Unit I Science of Measurement PDF

UNIT I SCIENCE OF MEASUREMENT
Measurement System – Instrumentation – Characteristics

of measurement systems – Static and Dynamic – Errors
in Measurements – Calibration and Standards.
EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 1

Measurement
 A system of measurement is a collection of units of
measurement and rules relating them to each other.
Systems of measurement have historically been
important, regulated and defined for the purposes
of science and commerce.
 Measurement system is meant to include all components
in a chain of hardware and the software that leads
from the ensured variable to the processed data.
Measurement
 The measurement system generally involves using an

instrument as a physical means of determining a quantity
or a variable.
 Thus the measurement of a given quantity is essentially an

act or the result of comparison between the quantity
(whose magnitude is unknown) and a predefined standard.

Significance of measurement
 The advancement of science and technology is dependent

upon a parallel progress in the measurement techniques.
 It can be safely said that the quickest way to assess a

nation’s progress is to examine the type of measurements
that are being made and the way in which the data is
acquired by the measurements.

Methods of measurement
Direct method
 The unknown quantity (measurand) is directly compared

against a standard. The result is expressed as a numerical
number along with a unit.
 Suitable for measuring physical quantities such as length,

mass and time.
 Indirect
EC Method
7012- Measurements and instrumentation 5
Methods of measurement
Indirect method
 Direct method of measurements are not always possible,

feasible and practicable.
 Less sensitive in nature.

Instrument
 In abstract terms, an instrument is a device that

transforms a physical variable of interest(measurand) into
a form that is suitable for recording(measurement).In
order to have a broad and consistent meaning.
 It is common to employ a standard system of units by

which the measurement from one instrument can be
compared with the measurement of another.

Types of Instrument
Mainly the instruments are classified as three category:
 Mechanical
 Electrical
 Electronic

Types of Instrument
Mechanical Instrument
• Very reliable for static and stable condition
• Unable to respond rapidly because of the bulk nature and
rigid to transient variations.
Electrical Instrument
• More rapid than the electrical instrument
• Yet depends on the mechanical meter movement as an
indicating device.

Types of Instrument
Electronics Instrument
 Since the movement depends only on the movement of

electrons ,response time is extremely small.
 Even very weak signals can be detected using the pre-

amplifiers.
 Lighter in weight and compact in size.
 High degree of reliability

Functional elements of an Instrument
It is possible and desirable to describe both the
operation and performance of the measuring instruments and
associated equipment in a generalized way without recourse
to a specific hardware.

Simple Instrument model

 The physical process to be measured in kept on the left.
 Measurand is represented as X
 Key functional element is the sensor which is a function of

converting the physical variable input into a signal variable
output.
 Signal variables have the property which can be

manipulated in a transmission medium.
 Thus the signal output from the sensor can be displayed,

recorded or used as an input signal to some secondary
system or device.
 The output is the measurement M

Instrument model

Instrument model
 If the signal output from the sensor is small, it is

sometimes necessary to amplify the output .
 The amplified output can then be transmitted to the

display device or recorded, depending on the particular
measurement application.
 In many cases it is necessary for the instrument to

provide a digital signal output so that it can interface with

Instrument model
 a computer-based data acquisition or communications

system. If the sensor does not inherently provide a digital
output, then the analog output of the sensor is converted
by an analog to digital converter (ADC) .
 The digital signal is typically sent to a computer processor

that can display, store, or transmit the data as output to
some other system, which will use the measurement.

Sensors
 Sensors convert physical variables to signal variables.

Sensors are often transducers in that they are devices
that convert input energy of one form into output energy
of another form.
 Sensors can be categorized into two broad classes [active

sensors and passive sensors] depending on how they
interact with the environment they are measuring.

Types of sensors
 Passive sensors do not add energy as part of the
measurement process but may remove energy in their
operation.
 For example thermocouple is a passive sensor which

converts a physical temperature into a voltage signal. In
this case, the temperature gradient in the environment
generates a thermoelectric voltage that becomes the
signal variable.
Passive sensors
 Another passive transducer is a pressure gauge where the

pressure being measured exerts a force on a mechanical
system (diaphragm, aneroid or Borden pressure gauge)
that converts the pressure force into a displacement,
which can be used as a signal variable.

Active sensors
 Active sensors add energy to the measurement

environment as part of the measurement process.
 An example of an active sensor is a radar or sonar system,

where the distance to some object is measured by actively
sending out a radio (radar) or acoustic (sonar) wave to
reflect off of some object and measure its range from the
sensor.

