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Safety Instrumented Functions and Systems

Safety Instrumented Functions and Systems

A Safety Instrumented Function, or SIF, is one or more components designed to execute a specific…


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Atomic Theory and Chemical Symbols

Atomic Theory and Chemical Symbols

The three “elementary” particles of matter comprising all atoms are electrons, protons, and…


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Velocity-based Flowmeters

Velocity-based Flowmeters

The Law of Continuity for fluids states that the product of mass density (\(\rho\)), cross-sectional pipe area…


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FOUNDATION Fieldbus Design Philosophy

FOUNDATION Fieldbus Design Philosophy

To understand just how different FOUNDATION Fieldbus is from other digital instrument systems, consider a…


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Analog Signal Conditioning and Referencing

Analog Signal Conditioning and Referencing

Modern analog-to-digital converters are phenomenally accurate, dependable, repeatable, and surprisingly…


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Capacitive Level Measurement

Capacitive Level Measurement

Capacitive level instruments measure electrical capacitance of a conductive rod inserted vertically into a…


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Equivalent Series and Parallel Circuits

Equivalent Series and Parallel Circuits

Impedance in a series circuit is the orthogonal sum of resistance and reactance: \[Z = \sqrt{R^2 + (X_L -…


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Learn Fundamental Principles, not Procedures

Learn Fundamental Principles, not Procedures

“As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps…


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Classical Mechanics

Classical Mechanics

Classical mechanics (often called Newtonian mechanics in honor of Isaac Newton) deal with forces and motions…


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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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Difference Between Calibration and Re-ranging

Difference Between Calibration and Re-ranging

What is Calibration? To calibrate an instrument means to check and adjust (if necessary) its response so the…


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Legal Code

Legal Code

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License By exercising the Licensed Rights (defined…


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Symbolic Versus Numerical Calculus

Symbolic Versus Numerical Calculus

Calculus has a reputation for being difficult to learn, and with good reason. The traditional approach to…


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Unit Conversions and Physical Constants

Unit Conversions and Physical Constants

Converting between disparate units of measurement is the bane of many science students. The problem is worse…


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Digital Representation of Numerical Data

Digital Representation of Numerical Data

Process measurements are often of an analog nature: the temperature of a furnace, the rate of fluid flow…


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Practical PID Controller Features

Practical PID Controller Features

In order for any PID controller to be practical, it must be able to do more than just implement the PID…


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Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

At the next OSI Reference Model layer (layer 4) is a set of protocols specifying how reliable communication…


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Flow Switches

Flow Switches

A flow switch is one that detects the flow of some fluid through a pipe. Flow switches often use…


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The Basics of Control Relays

The Basics of Control Relays

An electromechanical relay is an electrical switch actuated by an electromagnet coil. As switching devices,…


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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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Tuning PID Controllers

Tuning PID Controllers

Learning how to tune PID controllers is a skill born of much practice. Regardless of how thoroughly you may…


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Rotary-stem Valves

Rotary-stem Valves

A different strategy for controlling the flow of fluid is to insert a rotary element into the flow path.…


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Fluorescence Measurement

Fluorescence Measurement

When a high-energy photon strikes an atom, it may eject one of the lower-level electrons from its shell,…


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Distance (21) Protection

Distance (21) Protection

A form of protection against faults on long-distance power lines is called distance relaying, so named because…


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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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Control Valve Actuators

Control Valve Actuators

The purpose of a control valve actuator is to provide the motive force to operate a valve mechanism. Both…


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Practical PID Controller Features

Practical PID Controller Features

In order for any PID controller to be practical, it must be able to do more than just implement the PID…


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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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Analytical Measurements of Chemical Compositions

Analytical Measurements of Chemical Compositions

A great many chemical composition measurements may be made indirectly by means of electricity, if those…


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Troubleshooting Current Loops

Troubleshooting Current Loops

A fundamental principle in instrumentation system troubleshooting is that every instrument has at least one…


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FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 Protocol Data Link Layer

FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 Protocol Data Link Layer

Like so many other industrial data networks, FOUNDATION Fieldbus is an “unswitched” or…


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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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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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Limit Switches

Limit Switches

A limit switch detects the physical motion of an object by direct contact with that object. An example of a…


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The Stuxnet Virus

The Stuxnet Virus

In November of 2007 a new computer virus was submitted to a virus scanning service. The purpose of this new…


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A Comparison of PID Controller Tuning Techniques

A Comparison of PID Controller Tuning Techniques

In this section I will show screenshots from a process loop simulation program illustrating the effectiveness…


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Calibration Errors and Testing

Calibration Errors and Testing

The efficient identification and correction of instrument calibration errors is an important function for…


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Radiation Level Measurement

Radiation Level Measurement

Certain types of nuclear radiation easily penetrates the walls of industrial vessels, but is attenuated by…


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Basics of Bridge Circuits

Basics of Bridge Circuits

A bridge circuit is basically a pair of voltage dividers where the circuit output is taken as the difference…


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Atomic Theory and Chemical Symbols

Atomic Theory and Chemical Symbols

The three “elementary” particles of matter comprising all atoms are electrons, protons, and…


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Variable-area Flowmeters

Variable-area Flowmeters

An variable-area flowmeter is one where the fluid must pass through a restriction whose area increases with…


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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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Level Gauges (Sightglasses)

Level Gauges (Sightglasses)

Level gauges are perhaps the simplest indicating instrument for liquid level in a vessel. They are often found…


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