GIGO means "garbage in, garbage out.

" This phrase applies in industrial automation because using faulty measurements can fool even the best control system. One remedy that can help avoid a GIGO scenario is to understand the measurement technique and its limitations to the extent that its application can be reasonably evaluated. Differential pressure level measurement is one of those ey measurements you need to understand to avoid the dreaded GIGO. The importance of level measurement cannot be overstated. Incorrect or inappropriate measurements can cause levels in vessels to be excessively higher or lo!er than their measured values. "o! levels can cause pumping problems and damage the pump, !hile high levels can cause vessels to overflo! and potentially create safety and environmental problems. #essels operating at incorrect intermediate levels can result in poor operating conditions and affect the accounting of material. The level of a liquid in a vessel can be measured directly or inferentially. $xamples of direct level measurement include float, magnetostrictive, retracting, capacitance, radar, ultrasonic and laser level measurement technologies. %eight and differential pressure technology measure level inferentially. &ll have problems that can potentially affect the level measurement. Differential pressure level measurement technology infers liquid level by measuring the pressure generated by the liquid in the vessel. 'or example, a !ater level that is ())) millimeters above the centerline of a differential pressure transmitter diaphragm !ill generate a pressure of ())) millimeters of !ater column *())) mm%+, at the diaphragm. -imilarly, a level of .)) millimeters !ill generate .)) mm%+. +alibrating this differential pressure transmitter for ) to ())) mm%+ !ill allo! it to measure !ater levels of ) to ())) millimeters. /ote that this example presumes that the liquid is !ater. "iquids !ith other specific gravities !ill generate other differential pressures and cause inaccurate measurements. +ontinuing !ith the previous example, the same .))0millimeter level of another liquid !ith a specific gravity of (.() at operating conditions in the above vessel !ill generate ..) mm%+ of pressure at the transmitter. &s such, the differential pressure transmitter calibrated for !ater !ould measure .) millimeters higher than the actual .)) millimeter liquid level. +onversely, if the liquid has a specific gravity that is lo!er than that of !ater, this transmitter !ill measure lo!er than the actual level. This example illustrates that differential pressure technology does not measure level, but rather infers level.

Three Calculations
&ll is not lost because the calibration of the differential pressure transmitter can be modified to compensate for a different specific gravity. This technique used to calculate the ne! calibration is useful for both straightfor!ard and more complex installations. 'igure ( sho!s the vessel both at )1 and ())1 level. The pressure generated by the liquid at the level transmitter diaphragm is the liquid height times the specific gravity. The pressure is (.()2*) mm, !hen the vessel at )1 and (.()2*())) mm, !hen the vessel at ())1. Therefore, the transmitter should be calibrated ) to (()) mm%+ to measure liquid levels of ) mm to ())) mm.

& some!hat more complex application is illustrated in 'igure 3. In this application, for process reasons, !e need to ta e the measurement from 3)) mm to ())) mm above the no44le. In addition, the transmitter is located .)) mm belo! the no44le. /ote that the technique of s etching conditions at both )1 and ())1 level is the same as performed in 'igure (. &t )1 level, the pressure at the transmitter is (.()2*.)) 53)) mm,, or 66) mm%+. &t ())1 level, the pressure at the transmitter is (.()2*.))5())) mm, or (7.) mm%+. Therefore, the transmitter should be calibrated 66) to (7.) mm%+ to measure liquid levels of 3)) mm to ())) mm above the no44le.

