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DC Motor Speed Control

DC Motor Speed Control

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


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Non-contact Temperature Sensors

Non-contact Temperature Sensors

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


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Ladder Diagram (LD) Structure Commands

Ladder Diagram (LD) Structure Commands

The simple PLC ladder diagram (LD) commands consist of contacts and coils, arranged in sequences that mimic…


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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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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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Diagnosing Feedback Control Problems

Diagnosing Feedback Control Problems

Negative feedback systems, in general, tend to cause confusion for those first learning their fundamental…


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Basic Feedback Control Principles

Basic Feedback Control Principles

Feedback Control System Components Before we begin our discussion on process control, we must define a few key…


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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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Valve Positioners

Valve Positioners

The reason why a pneumatic control valve’s stem position corresponds linearly to the amount of air…


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Non-contact Temperature Sensors

Non-contact Temperature Sensors

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


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Process/Instrument Suitability

Process/Instrument Suitability

Every flow-measuring instrument exploits a physical principle to measure the flow rate of fluid stream.…


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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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Flow Measurement from Differential Pressure

Flow Measurement from Differential Pressure

In our first signal characterization example, we tackle the problem of measuring fluid flow through a pipe. To…


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Proximity Switches

Proximity Switches

A proximity switch is one detecting the proximity (closeness) of some object. By definition, these switches…


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Basic Operation of a Gas Chromatograph

Basic Operation of a Gas Chromatograph

This animation shows the basic operation of a gas chromatograph, showing the separation of different molecular…


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Periodic Table of the Ions

Periodic Table of the Ions


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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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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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Electrical Sensors: Potential Transformers (PTs) and Current Transformers (CTs)

Electrical Sensors: Potential Transformers (PTs) and Current Transformers (CTs)

The two “process variables” we rely on most heavily in the field of electrical measurement and…


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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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Proper Care and Feeding of Pneumatic Instruments

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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Structured Text (ST) Programming

Structured Text (ST) Programming

(Will be addressed in future versions of this book)


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What is Hydrostatic Pressure?

What is Hydrostatic Pressure?

A vertical column of fluid generates a pressure at the bottom of the column owing to the action of gravity on…


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Basics of pH Measurement in Industrial Control

Basics of pH Measurement in Industrial Control

Hydrogen ion activity in aqueous (water-solvent) solutions is a very important parameter for a wide variety of…


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The Concept of Differentiation

The Concept of Differentiation

Suppose we wished to measure the rate of propane gas flow through a hose to a torch: Flowmeters appropriate…


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Electrical Pressure Elements

Electrical Pressure Elements

Several different technologies exist for the conversion of fluid pressure into an electrical signal response.…


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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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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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Interconnected Generators

Interconnected Generators

Any power grid large enough to meet the demand of an entire nation must have multiple generators drawing from…


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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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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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Mathematical Problem-solving Techniques

Mathematical Problem-solving Techniques

Some problem-solving techniques are unique to quantitative problems, involving mathematical calculations. In…


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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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Common Control Valve Problems

Common Control Valve Problems

Valves can experience a number of problems, most of them either preventable or repairable. These problems can…


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Safety Gas Analyzers

Safety Gas Analyzers

Process analyzers measure the concentration of specific substances for the purpose of measuring and/or…


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New Content

New Content

Coy, John J. et. al. (December 2012) Sampled graphic illustrations from his NASA Reference Publication…


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Temperature Switches

Temperature Switches

A temperature switch is one detecting the temperature of some substance. Temperature switches often use…


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Using Manometers for Measuring Pressure

Using Manometers for Measuring Pressure

A very simple device used to measure pressure is the manometer: a fluid-filled tube where an applied gas…


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On/off Electric Motor Control Circuits

On/off Electric Motor Control Circuits

An electric motor is often used as a discrete control element in a control system if driving a pump, conveyor…


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Physics and Chemistry Terminology and Definitions

Physics and Chemistry Terminology and Definitions

Atom: the smallest unit of matter that may be isolated by chemical means. Particle: a part of an atom,…


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Metering Pumps

Metering Pumps

A very common method for directly controlling low flow rates of fluids is to use a device known as a metering…


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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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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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Control Valve Sizing

Control Valve Sizing

When control valves operate between fully open and fully shut, they serve much the same purpose in process…


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Common Educational Fallacies

Common Educational Fallacies

When I began teaching full-time in 1998, most of what I thought I understood about good teaching was actually…


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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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WirelessHART Radio Communication Standard

WirelessHART Radio Communication Standard

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


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Numerical Differentiation

Numerical Differentiation

As we have seen, the concept of differentiation is finding the rate-of-change of one variable compared to…


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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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