DATA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS

TELEMETRY

TELEMETRY, WHICH IS USED IN INDUSTRIAL, COMMERCIAL, MILITARY, AND SPACE

OPERATIONS, CAN BE DEFINED AS THE SCIENCE OF MEASURING AT A DISTANCE. TELEMETRY
SYSTEMS CAN BE CATEGORIZED ACCORDING TO THE VOLTAGE, CURRENT, LOCATION,
FREQUENCY, AND PULSE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ELECTRIC SIGNAL; OR AS ANALOG OR
DIGITAL, DEPENDING ON WHETHER THE SIGNAL HAS BEEN DELIVERED AS AN ANALOG
MEASUREMENT OR HAS BEEN CONVERTED INTO A CODE THAT REPRESENTS THAT
MEASUREMENT.

VOLTAGE TELEMETERING

BASED ON AN AC OR DC VOLTAGE, A VOLTAGE TELEMETERING SYSTEM COMMUNICATES

THE MEASUREMENT. THE MAJORITY OF SYSTEMS USE BASIC COMPONENTS LIKE
THERMOCOUPLES, TACHOMETERS, AND DIFFERENTIAL TRANSFORMERS THAT GENERATE A
VOLTAGE AS AN INHERENT PART OF THEIR MEASURING FUNCTION. APPLICATIONS OFTEN SPAN
INDUSTRIAL FACILITY SPANS OF NO MORE THAN 1000 FEET (300 METERS).

CURRENT TELEMETERING

THE EARLY DEVICES FOR MEASURING CURRENT WERE COMPARABLE TO THOSE IN FIG. 1.
A PRESSURE-SENSITIVE BOURDON TUBE PLACES A SLIDING CONTACT ON A SLIDEWIRE
POTENTIOMETER, WHICH IS CONNECTED IN LINE TO A BATTERY. A CURRENT MEASURING
EQUIPMENT IS LINKED TO A PAIR OF CABLES THAT MAKE UP THE TELEMETERING CHANNEL. THE
BOURDON TUBE MOVES AND POSITIONS THE SLIDING CONTACT IN RESPONSE TO CHANGES IN
THE MEASURED PRESSURE, WHICH ALTERS THE CURRENT IN THE TELEMETERING CHANNEL. A
POINTER IS PLACED ON A SCALE THAT IS GRADUATED ACCORDING TO THE PRESSURE BEING
MEASURED BY THE MILLIAMMETER, WHICH ALSO MEASURES CURRENT.
 FIG. 1: TRADITIONAL VOLTAGE AND CURRENT TELEMETRY SYSTEMS. (A) VOLTAGE (B)
CURRENT AND (C) FORCE BALANCE CURRENT.

POSITION TELEMETERING

BY PLACING VARIABLE RESISTORS OR OTHER ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS IN A BRIDGE

CIRCUIT DESIGN SO THAT THEY CREATE PROPORTIONATE CHANGES AT BOTH THE TRANSMITTER
AND THE RECEIVER, A POSITION TELEMETERING SYSTEM TRANSMITS AND REPRODUCES THE
MEASURED VARIABLE. WITH REFERENCE TO THE TRADITIONAL SYSTEM SHOWN IN FIG. 2, THE
POTENTIOMETERS AT BOTH THE TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING LOCATIONS ARE ENERGIZED BY
A COMMON POWER SUPPLY. THE SLIDING CONTACT AT THE TRANSMITTING END IS POSITIONED
BY A BOURDON TUBE AS THE PRESSURE VARIES. IF THE SLIDING CONTACT AT THE RECEIVING
TERMINAL IS POSITIONED UNTIL THE METER NEEDLE INDICATES ZERO CURRENT, THE POSITION
OF THE CONTACT WILL ASSUME THE SAME POSITION AS THE CONTACT AT THE TRANSMITTER.
THE RECEIVING CONTACT MOVES THE POINTER, WHICH INDICATES ON A SCALE GRADUATED IN
UNITS OF PRESSURE. THIS IS THE SAME PRINCIPLE AS THAT OF A WHEATSTONE BRIDGE.

