Some physical quantities

relevant for industry and their

measurement instruments
Scope
 Mass
 Pressure
 Temperature
 Volume
 Flow rate
Mass
 Mass is a measure of the amount of material in an object, being
directly related to the number and type of atoms present in the
object. Mass does not change with position, movement, or
alteration of the body’s shape unless material is added or
removed.
 Weight: In the trading of goods, weight is taken to mean the
same as mass, and is measured in kilograms. Scientifically,
however, it is normal to state that the weight of a body is the
gravitational force acting on it and hence it should be expressed
in newtons, this force depending on the local acceleration due to
gravity. To add to the confusion, a ‘weight’ is an object, normally
metallic, of known mass.
Relationship between mass and
weight
N

𝑊 =𝑚∙𝑔
mg
Mass Measurement Instruments
 Balance
 Weighing scale (weighing machine)
Balance
 Balance is a lever of two equal arms that through the
equilibrium among the weights of two bodies allows the
measurement of torques. It is a measurement instrument for
weights and also, indirectly, for the mass of an object
irrespectively of its location on earth. Since gravity affects
both pans of the balance, this instrument effectively
compares the masses of those bodies placed on the plates.
Balance types
 Ancient balances (pans).
Measurements require the usage of
standard weights (masses).
 Its measurement results don’t change
depending on the gravity acceleration
magnitude as other balances such as
dynamometer or spring balance.
Balance types
 Granataria balance: theses balances
only have one plate where weighing
bodies should be placed. Attached to
the pan, and connected with a pivot-
like device, beams carry weights
(riders) that can be moved along the
beams. The ultimate position of the
beam weights will determine the mass
of the body measured, provided that
both the beams and the pan have
found equilibrium.
Balance types
 An analytical balance is an
instrument to measure mass. Its
most important feature is its low
uncertainty, making them useful for
highly precise measurements.
 Analytical balances are digital most
of the times, some may even display
the information in different unit
systems. For example, the mass of a
substance can be shown with an
uncertainty of 0.00001 g.
Balance types
 Roman balance is an instrument
to weight, formed by a lever of
uneven arms, with the pointer on
the supporting point. The body to
be weighed is placed on the
extreme of the smallest arm,
which is then equilibrated with a
constant weight that can be
moved along the longest arm,
where the weight scale is set.
Weighing scale
 Scale is a weighing apparatus, i.e. for
determining the weight of a body.
Regularly a scale has a horizontal
platform where weighing objects are
placed. Unlike a Roman balance,
weighing scales do not require the
weighing object to be hung from
hooks, therefore is more convenient
for larger and heavier objects. This
ability allowed the construction of
scales with capacity for very high
weights.
Types of weighing scales
 Counterweight scales
 Elastic spring scales
 Electronic scales
Pressure
 STOP!!!!!

 First things first!!!!!

Concepts
 Force: Force is a measure of the interaction between bodies.
Force is a vector quantity, with both direction and magnitude. If
the forces acting on a body in equilibrium are summed around
the periphery of the body then they add to zero. If there is any
resultant force acting then the body is not in equilibrium and it
will accelerate such that the rate of change of the body’s
momentum (velocity times mass) is equal to the force.
𝐹 =𝑚∙𝑎
 The SI unit of force is the newton [N]; defined as the unit of force
which would give to a mass of one kilogram an acceleration of 1
metre per second, per second.
 Acceleration: Acceleration is a vector magnitude for the
change rate of the velocity of an object per unit of time. It has
the unit of m/s2.
Pressure (finally)
 Force per unit area
𝐹 A large number of atoms or
𝑃= molecules are confined within in
𝐴 a “box”, where they bounce
around off each other and the
 The SI unit for pressure is: walls. They exert a
force on the walls equal and
𝑁 opposite the force the walls
𝑃𝑎 = 2 exert on them as the
𝑚 collisions more or less elastically
reverse the particles’ momenta
*Pa = pascal perpendicular to the walls.
Pressure units
 1 Pa is a very small unit, therefore other units are
more frequently used:
 1 atm = 14.7 lb/in2 (psi) = 1.01325 x 105 Pa exactly
 1 bar = 105 Pa
 1 torr = 1 mmHg = 133.322 Pa
 1 atm = 760 mmHg = 29.9 inHg
Note
 Absolute pressure = gauge pressure + atmospheric pressure
Instruments to measure pressure
 Liquid column instruments
 Mechanical instruments
 Electronic
Liquid column instruments
 Manometer that measures pressure thanks to
the differential pressure between its limbs.
𝑝1 = 𝜌𝑔ℎ + 𝑝2
 Where h is the vertical height of the liquid
column above the datum level,  is the density
of the liquid and g is the local value of gravity.
 If the upper tube is open to the atmosphere
then 𝑝1 is a gauge-mode pressure.
 If the upper tube is evacuated (𝑝2 = 0) then 𝑝1
is an absolute-mode pressure and the
instrument becomes a barometer.
Mechanical deformation
instruments
Bourdon tube dial gauge
Temperature
Thermometer
 A thermometer is a device in which a property that changes
with temperature is measured and used to indicate the value
of the temperature.

