CHE501 – V1

Group No. 6

Cebu Institute of Technology – University

Chemical Engineering Department

Laboratory Experiment Report No. 5

Experiment No. 7 LEVEL SENSOR

Author: Claire Therese A. Talandron

Date: September 12, 2019

A level sensor is a device used to determine the level or amount of fluids, liquids or
other substances that flow in an open or closed system. The main goal of this
experiment was to determine the characteristic of differential transformer as position
transducer. The principle of this sensor can be shortly discussed as follows: the sensor
receives energy from the medium to be measured (e.g. water) producing an output
voltage signal dependent of the measured physical quantity (such as height). With the
transducer, the sensor output voltage signal was converted in the desired variable
(height in the cylindrical vessel). This experiment was done using the DL 2314 and
after the experiment was conducted it was found out that level value of the fluid and
the voltage supplies increases as the other also increases, thus having a directly
proportional relationship. Verifying the directly proportional relationship, as what can
be seen in Figure A.1, the graph has a regression value of 0.9968 which is close to 1
thus verifying that the level value and the voltage supplied does have a linear and
directly proportional relationship.

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I. OBJECTIVES

The objective of this experiment was to determine the characteristic of the

differential transformer as position transducer. This experiment was done because in
the future especially working in the oil manufacturing plants and water treatment, level
sensors are used to measure the level of substances inside a container. Performing
this experiment would give us advance knowledge about level sensor that can be
applied in the future work.

II. APPARATUS/EQUIPMENT
 DL 2314
 Digital Multi-meter
 Set of leads

III. RELEVANT THEORY

Level sensors detect the level of liquids and other fluids and fluidized solids,
including slurries, granular materials, and powders that exhibit an upper free surface.
Substances that flow become essentially horizontal in their containers (or other
physical boundaries) because of gravity whereas most bulk solids pile at an angle of
repose to a peak. The substance to be measured can be inside a container or can be
in its natural form (e.g., a river or a lake).

There are two types of level measurements, namely, continuous and point
level measurements. Continuous level sensors measure level within a specified range
and determine the exact amount of substance in a certain place, while point-level
sensors only indicate whether the substance is above or below the sensing point.
Generally the latter detect levels that are excessively high or low.

In this experiment De Lorenzo 2314 is used. It is a process Control Trainer

that is composed of different elements that allow the study, simulation and performing
of experiences in the field of process control. DL 2314 which is a Linear Variable
Differential Transformer in which is a common type of electromechanical transducer
that can convert mechanically into a corresponding electrical signal.

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LVDT linear position sensors are readily available that can measure
movements as small as few millionths of an inch up to several inches but are also
capable of measuring positions up to +- 30 inches (+- 0.762 meters). The working
principle of this sensor can be shortly discussed as follows: the sensor receives
energy from the medium to be measured (e.g. water) producing an output voltage
signal dependent of the measured physical quantity (such as height). With the
transducer, the sensor output voltage signal was converted in the desired variable
(height in the cylindrical vessel).

Fig 3.1 De Lorenzo 2314

Level sensors are widely used industrially like in cars use liquid level sensors
to monitor a variety of liquids, including fuel and oil. They can also be found in
industrial storage tanks, for slurries, and in household appliances such as coffee
machines. Basic level sensors can be used to identify the point at which a liquid falls
below a minimum or rises above a maximum level.

IV. PROCEDURE

Sheet 1.1 was given which shows the connections of the level with the relevant
interface (Fig 1.1 and Fig 1.2) and sets the process simulation panels such as Delivery
Valve( fully open), Motor valve(fully open), Sol valve(open (ON) using the interface
ON-OFF DRIVER), Main valve (fully open), Drain valve (fully closed), Needle valve
(fully closed), Air valve (fully open) and Process Tank(with 4 cm level of water) after
checking the knowledge of the prerequisites.

