 It is the field of knowledge concerned with measurement and

includes both theoretical and practical problems with

reference to measurement, whatever their level of accuracy
and in whatever field of science and technology they occur (BS
5233:1975)

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 Establishing the units of measurements,
 Reproducing these units in the form of standards and
ensuring the uniformity of measurements.
 Developing methods of measurement.
 Analyzing the accuracy of methods of measurement,
establishing uncertainty of measurement, researching the
causes of measuring errors and eliminating them.

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 Scientific metrology
 Industrial Metrology
 Legal metrology
 Fundamental Metrology

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 True or Actual Value:
◦ The actual magnitude of a signal input to a measuring system.
◦ Can only be approached, never evaluated.
◦ “best measured value” is taken as the true value
 Indicated value:
◦ Magnitude of a variable as indicated by a measuring instrument

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 Measurand
 Standard of Measurement
 Instrument
 Method of measurement

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 It is the physical quantity or characteristic condition which
is the object of measurement in an instrumentation system.
 It may be:
◦ Fundamental Quantity e.g. length, mass or time
◦ Derived Quantity e.g. speed, velocity, acceleration and pressure etc

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 It is the physical embodiment of the unit of measurement
and its fractions
 May be classified as:
◦ Primary standard: Accurate copies of international prototypes.
◦ Secondary standard: Reference calibrated standards designed and
calibrated from the primary standards.
◦ Working standard: Meant for use by workers and technicians.


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 Direct method : E.g. Length by a graduated scale.
 Indirect method : E.g. Sine bar
 Fundamental or Absolute method: E.g. Density by mass & dimensions.
 Comparison method: E.g. Dial Indicators
 Transposition method: E.g. Mass balancing method V = (X*Y)1/2
 Coincidence method: E.g. Venier Caliper
 Deflection method: E.g. pressure measurement
 Complementary method: E.g. volume by liquid displaced
 Substitution method of measurement: E.g. Borda method for mass
 Null measurement: E.g. Wheatstone bridge

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 Choice of methods of measurement depends on
◦ Accuracy required
◦ Permissible error.
 Actual measurements may employ one or more combination of the
basic methods

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 Transforms measured quantity or a related quantity into an
indication/ information
 May give absolute or comparative value
 Classification:
◦ Contact type: Sensor comes in contact with the controlled medium
◦ Non contact type: Sensor does not physically contact the measurand

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 It consists of:
◦ Primary sensing element to sense the condition, state or value of process variable
◦ Transducer to convert the signal from one form to another
◦ Manipulation element to operate on the signal using some mathematical rules
without changing the physical nature of the signal
◦ Data transmission system to transmit data from one location to another
◦ Data presentation element to
 Displays or record the output
 Control some other parameter

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 Overall performance of an instrument depends on:
◦ Static characteristics: Pertain to a system where the quantities to be
measured are constant or vary very slowly with time
◦ Dynamic characteristics: Performance criteria based on dynamic (or
involving rapidly varying quantities) relations

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 Scale Range:
◦ Difference between the largest and the smallest readings of the
instrument.
 Measuring Range:
◦ Range of values for which the error obtained from a single
measurement under normal conditions of use does not exceed the
maximum permissible error.

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 Scale readability:
◦ Closeness with which the scale of an instrument can be read.
◦ Applicable to analog systems only.
◦ Depends on the number of graduations, scale spacing, pointer size, parallax
effect and observer.
 Scale Division Value:
◦ Measured value corresponding to one division of the instrument.

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 Sensitivity:
◦ Refers to the ability of a measuring device to detect small
differences in a quantity being measured
◦ It is the ratio of the magnitude of the output signal to the
measurand or a ratio of the scale spacing to the division value.
◦ Along a scale the sensitivity may be
 Constant for linear transmission
 Variable for non linear transmission
◦ As the range of the instrument increases its sensitivity decreases.
Also highly sensitive instruments tend to be less repeatable and
precise

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 Dead-zone:
◦ largest change of the input quantity for which there is no output.
◦ It is the result of hysteresis and backlash
 Dead-time:
◦ Time required for the instrument to respond to a change in the value of the
measurand
 Threshold:
◦ Minimum input value which may cause any movement whatsoever of the
indicating hand.