 Types of thermometers:
Contact thermometers: mercury & electrical thermometers
Non-contact thermometers: infrared radiation thermometers
Must have properties of
thermometers
 Repeatable, so that the measured property of the device has the
same value (or very nearly so) whenever the temperature is the
same. The device should withstand exposure to temperatures
within its range of use
 Sensitive to temperature but insensitive to things other than
temperature, so the measurement should not depend on factors
such as the humidity or pressure
 Calibrated, so the measured property (length, resistance, etc)
can be reliably converted to temperature. If the instrument reads
directly in temperature, the calibration shows how accurate the
reading is
 Convenient to use. Factors such as size, ruggedness, speed of
response, immunity to electrical interference, etc, and cost, will
be important to varying degrees in different applications.
Mercury thermometers
 Mercury thermometers are sealed tubes
containing a liquid, generally mercury or
coloured alcohol, which volume changes
uniformly with temperature.
 The volume change of the liquid can be seen
and indicates the temperature using a scale
marked in the glass.
 The temperature range of an alcohol
thermometer is -200°C to 80°C.
 The range of temperature of a mercury
thermometer can be from -38°C to 356°C.
However, it could be extended to 600°C.
Resistance thermometers
 Resistance thermometer sensors use a wire, film, chip or bead
whose electrical resistance changes with temperature.
 The most accurate thermometers are the Standard Platinum
Resistance Thermometers (SPRTs) with uncertainties smaller
than 0.001°C. However, they are only suitable for laboratory
use.
 In industry more rugged industrial platinum resistance
thermometers are used, variously known as IPRTs, Pt100s,
RTDs (resistance temperature detectors). The sensors are
usually made with wires or films of 100 Ω at 0 °C and packaged
in alumina tubes or on flat substrates, with two or more
connecting wires emerging. They are then inserted into a steel
protective tube to make the complete measurement probe.
Pt100/RTD
Resistance thermometers
 The measuring instrument and connections must be chosen
to meet the requirement. Most sensors are made with two
wires emerging, but if there are only two wires connecting all
the way to the instrument, the resistance of these wires is
included in the measurement and errors of a few °C may
result. Some compensation for the lead resistances can be
achieved by connecting a third lead to one side of the sensor
(3-wire connection), but best accuracy requires four wires,
two for passing the current and two for sensing the voltage
across the Pt100 resistance.
Resistance thermometers
Thermistors
 Thermistors are sensitive resistors made from small beads of
various semiconductive oxides. In the more common NTC
(negative temperature coefficient) types, the resistance
increases very strongly as the temperature falls.
 They are well suited for use in small probes with fast
response.
 Since the resistances are large, generally several kilohms, 2-
wire connections can usually be used without significant
error.
 PTC (positive temperature coefficient) types increase
resistance as temperature rises.
NTC Thermistors
Thermocouples
 A thermocouple is a temperature sensor based om the
Seebeck effect. This is the generation of an EFM (voltage) in
electrical conductors along which there is a temperature
difference (gradient).
 In its simplest form, a thermocouple consists of two wires
which are joined at the end where the temperature is to be
measured, the other ends being connected to a voltmeter.
The two wires must be of different materials, because the
measured voltage is the difference between the voltages
produced in each wire separately.
Thermocouple types
 Commonly used thermocouple metal combinations include
constantan/copper, constantan/iron, constantan/chromel and
constantan/alumel
 J (Iron/Constantan)
 K ( Chromel/alumel)
 T (Cupper/constantan)
 E (Chromel/constantan)
 R (Platinum/Platinum 10% /rhodium)
 S (Platinum/Platinum 13%/rhodium)
 http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/jres/14/jresv14n3p239_A1b.pdf
 Thermocouples are very convenient temperature sensors because they
are simple, small and inexpensive, and can be very rugged in protective
metal cables. The voltages are not large, typically only about 40 μV for
every 1 °C of temperature difference, but instruments commonly display
readings with 0.1 °C resolution.
 Eight thermocouple combinations have been standardised in IEC (BS
EN) 60584-1 for industrial use. Five base-metal (copper-nickel) types
are relatively inexpensive and can be used (variously) down to – 270 °C
and up to about 1200 °C. Three others, designated Types R, S and B,
use wires of platinum and platinum-rhodium alloys, and are expensive
but more stable, and can be used up to about 1600 °C. Thermocouples
of tungsten-rhenium alloys can be used up to and beyond 2000 °C.
Non-contact thermometry
 All objects emit thermal (heat) radiation by virtue of their
temperature. Therefore, temperature can also be measured
by remote sensing trough:
 Radiation thermometry
 Thermal imaging
Infrared radiation thermometers
 Radiation thermometers (infrared thermometers, radiation pyrometers)
work like cameras, with an optical system, using lenses or mirrors and a
filter which selects the wavelength range (waveband) over which the
thermometer is sensitive.
 This may be a “photo-detector”, in which the incident photons give rise
to an electric current, or it may be “thermal”, in which case it senses the
temperature rise produced by the energy absorbed.
 For low temperature applications, it must be cooled to improve the
signal-to-noise ratio and to reduce the intensity of its own radiation.
 Thermal radiation is mostly infrared, but as temperature increases
beyond about 700°C a dull “red heat” can be seen, which gradually
brightens to orange, yellow and finally a brilliant white heat. The effect is
very sensitive and radiation thermometry is a powerful method of
temperature measurement, down to – 50 °C or even lower.
Sources or error
 Radiation thermometry uses the concept of a ‘perfect radiator’ or
blackbody, (perfect absorber of all radiation incident on it), and
hence appears perfectly black when cold. In practice (nearly)
blackbody sources are used to calibrate radiation thermometers.
 Real surfaces, however, emit less radiation than a blackbody at
the same temperature, and the measured temperature must be
corrected for the ‘emissivity’ of the surface.
 Emissivity, ability to radiate, ranges from 0 to 1: 0 for a perfectly
reflecting surface which emits no radiation, and 1, the maximum
possible, which applies to a perfect blackbody radiator.
 When using a radiation thermometer, the emissivity must be
known or estimated if an accurate temperature is to be obtained.
Sometimes very large errors (tens of degrees is quite common)
arise because the emissivity is incorrectly estimated.
Thermal imaging and thermography
 Thermal imaging is now widely used in surveillance and night
vision, search and rescue, building and land surveying,
aircraft and missile tracking, detecting hot spots due to failure
in electrical equipment and electronic circuits, and in medical
thermography.
 In can be treated as 2-dimensional radiation thermometers.
Volumetric flow rate
Flow continuity
 When liquid flows through a pipe of varying diameter, the
same volume flows at all cross sectional slices. This means
that the velocity of flow must increase as the diameter
decreases and, conversely, velocity decreases when the
diameter increases.

