4-20mA Formulas and Examples

4-20 mA transmitter current output can be converted to the voltage within a specified range, from 0 to a maximal amplitude V_max, as shown in the following picture:

4-20mA Formulas

• I [mA] = ( ( (V − V_min) / ( V_max − V_min) ) × 16 ) + 4

• V [Voltage] = ( (I − 4 ) / 16) × ( V_max − V_min ) + V_min

• PV [units] = ( (I − 4 ) / 16) × ( PV_max − PV_min ) + PV_min

Where,

I is the current,

V is the voltage,

PV is the Process Variable

min is the Lower Range Value of the respective signal

max is the Upper Range Value of the respective signal

Note that the values and units of min and max are units must be same.

Example 1 :

A Analog output card gives an output voltage of 2.5V and its overall range is 0-5V. calculate the equivalent 4-20mA current value.

I =  ( ( (V − V_min) / ( V_max − V_min) ) × 16 ) + 4

I =  ( ( (2.5 − 0) / ( 5 − 0) ) × 16 ) + 4

I = 12 mA

Example 2 :

A transmitter output range is 13.5mA and its output range is 4-20mA. Calculate equivalent voltage. consider 0-10V is the output voltage range.

V = ( (I − 4 ) / 16) × ( V_max − V_min ) + V_min

V = ((13.5 – 4)/16 x (10 – 0 ) + 0

V = 5.9375 V

Example 3 :

A Flow transmitters output current is 16.5mA and its range is 0-1500 m3/hr. Calculate the equivalent flow rate value.

PV = ( (I − 4 ) / 16) × ( PV_max − PV_min ) + PV_min

PV = ( (16.5 − 4 ) / 16) × ( 1500 − 0 ) + 0

PV = 1171.87 m3/hr

Also Read : 4-20mA Transmitter Principle