Instrumentation & Measurement Flashcards
7 cards from real ITMC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Instrumentation & Measurement flashcards as text
What is the purpose of instrument calibration?
Answer: To verify and adjust an instrument's output to match a known traceable standard
Calibration verifies that an instrument's output accurately matches a known traceable reference standard and makes corrections as needed to ensure measurement accuracy.
Which device converts a non-electrical physical quantity such as pressure or temperature into a standardized electrical signal?
Answer: Transducer
A transducer converts one form of energy or physical quantity into another, most commonly converting process variables like pressure, temperature, or flow into electrical signals.
What physical principle does an orifice plate use to infer fluid flow rate?
Answer: Bernoulli's principle relating velocity to differential pressure
Per Bernoulli's principle, fluid velocity increases and static pressure decreases as it passes through the orifice restriction, creating a differential pressure proportional to flow rate.
What type of thermometer measures temperature by detecting the infrared energy emitted by an object?
Answer: Infrared pyrometer thermometer
An infrared pyrometer measures temperature by detecting the infrared radiation emitted by an object, enabling non-contact temperature measurement of moving or hazardous targets.
In process instrumentation, what does the term 'span' refer to?
Answer: The arithmetic difference between the upper and lower range limits of the instrument
Span is the difference between the upper range value and the lower range value, representing the total measurement range the instrument is configured to cover.
What is the function of a control valve as the final control element in a process loop?
Answer: To manipulate fluid flow in response to the controller's output signal
The control valve is the final control element that physically manipulates process fluid flow in response to the controller signal, bringing the process variable to the desired setpoint.
What is the standard pneumatic signal range used in industrial process instrumentation?
Answer: 3–15 PSI
The standard pneumatic control signal range is 3–15 PSI, where 3 PSI represents 0% of span and 15 PSI represents 100%; the live-zero at 3 PSI allows detection of a broken or disconnected signal line.