GPNB TRN Ins LHN U0 M1

Instrumentation General Knowledge – Unit 0
Introduction to Instrumentation – Module 1
Author: Nicolae Brencea
Maintenance Training GPNB 2016 1

Training objectives
• At the end of this lesson you will be able to describe the basic instrumentation
notions.

Job description
• An instrumentation technician is somebody who works at setting up, testing and
maintaining instrumentation devices that are used in the field of industry.
• This job involves working with intricately designed instruments that measure the
changes in the industrial environment.
• The instrumentation technician is responsible for anything that happens to an
instrument.

Job description
• Instrumentation technicians have to work with three different kinds of equipment.
• Electric and pneumatic equipment. These devices include flow and temperature transmitters and
devices that are using diaphragms, bellows or pressure springs.
• Hydraulic instrumentation and this includes hydraulic valves and electro-hydraulic instruments.
• Electronic and electrical equipment. These include computers, recorders, transducers and
telemetering devices. Some of this equipment needs special training to operate while others use
a general principle that has been covered in your course.

Job description
• Instrumentation technicians work in industries like refineries, chemical plants,
canneries, power stations, food processing units, water and air pollution monitoring
agencies.
• Job activities:
• Inspects, tests, adjusts, and repairs electric, electronic, mechanical, and pneumatic instruments
and systems used to indicate, record, and control process operations in industry. Inspects
meters, indicators and gauges to detect abnormal fluctuations.
• Tests the accuracy of measuring, indicating or controlling instruments to locate defective
components in system, using test equipment, such as pressure gauges, manometers,
potentiometers, pulse and signal generators, oscilloscopes, ammeters, voltmeters, and
ohmmeters.

Job description
• Trace out and test electronic circuitry and components to locate defective parts in analog and
digital, protection or monitoring systems, using test equipment, schematics, and maintenance
manuals.
• Removes defective instruments from systems, decontaminate, disassemble, clean instruments
and replace defective parts using various hand tools.
• Reassemble instruments and replaces instruments in system using hand tools.
• Lubricates instruments and replaces defective wiring and tubing.
• Calibrate readings on instruments according to standards, adjust and align stages to ensure
accuracy of recording and indicating functions.
• Record calibrations made, parts and components used and inventory of parts on hand.
• Prepare schematic drawings, sketches, and reports to reflect changes or alterations made in
instruments, circuits, and systems.

Introduction to process control
• In order to control a chemical or physical-chemistry operation (Process) you must
know certain parameters such as the pressure, temperature, flow rate, etc. and be
able to control them.
• We therefore have to take measurements to obtain certain items of essential
information before we can take any action.
• In the area of chemistry, the limitation of the sensorial field and the biological
possibilities place bounds on direct control by man.
• This control will be obtained by means of specific equipment.

• This obtained information will allow us to:
• quantify
• compare and check,
• duplicate, copy, repeat
• The information may be local or transmitted to the control room.

• All industries, whatever are their sector of activity, have at the heart of their
preoccupations the control and improvement of the quality of their products and the
development of the productivity of the manufacturing processes used.
• Automated control provides a solution to this problem.

• This technique has just gone through two major technological revolutions:
electronics and the microprocessor, which have significantly modified its
implementation and pushed back its application limits.
• Some years ago, control and automation were reserved for specialists, but now a
broad range of technicians must know the basic techniques, know how to make
strategic control choices and sometimes ensure first level maintenance.

• Simple control:
• What is the operator doing?
• He is opening or closing a valve.
• What is he looking at?
• An indicator.
• What is the type of measurement?
• A flow rate measurement.
• What is this operation called?
• Flow rate control.

• This type of operation can be applied to any type of control, according to the
physical quantity (or the measurement) that has to be regulated: level, pressure,
temperature, speed, etc.

• What does this diagram represent?
• The control of an industrial process.
• What is the process?
• The production, transformation, operating unit, etc.
• What does the measuring instrument do?
• It transforms a physical value into a visual item of data or an electrical / electronic
value.
• What is the controller?
• The system's brain which analyses and determines what action is to be taken.
• What does the valve (or other equipment) do?
• Corrects, adjusts a physical value to obtain the desired measurement.
• And there we've gone full circle…

• Control seen like a whole:

The measurement
• In instrumentation, there are essentially four types of value that are measured:
pressure, level, flow rate, temperature.
• Of course, all the other quantifiable types of physical data that have their own
measurement units will also be considered in instrumentation and control (density,
weight, speed, electrical values, vibration, etc.).

Measurement examples
• Distillation Process

• In this example the temperature, level of the liquid and the pressure of the gas
have a direct effect on the operation's efficiency and control.
• Storage

• The refined products are stored before being sold and shipped.
• The overflow of a tank would be dangerous, and would represent a loss of product
and of money.
• Consequently, the level of liquid in the storage tank, as in any other process tank,
must be controlled.

