Course 16 | Core
Measurements and Instrumentation
Plan tests, reduce data, estimate uncertainty, calibrate sensors, and report evidence, grounded in the theory and design of mechanical measurement.
Course snapshot
- Purpose
- Measurements and Instrumentation turns physical data into evidence for design, simulation, control, and engineering decisions.
- Prerequisites
- Next in the guided sequence
How to study this course
- Define the measured quantity
- Choose sensor and instrument chain
- Calibrate or check against a reference
- Collect data carefully
- Estimate uncertainty
- Turn results into an engineering claim
How this course is designed
Theory before instruments
The first half builds the measurement framework, calibration, signals, dynamic response, statistics, and uncertainty, before the second half applies it to real transducers. The instruments make sense because the theory came first.
Uncertainty runs throughout
Every reading becomes a value with a confidence. Statistics and uncertainty analysis are the spine of the course, so results are reported as evidence a design can rely on, not bare numbers.
Worked numbers throughout
Every module includes two fully worked examples with verified arithmetic. Calibration slope, time constant, uncertainty, and gauge factor recur until they are second nature.
The 10 modules
01 | Module
Basic Concepts and Calibration
Error, accuracy versus precision, and the static calibration curve.
02 | Module
Signal Characteristics
Mean, RMS, frequency, and the frequency spectrum.
03 | Module
Measurement System Dynamic Response
Time constant, settling, and second-order natural frequency.
04 | Module
Probability and Statistics
Mean, standard deviation, and confidence intervals.
05 | Module
Uncertainty Analysis
Combining and propagating uncertainty in quadrature.
06 | Module
Analog Electrical Measurements
The Wheatstone bridge and loading error.
07 | Module
Sampling and Data Acquisition
Nyquist, aliasing, and ADC resolution.
08 | Module
Temperature Measurement
Thermocouples and resistance temperature detectors.
09 | Module
Pressure and Flow Measurement
Manometers, transducers, and obstruction flow meters.
10 | Module
Strain Measurement
Strain gauges, the bridge, and stress from strain.