INSTRUMENTATION AND

MEASUREMENTS
LECTURE 02
DR AAMIR FAROOQ
INSTRUMENT TYPES AND
PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS
INSTRUMENT TYPES
Active and Passive Instruments

Null-type and Deflection-type Instruments

INSTRUMENT
TYPES Analogue and Digital Instruments

Indicating Instruments and Instruments with a

Signal Output

Smart and Non-Smart Instruments

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE
INSTRUMENTS
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE INSTRUMENTS

Instruments are divided into active or passive ones according to whether the instrument
output is entirely produced by the quantity being measured or whether the quantity being
measured simply modulates the magnitude of some external power source.

An example of a passive instrument is the pressure-measuring device shown in figure 2.1.

The pressure of the fluid is translated into a movement of a pointer against a scale. The
energy expended in moving the pointer is derived entirely from the change in pressure
measured: there are no other energy inputs to the system.
ACTIVE AND
PASSIVE
INSTRUMENTS
An example of an active instrument is a float-type petrol tank
level indicator as sketched in figure 2.2.

ACTIVE AND
PASSIVE Here, the change in petrol level moves a potentiometer arm, and
the output signal consists of a proportion of the external voltage
INSTRUMENTS source applied across the two ends of the potentiometer.

The energy in the output signal comes from the external power
source: the primary transducer float system is merely
modulating the value of the voltage from this external power
source.
ACTIVE AND
PASSIVE
INSTRUMENTS
In active instruments, the external
power source is usually in electrical
form, but in some cases, it can be other
forms of energy such as a pneumatic
ACTIVE AND or hydraulic one.
PASSIVE
INSTRUMENTS
In terms of cost, passive instruments
are normally of a simpler construction
than active ones and are therefore
cheaper to manufacture.
NULL-TYPE AND
DEFLECTION-
TYPE
INSTRUMENTS
NULL-TYPE AND DEFLECTION-TYPE INSTRUMENTS

The pressure gauge just mentioned is a good example of a deflection type of instrument, where the
value of the quantity being measured is displayed in terms of the amount of movement of a pointer.

An alternative type of pressure gauge is the deadweight gauge shown in figure 2.3, which is a null-type
instrument.

Here, weights are put on top of the piston until the downward force balances the fluid pressure.

Weights are added until the piston reaches a datum level, known as the null point.

Pressure measurement is made in terms of the value of the weights needed to reach this null
position.
NULL-TYPE AND
DEFLECTION-
TYPE
INSTRUMENTS
NULL-TYPE AND DEFLECTION-TYPE INSTRUMENTS

The accuracy of these two instruments depends on different things. For the
first one it depends on the linearity and calibration of the spring, whilst for
the second it relies on the calibration of the weights.

As calibration of weights is much easier than careful choice and calibration

of a linear-characteristic spring, this means that the second type of
instrument will normally be the more accurate.

This is in accordance with the general rule that null-type instruments are
more accurate than deflection types.
NULL-TYPE AND DEFLECTION-TYPE INSTRUMENTS

In terms of usage, the deflection type instrument is clearly more convenient.

It is far simpler to read the position of a pointer against a scale than to add and subtract
weights until a null point is reached. A deflection-type instrument is therefore the one
that would normally be used in the workplace. However, for calibration duties, the null-
type instrument is preferable because of its superior accuracy.

The extra effort required to use such an instrument is perfectly acceptable in this case
because of the infrequent nature of calibration operations.
ANALOGUE
AND DIGITAL
INSTRUMENTS
ANALOGUE AND DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS

An analogue instrument gives an output that varies continuously as the quantity being measured changes.

The output can have an infinite number of values within the range that the instrument is designed to measure.

The deflection-type of pressure gauge described earlier (figure 2.1) is a good example of an analogue instrument.

As the input value changes, the pointer moves with a smooth continuous motion.

Whilst the pointer can therefore be in an infinite number of positions within its range of movement, the number of
different positions that the eye can discriminate between is strictly limited, this discrimination being dependent upon
how large the scale is and how finely it is divided.
ANALOGUE AND DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS

A digital instrument has an output that varies in discrete steps and so can only have a finite number of values.

The rev counter sketched in figure 2.4 is an example of a digital instrument.

A cam is attached to the revolving body whose motion is being measured, and on each revolution the cam opens and
closes a switch. (A cam is a rotating or sliding piece in a mechanical linkage used especially in transforming rotary motion
into linear motion)

The switching operations are counted by an electronic counter.

This system can only count whole revolutions and cannot discriminate any motion that is less than a full revolution.
ANALOGUE
AND DIGITAL
INSTRUMENTS
ANALOGUE AND DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS

The distinction between analogue and digital instruments has

become particularly important with the rapid growth in the
application of microcomputers to automatic control systems.

Any computer system performs its computations in digital

form.

An instrument whose output is in digital form is therefore

particularly advantageous in such applications, as it can be
interfaced directly to the control computer.
ANALOGUE AND DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS
Analogue instruments must be interfaced to the microcomputer by an analogue-to-digital (A/D) converter,
which converts the analogue output signal from the instrument into an equivalent digital quantity that can be
read into the computer.

This conversion has several disadvantages.

Firstly, the A/D converter adds a significant cost to the system.

Secondly, a finite time is involved in the process of converting an analogue signal to a digital quantity, and this
time can be critical in the control of fast processes where the accuracy of control depends on the speed of the
controlling computer.

Degrading the speed of operation of the control computer by imposing a requirement for A/D conversion thus
impairs the accuracy by which the process is controlled.
INDICATING
INSTRUMENTS AND
INSTRUMENTS WITH
A SIGNAL OUTPUT
The final way in which instruments can be divided is between those
that merely give an audio or visual indication of the magnitude of the
physical quantity measured and those that give an output in the form of
a measurement signal whose magnitude is proportional to the
measured quantity.

The class of indicating instruments normally includes all null-type INDICATING

instruments and most passive ones. Indicators can also be further
divided into those that have an analogue output and those that have a INSTRUMENTS
digital display.
AND
INSTRUMENTS
A common analogue indicator is the liquid-in-glass thermometer.
WITH A SIGNAL
OUTPUT

Another common indicating device, which exists in both analogue and

digital forms, is the weighing machine.
INDICATING INSTRUMENTS AND INSTRUMENTS
WITH A SIGNAL OUTPUT

One major drawback with indicating devices is that human intervention is required to read
and record a measurement.

This process is particularly prone to error in the case of analogue output displays, although
digital displays are not very prone to error unless the human reader is careless.

Instruments that have a signal-type output are commonly used as part of automatic control
systems.

In other circumstances, they can also be found in measurement systems where the output
measurement signal is recorded in some way for later use.

Usually, the measurement signal involved is an electrical voltage, but it can take other forms in
some systems such as an electrical current or an optical signal.
SMART AND
NON-SMART
INSTRUMENTS
SMART AND NON-SMART INSTRUMENTS

The advent of the microprocessor has created a new division in

instruments between those that do incorporate a microprocessor
and those that don’t.

Instruments incorporating a microprocessor are referred to as smart

instruments whereas those that do not incorporate a
microprocessor are classified as non-smart instruments.