FIG. 2: TRADITIONAL POSITION TELEMETRING SYSTEM

FIG. 3: SYNCHROMOTOR TELEMETERING SYSTEM

FREQUENCY TELEMETERING

A SYSTEM OF THIS TYPE VARIES THE FREQUENCY OF AN ELECTRIC SIGNAL IN ACCORDANCE

WITH THE INFORMATION TO BE TRANSMITTED: 0% MEASUREMENT IS REPRESENTED BY X HERTZ,
AND 100% BY Y HERTZ. THE FREQUENCIES USED IN COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE SYSTEMS FOR X
AND Y ARE 7.5 TO 15, 5 TO 15, 9 TO 15, 5 TO 25, 6 TO 27, 10 TO 30, AND 18 TO 30 HZ. FREQUENCY
TELEMETERING WAS DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE A SYSTEM THAT WAS INDEPENDENT OF THE
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND VARIATIONS OF THE TELEMETERING CHANNEL. THE
FREQUENCY RANGES SELECTED TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE LOW-COST TELEGRAPH AND TELETYPE
COMMUNICATION CHANNELS COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE.

FIG. 4: FREQUENCY TRANSMITTER

FIG. 5: FREQUENCY RECEIVER

PULSE TELEMETERING

THESE SYSTEMS MAKE USE OF VARIOUS TYPES OF ELECTRIC PULSES AND TRANSMIT THEM
AS A FUNCTION OF TIME, INDEPENDENTLY OF ELECTRICAL VARIATIONS IN THE TRANSMISSION
CHANNEL. TELEGRAPH AND TELETYPE SYSTEMS EMPLOY THIS PRINCIPLE. PULSE TELEMETERING
SYSTEMS CAN BE CLASSIFIED AS PULSE DURATION, PULSE COUNT, AND PULSE CODE OR DIGITAL
TELEMETERING SYSTEMS.
PULSE DURATION SYSTEM

THESE SYSTEMS MAY COMPRISE ELECTROMECHANICAL OR ELECTRONIC DEVICES. THE

INPUT QUANTITY CAN BE A MECHANICAL POSITION OF AN INSTRUMENT PEN OR POINTER, OR A
CURRENT OR VOLTAGE AT THE TRANSMITTING END. THE PRIMARY MEASURING ELEMENT CAN
BE A LOW-TORQUE DEVICE, SUCH AS A FLOWMETER OR PRESSURE GAGE. TOTAL CYCLE TIMES
OF 15 AND 5 S ARE COMMON WITH MECHANICAL AND ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS. THIS MEANS THAT
A SYSTEM IS VISIBLY INTERMITTENT IN ACTION AND CONSEQUENTLY DOES NOT GIVE THE
INSTANTANEOUS RESPONSE REQUIRED BY MANY APPLICATIONS.