• Boiling
• The process variables are inter-dependent. For example, heating the water in a
boiler causes the temperature to rise. The pressure in the boiler also rises.

• A differential pressure is required to transport the liquids.
• The pressure is linked to the flow rate.
• The greater the pressure difference is, the faster the rate of flow is.

• Some instruments record the measured values, and others do not.
• For example, for the two separate items of information below, we can see 19°C at
1:50 but there will not be any recording of this (twofold) information. At 2:50, the
same indicator will not be able to say what the temperature was at 1:50. The
instrument only measures and displays, it does not record.

• But, if a recording paper or an electronic system stores the value in memory, the
instrument measures and records.
• Many processes are controlled automatically and require a memory to store this
information; the recorder (measurement memory over time) will be an essential
complement to control.

• Pressure measurement

• Gauge pressure
• Gauge or relative or effective pressure is the pressure measured with respect to atmospheric
pressure
• Absolute pressure
• This is the pressure measured from an absolute vacuum. It is therefore the gauge pressure plus
atmospheric pressure.
• Vacuum or negative pressure
• This is a negative gauge pressure, that is to say a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure.

• The atmospheric pressure
• The atmosphere is an envelope of gas surrounding the Earth.
• The height and weight of this atmosphere apply a variable pressure to the surface of the Earth.
• For example, at the top of a mountain, the weight of the air (the atmosphere) is lower than at sea
level, consequently, the pressure exerted by the air depends on the weight of that air.

• The atmospheric pressure is expressed in "atmospheres" (atm); this value is not
generally used now, although it does still exist. The reference value for atmospheric
pressure is 1013.25 mbar or 14.6959 psi.

• Level measurement
• Level is expressed either directly as a height (meter, cm, mm, etc. or inch, foot, yard, etc.), or as
a percentage (%).
• With the same liquid in the two tanks, what will the difference of level be?
• 3 times

• For the same level, in which tank will the pressure be the greater?
• Tank B

• As you should have acquired the notions of density and mass density in the
theoretical physics and measurements course, calculate the density of the liquid
(Units of your choice).
• 749.5 Kg/m3

• In these two vessels, containing the same liquid, which will have the greatest
pressure at level L?
• Right side
Maintenance Training GPNB 2016

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• To measure the level in this vessel, you will have to take ‘P’ into account. The
measurement should be performed taking into account the difference of pressures
(differential pressure).

• Flowrate measurement
• The flowrate is generally a volume per unit of time but can also be a mass (kg, tone, pound, etc.)
per unit of time.
• A flow rate of 100 m3 per hour will be greater than a flow rate of 100 m3 for 2 hours.
• The flow rate will increase if:
• The amount (volume or mass) of fluid increases
• The time (per unit of volume) decreases

• Flowrate-velocity relation
• A liquid is flowing through this line.

• The liquid passes through a restriction to reach the downstream side.
• In order to have the same flow rate upstream and downstream, the liquid's velocity
will have to increase as it passes through this restriction.

• Flowrate-pressure relation
• In this line the pressure at ‘A’ must be higher than at ‘B’ to make the fluid flow.
• The higher the flow speed required, the greater the (difference of) pressure must
be.
• The more the pressure upstream (at ‘A’) is used to increase the velocity of the fluid,
the more the pressure downstream (at ‘B’) decreases.

• Everything that blocks or slows down a fluid (liquid or gas) at the same time makes
its pressure increase.
• Like for the level, the pressure difference (differential pressure) will be one of the
main methods used to measure flow rates.

• Temperature measurement
• The molecules in all matter are constantly in movement.
• Matter (substances) exists in three states:
• solid
• liquid
• gaseous
• In each of these states, the matter consists of molecules in movement:

• Temperature units
• Water comes in three states (phases): solid (ice), liquid (water), gas (steam). Although it has
three forms – ice, water and steam – the basic element remains water.
• The differences between the phases result from the different contributions of heat. Ice is
transformed into water by adding heat; steam is transformed into water by removing heat.

• This phenomenon served as the basis for Mr. Celsius who decided to give
temperature a value of 0 for ice in fusion and the value 100 for the liquid-to-steam
transition. This scale was then divided into 100 units, hence the name °C for
degrees centigrade.
• As for Mr. Fahrenheit, he also chose a scale of 100 degrees but with somewhat
different reference points: 0°F corresponds to the freezing point of alcohol (- 18°C)
and 100°F (37.77 °C) the body temperature of someone with a slight fever…

• In order to define a temperature scale, we take two known and fixed reference
points such as, for example, the temperatures at which a pure body changes state.
We then divide that interval into equal intervals which represent one degree.
• As it is possible to take any number to designate the top and bottom of the scale,
and divide this scale into as many parts as we want, we can see that there are a
great number of temperature scales.