'igure 8 illustrates the use of a differential pressure transmitter !ith diaphragm seals to sense the pressures at the no44les in a pressuri4ed vessel. In this application, the lo!0pressure diaphragm is located above the liquid to compensate for the static pressure in the vessel. Other complications include the densities of liquid and capillary fill fluid and )1 and ())1 levels that do not correspond to the no44le positions. 9sing similar techniques as in the previous examples, at )1 level, the pressures at the high and lo! sides of the transmitter are :(.()2*3)) mm, 5 *8 bar,; and :(.).2*(8)) mm, 5 *8 bar,; respectively. Therefore, the differential pressure transmitter !ill subtract the high side from the lo! side and measure :(.()2*3)) mm, 5 *8 bar,; minus :(.).2*(8)) mm, 5 *8 bar,;, or 0((<. mm%+. &t ())1 level, the pressures at the high and lo! sides of the transmitter are :(.()2*())) mm, 5 *8 bar,; and :(.).2*(8)) mm, 5 *8 bar,; respectively. -imilarly, the differential pressure transmitter subtracts the high side from the lo! side to measure :(.()2*())) mm, 5 *8 bar,; minus :(.).2*(8)) mm, 5 *8 bar,;, or 037. mm%+. Therefore, the transmitter should be calibrated 0((<. mm%+ to 037. mm%+ to measure liquid levels of 3)) to ())) millimeters above the lo!er no44le. /ote that the static pressure in the vessel does not affect the calibration because it appears on both sides of the differential pressure transmitter !here it effectively cancels out. 'urther analysis also !ill reveal that locating the differential pressure transmitter at different elevations does not affect the calibration. These same techniques can be used to determine the calibrations for interface level measurements. /ote that these techniques involve applying hydraulics to the installation and application. /o!here do !e use terms such as elevation, suppression and span. The use of these terms can easily confuse and mislead the practitioner.

What Ifs
%hat if the liquid density changes during operation= %hat if the change is due to changes in the composition of the liquid= %hat if the change is due to temperature changes= %hat if the vessel is filled !ith a different liquid that has a different specific gravity= These are important questions

that should be as ed *and ans!ered, !hen considering the use of differential pressure level measurement instruments. >epeating, differential pressure measurement does not measure liquid level?it infers liquid level?so specific gravity changes can affect the performance of the level measurement. In practice, the specific gravity of many liquids is no!n and relatively stable, so that differential pressure techniques are commonly applied to many liquid level measurement applications.

Spanning Specifications
The differential pressure transmitter should be operated !ithin its published specifications to maintain accuracy. The span of a transmitter is the difference bet!een the ())1 and )1 calibration values. Differential pressure transmitters have specified minimum and maximum spans. 'or example, a given differential pressure transmitter may be calibrated !ith spans bet!een *say, <)) mm%+ and <))) mm%+. In addition, the transmitter 4ero may also be raised or lo!ered by up to, for example, <))) mm%+. +alibrations that do not meet the transmitter specifications are potentially sub@ect to significant error. The calibrations in the examples !ere ) to (()), 66) to (7.), and 0((<. to 037. mm%+, respectively. $ach has a span greater than <)) mm%+ and less than <))) mm%+. In addition, their 4eros are not raised or lo!ered by more than <))) mm%+. Therefore, all of these calibrations are !ithin the transmitter specifications. Ao!ever, the calibrated span specified for another transmitter model of the same manufacture may be bet!een ()) mm%+ and ())) mm%+, and allo! the 4ero to be changed by ())) mm%+. This transmitter !ould not be applicable to the first and third examples !here the span is (()) mm%+, and the 4ero is lo!ered by ((<. mm%+, respectively. Ao!ever, it could be used in the second example !here the span is BB) mm%+, and the 4ero is raised by 66) mm%+. 9sing this lo!er range transmitter *())) mm%+, !ill usually be more accurate because of the smaller absolute errors associated !ith other specifications such as temperature, pressure and ambient temperature affects. Therefore, all being equal, itCs generally desirable to use the lo!er range transmitter to reduce measurement error. The maximum flo! rate of flo!meters is often specified to be significantly higher than the design flo! rate to allo! for transients and increased plant throughput over time. In level measurement, the vessel si4e is fixed, so using a higher range differential pressure transmitter provides no similar benefit and typically results in additional measurement error that can be avoided by using a lo!er range transmitter. 9sing the available information properly is another potential problem. -ome years ago, distributed control system inputs !ere incorrectly configured to correspond to the maximum transmitter spans. &side from using incorrect values, the levels should have been expressed in percent. 9sing absolute level measurement units such as inches, feet, millimeters or meters increases the potential for error because operators must remember the height of each vessel to put the level measurement in context !ith the vessel. This can easily become over!helming and cause operator errors because plants often have hundreds of vessels. 'or example, a vessel operating at 3.B meters does not readily indicate a problem to the operator even though the vessel overflo!s at 8.) meters. On the other hand, the operator can easily determine that a vessel operating at D81 level might !arrant attention and that a vessel operating at D61 may need immediate attention. Differential pressure measurement is a !or horse of industrial level measurement thatCs been used for decades and !ill continue to be used for decades to come.