Automatic Process Control

Dr. Eng. Mohamed Salaheldin

Automatic Process Control

 Lecture 7

Measuring The Main Process Variables

Level & Temperature Measurements

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Level Measurement

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Level Measurements

1. Level Measurement & Units

2. Measuring Methods
3. Level Sensors Selection
4. Direct Level Measurements
5. Hydrostatic Pressure Level Measurements
6. Special Types for Level Measurements

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Level Measurement
Level is another common process variable that is measured in many industries.
The method used will vary widely depending on the nature of the industry, the
process, and the application.

Inventory:
• a constant supply or storage of material
Control:
• continuous, batch, blending, and mixing control
• stabilize flow to the next process
Alarming:
• hi/lo limits, safety shut down
Data Logging:
• material quantities for inventory and billing purposes and where
regulatory requirements are necessary

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What is measured?
The measured medium can be liquid, or solid and
stored in vessels (open/closed tanks), silos, bins
and hoppers.

Units of level can be expressed in:

◦ feet (meters)
◦ gallons (liters)
◦ pounds (kilograms)
◦ cubic volume (ft3, m3)

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Methods – Direct or Indirect (inferential)

▪ Hydrostatic Head
▪ Float
▪ Load Cells
▪ Magnetic Level Gauge
▪ Capacitance Transmitters
▪ Magnetostrictive
▪ Ultrasonic
▪ Microwave
▪ Laser
▪ Radar
▪ Guided Wave Radar
▪ Dip Stick
▪ Vibration

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 Direct Methods
Direct methods sense the surface or interface of the liquid
and is not affected by changes in material density
(Specific Gravity)

Examples:
◦ Dip Stick
◦ Resistance Tapes
◦ Sight Glass
◦ Floats
◦ Ultrasonic

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 Indirect Methods (Inferential)
Indirect methods “infer” liquid level by measuring some other physical
parameter such as pressure, weight, or temperature.
Changing materials means a corrective factor must be used or recalibrating
the instrument.

Examples:
◦ Hydrostatic head methods
◦ Load Cells
◦ Capacitance
◦ Conductivity

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Selection Criteria
When determining the type of level sensor that should be used for a
given application, there are a series of questions that must be
answered:

▪ Open tank or closed tank?

▪ Can the level sensor be inserted into the tank or should it be
completely external? Contact or non-contact?
▪ Continuous measurement or point measurement?
▪ Direct or Indirect measurement?
▪ What type of material is being measured? Liquid or Solid? Clean
or Slurry?

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Level Gauges (Sight Glasses)

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 Liquid Interface Level by Sight Glass

The only way to ensure proper two-part liquid interface level indication in a
sight glass is to keep both ports (nozzles) submerged

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 Hydrostatic Pressure Level Measurements

P = ρgh

▪ A vertical column of fluid exerts a pressure due to the column’s weight

▪ This principle makes it possible to infer the height of liquid in a vessel by
measuring the pressure generated at the bottom

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Hydrostatic Head Level Sensors
▪ These methods infer level by measuring the
hydrostatic head produced by the liquid column.
▪ A pressure sensing element is installed at the bottom
of the tank and pressure is converted to level.
▪ Different liquid densities or closed tank applications
must be accounted for.

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Differential pressure transmitters
in Liquid Level Measurements

Rosemount 3051S Liquid Level with Extended

Diaphragm

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 Transmitter suppression and elevation

It is needed where the pressure-sensing instrument is not located

at the same level as the 0% measurement point

The transmitter’s impulse line contains

a 30-foot elevation head of ethanol

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 Transmitter suppression and elevation cont’d
It is needed where desired level measurement range does not
extend to the vessel bottom

At the level of castor oil deemed 0%, the

transmitter “sees” a hydrostatic pressure
of 1.68 PSI (46.5 inches of water column)
and at the 100% castor oil level the
transmitter “sees” a pressure of 3.78 PSI
(105 inches water column)

❑The term for describing either of the previous scenarios, where the
lower range value (LRV) of the transmitter’s calibration is a positive
number, is called zero suppression
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 Transmitter suppression and elevation cont’d
If the transmitter is elevated above the process connection point, it will most likely
“see” a negative pressure (vacuum) with an empty vessel owing to the pull of liquid
in the line leading down from the instrument to the vessel

It is vitally important in
elevated transmitter
installations to use a
remote seal rather than an
open impulse line, so liquid
cannot dribble out of this
line and into the vessel

