Automation in Environmental

Engineering
Process and Instrumentation Diagrams
• Process and instrumentation diagrams
(P&IDs) are schematics that illustrate all the
components of a plant
• P&ID provides enough information for the
project team to understand how the process
will be measured and controlled but leaves
out the details that require a specialist’s
expertise
• These details are covered in related
specifications, data sheets, instrument lists,
logic diagrams, and installation details
Who will use P&ID?
• P&IDs are used to develop the instrumentation,
electrical and mechanical designs
• P&IDs include all instrumentation connections,
control panels, workstations, signal lines, and
electrical power needs
• It also might include other equipment’s power
needs, motor-control centers (MCCs), variable-
frequency drives (VFDs), and power distribution
• Electrical engineers would then use the P&IDs to
develop power-distribution drawings for all
equipment
Who will use P&ID?

• Mechanical engineers use the P&IDs to

develop piping designs
• Diagrams are used to show all wall-mounted,
panel-mounted, and free-standing
instruments as well as the in-line devices,
mounted on the process equipment
• These details are necessary to ensure that
the piping, including required straight runs
before and after a meter, is configured
properly
Creating P&ID – step by step
Steps for creating a P&ID :
1. Start with a process flow diagram (PFD)
2. Create a legend sheet specific to the project,
defining all symbols, abbreviations, numbering
scheme, and other conventions to be used
3. Develop instrumentation numbering system based
on ISA-5.1 (customize to adapt to specific project
or end user requirements if needed)
4. Add the instrument bubbles for all process
measurements
5. Add bubbles for process displays, including those
for all panel-mounted and process-mounted field
instruments
Creating P&ID – step by step (contd)
6. Add all signal lines showing interconnections between all
field sensors, transmitters, panel-mounted instruments, and
control-room equipment, including any basic interlocks using
the appropriate ISA symbols
7. Show all inputs and outputs to and from each PLC and DCS
8. Show power requirements for all instruments and panels. Be
sure to indicate where uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
power is needed
9. Add any special notes needed to supplement the information
shown
10. Complete drawing by making sure all devices are tagged
according to the convention established in the legend sheet
and any connections to other drawings are correctly shown
Process-flow diagrams

• The process-flow diagrams that engineers

create in the initial design phase establish
the major equipment that will be used in
each treatment process.
• These documents also would include basic
materials balance information for
expected operating conditions (e.g.,
normal dry-weather flow and maximum
flow).
Process-flow diagrams

• Once design engineers have completed the

PFDs then they are used to develop P&IDs
• These documents provide more details,
such as the equipment, piping,
instruments, signals, valves, and control
panels needed for wastewater screening,
pumping, primary treatment, aeration etc.
Example of process-flow diagram
P&ID –
example
Documents associated with P&ID

P&IDs are typically supplemented by the

following I&C design documents:
• Instrument list – provides more info on
each instrument in the project P&ID
(includes instrument tag number, process
signal range etc.)
• Input/Output list – tabulates input/output
points and their properties (analog,
digital), associated PLC or DCS processors
etc.
Documents associated with P&ID contd

• Panel list – complete list of all control

panels
• Cable and Conduit list – tabulates the
instrumentation-wiring requirements
• Process-Control Narratives (PCN) – PCNs
describe the strategies and exact
sequence of events to operate all I&C
equipment automatically or manually
Documents associated with P&ID contd

• Panel and Field-Instrument specification –

contains detailed specs of all panel and field
instruments, commonly:
– Type of instrument
– Materials of construction for wetted and non-
wetted parts
– Process and environmental conditions in which
the instrument is used
– IP rating (NEMA rating in US)
– Power requirements
– Signal output requirements
Panel and Field-Instrument specification
contd
– Alarm signal requirements, if any
– Special mounting hardware required
– All options to be furnished
– Instrument span, calibrated range, and
engineering units
– Process connections
– Transmitter requirements (i.e., whether
remote or integral to sensor)
– Manufacturer model numbers.
Documents associated with P&ID contd

• Electrical schematics – illustrate wiring details not

apparent in the P&IDs
• Instrument Loop Diagrams - loop diagrams are
specific to the actual devices used, they’re created
after selection of all instruments, control panels,
control systems
• Equipment-Location drawings - depict the actual
locations of all I&C devices. Each device must be
clearly identified by its tag number, as defined on the
P&IDs
• Control-System Architecture Diagram - simple
schematics of the control-network topology and
interconnections among PLCs, DCSs, remote
inputs/outputs and other control components
Instrument characteristics

• Following properties describe an instrument’s

ability to measure the desired value:
– Range
– Span
– Rangeability
– Overrange
– Zero suppression
– Elevation
– Offset
– Damping
Range

