Introduction

Process measurements encompass the application of the principles of metrology to the process in question. The objective is to obtain values for the current conditions within the process and to make this information available in a form usable by the control system, process operators, or management information systems. The term measured variable or process variable designates the process condition that is being determined. Process measurements fall into two categories:

1. Continuous measurements. An example of a continuous measurement is a level measurement device that determines the liquid level in a tank (e.g., in meters). 2. Discrete measurements. An example of a discrete measurement is a level switch that indicates the presence or absence of liquid at the location at which the level switch is installed. In continuous processes, most process control applications rely on continuous measurements. In batch processes, many of the process control applications utilize discrete as well as continuous measurements. In both types of processes, the safety interlocks and process interlocks rely largely on discrete measurements

Continuous Measurements In most applications, continuous measurements provide more information than discrete measurements. Basically, discrete measurements involve a yes/no decision, where as continuous measurements may entail considerable signal processing .The components of a typical continuous measurement device are as follows:

1. Sensor. This component produces a signal that is related in a known manner to the process variable of interest. The sensors in use today are primarily of the electrical analog variety, and the signal is in the form of a voltage, a resistance, a capacitance, or some other directly measurable electrical quantity. Prior to the mid1970s, instruments tended to use sensors whose signal was mechanical and thus compatible with pneumatic technology. Since that time, the fraction of sensors that are digital has grown considerably, often eliminating the need for analog-to-digital conversion. 2. Signal processing. The signal from a sensor is usually related in a nonlinear fashion to the process variable of interest. For the output of the measurement device to be linear with respect to the process variable of interest, linearization is required. Furthermore, the signal from the sensor might be affected by variables other than the process variable. In this case, additional variables must be sensed, and the signal from the sensor compensated to account for the other variables. For example, reference junction compensation is required for thermocouples (except when used for differential temperature measurements). 3. Transmitter. The measurement device output must be a signal that can be transmitted over some distance. Where electronic analog transmission is used, the low range on the transmitter output is 4 mA, and the upper range is 20 mA. Microprocessor-based transmitters (often referred to as smart transmitters) are usually capable of transmitting the measured variable digitally in engineering units

Range and Span

A continuous measurement device is expected to provide credible values of the measured value between a lower range and an upper range. The difference between the upper range and the lower range is the span of the measurement device. The maximum value for the upper range and the minimum value for the lower range depend on the principles on which the measurement device is based and on the design chosen by the manufacturer of the measurement device. If the measured variable is greater than the upper range or less than the lower range, the measured variable is said to be out of range or the measurement device is said to be over ranged.

For the measurement of process variable in the range A unit to B unit with an instrument having lower range C unit and upper range D unit then there must be C<A<B<D Zero of the instrument=C Span of the instrument = (D-C)

Accuracy
Accuracy refers to the difference between the measured value and the true value of the measured variable. Unfortunately, the true value is never known, so in practice accuracy refers to the difference between the measured value and an accepted standard value for the measured variable. Accuracy can be expressed in four ways: 1. As an absolute difference in the units of the measured variable 2. As a percent of the current reading 3. As a percent of the span of the measured variable 4. As a percent of the upper range of the span For process measurements, accuracy as a percent of span is the most common. Manufacturers of measurement devices always state the accuracy of instrument.

Repeatability
Repeatability refers to the difference between the measurements when the process conditions are the same. This can also be viewed from the opposite perspective. If the measured values are the same, repeatability refers to the difference between the process conditions.