Measurement Theory

and Devices
Dr Sheila Smith (Module Leader)
Dr Peter Wallace
Dr Geraint Bevan

What is a Measurement?
A measurement tells us about the property of something.
E.g. how heavy an object is
Or how hot
Or how long
Measurement gives a number to that property.
Measurements are made using an instrument of some
kind.
Rulers, stopwatch, thermometer, weighing scales are
all measuring instruments.
Result of a measurement is normally in two parts: a
number and a unit of measurement
E.g. How long? 2 metres

Measurement Principles
Measurement is the process of gathering information on
physical world variables.
Instruments are the means of gathering information
Instrumentation is the study of instruments and their
use or alternately the technology of measurement
The fundamental principles of measurement involve the
ability to :

perform a measurement,
correctly handle the data gathered,
make critical judgements on the results,
present the results in a coherent and meaningful manner

SI Base Units
Metre

(m)

(length)

Kilogram (kg)

(mass)

Second

(s)

(time)

Ampere

(A)

(current)

Kelvin

(K)

(temperature)

Candela
Mole

(cd)
(mol)

(luminous intensity)
(amount of substance)

Check out the NPL website for definitions of the units:

http://www.npl.co.uk/reference/measurement-units/

Derived Units
Units which are combinations of the base
units are known as derived units:
E.g. Newton [N] is kg m s-2

Criteria of Measurement
A measurement system is described as
having
an input, I, (i.e. the quantity being measured),
and
an output, O, (i.e. the result of the
measurement).

Accuracy
Is the closeness with which the result of a measurement
approaches the true value of a variable.
The true value is of course unknown in practice

Usually quoted by a manufacturer in terms of a range of

values centred on the maximum value of the measured
quantity which the instrument is designed to measure.
The maximum value of the measured quantity which the
instrument is design to measure is often referred to as full
scale deflection (f.s.d.)

Precision
A measure of the reproducibility of the
measurements (Repeatability)

High precision,
high accuracy

High precision,
low accuracy

Low precision,
high accuracy

Low precision,
low accuracy

Span
is used to describe both the output and
input of a system and is the difference
between the maximum and minimum
values.
Input Span: Imax Imin
Output Span:

Omax - Omin

Resolution
quantifies the 'fineness' of a measurement
and is the smallest variation in the quantity
of interest that can be measured.
Resolution is a function of the complete
measurement system.
E.g. The resolution of the melting point
meter is 1oC

Limit of Detection
Smallest amount that can be measured on
any given instrument
E.g. Smallest concentration of alcohol that
can be measured on a GC.

Linearity
Instrument input / output
characteristic

The triangles denote the

data points.
The straight line gives the
best fit through the data
points and gives the
sensitivity of the
instrument.

Sensitivity

O u tp u t

Rate of change of output with respect to input

S e n s itiv it y = O / I

In p u t

Linearity

N(I) represents the non-linear function

Hysteresis

 Range
Specified in terms of maximum and minimum
values of input/output

Repeatability
Closeness of agreement of a group of output
values for a constant input

Dead Zone
Largest input change to which transducer fails
to respond

 Drift
Unidirectional variation in transducer output which
is associated with a change in input

Zero Stability
ability of the transducer to restore its output to zero
when its input returns to zero.

Monotonicity
a transducer which is subjected to a continuously
increasing input signal its output signal should
neither decrease nor skip a value

An Instrumentation System
Measurand

Primary sensing
element

Transducer

Signal
processing

Signal
conditioning

Signal
transmission

Data
presentation

Recorder

Display

Process
control

Calibration
A measurement system must be
calibrated before it can be used to
measure "unknown" values of a
measurand.
Calibration is the process of the
determination of the characteristics of a
system by measurement of the output for
a variety of known input values.

Inputs to a Measurement System

Wanted input (KI)
Interfering Input (KI II)
Modifying Input (KM IMI)

O/P

zero
drift

Constant interfering input

Nominal characteristic
I/P

O/P

Modifying input

sensitivity drift
I/P

O/P

Modifying and interfering input

I/P

Generalised Model of a Measurement System

Modifying

II

IM
KM
X

I
Input

K
N( )

KMIMI
KI + +
+
N(I)

Interfering
KI

KMII
+
+
a

Static Characteristic given by:

O = KI + a + N(I) + KMIMI + KIII

G(s)

O
Output

The Measurement Process

M easu ran d

D iffe r e n c e
O u tp u t

R eferen ce
O u tp u t

- M

D iffe r e n c e
D etecto r

S c a la r

R eferen ce
S ta n d a r d

Direct Measurement: Mr =0; Result = Difference Output

Null Measurement: Mr = Mu;
Result = Reference Output

Direct Measurement

R
V

Meter Loading

The resistance of the meter and the 1k resistor is

given by:
1
1
1

R 1000 10,000
10,000
R
909.09
11

The total resistance of the circuit is therefore 1909.09.

 The current, I, is given by: I V

R

10
0.0052A
1909.09

VAB = I x RAB = 0.0052 x 909.09 = 4.76V

The meter therefore reads 4.76V instead of 5V.
The measured output voltage is in error due to the
method of measurement used - loading.
The percentage loading error is defined as:
Videal Vmeas
%loading
x100%
Videal

In the above example % loading error is given by

5. 0 4. 76
x100%
5. 0
4. 8%

% loading

Null Measurement

N u ll
d e te c t o r

R
C a lib ra te d
v o lta g e
s o u rc e

Dynamic System Performance

O(t)

signal

I(t)

Measurement System
or
Mathematical Operator

O(t)
I(t)

time

Dynamic System Performance

0

a
n

0
dny
d mx
bm
n
m
dt
dt
m

Output

Input

Input can be simplified to box, the order of

the system is then determined by n.

 For n = 0, zero order system

a0 y = b0 x
No energy is lost, stored or otherwise extracted

For n = 1, 1st order system

a1 dy/dt + a0 y = b0 x

For n = 2, 2nd order system

a2 d2y/dt2 + a1 dy/dt + a0 y = b0 x.

Step change in temperature

Newtons Law of Cooling: W = UA(TF T),
W is the rate of inflow
(TF T) is temperature difference
U is the overall heat transfer co-efficient in
W m-2 0C-1
and A is the effective area in m2.

 The heat content is given by

mcT = mc{T T(0-)}
m is the mass of the sensor;
c is the specific heat capacity.

We can now state that the rate of increase of

sensor heat content is mc d{T T(0-)} /dt.

 Now if T = T T(0-) and TF = TF TF (0-) then

UA(TF- T) =mc dT/dt
By re-arranging this we get a first order DE

(mc/UA) dT/dt + T = TF
Here (mc/UA) is the time constant, t, of the
system thus

t dT/dt + T = TF

 t is a function of the physical properties of the

system and is the factor that determines the
speed of response of the system.
It is the time that it takes for the system to move
63.2% of the way from the initial to the new
steady state value.
Use Laplace transform for this first order case to
obtain the transfer function [1/ (1+s)].