ECEg4155: Electrical Measurement and

Instrumentation

Dr.K.Raja kumar,
Associate Professor/Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering ,
Faculty of Control Engineering,
Adigrat University, Ethiopia.
E-mail : rajakumar@adu.edu.et

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 Introduction to Instrumentation

CHAPTER-1

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 Content’s

Chapter -1: Introduction to instrumentation

1.1 General Principles of measurement system

1.2 Basic Concepts of Measurement
1.3 Performance Characteristics
• Static characteristic
• Dynamic characteristic
1.4 Noise and interference in instrumentation

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 1.1 General Principle of Instruments / Measurements

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 General Principles

 The General Measurement System

a. Purpose and performance of measurement systems
b. Structure of measurement systems
c. Examples of measurement systems
d. Block diagram symbols
 Purpose and performance of measurement systems

Defining a process as a system which generates information.

Examples:
• chemical reactor,
• a jet fighter,
• a gas platform, a submarine, a car, a human heart, and a weather system.

Table 1.1 lists information variables which are commonly generated by processes:
• A car generates displacement, velocity and acceleration variables,
• A chemical reactor generates temperature, pressure and composition variables.
Common Information/measured variables
Table 1.1
• Acceleration
• Density
• Velocity • Viscosity
• Displacement • Composition
• Force–Weight- • pH
• Pressure • Humidity
• Torque • Temperature
• Volume • Heat/Light flux
• Mass • Current
• Flow rate • Voltage
• Level • Power
Cnts
• To define the observer as a person who needs this information from the process.
This could be the car driver, the plant operator or the nurse.
• The purpose of the measurement system is to link the observer to the process, as
shown in Figure 1.1. Here the observer is presented with a number which is the
current value of the information variable.
• We can now refer to the information variable as a measured variable. The input
to the measurement system is the true value of the variable; the system output is
the measured value of the variable.
• In an ideal measurement system, the measured value would be equal to the true
value.
Cnts
• The accuracy of the system can be defined as the closeness of the measured value
to the true value. A perfectly accurate system is a theoretical ideal and the
accuracy of a real system is quantified using measurement system error E,
where
E = measured value − true value
E = system output − system input
E.g: If the measured value of the flow rate of gas in a pipe is 11.0 m3/h and the true
value is 11.2 m3/h, then the error E = −0.2 m3/h. If the measured value of the
rotational speed of an engine is 3140 rpm and the true value is 3133 rpm, then E =
+7 rpm.
• Error is the main performance indicator for a measurement system.
Purpose of Measurement system
A complete measurement system

All measuring systems include three basic elements:

Transducer Signal conditioner Recorder or Display

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A complete measurement system

All measuring systems include three basic elements:

Transducer Signal conditioner Recorder or Display

detect and convert the physical quantity into a more usable form: a
mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic or electrical signal.

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A complete measurement system

All measuring systems include three basic elements:

Transducer Signal conditioner Recorder or Display

modify the signal to a desirable output: amplifier,

filter, A/D converter, etc.
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A complete measurement system

All measuring systems include three basic elements:

Transducer Signal conditioner Recorder or Display

Transmission Path: noise and attenuation

show and record the measurand: analog or

digital
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 Structure of measurement systems
• The measurement system consists of several elements or blocks.
• It is possible to identify four types of element, although in a given system one
type of element may be missing or may occur more than once.
• The four types are shown in Figure 1.2 and can be defined as follows.

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Figure 1.2 General structure of
measurement system.
 Sensing element

• This is in contact with the process and gives an output which depends in some
way on the variable to be measured.
• Examples are:
• Thermocouple where millivolt e.m.f. depends on temperature.
• Strain gauge where resistance depends on mechanical strain
• Orifice plate where pressure drop depends on flow rate.
• If there is more than one sensing element in a system, the element in contact with
the process is termed the primary sensing element, the others secondary sensing
elements.
 Signal conditioning element

• This takes the output of the sensing element and converts it into a form more
suitable for further processing, usually a d.c. voltage, d.c. current or frequency
signal.
• Examples are:
• Deflection bridge :
which converts an impedance change into a voltage change.
• Amplifier:
which amplifies millivolts to volts.
• Oscillator:
which converts an impedance change into a variable frequency
voltage.
 Signal processing element

• This takes the output of the conditioning element and converts it into a form more
suitable for presentation.
• Examples are:
• Analogue-to-digital converter (ADC):
which converts a voltage into a digital form for input to a
computer.
• Computer:
which calculates the measured value of the variable from the
incoming digital data.
 Data presentation element

This presents the measured value in a form which can be easily recognised by the
observer.

