MEEN-3137

PRECISION ENGINEERING AND

METROLOGY

(012)
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering
and Information Technology
Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan

1
 15. Pressure Measurements
• Pressure measurement is a very common requirement and
many types of pressure-sensing and pressure-measurement
systems are available.
• It is important to define the difference between absolute
pressure, gauge pressure and differential pressure.

• Absolute and gauge pressure are therefore related by the

expression:

Absolute pressure = Gauge pressure + Atmospheric pressure

• Thus, gauge pressure varies as the atmospheric pressure

changes and is therefore not a fixed quantity.

• Differential pressure: This term is used to describe the

difference between two absolute pressure values, such as the
pressures at two different points within the same fluid (often
between the two sides of a flow restrictor in a system
2
15. Pressure Measurements

Normal Pressure range.

• For most applications, the range of pressure (values) are: from
1.013 bar (the mean atmospheric pressure) to 7000 bar.
• This is considered to be the ‘normal’ pressure range.
• Large number of pressure sensors are available that can
measure pressures in this range.
• Measurement requirements outside this range are much less
common.
• It is preferable to use special instruments that have been
specially designed to satisfy the lower and higher-pressure
measurement outside the normal range.

The main Types of Pressure sensors.

• This discussion is primarily concerned only with the
measurement of static pressure, because the measurement of
dynamic pressure is a very specialized area.
3
 15. Pressure Measurements

• In general, dynamic pressure measurement requires special

instruments, although modified versions of diaphragm-type
sensors can also be used if they contain a suitable
displacement sensor (usually either a piezoelectric crystal or
a capacitive element).

4
 15.1 Diaphragm
• The diaphragm, shown schematically
in Figure, is one of three types of
elastic element pressure transducer.
• Applied pressure causes displacement
of the diaphragm and this movement
is measured by a displacement
transducer.
• Different versions of diaphragm
sensors can measure both absolute
pressure (up to 50 bar) and gauge
pressure (up to 2000 bar) according to
whether the space on one side of the
diaphragm is respectively evacuated
or is open to the atmosphere.
• A diaphragm can also be used to
measure differential pressure (up to
2.5 bar) by applying the two pressures
to the two sides of the diaphragm.
5
 15.1 Diaphragm

• The diaphragm can be either plastic,

metal alloy, stainless steel or ceramic.
• Plastic diaphragms are cheapest, but
metal diaphragms give better
accuracy.
• Stainless steel is normally used in high
temperature or corrosive
environments.
• Ceramic diaphragms are resistant
even to strong acids and alkalis, and
are used when the operating
environment is particularly harsh.
• The typical magnitude of diaphragm
displacement is 0.1 mm, which is well
suited to a strain-gauge type of
displacement-measuring-transducer;
usually four strain-gauges arranged in
bridge configuration. 6
 15.2 Capacitive Pressure
Transducer

• A capacitive pressure sensor is simply a

diaphragm-type device in which the
diaphragm displacement is determined
by measuring the capacitance change
between the diaphragm and a metal
plate that is close to it.
• Such devices are in common use.
• It is also possible to fabricate capacitive
elements in a silicon chip and thus form
very small micro-sensors.
• These have a typical measurement
uncertainty of +/- 0.2%.

7
 15.3 Fiber-optic Pressure Sensors
• Fiber-optic sensors provide an alternative method of measuring
displacements in diaphragm and Bourdon tube pressure sensors
by optoelectronic means, and enable the resulting sensors to
have lower mass and size compared with sensors in which the
displacement is measured by other methods.
• The Fotonic sensor shown (on the next slide) in which light travels
from a light source, down an optical fiber, is reflected back from a
diaphragm, and then travels back along a second fiber to a
photo-detector.
• There is a characteristic relationship between the light reflected
and the distance from the fiber ends to the diaphragm, thus
making the amount of reflected light dependent upon the
diaphragm displacement and hence the measured pressure.

8
15.3 Fibre-optic Pressure Sensors

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 15.3 Fiber-optic Pressure Sensors
• Apart from the mass and size advantages of fiber-optic
displacement sensors, the output signal is immune(safe) to
electromagnetic noise.
• However, the measurement accuracy is usually inferior to that
provided by alternative displacement sensors, and choice of such
sensors also incurs a cost penalty.
• Thus, sensors using fiber optics to measure diaphragm or
Bourdon tube displacement tend to be limited to applications
where their small size, low mass and immunity to
electromagnetic noise are particularly advantageous.
• Apart from the limited use above within diaphragm and Bourdon
tube sensors, fiber-optic cables are also used in several other
ways to measure pressure.

