Measurement & Production
engineering
Measurement
● Measurement is the process of estimating the magnitude of
some attribute of an object.
● Measurement is defined as the process of comparison of an unknown
quantity with a known or standard quantity.
Accuracy- it is the degree of closeness of the measured value to a standard or true
value.
Precision- The closeness of two or more measurements to each other is known as the
precision of a substance.
Errors in measurement
Error is the difference between the measured value and the true value of a measurement. It is the deviation
from the expected perfection. Any measurement, however carefully it is conducted, is subject to measurement
errors. These errors make it difficult to ascertain the true value of the measured quantity.
Types of errors-
1) Systematic or Bias Error:- It occurs due to imperfect calibration of measurement instruments, imperfect
methods of observation and interference of the environment, with the measurement process. systematic
errors always affect the results of an experiment in a predict. able direction. The systematic error may be of
three types-
a) Instrument error:- It occurs due to poor design of the instrument like errors in graduation of scale,
inequality of balance arm, etc.
b) Environmental errors:- It occurs due to variation of conditions external to the measuring device like
changes in surrounding temperature, humidity, pressure, etc.
c) Loading errors:- It occurs due to carelessness of the observer like parallax error. It can be avoided by
using the instruments carefully and intelligently.
2. Accidental or Random Errors:- the random error is caused by unpredictable
fluctuations in the readings of the measuring instrument or in the observer's interpretation
of the instrument's reading. The random error is due to factors which we are unable to
control. It may be too expensive or we may be too ignorant of these factors to control
them. It may so happen that whatever we are trying to measure is changing in time. The
random error may be three types-
a) Inconsistencies Associated with Accurate Measurement of Small Quantities:- It
occurs when very accurate measurements are to be made.
b) Presence of Certain System Defects:- It occurs due to presence of certain defects in
the system. Backlash error occurs due large tolerances in mating parts and slackness
occurs presence of friction.
c) Effects of Unrestrained and Randomly Varying Parameters:- It occurs due to certain
uncontrolled disturbances such as line voltage fluctuation, vibrations of the
instrument supports, etc.
3. Gross or Miscellaneous Error:- There are certain other errors that cannot
be classified either as systematic or as random errors. Such errors are
included as gross errors. The gross error may be of three types -
a) Personal or human error:- It occurs due to the limitations in the human
senses. The observer may read a measurement high or low at one time
and slightly different at the other time.
b) Error due to faulty components:- It occurs due to misalignment of
moving parts, electrical leakage.
c) Error due to improper application of the instruments :- It occurs due to
the use of instrument in undesired operating condition. In such cases it is
required to stop the experiment until the disturbing element is eliminated.
Temperature Measurement
1. Thermal expansion
● liquid-in-glass thermometers
● bimetallic thermometers;
● pressure thermometers (gas, vapor and liquid filled).
2. Electrical resistance thermometer(ERT) or resistance temperature detector (RTD)
● metallic resistance thermometers
● semiconductor resistance thermometers (thermistors).
3. Thermoelectric thermometers.
4. Radiation method
● total radiation pyrometers
● selective radiation pyrometer
Pressure Measurement
Pressure is an effect which occurs when a force is applied on a surface. It is defined as the force per
unit area applied to an object in a direction perpendicular to the surface. Its unit in SI system is N/m².
P=F/A
Types-
1. Atmospheric Pressure:- It is the pressure at any given point in the earth's atmosphere. It decreases
with increasing elevation. The atmospheric pressure at sea level is taken equal to 1.01325 bar.
2. Gauge Pressure:- It is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure. In other
words, it is zero referenced against ambient air pressure.
3. Absolute Pressure:- It is the pressure that would occur at absolute vacuum. In other words, it is
zero referenced against a perfect vacuum, so it is equal to gauge pressure plus atmospheric pressure.
All calculations involving the gas laws require pressure to be in absolute units
4. Differential Pressure: It is the difference in pressure between two points.
1. Moderate pressure measurement-
a) U-Tube manometer
b) Bourdon tube
c) Bellows
2. Low pressure or Vacuum pressure measurement-
a) Mcleod gauge
b) Pirani gauge
c) Thermocouple gauge
3. High pressure measurement-
● Bridgman gauge