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Process Instrumentation 1(Theory)

Assignment 2

Kruger Douw Gerbrand Breed

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Question 1
1.
Accuracy describes the difference between the measurement and the part's actual value,
while precision describes the variation you see when you measure the same part repeatedly
with the same device.
2.
A transducer is an electronic device that converts energy from one form to another. Common
examples include microphones, loudspeakers, thermometers, position and pressure sensors,
and antenna.
A sensor is a transducer whose purpose is to sense (that is, to detect) some characteristic of
its environs. It detects events or changes in quantities and provides a corresponding output,
generally as an electrical or optical signal; for example, a thermocouple converts temperature
to an output voltage.
3.

Range can be defined as the measure of the instrument between the lowest and highest
readings it can measure.
Span can be defined as the range of an instrument from the minimum to maximum scale value.
Over range is the maximum pressure or load which may be applied to the transducer without
causing a permanent change in the performance specifications.
4.
Dead band/time is the range of input values for which there is no output (where no action
occurs). Whereas backlash is the delayed output result error, which appears whenever two
physical parts are supposed to move together and there is an amount of space between the
parts.
Input-output characteristics of backlash

Input-output characteristics of dead time

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Question 2
1.
Ionization is the process by which an atom or a molecule acquires a negative or positive charge
by gaining or losing electrons to form ions, often in conjunction with other chemical changes.
2.
Electromagnetic radiation; a clear piece of glass is transparent to visible light because the
available electrons in the material which could absorb the visible photons have no available
energy levels above them in the range of the quantum energies of visible photons. The glass
atoms do have vibrational energy modes which can absorb infrared photons, so the glass is not
transparent in the infrared. For example: This leads to the greenhouse effect.
3.
Geiger Counter, with Geiger-Mueller (GM) Tube or ProbeA GM tube is a gas-filled device that,
when a high voltage is applied, creates an electrical pulse when radiation interacts with the wall
or gas in the tube. These pulses are converted to a reading on the instrument meter. If the
instrument has a speaker, the pulses also give an audible click. Common readout units are
roentgens per hour (R/hr), milliroentgens per hour (mR/hr), rem per hour (rem/hr), millirem per
hour (mrem/hr), and counts per minute (cpm). GM probes (e.g., "pancake" type) are most often
used with handheld radiation survey instruments for contamination measurements. However,
energy-compensated GM tubes may be employed for exposure measurements. Further, often
the meters used with a GM probe will also accommodate other radiation-detection probes. For
example, a zinc sulfide (ZnS) scintillator probe, which is sensitive to just alpha radiation, is often
used for field measurements where alpha-emitting radioactive materials need to be measured.
MicroR Meter, with Sodium Iodide DetectorA solid crystal of sodium iodide creates a pulse of
light when radiation interacts with it. This pulse of light is converted to an electrical signal by a
photomultiplier tube (PMT), which gives a reading on the instrument meter. The pulse of light is
proportional to the amount of light and the energy deposited in the crystal. These instruments
most often have upper and lower energy discriminator circuits and, when used correctly as
