CHAPTER 8
Questions and Solutions for Chapter 8
8.1 Discussion should cover at least the following points:
Environment around the point of measurement may be too hostile to place measuring
instruments there, since components within the instrument would be damaged.
Examples of hostile environments include extremes of temperature, humidity, weather,
or fumes.
Remoteness of the point of measurement can be another reason for transmitting
measured signals to another point.
Examples of remote measurement environments include those in environmental and
weather monitoring systems.
One example is water quality measurement in rivers, where sensors may actually be
anchored in the river. In this sort of situation, no mains-powered electricity supply is
available. While it is possible to use battery or solar power for the sensors themselves,
mains power is normally needed for the necessary signal processing. Furthermore,
there are usually no buildings available to protect the signal processing elements from
the environment.
8.2 Discussion should cover at least the following points:
The amount of detail required will depend on the time allowed to answer this question.
A solution to this question might potentially involve a large amount of writing
and so this question could be used as the basis for an extended student assign-
ment rather than as a formal examination question.
Electrical transmission:
Relatively simple means of transmission.
Simplest method is to transmit the measurement signal as a varying analog voltage.
However, this mode of transmission often causes the measurement signal to become
corrupted by noise.
To avoid such corruption, the signal can be transmitted as a varying current instead of
a varying voltage.
An alternative solution is to transmit the signal by superimposing it on an AC carrier
system.
Pneumatic transmission:
No longer commonly used.
Pneumatic transmission is now mainly used in the process industries.
Measurement and Instrumentation. [Link]
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1
2 Chapter 8
Consists of transmitting analog signals as a varying pneumatic pressure level that is
usually in the range of 3e15 psi.
The initial signal is usually in the form of a varying voltage level that is converted into
a corresponding pneumatic pressure.
Pneumatic transmission has the advantage of being intrinsically safe.
Relatively immune to corruption of measurement signal by noise.
One disadvantage of using air as the transmission medium is that transmission speed is
much slower than electrical or optical transmission.
There is a potential source of error if there were a pressure gradient along the pneu-
matic transmission tube, which would introduce a measurement error because air pres-
sure changes with temperature.
Pneumatic transmission is found particularly in pneumatic control systems where
sensors, actuators, or both are pneumatic.
A pneumatic amplifier is often used to amplify the pneumatic signal to a suitable level
for transmission.
Fiber-optic transmission:
Fiber-optic transmission involves the transmission of a signal in optical form along a
fiber-optic cable.
Light has a number of advantages over electricity as a medium for transmitting
information.
Light is intrinsically safe.
Noise corruption of signals by neighboring electromagnetic fields is almost eliminated.
Signal attenuation along a fiber-optic link is much less than electric signal attenuation
along an equivalent length of metal conductor.
There is a cost penalty because of the higher cost of a fiber-optic system compared
with the cost of metal conductors for electrical transmission.
Fiber-optic cables are used for signal transmission in three distinct ways.
Firstly, relatively short fiber-optic cables are used as part of various instruments to
transmit light from conventional sensors to a more convenient location for processing,
often in situations where space is very short at the point of measurement.
Secondly, longer fiber-optic cables are used to connect remote instruments to
controllers in instrumentation networks.
Thirdly, even longer links are used for data transmission systems in telephone and
computer networks.
Radio signal transmission:
Used over transmission distances up to 400 miles, though this can be extended by
special techniques to provide communication through space over millions of miles.
Also commonly used over quite short distances to transmit signals where physical
electrical or fiber-optic links are difficult to install or maintain (e.g., when the source
of the signals is mobile).
Questions and Solutions for Chapter 8 3
Data are usually transmitted in a frequency-modulated (FM) format.
Radio telemetry has a great advantage over optical wireless transmission through the
air because radio waves are attenuated much less by most types of obstacle between
the energy transmitter and receiver. Hence, used much more commonly than optical
transmission.
8.3 Discussion should cover at least the following points:
The amount of detail required will depend on the time allowed to answer this question.
