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3/28/2019 How a PLC do the Scaling for a Sensor ?
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How a PLC do the Scaling

for a Sensor ?
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I am always surprised how a automation system like PLC or DCS do the

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3/28/2019 How a PLC do the Scaling for a Sensor ? Scaling in PLC
transmitter scaling techniques for converting any type of sensor


output into standard 4-20mA.
For example consider a Temperature Transmitter and we all know by

using a simple formula we can calculate the equivalent temperature
from the RTD sensor output resistance And in case of a thermocouple, a
complex algorithm is required for converting its output millivolt into
equivalent temperature.
So Now the Question is How a PLC or DCS or Transmitter do the Scaling

?
Let us discuss in detail about scaling.
How a PLC do the Scaling for a Sensor ?
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Scaling is the process of taking a signal such as a process variable,

voltage or current output from a sensor and applying calculations to
present this signal in a more usable form in terms of engineering units,
such as PSI, °F or %RH to the operator in the control room.
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There are three common techniques used in the data acquisition world

including linear scaling, mapped scaling and formula scaling.
All three methods have their place and time for use and will be
described in this article.
Scaling Techniques
There are three techniques for scaling that we are going to cover here in
this article: linear, mapping and formula.
These three techniques overlap a little bit as we will explain, but they are
the primary methods used in the world of data acquisition.
Just to give a quick overview of these three methods and what they are
best utilized for, we’ve put together a table below.
In certain instances where formula-based scaling is not available,

mapping can sometimes be used to predefine a table based on the
Read More
formula needed, and vice versa.


It is also worth noting that when working with a sensor that has an
analog output, the units specified for that sensor are not set in stone.
For example
if your sensor has a 4 to 20mA output for a range of -40 to 100°C, it

would be just as easy to scale the output into Fahrenheit by saying that
the unit has a range of -40 to 212°F. We’ll touch more on this in the next
section.
Linear Scaling
The technique of linear scaling should remind you a little bit of your days
back in basic algebra. It uses the old slope-intercept form ‘y = mx + b’
where
y is your output (also known as engineering units value),
x is your input (whether it be voltages, milliamps, etc.),
m is your slope (also known as scale factor), and
b is your y-intercept (also known as offset).
As previously stated, linear scaling works best with linear voltage or

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specific values along the sensors range.


If you’re a bit rusty, have no fear, we’ll give you a couple of examples to
freshen things up.
Example 1
Let’s consider the level Transmitter with a 0 to 100 ftWC range and 0 to
10V DC output. These specifications tell us two things:
An output of 0V represents a measurement of 0ftWC and
An output of 10V represents a measurement of 100ftWC.
It’s best to start with your scale factor, or m in the equation. The factor
m can be solved by using the slope formula ‘m = (y2-y1) / (x2-x1)’ and
choosing two points along the linear scale.
After the scale factor has been determined, we simply plug the value m
back into the slope-intercept formula and use one of our points to
calculate our offset.
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1. We will use the two points (0, 0) and (10, 100) to calculate the scale
factor or m.
m = (y2-y1) / (x2-x1) = (100 – 0) / (10 – 0) = 100 / 10
Therefore m = 10
2. Now we will use the slope-intercept formula and the point (0, 0) to
calculate the offset or b.
y = mx + b, where y = 0, x = 0, m = 10, and b is unknown.
0 = 10(0) + b = 0 + b
Therefore b = 0
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3. It’s always a good idea to verify that your scale factor and offset are

right by plugging our second point into our completed equation,
which in this case is (10, 100).
y = mx + b, where y = 100, x = 10, m = 10, and b = 0.
100 = 10(10) + 0 = 100
Given that this arithmetical operation is valid, we have verified that

our scale factor and offset are correct.
Example 2
Considering that the 0 to 10V example is fairly simple, let’s move on to

something more challenging like a 4 to 20mA output.
We will still use the level Transmitter with a 0 to 100ftWC range, but this
time we’ll use a 4 to 20mA output. These specifications again tell us two
things:
An output of 4mA represents a measurement of 0ftWC and
An output of 20mA represents a measurement of 100ftWC.
We will go about this example in the same manner we did the last one
by first finding the scale factor and then plugging in a few numbers to
calculate the offset.
Read More
1. We will use the two points (4, 0) and (20, 100) to calculate the scale
factor or m.
m = (y2-y1) / (x2-x1) = (100 – 0) / (20 – 4) = 100 / 16
Therefore m = 6.25
2. Now we will use the slope-intercept formula and the point (4, 0) to
calculate the offset or b.
y = mx + b, where y = 0, x = 4, m = 6.25, and b is unknown.
0 = 6.25(4) + b = 25 + b
Therefore b = -25
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3. It’s always a good idea to verify that your scale factor and offset are

