Digital PID Algorithms

Instrument technicians should not have to concern themselves over the programming details internal to digital…

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Glossary of Cyber-security Terms

Cyber-security seems to have its own vocabulary, ranging from unwieldy technical acronyms to slang terms…

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Control Valve Actuators

The purpose of a control valve actuator is to provide the motive force to operate a valve mechanism. Both…

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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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Polyphase AC Power

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

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What is Electrical Power?

Since we often use electricity to convey energy from one location to another, it is important to be able to…

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Calibration Procedures in Linear, Non-Linear and Discrete Instruments

As described earlier in this chapter, calibration refers to the adjustment of an instrument so its output…

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Pneumatic Actuator Response

A limitation inherent to pneumatic valve actuators is the amount of air flow required to or from the actuator…

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Displacement and Displacer Level Instrumentation

Displacer level instruments exploit Archimedes’ Principle to detect liquid level by continuously…

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Comparison of Op-Amp Circuits With Analogous Pneumatic Mechanisms

Self-balancing pneumatic instrument mechanisms are very similar to negative-feedback operational amplifier…

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Metric Prefixes and Prefix Scale

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Auxiliary and Lockout (86) Relays

An important type of “accessory” relay, especially for legacy electromechanical protective relays,…

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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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Filled-bulb Temperature Sensors

Filled-bulb systems exploit the principle of fluid expansion to measure temperature. If a fluid is enclosed in…

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Force-balance Pressure Transmitters

An important legacy technology for all kinds of continuous measurement is the self-balancing system. A…

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Practical PID Controller Features

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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References

Lipták, Béla G. et al., Instrument Engineers’ Handbook – Process Measurement and Analysis Volume I,…

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Valve Failure Modes

An important design parameter of a control valve is the position it will “fail” to if it loses…

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Level Gauges (Sightglasses)

Level gauges are perhaps the simplest indicating instrument for liquid level in a vessel. They are often found…

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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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