CONTENTS

• Measurement
• Measurement System
• Elements Of A Measurement System
• Selection Criteria Of Measurement System
• Instrument Types
• Characteristics Of Instruments
• Questions
 Measurement

Measurement is the estimation of the magnitude of some attribute of an object

Example: length or weight of a body

scientific study of measurement --- metrology

In measurement theory

a measurement is an observation that reduces an uncertainty expressed as a quantity

In simple words…..estimation of a physical quantity

 Measurement System

A measuring system exists to provide information about the physical

value of some variable being measured

Elements of a measurement system

 transmitter
transducer

used to observe
at far off places (remote location)

first element in a measuring system is the primary sensor: this gives an output
that is a function of the measurand (the input applied to it).
Variable conversion elements are needed where the output variable of a primary
transducer is in an inconvenient form and has to be converted to a more
convenient form.

the primary sensor and variable conversion element are combined, and the
combination is known as a transducer.

Signal processing elements exist to improve the quality of the output of a

measurement system
 Choosing appropriate measuring instruments
Selection Criteria of measurement system

• Instrument choice is a compromise between

– performance characteristics,
– ruggedness and durability,
– maintenance requirements
– and purchase cost.

• To carry out such an evaluation properly,

– the instrument engineer must have a wide knowledge of the range of

instruments available for measuring particular physical quantities,

– and he/she must also have a deep understanding of how instrument

characteristics are affected by particular measurement situations and
operating conditions.
 Instrument types

• Instruments can be subdivided into separate classes according to

several criteria.

• These sub classifications are useful in broadly establishing several

attributes of particular instruments such as
accuracy,
• cost, and
• general applicability to different applications

• Can be classified into

Active and passive instruments
Null-type and deflection-type instruments
Analogue and digital instruments
Indicating instruments and instruments with a signal output
Smart and non-smart 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.
Passive pressure gauge.
• choice between active and passive
instruments for a particular
application involves carefully
balancing the measurement
resolution requirements against cost

Petrol-tank level indicator.

 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.
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

Rev counter. Digital type

 Indicating instruments and instruments with a signal output

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.

Smart and non-smart instruments

The advent of the microprocessor has created a new division in

instruments between those that do incorporate a microprocessor (smart)
and those that don’t
 Characteristics of instruments
Static characteristics
Accuracy and inaccuracy (measurement uncertainty)
Precision/repeatability/reproducibility
Tolerance
Range or span
Linearity
Sensitivity of measurement
Threshold
Resolution
Sensitivity to disturbance
Hysteresis effects
Dead space
 Accuracy

The accuracy of an instrument is a measure of how close the output reading

of the instrument is to the correct value.
Better understanding through analogy
• repeated measurements are compared to arrows that are fired at a target
• Accuracy describes the closeness of arrows to the bulls eye at the target
center.
• Arrows that strike closer to the bulls eye are considered more accurate.

The closer a system's measurements to the accepted value, the more

accurate the system is considered to be.

High Accuracy Low Accuracy

Example for accuracy

If the actual room temperature is 20°C,

if the thermometer used shows 20.5°C or 20°C

We say the instrument used has an inaccuracy of ±0.5°C

20°C- 19.5°C= +0.5°C

20°C- 20.5°C= -0.5°C

Why we are talking about accuracy ?

it does not really matter whether the true temperature of the room is 19.5°C
or 20.5°C or with an inaccuracy of ±0.5°C because such small variations
around 20°C are too small to affect whether we feel warm enough
or not. Our bodies cannot discriminate between such close levels of
temperature
but
a variation of 0.5°C might have a significant effect on the rate of reaction or
even the products of a process. A measurement inaccuracy much less than
š0.5°C is therefore clearly required
 Precision
Precision is a term that describes an instrument’s degree of freedom from
random errors. If a large number of readings are taken of the same quantity by a
high precision instrument, then the spread of readings will be very small.

Low Precision High Precision

Precision is often, though incorrectly, confused with accuracy.

High precision does not imply anything about measurement accuracy.

A high precision instrument may have a low accuracy.

Comparison of accuracy and precision

The figure shows the results of tests

on three industrial robots that were
programmed to place components at a
particular point on a table.

The target point was at the centre of

the concentric circles shown, and the
black dots represent the points where
each robot actually deposited
components at each attempt.
 Repeatability and Reproducibility
Repeatability describes the closeness of output readings when the same input is
applied repetitively over a short period of time, with the same measurement
conditions, same instrument and observer, same location and same conditions of
use maintained throughout.

