Current loop

In electrical signalling an analog current loop is used where a device must be monitored or controlled remotely over a pair of
conductors. Only one current level can be present at any time.

A major application of current loops is the industry standard 4–20 mA current loop for process control applications, where they are
extensively used to carry signals from process instrumentation to PID controllers, SCADA systems, and programmable logic
controllers (PLCs). They are also used to transmit controller outputs to the modulating field devices such as control valves. These
loops have the advantages of simplicity and noise immunity, and have a large international user and equipment supplier base. Some
4–20 mA field devices can be powered by the current loop itself, removing the need for separate power supplies, and the "smart"
HART protocol uses the loop for communications between field devices and controllers. Various automation protocols may replace
analog current loops, but 4–20 mA is still a principal industrial standard.

Contents
Process control 4–20 mA loops
Active and passive devices
Evolution of analogue control signals
Long circuits
Discrete control
Two-way radio use
See also
References
External links

Process control 4–20 mA loops

In industrial process control, analog 4–20 mA current loops are commonly used for
electronic signalling, with the two values of 4 & 20 mA representing 0–100% of the
range of measurement or control. These loops are used both for carrying sensor
information from field instrumentation, and carrying control signals to the process
modulating devices, such as a valve.

The key advantages of the current loop are:

The loop can often power the remote device, with power supplied by the
controller, thus removing need for power cabling. Many instrumentation
manufacturers produce 4–20 mA sensors which are "loop powered". Showing the evolution of analogue
The "live" or "elevated" zero of 4 mA allows powering of the device even control loop signalling from the
with no process signal output from the field transmitter
. pneumatic era to the electronic era.
The accuracy of the signal is not affected by voltage drop in the
interconnecting wiring.
It has high noise immunity as it is low impedance circuit usually through twisted pair conductors.
[1]
It is self-monitoring; currents less than 3.8 mA or more than 20.5 mA are taken to indicate a fault.
It can be carried over long cables up to the limit of the resistance for the voltage used.
In line displays can be inserted and powered by the loop, as long as total allowable loop resistance is not exceeded.
Easy conversion to voltage using a resistor .
 Loop powered "I to P" (current to pressure) converters can convert the
4–20 mA signal to a 3–15 psi pneumatic output for control valves,
allowing easy integration of 4–20 mA signals into existing pneumatic
plant.
Field instrumentation measurements are such as pressure, temperature, level, flow,
pH or other process variables. A current loop can also be used to control a valve
positioner or other output actuator. Since input terminals of instruments may have
one side of the current loop input tied to the chassis ground (earth), analog isolators
may be required when connecting several instruments in series.
Example of current loops used for
The relationship between current value and process variable measurement is set by
sensing and control transmission.
calibration, which assigns different ranges of engineering units to the span between
Specific example of a smart valve
4 and 20 mA. The mapping between engineering units and current can be inverted, positioner is shown.
so that 4 mA represents the maximum and 20 mA the minimum.

Active and passive devices

Depending on the source of current for the loop, devices may be classified as active (supplying or "sourcing" power) or passive
(relying on or "sinking" loop power). For example, a chart recorder may provide loop power to a pressure transmitter. The pressure
transmitter modulates the current on the loop to send the signal to the strip chart recorder, but does not in itself supply power to the
loop and so is passive. Another loop may contain two passive chart recorders, a passive pressure transmitter, and a 24 V battery. (The
battery is the active device). Note that a4-wire instrument has a power supply input separate from the current loop.

Panel mount displays and chart recorders are commonly termed 'indicator devices' or 'process monitors'. Several passive indicator
devices may be connected in series, but a loop must have only one transmitter device and only one power source (active device).

Evolution of analogue control signals

The 4–20 mA convention was born in the 1950s out of the earlier highly successful
3–15 psi pneumatic control signal standard, when electronics became cheap and
reliable enough to emulate the older standard electrically. The 3–15 psi standard had
the same features of being able to power some remote devices, and have a "live"
zero. However the 4–20 mA standard was better suited to the electronic controllers
then being developed.

The transition was gradual and has extended into the 21st century, due to the huge
installed base of 3–15 psi devices. As the operation of pneumatic valves over
motorised valves has many cost and reliability advantages, pneumatic actuation is
still an industry standard. To allow the construction of hybrid systems, where the 4–
20 mA is generated by the controller, but allows the use of pneumatic valves, a range
of current to pressure (I to P) converters are available from manufacturers. These are
usually located locally to the control valve and convert 4–20 mA to 3–15 psi (or 0.2–
1.0 bar). This signal is then fed to the valve actuator or more commonly
, a pneumatic
positioner. The positioner is a dedicated controller which has a mechanical linkage Control valve with pneumatic
diaphragm actuator and "smart" 4–
to the actuator movement. This ensures that problems of friction are overcome and
20 mA positioner which will also feed
the valve control element moves to the desired position. It also allows the use of
back the actual valve position and
higher air pressures for valve actuation. status over the current loop.

