UNIVERSITY OF WAH

WAH ENGINEERING COLLEGE

Department of Chemical Engineering
Assignment # 05
Course Title: Industrial Instrumentation and Control
Semester: Course Teacher: Aasia Farrukh
Total Marks: 50 Date: ________________________
Course Code: Ch. E-443
Student Name: Fahad Kamran Reg No. Uw-18-Che-Bsc-006
Title: Modelling the static and Dynamic Behavior of Chemical process

Course Program Learning Domain

Learning Learning
Outcome Outcome

CLO-3 PLO-1 Cognitive 1,2

PLO-1: Engineering Knowledge: An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science,

engineering fundamentals and an engineering specialization to the solution of complex
engineering problems.
CLO.3 Understand and explain key concepts of industrial instrumentation especially
instruments applied in process industry.

2.1 Explain what is meant by:

(a) active instruments
(b) passive instruments.
Give examples of each and discuss the relative merits of these two classes of instruments.

2.2 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of null and deflection types of measuring
instrument. What are null types of instruments mainly used for and why?

2.3 Briefly define and explain all the static characteristics of measuring instruments.

2.4 Explain the difference between accuracy and precision in an instrument.

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Q#2.1
Sol:
Introduction

In terms of energy consumption, we can classify instruments as active or passive. "Active" signifies
that a few things inside demand power, including a battery and an external voltage supply. "Passive"
simply means that no interior additives wish to be powered. Transistors, LED illumination, op-amps,
and other integrated circuit chips are examples of active additives. Resistors, capacitors, and most
potentiometers ("pots"), such as a quantity knob, are common passive components.

Active instruments
Active instruments are not Self generating type. They require an external power, and produce
an analog voltage or current when stimulated by some physical form of energy.
 Thermocouple
 Photovoltaic cell
 Moving coil generator
Example 1: Thermocouple
A thermocouple is a device consisting of two different conductors (usually metal alloys) that
produce a voltage, proportional to a temperature difference, between either ends of the two
conductors. Thermocouples are a widely used type of temperature sensor for measurement
and control and can also be used to convert a temperature gradient into electricity. They are
inexpensive, interchangeable, are supplied with standard connectors, and can measure a wide
range of temperatures. In contrast to most other methods of temperature measurement,
thermocouples are self-powered and require no external form of excitation. The main
limitation with thermocouples is accuracy and system errors of less than one degree Celsius
(C) can be difficult to achieve.

Figure # 2.1

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Example 2: Petrol Tank Level Indicator
A potentiometer arm moves when the level of gasoline changes and the output signal is a
proportion of the external voltage source supplied across the two ends of the potentiometer.
The external power source provides the energy in the output signal. The primary transducer
float system of this active instrument is just altering the value of the voltage from this
external power source.

Figure # 2.2

Passive instruments

Passive instruments are those which do not require an external power to operate, and the
output is a measure of some variation in passive components (e.g. resistance or capacitance)
Examples of passive instruments

 Slide-wire resistor

 Resistance strain gauge

 Differential transformer

Example1.1: Capacitors
A capacitor is a passive electrical component that can store energy in the electric field between a
pair of conductors (called "plates"). The process of storing energy in the capacitor is known as
"charging", and involves electric charges of equal magnitude, but opposite polarity, building up on
each plate. A capacitor's ability to store charge is measured by its capacitance, in units of farads.
Capacitors are often used by engineers in electric and electronic circuits as energystorage devices.
They can also be used to differentiate between high-frequency and low-frequency signals. This
property makes them useful in electronic filters. Practical capacitors have series resistance, internal
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leakage of charge, series inductance and other non-ideal properties not found in a theoretical, ideal,
capacitor.

Figure # 2.3

Example1.2: Pressure measuring device

The fluid pressure is transformed into a pointer movement against a scale. There are no other
energy inputs to the system, therefore the energy used to move the pointer is completely
obtained from the change in pressure detected.

Figure # 2.4

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Comparison and Difference between Active and Passive Instruments
1. Active instruments are complicated to design while passive instruments are simple to
design.

2. Due to complex design and a higher number of elements, active instruments are costlier.
The passive instrument is cheaper hence economical.

3. Examples of Active Instruments are a liquid level indicator, flow indicator. Examples of
Passive Instruments are pressure gauge, voltmeter, and ammeter.

4. In the active instruments, the quantity to be measured activates some external power input
source, which in turn produces the output. In passive instruments, the output is produced
entirely by the quantity being measured.

5. In the active instruments, additional external energy input source is required whereas in
passive, additional energy input source not required.

6. Active instruments are complicated to design while passive instruments are simple to
design.

7. Active instruments have a high resolution as compared to passive instruments.

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Q#2.2
Sol:

Null type measuring instruments:

In this type of measuring technique, direct weights are used to find the output of the system.
Its accuracy depends on the calibration of the weights. The simple diagram of this system is
as fallow.