A solution to this question might potentially involve a large amount of writing
and so this question could be used as the basis for an extended student assign-
ment rather than as a formal examination question.
Varying analog voltage:
Simplest mode of transmission for analog signals, since no need to convert signal
before transmission.
There is a problem of signal attenuation during transmission due to the resistance of
the transmission wires. Hence, signal amplification is needed prior to transmission
in the case of low-magnitude sensor outputs.
Analog transmission exposes signals to corruption through induced noise. This also
means that signal amplification prior to transmission is often necessary if a reasonable
signal-to-noise ratio is to be obtained after transmission.
It is usually necessary to provide shielding for the signal wires (surrounding the signal
wires in a cable with a metal shield that is connected to earth). This provides a high
degree of noise protection, especially against capacitive-induced noise due to the
proximity of signal wires to high-current power conductors.
Current loop transmission:
Involves using currents between 4 and 20 mA to represent the voltage level of the
analog signal.
Two voltage-controlled current sources are used, one providing a constant 4 mA output
that is used as the power supply current and the other providing a variable 016 mA
output that is scaled and proportional to the input voltage level. The net output current
therefore varies between 4 and 20 mA, corresponding to analog signal levels between
zero and the maximum value.
The use of a positive, nonzero current level to represent a zero value of the transmitted
signal enables transmission faults to be readily identified. If the transmitted current is
zero, this automatically indicates the presence of a transmission fault, since the
minimum value of current that represents a proper signal is 4 mA.
Current to voltage conversion is usually required at the termination of the transmission
line to change the transmitted currents back to voltages.
Transmission of signals as varying current levels largely avoids the signal attenuation
effect of conductor resistances with varying voltage transmission.
Provides high immunity to induced noise.
4 Chapter 8
Transmission using an AC carrier:
Involves transferring the measurement signal onto an AC carrier system before
transmission and extracting it from the carrier at the end of the transmission line.
Both amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM) can be used
for this.
Avoids noise corruption in transmitting low-level DC voltage signals.
AM involves translating the varying voltage signal into variations in the amplitude of
a carrier sine wave at a frequency of several kilohertz. This successfully rejects noise
in the form of low-frequency drift voltages and mains interference. At the end of the
transmission line, demodulation is carried out to extract the measurement signal from
the carrier.
FM involves translating variations in an analog voltage signal into frequency
variations in a high-frequency carrier signal. It achieves even better noise rejection
than AM. At the end of the transmission line, the FM signal is usually converted
back to an analog voltage by a frequency-to-voltage converter.
8.4 Discussion should cover at least the following points:
The amount of detail required will depend on the time allowed to answer this
question.
Current loop transmission involves transmitting the analog measurement signal as
varying current levels.
The internationally agreed standard is to use current levels that vary between 4 and 20
mA to represent the voltage level of the analogue signal.
Two voltage-controlled current sources are used, one providing a constant 4 mA
output that is used as the power supply current and the other providing a variable
0e16 mA output that is scaled and proportional to the input voltage level.
The net output current therefore varies between 4 and 20mA, corresponding to
analogue signal levels between zero and the maximum value.
The use of a positive, non-zero current level to represent a zero value of the trans-
mitted signal enables transmission faults to be readily identified. If the transmitted
current is zero, this automatically indicates the presence of a transmission fault, since
the minimum value of current that represents a proper signal is 4 mA.
Current to voltage conversion is usually required at the termination of the transmission
line to change the transmitted currents back to voltages.
There is also an Extended 4e20mA current interface protocol that is designed for
transmission of signals from intelligent devices.
This provides for the transmission of command/status information and the device
power supply in analogue form on the signal wires.
In this extended protocol, signals in the range of 3.8 mA to 20.5 mA are regarded as
‘normal’ measurement signals, thus allowing for under and over range from the 4e20
mA measurement signal standard.