Examples are:
• Simple pointer–scale indicator
• Chart recorder
• Alphanumeric display
• Visual display unit (VDU).
 Examples of measurement systems
• Figure 1.3 shows some typical examples of measurement systems.
• Figure 1.3(a) shows a temperature system with a thermocouple sensing element; this
gives a millivolt output. Signal conditioning consists of a circuit to compensate for
changes in reference junction temperature, and an amplifier. The voltage signal is
converted into digital form using an analogue-to-digital converter, the computer
corrects for sensor non-linearity, and the measured value is displayed on a VDU.
• In Figure 1.3(b) the speed of rotation of an engine is sensed by an electromagnetic
tachogenerator which gives an a.c. output signal with frequency proportional to
speed. The Schmitt trigger converts the sine wave into sharp-edged pulses which are
then counted over a fixed time interval. The digital count is transferred to a computer
which calculates frequency and speed, and the speed is presented on a digital display.
 Cnt’s
• The flow system of Figure 1.3(c) has an orifice plate sensing element; this gives a
differential pressure output. The differential pressure transmitter converts this into
a current signal and therefore combines both sensing and signal conditioning
stages. The ADC converts the current into digital form and the computer
calculates the flow rate, which is obtained as a permanent record on a chart
recorder.
• The weight system of Figure 1.3(d) has two sensing elements: the primary
element is a cantilever which converts weight into strain; the strain gauge converts
this into a change in electrical resistance and acts as a secondary sensor. There are
two signal conditioning elements: the deflection bridge converts the resistance
change intomillivolts and the amplifier converts millivolts into volts. The
computer corrects for non-linearity in the cantilever and the weight is presented
on a digital display.
Cnts
• The word ‘transducer’ is commonly used in connection with measurement and
instrumentation.
• It gives an output voltage (usually) corresponding to an input variable such as
pressure or acceleration.
• So transducer may incorporate both sensing and signal conditioning elements;
• for example a weight transducer would incorporate the first four elements shown
in Figure 1.3(d).
Cnts
 Block diagram symbols

• A block diagram approach is very useful in discussing the properties of elements

and systems.
• Figure 1.4 shows the main block diagram symbols used.
Figure 1.4 Block diagram symbols.
 1.2- Basic Concepts of Measurements

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 “What is not measured does not exist.”
Max Born, 1926

Generic scheme of a measurement

Environment

Disturbance Influence

xD x+ yDy+ 1

Matching

Matching
Measurement
Measurement
System Observer
Object
)noisy(
Influence Influence
1. Basic principles of measurements
1.1. Definition of measurement
1.2. Definition of instrumentation
1.3. Why measuring?
1.4. Types of measurements
1.5. Scaling of measurement results
1.6. Measurements Application

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 1. BASIC PRINCIPLES OF MEASUREMENTS

1.1. Definition of measurement

• Measurement is the acquisition of information about a state or

phenomenon (object of measurement) in the world around us.
• This means that a measurement must be descriptive (observable)
with regard to that state or object we are measuring:
There must be a relationship between the object of measurement
and the measurement result.

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Illustration: Descriptiveness (observability) of a measurement

REAL WORLD IMAGE

empirical states abstract numbers
.phenomena, etc .symbols, labels, etc

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 The First descriptiveness is necessary but not sufficient aspect of
measurement: when one reads a book, one gathers information, but does
not perform a measurement.
• A second aspect of measurement is that it must be selective: it may only
provide information about what we wish to measure (the measurand)
and not about any other of the many states or phenomena around us.
This aspect too is a necessary but not sufficient aspect of measurement.
Admiring a painting inside an otherwise empty room will provide
information about only the painting, but does not constitute a measurement.
• A third and sufficient aspect of measurement is that it must be
objective. The outcome of measurement must be independent of an
arbitrary observer.

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In accordance with the three above aspects: descriptiveness, selectivity, and objectiveness, a
measurement can be described as the mapping of elements from an empirical source set

onto elements of an abstract image set with the help of a particular transformation (measurement
model).

Empirical space Image space

Transformation

,States ,Abstract
si phenomena well-defined ii
symbols
Source set S Image set I

‫מרחב אמפירי‬ ‫מרחב אבסטרקטי‬

Source set and image set are isomorphic if the transformation does copy the source set structure
(relationship between the elements).

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 1.2. Definition of Instrumentation
• To guarantee the objectivity of a measurement, we must use artifacts (tools or
instruments).
• The task of these instruments is to convert the state or phenomenon into a different state
or phenomenon that cannot be misinterpreted by an observer.

