Pipe is a hollow structure designed to provide an enclosed pathway for fluids to flow, usually manufactured…
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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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Light is known to interact with matter in very specific ways, which may be exploited as a means of measuring…
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The three “elementary” particles of matter comprising all atoms are electrons, protons, and…
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Modern analog-to-digital converters are phenomenally accurate, dependable, repeatable, and surprisingly…
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Most people reading this book have likely had the experience of adjusting water temperature using two hand…
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The following photograph shows a large air blower in a wastewater treatment facility equipped with a…
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Capacitance Any two electrical conductors separated by an insulating medium possess the characteristic called…
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All substances are comprised of various elements in various combinations and proportions. Elements may thus be…
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A level switch is one detecting the level of liquid or solid (granules or powder) in a vessel. Level switches…
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The following collection of photographs chronicles the complete disassembly of a Fisher E-body globe valve…
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Much has been written about the benefits of robust PID control. Increased productivity, decreased equipment…
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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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Binary patterns are not just able to represent numerical values. Given a standardized code, they may represent…
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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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To review, voltage is the measure of potential energy available to electric charges. Current is the uniform…
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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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The term “grid” refers to the conductors and equipment interconnecting power sources to power…
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When a high-energy photon strikes an atom, it may eject one of the lower-level electrons from its shell,…
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A number of different sensors used in instrumentation generate DC voltage signals proportional to the process…
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Programmable logic controllers are essentially nothing more than special-purpose, industrial computers. As…
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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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Like many other mathematical operations, the derivative and the integral perform inverse operations from each…
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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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Modern analog-to-digital converters are phenomenally accurate, dependable, repeatable, and surprisingly…
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Diagnostic ability is arguably the most difficult skill to develop within a student, and also the most…
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Recall that an exothermic chemical reaction is one that releases a net sum of energy, as opposed to an…
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Using filter cells to eliminate wavelengths associated with interfering gases is called positive filtering in…
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A machine in the broad sense of the word is any device designed to translate some form of energy into useful…
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Thermodynamics is the study of heat, temperature, and their related effects in physical systems. As a subject,…
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A technological advance introduced in the late 1980’s was HART, an acronym standing for Highway…
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What is Calibration? To calibrate an instrument means to check and adjust (if necessary) its response so the…
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(Will be addressed in future versions of this book)
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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 fundamental limitation of proportional control has to do with its response to changes in setpoint and…
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In addition to Ohm’s Law, we have a set of rules describing how voltages, currents, and resistances…
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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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A proximity switch is one detecting the proximity (closeness) of some object. By definition, these switches…
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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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The next level of detail is the Process and Instrument Diagram, or P&ID. Here, we see a “zooming…
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