FIG. 6: BASIC ELECTRONIC PULSE DURATION TRANSIMITTER

 FIG. 7: BASIC ELECTRONIC PULSE DURATION RECEIVER

BINARY-CODED DECIMAL (BCD) CODES

TO SIMPLIFY THE HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS OF A DIGITAL TELEMETERING SYSTEM, A
BCD CODE IS COMMONLY USED. THIS CODE REPRESENTS EACH DIGIT IN A DECIMAL NUMBER BY
4 BITS (TABLE 1). FOR EXAMPLE, DECIMAL NUMBER 22 IS REPRESENTED BY BCD 0010-0010
INSTEAD OF 10110 IN A STRAIGHT BINARY CODE. THIS CODE SIMPLIFIES THE RECEIVING
EQUIPMENT DESIGN, SINCE ONLY A TOTAL OF 4 BITS AT A TIME MUST BE DECODED TO FIND THE
DECIMAL NUMBER.
8421 CODING
IT WILL BE NOTED THAT THE POSITIONAL WEIGHTS OR PLACE VALUES OF THE BINARY
DIGIT 1 CHANGE FROM 23 TO 22 TO 21 TO 2°, OR 8 TO 4 TO 2 TO 1, DEPENDENT ON THE COLUMN
LOCATION. THIS IS KNOWN AS THE 8421 CODE.
BAUDOT CODE
THIS CODE CONSISTS OF THREE PARTS. SEE FIG. 8. A START PULSE THAT IS ALWAYS A
SPACE, FOR SYNCHRONIZATION OF THE TRANSMITTER AND RECEIVER; FIVE DATA OR
INFORMATION PULSES, WHOSE COMBINATION DESIGNATES THE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET,
THE NUMBERS 0 THROUGH 9, AND VARIOUS SYMBOLS; AND A STOP PULSE, IN THE MARK
POSITION TO SIGNAL THE END OF THE CHARACTER. THE COMBINATION OF INFORMATION
PULSES SHOWN IN FIG. 8 REPRESENTS THE LETTER “D.”
 TABLE 1: COMPARISON OF DECIMAL, BINARY, AND BINARY-CODED DECIMAL NUMBER
COUNTING

FIG. 8: BAUDOT TELETYPE CODE

AMERICAN STANDARD CODE FOR INFORMATION INTERCHANGE (ASCII)
THE ASCII CODE USES A 7-BIT-PLUS-PARITY CODE. IN A BINARY CODE, THE BASE 2 RAISED
TO THE NUMBER OF INFORMATION BITS USED GIVES THE NUMBER OF CHARACTERS THAT CAN
BE FORMED. IN THIS CASE, A 7-BIT CODE ALLOWS TRANSMISSION OF 27, OR 128, CHARACTERS.
PARITY
PARITY IS A METHOD USED TO CHECK FOR ERRORS BY ADDING AN EXTRA BIT TO MAKE
EITHER AN ODD NUMBER OF 1’S (ODD PARITY), OR AN EVEN NUMBER OF L’S (EVEN PARITY).
TABLE 2 ILLUSTRATES THE 8421 CODE WITH AN ODD-PARITY BIT. IF AN ERROR DUE TO
ELECTRICAL NOISE OCCURS IN THE CODED MESSAGE AND INVERTS A BIT, THE RECEIVER WILL
DETECT THAT THE MESSAGE DOES NOT CONTAIN AN ODD NUMBER OF 1’S AND THE MESSAGE
WILL BE REJECTED. OF COURSE, TWO EXACTLY COMPENSATING ERRORS CANNOT BE DETECTED
IN THIS MANNER IF THEY OCCUR WITHIN A VERY SHORT INTERVAL OF EACH OTHER.
TWO-OUT-OF-FIVE CODE
THIS CODE INCORPORATES PARITY SO EACH CHARACTER INCLUDES TWO 1’S AND THREE
0’S. SEE TABLE 3.