Calibration
 The relationship between the physical measurement

variable input and the signal variable (output) for a
specific sensor is known as the calibration of the sensor.
 Typically, a sensor (or an entire instrument system) is

calibrated by providing a known physical input to the
system and recording the output. The data are plotted on
a calibration curve.

Calibration Curve
 The sensor has a linear
response for values of the
physical input less than X0.
 The sensitivity of the

device is determined by
the slope of the calibration
curve.

 In this example, for values of the physical input greater
than X0, the calibration curve becomes less sensitive until
it reaches a limiting value of the output signal.
 This behavior is referred to as saturation, and the sensor

cannot be used for measurements greater than its
saturation value.
 The difference between the smallest and largest physical

inputs that can reliably be measured by an instrument
determines the dynamic range of the device.
Interfering Input
It represents the
quantities to which
an instrument or a
measurement
system becomes
unintentionally
sensitive.

Interfering Input
 The sensor output will be influenced by physical variables

other than the intended measurand.
Here,
X is the intended measurand,
Y is an interfering input, and
Z is a modifying input.

Interfering Input
 The interfering input Y causes the sensor to respond in

the same manner as the linear superposition of Y and the
intended measurand X.
 The measured signal output is therefore a combination of

X and Y, with Y interfering with the intended measurand
X.

Modifying Input
 Modifying inputs are defined as

inputs which cause a change in input-
output relationships for either
desired inputs or interfering inputs
or for both.
 Modifying inputs changes the
behavior of the sensor or
measurement system, thereby
modifying the input/output
relationship and calibration of the
device.
Modifying Input
 The slope of the calibration curve changes. Consequently,

changing Z will result in a change of the apparent
measurement even if the physical input variable X remains
constant.
 A common example of a modifying input is temperature; it

is for this reason that many devices are calibrated at
specified temperatures.

Accuracy
 The accuracy of an instrument is defined as the

difference between the true value of the measurand and
the measured value indicated by the instrument.
 Typically, the true value is defined in reference to some

absolute or agreed upon standard. For any particular
measurement there will be some error due to systematic
(bias) and random (noise) error sources.

Target analogy of measurement accuracy

Systematic error source(Bias)
 The combination of systematic and random error can be
visualized by considering the analogy of the target.
 The systematic (bias) error results in the grouping of

shots being offset from the bulls eye .The size of the
grouping is determined by random error sources and is a
measure of the precision of the shooting.
 Systematic error may also refer to an error with a non-

zero mean
 The modifying inputs and interfering inputs discussed can
result in sensor miscalibration. For example, if tem-
perature is a modifying input, using the sensor at a
temperature other than the calibrated temperature
will result in a systematic error.
 In many cases, if the systematic error source is known, it

can be corrected for by the use of compensation methods.

 Aging of the components will change the sensor response
and hence the calibration.
 Damage or abuse of the sensor can also change the

calibration.
 In order to prevent these systematic errors, sensors

should be periodically recalibrated.

Invasiveness
 Systematic errors can also be introduced if the
measurement process itself changes the intended
measurand. This issue, defined as invasiveness, is a key
concern in many measurement problems.
 An extreme example of invasiveness would be to use a

large warm thermometer to measure the temperature of a
small volume of cold fluid. Heat would be transferred from
the thermometer and would warm the fluid.
 Systematic errors or bias can be introduced by human

observers when reading the measurement. A common
example of observer bias error is parallax error. This is
the error that results when an observer reads a dial from
a non-normal angle. Because the indicating needle is above
the dial face, the apparent reading will be shifted from
the correct value.

Random Error Sources (Noise)
 If systematic errors can be removed from a measurement,

some error will remain due to the random error sources
that define the precision of the measurement.
 Random error is sometimes referred to as noise, which is

defined as a signal that carries no useful information. If a
measurement with true random error is repeated a large
number of times, it will exhibit a Gaussian distribution,

The Gaussian distribution is
centered on the true value
(presuming no systematic
errors), so the mean or
average of all the
measurements will yield a
good estimate of the true
value.
 The precision of the measurement is normally quantified

by the standard deviation ( ) that indicates the width of
the Gaussian distribution. Given a large number of
measurements, a total of 68% of the measurements will
fall within ±1 of the mean; 95% will fall within ±2 ,and
99.7% will fall within ±3 .. The smaller the standard
deviation, the more precise the measurement.

Instrumental model with noise sources

 Random interfering inputs will result in noise from the

measurement environment N1 that are introduced before
the sensor, as shown in the figure.
 An example would be background noise received by a

microphone.
 Sensor noise N2 can also be introduced within the sensor.