• The field of designing measurement instruments and systems is called instrumentation.

• Instrumentation systems must guarantee the required descriptiveness, the selectivity,
and the objectivity of the measurement.

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Example: Measurement as mapping

Empirical space Image space

:State (phenomenon) Transformation

Abstract symbol, B
Static magnetic field

B= f (R, w, V )
w Measurement model
R
V
Instrumentation
‫מרחב אמפירי‬ ‫מרחב אבסטרקטי‬

d[B cos(w t) A]
-=v
d t 35
 1.3. Why Measuring?

• Let us define ‘pure’ science as science that has sole purpose of describing the world around us
and therefore is responsible for our perception of the world.

• In ‘pure’ science, we can form a better, more coherent, and objective picture of the world, based
on the information measurement provides. In other words, the information allows us to create
models of (parts of) the world and formulate laws and theorems.
• We must then determine (again) by measuring whether this models, hypotheses, theorems, and
laws are a valid representation of the world. This is done by performing tests (measurements)
to compare the theory with reality.

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 • We consider ‘applied’ science as science intended to change the world: it uses the methods, laws,
and theorems of ‘pure’ science to modify the world around us.

• The purpose of measurements is to regulate, control, or alter the surrounding world, directly or
indirectly.
• The results of this regulating control can then be tested and compared to the desired results and
any further corrections can be made.
E.g: Even a relatively simple measurement such as checking the tire pressure can be described in the
above terms:

1) a hypothesis: we fear that the tire pressure is abnormal;

2) perform measurement;
3) alter the pressure if it was
abnormal.

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Illustration: Measurement in pure and applied science

REAL WORLD IMAGE

empirical states abstract numbers
.phenomena, etc .symbols, labels, etc

SCIENCE
Measurement Applied Pure
)processing, interpretation(
measurement results

Control/change

Verification (measurement) Hypotheses

Control/change laws
theories

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1.4. Types of measurements
To represent a state, we would like our measurements to have some of the following characteristics.

Distinctiveness: A  B, A  B.
Ordering in magnitude: A < B, A = B, A > B.
Equal/unequal intervals: IA-BI < IC-DI, IA-BI = IC-DI, IA-BI > IC-DI .
Ratio: A  k B (absolute zero is required).
Absolute magnitude: A = ka REF, B = kb REF (absolute reference or unit is required).

These five characteristics are used to determine the five types (levels) of measurements.

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Illustration: Levels of measurements (S. S. Stevens, 1946)

ABSOLUTE Abs. unit

RATIO Abs. zero

INTERVAL Distance is meaningful

ORDINAL States can be ordered

NOMINAL States are only named

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1.5. Scaling of measurement results
A scale is an organized set of measurements, all of which measure one property.

The types of scales reflect the types of measurements:

1. nominal scale,
2. ordinal scale,
3. interval scale,
4. ratio scale,
5. absolute scale.
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A scale is not always unique; it can be changed without loss of isomorphism.

Note that a high-level scale should usually allow all the lower-scale measurements.

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 1. Nominal scale

Examples: numbering of football players, detection and alarm systems, etc.

Any one-to-one transformation can* be used to change the scale.

*Stevens did not say that transformations that are not 'permissible' are prohibited.
http://mu.dmt.ibaraki.ac.jp/yanai/neu/faq/measurement.html#exmpls

1 1 1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0

OK

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 2. Ordinal scale

Examples: IQ test, competition results, etc.

Any monotonically increasing transformation, either linear or nonlinear, can be used to change the
scale.

OK

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 3. Interval scale

Examples: time scales, temperature scales (C, F), etc., where the origin or zero is not
absolute (floating).

Any increasing linear transformation can be used to change the scale.

+ + + -
D D
OK A
C C B C
D B B D
B C
A A
A

2X+1 NB: x(-1) does not

change the interval but
does change
the order: A>C.

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 4. Ratio scale

Examples: temperature (K), distance, mass, current, voltage scales, etc., where the origin or zero
is absolute.

The only transformation that can be used to change the scale is the multiplication by any positive
real number.

+ + + 0 0

OK

0 0 0 0 0 0
-
x2 NB: x(-1) does not
change the ratio
and interval but
does change
the order.
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 5. Absolute scale

Examples:measurement of any physical quantities by comparison against an absolute unit

(reference).

No transformation can be used to change the scale.

10 10 10 10 10 10 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 10- 10-

(Same interval) (Same ratio) (Same ratio,

different order)

Not the same absolute values.

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Standard Units

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Fundamental Units

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Derived Units

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Measurements Applications

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Elements of Measuring Instrument

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THE END

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