TABLE 2: THE 8421 COD WITH EVEN PARITY

 TABLE 3: TWO-OUT-OF-FIVE CODE

PARALLEL AND SERIAL TRANSMISSION

IN PARALLEL TRANSMISSION, A SEPARATE CHANNEL IS USED TO TRANSMIT EACH BIT
MAKING UP THE CODED WORD. THIS CAN BE DONE OVER SHORT DISTANCES BY USING A
SEPARATE WIRE FOR EACH BIT, OR FOR LONG DISTANCES BY FREQUENCY DIVISION
MULTIPLEXING. IN SERIAL TRANSMISSION, A METHOD OF IDENTIFYING THE BITS IS REQUIRED
AND IS ACCOMPLISHED BY SOME FORM OF SYNCHRONIZATION BETWEEN THE TRANSMITTER
AND THE RECEIVER. ALTHOUGH PARALLEL TRANSMISSION IS FASTER, IT IS ALSO MORE
EXPENSIVE.
CODE SECURITY AND ERROR DETECTION
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TRANSMISSION CHANNEL, PLUS EXTERNAL INFLUENCES, CAN
CAUSE ERRORS IN THE TRANSMITTED CODE. VARIOUS METHODS ARE USED TO DETECT SUCH
ERRORS.
BIT COUNTING
THIS IS COMMONLY EMPLOYED WHEN THE RECEIVER COUNTS THE NUMBER OF BITS IN A
MESSAGE TO DETERMINE WHETHER THEY TOTAL THE REQUIRED NUMBER.
REDUNDANT TRANSMISSION
EACH MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED TWICE AND COMPARED AT THE RECEIVER.
MULTIPLEXING
A TECHNIQUE FOR DELIVERING SEVERAL MEASUREMENTS VIA A SINGLE TRANSMISSION
CHANNEL IS CALLED MULTIPLEXING. THE EXPENSE OF MULTI-CONDUCTING CABLE WITH
DISTINCT WIRES FOR EACH MEASUREMENT (INSTALLATION, MAINTENANCE, AND PERIODIC
REPLACEMENT) BECOMES UNAFFORDABLE AS THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE SENDING AND
RECEIVING STATIONS GROWS. ADDITIONALLY, USING SEPARATE TRANSMISSION CHANNELS FOR
EACH MEASUREMENT DOES NOT ALLOW FOR THE COST OF FUTURE EXPANSION TO BE
JUSTIFIED.
TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
IN THIS SYSTEM, MEASUREMENTS ARE TRANSMITTED IN SEQUENCE UNTIL ALL HAVE
BEEN SAMPLED AT WHICH TIME THE CYCLE IS REPEATED. THE TIME REQUIRED TO COMPLETE
THE TRANSMISSION OF ALL THE MEASUREMENTS MAY BE SUFFICIENTLY SHORT SO THAT ANY
ONE MEASUREMENT CANNOT CHANGE EXCESSIVELY BETWEEN SAMPLINGS. A PULSE DURATION
TELEMETERING SYSTEM USING TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING IS SHOWN IN FIG. 9. EACH
TRANSMITTER IS SEQUENTIALLY CONNECTED TO ITS CORRESPONDING RECEIVER. THE SYSTEM
CONNECTS TRANSMITTER 1 TO RECEIVER 1 FOR A SPECIFIED LENGTH OF TIME THEN
TRANSMITTER 2 TO RECEIVER 2 AND SO ON.

FIG. 9: TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING

FREQUENCY DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
THIS SYSTEM USES ELECTRICAL FILTERS TO SEPARATE THE TRANSMISSION CHANNELS
INTO MANY FREQUENCY BANDS. THESE FREQUENCIES CAN BE USED TO TRANSMIT DATA BY
AMPLITUDE MODULATION (AM), FREQUENCY MODULATION (FM), OR PHASE MODULATION
(PM). TELEMETERING COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS, A LEASED TELEPHONE CHANNEL
TRANSMITS FREQUENCIES IN THE RANGE 300 TO 3000 HZ. THEREFORE, IT IS POSSIBLE TO
TRANSMIT SEVERAL DISTINCT FREQUENCIES OR TONES OVER THIS CHANNEL AT THE SAME TIME.
SEE FIG. 10. APPROXIMATELY 24 SEPARATE FREQUENCIES CAN BE TRANSMITTED OVER A SINGLE
TELEPHONE-GRADE CIRCUIT.

FIG. 10: FREQUENCY DIVISION MULTIPLEXING. (A) TRANSMISSION, (B) RECEIVING.

MODULATION
MODULATION IS THE PROCESS OF VARYING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ELECTRIC
SIGNAL CALLED A CARRIER. AN ELECTRIC SIGNAL CAN BE TURNED ON AND OFF AS IN THE MARK-
SPACE SYSTEM OF A TELEGRAPHY SYSTEM, IN WHICH CASE THE SIGNAL IS AMPLITUDE-
MODULATED (AM). AN ELECTRIC SIGNAL ALSO CAN BE VARIED IN FREQUENCY (FM) OR SHIFTED
IN PULSE. SEE FIG. 11.