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First, it was set-up with what was shown in sheet 1.1 which is the connections
of the level with the relevant interface. Through leads, bush No.1 of the Level Sensor
was connected to bush No.1 of the correspondent interface and bush No.2 was
connected to bush No.2. A terminal of the digital voltmeter, set in DC, was inserted in
bush No.13 of the Level Interface and the other one was inserted on the earth bush.
Bush No.18 of the LINEAR DRIVER was connected to the bush of SET POINT 1, bush
No.19 was connected to bush No.19 and bush No.20 was connected to bush No.20.

After, the main switch was pressed ON. The pump regulating the voltage on
SET POINT 1 was then started and the level of the water in the PROCESS TANK was
brought to 6cm. After the level of the water is reached, the pump was stopped and the
voltage value of SET POINT 1 was set to 0 V. The level of the water in the tank was
gradually decreased by turning counter-clockwise the knob NEEDLE VALVE and/or
the knob DRAIN VALVE, back to 4 cm.

The voltage value was verified after reading the voltmeter if it corresponds to 0
V, otherwise, the OFFSET trimmer was regulated until the desired value is obtained.
Through this, the minimum working point of the Level Sensor is fixed. The pump was
started and the level of the water is increased to 14 cm. The voltage value was verified
if it corresponds to 10V after the pump is stopped, otherwise, the GAIN trimmer was
then regulated until the desired value is obtained. The voltage and the level values
were then correctly verified by repeating the steps obtaining the desired values to
know if it was calibrated efficiently.

After it was calibrated, the tank was drained slowly until level values shown in
Table 1.1 are reached and the corresponding voltage value for each level value was
noted. The main switch was turned off and all the connections were then removed.

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Sheet 1.1

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V. Experimental Data Analysis and Discussion

A. Tabulated Data and Results

Table A.1

Level 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4
(cm)
Voltage 9.99 9.20 8.00 6.83 5.80 4.63 3.49 2.61 1.78 0.88 0.00

Figure A.1 Figure 3-1. Level vs. Voltage Characteristic Curve

Level vs. Voltage

14
12 y = 0.9735x + 4.2911
10 R² = 0.9968

8
Level

6
4
2
0
0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00
Voltage

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B. Analysis and Discussion

In this experiment, the quantity being measured is the position or level of the
water, the output device (actuator) is the solenoid and the input device (sensor) is the
linear variable differential transformer. As seen in both Table A.1 and Figure A.1, as the
voltage increases, the level of the water also increases. From the graph, it shows that
the relationship between voltage and level of water is directly proportional since the
regression value of the line is 0.9968 which is close to 1.

It was also observed in the experiment that as the level of the water in the
process tank is increased, the corresponding voltage reading in the voltmeter increases
in a linear behavior. The voltage at 14 cm reads a 9.99 V voltage and as it was
decreased to 4 cm, the voltage reading is exactly 0 V.
In Figure A.1, it yields linearity of a positive slope for it slants upward from left to
right. It can be described is that it represents a constant rate of change of the obtained
values of voltage with respect to the level of water. The results was already expected since
the sensor used such as (DL 2314) is suitable to measure linear displacements (e.g. water
level) with an input of voltage making the values obtained empirically acceptable.

VI. Conclusions

From the experiment and answering the objectives of this experiment, and basing
from Table A.1 and Figure A.1, the level value is dependent on the voltage supplied.
The relationship between the level and voltage are directly proportional since as
voltage increases, the level of the water also increases. This proves the mechanism
of the level sensor such as the DL 2314 which is a transformer making it the most
applicable device to applications dealing with displacement measurements through
controlling the process.

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VII. References
1. September 8, 2019. Wikipedia : Level sensor, https://en.wikepedia
org./wiki/Level Sensor.

2. Beirão, Pedro & Valério, Duarte. (2012). Creation of a Virtual Graphic

Interface Applied to a Process Control System. Procedia - Social and
Behavioral Sciences. 46. 565-569. 10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.05.162.

3. http://www.tc-fluidcontrol.com/about-us/blog-posts/how-liquid-level-
sensors-work/

4. https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=14503

5. Azo Sensors, (2014, September 25). What is a Level Sensor? Retrieved

August 15, 2018, from
https://www.azosensors.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=380