single-channel analyzers, can provide information on the gamma energy and identify the
radioactive material. If the instrument has a speaker, the pulses also give an audible click,
a useful feature when looking for a lost source. Common readout units are microroentgens per
hour (R/hr) and/or counts per minute (cpm). Sodium iodide detectors can be used with
handheld instruments or large stationary radiation monitors. Special plastic or other inert crystal
"scintillator" materials are also used in place of sodium iodide.
Portable Multichannel AnalyzerA sodium iodide crystal and PMT described above, coupled
with a small multichannel analyzer (MCA) electronics package, are becoming much more
affordable and common. When gamma-ray data libraries and automatic gamma-ray energy
identification procedures are employed, these handheld instruments can automatically identify
and display the type of radioactive materials present. When dealing with unknown sources of
radiation, this is a very useful feature.
Ionization (Ion) Chamberthis is an air-filled chamber with an electrically conductive inner wall
and central anode and a relatively low applied voltage. When primary ion pairs are formed in
the air volume, from x-ray or gamma radiation interactions in the chamber wall, the central
anode collects the electrons and a small current is generated. This in turn is measured by an
electrometer circuit and displayed digitally or on an analog meter. These instruments must be
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calibrated properly to a traceable radiation source and are designed to provide an accurate
measure of absorbed dose to air which, through appropriate conversion factors, can be related
to dose to tissue. In that most ion chambers are "open air," they must be corrected for change
in temperature and pressure. Common readout units are milliroentgens and roentgen per hour
(mR/hr or R/hr). (Note: For practical purposes, consider the roentgen, rad, and the rem to be
equal with gamma or x rays. So, 1 mR/hr is equivalent to 1 mrem/hr.)
Neutron REM Meter, with Proportional CounterA boron trifluoride or helium-3 proportional
counter tube is a gas-filled device that, when a high voltage is applied, creates an electrical pulse
when a neutron radiation interacts with the gas in the tube. The absorption of a neutron in the
nucleus of boron-10 or helium-3 causes the prompt emission of a helium-4 nucleus or proton
respectively. These charged particles can then cause ionization in the gas, which is collected as
an electrical pulse, similar to the GM tube. These neutron-measuring proportional counters
require large amounts of hydrogenous material around them to slow the neutron to thermal
energies. Other surrounding filters allow an appropriate number of neutrons to be detected and
thus provide a flat-energy response with respect to dose equivalent. The design and
characteristics of these devices are such that the amount of secondary charge collected is
proportional to the degree of primary ions produced by the radiation. Thus, through the use of
electronic discriminator circuits, the different types of radiation can be measured separately. For
example, gamma radiation up to rather high levels is easily rejected in neutron counters.
Radon DetectorsA number of different techniques are used for radon measurements in home
or occupational settings (e.g., uranium mines). These range from collection of radon decay
products on an air filter and counting, exposing a charcoal canister for several days and
performing gamma spectroscopy for absorbed decay products, exposure of an electret ion
chamber and read-out, and long-term exposure of CR-39 plastic with subsequent chemical
etching and alpha track counting. All these approaches have different advantages and
disadvantages which should be evaluated prior to use.