FIG. 11 COMPARISON OF AMPLITUDE, FREQUENCY, AND PHASE MODULATION

PNEUMATIC TRANSMISSION AND CONTROL
PNEUMATIC TRANSMISSION IS A TELEMETERING METHOD IN WHICH ANALOG
INFORMATION IS TRANSMITTED AS AIR PRESSURE. IN A TYPICAL PNEUMATIC TRANSMISSION
SYSTEM, A PNEUMATIC TRANSMITTER LOCATED IN THE FIELD CONVERTS A PROCESS
MEASUREMENT, SUCH AS A LEVEL OR TEMPERATURE, TO A PROPORTIONAL PNEUMATIC
PRESSURE. THE PRESSURE SIGNAL IS TRANSMITTED TO A PNEUMATIC INDICATOR, RECORDER,
OR CONTROLLER, USUALLY LOCATED IN THE CONTROL ROOM. IN THE CASE OF A PNEUMATIC
CONTROL LOOP, THE CONTROLLER, RESPONDING TO THE TRANSMITTED MEASUREMENT
SIGNAL, SENDS A RETURN SIGNAL TO THE FIELD TO POSITION A FINAL CONTROL ELEMENT, SUCH
AS A PNEUMATICALLY OPERATED CONTROL VALVE.
ADVANTAGES OF TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS

WHETHER PNEUMATIC OR ELECTRICAL, THE ADVANTAGES OF TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS

INCLUDE:

1. CONTROL OPERATIONS CAN BE CONSOLIDATED. MEASUREMENTS FROM A LARGE PLANT CAN

BE TRANSMITTED TO A CENTRAL CONTROL ROOM FOR MORE EFFICIENT OPERATOR
SUPERVISION.

FIG. 12 TYPICAL PNEUMATIC TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

2. RECEIVING INSTRUMENTS ARE NOT EXPOSED TO FIELD CONDITIONS. ONLY THE TRANSMITTER
IS EXPOSED TO PROCESS FLUIDS AND FIELD ATMOSPHERES. CONTROLLERS, INDICATORS, AND
RECORDERS OPERATE MORE RELIABLY IN A CLEAN CONTROL ROOM ENVIRONMENT.
3. RECEIVING INSTRUMENTS CAN BE STANDARDIZED. THE SAME KIND OF CONTROLLER,
INDICATOR, OR RECORDER CAN BE USED FOR ALL PROCESS VARIABLES SUCH AS FLOW,
TEMPERATURE, AND LEVEL.

GENERALLY, PNEUMATIC OR ELECTRICAL INSTRUMENTS CAN PROVIDE THE SAME

FUNCTIONS WITH EQUAL ACCURACY. BECAUSE OF THE DELAY IN PNEUMATIC TRANSMISSION,
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS MAY BE PREFERRED FOR INSTALLATIONS WITH LONG TRANSMISSION
DISTANCES. HOWEVER, PENUMATIC INSTRUMENTS OFFER CERTAIN OTHER ADVANTAGES,
AGAIN, OF PARTICULAR INTEREST IN THE PROCESS INDUSTRIES.

