Lecture 3

Presented by :
Sharon Ramjit-Mohammed
Many types of industrial measurements are
actually inferred from pressure, such as:
 Flow (measuring the pressure dropped
across a restriction)
 Liquid level (measuring the pressure
created by a vertical liquid column)
 Liquid density (measuring the pressure
difference across a fixed-height liquid
column)
 Weight (hydraulic load cell)
 Pressure is actually the measurement of
force acting on area of surface.

 The units of measurement are either in

pounds per square inch (PSI) in British
units or Pascals (Pa) in metric.
 As one PSI is approximately 7000 Pa, we
often use kPa and MPa as units of
pressure.
 Pressure varies depending on altitude
above sea level, weather pressure fronts
and other conditions.
 The measure of pressure is, therefore,
relative and pressure measurements are
stated as either gauge or absolute.
 Gauge pressure is the unit we encounter
in everyday work (e.g., tire ratings are in
gauge pressure).
 A gauge pressure device will indicate
zero pressure when bled down to
atmospheric pressure (i.e., gauge
pressure is referenced to atmospheric
pressure).
 Gauge pressure is denoted by a (g) at
the end of the pressure unit. [e.g., kPa
(g)].
 Absolute pressure includes the effect of
atmospheric pressure with the gauge
pressure.
 It is denoted by an (a) at the end of the
pressure unit [e.g., kPa (a)].
 An absolute pressure indicator would
indicate atmospheric pressure when
completely vented down to atmosphere -
it would not indicate scale zero.
Absolute Pressure = Gauge Pressure +
Atmospheric Pressure
Figure 1
Pressure detectors perform the following
basic functions:
 Indication
 Alarm
 Control
To accomplish this, most pressure sensors
translate pressure into physical motion
that is in proportion to the applied
pressure.
 The most common pressure sensors or
primary pressure elements are described
below.
 They include manometers, diaphragms,
pressure bellows, bourdon tubes,
pressure capsules and strain gauges .
 With these pressure sensors, physical
motion is proportional to the applied
pressure within the operating range.
 Liquid manometer – principle based upon
hydrostatic head equation (p1 – p2 = hρg).
Accuracy ±0.1% to ±0.0076 mm of mercury
 Standard pressure gages –secondary
standard. Accuracy is ±0.2% of span.
 Mercury barometer – special adaptation of the
manometer. Acceptable as a laboratory
standard.
 Dead weight tester – principle based on
definition of pressure as force per unit area.
Accuracy ± 0.01% to ±0.15%
 A very simple device used to measure
pressure is the manometer : a fluid-filled
tube where an applied gas pressure causes
the fluid height to shift proportionately.
 This is why pressure is often measured in
units of liquid height (e.g. inches of water,
inches of mercury).
 As you can see, a manometer is
fundamentally an instrument of differential
pressure measurement, indicating the
difference between two pressures by a shift
in liquid column height:
 U-tube manometer
 Well manometer
 Inclined manometer.

There are three pressure standards used with

the manometer, the pressure exerted by :
 A vertical column of mercury
 A vertical column of water
 A standard atmosphere.
P1- P2 = ρgh
 low temperature coefficient of
expansion
 low vapour pressure
 immiscible with other fluids with
which it will come into contact
 stable
 low surface tension
The reading of the liquid height is affected by
the following:
 Meniscus
 Parallax
 Manometer’s zero
 Mounting
 Scale expansion/contraction with
temperature
 Manometer’s fluid expansion / contraction
with temperature.
 Vaporization of the fluid.
Errors in the density of the
manometer’s fluid is caused by:
 Temperature changes
 Contamination
Errors in the gravitational acceleration
are caused by
 Elevation above sea level
 Degree of latitude on the earth’s
surface.
Pressure gauges are based Hooke’s law.

Typical gauge elements:

 Bellows
 Bourdon tubes (c-type, spiral and
helix)
 Metallic diaphragms
 Capsules
 The need for a pressure sensing element
that was extremely sensitive to low
pressures and provided power for
activating recording and indicating
mechanisms resulted in the development
of the metallic bellows pressure sensing
element.
Figure 2
 Principle of Operation of bellows-type
detector

 System pressure is applied to the

internal volume of a bellows and
mechanical linkage assembly.
 As pressure changes, the bellows and
linkage assembly move to cause an
electrical signal to be produced or to
cause a gauge pointer to move.
 The bourdon tube pressure instrument is
one of the oldest pressure sensing
instruments in use today.
 The bourdon tube consists of a thin-
walled tube that is flattened diametrically
on opposite sides to produce a cross-
sectional area elliptical in shape, having
two long flat sides and two short round
sides.
Figure 3
 Principle of Operation of bourdon tube-
type detector