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Question 3
1.
Diagram of a gas purge system example

Recycled Sample Gas (Reflux) Method See the diagram above. Where no instrument air is
available, the dried sample gas may be used after analysis as the purge gas by piping it in back to
the purge gas inlet. For best results, a vacuum should be pulled through the purge gas path by
installing the vacuum pump ahead of the purge gas outlet and a flow restriction (a needle valve
or capillary tube) before the purge gas inlet. For maximum performance, the vacuum level
should be no less than 7 psi (1/2 atmosphere). With lower vacuum levels or no vacuum the
performance will be reduced accordingly. Similarly, a higher vacuum improves performance. We
recommend the purge gas flow be 2-3x of the sample gas flow, which can be achieved with the
vacuum.
2.
Example of a sight glass level

A gauge glass shows the current level of water in the boiler, regardless of the boiler's operating
conditions. Gauge glasses should be installed so that their lowest reading will show the water
level at 50 mm above the point where overheating will occur. They should also be fitted with a
protector around them, but this should not hinder visibility of the water level. The above figure
shows a typical gauge glass.
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3.

4.
Buoyancy level sensors are less dense than the fluid and thus change position along with the
fluid level. The movement of the float transmits the level information through some mechanical
linkage to an output such as a valve or operator observation. There are basic three types of
mechanical linkage - chain / tape sensors, lever / shaft mechanisms and magnetically coupled
devices.
5.
A capacitor is made up of two conductors (electrodes/plates) that are electrically separated by a
nonconductor (dielectric) in both cases. In the case of level sensing, one of the electrodes is
typically a vertically positioned rod while the other is the metallic vessel wall. The dielectric
between them is the material being measured in the vessel. The principle of capacitance level
sensing is based on the formula below:
Capacitance =

(Dielectric constant) x (Area of the plates)

Distance between plate

If the dielectric is a liquid, the capacitance probe can measure the combined capacitance of both
the liquid and gas. When the liquid level rises or falls, the total capacitance value will change.
Since the dielectric constant and distance between the plates are constant (the rod and the
vessel are stable), the only value changing the capacitance is the area of the plates immersed in
the liquid. Total capacitance changes approximately proportionally to the liquid rise or fall in the
column. Consequently, the liquid level can be calculated by the change in capacitance. This
principal works the same for a two-plate capacitor with respect to the reason of operation.

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Question 4
4.1
If a meter's accuracy is based on a percentage of its full reading capability, the error is a fixed
value. For example; an error of 0.5% of full scale, in a 100-gallon per minute (gpm) device is +/0.5 gpm. If the device has an error expressed as a percentage of the actual flow, then a 0.5%
error of 10 m/sec is only 0,05 m/sec.
4.2
The principle of operation is to measure the resistance of a platinum element (Platinum
resistance thermometer). The most common type (PT100) has a resistance of 100 ohms at 0 C
and 138.4 ohms at 100 C.
For a PT100 sensor, a 1 C temperature change will cause a 0.384 ohm change in resistance. A 4
wire is the most accurate way of measurement, although 3 wire tends to be the norm.
The four-wire resistance configuration increases the accuracy of measurement of
resistance. Four-terminal sensing eliminates voltage drop in the measuring leads as a
contribution to error. To increase accuracy further, any residual thermoelectric voltages
generated by different wire types or screwed connections are eliminated by reversal of the
direction of the 1 mA current and the leads to the DVM (Digital Voltmeter). The thermoelectric
voltages will be produced in one direction only. By averaging the reversed measurements, the
thermoelectric error voltages are cancelled out.
4.3
Point-level sensors indicate whether the substance is above or below the sensing point. This is
essential to avoid overflow or emptying of tanks and to protect pumps from dry run.
Question 5
7.1.1
The Seebeck effect is a phenomenon in which a temperature difference between two dissimilar
electrical conductors or semiconductors produces a voltage difference between the two
substances. The Seebeck effect is the production of EMF.
7.1.2
The Peltier effect is the production or absorption of heat at a junction between two different
conductors when electric charge flows through it.

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7.2
Latent heat, characteristic amount of energy absorbed or released by a substance during a
change in its physical state that occurs without changing its temperature. The latent heat
associated with melting a solid or freezing a liquid is called the heat of fusion; that associated
with vaporizing a liquid or a solid or condensing a vapour is called the heat of vaporization.
The latent heat is normally expressed as the amount of heat (in units of joules or calories) per
mole or unit mass of the substance undergoing a change of state.
Diagram representation of latent heat

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References
http://blog.minitab.com/blog/real-world-quality-improvement/accuracy-vs-precision-whats-thedifference
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/transducer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensor
http://www.instrumentationtoday.com/instrument-parameters/2011/07/
http://www.engineering-dictionary.org/Overrange,_Safe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionization
http://www.vpinstruments.com/faq/what-is-the-difference-between-full-percentage-of-fullscale-and-percentage-of-reading-accuracy/
http://control.com/thread/1026239798
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistance_thermometer
http://www.sensorsmag.com/sensors/leak-level/the-principles-level-measurement-941
http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/Peltier-effect

http://urila.tripod.com/Thermoelectric.pdf
http://maritime.org/doc/fleetsub/refrig/chap3.htm

http://www.permapure.com/products/gas-sample-dryers/perma-pure-purge-gasconfigurations/
http://www2.spiraxsarco.com/resources/steam-engineering-tutorials/the-boiler-house/boiler-fittingsand-mountings.asp
https://controls.engin.umich.edu/wiki/index.php/LevelSensors