AIR SUPPLY REQUIREMENTS

AIR QUALITY
TO ENSURE ACCURATE AND RELIABLE OPERATION OF PNEUMATIC INSTRUMENTS, A
CLEAN, DRY, REGULATED AIR SUPPLY MUST BE PROVIDED. SOLID OR LIQUID CONTAMINANTS IN
COMPRESSED AIR CAN CLOG THE SMALL PASSAGES THAT ARE A PART OF ALL PNEUMATIC
INSTRUMENTS, CAUSING LOSS OF ACCURACY OR EVEN COMPLETE FAILURE. MOISTURE IN THE
AIR, CONDENSING AND FREEZING, CAN CAUSE THE SAME PROBLEMS. CORROSIVE
CONTAMINANTS AND OIL IN COMPRESSED AIR CAN DAMAGE METAL AND PLASTIC INSTRUMENT
COMPONENTS, RESULTING IN UNRELIABLE OPERATION AND EXCESSIVE MAINTENANCE COSTS.
ISA STANDARD S7.3 RECOMMENDS THE FOLLOWING MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR
INSTRUMENT AIR:
MOISTURE. THE DEW POINT AT THE LINE PRESSURE SHOULD BE 10°C (18°F) BELOW THE
MINIMUM AMBIENT TEMPERATURE, BUT IN NO CASE SHOULD IT BE ABOVE 2°C (35°F).
PARTICLE SIZE. THE MAXIMUM PARTICLE SIZE IN THE AIR STREAM AT THE INSTRUMENT SHOULD
BE 3 (0.0001 IN).
OIL CONTENT. THE MAXIMUM OIL CONTENT SHOULD BE AS CLOSE TO ZERO AS POSSIBLE,
BUT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD IT EXCEED 1 PPM.
AIR SUPPLY PRESSURE
THE INSTRUMENT AIR SUPPLY PRESSURE MUST BE REGULATED TO MAINTAIN ACCURATE
OPERATION. WITH A TYPICAL PNEUMATIC TRANSMITTER, A CHANGE OF 5 PSI (33 KPA) IN SUPPLY
PRESSURE WILL CHANGE THE TRANSMITTER OUTPUT BY ABOUT 1%, CAUSING A MEASUREMENT
UNCERTAINTY. AS SHOWN IN FIG. 12, A SEPARATE FILTER REGULATOR IS USED FOR EACH FIELD
INSTRUMENT. THIS PROVIDES ONE FINAL STAGE OF FILTERING AND MOISTURE REMOVAL, AS
WELL AS A STABLE INSTRUMENT SUPPLY PRESSURE. IN A CONTROL PANEL, A SINGLE HIGH-
CAPACITY REGULATOR AND FILTER SET IS USED TO SUPPLY ALL INSTRUMENTS THROUGH AN AIR
SUPPLY HEADER. A SECOND REGULATOR AND FILTER SET IS USUALLY PROVIDED FOR STANDBY
SERVICE.
STEP RESPONSE OF PNEUMATIC TUBING
STEP RESPONSE TESTS FOR 500 FT (152.4 M) OF 1/4 -IN (6.35-MM) AND 3/8-IN (9.5 MM)
TUBING ARE SHOWN IN FIG. 14. THESE OUTPUT RESPONSES TO A STEP INPUT SHOW A DEAD
TIME, RELATED TO THE SONIC VELOCITY, AND A HIGH-ORDER COMPLETION CURVE
CHARACTERISTIC OF A DISTRIBUTED PARAMETER SYSTEM. THE PNEUMATIC RESISTANCE TO
FLOW AND THE PNEUMATIC CAPACITANCE (VOLUME) ARE DISTRIBUTED ALONG THE LENGTH OF
THE TRANSMISSION LINE.

FIG .13: DYNAMIC RESPONSE OF A PNEUMATIC TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

 FIG. 14: STEP RESPONSE TESTS FOR 500 FT (152.4 M) OF 1/4 -IN (6.35-MM) AND 3/8-IN (9.5
MM) OD PLASTIC TUBING.
SIGNAL AMPLITUDE
TRANSMISSION LINE RESPONSE IS SOMEWHAT SLOWER FOR LARGE SIGNAL CHANGES.
TESTS ARE USUALLY RUN AT ± 5% AMPLITUDE NEAR THE MIDSCALE VALUE (ISA STANDARD S26),
BECAUSE THIS KIND OF CHANGE IS CONSIDERED MORE TYPICAL THAN A FULL-SCALE CHANGE IN
PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEMS.
AIR TEMPERATURE
TRANSMISSION LINE RESPONSE IS SLIGHTLY FASTER AT LOWER TEMPERATURES. THE
EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE OVER A RANGE OF 20 TO 120°F (— 6.7 TO 49°C) IS SMALL AND CAN BE
CONSIDERED NEGLIGIBLE, PARTICULARLY WHEN COMPARED TO THE PRESSURE EFFECT FROM 3
TO 15 PSIG [20 TO 100 KPA].
TRANSMITTER FLOW CAPACITY
TRANSMISSION LINE RESPONSE IS SLOWER IF THE TRANSMITTER OR CONTROLLER DOES
NOT HAVE AN ADEQUATE FLOW CAPACITY. FIGURE 3 INDICATES A HIGH-CAPACITY SOURCE,
MEANING THAT ANY INCREASE IN THE SOURCE CAPACITY WOULD NOT IMPROVE THE RESPONSE.
AN INADEQUATE CAPACITY CAN RETARD SYSTEM RESPONSE MORE OR LESS SERIOUSLY,
DEPENDING ON THE LINE LENGTH AND DIAMETER. A GREATER FLOW CAPACITY IS NECESSARY
TO PREVENT DEGRADATION OF SYSTEM RESPONSE WITH A LARGER DIAMETER OR SHORTER
LENGTH TUBING. THE FLOW CAPACITY REQUIREMENT IS DETERMINED BY THE MAXIMUM
INSTANTANEOUS FLOW INTO THE TUBING. THIS FLOW IS HIGHER WITH LARGE DIAMETERS
BECAUSE OF THE LARGER VOLUME, AND HIGHER WITH SHORT LENGTHS BECAUSE THE
DISPROPORTIONATE INCREASE IN SPEED MORE THAN OFFSETS THE REDUCTION IN VOLUME.