Reproducibility describes the closeness of output readings for the same input when
there are changes in the method of measurement, observer, measuring instrument,
location, conditions of use and time of measurement.

The terms repeatability and reproducibility mean approximately the same but are
applied in different contexts as given below.

The degree of repeatability or reproducibility in measurements from an

instrument is an alternative way of expressing its precision
 Tolerance
• Tolerance is a term that is closely related to accuracy and defines the
maximum error that is to be expected in some value.
• When used correctly, tolerance describes the maximum deviation of a
manufactured component from some specified value.
• One resistor chosen at random from a batch having a nominal value 1000W
and tolerance 5% might have an actual value anywhere between 950W and
1050 W.
Range or span
• The range or span of an instrument defines the minimum and
maximum values of a quantity that the instrument is designed to
measure.
Dead space
Dead space is defined as the range of different input values over which there is
no change in output value.
 Linearity

It is normally desirable that the output reading of an instrument is linearly

proportional to the quantity being measured.

The Xs marked on Figure show a plot of

the typical output readings of an instrument
when a sequence of input quantities are
applied to it. Normal procedure is to draw a
good fit straight line through the Xs, as
shown in Figure.

The non-linearity is then defined as the

maximum deviation of any of the
output readings marked X from this straight
line. Non-linearity is usually expressed as a
percentage of full-scale reading.
 Sensitivity of measurement
The sensitivity of measurement is a measure of the change in
instrument output that occurs when the quantity being measured
changes by a given amount.

Thus, sensitivity is the ratio:

scale deflection / value of measurand producing deflection

 Threshold

If the input to an instrument is gradually increased from zero, the input will have to
reach a certain minimum level before the change in the instrument output reading
is of a large enough magnitude to be detectable.

This minimum level of input is known as the threshold of the instrument.

As an illustration, a car speedometer typically has a threshold of about 15 km/h.

This means that, if the vehicle starts from rest and accelerates, no output reading is
observed on the speedometer until the speed reaches 15 km/h.
 Resolution
When an instrument is showing a particular output reading, there is a lower limit on
the magnitude of the change in the input measured quantity that produces an
observable change in the instrument output.

Like threshold, resolution is sometimes specified as an absolute value and

sometimes as a percentage of f.s. deflection.

One of the major factors influencing the resolution of an instrument is how finely its
output scale is divided into subdivisions.

Using a car speedometer as an example again, this has subdivisions of typically

20 km/h. (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, 180)

This means that when the needle is between the scale markings, we cannot
estimate speed more accurately than to the nearest 5 km/h.

This figure of 5 km/h thus represents the resolution of the instrument.

 Sensitivity to disturbance
All calibrations and specifications of an instrument are only valid under controlled
conditions of temperature, pressure etc. These standard ambient conditions are usually
defined in the instrument specification.

As variations occur in the ambient temperature etc., certain static instrument

characteristics change, and the sensitivity to disturbance is a measure of the magnitude
of this change.

Such environmental changes affect instruments in two main ways, known as zero drift
and sensitivity drift.

Zero drift or bias describes the effect where the zero reading of an instrument is
modified by a change in ambient conditions. This causes a constant error that exists
over the full range of measurement of the instrument.

If someone of known weight 70 kg were to get on the scale, the reading would be 71 kg,
and if someone of known weight 100 kg were to get on the scale, the reading would be
101 kg. Zero drift is normally removable by calibration.

Sensitivity drift (also known as scale factor drift) defines the amount by which an
instrument’s sensitivity of measurement varies as ambient conditions change.
 Hysteresis effects

If the input measured quantity to

the instrument is steadily
increased from a negative value,
the output reading varies in the
manner shown in curve (a).

If the input variable is then

steadily decreased, the output
varies in the manner shown in
curve (b).

Figure shows the output characteristic of an instrument that exhibits hysteresis.

The non-coincidence between these loading and unloading curves is known as
hysteresis.

Two quantities are defined, maximum input hysteresis and maximum output
hysteresis, as shown in the figure.
These are normally expressed as a percentage of the full-scale input or output
reading respectively.
 Expected Questions

1. Explain what is meant by:

(a) active instruments
(b) passive instruments.
Give examples of each and discuss the relative merits of these two classes of
instruments.

2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of null and deflection types of

measuring instrument. What are null types of instrument mainly used for and
why?

3. Briefly define and explain all the static characteristics of measuring

instruments.

4. Explain the difference between accuracy and precision in an instrument.

5. Define sensitivity drift and zero drift. What factors can cause sensitivity drift
and zero drift in instrument characteristics?
1.

2.
3.