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MAE 3113
MEASUREMENTS AND INSTRUMENTATIONS
SPRING 2017

Exam 1
Closed Book
Open Lab/Class Journal
Master Equation Sheet

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Points Distribution
97 points maximum + 10 Bonus points

Exam Date: 03/06/17

Start Time: 12:30
End Time: 13:20
(No more than 50 Mins)
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1. (5 points) A force sensor has a static sensitivity of 44.5 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚/𝑁𝑁. The output voltage is
measured to be 8.86 volts. What is the expected value of the force to three significant
digits?

𝑘𝑘 = 44.5 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚⁄𝑁𝑁 𝑉𝑉 = 8.86 𝑉𝑉

1000𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 1𝑁𝑁
𝐹𝐹 = 8.86 𝑉𝑉 ∙ � �∙� � = 199 𝑁𝑁
𝑉𝑉 44.5𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚

2. (5 points) An instrument has an accuracy of ±𝟎𝟎. 𝟓𝟓% 𝑭𝑭𝑭𝑭𝑭𝑭 (Full Scale Output) and
measures resistance from 𝟎𝟎 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝛀𝛀. What is the resistance range in an indicated
measurement of 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑 𝛀𝛀?
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 = 1500 Ω
𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 = 1500 ∙ 0.005 = ±7.5 Ω
𝑀𝑀 = 397 ± 7.5
𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 397 Ω 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓
389.5 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 404.5 Ω

3. (10 points total) The temperature of an ice bath is measured numerous times with a
digital thermometer. The true temperature of the ice bath is 𝟎𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎°𝐂𝐂.
• The sample mean temperature is 𝑻𝑻 � = −𝟎𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎°𝑪𝑪
• The sample standard deviation of all the readings is 𝟎𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎°𝑪𝑪
• We assume that the precision errors in the readings are purely random and follow a
Normal distribution
Determine the following:
a) (5 points) Calculate the bias/systematic error.
Systematic error is a form of accuracy error or is the difference between the mean
and the true value.
𝐴𝐴 = −0.0125 − 0.0000 = −0.0125 °𝐶𝐶

b) (5 points) Calculate the precision error of a reading that is 𝟎𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎 °𝑪𝑪.
Precision error is the difference between a given reading and the mean.
𝑃𝑃 = 0.0310 − (−0.0125) = 0.0435 °𝐶𝐶
It is just a coincidence that the precision error and sample standard deviation are one in the same.
This is just the error at a given point with respect to the mean, whereas standard deviation
provides an idea on the overall spread of the data set.

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 c) (Bonus 5 points) Assuming the data follows a Normal distribution, determine the
range on the precision interval to a 95% confidence level.
Summary of confidence levels: The empirical rule states that for any normal or
Gaussian PDF,
• Approximately 68% of the values fall within 1 standard deviation from the
mean in either direction.
• Approximately 95% of the values fall within 1.96 standard deviations from
the mean in either direction. This one is the standard “two sigma”
engineering confidence level for most measurements.
• Approximately 99.7% of the values fall within 3 standard deviations from
the mean in either direction. This one is the stricter “three sigma”
engineering confidence level for more precise measurements.
The data is expected to fall within the range of the mean.
0.0435 ∙ 1.96 = ±0.0853 °𝐶𝐶 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑎𝑎 95% 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙

4. (10 points total) Two rotational measurements and a constant are used to monitor a
parameter of interest. Determine the following:
a) (6 points) How many significant digits does each of the following have?