FIG. 15: RESPONSE TIME FOR A 63.2% RESPONSE FOR A 8.4 TO 9.6 PSI STEP INPUT FOR OF
1/4 -IN (6.35-MM) AND 3/8-IN (9.5 MM) OD TUBING.
RECEIVER VOLUME
A LARGE RECEIVER VOLUME SERIOUSLY INCREASES THE RESPONSE TIME IN PNEUMATIC
TRANSMISSION. THE PROBLEM WITH A LARGE RECEIVER VOLUME IS THAT OF FILLING A LARGE
VOLUME THROUGH A LENGTH OF RESTRICTIVE TUBING, RATHER THAN THE TRANSMISSION
REQUIREMENT OF SIMPLY FILLING THE TUBING. TYPICAL INDICATORS, RECORDERS,
CONTROLLERS, AND VALVE POSITIONERS HAVE INLET VOLUMES ON THE ORDER OF THE 1.2-IN3
(0.02-L) STANDARD TEST VOLUME INDICATED IN FIG. 14. THE INLET VOLUME OF A CONTROL
VALVE (WITHOUT A VALVE POSITIONER) IS MUCH GREATER THAN THIS. WHERE FAST RESPONSE
IS IMPORTANT, A VALVE POSITIONER OR A BOOSTER RELAY SHOULD BE USED TO TERMINATE
THE TRANSMISSION LINE IN A SMALL VOLUME.
USE OF VOLUME BOOSTERS
MOST PROCESS CONTROL INSTRUMENTS HAVE A SUFFICIENT FLOW CAPACITY AND A
SUITABLY SMALL INLET VOLUME SO THAT NO SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS NEED BE TAKEN TO
MAINTAIN THE BEST POSSIBLE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM RESPONSE. FURTHERMORE, IN MANY
INSTALLATIONS OPTIMUM RESPONSE SPEED IS NOT NECESSARY TO MEET PROCESS OBJECTIVES,
AND THE EFFECTS OF A LOW FLOW CAPACITY OR A LARGE TERMINATION VOLUME ARE NOT
OBJECTIONABLE. IN APPLICATIONS WHERE FAST RESPONSE IS REQUIRED AND EQUIPMENT
LIMITATIONS CAUSE SLOW TRANSMISSION, VOLUME BOOSTER RELAYS CAN BE USED TO
IMPROVE RESPONSE.

FIG. 16: USE OF VOLUM BOOSTER RELAYS TO IMPROVE SYSTEM RESPONSE

FIELD-MOUNTED CONTROLLERS
SINCE THE INCREASE IN RESPONSE TIME OF AN AUTOMATIC CONTROL LOOP IS CAUSED
BY LAGS IN TRANSMITTING SIGNALS TO AND FROM THE CONTROLLER, RESPONSE CAN BE
IMPROVED BY LOCATING THE CONTROLLER IN THE FIELD, CLOSE TO THE TRANSMITTER AND
VALVE. FIGURE 17 SHOWS THIS ARRANGEMENT. THE SYSTEM IS COMPLICATED BY THE
PROVISION FOR MANUAL VALVE OPERATION, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN MOST PROCESS CONTROL
LOOPS.

