Level Transducer Characteristic and Calibration/

Level control of the Process Vessel

Mark Charles M. Tarroza
ME 176-1st Sem AY 2015-2016
August 28, 2015
Introduction
The CE117 process trainer has two chambers where active heat transfer process take place.
The first is the heater tank and the second is the process vessel where the water from the heater
loop is cooled by the water from the lower reservoir. The process loop pump pushes the water
from the lower reservoir to the process vessel. If the drain valve at the bottom of the process
vessel is closed, the pump will operate until the water on the lower reservoir reaches a critical
level and the pump will automatically be shut down. If the drain valve of the process vessel is
left open on the other hand, the pump will continously make the water flow up to the process
vessel while water is being drained back to the reservoir. The inward flow depends on the output
power of the pump and is assumed to be constant while the outward flow through the drain valve
at the bottom is proportional to the height of the water in the process vessel with the constant
outflow resistance R. If enough power is given to the pump such that the inward flow to the
process vessel is initially greater than the outward flow through the valve, the water level will
rise over time until it stabilizes at a certain level. The time constant () is 63.2% of the amount of
time that it takes to reach this level from a lower equilibrium level. The constants and R varies
from system to system and has the relation =Area/R where the cross sectional area of the vessel
is to be used.
The process vessel of the CE117 is equipped with a level transducer which measures the
instantaneous water level and sends an analog voltage output to the computer. However, the
relationship between the output voltage of the transducer and the height reading is non linear.
Because of this, a characteristic curve for the level transducer is needed to convert its voltage
output into the desired unit of height reading. This is the objective of the first part of the
experiment. Experiment 1-procedure 4 where the voltage output of the transducer was to be
recorded by hand with the corresponding manual reading of the water level in the process vessel.
It was also explained that the level transducer can be calibrated by turning the calibration screws
on the side of the module. The next procedure, 4-1 involves obtaining the time constant() for
the process vesssel and the outflow resistance (R) for the drain valve. Water was to be allowed to
flow continously in the loop while controlling the voltage input of the pump so that an
equilibrium height will be achieved. From the data recorded by the CE2000 software and the
manual steady state height reading by the experimenters, the time constant was to be computed
using the three ways taught in the lectures. Namely estimation from the plot, curve fitting and
h/q methods.
Methodology
The computer and the process trainer module was first switched on and linked. The CE2000
software was then ran in the computer. For 1-4, the circuit file exp1-4.ict was opened and the

mimic panel connections indicated in the manual were accommplished. The bypass valve in the
located after the pump and the drain valve at the bottom of the process vessel were closed and
the air vent valve was opened. The software displayed the panel for the valve voltage input and
the voltage output for the level transducer. Pump 2 was set to manual and its control knob was
turned to minimum. The run button was clicked in the software and the valve voltage was set to
10 V. The manual control for pump 2 was turned to achieve the right flow rate at which it is
manageable for the experimenters to read and record the corresponding transducer voltage for
the height readings in the process vessel. For every 10 mm increment in the height starting at 10
mm, the person assigned to the process vessel will give the signal so that the person assigned to
the computer will read the transducer voltage. The person assigned to record then writes the
transducer voltage reading with the corresponding water level in the process vessel in a table.
The data table produced was then compared to the manufacturer indicated boundary conditions
of 0 V at 0 mm and 10 V at 180 mm to determine the calibration needed by the level transducer.
Lastly, the height recorded in the table was plotted with the corresponding output voltage to
produce the characteristic curve for the level transducer.

Figure 1. Mimic Panel Connections for

Experiment 1 Procedure 4

Figure 2. Mimic Panel Connections for

Experiment 4 Procedure 1

For procedure 4-1, the circuit file exp1-4.ict was opened and the memory was cleared
of data from previous experiments. The drain valve was then fully opened. After that, the
necessary mimic panel connections were done as shown in the manual and pump 2 was switched
to external . The valve and pump input voltage panel , the level transducer voltage output and
plot versus time was displayed by the software. The voltage for pump 2 was set to 4 V and the
voltage for the valve was set to 10 V. After that, the run and record button were clicked in the
software. The pump voltage was then finely adjusted so that the water level would stabilize just
above the heat exchanger. After reaching the desired equilibrium level,the system was allowed to
run for ten minutes to ensure that the height of the water was stable. The achieved equilibrium
level was labeled A and the level and flow rate for this was recorded on paper. Next, the pump
voltage was increased by 0.5 volts and the system was monitored and allowed to reach a higher
steady state water level. The next level reached by the water was labeled B and the
corresponding height reading and flow voltage were written down. The stop button was clicked

and the data recorded by the software was exported into a text file. Using the data produced in
the procedure, the water level versus time plot was produced and the time constant () was
derived using all the three methods previously enumerated. Finally, the resulting time constant
for each method used was compared to each other.
Results and Discussions
The data acquired for transducer voltage with the corresponding height readings on the
process vessel were tabulated as shown below.
Water Level
(mm)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200

Level Transmitter Output

(V)
0.5
0.9
1.7
2.8
3.8
4.7
5.2
5.8
6.4
6.8
7.5
7.9
8.3
8.7
9.1
9.3
9.6
9.7
10
10.1
10.2

Table 1. The Conversion Data Points for the Transducer

Voltage
This data was then used to create the characteristic curve for the level
transmitter. The resulting plot is shown in the figure below. The resulting curve is
non linear.

12
10
8
Transducer Voltage

6
4
2
0
0

50

100

150

200

250

Water Level (mm)

Figure 3. The Characteristic Curve for the Level

Transducer

12
10
8
Voltage

6
4
2
0
0

200

400

600

800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800

Time(s)

For 4-1, the

data in the exported file was processed to find the time constant using the plot estimation, curve
fitting and h/q methods. For the plot estimation, the time versus transducer voltage plot was
created for the entire procedure. This enabled the experimenter to get a visual estimate of the
time location of the start of the flow process from height A to B. Finally, 63.2% of the difference
between time of start and time when level B was reached was computed for and taken as the time
constant. The time vs. voltage plot for the entire procedure is shown below.

Figure 4. Time vs. Transducer Voltge Plot for the Procedure

Based on Figure 4 and observation on the encoded data in the file, the filling process to
reach level B began at 1,118.7 seconds and stabilized at 1548.7 seconds with a difference of 430

seconds. Taking the 63.2% of this results to 271.76 which is the time constant. The table
produced for the h/q method is shown below.

Level
A
Level
B

Flow(
V)
3.3

Flow(L/m
in.)
3.3

Flow(m^
2/s)
0.000055

h(m)

3.5

3.5

0.000058
333
0.000003
333

0.172

Area(m
^2)
R

0.054

Dif

0.118

0.017
671
16201
.62
286.3
063

For the h/q method, the time constant computed is 286.3063, which is 5.4% larger
than the result from the plot estimation.

The block diagram for the system experiment 4 procedure 1 was made and shown in the figure
below.

Conclusion
References