𝐑𝐑 𝟏𝟏 = 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏. 𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓 𝐑𝐑𝐑𝐑𝐑𝐑 4

𝑹𝑹𝟐𝟐 = 𝟎𝟎. 𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗 𝐫𝐫𝐫𝐫𝐫𝐫/𝐬𝐬𝐬𝐬𝐬𝐬 2

Conversion Constant
𝐫𝐫𝐫𝐫𝐫𝐫 𝐫𝐫𝐫𝐫𝐫𝐫 ∞
𝑪𝑪 = 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔/𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 � → �
𝐬𝐬𝐬𝐬𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦

b) (4 points) Using the measurements in this problem determine the following to

the correct number of significant digits:
𝑹𝑹𝟏𝟏 − 𝑹𝑹𝟐𝟐 𝑪𝑪
𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔
𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏. 𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓 − (𝟎𝟎. 𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗) � � = 𝟏𝟏. 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑
𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐
𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒈𝒈 − 𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝑹𝑹𝟐𝟐
𝟏𝟏. 𝟑𝟑 𝑹𝑹𝑹𝑹𝑹𝑹

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5. (10 points total) The following data was obtained from an accelerometer attached to the
motor mount in an unmanned ground vehicle. Assuming that data was collected at a high
enough sample rate to correctly record the data, you are to determine the following:
a) (5 points) Assuming the entire resulting FFT is shown, what was the sample rate.
Since the frequency on the plot range from 0 to 300 Hz, the sample rate must be
600 𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻.
𝑓𝑓𝑠𝑠 600
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝑞𝑞𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 = = = 300 𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻
2 2

b) (5 points) Assuming the data was collected over five seconds, what is the
frequency resolution for the resulting FFT?
𝑓𝑓𝑠𝑠 1 1
𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿 = = =
𝑁𝑁 𝑁𝑁 ∙ 𝑡𝑡𝑠𝑠 𝑇𝑇𝑠𝑠
Two methods to solve:
Method 1: Direct by record length in seconds (𝑇𝑇𝑠𝑠 ).
1 1
𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿 = = = 0.2 𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻
𝑇𝑇𝑠𝑠 5
Method 2: Determine number of samples (𝑁𝑁).
Sample rate 𝑓𝑓𝑠𝑠 = 600 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠/𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
Record Length in seconds 𝑇𝑇𝑠𝑠 = 5 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
Number of samples 𝑁𝑁 = 𝑓𝑓𝑠𝑠 ∙ 𝑇𝑇𝑠𝑠 = 600 ∙ 5 = 3,000 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
𝑓𝑓𝑠𝑠 600
𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿 = = = 0.2 𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻
𝑁𝑁 3000

Page 5 of 8
6. (25 points) Consider fully developed laminar flow through a very long round tube.
Volume flow rate 𝑉𝑉̇ is a function of the tube’s inner diameter 𝐷𝐷, fluid viscosity 𝜇𝜇, and
axial pressure gradient 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑/𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑. Use dimensional analysis to generate a
nondimensional functional relationship.

Given:
̇ 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
Step 1: 𝑉𝑉 = 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 �𝐷𝐷, 𝜇𝜇, �
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
Step 2:
𝐿𝐿3 𝑚𝑚 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑚𝑚
𝑉𝑉̇ → � � 𝐷𝐷 → {𝐿𝐿} 𝜇𝜇 → { } → { 2 2}
𝑡𝑡 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝐿𝐿 𝑡𝑡

Finish the Buckingham 𝜋𝜋 analysis:

Step 3: (5 points) Set the reduction, 𝑗𝑗.

As a first guess, set 𝑗𝑗 as the number of primary dimensions. 𝑗𝑗 = 3
𝑛𝑛 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑛𝑛 = 4
Calculate 𝑘𝑘, the expected number of Πs, 𝑘𝑘 = 𝑛𝑛 − 𝑗𝑗 = 4 − 3 = 1. We expect 1Π

Step 4: (5 points) Choose j repeating parameters.

𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓, 𝐷𝐷, 𝜇𝜇, 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑/𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
Step 5: (10 points) Construct the 𝑘𝑘Πs (may need to reset j), and manipulate as necessary.
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑐𝑐
Π1 = 𝑉𝑉̇ 𝐷𝐷𝑎𝑎 𝜇𝜇𝑏𝑏 � �
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝐿𝐿3 𝑚𝑚 𝑏𝑏 𝑚𝑚 𝑐𝑐
{𝑚𝑚0 𝐿𝐿0 𝑡𝑡 0 } � � {𝐿𝐿}𝑎𝑎 � � � 2 2 �
𝑡𝑡 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 𝐿𝐿 𝑡𝑡
Equate exponents: 𝑚𝑚: 0 = 𝑏𝑏 + 𝑐𝑐
𝐿𝐿: 0 = 3 + 𝑎𝑎 − 𝑏𝑏 − 2𝑐𝑐
𝑡𝑡: 0 = −1 − 𝑏𝑏 − 2𝑐𝑐
Solve for a, b, and c
𝑎𝑎 = −4 𝑏𝑏 = 1 𝑐𝑐 = −1
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 −1 𝑉𝑉̇ 𝜇𝜇
Π1 = 𝑉𝑉̇ 𝐷𝐷 −4 𝜇𝜇1 � � Π1 = 4
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝐷𝐷 ∙ 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑/𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

Step 6: (5 points) Write the final functional relationship.

Since there is only one Π group then it is equal to a const. Π1 = 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

(Bonus 5 points) If 𝐷𝐷 is doubled, holding 𝜇𝜇 and 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑/𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 fixed, by what factor does 𝑉𝑉̇ change?
𝐷𝐷4 ∙ 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑�𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑉𝑉̇ = 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 ∙ ∴ If 𝐷𝐷 is doubled, holding 𝜇𝜇 and fixed then
𝜇𝜇 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑉𝑉̇ → 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 16

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7. (12 points total) Assuming the center of the target is the location of the true measurement,
match the following repeated measurements with the corresponding Normal Distribution plot
of the normalized results.

B.
A.

D.
C.

F.
E.

H.
G.

Page 7 of 8
8. (20 points total) A pressure transducer is used to measure the periodicity of a fluid flow.
The transducer output ranges from -10 to 10 volts, and the maximum frequency of
interest is 125 𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻. Superimposed on the signal is some noise at 9.75 kHz with an
amplitude of 5 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃. If the voltage can be measured to a resolution of 0.125𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 and the
transducer has a sensitivity of 0.063 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚/ 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 with an amplification of 0.10 𝑉𝑉/𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚.
Determine the following:

Given:
Transducer sensitivity: 0.063 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚/ 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝
Amplifier gain: 0.10 𝑉𝑉/𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
Recorder Resolution: 0.125𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
Recorder Span: ±10𝑉𝑉

a) (10 points) What is the range of pressure that can be monitored?

(This is a differential pressure transducer so negative pressures are possible)

Recorder Span: ±10𝑉𝑉 Amplifier gain: 0.10 𝑉𝑉/𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚

Transducer sensitivity: 0.063 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚/ 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝

1𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 1 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = ∙ ∙ (±10𝑉𝑉)
0.063𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 0.10𝑉𝑉
𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = ±1587 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝

b) (5 points) What is the resolution of pressure that can be detected?

Recorder Resolution: 0.125𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 Amplifier gain: 0.10 𝑉𝑉/𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚

Transducer sensitivity: 0.063 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚/ 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝

1𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 1 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 1𝑉𝑉
𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = ∙ ∙ 0.125𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 ∙
0.063𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 0.10𝑉𝑉 1000𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = 0.01984 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝

c) (5 points) Can the noise be measured? Briefly explain your answer.

In order to observe a signal, it must be in the correct range and have a resolution
small enough to capture. In this case we determined that the input can be seen
down to a resolution of 0.01984 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝, therefore the noise can clear be seen since
it has an amplitude of 5 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝. Also the noise is well within the range of of the
±1587 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 In order to ‘remove’ the noise from detection, the noise would need
to have it amplitude reduced from 5 psi to below 0.01984 psi, or the noise would
need to be reduced by a gain of just over 250.

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