Questions and Solutions for Chapter 8 5
The current bands immediately outside this in the range 3.6e3.8 mA and 20.5e21.0
mA are used for the conveyance of commands to the sensor/transmitter and the receipt
of status information from it.
This means that, if the signal wires are also used to carry the power supply to the
sensor/transmitter, the power supply current must be limited to 3.5 mA or less to avoid
the possibility of it being interpreted as a measurement signal or fault indicator.
Signals greater than 21 mA (and less than 3.6 mA if the signal wires are not carrying
a power supply) are normally taken to indicate either a short circuit or open circuit in
the signal wiring.
Current loop transmission has two main benefits:
The signal-attenuation effect of conductor resistances are minimized if varying voltage
signals are transmitted as varying current signals. This technique also provides high
immunity to induced noise.
Thus, current loop transmission is preferred in measurement situations where the
sensor output is of low magnitude and signal attenuation and noise corruption are
likely to be problems.
8.5 Discussion should cover at least the following points:
The amount of detail required will depend on the time allowed to answer this
question.
Pneumatic transmission is primarily used in pneumatic control systems where sensors,
actuators, or both are pneumatic (such sensors as the pressure thermometer and the
motion-sensing nozzle flapper, and a typical actuator is a pneumatic cylinder that
converts pressure into linear motion). A pneumatic amplifier is often needed to
amplify the pneumatic signal to a suitable level for transmission.
As the number of pneumatic sensors and control systems has diminished, there has
been a corresponding reduction in pneumatic transmission.
The transmission speed is much slower than electrical or optical transmission.
Pressure gradients along pneumatic transmission tubes can cause a significant
measurement error.
Any fluctuation of the temperature in the measurement environment causes a measure-
ment error since air pressure changes with temperature.
The advantages of pneumatic transmission in being intrinsically safe and providing
immunity to noise corruption of the measurement signal can be obtained in other
ways, particularly by fiber-optic transmission.
8.6 Discussion should cover at least the following points:
The amount of detail required will depend on the time allowed to answer this
question.
A solution to this question might potentially involve a large amount of writing
and so this question could be used as the basis for an extended student assign-
ment rather than as a formal examination question.
6 Chapter 8
The measurement signal is transmitted in the form of light along a fiber-optic cable.
The fiber-optic cable consists of an inner cylindrical core surrounded by a cylindrical
cladding and a protective jacket to protect the cable from mechanical shocks.
The core contains at least one, but more often a bundle, of glass or plastic fibers.
The cable is terminated at each end by a transducer. At the input end, the transducer
converts the signal from the electrical form in which most signals originate into light.
At the output end, the transducer converts the transmitted light back into an electrical
form suitable for use by data recording, manipulation, and display systems. These two
transducers are often known as the transmitter and receiver, respectively.
Two forms of cable exist, known as singlemode and multimode. Singlemode cables
(sometimes known as monomode cables) have a small diameter core, typically 6 mm,
whereas multimode cables have a much larger core, typically between 50 and 200 mm
in diameter.
Singlemode cables have very simple transmission characteristics because the core has
a very small diameter and light can only travel in a straight line down it. On the other
hand, multimode cables have quite complicated transmission characteristics because of
the relatively large diameter of the core.
Fiber-optic cables are used for signal transmission in three distinct ways.
Firstly, relatively short fiber-optic cables are used as part of various instruments to
transmit light from conventional sensors to a more convenient location for processing,
often in situations where space is very short at the point of measurement.
Secondly, longer fiber-optic cables are used to connect remote instruments to control-
lers in instrumentation networks.
Thirdly, even longer links are used for data transmission systems in telephone and
computer networks.
These three application classes have different requirements and tend to use different
types of fiber-optic cable.
Signals are normally transmitted along a fiber-optic cable in digital format, although
analog transmission is sometimes used.
If there is a requirement to transmit more than one signal, it is more economical to
multiplex the signals onto a single cable rather than transmit the signals separately
on multiple cables. Multiplexing involves switching the analog signals in turn, in a
synchronized sequential manner, into an analog-to-digital converter that outputs onto
the transmission line. At the other end of the transmission line, a digital-to-analog
converter transforms the digital signal back into analog form and it is then switched
in turn onto separate analog signal lines.