right by plugging our second point into our completed equation,
which in this case is (20, 100).
y = mx + b, where y = 100, x = 20, m = 6.25, and b = -25.
100 = 6.25(20) + (-25) = 100
Given that this arithmetical operation is valid, we have verified that

our scale factor and offset are correct.
Mapped Scaling
The technique of mapped scaling often built-in and preprogrammed for
inputs like thermocouples, Pt100/1000’s, and other resistive
temperature sensors.
For example, when you configure your data acquisition system to

measure a type K thermocouple, the system already knows what
thermocouple millivolt output corresponds to what temperature.
This example does not apply only to type K thermocouples, but any type
of commonly used resistive temperature sensor or other related
sensors.
However, there are some instances in which we would need to create

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One of these instances would be when we are working with a data


acquisition system that is not preconfigured for use with resistive
temperature sensors. This is not a very common situation that we
run into, but it is worth mentioning.
The other instance would be when we have a non-linear function

and formula-based scaling is not available or is a piecewise function.
A good example of this would be when we are using a level sensor
to calculate tank volume in a non-linear tank.
Typically when we want to know what the volume of a fluid in a tank is

we measure the depth or level of the tank.
By knowing this, we can calculate the volume of the fluid. If the tank had
a flat bottom and was the same diameter along its height then this
calculation would be simple, and we could use linear scaling like above.
However, typically these tanks are rounded and the level of the fluid
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In this Accept we
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must use mapped scaling and a little bit of math to attain our desired

result.
For our example we will use a horizontal cylinder tank with a diameter of
5 ft. and a length of 10 ft.
There are a number of complicated trigonometric formulas used to

determine the filled volume of a tank like this that we’re going to skip
over as they are too complex for the scope of this article. Instead, we
will do the calculations and show you the value mapping table.
Also, for this example we will be using the level Transmitter again, but
this time a 0 to 10V DC output and 0 to 5 ftWC range.
Read More
If this is the mapping table programmed into your data acquisition

system then the volume will be calculated rather than simply measuring
the depth.
Typically the more points in your table the more accurate the
calculations will turn out to be. To demonstrate this concept, let’s use an
1V output signal as an example.
An output of 1V would tell us that there is a 0.5 ft. depth in the tank.
This calculates out to be approximately 76 gallons.
1V falls between 0V and 2V on our table, so the data acquisition

system will set up a linear scale between those two points and will
say that a 1V output is 104.5 gallons, which is nearly 30 gallons off!
Formula Scaling
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This technique has the potential to be one of the most powerful scaling

methods, however it is often a resource hog and most data acquisition
systems storing data at high rates cannot keep up with this process.
For data acquisition systems that cannot perform formula scaling there
are two alternatives:
Storing raw values and applying the required formulas to the data
after the data has been saved from data acquisition system. This
can typically be done in a piece of software such as Microsoft Excel.
Using a programmable signal calculator. This type of device can be

configured to process multiple inputs via a user-defined formula
and provide a linear output.
There are numerous potential uses for formula scaling. We will cover
two possible scenarios for this technique: vertical cylinder tank volume
and differential pressure.
Example 1
For a vertical cylinder tank, the fill volume can be calculated by the
formula ‘V = π r2 f ‘ where
V is the volume filled,
r is the
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f is the fill height.


Let’s say that our tank has a diameter of 5 ft. and a height of 10 ft.
Again, let’s use the level Transmitter for our example with a 0 to 10 ftWC
range and 0 to 5V DC output.
The level Transmitter is giving us our fill height or f. From this fill height
we can directly calculate the fill volume or V. We will be using some of
the same methods for linear scaling to get our f and applying the
calculations on top of that.
1. We will first calculate the linear scaling for the fill height or f. I’m
going to skip a few steps since we covered this in the first section.
y = f = 2x, where x is the voltage output of the sensor.

