Process Instrumentation

Course Coordinator
Mrs. P. D. Khurpade
 Unit I: Content- Lecture 3
• Performance characteristics : Static and Dynamic
Characteristics
• Examples
• Error in measurement and Calibration
• Industrial Sensor Specification

Learning outcomes:
At the end of lecture, students should be able to
1) State and describe major static characteristics for sensor or
instrument
2) Understand the process of calibration and subsequent
characterization of errors
3) Interpret typical industrial sensor specifications
 Performance Characteristics of Instruments
1. Static characteristics Indicating the capability
of instrument including
2. Dynamic characteristics limitations for particular
application

• The performance characteristics of an instrument are very

necessary for choosing the most suitable instrument for
specific measuring application.

• Static Characteristics: considered for instruments used to

measure an unvarying process conditions.
• Quantities which do not vary with time.

• Dynamic Characteristics: for measuring quantities that

fluctuates/changes with time.
 Performance Characteristics of Instruments

Static characteristics of an instrument includes:

1. Range 6. Sensitivity

2. Span 7. Resolution

3. Accuracy 8. Dead zone

4. Precision 9. Hysteresis

5. Repeatability 10. Drift

 Performance Characteristics of Instruments
• Range : Range represents the minimum and maximum values
which can be determined by an instrument or equipment.
• Pressure transducer have input range 0 - 104 Pa and output
range 4 - 20 mA
• Span: Difference between upper and lower range is known as
Span.

• Pressure transducer have input Span 104 Pa and output range 16

mA

• Resolution: is the smallest change in the quantity being

measured that will produce an observable change in reading of
instrument.
 Performance Characteristics of Instruments

• Accuracy: the accuracy of an instrument is defined as closeness of

the instrument output to the true value of measurement quantity. It is

expressed in terms of inaccuracy (deviation) or % error in the value

of measurement from the true value.

– Accuracy expressed as ‘% of F.S.D’

– Accuracy expressed as ‘% of true value’

– Accuracy expressed as ‘% of span’

– Accuracy expressed as ‘% of point value’

 Accuracy & Precision
• Precision: Precision is defined as the ability of the
instrument to reproduce a certain set of readings within a
given accuracy.
• Precision can be expressed as the mean value of the scatter
of the individual measurements.

Poor Accuracy Poor Accuracy Good Accuracy

Poor Precision Good Precision Good Precision
• Linearity: the instrument is said to be linear if output
varies linearly with the input.
• Corresponding values of input and output lie on a
straight line on graph.

• Sensitivity: ratio of change in instrument scale reading to

change in quantity being measured.
• i.e rate of change of output with respect to input.
• If the calibration curve is linear , then sensitivity of the
instrument is the slope of the curve
 Performance Characteristics of Instruments

• Repeatability: The closeness of agreement among a

number of consecutive measurements of the output for

the same value of input under the same operating

conditions.

• Reproducibility: it is the ability to display the same

reading when it is used to measure a same variable

(value) under the over a period of time.

 Performance Characteristics of Instruments
• Threshold: when the quantity being measured is gradually increase
from zero to a certain minimum level might have to reached before
the instrument responds & give detectable reading.
• Hysteresis: instruments can give different readings for the same
value of measured quantity according to whether that value has
been reached by continuously increasing or decreasing change.
• Drift: Gradual shift of the instrument indication over an extended
period during which the value of the input variable does not
change.
• Zero drift: deviation of instrument output with time from its zero
value. The whole instrument calibration shift by the same amount.
• Sensitivity or span drift : If there is proportional change in the
indication all along the upward scale.

• Many environmental
factors which affect the
drift: ambient
temperature, pressure,
supply voltage, stray
electric or magnetic field,
wear and tear, corrosion
and mechanical vibrations
etc.
 Performance Characteristics of Instruments

Dynamic Characteristics of an instrument includes;

1. Speed of response

2. Fidelity

3. Lag

4. Dynamic error
 Performance Characteristics of Instruments

1. Speed of response: rapidity with which an instrument

responds to changes in the measured quantity.

2. Fidelity: it is the degree of closeness with which it respond to

changes in measured variable.(how close is the instrument
reading to actual value?)

3. Lag: delay in response of an instrument to changes in

measured variable.

