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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Rotating Magnetic Fields in Three-phase AC Induction Motors

The following animation shows how the “rotating” magnetic field of a three-phase AC induction…

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Indicators, Recorders, Process Switches and Alarms

So far we have just looked at instruments that sense, control, and influence process variables. Transmitters,…

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Digital Multimeter (DMM) Tips and Tricks

The digital multimeter (DMM) is quite possibly the most useful tool in the instrument technician’s…

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Quantitative PID Tuning Procedures

A quantitative PID tuning procedure is a step-by-step approach leading directly to a set of numerical values…

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Self-balancing Pneumatic Instruments Principles

A great many precision instruments use the principle of balance to measure some quantity. Perhaps the simplest…

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Numerical Integration

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

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DC Motor Speed Control

DC electric motors generate torque by a reaction between two magnetic fields: one field established by…

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The Concept of Integration

Suppose we wished to measure the consumption of propane over time for a large propane storage tank supplying a…

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Transfer Function Analysis

An extremely important topic in engineering is that of transfer functions. Simply defined, a transfer function…

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Metric Prefixes and Prefix Scale

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Proper Care and Feeding of Pneumatic Instruments

Perhaps the most important rule to obey when using pneumatic instruments is to maintain clean and dry…

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Memory Maps and I/O Addressing

A wise PLC programmer once told me that the first thing any aspiring programmer should learn about the PLC…

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Teaching Diagnostic Principles and Practices

Diagnostic ability is arguably the most difficult skill to develop within a student, and also the most…

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Pilot Valves and Pneumatic Amplifying Relays

Self-balancing mechanisms consisting solely of a baffle/nozzle detector coupled to a feedback bellows, while…

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Assessing Student Learning

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

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Pneumatic Instruments

The disadvantages of pneumatic instruments are painfully evident to anyone familiar with both pneumatic and…

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WirelessHART Radio Communication Standard

An exciting development in industrial instrumentation is the WirelessHART radio communication standard,…

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Relation Control

A control strategy similar to ratio control is relation control. This is similar to ratio control in that a…

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Non-contact Temperature Sensors

Virtually any mass above absolute zero temperature emits electromagnetic radiation (photons, or light) as a…

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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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