FIG. 17: FIELD MOUNTED CONTROLLER

PNEUMATIC DEVICES
THE DESIGN OF PNEUMATIC TRANSMITTERS, CONTROLLERS, AND ALL OTHER PNEUMATIC
INSTRUMENTS IS BASED ON A NUMBER OF RELATIVELY SIMPLE PNEUMATIC DEVICES WHICH ARE
COMBINED IN DIFFERENT MECHANICAL ARRANGEMENTS TO GIVE A SPECIFIC OUTPUT-INPUT
RELATIONSHIP. THESE PNEUMATIC DEVICES CAN BE CONSIDERED THE EQUIVALENT OF CERTAIN
PASSIVE OR ACTIVE ELECTRICAL ELEMENTS, AND A USEFUL ANALOGY BETWEEN A PNEUMATIC
SYSTEM AND ELECTRIC CIRCUITS IS OFTEN APPARENT.
BAFFLE-NOZZLE CONTROLLER
DESPITE ITS LIMITATIONS, A BAFFLE-NOZZLE AMPLIFIER IS QUITE SUITABLE FOR USE AS A
SIMPLE PROPORTIONAL ONLY CONTROLLER. FIGURE 18 SHOWS A TEMPERATURE CONTROLLER
WITH AN ADJUSTABLE GAIN. IN PNEUMATIC CONTROLLERS, THE GAIN IS USUALLY DESCRIBED
IN TERMS OF PROPORTIONAL BAND PERCENTAGE AND IN THIS KIND OF CONTROLLER MAY BE
ADJUSTABLE TO GIVE A FULL-SCALE OUTPUT CHANGE FOR 2 TO 10% OF THE SET-POINT
ADJUSTMENT SPAN.
PILOT RELAYS
THESE RELAYS, ALSO CALLED PILOT VALVES AND BOOSTER RELAYS, ARE USED WITH
BAFFLE-NOZZLE AMPLIFIERS TO PROVIDE A GOOD FLOW CAPACITY FOR TRANSMISSION
SERVICE. IN ADDITION TO INCREASED FLOW CAPACITY, PILOT RELAYS USUALLY PROVIDE SOME
PRESSURE GAIN. THE PRESSURE GAIN SERVES TO INCREASE THE GAIN OF THE BAFFLE NOZZLE
SYSTEM FOR IMPROVEMENT IN INSTRUMENT ACCURACY.

FIG. 18: BAFFLE NOZZLE TEMPERATURE CONTROLLER

CONTROL STATIONS-MANUAL OR AUTOMATIC SWITCHING
PNEUMATIC RECEIVER CONTROLLERS ARE USED WITH PANEL MOUNTING CONTROL
STATIONS, WHICH INCLUDE PROVISIONS FOR INDICATING THE MEASUREMENT AND ADJUSTING
THE SET POINT AND FOR MANUAL OPERATION OF THE CONTROL VALVE. MANUAL OPERATION
BY THE OPERATOR IS USEFUL FOR PROCESS START-UP AND FOR EMERGENCY CONDITIONS,
SUCH AS REMOVING THE CONTROLLER FOR MAINTENANCE. MANUAL OPERATION REQUIRES A
SWITCH TO BYPASS THE CONTROLLER AND A MANUAL LOADING DEVICE. MANUAL LOADING
AND SET-POINT ADJUSTING DEVICES CAN BE SIMPLE PRESSURE REGULATORS.

FIG. 19: THE DERIVATIVE CAN BE ON THE INPUT OR OUTPUT OF THE CONTROLLER

FIG. 20: CONTROL STATION WITH A PROPORTIONAL PLUS RESET