Q: volumetric flow
A: cross sectional
area
V: flow velocity
Bernoulli equation
Volumetric flow rate formula
𝑉
𝑄=
𝑡 Where: Units:
Q: volumetric flow rate  m3/s
𝐴∙𝑠 V: volume
𝑄= t: time
𝑡 s: distance or length  m2*m/s
v: velocity
𝑄 =𝐴∙𝑣
Common units & equivalences
 m3/s  1 cm3/s = 0.000001 m3/s = 1 ml/s
 m3/min  1 m3/s = 1000 L/s
 1 l/s = 60 l/min = 3600 l/h
 m3/h
 1 ft3/min = 28.315 l/min
 l/s  1 US gal/min = 3.785 l/min
 l/min  1 Imp gal/min = 4.546 l/min
 l/h
 gal/s
 ft3/s
Flow meters
 Differential pressure
 Electromagnetic
 Ultrasonic
 Turbine
 Vortex
 Variable area (rotameters)
 Positive displacement
 Coriolis
 Thermal mass
Differential pressure meters
 They measure flowrate using the pressure drop caused by a
constriction in the flowing fluid in a pipeline.
 They could be Venturi tubes, orifice plates, critical flow
nozzles and cone meters.
Electromagnetic flow meter
 A magmeter utilizes a set of coils
and a pair of electrodes for flow
measurement. The meter’s coils
are driven by the transmitter with
an applied current. Once
powered, a magnetic field is
formed between both coils. When
the pipe is full and the fluid begins
to flow, the force of the magnetic
field causes the negatively and
positively charged particles of the
fluid to separate as they pass
through the magnetic field. This
separation causes an induced
voltage between the electrodes
and sensor.
Ultrasonic flow meter
 A sound wave travelling in the
direction of flow is propagated at a
faster rate than one travelling against
the flow .
 Transit times of the waves are
measured continuously. The
difference in time travelled by the two
ultrasonic waves (with the flow and
against it) is directly proportional to
the mean flow velocity.
 A liquid product is identified by direct
measurement of the transit time of
ultrasonic waves. Assuming the same
path length, the transit time in water is
shorter than in crude oil, for example.
Turbine flow meters
 Turbine flowmeters use the mechanical energy of the fluid to
rotate a “pinwheel” (rotor) in the flow stream. Blades on the rotor
are angled to transform energy from the flow stream into rotational
energy. The rotor shaft spins on bearings. When the fluid moves
faster, the rotor spins proportionally faster.
 Shaft rotation can be sensed mechanically or by detecting the
movement of the blades.
 Blade movement is often detected magnetically, with each blade
or embedded piece of metal generating a pulse.
 Turbine flowmeter sensors are typically located external to the
flowing stream to avoid material of construction constraints that
would result if wetted sensors were used. When the fluid moves
faster, more pulses are generated. The transmitter processes the
pulse signal to determine the flow of the fluid.
Vortex flow meters
 Vortex flow meters measure fluid velocity using a principle of
operation referred to as the von Kármán effect, which states
that when flow passes by a bluff body, a repeating pattern of
swirling vortices is generated.