• The range notes the highest and lowest limits

of a variable at which an instrument can
function
• For example, a range might be 0 to 20,000
m3/d, 75 to 90 m elevation, or 700 to 1000
rotations per minute (rpm)
• Many instruments are zero-based others start
at higher values. Some instruments can
function in more than one range, depending
on how they are calibrated or set up.
Span

• The span is the difference between the

upper and lower values of an instrument’s
range. For example, a meter with a range
of 3 to 6 m would have a span of 3 m
Rangeability

• Is the ratio of maximum capacity to

minimum capacity over which an
instrument will operate within a specified
accuracy tolerance
• This can be achieved through electronic
adjustment of the output signal through
amplification or offset within that range,
and the range can be calibrated to full
scale at any point desired
Overrange

• Overrange or overpressure measures an

instrument’s ability to handle conditions
outside its range without damage. This is
important to know when extreme
conditions occur
• Severe overranging may damage meter
accuracy or cause it to fail
Zero Suppression and Elevation

• Zero suppression is the ability to set the

lower limit to a positive value. This would
be useful, for example, when a pressure
transmitter is at the base of an elevated
storage tank but is only measuring the
water level in the tank.
• Zero elevation is the ability to calibrate an
instrument so its lower limit is a negative
value
Zero Offset

• Zero offset is an instrument’s ability to

emit a “zero” signal when measuring a low
level and emit actual measurements over
the rest of its range
• This feature is useful under zero-flow
conditions, when a minor drift in
calibration could cause totalizers to
indicate a flow that does not exist
Range and span terminology explained

Typical Name Range Lower Upper Span Supplement

ranges range value range value ary data
0 to +100 - 0 to 100 0 +100 100 -

20 to +100 Supressed 20 to 100 20 +100 80 Suppression

zero range ratio –
lower-range
value/span
= 0.25
-25 to +100 Elevated -25 to +100 -25 +100 125 -
zero range
Damping
• Field measurements are typically noisy, and physically
or electronically averaging (damping) these values can
make an instrument’s signals more useful
• Damping may vary from fractions of an oscillation to
several oscillations
• Damping can also refer to a fast or slow control-loop
response
• Critical damping is the smallest amount of damping to
which a system can respond to a step function without
overshoot
• Underdamped is when overshoot has occurred, and
overdamped is when the response is slower than
critical
Static characteristics of instrument

• Static characteristics apply to steady-

state conditions, the most important of
these characteristics are:
– accuracy
– dead band
– drift
– hysteresis
– repeatability
– sensitivity
Accuracy
• Accuracy notes the difference between the instrument
reading and the true value of the variable being measured.
• It typically is expressed as a percentage of either fullscale or
the actual reading
• For example, if a thermometer with a range of 0 to 100°C has
an accuracy of 1% full-scale (span), then each reading would
be expected to be within 1°C of the actual temperature.
• If its accuracy is 1% of the actual reading, then each reading’s
accuracy would depend on the temperature measured. So, if
the actual reading was 50°C, the thermometer would register
a temperature within 0.5°C of that reading
• If the actual reading was 80°C, the thermometer would
register a temperature within 0.8°C of that reading
Accuracy - % Span vs % Reading

Accuracy is a measure of a device’s total error

Error
• Error is the difference between the
instrument’s measurement and the actual
state of the variable being measured
• All instruments are subject to error for
various reasons, including wear, internal
friction, external disturbances, changes in
ambient conditions, and the observer’s
limitations in reading or interpreting results
• Some of these errors are consistent in
direction and magnitude, while others occur
randomly
Types of errors

• Types of errors include:

– Zero error
– Span error
– Hysteresis or hysteretic error
– Dead band
– Linearity
– Drift
– Repeatability
– Sensitivity
Zero and span error

• Zero error is the magnitude of an

instrument’s nonzero reading when there
is no input
• Span error is the difference between an
instrument’s calculated and actual spans
Hysteresis or hysteretic error

• Hysteresis, which is typically expressed as a

percentage of full-scale, is a measure of the
variation in instrument readings for a
particular input value, depending on whether
it was approached from above or below
Dead band

• Dead band is the range of a variable that does

not initiate a response in the instrument
Linearity
• Linearity is the degree to which a curve
approximates a straight line. Some transmitters
are inherently linear, while others require
complex schemes to produce linearity
Drift

• Drift notes how much an output signal

changes over time. Typically, it is
expressed as a percentage of span over a
specified time period.
• All output values are uniformly affected by
drift, which typically is a linear function of
time.
Repeatability

• Repeatability notes an instrument’s precision

when repeatedly measuring the same input
value under identical operating conditions
and approaching from the same direction, for
full-range traverses
Accuracy vs Repeatability
Sensitivity

