ME 362:

INSTRUMENTATION AND MEASUREMENT

SESSIONAL

LECTURE 1: THE PROCESS OF MEASUREMENT

Rajesh Sarkar
Lecturer, Dept. of ME
 What is Instrumentation

 Instrumentation is the development or use of measuring

instruments for observation, monitoring or control.
 An instrument is a device that measures a physical
quantity, such as flow, temperature, level, distance,
angle, or pressure.
 Example: Thermometer, Pressure gauge, Load cell, Slide
calipers etc.
 What is Measurement
 Measurement is a group of operations carried out by
means of measuring instruments to determine the
numerical value of the size which describes the object of
measurement.
 Is the acquisition of information about a state or
phenomenon (object of measurement) in the world
among us.
 This means that a measurement must be
descriptive(observable) with regard to that state or
object we are measuring: there must be a relationship
between the object of measurement and the
measurement result.
 Measuring Means

The means of measurements could be classified as follows:

 Standards (Reference)-These are used to reproduce one

or several definite values of a given quantity.
 Fixed gauges-These are used to check the dimensions,
form, and position of product features.
 Measuring instruments-These are used to determine the
values of the measured quantity.
 Elements of a Measurement

There are three important elements of a measurement

 Measurand, i.e. the physical quantity or property like
length, angle etc. being measured.
 Comparison or comparator, i.e. the means of
comparing measurand with some reference to render a
judgment.
 Reference, i.e. the physical quantity or property to which
quantitative comparisons are made.
Example:
A mechanic has to measure the length of a surface
table(measurand). For this, first he lays his rule (reference)
alongside the table; he then carefully aligns the zero end
of his rule with one end of the table and finally he
compares the length of the table with the graduation on
his rule by eye (comparator).
 Physical Measurement

 Nominal size (Basic Size): It is the size on which the limits

of size are based and which is assigned to a part in
accordance with its function.
 True size: It is the theoretical size of a dimension, which is
free from any errors of measurement.
 Actual Size: It is the value of size obtained through
measurement with the permissible measuring error.
 Exact size: It is the value of size obtained with the highest
metrological accuracy attainable in practice.
 Approximate Size: It is the value of size obtained with an
error exceeding the permissible error of measurement
and requiring refinement.
 Error of measurement: It is the difference between the
true value of the size being measured and the value
found by measurement. Error pertains to a measurement
and not to an instrument.
 Correction: It is the amount which should be
algebraically added to the indicated value to obtain
the actual value of the size being measured. The
correction is numerically equal to the error, but opposite
in sign.
 Calibration
 Calibration is a comparison
between measurements – one of
known magnitude or correctness
made or set with one device and
another measurement made in as
similar a way as possible with a
second device.
 The device with the known or
assigned correctness is called the
standard. The second device is the
unit under test (UUT), test
instrument (TI), or any of several
other names for the device being
calibrated.
 Accuracy and Precision
 ACCURACY: Conformity to truth.
 Science texts refer to accuracy in two ways:
 (i) Accuracy of a result or experimental procedure can refer
to the percentage difference between the experimental
result and the accepted value. The stated uncertainty in an
experimental result should always be greater than this
percentage accuracy.
 (ii) Accuracy is also associated with the inherent uncertainty
in a measurement. We can express the accuracy of a
measurement explicitly by stating the estimated uncertainty
or implicitly by the number of significant figures given. For
example, we can measure a small distance with poor
accuracy using a meter rule, or with much greater accuracy
using a micrometer.
 Another term you will hear in relation to experiments and
experimental results is the term precision. Precision is the
degree of exactness with which a quantity is measured.
It refers to the repeatability of the measurement. The
term precision is therefore interchangeable with the
term reliability. The two terms mean the same thing but
you will hear & read both in relation to science
experiments & experimental results.
 The precision of a measuring device is limited by the
finest division on its scale.
 Assignment
An Engineer wants to measure the dia of a mild steel circular shaft by
means of a slide calipers. The calipers can measure one tenth of a value
precisely (1.1, 1.2 etc.). The original dia of the shaft was 5.25mm. The
engineer takes 4 measurements and the values are 5.1mm, 5.3mm,
5.2mm, 5mm. He then brings another slide calipers which can measure
one twentieth of a value precisely (1.15,1.2 etc.). He repeated the same
procedure again and the measurement values were 5.25mm, 5.25mm,
5.3mm, 5.15mm.

a. Identify the measurand, comparator and reference of the measurement process.

b. Comment about the accuracy and precision of the both slide calipers and explain your answers.
Which one do you think should be better?
c. Determine the error of measurement for the 3rd measurement value for both the slide calipers.