An example of this would be thermal noise.

 Random motion of electrons, due to temperature, appear

as voltage signals, which are apparently due to the high
sensitivity of the device. It is common to cool the
detector to minimize this noise source.
 Noise N3 can also be introduced in the transmission path

between the transducer and the amplifier.

Sensor Fusion

Sensor Fusion
Two or more sensors are used to observe the environment

and their output signals are combined in some manner
(typically in a processor) to provide a single enhanced
measurement. This process frequently allows measurement
of phenomena that would otherwise be unobservable.

Estimation
With the use of computational power, it is often

possible to improve the accuracy of a poor quality
measurement through the use of estimation techniques.
These methods range from simple averaging or low-

pass filtering to cancel out random fluctuating errors to
more sophisticated techniques such as Wiener or Kalman
filtering and model-based estimation techniques.

Basic Steps in Development of Instruments
 Development of Mathematical Model for Identification of

Parameters to be measured.
 Identification of characteristics to be possessed by a

general Instruments.
 Qualitative and Quantitative models for determination of

Instrument design details.
 Selection of geometrical and physical parameters.

Characteristics of measurement systems
Static characteristics
The performance criteria for the measurement of

quantities that remain constant, or vary only quite slowly.
Dynamic characteristics
The relationship between the system input and output

when the measured quantity (measurand) is varying rapidly.

Characteristics of measurement systems
 To choose the instrument, most suited to a particular

measurement application, one should know the system
characteristics.
 The performance characteristics may be broadly divided

into two groups, namely ‘static’ and ‘dynamic’
characteristics.

Generalized Instrument System
Thermal
Variable

Generalized Instrument System

Instruments formed from a connection of
blocks.

STATIC CHARACTERISTICS OF
MEASUREMENT SYSTEM
The performance characteristics of an instrument are mainly

divided into two categories:
i)Static characteristics ii)Dynamic characteristics
Static characteristics:
The set of criteria defined for the instruments, which are used
to measure the quantities which are slowly varying with time or
mostly constant, i.e., do not vary with time, is called ‘static
characteristics’.
STATIC CHARACTERISTICS OF
MEASUREMENT SYSTEM
i)Accuracy vii)Resolution
ii)Precision viii)Threshold
iii)Sensitivity ix)Drift
iv)Linearity x)Stability
v)Reproducibility
xi)Tolerance
vi) Repeatability
xii)Range or span

Accuracy
It is the degree of closeness with which the reading

approaches the true value of the quantity to be measured. The
accuracy can be expressed in following ways:
a)Point accuracy
Such accuracy is specified at only one particular point of
scale. It does not give any information about the accuracy at any
other Point on the scale.

Accuracy
b)Accuracy as percentage of scale span
When an instrument as uniform scale, its accuracy may be
expressed in terms of scale range.
c)Accuracy as percentage of true value
The best way to conceive the idea of accuracy is to specify
it in terms of the true value of the quantity being measured.

Precision
It is the measure of reproducibility i.e., given a fixed

value of a quantity, precision is a measure of the degree of
agreement within a group of measurements. The precision is
composed of two characteristics:
 Conformity
 Number of significant figures

Precision
a)Conformity
Consider a resistor having true value as 2385692 ,
which is being measured by an ohmmeter. But the reader
can read consistently, a value as 2.4 M due to the non
availability of proper scale. The error created due to the
limitation of the scale reading is a precision error.

Precision
b)Number of significant figures

The precision of the measurement is obtained from
the number of significant figures, in which the reading is
expressed. The significant figures convey the actual
information about the magnitude & the measurement
precision of the quantity.
The precision can be mathematically expressed as:

Precision
The precision can be mathematically expressed as:
Where, P = precision
xn = Value of nth measurement
xn = Average value the set of measurement values

Sensitivity
The sensitivity denotes the smallest change in the

measured variable to which the instrument responds. It is
defined as the ratio of the changes in the output of an
instrument to a change in the value of the quantity to be
measured. Mathematically it is expressed as ,
𝐼𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 ∆𝑞𝑜

𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 = =
𝐼𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 ∆𝑞𝑖

Sensitivity

Sensitivity
Thus, if the calibration curve is linear, as shown, the

sensitivity of the instrument is the slope of the calibration
curve.
If the calibration curve is not linear as shown, then
the sensitivity varies with the input. Inverse sensitivity or
deflection factor is defined as the reciprocal of sensitivity.
Inverse sensitivity or deflection factor = 1/ sensitivity

Linearity
The linearity is defined as the ability to reproduce the

input characteristics symmetrically and linearly.

