The final step in treating wastewater before releasing it into the natural environment is to kill any harmful…
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Binary patterns are not just able to represent numerical values. Given a standardized code, they may represent…
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Like many other mathematical operations, the derivative and the integral perform inverse operations from each…
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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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The following animation shows the calculus concepts of differentiation and integration (with respect to time)…
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Displacer level instruments exploit Archimedes’ Principle to detect liquid level by continuously…
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A limitation inherent to pneumatic valve actuators is the amount of air flow required to or from the actuator…
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In some process applications, it is important that the control valve be able to completely stop fluid flow…
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Process measurements are often of an analog nature: the temperature of a furnace, the rate of fluid flow…
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An on/off valve is the fluid equivalent of an electrical switch: a device that either allows unimpeded flow or…
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The simplest form of 4-20 mA current loop is the type used to represent the output of a process controller,…
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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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In our first signal characterization example, we tackle the problem of measuring fluid flow through a pipe. To…
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Area refers to the size of two-dimensional surface. Volume refers to the size of a three-dimensional space. To…
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A great many precision instruments use the principle of balance to measure some quantity. Perhaps the simplest…
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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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As defined previously, calibration means the comparison and adjustment (if necessary) of an instrument’s…
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Much has been written about the benefits of robust PID control. Increased productivity, decreased equipment…
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Fluid pressure exerts force on any surface area it contacts, as described by the formula \(F = PA\). One…
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An important type of “accessory” relay, especially for legacy electromechanical protective relays,…
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Perhaps the most confusing aspect of discrete sensors is the definition of a sensor’s normal status.…
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Level gauges are perhaps the simplest indicating instrument for liquid level in a vessel. They are often found…
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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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Pipe is a hollow structure designed to provide an enclosed pathway for fluids to flow, usually manufactured…
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Self-balancing mechanisms consisting solely of a baffle/nozzle detector coupled to a feedback bellows, while…
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A sliding-stem valve body is one where the moving parts slide with a linear motion. Some examples of…
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The concepts of calibration (trimming) and ranging are often difficult for new students of instrumentation to…
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A control strategy similar to ratio control is relation control. This is similar to ratio control in that a…
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One of the great benefits of digital technology is the ability to communicate vast amounts of information over…
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Suppose we wished to measure the rate of propane gas flow through a hose to a torch: Flowmeters appropriate…
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Perhaps the most important rule to obey when using pneumatic instruments is to maintain clean and dry…
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Classical mechanics (often called Newtonian mechanics in honor of Isaac Newton) deal with forces and motions…
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Perhaps the most basic and necessary protective relay function is overcurrent: commanding a circuit breaker to…
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A much simpler alternative to continuous vibration sensors (displacement or acceleration) and monitoring…
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To show a practical process example, let’s examine three diagrams for a compressor control system,…
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Mechanical pressure-sensing elements include the bellows, the diaphragm, and the bourdon tube. Each of these…
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Valve actuators provide force to move control valve trim. For precise positioning of a control valve, there…
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Perhaps the most valuable skill an instrument technician can possess is the ability to efficiently diagnose…
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The fundamental principle of electromagnetism is that an electric current will create a magnetic field at…
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