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2. Now we can replace the f in the vertical cylinder tank formula with

2x.
V = π r2 f = π (2.5)2 (2x) = π 12.5x
Example 2
The second scenario that we are going to use to explain the technique of
formula scaling is differential pressure.
There are obviously a number of differential pressure sensors out there

that give a linear output, but from experience I can tell you that there is
are a lot of uses for this method of calculating differential pressure.
In this example we will use two of the transmitters with a 0 to 100 PSI
range and 0 to 10 V DC output.
One will be placed inside a pressurized vessel submerged below water

and the other will be placed outside of this vessel. The differential
pressure will determine the amount of force that is being exerted on the
walls of the vessel.
The calculations here are very simple. Simply subtract one from the
other.
Pdifferential = Pexternal – Pinternal
Conclusion
Read More
There three most commonly used techniques for scaling sensor outputs

are
1. Linear scaling,
2. Mapped scaling and
3. Formula scaling.
As you can see, there are many instances in which more than one of
these techniques can work and the best choice usually depends on the
hardware/software that you’re working with.
Linear scaling is the easiest to work with, however sensors with linear
outputs tend to be more expensive as additional hardware is required to
linearize the raw output from the transducer.
Mapped scaling is used more often than we tend to even notice. Any
time a resistive temperature sensor is giving you a temperature reading,
mapped scaling is at work somewhere along the line.
Formula scaling is the very powerful, but requires hardware/software

configurations.
Article Source : Omni Instruments
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3/28/2019 How a PLC do the Scaling for a Sensor ?

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automation processes plc software easy calculator

Home » How a PLC do the Scaling for a Sensor ?

How a PLC do the Scaling

I am always surprised how a automation system like PLC or DCS do the

transmitter scaling techniques for converting any type of sensor

For example consider a Temperature Transmitter and we all know by

So Now the Question is How a PLC or DCS or Transmitter do the Scaling

Let us discuss in detail about scaling.

How a PLC do the Scaling for a Sensor ?

Scaling is the process of taking a signal such as a process variable,

In certain instances where formula-based scaling is not available,

formula needed, and vice versa.

if your sensor has a 4 to 20mA output for a range of -40 to 100°C, it

y is your output (also known as engineering units value),

x is your input (whether it be voltages, milliamps, etc.),

m is your slope (also known as scale factor), and

b is your y-intercept (also known as offset).

As previously stated, linear scaling works best with linear voltage or

specific values along the sensors range.

An output of 0V represents a measurement of 0ftWC and

An output of 10V represents a measurement of 100ftWC.

m = (y2-y1) / (x2-x1) = (100 – 0) / (10 – 0) = 100 / 10

y = mx + b, where y = 0, x = 0, m = 10, and b is unknown.

y = mx + b, where y = 100, x = 10, m = 10, and b = 0.

100 = 10(10) + 0 = 100

Given that this arithmetical operation is valid, we have verified that

Considering that the 0 to 10V example is fairly simple, let’s move on to

An output of 4mA represents a measurement of 0ftWC and

An output of 20mA represents a measurement of 100ftWC.

m = (y2-y1) / (x2-x1) = (100 – 0) / (20 – 4) = 100 / 16

y = mx + b, where y = 0, x = 4, m = 6.25, and b is unknown.

y = mx + b, where y = 100, x = 20, m = 6.25, and b = -25.

100 = 6.25(20) + (-25) = 100

Given that this arithmetical operation is valid, we have verified that

For example, when you configure your data acquisition system to

However, there are some instances in which we would need to create

One of these instances would be when we are working with a data

The other instance would be when we have a non-linear function

Typically when we want to know what the volume of a fluid in a tank is

There are a number of complicated trigonometric formulas used to

If this is the mapping table programmed into your data acquisition

1V falls between 0V and 2V on our table, so the data acquisition

Using a programmable signal calculator. This type of device can be

V is the volume filled,

f is the fill height.

y = f = 2x, where x is the voltage output of the sensor.

V = π r2 f = π (2.5)2 (2x) = π 12.5x

There are obviously a number of differential pressure sensors out there

One will be placed inside a pressurized vessel submerged below water

Pdifferential = Pexternal – Pinternal

Formula scaling is the very powerful, but requires hardware/software

Article Source : Omni Instruments

Articles You May Like :

4-20mA Conversions Easily

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