𝑴𝒂𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆
% 𝑵𝒐𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 =
𝑭𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝑺𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈
Reproducibility
It is the degree of closeness with which a given value
may be repeatedly measured. It is specified in terms of
scale readings over a given period of time.

Repeatability
Repeatability
It is defined as the variation of scale reading & random in
nature

Drift
Drift is an indication of the loss of perfect
repeatability or reproduction of a measured value by an
instrument. It may be classified into three categories:
a) zero drift
If the whole calibration gradually shifts due to
slippage, permanent set, or due to undue warming up of
electronic tube circuits, zero drift sets in.

Drift

Drift
b)span drift or sensitivity drift

If there is proportional change in the indication all
along the upward scale, the drifts is called span drift
or sensitivity drift.
c)Zonal drift
In case the drift occurs only a portion of span of
an instrument, it is called zonal drift.
Resolution
Resolution
If the input is slowly increased from some arbitrary
input value, it will again be found that output does not
change at all until a certain increment is exceeded. This
increment is called resolution.

Threshold
If the instrument input is increased very gradually
from zero there will be some minimum value below which no
output change can be detected. This minimum value defines
the threshold of the instrument.
Stability
It is the ability of an instrument to retain its
performance throughout is specified operating life.
Tolerance
The maximum allowable error in the measurement is
specified in terms of some value which is called tolerance.
Range or span
The minimum & maximum values of a quantity for
which an instrument is designed to measure is called its
range or span.

Span
 The input span is the maximum change of the input and the output
span is the maximum change of the output.
 Input span:
I MAX  I MIN
 Output span:
OMAX  OMIN

Hysteresis and Backlash
 The same effect arises as a magnetic field is

reversed in a magnetic material. This
characteristic is called hysteresis
 Where this is caused by a mechanism that gives

a sharp change, such as caused by the looseness
of a joint in a mechanical joint, it is easy to
detect and is known as backlash.

Hysteresis and Backlash
 Careful observation of the output/input
relationship of a block will sometimes reveal
different results as the signals vary in direction
of the movement.
 Mechanical systems will often show a small

difference in length as the direction of the
applied force is reversed.

Dynamic characteristics:
The set of criteria defined for the instruments, which are

changes rapidly with time, is called ‘dynamic characteristics’.
The various dynamic characteristics are:
i)Speed of response
ii)Measuring lag
iii)Fidelity
iv)Dynamic error

a)Retardation type
In this case the response of the measurement system
begins immediately after the change in measured quantity has
occurred.
b)Time delay lag

In this case the response of the measurement system
begins after a dead time after the application of the input.
Fidelity: It is defined as the degree to which a measurement
system indicates changes in the measurand quantity without
dynamic error.
Speed of response
It is defined as the rapidity with which a measurement
system responds to changes in the measured quantity.
Measuring lag
It is the retardation or delay in the response of a measurement

system to changes in the measured quantity. The measuring
lags are of two types:

Dynamic error:
It is the difference between the true value of the
quantity changing with time & the value indicated by the
measurement system if no static error is assumed. It is
also called measurement error.

Linearity
 It is normally desirable that the

output reading of an instrument is
Omax
linearly proportional to the
quantity being measured.
 An instrument is considered if
the relationship between output
an input can be fitted in a line.
Omin
 OMAX  OMIN  Imin Imax
O  OMIN    I  I MIN 
 I MAX  I MIN 

Environmental effects
 All calibrations and specifications of an instrument are only

valid under controlled conditions of temperature, pressure
etc.
 These standard ambient conditions are usually defined in

the instrument specification.

Environmental effects
 As variations occur in the ambient temperature, etc.,

certain static instrument characteristics change, and the
sensitivity to disturbance is a measure of the magnitude of
this change.
 Such environmental changes affect instruments in two main

ways, known as zero drift and sensitivity drift.
 Zero drift is sometimes known by the alternative term,

bias.
Errors in measurements
 When ideal conditions are applied to measure any

parameter, the average deviations due to various factors
tend to be zero. Average of these infinite number of
measured values is termed as True Value. However, such a
situation is hypothetical, since the negative and positive
deviations do not actually cancel each other.

Errors in measurements
 Practically, the measured value obtained under the most
ideal conditions (as agreed upon by Experts) is considered
as the True Value or the best-measured value.
 Difference between the actual value and the true value is

known as an Error.