Figure # 2.1

Advantages:

 They are very much accurate.

 They are readily used for measuring.

Disadvantages:

 Due to addition of different weights is involved, this method become little difficult then the
first one.

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Deflection type of measuring instruments:

They are those instruments in which pointer system is used to illustrate the output of the
system. Its accuracy depends on the linearity and calibration of the spring, the simple diagram
of this system is as fallow.

Figure # 2.2

Advantages:

 Due to their convenient use, these instruments are readily used for calibrations.

 It is very easy to read the output of deflection type instruments.

Disadvantages:

 They are less accurate.

“However, for calibration duties, the null-type instrument is preferable because of its superior
accuracy. The extra effort required to use such an instrument is perfectly acceptable in this
case because of the infrequent nature of calibration operations.”

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Q#2.3

Sol:

Accuracy of measurement is thus one consideration in the choice of instrument for a

particular application. Other parameters such as sensitivity, linearity and the reaction to
ambient temperature changes are further considerations. These attributes are collectively
known as the static characteristics of instruments, and are given in the data sheet for a
particular instrument. The various static characteristics are defined as fallow:

Accuracy and inaccuracy:

The accuracy of an instrument is a measure of how close the output reading of the instrument
is to the correct value. In practice, it is more usual to quote the inaccuracy figure rather than
the accuracy figure for an instrument. Inaccuracy is the extent to which a reading might be
wrong, and is often quoted as a percentage of the full-scale reading of an instrument. The
term measurement uncertainty is frequently used in place of inaccuracy.

Precision:

Precision is a term that describes an instrument’s degree of freedom from random errors. If a
large number of readings are taken of the same quantity by a high precision instrument, then
the spread of readings will be very small. Precision is often, though incorrectly, confused
with accuracy. High precision does not imply anything about measurement accuracy. A high
precision instrument may have a low accuracy. Low accuracy measurements from a high
precision instrument are normally caused by a bias in the measurements, which is removable
by recalibration.

Tolerance:

Tolerance is a term that is closely related to accuracy and defines the maximum error that is
to be expected in some value. When used correctly, tolerance describes the maximum
deviation of a manufactured component from some specified value.

Range or Span:

The range or span of an instrument defines the minimum and maximum values of a quantity
that the instrument is designed to measure.

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Linearity:

It is normally desirable that the output reading of an instrument is linearly proportional to the
quantity being measured. The non-linearity is then defined as the maximum deviation of any
of the output readings marked X from this straight line. Non-linearity is usually expressed as
a percentage of full-scale reading.

Sensitivity of measurement:

The sensitivity of measurement is a measure of the change in instrument output that occurs
when the quantity being measured changes by a given amount. Thus, sensitivity is the ratio:
[Scale deflection/value of measured producing deflection]

Threshold:

If the input to an instrument is gradually increased from zero, the input will have to reach a
certain minimum level before the change in the instrument output reading is of a large
enough magnitude to be detectable. This minimum level of input is known as the threshold of
the instrument. Manufacturers vary in the way that they specify threshold for instruments.

Resolution:

When an instrument is showing a particular output reading, there is a lower limit on the
magnitude of the change in the input measured quantity that produces an observable change
in the instrument output. Like threshold, resolution is sometimes specified as an absolute
value and sometimes as a percentage of deflection. One of the major factors influencing the
resolution of an instrument is how finely its output scale is divided into subdivisions.

Dead space:

Dead space is defined as the range of different input values over which there is no change in
output value. Any instrument that exhibits hysteresis also displays dead space.

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Q#2.4

Sol:
Precision is a term that describes an instrument’s degree of freedom from random errors. If a
large number of readings are taken of the same quantity by a high precision instrument, then
the spread of readings will be very small. Precision is often, though incorrectly, confused
with accuracy. High precision does not imply anything about measurement accuracy. A high
precision instrument may have a low accuracy. Low accuracy measurements from a high
precision instrument are normally caused by a bias in the measurements, which is removable
by recalibration.

The figure shows the results of tests on three industrial robots that were programmed to place
components at a particular point on a table. The target point was at the center of the
concentric circles shown, and the black dots represent the points where each robot actually
deposited components at each attempt. Both the accuracy and precision of Robot 1 are shown
to be low in this trial. Robot 2 consistently puts the component down at approximately the
same place but this is the wrong point. Therefore, it has high precision but low accuracy.
Finally, Robot 3 has both high precision and high accuracy, because it consistently places the
component at the correct target position.

Figure # 2.1

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REFERENCES

 https://automationforum.co/active-and-passive-instruments/

 https://gaugehow.com/lesson/static-characteristics/

 https://oxscience.com/accuracy-and-precision/

 https://www.steadyrun.com/difference-between-active-and-passive-instruments

 http://www.notesale.co.uk/more-info/152409/Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-

Null-and-Deflection-type-instruments

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