4. Dynamic error: it is the difference between the true value of

the quantity changing with time & value indicated by the
instrument if no static error is assumed.
 Static Errors:
• Measurement – to obtain the value of unknown parameter
• Before using the measured data for further use, one must have
some idea how accurate is the measured data.
• So error analysis is an integral part of measurement.
• We should also have clear idea what are the sources of error,
how they can be reduced by properly designing the
measurement methodology and also by repetitive measurements.
• The term error in a measurement is defined as:
• static error = instrument reading - True value.
• Absolute Error = Instrument reading – true reading.
• Error is often expressed in percentage relative error as:
 

  𝑋 𝑛 − 𝑋´ 𝑛
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛= 𝑃=1 −
(𝑋𝑛
´ )
× 100

  𝑋 𝑛 − 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑡h 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡

𝑋´ 𝑛 − 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠
 Hysteresis and nonlinearity
  𝐻
^
𝑀𝑎𝑥 . 𝐻𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑠 %  𝑓 . 𝑠 . 𝑑 =
𝑂𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝑂𝑚𝑖𝑛
× 100 ( )
The calculation of the hysteresis in simplified condition at midpoint of the
curve Xm is
  Xm

 For this midpoint value of input, two out values in increasing and decreasing
values are then used to calculate the Hysteresis

  𝑌𝑚𝑖 − 𝑌𝑚𝑑
(
𝑀𝑎𝑥 . 𝐻𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑠 %  𝑓 . 𝑠 . 𝑑 = ) 𝑌 𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝑌 𝑚𝑖𝑛
× 100

  𝑁
^
𝑀𝑎𝑥 .𝑛𝑜𝑛 −𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑠 %  𝑓 . 𝑠 .𝑑 =( ) ×100
𝑂 𝑚𝑎𝑥 −𝑂 𝑚𝑖𝑛
 Types of Errors
• Static errors are generally of three types;
1. Gross error (human mistakes)
2. Systematic errors
– Instrumental
– Environmental Errors
3. Random or accidental errors

Sources of errors:
4. Poor design
5. Poor maintenance
6. Insufficient knowledge of process parameters & design conditions
7. Certain design limitations
 Gross errors
• Gross errors arise due to human mistakes, such as,
reading of the instrument value before it reaches steady
state, mistake of recording the measured data in
calculating a derived measured, etc.
• Parallax error in reading on an analog scale is also is also
a source of gross error.
• Careful reading and recording of the data can reduce the
gross errors to a great extent.
• At least three or even more readings must be taken.
 Gross errors

A: The bottom of a concave meniscus.

B: The top of a convex meniscus.

Parallax error
 Systematic errors
• Systematic errors are those that affect all the readings in a
particular fashion.
1. Instrumental :It may arise due to different reasons:
shortcomings of the instrument or the sensor, improper design
of the measuring scheme, improper selection of the sensor.
2. Environmental: the sensor characteristics may change with
temperature or other environmental conditions.
• The major feature of systematic errors : sources of errors are
recognizable and can be reduced to a great extent by carefully
designing the measuring system and selecting its components.
• By placing the instrument in a controlled environment may
also help in reduction of systematic errors.
• They can be further reduced by proper and regular calibration
of the instrument.
 Calibration
• Calibration is the application of a known value (electrical,
mechanical, etc.) to a device and determining that its
output accurately represents that value (at least within the
stated performance parameters of the device).
• Calibration may also include the activity of adjusting or
correcting the performance of a device in order to have its
output accurately represent its input.
• This leads to another question and answer: what is a
calibrator?
• A calibrator is a device of known accuracy which
generates (simulates) and/or measures a known value
(electrical, mechanical, etc.).
 Calibration and error reduction
• The alternative way to reduce the systematic error is to calibrate the instrument
for different known inputs.
• Calibration involves comparing the measured value with the standard
instruments derived from comparison with the primary standards kept at
Standard Laboratories.
• It is carried out by comparing its reading with those given by another
instrument that is adopted as a standard.
» National Standard
» Calibration Centre Standard
» Instrument manufacture standard
» In company standard
» The instrument with the user

• The calibration can be done for all the points, and then for actual
measurement, the true value can be obtained from a look-up table prepared
and stored before hand. This type of calibration, is often referred as software
calibration.
 Calibration frequency
The question is when to calibrate.
• The characteristics of an instrument change with time. So even it is
calibrated once, the output may deviate from the calibrated points
with time, temperature and other environmental conditions.
• So the calibration process has to be repeated at regular intervals if
one wants that it should give accurate value of the measurand
through out.
• Manufacturer-recommended calibration interval.
• Per requirements
• Monthly, quarterly, or semiannually.
• Annually

