MeasurementBlog

Do you understand Thermocouples?
http://www.youtube.com/user/ControlEngineeringTV
Control Engineering Editor Peter Welander demonstrates the concept and use of thermocouples, including one made from scrapbox components. (10 minutes). I think this is a lot cooler than the TV ads for Sprint mobile that Dan Hesse makes (in MHO). Way to go, Peter!

A Tour of the ABB’s Stonehouse flow meter calibration rig in the UK

Here’s a video of something that few get to see or appreciate, a calibration rig for a large, industrial flow meter calibration facility. This one is a very large one, for flowmeters up to 3000 mm (nearly 10 feet) in diameter at >ABB’s facility in the UK.

Do all flowmeters need to be calibrated. You bet they do! Like all measurement devices, flowmeter are no more precise than their fundamental calibration.

Sometimes it is an easy task; one can calibrate a simple, low flow meter with some water a volume measurement device (a bucket?) and a timer (stopwatch). For others, especially ones for very large flow rates and unusual fluids, it can be a challenge.

Born in 1792, the French mathematician and physicist Gustave Gaspard de Coriolis was the first to describe the force that history has named after him. This force is particularly noticeable in rotating systems.

The experiments and simulations shown in this film illustrate what it’s all about, courtesy of the YouTube video by the Endress & Hauser organization a flowmeter manufacturer, among other process measurement & control products.

One my major consistent interests in 30+ years of experience in Industry & Science has been education on measurement devices and their uses. Many engineers & scientists have limited resources in the area of measurement. Most are concerned with getting a process running and under control.

Now the Web and its many educational and training features there are some very useful tutorials on them in written, audio and visual forms. YouTube in particular, provides some great video learning aids.

Here’s one that I think is especially well done in the area of flow measurement: the Principle underlying Thermal Mass Flowmeters (there’s a brief commercial at the end, but it’s a far cry from other similar presentations available at this time).