10
 15.3 Fiber-optic Pressure Sensors

• A form of fiber-optic pressure sensor known as a micro-bend

sensor is sketched in Figure below.
• In this, the refractive index of the fiber (and hence of the
intensity of light transmitted) varies according to the
mechanical deformation of the fiber caused by pressure.

11
15.4 Bellows
• The bellows, schematically illustrated in Figure below, is
another elastic-element type of pressure sensor that operates
on very similar principles to the diaphragm pressure sensor.
• Pressure changes within the bellows, which is typically
fabricated as a seamless(continuous) tube of either metal or
metal alloy, produce translational motion of the end of the
bellows.
• This translational motion can be measured by capacitive,
inductive (LVDT) or potentiometric transducers.
• Different versions can measure either absolute pressure (up to
2.5 bar) or gauge pressure (up to 150 bar). Double-bellows
versions also exist that are designed to measure differential
pressures of up to 30 bar.

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15.4 Bellows
• Bellows have a typical measurement uncertainty of only +/-
0.5%, but they have a relatively high manufacturing cost and
are disposed to failure.
• Their principal attribute in the past has been their greater
measurement sensitivity compared with diaphragm sensors.
• However, advances in electronics mean that the high-
sensitivity requirement can usually be satisfied now by
diaphragm-type devices, and usage of bellows is therefore
falling.

13
15.5 Bourdon Tube

• The Bourdon tube is also an elastic element type of pressure

transducer. It is relatively cheap and is commonly used for
measuring the gauge pressure of both gaseous and liquid
fluids.
• It consists of a specially shaped piece of oval-section, flexible,
metal tube that is fixed at one end and free to move at the
other end.
• When pressure is applied at the open, fixed end of the tube,
the oval cross-section becomes more circular. In consequence,
there is a displacement of the free end of the tube.
• This displacement is measured by some form of displacement
transducer, which is commonly a potentiometer or LVDT.
• Capacitive and optical sensors are also sometimes used to
measure the displacement.
• The three common shapes of Bourdon tube are shown (on the
next three slides) in Figure.
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15.5 Bourdon Tube (C type)

• The C-shaped Bourdon tube has a hollow, elliptical cross

section.
• It is closed at one end and is connected to the fluid pressure
at the other end.
• When pressure is applied, its cross section becomes
more circular, causing the tube to straighten out,
like a garden hose when the water is first turned on,
until the force of the fluid pressure is balanced by the
elastic resistance of the tube material.
• The C-shaped Bourdon tubes, formed into an angle of
approx. 250°, can be used for pressures up to 60 bar.

15
15.5 Bourdon Tube (Spiral Type)
• Spiral type bourdon tubes are constructed by winding the long
tube into several turns in the form spiral shape.
• One end of the bourdon tube is opened through which the
pressure to be measured is applied whereas another end is
closed.
• The sealed end of the bourdon tube is mechanically connected to
a pointer .
• Whenever the fluid whose pressure is to be known is applied to
the open end of the spiral tube, it tends to uncoil.
Due to this a long movement of the tip (end) takes place and this
displacement is transmitted to pointer.
• Therefore the pointer moves on the calibrated scale, thereby
indicating the applied pressure.
• When compared to C-type bourdon tube spiral type bourdon tube
produces the results with very high accuracy.

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15.5 Bourdon Tube (Helical Type)
• Helical is a bourdon tube wound in the form of helix. It allows
the tip movement to be converted to a circular motion.
• By installing a central shaft inside the helix along its axis and
connecting it to the tip, the tip movement become a circular
motion of the shaft.
Advantage of the Spiral and Helical Tubes over the C-
Type Bourdon Tube
1. Both the spiral and helical tubes are more sensitive than the
C-Type tube. This means that for a given applied pressure a
spiral or helical tube will show more movement than an
equivalent C-Type tube, thus avoiding the need for a
magnifying linkage.
2. Spiral and helical tubes can be manufactured in very much
smaller sizes than the equivalent C-Type tube. Hence, they
can be fitted into smaller spaces, such as inside recorders or
controller cases where a C-Type would be unsuitable because
of the size.
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15.6 Manometers
• Manometers are passive instruments that give a visual
indication of pressure values. Various types exist.
• The U-tube manometer, shown in Figure below, is the most
common form of manometer.
• Applied pressure causes a displacement of liquid inside the U-
shaped glass tube, and the output pressure reading P is made
by observing the difference h between the level of liquid in
the two halves of the tube A and B, according to the equation
P = ρgh, where ρ is the specific gravity of the fluid.
• If an unknown pressure is applied to side A, and side B is
open to the atmosphere, the output reading is gauge
pressure.