• National Standard:
• National Physical Laboratory in Great Britain
• National Bureaux of Standard in United State
• Alternatively, a more popular way is to calibrate the
instrument at one, two or three points of measurement
and trim the instrument through independent adjustments,
so that, the error at those points would be zero.
• It is then expected that error for the whole range of
measurement would remain within a small range.
• These types of calibration are known as single-point, two-
point and three-point calibration.
 Traceability
• Traceability is nothing but the knowledge of the full chain
of instruments involved in the calibration procedure of a
laboratory process instrument.
• Traceability is the ability to relate individual
measurement results through an unbroken chain of
calibrations.
• It shows that the instrument is calibrated using standard
instruments which are linked by a chain of increasing
accuracy up to the international standards.
• All your process instruments are located in the lowest
level, their traceability is dependent on all the levels
above.
• In your plant, you have many process instruments, such as
transmitters, that are calibrated regularly using measurement
standard or working standard.
• In the plant, working standard is referred as a higher level
reference standard.
• The highest level reference standard(s) of your plant are sent out
to an external calibration laboratory, preferably an accredited one,
to be calibrated.
• The external calibration laboratory will calibrate their references
to assure traceability to National Calibration laboratory, or similar.
• The National Calibration laboratories work with International
level laboratories and make international comparisons with each
other’s assuring that their calibrations are on the same level.
• The International level laboratories base their measurements on
international comparisons, international definitions and
realization of the International System of Units (SI system).
 Instrument Calibration Chain
International bureau of
weights & measures:
International standards France

National Standards Laboratories National Physical

Laboratory: UK,
India

Secondary Accredited Laboratories Accuracy

In company
Working standards standard

Laboratory
standard
Process standards
 Random error
• Random error: they affect the readings in a random way
(not exactly known).
• Random errors can never be corrected, the can only be
reduced by averaging, or error limits can be estimated by
using some statistical operations.
• If we measure the same input variable a number of times,
keeping all other factors affecting the measurement same,
the same measured value would not be repeated, the
consecutive reading would rather differ in a random way.
• But fortunately, the deviations of the readings normally
follow a particular distribution (mostly normal
distribution) and we may be able to reduce the error by
taking a number of readings and averaging them out.
• Few terms are often used to chararacterize the distribution of
the measurement,

• where n is the total number of readings and xi is the value of

the individual readings. It can be shown that the mean value
is the most probable value of a set of readings, and that is
why it has a very important role in statistical error analysis.
• The deviation of the individual readings from the mean value
can be obtained as
• We now want to have an idea about the deviation, i.e.,
whether the individual readings are far away from the mean
value or not.
• So instead, variance or the mean square deviation is used as
a measure of the deviation of the set of readings. It is defined
as:
 Precision and Accuracy of a Measurement Instrument

• This concept of random and systematic errors is related to

the precision and accuracy of measurements.

• Precision characterizes the system's probability of

providing the same result every time a sample is
measured (related to random error).

• Accuracy characterizes the system's ability to provide a

mean close to the true value when a sample is measured
many times (related to systematic error).
 Smart Transmitter
• A smart transmitter is a microprocessor-based
transmitter which includes a signal processing system.

Microprocessor-based:
that can perform
calculations, produce
diagnostics.
They are useful in
remote area
communication and
calibration process.

Parts of Smart Transmitter

1) Process Sensor
2) Analog to Digital Converter
3) A microprocessor
4) A digital to Analog converter
 Main Features
• Often incorporate multiple sensors covering different measurement
ranges and allow automatic selection of the required range. The
range can be readily altered if initially estimated incorrectly.
• Can adjust for non-linearities to produce a linear output

• Self-calibration: Capability that allows removal of zero drift and

sensitivity drift errors.

• Self-diagnosis and fault detection: Self-diagnostic capability that

allows them to report problems or requirements for maintenance.
The best theoretical approach to this difficulty is to apply
mathematical modeling techniques to the sensor and plant in which
it is working, with the aim of detecting inconsistencies in data from
the sensor.
• It is not used widely as it is a little expensive.
 Advantages
• Improved accuracy and repeatability
• Long-term stability is improved and required recalibration frequency is
reduced
• Reduced maintenance cost
• Single penetration into the measured process rather than the multiple
penetration required by discrete devices, making installation easier and
cheaper
• Allowing remote recalibration or re-ranging by sending a digital signal
to them
• Reduction in number of spare instruments required, since one spare
transmitter can be configured to cover any range and so replace any
faulty transmitter.
• Ability to store last calibration date and indicate when next calibration
is required.
• Ability to store data so that plant and instrument performance can be
analyzed.