Chapter 14

Pneumatic instrumentation
While electricity is commonly used as a medium for transferring energy across long distances, it is
also used in instrumentation to transfer information. A simple 4-20 mA current loop uses direct
current to represent a process measurement in percentage of span, such as in this example:

Indicator
(milliammeter)

Pressure transmitter
wires

Applied pressure

tube

+ 24 VDC
supply

The transmitter senses an applied fluid pressure from the process being measured, regulates
electric current in the series circuit according to its calibration (4 mA = no pressure ; 20 mA =
full pressure), and the indicator (ammeter) registers this measurement on a scale calibrated to read
in pressure units. If the calibrated range of the pressure transmitter is 0 to 250 PSI, then the
indicators scale will be labeled to read from 0 to 250 PSI as well. No human operator reading that
scale need worry about how the measurement gets from the process to the indicator the 4-20 mA
signal medium is transparent to the end-user as it should be.

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