A liquid level sensor has an input range of 0 to 15 cm.

Use the calibration results given to

estimate the maximum hysteris as a percentage of f.s.d.
h 0.0 1.5 3.0 4.5 6.0 7.5 9.0 10.5 12.0 13.5 15.0
Oinc 0.00 0.35 1.42 2.40 3.43 4.35 5.61 6.50 7.77 8.85 10.2
Odec 0.14 1.25 2.32 3.55 4.43 5.70 6.78 7.80 8.87 9.65 10.2

Level h is in cm, output in volt.

Solution:
Calculate the difference between Odec and Oinc for level. The results are shown below:
h 0.0 1.5 3.0 4.5 6.0 7.5 9.0 10.5 12.0 13.5 15.0
Oinc 0.00 0.35 1.42 2.40 3.43 4.35 5.61 6.50 7.77 8.85 10.2
Odec 0.14 1.25 2.32 3.55 4.43 5.70 6.78 7.80 8.87 9.65 10.2
ΔO 0.14 0.90 0.90 1.15 1.00 1.35 1.17 1.30 1.10 0.80 0.00

From the 4th row we find that the maximum difference is 1.35 volt.
Omax = 10.2 and Omin = 0.0 so
The maximum hystresis is 1.35×100%/(10.2‒0.0) = 13.24%.
A thermocouple used between 0 and 500 °C has the following input-output characteristics
Input T °C 0 100 200 300 500
Output E μV 0 5268 10777 16235 27388

Find the equation of the ideal straight line

Find the non-linearity at 100 and 300 °C in μV and as a percentage of f.s.d.
Solution:
The equation of the ideal straight line is given by
𝑂𝑂 −𝑂𝑂
𝑂𝑂 − 𝑂𝑂𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = � 𝐼𝐼𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 −𝐼𝐼 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 � (𝐼𝐼 − 𝐼𝐼𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 )
𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚

Here, Omin = 0, Omax = 27388, Imin = 0 and Imax = 500.

So, the ideal straight line is O = 54.776I
At 100 °C, O = 5478 μV.
The non-linearity ΔO = 5478 ‒ 5268 = 210 μV = 210/27388 = 0.77%
Likewise, at 300 °C, O = 16433 μV.
The non-linearity ΔO = 16433 ‒ 16235 = 198 μV = 198/27388 = 0.72%.
Error combination:
It happens that some measurement cannot be conducted directly. Instead it must be done
indirectly through one or more measurements. A formula will then be used to relate the
parameters taken from the measurements. Since measurents always have errors, the errors will
compound in the use of the formula.
A simple example will illustrate this. Say that we want to measure the density of a lump of an
unknown subtance. The formula for density is given by
𝑀𝑀
𝜌𝜌 =
𝑉𝑉
Where
ρ = density, kg/m3,
M = mass, kg
V = volume, m3
We can measure both mass and volume of the substance easily.
Now, measuring mass and volume have corresponding errors of ΔM and ΔV, respectively.
How these errors affect density?
Say that Z is related to X and Y in various ways. If X and Y have errors of ΔX and ΔY,
respectively, the corresponding error to Z can be derived using calculus.
From
Z=X±Y (1)
we then have
dZ = dX ± dY (2)
If dX and dY are small, they can be approximated to be ΔX and ΔY. So,
ΔZ = ΔX ± ΔY (3)
However, if we are interested on the maximum error, we then have
ΔZ = ΔX + ΔY (4)
From
Z = XY (5)
We then have
dZ = YdX + XdY (6)
Assuming dX and dY are small, we then have
ΔZ = YΔX + XΔY (7)
From
 𝑋𝑋
𝑍𝑍 =
𝑌𝑌
(8)

We then have
𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌 − 𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 =
𝑌𝑌 2
(9)
Which can be approximated as
𝑌𝑌∆𝑋𝑋 − 𝑋𝑋∆𝑌𝑌
∆𝑍𝑍 =
𝑌𝑌 2
(10)

However, if we are interested on the maximum error, we then have

𝑌𝑌∆𝑋𝑋 + 𝑋𝑋∆𝑌𝑌
∆𝑍𝑍 =
`𝑌𝑌 2
(11)

We summarize the results as follow:

Z = X ± Y → ΔZ = ΔX + ΔY
Z = XY → ΔZ = YΔX + XΔY

𝑋𝑋 𝑌𝑌∆𝑋𝑋 + 𝑋𝑋∆𝑌𝑌
𝑍𝑍 = → ∆𝑍𝑍 =
𝑌𝑌 𝑌𝑌 2
We will illustrate the application of the combined errors in the following examples.
1. Z = X + Y where X = 50 ± 2 and Y = 15 ± 1.
Here, Xmin = 48, Xmax = 52, Ymin = 14, Ymax = 16, ΔX = 2 and ΔY = 1.
So,
Z = 50 + 15 = 65
Zmax = Xmax + Ymax = 52 + 16 = 68 → ΔZ = 68 ‒ 65 = 3
 Zmin = Xmin + Ymin = 48 + 14 = 62 → ΔZ = 68 ‒ 65 = 3
From (4) we have
ΔZ = ΔX + ΔY = 2 + 1 =3
For Z = X ‒ Y, what are the errors?
2. Z = XY where the values are similar to Ex. 1
Z = 50 × 15 = 750
Zmax = Xmax × Ymax = 52 × 16 = 832 → ΔZ = 832 ‒ 750 = 82
Zmin = Xmin × Ymin = 48 × 14 = 672 → ΔZ = │672 ‒ 740│ = 78
Average error = (82+78)/2 = 80
From (7) we have
ΔZ = YΔX + XΔY = 15×2 + 50×1 = 80
3. Z = X/Y where the values are similar to Ex. 1
Z = 50/15 = 3.33
Zmax = Xmax/Ymin = 52/14 = 3.71 → ΔZ = 3.71 ‒ 3.33 = 0.38
Zmin = Xmin/Ymax = 48/16 = 3.00 → ΔZ = │3.00 ‒ 3.33│ = 0.33
Average error = (0.38+0.33)/2 = 0.36
From (11) we have
ΔZ = (YΔX + XΔY)/Y2 = (15×2 + 50×1 )/152 = 0.36
So, we can justify that the fromulas used are correct.
We can extend the formulas of the combined errors for more than three variables. For
examples, if
F = A +B + C (12)
then
ΔF = ΔA + ΔB + ΔC (13)
If
F = ABC (14)
then
ΔF = BCΔA + CAΔB + ABΔC (15)
For
F = AB/C (16)
then
ΔF = (BCΔA + CAΔB + ABΔC)/C2 (17)
The following example illustrates the use of the new formula.
Reynolds number for a fluid flowing along a pipe is defined as
𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉
𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 =
𝜗𝜗
Where
V = velocity of the fluid, m/s
D = diameter of the pipe, m
ϑ = kinematic viscosity of the fluid, m2/s
Suppose that the following data are taken for water flowing in a pipe:
V = (4.2 ± 0.2) m/s, D = (0.1 ± 0.005) m and ϑ = (0.402 ± 0.02)10‒6 m2/s.
Analyze the error for the the calculation of the Reynolds number using the method that have
been shown and compare it with the formula (17).
Re = VD/ϑ
Remax = VmaxDmax/ϑmin
Remin = VminDmin/ϑmax
ΔRe = (DϑΔV + ϑVΔD + VDΔϑ)/ϑ2