of calibration
 Primary calibration
 When a measuring system is calibrated using

primary standards, it is called primary

calibration.
 E.g. standard resistor , standard cell etc.
 Secondary calibration
 When a system that has been calibrated using

primary standards is used to calibrate another

device, then it is called secondary calibration.
 E.g. general purpose lab and industries.
Methods of calibration
 Direct calibration
 Direct calibration is the process of calibrating

a system with a known input source.

Repeatability
 Repeatability describes the closeness of
output reading when the same input is
applied repetitively over a short period of
time with same measurement condition.
 Same instrument and observer, same location

and same conditions of use maintained

throughout .
 It is ability of measuring instrument to give

same value every time the measurement of

given quantity is repeated.
Reproducability
 Reproducability describes the closeness of
out put readings for the same input when
there are changes in method of
measurement, observer, measuring
instrument, location, condition of use and
time of measurement.
Drift
 It is an undesired gradual departure of the
instrument output over a period of time that
is unrelated to change in inputs operating
conditions or load.
0r
 Drift: - The gradual shift in the indication
or record of the instrument over an extended
period of time, during which the true value of
the variable does not change is referred to as
drift.
47

Output Output

sensitivity
zero drift
drift
input input

Output sensitivity
drift

zero
drift
input
Zero Drift:- if the whole calibration is shifted by
the same amount due to slippage or due to
undue warming up of tube of electronic tube
circuits, zero drift sets in.
zero setting can prevent this.

Span Drift or Sensitivity Drift: - If there is

proportional change in the indication all along
upward scale, the drift is called span drift or
sensitivity drift.
Hence higher calibrations get shifted more than
lower calibrations.
Dynamic terms and characteristics
 Speed of response
 In measuring instruments the speed of

response is defined as the value of the

rapidity with which an instrument responds
to a change in the value of quantity being
measured.
Fidelity

 Fidelity is the ability of the measuring

instrument to reproduce the output in the
same form as the input.
 E.g. if the input provided is sine wave then

output should be sine wave.

Dynamic error
 The difference between the indicated quantity
and the true value of the time varying
quantity is the dynamic error, here static
error of an instrument is assumed to be zero.
overshoot
 Because of mass and inertia a moving part i.e.
the pointer of the instrument does not
immediately come to rest in the final
deflected position.
 The pointer goes beyond the steady state i.e.

overshoot.
 The overshoot is defined as the maximum

amount by which the pointer moves beyond

the steady state.
Errors
 Difference between true value of the size
being measured and the value found by
measurement.
 Classification of errors
 Single transmission errors
 environmental error
 Observation error
 Operational errors
Classification of error
1) Gross error or Human error
A) Operational error
B) personal error.
2) Systematic error
B) Instrumental error
B)environmental error.
3)Random error.
Operational error
 A different type of flow meter will read
inaccurately if it is placed immediately after
valve or a bend.
 A thermometer not read properly if its

sensitive portion is not properly installed.

 A pressure gauge will correctly indicate

pressure only when it is exposed only to the

pressure which is to be measured.
Personal error
 This type of error mainly covers human
mistake in reading instruments and recording
and calculating measurement results.
 For e.g. he may read as 31.5 c instead of 21.5

c due to oversight.
 He may change reading while recording.
 Cause of this error may be
 1)Individual limitation of human being.
 2)Lack of experience.
 3)Observational error.
Observational errors
 As the name suggests these types of errors
are due wrong observations.
 parallax: due to the line of vision is not

normal to the scale.

 Unit conversion: inaccurate conversion of

units
 Personal bias: a tendency to read high or low

readings.
 Wrong scale reading and wrong recording

data.
Instrumental error
 These errors are inherent in instrument
because of their mechanical structure.
 They may be due to construction , calibration

or operation of measuring instrument.

 E.g. if the spring of a permanent magnet

instrument has become weak, the instrument

will always read high.
 To minimize such type of error instrument

may be recalibrated.
Translation and signal transmission
error
 Instrumental error may arise due to error in
translation and transmission of signal.
 The instrument may not sense or translate

the measured effect with complete fidelity.