Types of error

Blunders
 Blunders are final source of errors and these errors are

caused by faulty recording or due to a wrong value while
recording a measurement, or misreading a scale or
forgetting a digit while reading a scale.
 These blunders should stick out like sore thumbs if one

person checks the work of another person. It should not
be comprised in the analysis of data

Systematic Error
The Systematic errors that occur

due to fault in the measuring device Observational Error
are known as systematic errors.
Usually they are called as Zero
Error – a positive or negative error. Environmental Error
These errors can be detached by
correcting the measurement device. Instrumental Error
Theoretical Error
Systematic
Error
Observational Errors
The observational errors may occur due to the fault

study of the instrument reading, and the sources of these
errors are many. For instance, the indicator of a voltmeter
retunes a little over the surface of the scale.
As a result, a fault happens except the line of the

image of the witness is accurately above the indicator. To
reduce the parallax error extremely precise meters are
offered with reflected scales.
Environmental Errors
Environmental errors will happen due to the outside

situation of the measuring instruments. These types of
errors mostly happen due to the temperature result, force,
moisture, dirt, vibration otherwise because of the
electrostatic field or magnetic.

Environmental Errors
The remedial measures used to remove these unwanted

effects include the following:
 The preparation should be finished to remain the

situations as stable as achievable.
 By the instrument which is at no cost from these results.
 With these methods which remove the result of these

troubles.

Instrumental Errors
Instrumental errors will happen due to some of

the following reasons
 An inherent limitation of Devices
 These errors are integral in devices due to their features

namely mechanical arrangement. These may happen due to
the instrument operation as well as the operation or
computation of the instrument.

Instrumental Errors
These types of errors will make the mistake to
study very low otherwise very high.
For instance, If the apparatus uses the delicate spring

then it offers the high-value of determining measure. These
will happen in the apparatus due to the loss of hysteresis or
friction.

Instrumental Errors
Abuse of Apparatus
 The error in the instrument happens due to the machinist’s
fault. A superior device used in an unintelligent method may
provide a vast result.
 For instance – the abuse of the apparatus may cause the

breakdown to change the zero of tools, poor early modification,
with lead to very high resistance. Improper observes of these
may not reason for lasting harm to the device, except all the
similar, they cause faults.
Instrumental Errors
Effect of Loading
The most frequent type of this error will occur due to

the measurement work in the device. For instance, as the
voltemeter is associated to the high-resistance circuit which
will give a false reading, as well as after it is allied to the
low-resistance circuit, this circuit will give the reliable
reading, and then the voltmeter will have the effect of
loading on the circuit.
Theoretical Errors
Theoretical errors are caused by simplification of

the model system. For example, a theory states that the
temperature of the system surrounding will not change the
readings taken when it actually does, then this factor will
begin a source of error in measurement.

Gross Errors
Gross errors can be defined as physical errors in analysis
apparatus or calculating and recording measurement outcomes. In
general, these type of errors will happen throughout the
experiments, wherever the researcher might study or record a
worth different from the real one, possibly due to a reduced
view. With human concern, types of errors will predictable,
although they can be estimated and corrected.

Gross Errors
 These types of errors can be prohibited by the following
couple of actions:
 Careful reading as well as a recording of information.
 Taking numerous readings of the instrument by different

operators. Secure contracts between different
understandings guarantee the elimination of every gross
error.

Random Errors
This type of error is constantly there in a
measurement, which is occurred by essentially random
oscillations in the apparatus measurement analysis or in the
experimenter’s understanding of the apparatus reading.
These types of errors show up as dissimilar outcomes
for apparently the similar frequent measurement, which can
be expected by contrasting numerous measurements, with
condensed by averaging numerous measurements.
Standards
 A standard of measurement is a physical representation of
a unit of measurement.
 A unit is realized by reference to an arbitrary material

standard or to natural phenomena including physical and
atomic constants.
 For example, the fundamental unit of mass in the

international system (SI) is the kilogram

Classification of Standards
The standards are classified according to their

function and application in following type:
1. International Standards
2. Primary Standards
3. Secondary Standards
4. Working Standards

International Standards
 The international standards are defined by international

agreement. They represent certain units of measurement
to the closest possible accuracy that production and
measurement technology allow.
 These standards are periodically checked by absolute

measurements in terms of the fundamental units. These
standards are maintained at international bureau of
weights and measure and are not available to the ordinary
EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation
users for measurements.
101
International Standards
 International ohm: It is defined as the resistance offered

by a column of mercury having a mass of 14.4521 grams,
uniform cross-section areas length of 106.300 cm, to the
flow of constant current at the melting point of ice.
 International ampere: It is an unvarying current, which

when passed through a solution of silver nitrate in water
deposits silver at the rate 0.00111800 grams/sec (g/s).

