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    Control System Instrumentation: Transducers and Transmitters

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    李承家
    This document discusses instrumentation and control system components. It describes: 1) Transducers that convert process variables like temperature, pressure and flow rate into electrical signals for controllers using sensing and transmitting elements. 2) Common instrumentation signal standards of 3-15 psig and 4-20 mA. 3) Final control elements like control valves that manipulate process variables, and are usually pneumatic and either air-to-open or air-to-close. 4) Dynamic measurement errors from thermal lag in thermowells that can be modeled using an energy balance equation.

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    Control System Instrumentation: Transducers and Transmitters

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    李承家
    34 views7 pages
    This document discusses instrumentation and control system components. It describes: 1) Transducers that convert process variables like temperature, pressure and flow rate into electrical signals for controllers using sensing and transmitting elements. 2) Common instrumentation signal standards of 3-15 psig and 4-20 mA. 3) Final control elements like control valves that manipulate process variables, and are usually pneumatic and either air-to-open or air-to-close. 4) Dynamic measurement errors from thermal lag in thermowells that can be modeled using an energy balance equation.

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    ch9

    Original Title

    Chapter_9

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    This document discusses instrumentation and control system components. It describes: 1) Transducers that convert process variables like temperature, pressure and flow rate into electrical signals for controllers using sensing and transmitting elements. 2) Common instrumentation signal standards of 3-15 psig and 4-20 mA. 3) Final control elements like control valves that manipulate process variables, and are usually pneumatic and either air-to-open or air-to-close. 4) Dynamic measurement errors from thermal lag in thermowells that can be modeled using an energy balance equation.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    34 views7 pages

    Control System Instrumentation: Transducers and Transmitters

    Uploaded by

    李承家
    This document discusses instrumentation and control system components. It describes: 1) Transducers that convert process variables like temperature, pressure and flow rate into electrical signals for controllers using sensing and transmitting elements. 2) Common instrumentation signal standards of 3-15 psig and 4-20 mA. 3) Final control elements like control valves that manipulate process variables, and are usually pneumatic and either air-to-open or air-to-close. 4) Dynamic measurement errors from thermal lag in thermowells that can be modeled using an energy balance equation.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as pdf or txt
    of 7

    9

    Chapter 8
    Control System Instrumentation

    A typical process transducer.

    Transducers and Transmitters


    This figure illustrates the general configuration of a
    measurement transducer; it typically consists of a sensing
    element combined with a driving element (transmitter).
    1

    Transducers for process measurements convert the magnitude of


    a process variable (e.g., flow rate, pressure, temperature, level,
    or concentration) into a signal that can be sent directly to the
    controller.
    The sensing element is required to convert the measured
    quantity, that is, the process variable, into some quantity more
    appropriate for mechanical or electrical processing within the
    transducer.

    Standard Instrumentation Signal Levels


    Before 1960, instrumentation in the process industries utilized
    pneumatic (air pressure) signals to transmit measurement and
    control information almost exclusively.
    These devices make use of mechanical force-balance elements
    to generate signals in the range of 3 to 15 psig, an industry
    standard.
    Since about 1960, electronic instrumentation has come into
    widespread use.

    Sensors
    The book briefly discusses commonly used sensors for the most
    important process variables. (See text.)

    Transmitters
    A transmitter usually converts the sensor output to a signal level
    appropriate for input to a controller, such as 4 to 20 mA.
    Transmitters are generally designed to be direct acting.
    In addition, most commercial transmitters have an adjustable
    input range (or span).
    For example, a temperature transmitter might be adjusted so that
    the input range of a platinum resistance element (the sensor) is
    50 to 150 C.

    In this case, the following correspondence is obtained:

    Input Output
    50 C 4 mA
    150 C 20 mA

    This instrument (transducer) has a lower limit or zero of 50 C


    and a range or span of 100 C.
    For the temperature transmitter discussed above, the relation
    between transducer output and input is
    20 mA 4 mA
    Tm mA
    150 C 50 C
    T 50

    C 4 mA

    mA

    0.16 T C 4 mA
    C
    The gain of the measurement element Km is 0.16 mA/C. For any
    linear instrument:
    range of instrument output
    Km (9-1)
    range of instrument input

    Final Control Elements


    Every process control loop contains a final control element
    (actuator), the device that enables a process variable to be
    manipulated.
    For most chemical and petroleum processes, the final control
    elements (usually control valves) adjust the flow rates of
    materials, and indirectly, the rates of energy transfer to and
    from the process.

    Figure 9.4 A linear instrument calibration showing its zero


    and span.
    Control Valves
    There are many different ways to manipulate the flows of
    material and energy into and out of a process; for example, the
    speed of a pump drive, screw conveyer, or blower can be
    adjusted.
    However, a simple and widely used method of accomplishing
    this result with fluids is to use a control valve, also called an
    automatic control valve.
    The control valve components include the valve body, trim,
    seat, and actuator.

    Air-to-Open vs. Air-to-Close Control Valves


    Normally, the choice of A-O or A-C valve is based on safety
    considerations.

    Figure 9.7 A pneumatic control valve (air-to-open).


    We choose the way the valve should operate (full flow or no
    flow) in case of a transmitter failure.
    Hence, A-C and A-O valves often are referred to as fail-open
    and fail-closed, respectively.

    Example 9.1
    Pneumatic control valves are to be specified for the applications
    listed below. State whether an A-O or A-C valve should be used
    for the following manipulated variables and give reason(s).

    a) Steam pressure in a reactor heating coil. (A-O, fail closed)


    b) Flow rate of reactants into a polymerization reactor.
    c) Flow of effluent from a wastewater treatment holding tank into
    a river. (A-O)
    d) Flow of cooling water to a distillation condenser. (A-C)

    Valve Positioners
    Pneumatic control valves can be equipped with a valve
    positioner, a type of mechanical or digital feedback controller
    that senses the actual stem position, compares it to the desired
    position, and adjusts the air pressure to the valve accordingly.

    Specifying and Sizing Control Valves


    A design equation used for sizing control valves relates valve
    lift to the actual flow rate q by means of the valve coefficient
    Cv, the proportionality factor that depends predominantly on
    valve size or capacity:

    Pv
    q Cv f (9-2)
    gs
    Here q is the flow rate, f is the flow characteristic, Pv is the
    pressure drop across the valve, and gs is the specific gravity of
    the fluid.
    This relation is valid for nonflashing fluids.
    Specification of the valve size is dependent on the so-called
    valve characteristic f.
    Three control valve characteristics are mainly used.
    For a fixed pressure drop across the valve, the flow
    characteristic f 0 f 1 is related to the lift 0 1 , that
    is, the extent of valve opening, by one of the following relations:
    Linear: f
    Quick opening: f (9-3)
    Equal percentage: f R 1
    where R is a valve design parameter that is usually in the range of 20 to 50.

    Figure 9.8 Control valve characteristics.


    Figure 9.16 Schematic diagram of a thermowell/thermocouple.

    Dynamic Measurement Errors


    An energy balance on the thermowell gives

    dTm
    mC UA T Tm (9-13)
    dt
    where U is the heat transfer coefficient and A is the heat transfer
    area. Rearranging gives

    mC dTm
    Tm T (9-14)
    UA dt
    Converting to deviation variables and taking the Laplace
    transform gives
    Tm s 1
    (9-15)
    T s s 1

    with mC UA.

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