 The error are remedied by calibration and by

monitoring the signal at one or more point

along transmission path.
Environmental (Ambient
/Atmospheric Condition) Errors:
 International agreement has been reached on
ambient condition which is at 200C
temperature, 760 mm of Hg pressure and 10
mm of Hg humidity.
 Instruments are calibrated at these

conditions. If there is any variation in the

ambient condition, errors may creep into final
results. Of the three, temperature effect is
most considerable.
Environmental errors
 This type of error arises due to conditions external
to instrument.
 External condition includes temperature, pressure,
humidity or it may include external magnetic field.
 Following are the steps that one must follow in
order to minimize the environmental errors:
 (A)Try to maintain the temperature and humidity of
the laboratory constant by making some
arrangements.
 (B)Ensure that there should not be any external
magnetic or electrostatic field around the
instrument.
Random error/residue error
 The disturbance about which we are unaware are
lumped together and called random or residual, error
caused by these causes are called random or residual
errors.
 Reading shown by a hand tachometer would vary with
the pressure with which it is pressed against the shaft.
 In well designed experiments, few random errors
usually occur but they become important In high
accuracy work.
 Some of the reasons of the appearance of these errors
are known but still some reasons are unknown.
 Hence we cannot fully eliminate these kinds of error.
Sources of errors
 (1) Noise: It is defined as any signal that does not convey
useful information.
 (2) Design limitations: These are certain inevitable factors
such as friction & resolving power which lead to
uncertainty in measurements.
 (3) Response time: It is the time lag between the
application of input signal & output measurement
 (4) Environmental effects: The change in atmospheric
temperature may alter the elastic constant of a spring, the
dimensions of a linkage, electrical resistance etc.
similarly other factors such as humidity, pressure etc. also
affect measurements.
 (5) Errors in observation & Interpretation: It is the mistake
of operators in observing, interpreting & recording the
data.
 (6) Poor maintenance of the system
Transducer
 It detects and transforms the sensed signal into a
more useful form.
 Classification of transducer
 1) Mechanical
 A) elastic member e.g. springs and bourdon tube.
 B) Thermal e.g. thermometer.
 C) Hydro-pneumatic transducer e.g. venturi, orifice
plate.
 2) Electrical
 A)passive B) Active
a) resistance a) thermocouple
b) capacitive b) photo voltaic
c) inductive c) piezoelectric pick
d) voltage
Active & Passive Transducers
 Active transducers
 Also known as self generating type transducers
Develop their own voltage or current.
 Energy required for production of output signal
is obtained by quantity being measured.
 Ex, Electronic & Piezo electric transducers.
 Passive Transducers:
 Also known as externally powered transducer
 Derive the power for energy conversion from an
external power source
 Ex: Bonded electrical resistance strain gauges
Resistive transducer
 Resistive transducer are those in which the
resistance changes due to change in some
physical phenomenon.
 The resistance of an electrical conductor is

given by,
 R=ρL/A
 R=resistance in ohm.
 L=length of the conductor in cm
 A=cross sectional area of the conductor in

cm2
 ρ= resistivity of material in ohm-cm.
Resistive transducer
 The electrical resistance thus can be varied by
varying
 1)Length 2) cross-sectional area 3) resistivity

Or a combination of these.
 Any phenomenon or a physical variable which

can vary any one of the above parameters can

be transduced as change of resistance.
 E.g. resistivity changes with temperature used

for temperature measurement by device

Thermistors, RTD etc.
example
 1) Sliding contact devices: In the sliding contact type
of variable resistance transducers there is a long
conductor whose effective length is variable.
 One end of the conductor is fixed, while the position
of the other end is decided by the slider or the brush
that can move along the whole length of the
conductor.
 The slider is connected to the body whose
displacement is to be measured.
 When the body moves the slider also moves along the
conductor so its effective length changes, due to
which it resistance also changes.
example
 The effective resistance is measured as the
resistance between the fixed position of the
conductor and the position of the sliding contact.
 The value of the resistance is calibrated against
the input quantity, whose value can be measured
directly.
 One of most popular sliding contact type of
variable resistance transducer is the
potentiometer.
 These devices can be used to measured linear as
well as angular displacement.
Capacitive Transducer
 Capacitance is the ability of a body to store
an electrical charge.
The capacitive transducer or sensor is
nothing but the capacitor with variable
capacitance.
 The capacitive transducer comprises of two