Primary Standards
 The primary (basic) standards are maintained by national

standards laboratories in different parts of the world. A
primary standard is a standard that is accurate enough that it
is not calibrated by or subordinate to other standards.
 The main function of the primary standards is the calibration

and verification of secondary standards. These standards are
not available for use outside the national laboratories.

Secondary Standards
 Secondary standards are the basic reference standards used
in industrial measurement laboratories.
 These standards are maintained by the particular involved

industry and are checked locally against other reference
standards in area.
 Secondary standards are generally sent to the international

standards laboratories on a periodic basis for calibration and
comparison against the primary standards.
Secondary Standards
 They are then returned to the industrial user with
certification of their measured value in terms of the
primary standard.
 1.17 Working Standards
 Working standards are the principle tools of a

measurement laboratory. They are used to check
 laboratory instruments for accuracy and performance.

These standards are used to perform
Secondary Standards
 They are then returned to the industrial user with
certification of their measured value in terms of the
primary standard.

Working Standards
 Working standards are the principle tools of a measurement

laboratory. They are used to check laboratory instruments
for accuracy and performance. These standards are used to
perform comparison measurements in industrial application.
 For example, manufacturers of components such as

capacitors, resistors etc. use a standard called a working
standard for checking the component values being
manufactured.
Calibration
Calibration of the measuring instrument is the process in which
the readings obtained from the instrument are compared with the
sub-standards in the laboratory at several points along the scale of
the instrument.
If the instrument is accurate there will be matching of the

scales of the instrument and the sub-standard. If there is deviation
of the measured value from the instrument against the standard
value, the instrument is calibrated to give the correct values.

How Calibration is done?
 All the measuring instruments for measurement of length,

pressure, temperature etc., should be calibrated against
some standard scale at the regular intervals as specified
by the manufacturer.
 There are different methods or techniques of calibration,

which are applied depending on whether it is routine
calibration or if it is for special purpose where highly
accurate calibration of the instruments is desired.
How Calibration is done?
 To maintain the accuracy of the sub-standards, they are

checked periodically against some standard which is kept
in the metrological laboratories under highly secured, safe,
clean and air conditioned atmosphere.
 Finally, standards can be checked against the absolute

measurements of the quantity, which the instruments are
designed to measure

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UNIT I SCIENCE OF MEASUREMENT

Measurement System – Instrumentation – Characteristics

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 1

 The measurement system generally involves using an

 Thus the measurement of a given quantity is essentially an

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 3

 The advancement of science and technology is dependent

 It can be safely said that the quickest way to assess a

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 4

 The unknown quantity (measurand) is directly compared

 Suitable for measuring physical quantities such as length,

 Direct method of measurements are not always possible,

 Less sensitive in nature.

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 6

 In abstract terms, an instrument is a device that

 It is common to employ a standard system of units by

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 7

Mainly the instruments are classified as three category:

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 8

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 9

 Since the movement depends only on the movement of

 Even very weak signals can be detected using the pre-

 Lighter in weight and compact in size.

 High degree of reliability

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 10

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 11

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 12

 The physical process to be measured in kept on the left.

 Key functional element is the sensor which is a function of

 Signal variables have the property which can be

 Thus the signal output from the sensor can be displayed,

 The output is the measurement M

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 14

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 15

 If the signal output from the sensor is small, it is

 The amplified output can then be transmitted to the

 In many cases it is necessary for the instrument to

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 16

 a computer-based data acquisition or communications

 The digital signal is typically sent to a computer processor

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 17

 Sensors convert physical variables to signal variables.

 Sensors can be categorized into two broad classes [active

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 18

 For example thermocouple is a passive sensor which

 Another passive transducer is a pressure gauge where the

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 20

 Active sensors add energy to the measurement

 An example of an active sensor is a radar or sonar system,

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 21

 The relationship between the physical measurement

 Typically, a sensor (or an entire instrument system) is

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 22

 The sensitivity of the

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 23

 This behavior is referred to as saturation, and the sensor

 The difference between the smallest and largest physical

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 25

 The sensor output will be influenced by physical variables

X is the intended measurand,

Y is an interfering input, and

EC 7012- Measurements and instrumentation 26

 The interfering input Y causes the sensor to respond in