Module-I: SENSORS AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING

EEE4021

LECTURE 2:
PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF
INSTRUMENTS (MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS)

Course Instructor:-
Dr. K.V.Lakshmi Narayana, SMIEEE
Associate Professor
SELECT, VIT, Vellore.
 Outline of Lecture-2
• Definition of Performance
Characteristics
• Need of Performance characteristics
• Static Characteristics
• Dynamic Characteristics
• Calibration and Standards
• Problems
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 Performance Characteristics of the
Instrument
• The detailed specifications of the functional
characteristics of any instrument are known as
Performance characteristics.
• The performance characteristics gives information about
capabilities and limitations of the instrument for a
particular application.

• It enables us to have a quantitative estimates of the

positive as well as negative points of various
commercially available instruments. Consequently one
can select the optimum type of instrument for the given
application. 3
 Performance Characteristics of the
Instrument
• Performance characteristics of the instruments are
divided into two categories- Static Characteristics and
Dynamic characteristics
• Static Characteristics are considered when the
instrument is used to measure a quantity or condition
that do not vary with time.
• Dynamics characteristics are considered when the
quantity under measurement changes rapidly with
respect to time.
• Static Characteristics are of two types-Desirable and
Undesirable
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I. STATIC CHARACTERISTICS OF AN
INSTRUMENT
• The desirable static characteristics are
• (i) ACCURACY
• (ii) PRECISION
• (iii) LINEARITY
• (iv) RESOLUTION
• (v) STATIC SENSITIVITY AND
• (vi) STATIC CALIBRATION
• The undesirable static characteristics are
• (i) DRIFT (iii) STATIC ERROR
• (ii) DEAD ZONE (iv) HYSTERISIS
• (v) THRESHOLD
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 Desirable Static Characteristics

(1)ACCURACY: It is the degree of closeness of

measured value with the true value (or) It is the
ability of the instrument to indicate true value.
• It is specified as the percentage deviation or
inaccuracy of the measurement from true value.
• Accuracy mainly depends on the inherent limitations
of the instrument as well as on the short comings in
the measurement process such as temperature
variation effects, applied torque etc.

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 Desirable Static Characteristics
ACCURACY
 Desirable Static Characteristics

• (2)PRECISION: Precise means sharply or clearly

defined. It is defined as the ability of the instrument
to reproduce a certain set of readings with in a given
accuracy.
• Precision – a measure of consistency or repeatability of
measurement, i.e successive reading do not differ.
• A highly precise instrument is one that gives same
output information for a given input information
when the reading is repeated a large number of times.

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Desirable static characteristics
Difference between Precision and
Accuracy
• Precision & Accuracy
– Measurements that are close to each
other are precise
– Measurements that are close to the
correct value are accurate
– Measurements can be:
• Precise but inaccurate
• Neither precise nor accurate
• Precise and accurate

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 Example:
Three industrial robots are programmed to place
components at a particular point on a table. The target point
is the center of a circle shown below. The results are:

(a) Low precision, (b) Precise not

low accuracy accurate

(c) Precise and accurate

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Desirable static characteristics
(3) Resolution – If the input quantity is slowly
varied from some non-zero input value, output
will not exceed until some minimum increment in
input is exceeded. The min. increment is
RESOLUTION.

 The smallest change in a measurement

variable to which an instrument will respond.

 A high resolution instrument can able to detect

the smallest possible variation in input.
 Desirable Static Characteristics
4) Linearity
The maximum deviation of calibration curve from
straight line drawn between no load and full load output.
It is expressed as a percentage of full scale output or as
a percentage of actual reading.

% of linearity= Max.deviation
100
FSO
Where: FSO=Full Scale Output

It is highly desirable that the measurement system has a

linear relationship between input and output means that
the change in output is proportional to the change in the
value of the measurand
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 Desirable Static Characteristics
4) Linearity continues….
Deviation from true linearity is called linearity error
The input and output relationship of a linear transducer
can be represented by the following equation:
y = mx + c

where y is the output of transducer, x is the input of

transducer, m is the slope of curve (transfer function),
c is the offset.
Often, the straight line approach is used for certain
range of operation for a non-linear system.
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 Desirable Static Characteristics

5) Sensitivity
Sensitivity is the ratio of change in magnitude
of the output to the change in magnitude of the
measurand

– Sensitivity=D(output)/D(input)
– High Sensitivity is desirable in the Instruments. Highly sensitive
instruments produce less error.