parallel metal plates that are separated by the

material such as air, which is called as the
dielectric material.
Capacitive Transducer
 In the typical capacitor the distance between the
two plates is fixed, but in variable capacitance
transducers the distance between the two plates is
variable.
 In the instruments using capacitance transducers
the value of the capacitance changes due to
change in the value of the input quantity that is to
be measured.
 This change in capacitance can be measured
easily and it is calibrated against the input
quantity, thus the value if the input quantity can
be measured directly.
Capacitive Transducer
 The capacitance C between the two plates of
capacitive transducers is given by:
 C = εo x εr x A/ D
 Where C is the capacitance of the capacitor or the
variable capacitance transducer
 εo is the absolute permittivity
 εr is the relative permittivity
 The product of εo & εr is also called as the
dielectric constant of the capacitive transducer.
 A is the area of the plates
 D is the distance between the plates
Capacitive Transducer
 It is clear from the above formula that
capacitance of the capacitive transducer
depends on the area of the plates and the
distance between the plates.
 The capacitance of the capacitive transducer

also changes with the dielectric constant of

the dielectric material used in it.
piezoelectric transducers
 There are certain materials that generate electric
potential or voltage when mechanical strain is applied to
them or conversely when the voltage is applied to them,
they tend to change the dimensions along certain plane.
This effect is called as the piezoelectric effect.
 The piezoelectric transducers work on the principle of
piezoelectric effect.
 When mechanical stress or forces are applied to some
materials along certain planes, they produce electric
voltage.
 This electric voltage can be measured easily by the
voltage measuring instruments, which can be used to
measure the stress or force.
piezoelectric transducers
 The voltage output obtained from the
materials due to piezoelectric effect is very
small and it has high impedance.
 To measure the output some amplifiers,
auxiliary circuit and the connecting cables are
required.
 Some of the materials that exhibit
piezoelectric effect are quartz, Rochelle salt,
polarized barium titanate, ammonium
dihydrogen, ordinary sugar etc.
 advantages as mentioned below:
 1) High frequency response: They offer very high
frequency response that means the parameter changing
at very high speeds can be sensed easily.
 2) High transient response: The piezoelectric
transducers can detect the events of microseconds and
also give the linear output.
 3) The piezoelectric transducers are small in size and
have rugged construction.
 Limitations of Piezoelectric Transducers
 Some of the limitations of piezoelectric transducers are:
 1) Output is low: The output obtained from the
piezoelectric transducers is low, so external electronic
circuit has to be connected.
 3) Forming into shape: It is very difficult to give the
desired shape to the crystals with sufficient strength.
Inductive Transducers
 The inductive transducers work on the principle
of the magnetic induction of magnetic material.
 The process by which a substance, such as iron or
steel, becomes magnetized by a magnetic field.
 Just as the resistance of the electric conductor
depends on number of factors, the induction of
the magnetic material depends on a number of
variables like the number of turns of the coil on
the material, the size of the magnetic material,
and the permeability (is the measure of the ability
of a material to support the formation of a
magnetic field within itself) of the flux path(The
direction and flow of the magnetic forces of
attraction created by a magnet)
 In the inductive transducers the magnetic
materials are used in the flux path and there
are one or more air gaps.
 The change in the air gap also results in

change in the inductance of the circuit and in

most of the inductive transducers it is used
for the working of the instrument.
 The figure 1 below shows the single coil
inductive circuit.
 Here the magnetic material is connected to
the electric circuit and it is excited by the
alternating current.
 At the bottom there is another magnetic
material that acts as the armature.
 As the armature is moved, the air gap
between the two magnetic material changes
and the permeance of the flux generated by
the circuit changes that changes the
inductance of the circuit and its output.
 The output meter directly gives the valve of
the input mechanical quantity.
THANK YOU