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Digital Data Communication Theory

Digital Data Communication Theory

One of the great benefits of digital technology is the ability to communicate vast amounts of information over…


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Electrical Signal and Control Wiring

Electrical Signal and Control Wiring

There is much to be said for neatness of assembly in electrical signal wiring. Even though the electrons…


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Design-based Fortifications

Design-based Fortifications

A design-based fortification is one rooted in technical details of system architecture and functionality. Some…


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EIA/TIA-232, 422, and 485 Networks

EIA/TIA-232, 422, and 485 Networks

Some of the simplest types of digital communication networks found in industry are defined by the EIA…


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Teaching Technical Practices (Labwork)

Teaching Technical Practices (Labwork)

Labwork is an essential part of any science-based curriculum. Here, much improvement may be made over the…


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Digital PID Controllers

Digital PID Controllers

The vast majority of PID controllers in service today are digital in nature. Microprocessors executing PID…


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2-wire (“loop-powered”) Transmitter Current Loops

2-wire (“loop-powered”) Transmitter Current Loops

It is possible to convey electrical power and communicate analog information over the same two wires using 4…


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Fiber Optic Data Communication

Fiber Optic Data Communication

Light has long been used as a long-range signaling medium. While communication by light through open air is…


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Examples of PLC Systems

Examples of PLC Systems

Programmable logic controllers are essentially nothing more than special-purpose, industrial computers. As…


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Introduction to Modbus

Introduction to Modbus

Developed by the Modicon company (the original manufacturer of the Programmable Logic Controller, or PLC) in…


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Thermocouple Types, Junctions, Connector and Tip Styles

Thermocouple Types, Junctions, Connector and Tip Styles

RTDs are completely passive sensing elements, requiring the application of an externally-sourced electric…


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FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 Protocol Physical Layer

FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 Protocol Physical Layer

Layer 1 of the OSI Reference Model is where we define the “physical” elements of a digital data…


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Ethernet networks: Repeaters, Cabling and Switching Hubs

Ethernet networks: Repeaters, Cabling and Switching Hubs

An engineer named Bob Metcalfe conceived the idea of Ethernet in 1973, while working for the Xerox research…


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Colorimetric and Potentiometric pH Measurement

Colorimetric and Potentiometric pH Measurement

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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How to Teach Yourself PLC Programming

How to Teach Yourself PLC Programming

Learning PLC programming is a very important skill. If your job involves programming, then you will likely…


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4-wire “Passive” Versus “Active” Output Transmitters

4-wire “Passive” Versus “Active” Output Transmitters

Some self-powered (4-wire) analog electronic transmitters are designed to behave as electrical loads rather…


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What is Internet Protocol (IP)?

What is Internet Protocol (IP)?

I remember first learning about the world-wide Internet, and wondering what it actually looked like. The first…


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4-wire (“self-powered”) Transmitter Current Loops

4-wire (“self-powered”) Transmitter Current Loops

DC electric current signals may also be used to communicate process measurement information from transmitters…


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Supervisory Control

Supervisory Control

In a manually-controlled process, a human operator directly actuates some form of final control element…


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Process Flow Diagrams

Process Flow Diagrams

To show a practical process example, let’s examine three diagrams for a compressor control system,…


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Ions in Liquid Solutions

Ions in Liquid Solutions

Many liquid substances undergo a process whereby their constituent molecules split into positively and…


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How Derivatives and Integrals Relate to One Another

How Derivatives and Integrals Relate to One Another

Like many other mathematical operations, the derivative and the integral perform inverse operations from each…


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Force-balance Pressure Transmitters

Force-balance Pressure Transmitters

An important legacy technology for all kinds of continuous measurement is the self-balancing system. A…


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Digital Representation of Text

Digital Representation of Text

Binary patterns are not just able to represent numerical values. Given a standardized code, they may represent…


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Valve Packing

Valve Packing

Regardless of valve type, all stem-actuated control valves require some form of seal allowing motion of the…


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How to Teach Yourself PLC Programming

How to Teach Yourself PLC Programming

Learning PLC programming is a very important skill. If your job involves programming, then you will likely…


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Polyphase AC Power

Polyphase AC Power

“Polyphase” means “many phases,” describing a form of AC electrical system where…


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High-reliability Control Systems

High-reliability Control Systems

As discussed at the beginning of this chapter, instrumentation safety may be broadly divided into two…


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Logic Programming in PLCs

Logic Programming in PLCs

Although it seems each model of PLC has its own idiosyncratic standard for programming, there does exist an…