8.7 Discussion should cover at least the following points:
The amount of detail required will depend on the time allowed to answer this
question.
Questions and Solutions for Chapter 8 7
Light has a number of advantages over electricity as a medium for transmitting
information. For example, it is intrinsically safe, and noise corruption of signals by
neighboring electromagnetic fields is almost eliminated.
Apart from noise reduction, optical signal attenuation along a fiber-optic link is
much less than electric signal attenuation along an equivalent length of metal
conductor.
There is a cost penalty because a fiber-optic system costs more than metal conductors
for transmission over any given distance. In short fiber-optic links, cost is dominated
by the terminating transducers that are needed to transform electrical signals into
optical ones and vice versa. However, as the length of the link increases, the cost of
the fiber-optic cable itself becomes more significant.
The output voltages from the receiver are very small and amplification is always
necessary.
Although the fiber-optic cable itself is immune to noise corruption, the system is very
prone to noise corruption at the receiver termination of the cable. However, the devel-
opment of receivers that incorporate an amplifier has reduced the scale of this noise
problem.
8.8 The amount of detail required will depend on the time allowed to answer this
question.
This question is very suitable as the basis for a student assignment in which extended
reading is expected.
Discussion is expected on the following three ways of use:
Use to transmit signals from conventional sensors to a more convenient location for
processing, particularly in situations where there is a shortage of space at the point of
measurement. Relatively short fiber-optic cables are used for this.
Use to connect remote instruments to controllers in instrumentation networks.
Medium-length cables are used for this.
Use for data transmission systems in telephone and computer networks. Very long
lengths are commonly used for this.
In an assignment, students are expected to explore the different requirements in
each of these uses and determine the types of cable and modes of transmission that
are used.
8.9 Discussion should cover at least the following points:
The amount of detail required will depend on the time allowed to answer this
question.
The characteristics of the light source chosen for the transmitter must closely match
the attenuation characteristics of the light path through the cable and the spectral
response of the receiving transducer. This is because the proportion of the power from
the light source that is coupled into the fiber-optic cable is more important than the
8 Chapter 8
absolute output power of the emitted light. This proportion is maximized by making
purpose-designed transmitters that have a spherical lens incorporated into the chip
during manufacture. This produces an approximately parallel beam of light into the
cable with a typical diameter of 400 mm.
The proportion of light entering the fiber-optic cable is also governed by the quality of
the end face of the cable and the way it is bonded to the transmitter. A good end face
can be produced by either polishing or cleaving. Polishing involves grinding the fiber
end down with progressively finer polishing compounds until a surface of the required
quality is obtained. Attachment to the transmitter is then normally achieved by gluing.
This is a time-consuming process but uses cheap materials. Cleaving makes use of
special kits that nick the fiber, break it very cleanly by applying mechanical force, and
then attach it to the transmitter by crimping. This is a much faster method but cleaving
kits are quite expensive. Both methods produce good results.
A further factor that affects the proportion of light transmitted into the optic fibers in
the cable is the transmitter alignment. It is very important to achieve proper align-
ment of the transmitter with the center of the cable. The cost of producing exact
alignment of the transmitter and cable is very high, as it requires the light source to
be exactly aligned in its housing, the fiber to be exactly aligned in its connector and
the housing to be exactly aligned with the connector. Therefore, great cost savings
can be achieved wherever some misalignment can be tolerated in the specification for
the cable.
8.10 Discussion should cover at least the following points:
The amount of detail required will depend on the time allowed to answer this
question.
Singlemode cables have very simple transmission characteristics because the core has
a very small diameter and light can only travel in a straight line down it.
Singlemode cables are sometimes known as monomode cables.
Singlemode cables have a small diameter core, typically 6 mm.
Multimode cables have quite complicated transmission characteristics because of the
relatively large diameter of the core.