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 Output, Vo (V)
Force, F

Slope = 5 V/kN
Load Cell Output, Vo

Input, Fi (kN)

Block Diagram:

Input, F (kN) Output, Vo (V)

K

Sensitivity, K = 5 V/kN
Sensitivity and Non Linearity

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 Desirable Static Characteristics
6) Static Calibration
• Consider a situation in which all inputs (desired,
interfering or modifying) except one are kept at some
constant values.
• The one input under study is varied over some range
of constant values which causes the output (s) to vary
over some range of constant values.
• The input/output relationships developed in this way
comprise a static calibration valid under the stated
constant conditions of all other inputs.
• The procedure may be repeated for other inputs for
overall instrument static behaviour
• Ultimate objective is to define measurement accuracy
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 Calibration and Standards
Calibration
Calibration consists of comparing the output of the
instrument or sensor under test against the output of an
instrument of known accuracy (higher accuracy) when the
same input (the measured quantity is applied to both
instrument)
The procedure is carried out for a range of inputs covering
the whole measurement range of the instrument or
sensor ensures that the measuring accuracy of all
instruments and sensors used in a measurement system
is known over the whole measurement range, provided
that the calibrated instruments and sensors are used in
environmental conditions that are the same as those
under which they were calibrated

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 Calibration involve a comparison of an
instrument with either:
1. A primary standard
2. A secondary standard
3. A known input
Standard weight
measurement facility
(for example: NIST)

Example:

Weighing instrument Another weighing

instrument of higher
accuracy

Mass standard

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 Standards
• A standard is a known accurate measure of physical
quantity.
• Standards are used to determine the values of other
physical quantities by the comparison method.
• All standards are preserved at the International Bureau
of Weight and Measures, Paris.
• Four categories of standard:
– International Standard
– Primary Standard
– Secondary Standard
– Working Standard
 Standards
• International Standard
– Defined by International Agreement
– Represent the closest possible accuracy attainable by the
current science and technology
• Primary Standard
– Maintained at the National Std Lab (different for every
country)
– Function: the calibration and verification of secondary
std
– Each lab has its own secondary std which are
periodically checked and certified by the National Std
Lab.
• Working Standard
– Used to check and calibrate lab instrument for accuracy
and performance.
 Undesirable static characteristics
1. Dead zone (or) Dead Space (or) Dead Band
The Largest change in the measured variable to
which the instrument doesn’t respond is called dead
zone. where as the time required for an instrument to
begin to respond to a change in measured value is
called dead time.
2. Drift: It is a gradual shift of an instrument indication
over an extended period during which the true value
of variable doesn’t change.

3. Static Error: It is the algebraic difference between the

indicated value and true value.
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Dead Space
 Undesirable static characteristics
4)Hysteresis: It is the difference between two output
values that correspond to the same input, depending on
the direction (increasing or decreasing) of successive
input values.
√Hysteresis is caused due to backlash, elastic
deformations, magnetic characteristics and frictional
effects.
Also in electrical phenomena (relation between the
output voltage and the input field current in a d.c.
generator) - the effect is due to magnetic hysteresis
of the iron in the field coils.
√The transfer functions differ with the increase and
decrease of inputs as shown in the following figure.
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Other static characteristics
(5)Threshold: If the input quantity is slowly varied from zero
onwards, output is not shown until some minimum value of input
is exceeded. This minimum value of input is called Threshold of
an Instrument.

Output

Threshold input
 II) DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF AN
INSTRUMENT
• Dynamic – measuring a varying process condition.

• Instruments rarely respond instantaneously to

changes in the measured variables due to such things
as mass, thermal capacitance, fluid capacitance or
electrical capacitance.

• The three most common variations in the measured

quantity:
– Step change
– Linear change
– Sinusoidal change
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II) DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF AN
INSTRUMENT
1) Dynamic Error: It is the algebraic difference
between the measured/recorded value and the true
value of measurand when it is varying with respect
to time.
2) Fidelity: It is the ability of an instrument to produce
wave shape identical to the input wave shape w.r.t
time. Waveform recorders and CROs are required to
have excellent fidelity with no amplitude or phase
distortion for signals of various frequencies.
3) Speed of Response: The rapidity with which an
instrument responds to changes in measured
quantity.
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 II) DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF AN
INSTRUMENT
4)Measurement Lag: It is a retardation or delay in
response of instrument to changes in measured quantity.
5) Settling Time: It is the time taken by a measurement
system to be with in a close range of its steady state
value.
Problems-1
% of reading=100X (Act.V-TV)/ TV
FSO=0.2mV/kg X100=20mV

% of FSO=100X(Act.V-TV)/FSO
Hys (%)=100X (Dec.V-Inc.V)/FSO
Problems-2
 Precision
From the value in table 1 calculate Table 1
the precision of 6th measurement? No Xn
1 98
Xn  Xn
1 2 101
Solution: Precision, P = Xn 3 102
where X n - value of the nth measurement 4 97
X n - average set of measurement 5 101
the average of measurement value 6 100
7 103
98  101  ....  99 1005
Xn    100.5 8 98
10 10 9 106
At the 6th reading, Precision = 10 99
100  100.5 0.5
1  1  0.995
100.5 100.5
High degree of precision means high value must be there at the respective
measurements. High precision means the tight cluster of repeated results while
a low precision means a broad scattering of results.
 Next Lecture-3

Errors and Statistical Analysis

in Measurement Systems

End of Lecture 2

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