• The most commonly used are:
• the CENTIGRADE or CELSIUS (named after its inventor) scale which takes as its 0 reference
point the fusion of ice, and as its 100 point the temperature at which water boils. This scale is
divided into 100 equal parts called DEGREE CELSIUS (°C),
• the FAHRENHEIT scale used by the British and Americans essentially, is divided into 180
degrees (°F), with ice melting at 32 degrees and water boiling at 212 degrees.

Site equipment operating principles
• The general measure loop arrangement

• Sensors
• The sensor transforms the process's "physical" value into a mechanical or electrical quantity that
can be detected and therefore be measured.
• This measurement is either:
• Local, using indicators: pressure gauges, gauge glass, tapes (levels), meters, flowmeters, rotameters, totalizers
(flow), thermometers, and others for the other types of measurements
• Remote: for which we use transmitters or transducers (analogue or digital transmission), different types of contact
breaking system for On-Off transmissions (pressure switch, pressure switch, thermostat, switch, etc.). Remote
transmission is carried out by means of a fluid (pneumatic, hydraulic transmission), electrical current (analogue
transmission), pulses (digital transmission).

• Pressure
• Pressure is measured by:
• using the hydrostatic laws within a column of liquid: U-tube, column, etc.
• measuring the force exerted on a given surface area by balancing with another known force: scales
• measuring the deformation undergone by elastic solids submitted to pressure: Bourdon tube, bellows, pressure
capsule.

• When the level of liquid rises or falls in this pressure gauge, this means the
pressure increases or the pressure decreases. The pressure value is given on the
scale.

• Bourdon tubes are circular-shaped tubes with oval cross sections. The Bourdon
tube works on a simple principle that a bent tube will change its shape when
exposed to variations of internal and external pressure. As pressure is applied
internally, the tube straightens and returns to its original form when the pressure is
released.
• The capsule consists of two circular shaped, convoluted membranes (usually

stainless steel) sealed tight around the circumference.
• Bellows type elements are constructed of tubular membranes that are convoluted
around the circumference.
• The membrane is attached at one end to the source and at the other end to an
indicating device or instrument.

• The bellows can also measure a differential pressure:

• Level
• We use measuring methods based on:
• Detection of the free surface or of the separation itself
• Measurement of the level by the pressure due to the height of liquid
• Electric or nuclear phenomena
• Gauge glass
• This is the simplest system.
• The liquid follows the movement of the level in the tank. The gauge glass can be much smaller
than the tank itself, with several elements installed "in stages".
• The material mainly used is glass, it is therefore a fragile apparatus, and mechanical protection is
often required.
• Furthermore, on the site it will have to withstand the process's pressures.

• Example

• Applications of the Archimedes' principle

• Torque tube
• An object floats on a liquid because the liquid exerts a force on the object pushing it upwards.
When the object weighs less than that force (upwards), the object floats, if the weight is greater
than the force, the object sinks.
• This metal bar is held by a spring. In air this bar weighs 1 kg, but when it is immersed, it will
weigh less than 1 kg. The bar will gradually weigh less and less as it sinks. At the level of the
spring, as the bar sinks the tension will decrease.

• Instead of tautening / slackening a spring, the bar can twist a tube.
• As the level of liquid increases, the force on the plunger increases and it becomes
"lighter". This is the principle of displacer level measurement.

• Bubble pipe indicator
• The level indication is determined by blowing a sufficient amount of air into the liquid to produce
a permanent flow of 'some' bubbles.
• The pressure required to force the air to the bottom of the immersed tube represents the height
of liquid.
• The higher the level, the greater the pressure required to produce the bubbles, and the higher
the level indication will be on the "pressure gauge".

• Flowrate
• Possible methods for measuring a fluid's flow rate:
• by measuring fluid velocity directly
• by measuring fluid velocity indirectly
• by measuring Q directly

• Turbine
• The turbine's number of revolutions is directly proportional to the speed of the liquid and
therefore to its flow rate.
• A detector counts the number of revolutions (a frequency) which then must simply be
transformed into a speed indication and therefore a flow rate.

• Rotameter
• This must obligatorily be installed in the upright position because the operating
principle is based on gravity.
• The velocity of the fluid (gas or liquid) pushes the displacer (float) inside a conically
shaped tube (transparent).
• The flow rate is measured on a graduated scale associated with the displacer.

• Diaphragm (Orifice plate)
• A fluid's flow through a restriction causes a pressure difference between the

upstream and downstream that increases as the speed increases.
• The measurement of this pressure differential makes it possible to know the speed,
and therefore the flow rate.
• The devices used are diaphragms, nozzles, Pitot tubes or Venturi tubes.