 In a Vortex flow meter, an obstruction in the flow path, often
referred to as a shedder bar, serves as the bluff body. The
shedder bar causes process fluid to separate and form
areas of alternating differential pressure known as vortices
around the back side of the shedder bar.
Variable area flow meters
(rotameters)
 Variable area flow meters are simple and versatile
devices that operate at a relatively constant
pressure drop and measure the flow of liquids,
gases, and steam. The position of their float is
changed as the increasing flow rate opens a
larger flow area to pass the flowing fluid. The
position of the float provides a direct visual
indication of flow rate.
Either the force of gravity or a spring is used to
return the flow element to its resting position when
the flow lessens. Gravity-operated meters
(rotameters) must be installed in a vertical
position, whereas spring operated ones can be
mounted in any position.
Positive displacement flow meters
 Positive Displacement flow meters are the only flow
measuring technology to directly measure the volume
of fluid that passes though the flow meter. It achieves
this by trapping pockets of fluid between rotating
components housed within a high precision chamber.
 Rotor rotational velocity is directly proportional to flow
rate, since the flow of fluid is causing the rotation.
 In electronic flow meters the rotating components
contain magnets that activate various sensor options
located outside the fluid chamber. Mechanical flow
meters rely on the rotation to drive either a magnetic
coupling or a direct gear train connected to the
mechanical counter.
Coriolis flow meters
 The basic operation of Coriolis flow meters is based on the
principles of motion mechanics. As fluid moves through a
vibrating tube it is forced to accelerate as it moves toward the
point of peak-amplitude vibration. Conversely, decelerating fluid
moves away from the point of peak amplitude as it exits the tube.
The result is a twisting reaction of the flow tube during flowing
conditions as it traverses each vibration cycle.
Thermal mass flow meters
 Thermal Mass Flow Meters and
Controllers make use of the heat
conductivity of fluids (gases or
liquids) to determine mass flow.
 As shown in figure, a part of the fluid
flows through the sensor, and is
warmed up by heaters.
Consequently the measured
temperatures T1 and T2 drift apart.
The temperature difference is
directly proportional to mass flow.