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 Accuracy:
◦ Indicates the degree of correctness with which a measuring system yields the true
value with reference to accepted engineering standards.
◦ Depends on the quality of the scale marks, the width or the pointer/index, the space
between the minter and the scale, the illumination of the scale, and the skill of the
inspector.
◦ Generally, equipment which can read up to one decimal place higher than the required
value should be chosen
◦ Accuracy – [(repeatability) 2+ (systematic error) 2]1/2
 Where error is the difference between the mean of a set of readings
◦ Accuracy is measured in terms of point accuracy, percent of scale range or percent of
true value
◦ Instruments may be classified in terms of the accuracy class, which is expressed by a
class ordinal number or by a number stating the maximum permissible inaccuracy as
a % of the highest indication given on the instrument
 Precision: It indicates the dispersion in the measured values or the degree of
repetitiveness of a measured value.

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 Repeatability :
◦ Pertains to the closeness of output readings when the same input is applied
repetitively over a short period of time with the same measurement conditions,
instrument and observer, location conditions of use.
◦ It is denoted in terms of the standard deviation of the maximum difference
between the output reading or a % of full scale range
 Reproducibility:
◦ Relates to the closeness of readings for the same input when there are
changes in the method of measurement, observer, measuring instrument,
location conditions of use and time of measurement
 Repeatability represents the reproducibility of the readings of an
instrument when a series of measurements are carried out under
fixed conditions of use.

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 Hysterisis:
◦ The maximum difference in the
output at any measured value
within the specified range when
approaching the point with
increasing or decreasing input.
◦ It is specified as a percentage of
the full scale and is the result of
friction, slack motion in bearings
or magnetic and thermal effects

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 Error may be defined as
◦ The difference between the best measured value and the true value
of the quantity.
◦ Deviation from a standard.
◦ Measure of the difference between some quantity and an
approximation to or estimate of it.
 May be expressed as a percentage.
 Errors may be classified as
◦ Systematic or controllable errors
◦ Random errors

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 Given expected voltage value across a resistor is
80V. The measurement is 79V. Calculate,
i. The absolute error
ii. The % of error
iii.The relative accuracy
iv.The % of accuracy

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Given that , Expected value = 80V= Yn
Measurement value = 79V = Xn
i. Absolute error, e = Yn  X n = 80V – 79V = 1V
Yn  X n 80  79
100
ii. % error = Yn = 80 100 = 1.25%

Yn  X n
iii. Relative accuracy, A  1 = 0.9875
Yn

iv. % accuracy, a = A x 100% = 0.9875 x 100%=98.75%

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 Generally it is constant, similar in form or will recur
consistently every time measurement is measured.
 They may be the result of:
◦ Instrumental errors like calibration error, inherent shortcomings of
the instrument, its misuse or loading effects
◦ Environmental conditions e.g. effect of temperature, pressure,
humidity, dust, magnetic field etc.
◦ Observational errors for e.g. parallax, inaccurate estimation or
interpolation etc.
◦ Deformation of workpiece

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 Are accidental and independent
 Vary in an unpredictable manner
 May be minimized by-
◦ Increasing number of reading
◦ Using statistical means to obtain best approximation of true value

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Systematic errors Random Errors
 Not easy to detect  Easy to detect
 Cannot be eliminated by repeated  Can be eliminated by repeated
measurements measurements
 Can be assessed easily  Statistical analysis required
 Minimization of systematic error  Minimization of random error
increases accuracy increases precision
 Reproducible inaccuracies are  Random in nature and may be both
consistently in the same direction positive & negative
 Calibration reduces systematic  Calibration does not affect random
errors errors
 Characterization not necessary  Characterized by mean standard
deviation & variance

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