• Sensitivity is the ratio of the change in

output to a given change in input.
• A high sensitivity is generally desirable
because it provides high resolution with
little amplification.
• This in turn results in a good signal-to-
noise ratio.
• If the sensitivity is constant through the
device’s range, the device is linear; if the
sensitivity changes, the device is nonlinear
Instrument sizing and selection

• Each instrument should be sized for both its

initial and intended future uses
• For example, a plant design may require a
flowmeter to handle 375 000 m3/d even
though the present maximum flow is only 75
000 m3/d
• So, the meter initially would use only a small
portion of its range and could be significantly
less accurate if this was not taken into
account
Error propagation
• In multiple-component systems, each
element introduces errors that collectively
affect the entire system’s accuracy.
• Errors from multiple units, however, are not
additive.
• For example, if five flowmeters each had an
accuracy of 5%, the error for the sum of the
flows would not necessarily be 25%. Likewise,
when two signals are subtracted, their
combined error may be greater than that of
each signal.
Total probable error (TBE)
• For example, the total probable error (TPE) for one
measurement can be estimated by taking the square
root of the sum of the squares of individual errors
associated with it.
• For example, the TPE for a temperature measurement
taken by a resistance temperature detector (RTD)
connected to a temperature transmitter and data
acquisition system can be calculated based on the
errors associated with each device:
𝐸𝑇𝑂𝑇𝐴𝐿 = 𝐸21 + 𝐸22 + 𝐸23

E1 – Resistance temperature detector (RTD) error

E2 – temperature-transmitter error
E3 – data-acquisition error
Dynamic characterisitics
• When instruments are used in dynamic
processes, the most important characteristics
are:
– Damping
– Dead time
– Decay ratio
– Decay time
– Overshoot
– Response time
– Rise time
– Step change
– Step response time
Response time
• Because instruments cannot respond instantly to a change of
input, response time is their most important dynamic
characteristic
• Response time is typically specified in percent of span per unit
of time
• Whenever a continuously monitoring instrument is placed on-
line, we need to know how quickly it will respond to changes
in the variable it is measuring
• Typically, an instrument’s readings will at first overshoot and
then oscillate around the new input value. Sometimes the
instrument is damped to suppress the oscillations. The
instrument’s response time to a step change in the variable is
usually measured as the time required for the readings to be
within 10% of actual conditions.
Typical time response of a system to a step
increase of input – dynamic characteristics of
instrument
Smart process instrumentation
• Smart instruments use two-way digital
communications, so they can both send
signals to and receive commands from a
control system or host
• These devices can record data and perform
remote calibration and self diagnostic
routines
• They also can be scaled, configured for
various outputs and measurement ranges,
calibrated, zeroed, and downloaded with
process-loop variables
Analog vs HART vs Fieldbus
HART protocole

• The highway addressable remote

transducer (HART) is a full-time, two-way
digital communication method that is
compatible with 4-20-mA analog
instrumentation
• HART was developed to improve the
startup and diagnostics of instruments and
is the most common communication
technology currently used in smart process
instrumentation.
Profibus and Fieldbus
• Profibus consists of Profibus decentralized peripheral
(DP) and Profibus process automation (PA)
• Profibus DP is designed for communications between
automated control systems and distributed I/O at the
device level, and Profibus PA is a lower-speed version
for applications in process environments
• The Fieldbus Foundation was formed when two rival
Fieldbus groups merged in 1994 to develop a single
interoperable fieldbus protocol. It is an open
technology, and the Fieldbus Foundation establishes
conformance and operability standards for
manufacturers
Sensor characteristics

• All sensors consist of two components:

– the sensing head
– the transmitter.
• These components may or may not be in
one casing. The sensing head tracks the
variable being measured and produces a
signal that is sent to the transmitter
• It sometimes includes amplification
hardware to increase its signal strength
Sensors
• Sensors can be divided into two categories:
– direct
– indirect.
• Direct sensors typically have their sensing
head in the process stream. They are often
easier to install and start up, but must be
made of a material that can resist the
process environment, to minimize fouling.
Also, the sensing head must be able to detect
the required field conditions without
interference from other process-flow
characteristics.
Sensors contd

• Indirect sensors typically are put next to

the process stream and do not actually
touch the process flow
• In fact, they often are shielded from it.
The shield, which may be a diaphragm or
air space above the process, must be able
to resist fouling and avoid influencing
measurements of the variable
Transmitter
• The transmitter typically includes a signal
converter, which changes the signal into a
usable form
• The transmitter displays the data onsite or
sends the signal to another piece of
equipment or the plant’s supervisory control
and data acquisition (SCADA) system
• It also can generate discrete signals to
indicate a high or low measurement and use
calibration algorithms to observe field
conditions and adjust sensor output according
to a predetermined procedure
Equipment for environment engineering
applications
• Equipment for EE:
– Flow meters
– Level-Measurement devices
– Pressure meters
– Temperature
– On-Line Analyzers
Flow meters