❑If the zero offset is reversed (e.g. the transmitter mounted at a

location higher than the 0% process level), it is referred to as zero
elevation
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 Compensated leg systems for
Closed Tank Applications

“Low” side of the transmitter experiences nothing but the gas pressure
enclosed by the vessel, while the “High” side experiences the sum of gas
and hydrostatic pressures

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 Wet Leg & Remote Seal Capillary Tube
▪ It is common for enclosed vessels to hold condensable vapors, which may over
time fill a compensating leg full of liquid
▪ In such case, it is solved by using either wet leg or remote seals and capillary
tubes filled with liquid of known density

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It is common to see “wet leg” hydrostatic transmitters installed with the
“Low” port connected to the bottom of the vessel and the “High” port
connected to the compensating leg

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Rosemount Level Measurements Review

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 Example
▪ What is the pressure generated by a column of oil
12 feet high having a weight density of 40 pounds
per cubic foot?

Recall

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Example
▪ What is the pressure generated by a column of oil
12 feet high having a weight density of 40 pounds
per cubic foot?

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Temperature Measurement

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Temperature Measurements

1. Temperature Definition & Units

2. Glass Stem Thermometers
3. Bi-metal temperature sensors
4. Filled-bulb temperature sensors
5. Thermistors & RTD
6. Thermocouples
7. Accessories & Assembly

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What is Temperature?
▪ Temperature is the degree of hotness or coldness, measured on a
definite scale.

▪ Heat is a form of energy and is measured in calories or BTU’s

(British Thermal Units)

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Heat Transfer
1. Convection:
By moving molecules in gases or liquids by natural circulation.
2. Conduction:
Conduction is the transfer of heat through or across a conductor.
3. Radiation:
Transfer of heat by rays the sun heats the earth’s atmosphere.

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Temperature Scales

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Temperature Units Conversion

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Temperature Measuring Instruments

1. Glass Stem Thermometers

2. Bi-metal temperature sensors
3. Filled-bulb temperature sensors
4. Thermistors & RTD
5. Thermocouples

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Glass Stem Thermometers
◼ Mercury is used for hot temperatures
and colored alcohol for cold
temperatures

◼ problems with glass thermometers

❑ Brittle
❑ Mercury solidifies at -40°C
❑ Alcohol boils at around 120 °C
❑ Accurate ones are expensive
 Bimetal Temperature Sensor

▪ Two thin strips of metal, with different coefficients of

expansion, When one end is fixed, the other end will
deflect in nearly direct proportion to the change in
temperature.

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 Bimetal Thermometers

▪ If a bi-metallic strip is twisted over a long length, it will tend to

un-twist as it heats up
▪ This twisting motion may be used to directly drive the needle of
a temperature gauge

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 Filled-bulb Temperature Sensors

▪ Filled-bulb systems exploit the

principle of fluid expansion to
measure temperature
▪ If a fluid is enclosed in a sealed system
and then heated, the molecules in
that fluid will exert a greater pressure
on the walls of the enclosing vessel

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 Filled System Thermometers
▪ The system is completely filled with
fluid (liquid or gas)
▪ With an increase in measured
temperature, the fluid in the bulb will
expand and increase the pressure in
the bulb, capillary, and bourdon tube.
▪ The pressure sensing element
responds to the increase in pressure
by moving the pointer up the scale

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 Thermistors & Resistance Temperature Detectors
(RTD)

▪ Temperature affects a change in electrical resistance

▪ A simple ohmmeter is able to function as a thermometer,
interpreting the resistance as a temperature measurement

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 RTD, Resistance Temperature Detectors

▪ RTD are sensors used to measure temperature by correlating the

resistance of the RTD element with temperature.
▪ Common Resistance Materials for RTDs:
◦ Platinum (most popular and accurate)
◦ Nickel
◦ Copper
◦ Balco (rare)
◦ Tungsten (rare)

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Two-wire RTD circuits

In industrial temperature measurement applications where the

temperature ranges are usually much wider, the nonlinearity of
thermistors becomes a significant problem, so we must find a
way to use low-resistance RTDs and deal with the (lesser)
problem of wire resistance
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Four-wire RTD circuits

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 Thermocouples
When two wires with dissimilar
electrical properties are joined at
both ends, a small electric current is
produced proportional to the
temperature

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Thermocouple Types

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 Temperature Sensor Accessories
One of the most important accessories for any
temperature-sensing element is a pressure-
tight sheath known as a Thermowell

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Head Mount Transmitter with Threaded Sensor

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