• A differential pressure flowmeter requires two distinct parts:
• an orifice plate
• a dp indicator (or a transmitter) for measuring this pressure

• Volumetric counters
• The volume is measured directly and over the time unit gives the flow rate.
• Each rotation of the "impellers" gives the same amount of flow. The wheels
(impellers) allow the liquid to pass, actuating a shaft connected to a counter. The
faster the liquid is flowing, the faster the impellers rotate. The counter actuated by
the impellers measures the number of rotations.

• Temperature
• Various principles are used that apply:
• The thermal properties of solids and fluids
• Thermo-electrical properties
• Optical phenomena

• Thermometer
• With mercury, alcohol or other type of fluid, dilation thermometer, shown the
temperature by the height of the fluid which dilates as the temperature rises.

• The dilation thermometer has some drawbacks:
• It must be 'long' to measure high temperatures, which may not always be very practical.
• The tube is (usually) made of glass and is therefore fragile.
• Furthermore, the diameter of long tubes cannot be uniform and that will distort the reading.
• When the temperature rises, the pressure increases, which means that the
temperature can be measured indirectly by the pressure exerted by a fluid in a
‘thermometer’.
• For example, a Bourdon tube is used to measure a pressure but can be adapted to
measure a temperature. The tube can be filled with a liquid or a gas.

• Dilation of metals and solids

• All metals dilate when they are heated, but to different degrees for each metal. This property is
used for bimetallic thermometers: two different metals are associated to form the heat detector.

• Metal ‘1’ dilates more than metal ‘2’; then the bar bends and will bend all the more
as the temperature rises.
• It is not really very easy to transform the dilation of a bar to measure the
temperature.
• It is possible to get around this difficulty by using a bimetallic winding as the
detection element.

• When the temperature increases, one metal dilates more than the other.
• One end of the winding is fixed (welded) to a support; the other is free and will
unwind as the temperature increases.
• This movement is associated mechanically with a pointer (or a transmitter) which
will indicate the temperature.

• Thermoelectical properties
• Like heat and pressure, electricity is a type of energy. Heat can affect an electrical current, the
temperature differences being proportional to the electrical currents; this will be a type of
thermoelectrical thermometer.
• All ‘substances’ have an electrical resistance, and this resistance has the particularity of
changing value as the temperature changes.

• Variation in the electrical resistance of a conductor or RTD (Resistance
Temperature Detection)
• The resistance of a metallic wire is directly proportional to temperature variations.
• The most commonly used material is platinum, the detector elements is called Pt 100 because
the special characteristic of Pt 100 probes is that they have a resistance of exactly 100.00 Ω at
0°C, and the resistance values vary linearly (nearly perfectly) with the changes of temperature.

• The thermocouple
• Two different metals are ‘assembled’ (soldered) at one end, which is called the
"junction".
• Heating the junction activates the electrons and thus produces a 'PD' (potential
difference or voltage).
• Each metal has its own voltage in its natural state. There will therefore be a ‘+’ side
and a ‘-‘ side at the end of these two conductors.

• Indicators
• These are devices that receive a process value but they only indicate it.
• They perform also complementary functions like recorders and controllers.

• Examples

• Valves
• The different types of valve are detailed in the specific course which indicates this diversity of
valve bodies.
• In instrumentation the interest focuses on the whole control system that is to say the servomotor
or actuator, which is very often pneumatic and completed by the positioner.
• The servomotor is the device that operates the valve; it is the actuator that can be pneumatic
with a membrane, hydraulic with a piston, with an electric motor, etc.
• The positioner is the relay between the measurement / control system (the DCS; the controller,
the PLC; etc.) that receives the signal (movement order) and ensures the ‘true’ positioning of the
valve.

• Examples

• Different parts of a control valve:
• A servomotor made up of:
• the upper and lower covers one of which has an orifice drilled in it allowing the inlet and outlet of instrument air.
• the membrane and its support plate
• the adjustable tension spring
• the transmission stem
• A valve body enclosing the valve plug whose movement guided in translation is integral
(attached by a stem) with the movement of the membrane.
• A yoke, linking the servomotor to the valve body, and fitted with a disk indicating the valve plug's
position.
• A sealing system: Braids, studs and packing gland follower.

• Example

• Safety principles of a control valve
• The actuator needs an external power source to move the valve body. In the
diagram below air (or gas) actuates the membrane (diaphragm) but in four different
combinations.
• For the valves in positions ‘A’ and ‘B’: air close and air failure opens the valve. For
the valve in positions ‘C’ and ‘D’: air opens and air failure closes the valve.

Module 1
End of Module

GPNB TRN Ins LHN U0 M1

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Instrumentation General Knowledge – Unit 0

Introduction to Instrumentation – Module 1

Author: Nicolae Brencea

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• A liquid is flowing through this line.

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• The capsule consists of two circular shaped, convoluted membranes (usually

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• A fluid's flow through a restriction causes a pressure difference between the

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