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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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Valve Seat Leakage

Valve Seat Leakage

In some process applications, it is important that the control valve be able to completely stop fluid flow…


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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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Vibration Sensors

Vibration Sensors

Sensors used to measure vibration come in three basic types: displacement, velocity, and acceleration.…


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Transfer Function Analysis

Transfer Function Analysis

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


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Loop Diagrams (Loop Sheets)

Loop Diagrams (Loop Sheets)

Finally, we arrive at the loop diagram (sometimes called a loop sheet) for the compressor surge control system…


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Advantages and Disadvantages of Pneumatic Instruments

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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The International System of Units

The International System of Units

The very purpose of physics is to quantitatively describe and explain the physical world in as few terms as…


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National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Traceability

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Traceability

As defined previously, calibration means the comparison and adjustment (if necessary) of an instrument’s…


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Colorimetric and Potentiometric pH Measurement

Colorimetric and Potentiometric pH Measurement

pH is the measurement of the hydrogen ion activity in a liquid solution. It is one of the most common forms of…


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Polyphase AC Power

Polyphase AC Power

“Polyphase” means “many phases,” describing a form of AC electrical system where…


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Policy-based Fortifications

Policy-based Fortifications

These fortifications focus on human behavior rather than system design or component selection. In some ways…


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Introduction to Protective Relaying

Introduction to Protective Relaying

Circuit breakers used in residential, commercial, and light industrial service are self-tripping devices: they…


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How Derivatives and Integrals Relate to One Another

How Derivatives and Integrals Relate to One Another

Like many other mathematical operations, the derivative and the integral perform inverse operations from each…


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Practical Measures of Reliability

Practical Measures of Reliability

In reliability engineering, it is important to be able to quantity the reliability (or conversely, the…


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Electronic Structure

Electronic Structure

Earlier in this chapter you were shown a model of a nitrogen atom with a dense nucleus (comprised of protons…


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Split-Range Control

Split-Range Control

There are many process control applications in the industry where it is desirable to have multiple control…


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Ions in Liquid Solutions

Ions in Liquid Solutions

Many liquid substances undergo a process whereby their constituent molecules split into positively and…


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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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Relay Circuits and Ladder Diagrams

Relay Circuits and Ladder Diagrams

Electromechanical relays may be connected together to perform logic and control functions, acting as logic…


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4-wire (“self-powered”) Transmitter Current Loops

4-wire (“self-powered”) Transmitter Current Loops

DC electric current signals may also be used to communicate process measurement information from transmitters…


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Memory Maps and I/O Addressing

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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Basics of Electrical Current

Basics of Electrical Current

Current is the name we give to the motion of electric charges from a point of high potential to a point of low…


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Introduction to Protective Relaying

Introduction to Protective Relaying

Circuit breakers used in residential, commercial, and light industrial service are self-tripping devices: they…


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On/off Shut-off Valves

On/off Shut-off Valves

An on/off valve is the fluid equivalent of an electrical switch: a device that either allows unimpeded flow or…


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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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Assessing Student Learning

Assessing Student Learning

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


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Practical Measures of Reliability

Practical Measures of Reliability

In reliability engineering, it is important to be able to quantity the reliability (or conversely, the…


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Dampers and Louvres

Dampers and Louvres

A damper (otherwise known as a louvre) is a multi-element flow control device generally used to throttle large…


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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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the Negative Consequences of Poor PID Controller Tuning

the Negative Consequences of Poor PID Controller Tuning

Much has been written about the benefits of robust PID control. Increased productivity, decreased equipment…


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Introduction to Capacitors and Capacitance

Introduction to Capacitors and Capacitance

Capacitance Any two electrical conductors separated by an insulating medium possess the characteristic called…


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Introduction to Power System Automation

Introduction to Power System Automation

Those familiar with industrial instrumentation will find much within the electric power industry remarkably…


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Quantitative PID Tuning Procedures

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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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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Common Diagnostic Mistakes in Control Systems

Common Diagnostic Mistakes in Control Systems

Volumes could be written about poor diagnostic technique. The following mistakes are not intended to comprise…


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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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Valve Packing

Valve Packing

Regardless of valve type, all stem-actuated control valves require some form of seal allowing motion of the…


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Laminar Flowmeters

Laminar Flowmeters

A unique form of differential pressure-based flow measurement deserves its own section in this flow…


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Null-balance Voltage Measurement

Null-balance Voltage Measurement

A number of different sensors used in instrumentation generate DC voltage signals proportional to the process…


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Wastewater Disinfection Example

Wastewater Disinfection Example

The final step in treating wastewater before releasing it into the natural environment is to kill any harmful…


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