• Flow meters types commonly used (closed

or open pipes):
– Magnetic
– Ultrasonic
– Flumes and weirs
– Differential-pressure
– Mechanical
– Mass-flow
Flow meters

• All flow meters should be sized to handle the

flow that will exist at plant startup. If they
are sized based on 20-year flow estimates,
they may be too large to register existing
flow rates
• Flow meters should be on the discharge side
of pumps and on the upstream
side of throttling valves
Flow meters
• Those in closed conduits need the pipe to
always be full of liquid (e.g. mounting the
meter in a vertical pipe section with upward
flow)
• Horizontally mounted flow meters need air-
bleed valves.
• Fittings (e.g., reducers and elbows) upstream
and downstream of the flow meter must
contribute to even flows. Putting multiple
sharp bends before a flow meter typically
reduces its accuracy.
Flow meters

• All flow meters need enough space for

calibration, in-line maintenance, or meter
body removal for calibration or maintenance
• Flowmeters also need a means of testing the
electrical ground and confirming hydraulic
flow during acceptance testing and
performance monitoring.
• In addition, flow meters used for billing need
factory-calibration documentation and
verification of meter accuracy
Magnetic flow meters

• Magnetic flowmeters (“mag” meters)

currently are the most popular method of
measuring flow through a pipe. They
typically have a long life, are cost
effective, and are accurate and precise if
installed properly
Measuring principle – mag meter
• Following Faraday's law of magnetic induction, a
voltage is induced in a conductor moving through a
magnetic field
• In the electromagnetic measuring principle, the
flowing medium is the moving conductor
• The voltage induced is proportional to the flow
velocity and is supplied to
the amplifier by means of two measuring
electrodes.
The flow volume is calculated
by means of the pipe
cross-sectional area
Measuring principle of mag meter
Construction Materials
• Magnetic flow meter bodies typically are available in:
– Primed-and-painted carbon steel,
– Epoxy-coated carbon steel (best for buried meters),
– 316 stainless steel.
• The electrodes are available in:
– Platinum,
– Alloy 20,
– Hastelloy C-22,
– Monel,
– Nickel,
– Platinum-alumina ceramic,
– Platinum-rhodium alloy,
– 316 stainless steel,
– Tantalum,
– Titanium,
– tungsten carbide.
Construction Materials contd

• Some manufacturers offer optional

electrode shapes (and self-cleaning
electrodes (via heat, ultrasound, or
polarity switching) to help avoid fouling.
Field-replaceable electrodes are also
available with certain liners
Construction material options for magnetic
flow meters
Accuracy and precision of magnetic flow
meters
• Pulsed DC flow meters may be accurate
within 0.2% of full-scale and precise within
0.10% of full-scale (under typical field
conditions)
• AC flow meters should be accurate within 1%
full scale and not exceed 3% of indicated flow
when operating in the lower 30% of its range.
• Most flow meters can read flow equally
accurately in either direction, although each
manufacturer addresses flow reversal
differently, and this must be accommodated
in the design
Accuracy and precision of magnetic flow
meters
• Several circumstances can degrade a
magnetic flow meter’s performance level
• For example, flow-disturbing obstructions too
near the meter inlet and outlet may add
another 1 to 10% of uncertainty to the
measured flow
• Magnetic flow meters work best in streams where
headlosses must be minimized, liquids with
conductivity more than 5 mS/cm corrosive or abrasive
process streams, and liquid streams with a solids
concentration of less than 10% (by weight). Most
require 1 to 5 mS/cm of conductivity.
• Some probes require more, and some flow meters will
function with as little as 0.05 or 0.1 mS/cm.
• These flow meters are not recommended for non-
conductive liquids, gas streams, streams with
powdered or granular dry chemicals, or partially full
pipes (unless the meter is specifically designed for
such pipes).
Installation

• Sizing of magnetic flow meter is critical.

• Magnetic flow meters are sized for velocities
of 0.3 to 10 m/s in non-solids-bearing liquids
and 1.5 to 7.5 m/s in solids bearing liquids.
• Appropriate reducers or expanders may be
required to achieve recommended operating
velocities. Slower velocities are possible for
special applications, but higher velocities are
preferred to keep the inside of the flow tube
scoured clean.
Pressure loss due to adapters
Max. measured error in % of reading
Installation
• The flow meter should be put in a straight run of
pipe without valves or fittings (the minimum pipe
length depends on the fittings and the meter
manufacturer involved).
• Design engineers typically should avoid putting
valves, gates, T connections, elbows, pumps, and
severe (30-degree-angle) reducers and expanders
less than five pipe diameters from the flow meter
inlet or three pipe diameters from its outlet.
• Fittings could be put as close as one pipe diameter
from the flow meter if space is constrained; the
added uncertainty of close fittings typically is less
than 1%