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PID Control Terminology

PID Control Terminology

PID control can be a confusing concept to understand. Here, a brief summary of each term within PID (P. I, and…


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Teaching Technical Theory

Teaching Technical Theory

Learning is not merely a process of information transfer. It is first and foremost a transformation of…


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Numerical Integration

Numerical Integration

As we have seen, the concept of integration is finding the accumulation of one variable multiplied by another…


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Bi-metal Temperature Sensors

Bi-metal Temperature Sensors

Solids tend to expand when heated. The amount that a solid sample will expand with increased temperature…


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Concepts and Laws of Probability

Concepts and Laws of Probability

While the term “probability” may evoke images of imprecision, probability is in fact an exact…


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Electronic Structure

Electronic Structure

Earlier in this chapter you were shown a model of a nitrogen atom with a dense nucleus (comprised of protons…


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Circuit Breakers and Disconnects

Circuit Breakers and Disconnects

Disconnect Switches Disconnects are switches designed to isolate sections of a power system in case of damage…


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Understanding the Calculus Concepts of Differentiation and Integration

Understanding the Calculus Concepts of Differentiation and Integration

The following animation shows the calculus concepts of differentiation and integration (with respect to time)…


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Directional Overcurrent (67) Protection

Directional Overcurrent (67) Protection

While 50 and 51 (instantaneous and time overcurrent) relay functions monitor line current magnitude and guard…


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Pressure Sensor Accessories

Pressure Sensor Accessories

Multiple accessories exist for pressure-sensing devices to function optimally in challenging process…


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Use of Line Reactors

Use of Line Reactors

Regulating the electric power sent to an electric motor is a task performed by high-speed switching…


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Positive Displacement Flowmeters

Positive Displacement Flowmeters

A positive displacement flowmeter is a cyclic mechanism built to pass a fixed volume of fluid through with…


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Introduction to Capacitors and Capacitance

Introduction to Capacitors and Capacitance

Capacitance Any two electrical conductors separated by an insulating medium possess the characteristic called…


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Principles, not Procedures

Principles, not Procedures

One of the marks of a successful problem-solver is a habit of applying general principles to every new problem…


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Ethernet networks: Repeaters, Cabling and Switching Hubs

Ethernet networks: Repeaters, Cabling and Switching Hubs

An engineer named Bob Metcalfe conceived the idea of Ethernet in 1973, while working for the Xerox research…


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Open-ended, Shorted, and Properly Terminated Transmission Lines

Open-ended, Shorted, and Properly Terminated Transmission Lines

Many years ago, when I was first learning about electricity, I happened to discover a length of coaxial…


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Electromagnetism Basics

Electromagnetism Basics

The fundamental principle of electromagnetism is that an electric current will create a magnetic field at…


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Kirchhoff’s Current and Voltage Laws

Kirchhoff’s Current and Voltage Laws

Two extremely important principles in electric circuits were codified by Gustav Robert Kirchhoff in the year…


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Bi-metal Temperature Sensors

Bi-metal Temperature Sensors

Solids tend to expand when heated. The amount that a solid sample will expand with increased temperature…


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Numerical Integration

Numerical Integration

As we have seen, the concept of integration is finding the accumulation of one variable multiplied by another…


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Introduction to Power System Automation

Introduction to Power System Automation

Those familiar with industrial instrumentation will find much within the electric power industry remarkably…


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Measuring Electrical Conductivity

Measuring Electrical Conductivity

The electrical conductivity of liquids is an important analytical measurement in many industrial processes.…


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Circuit Failure Analysis

Circuit Failure Analysis

Perhaps the most valuable skill an instrument technician can possess is the ability to efficiently diagnose…


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Assessing Student Learning

Assessing Student Learning

As a general rule, high achievement only takes place in an atmosphere of high expectations. Sometimes these…


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How Derivatives and Integrals Relate to One Another

How Derivatives and Integrals Relate to One Another

Like many other mathematical operations, the derivative and the integral perform inverse operations from each…


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Digital PID Algorithms

Digital PID Algorithms

Instrument technicians should not have to concern themselves over the programming details internal to digital…


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Change-of-quantity Flow Measurement

Change-of-quantity Flow Measurement

Flow, by definition, is the passage of material from one location to another over time. So far this chapter…


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Molecular Quantities

Molecular Quantities

Sample sizes of chemical substances are often measured in moles. One mole of a substance is defined as a…


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Gas Filter Correlation (GFC) Spectroscopy

Gas Filter Correlation (GFC) Spectroscopy

Using filter cells to eliminate wavelengths associated with interfering gases is called positive filtering in…


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