With the development of cheap industrial micro-processors, "smart" valve

positioners have become available since the mid-1980s and are very popular for new installations. These include an I to P converter,
plus valve position and condition monitoring. These latter are fed back over the current loop to the controller, using such as the
HART protocol.
Long circuits
Analog current loops were historically occasionally carried between buildings by dry pairs in telephone cables leased from the local
telephone company. 4–20 mA loops were more common in the days of analog telephony. These circuits require end-to-end direct
current (DC) continuity, and unless a dedicated wire pair was hardwired, their use ceased with the introduction of semiconductor
switching. DC continuity is not available over a microwave radio, optical fibre, or a multiplexed telephone circuit connection. Basic
DC circuit theory shows that the current is the same all along the line. It was common to see 4–20 mA circuits that had loop lengths
in miles or circuits working over telephone cable pairs that were longer than ten thousand feet end-to-end. There are still legacy
systems in place using this technology. In Bell System circuits, voltages up to 125VDC were employed.

Discrete control
Discrete control functions can be represented by discrete levels of current sent over a loop. This would allow multiple control
functions to be operated over a single pair of wires. Currents required for a specific function vary from one application or
manufacturer to another. There is no specific current that is tied to a single meaning. It is almost universal that 0 mA indicates the
circuit has failed. In the case of a fire alarm, 6 mA could be normal, 15 mA could mean a fire has been detected, and 0 mA would
produce a trouble indication, telling the monitoring site the alarm circuit had failed. Some devices, such as two-way radio remote
control consoles, can reverse the polarity of currents and can multiplex audio onto a DC current.

These devices can be employed for any remote control need a designer might imagine. For example, a current loop could actuate an
evacuation siren or command synchronizedtraffic signals.

Two-way radio use

Current loop circuits are one possible way used to control radio base stations at
distant sites. The two-way radio industry calls this type of remote control DC
remote. This name comes from the need for DC circuit continuity between the
control point and the radio base station. A current loop remote control saves the
cost of extra pairs of wires between the operating point and the radio transceiver.
Some equipment, such as the Motorola MSF-5000 base station, uses currents
below 4 mA for some functions. An alternative type, the tone remote, is more
[2]
complex but requires only an audio path between control point and base station.
A Motorola T-1300 series remote
For example, a taxi dispatch base station might be physically located on the control is built in a telephone housing.
rooftop of an eight-story building. The taxi company office might be in the The dial is replaced with aspeaker and
volume control. This remote control
basement of a different building nearby. The office would have a remote control
uses a two-wire circuit to control a
unit that would operate the taxi company base station over a current loop circuit.
base station.
The circuit would normally be over a telephone line or similar wiring. Control
function currents come from the remote control console at the dispatch office end
of a circuit. In two-way radio use, an idle circuit would normally have no current present.

In two-way radio use, radio manufacturers use different currents for specific functions. Polarities are changed to get more possible
functions over a single circuit. For example, imagine one possible scheme where the presence of these currents cause the base station
to change state:

no current means receive on channel 1, (the default).

+6 mA might mean transmit on channel 1
−6 mA might mean stay in receive mode but switch to channel 2. So long as the −6 mA current were present, the
remote base station would continue to receive on channel 2.
−12 mA might command the base station totransmit on channel 2.
This circuit is polarity-sensitive. If a telephone company cable splicer accidentally reversed the conductors, selecting channel 2
would lock the transmitter on.
Each current level could close a set of contacts, or operate solid-state logic, at the other end of the circuit. That contact closure caused
a change of state on the controlled device. Some remote control equipment could have options set to allow compatibility between
manufacturers. That is, a base station that was configured to transmit with a +18 mA current could have options changed to (instead)
make it transmit when +6 mA was present.

In two-way radio use, AC signals were also present on the circuit pair. If the base station were idle, receive audio would be sent over
the line from the base station to the dispatch office. In the presence of a transmit command current, the remote control console would
send audio to be transmitted. The voice of the user in the dispatch office would be modulated and superimposed over the DC current
that caused the transmitter to operate.

See also
Current source (a current loop transmitter)
Current-to-voltage converter
Highway Addressable Remote Transducer Protocol
NAMUR – German industry standards body defining fault levels for 4–20 mA
PID Controller – a controller using current loop I/O
Piping and instrumentation diagram– Gives the control scheme and associated piping and vessels.

References
1. NAMUR standard NE 043 "Standardisation of the Signal Level for the Failure Information of Digitalransmitters"
T
2. US 6950653 (https://worldwide.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US6950653) "Scanning tone remote
adapter for land-mobile radio dispatch for use with dispersed dispatch stations" (The patent does not describe this
tone remote but confirms the use of the phrase to describe this system of signaling.)

Lipták, Béla G. Instrumentation Engineers' Handbook. Process Measurement and Analysis

. CRC Press. 2003. HB.
ISBN 0-8493-1083-0

External links
Fundamentals, System Design, and Setup for the 4 to 20 mA Current Loop
"4–20 mA Current Loop Primer"(PDF). Retrieved 10 September 2017.
What Voltage do I need to operate my 4...20mA transducer?
Current signal systems
How to read current loop using arduino

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