Multimode cables have a much larger core, typically between 50 and 200 mm in
diameter.
In the case of multimode cables, while the transmitter is designed to maximize the
amount of light that enters the cable in a direction that is parallel to its length, some
light will inevitably enter the cable at other angles. Light that enters a multimode
cable at any angle other than normal to the end face will be refracted in the core. It
will then travel in a straight line until it meets the boundary between the core and
cladding materials. At this boundary, some of the light will be reflected back into the
core and some will be refracted in the cladding.
Questions and Solutions for Chapter 8 9
Depending on the time allowed, students may be expected to explain this by repro-
ducing Figure 8.8 in the book and the associated explanation:
For materials of refractive indices n1 and n2 as shown in the figure, light entering
from the external medium with refractive index n0 at an angle a0 will be refracted at
an angle a1 in the core and, when it meets the coreecladding boundary, part will be
reflected at an angle b1 back into the core and part will be refracted at an angle b2 in
the cladding. a1 and a0 are related by Snell’s law according to:
n0 sin a0 ¼ n1 sin a1 (1)
Similarly; b1 and b2 are related by: n1 sin b1 ¼ n2 sin b2 (2)
Light that enters the cladding is lost and contributes to the attenuation of the trans-
mitted signal in the cable. However, observation of Eqn (1) shows how this loss can
be prevented. If b2 ¼ 90 , then the refracted ray will travel along the boundary
between the core and cladding and if b2 > 90 , all of the beam will be reflected back
into the core. The case where b2 ¼ 90 , corresponding to incident light at an angle
ac, is therefore the critical angle for total internal reflection to occur at the core/
cladding boundary. The condition for this is that sin b2 ¼ 1.
Setting sin b2 ¼ 1 in Eqn (2): n1 sin n2
b1
¼ 1. Thus: sin b1 ¼ n2/n1.
Inspection of the figure shows that cos a1 ¼ sin b1.
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi2ffi
Hence: sin a1 ¼ 1 cos2 a1 ¼ 1 sin2 b1 ¼ 1 ðn2 =n1 Þ
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ffi
2
From Eqn (1): sin ac ¼ sin a0 ¼ nn10 sin a1 . Thus: sin ac ¼ nn10 1 n2
n1 .
Therefore, provided that the angle of incidence of the light into the cable is greater
than the critical angle given by q ¼ sin1ac, all of the light will be internally reflected
at the core/cladding boundary. Further reflections will occur as the light passes down
the fibers and it will thus travel in a zigzag fashion to the end of the cable.
While attenuation has been minimized, there is a remaining problem that the
transmission time of the parts of the beam which travel in this zigzag manner will be
greater than light which enters the fiber at 90 to the face and so travels in a straight
line to the other end. In practice, the incident light rays to the cable will be spread
over the range given by sin1ac < q < 90 and so the transmission times of these
separate parts of the beam will be distributed over a corresponding range. These
differential delay characteristics of the light beam are known as modal dispersion.
The practical effect is that a step change in light intensity at the input end of the
cable will be received over a finite period of time at the output. Multimode cables
where this happens are known as step-index cables.
It is possible to largely overcome this latter problem in multimode cables by using
cables made solely from glass fibers in which the refractive index changes gradually
10 Chapter 8
over the cross section of the core rather than abruptly at the core/cladding interface
as in the step-index cable discussed so far. This special type of cable is known as a
graded-index cable and it progressively bends light incident less than 90 to its end
face rather than reflecting it off the core/cladding boundary. Although the parts of the
beam away from the center of the cable travel further, they also travel faster than the
beam passing straight down the center of the cable because the refractive index is
lower away from the center. Hence, all parts of the beam are subject to approximately
the same propagation delay. In consequence, a step change in light intensity at the
input produces an approximately step change of light intensity at the output. The
alternative solution is to use a singlemode cable. This usually propagates light in a
single mode only, which means that time dispersion of the signal is almost
eliminated.