Classical mechanics (often called Newtonian mechanics in honor of Isaac Newton) deal with forces and motions…
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Although it seems each model of PLC has its own idiosyncratic standard for programming, there does exist an…
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“Polyphase” means “many phases,” describing a form of AC electrical system where…
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There is much to be said for neatness of assembly in electrical signal wiring. Even though the electrons…
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Those familiar with industrial instrumentation will find much within the electric power industry remarkably…
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All masses require force to accelerate (we can also think of this in terms of the mass generating a reaction…
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In addition to directly performing logic functions, electromechanical relays may also be used as interposing…
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In the United States, the ANSI and IEEE organizations have standardized a set of numerical codes referring to…
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An electric motor is often used as a discrete control element in a control system if driving a pump, conveyor…
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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License By exercising the Licensed Rights (defined…
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Labwork is an essential part of any science-based curriculum. Here, much improvement may be made over the…
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Learning PLC programming is a very important skill. If your job involves programming, then you will likely…
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The reason why a pneumatic control valve’s stem position corresponds linearly to the amount of air…
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Any physical location in an industrial facility harboring the potential of explosion due to the presence of…
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Human-machine interfaces, or HMIs, are a critical part of nearly all control systems, complementing the…
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A fluid is any substance having the ability to flow: to freely change shape and move under the influence of a…
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Regulating the electric power sent to an electric motor is a task performed by high-speed switching…
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Electromechanical relays may be connected together to perform logic and control functions, acting as logic…
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The simple PLC ladder diagram (LD) commands consist of contacts and coils, arranged in sequences that mimic…
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Modern analog-to-digital converters are phenomenally accurate, dependable, repeatable, and surprisingly…
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Finally, we arrive at the loop diagram (sometimes called a loop sheet) for the compressor surge control system…
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Self-balancing pneumatic instrument mechanisms are very similar to negative-feedback operational amplifier…
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pH is the measurement of the hydrogen ion activity in a liquid solution. It is one of the most common forms of…
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The fundamental principle of electromagnetism is that an electric current will create a magnetic field at…
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A flow switch is one that detects the flow of some fluid through a pipe. Flow switches often use…
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Measuring the flow rate of liquid through an open channel is not unlike measuring the flow rate of a liquid…
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Learning is not merely a process of information transfer. It is first and foremost a transformation of…
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The final element of PID control is the “D” term, which stands for derivative. This is a calculus…
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By definition, a source is a device delivering energy into a system, while a load is a device extracting…
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Solids tend to expand when heated. The amount that a solid sample will expand with increased temperature…
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Imagine a major marathon race, where hundreds of runners gather in one place to compete. When the starting gun…
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Capacitance Any two electrical conductors separated by an insulating medium possess the characteristic called…
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A very common form of on/off valve used for pneumatic and hydraulic systems alike is the solenoid valve. A…
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In our first signal characterization example, we tackle the problem of measuring fluid flow through a pipe. To…
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“As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps…
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Perhaps the most basic and necessary protective relay function is overcurrent: commanding a circuit breaker to…
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Sample sizes of chemical substances are often measured in moles. One mole of a substance is defined as a…
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Once while working as an instrument technician in an aluminum foundry, a mechanic asked me what it was that I…
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A positive displacement flowmeter is a cyclic mechanism built to pass a fixed volume of fluid through with…
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Nearly every technical course teaches and tests students on definitions, basic concepts, and at least some…
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When I began teaching full-time in 1998, most of what I thought I understood about good teaching was actually…
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In this section I will show screenshots from a process loop simulation program illustrating the effectiveness…
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It is often useful to express the amplitude of an alternating quantity such as voltage or current in terms…
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The following photograph shows a large air blower in a wastewater treatment facility equipped with a…
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Volumes could be written about poor diagnostic technique. The following mistakes are not intended to comprise…
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Light is known to interact with matter in very specific ways, which may be exploited as a means of measuring…
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Capacitors store energy in electric fields, proportional to the square of voltage. Inductors store energy in…
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A quantitative PID tuning procedure is a step-by-step approach leading directly to a set of numerical values…
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Measuring the flow rate of liquid through an open channel is not unlike measuring the flow rate of a liquid…
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A completely different way of measuring liquid level in vessels is to bounce a traveling wave off the surface…
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Learning is not merely a process of information transfer. It is first and foremost a transformation of…
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While 50 and 51 (instantaneous and time overcurrent) relay functions monitor line current magnitude and guard…
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As a general rule, high achievement only takes place in an atmosphere of high expectations. Sometimes these…
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A temperature switch is one detecting the temperature of some substance. Temperature switches often use…
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The transformer is one of the most important components in all of AC circuitry. Principally used to…
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Phasors are to AC circuit quantities as polarity is to DC circuit quantities: a way to express the…
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Programmable logic controllers are essentially nothing more than special-purpose, industrial computers. As…
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Solids tend to expand when heated. The amount that a solid sample will expand with increased temperature…
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A wise PLC programmer once told me that the first thing any aspiring programmer should learn about the PLC…
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