 System pressure is applied to the inside

of a slightly flattened arcshaped tube.
 As pressure increases, the tube tends to
restore to its original round cross-
section.
 This change in cross-section causes the
tube to straighten.
 Since the tube is permanently fastened at
one end, the tip of the tube traces a
curve that is the result of the change in
angular position with respect to the
center.
 The tip movement can then be used to
position a pointer or to develop an
electrical signal.
 A diaphragm is a circular-shaped
convoluted membrane that is attached to
the pressure fixture around the
circumference .
 The pressure medium is on one side and
the indication medium is on the other.
 The deflection that is created by
pressure in the vessel would be in the
direction of the arrow indicated.
  Diaphragms
provide fast acting
and accurate
pressure
indication.
 However, the
movement or
stroke is not as
large as the
bellows
Figure 4
 There are two different devices that are
referred to as capsule.
 The pressure is applied to the inside of
the capsule and if it is fixed only at the
air inlet it can expand like a balloon.
 This arrangement is not much different
from the diaphragm except that it
expands both ways.
Figure 5
 The capsule consists of two circular
shaped, convoluted membranes (usually
stainless steel) sealed tight around the
circumference.
 The pressure acts on the inside of the
capsule and the generated stroke
movement is shown by the direction of
the arrow.
 The second type of capsule is like the
one in the differential pressure
transmitter.
 It operates on the principle that the
pressure is the same throughout an
incompressible fluid and
 when the platform of weights floats
the gravitational force or weight acting
downwards equals the force due to
the pressure in the fluid.
 Principle based on definition of
pressure as force per unit area.
A special adaptation of the manometer.
 An aneroid barometer is an instrument that
helps predict the weather.
 It can also be used to detect changes in
altitude.
 To do this, it uses changes in air pressure.
When air pressure is low, bad weather is more
likely.
 Inside an aneroid barometer is a small
capsule.
 This capsule has had the air pumped out of
it.
 When the air pressure rises, the sides of the
capsule are compressed.
 The capsule is attached to levers which move
a needle as the air pressure squeezes the
capsule.
 A dial behind the needle tells you the air
pressure and altitude or weather forecast.
 The aneroid barometer is superior in some
ways to this.
 Mercury is poisonous, so a mercury
barometer requires special handling.
 An aneroid barometer has the added
advantages of being smaller and lighter and
easier to move safely.
 An aneroid barometer is not as accurate as a
mercury barometer.
 It is good for situations where a general idea
of the altitude or impending weather is
needed, but where a mercury barometer
would be unsafe.
 Most pressure transmitters are built
around the pressure capsule concept.
 They are usually capable of measuring
differential pressure (that is, the
difference between a high pressure input
and a low pressure input) and therefore,
are usually called DP transmitters or DP
cells.
 The Figure 6 illustrates a typical DP
transmitter.
 A differential pressure capsule is
mounted inside a housing.
 One end of a force bar is connected to
the capsule assembly so that the motion
of the capsule can be transmitted to
outside the housing.
 A sealing mechanism is used where the
force bar penetrates the housing and
also acts as the pivot point for the force
bar.
 Provision is made in the housing for
high- pressure fluid to be applied on one
side of the capsule and low-pressure fluid
on the other.
 Any difference in pressure will cause the
capsule to deflect and create motion in
the force bar.
 The top end of the force bar is then
connected to a position detector, which
via an electronic system will produce a 4
- 20 mA signal that is proportional to the
force bar movement.
 The strain gauge is a device that can be
affixed to the surface of an object to
detect the force applied to the object.
 One form of the strain gauge is a metal
wire of very small diameter that is
attached to the surface of a device being
monitored.
Figure 7
The operation of a strain gauge is as follows:
 A strain gauge measures the pressure
applied to a fine wire.
 The fine wire is usually arranged in the form
of a grid.
 The pressure change causes a resistance.
 This change in resistance is used as the
variable resistance in a bridge circuit that
provides an electrical signal for indication
of pressure.
1. Define the following:
a) Ambient pressure
b) Effective(gage ) pressure
c) Absolute pressure
2. Describe the operation of the bourdon tube.
3. Describe the operation of the deadweight
tester