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15.6 Manometers

• Alternatively, if side B of the tube is sealed and evacuated, the

output reading is absolute pressure.
• The U-tube manometer also measures the differential pressure
(p1- p2), according to the expression (p1- p2) = hρg, if two
unknown pressures p1 and p2 are applied respectively to sides
A and B of the tube.

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15.7 Resonant-wire Devices

• A typical resonant-wire device is shown schematically in Figure

below Wire is stretched across a chamber containing fluid at
unknown pressure subjected to a magnetic field.
• The wire resonates at its natural frequency according to its
tension, which varies with pressure.
• Thus pressure is calculated by measuring the frequency of
vibration of the wire.
• Such frequency measurement is normally carried out by
electronics integrated into the cell.

20
15.7 Resonant-wire Devices

• These devices are

highly accurate, with a
typical inaccuracy
figure being +/- 0.2%
full-scale reading.
• They are also
particularly insensitive
to ambient condition
changes and can
measure pressures
between 5mbar and 2
bar.

21
 15.8 Dead Weight Gauges
• The dead-weight gauge, as shown in Figure below, is a null-
reading type of measuring instrument in which weights are added
to the piston platform until the piston is adjacent to a fixed
reference mark, at which time the downward force of the weights
on top of the piston is balanced by the pressure exerted by the
fluid beneath the piston.
• The fluid pressure is therefore calculated in terms of the weight
added to the platform and the known area of the piston.
• The instrument offers the ability to measure pressures to a high
degree of accuracy but is inconvenient to use.
• Its major application is as a reference instrument against which
other pressure-measuring devices are calibrated.
• Various versions are available that allow measurement of gauge
pressures up to 7000 bar.

22
15.9 Special measuring Devices for Low
Pressures
• A number of special devices have been developed for
measurement of pressures in the vacuum range below
atmospheric pressure (<1.013 bar).
• These special devices include the thermocouple gauge, the
Pirani gauge, the thermistor gauge, the McLeod gauge and the
ionization gauge. Unfortunately, all of these specialized
instruments are quite expensive.
• The thermocouple gauge is one of a group of gauges working
on the thermal conductivity principal. The pirani and thermistor
gauges also belong to this group.
• At low pressure, the kinematic theory of gases predicts a linear
relationship between pressure and thermal conductivity. Thus
measurement of thermal conductivity gives an indication of
pressure.

23
15.10 High-pressure measurement ( > 7000
bar)

• Measurement of pressures above 7000 bar is normally carried out

electrically by monitoring the change of resistance of wires of
special materials.
• Materials having resistance-pressure characteristics that are
suitably linear and sensitive include manganin and gold–
chromium alloys.
• A coil of such wire is enclosed in a sealed, kerosene filled, flexible
bellows, as shown in Figure below.
• The unknown pressure is applied to one end of the bellows, which
transmits the pressure to the coil. The magnitude of the applied
pressure is then determined by measuring the coil resistance.
• Pressures up to 30 000 bar can be measured by devices like the
manganin-wire pressure sensor, with a typical inaccuracy of +/-
0.5%.

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15.11 Intelligent pressure transducers

• Adding microprocessor power to pressure transducers brings

about substantial improvements in their characteristics.
• Measurement sensitivity improvement, extended
measurement range, compensation for hysteresis and other
non-linearities, and correction for ambient temperature and
pressure changes are just some of the facilities offered by
intelligent pressure transducers.
• For example, inaccuracy figures as low as +/- 0.1% can be
achieved with silicon piezoresistive-bridge devices.

25
15.12 Selection of pressure sensors
• Choice between the various types of instrument available for
measuring mid-range pressures (1.013–7000 bar) is usually
strongly influenced by the intended application.
• Manometers are commonly used when just a visual indication of
pressure level is required, and deadweight gauges, because of
their superior accuracy, are used in calibration procedures of
other pressure-measuring devices.
• When an electrical form of output is required, the choice is
usually either one of the several types of diaphragm sensor
(strain gauge, capacitive or fibre optic) or, less commonly, a
Bourdon tube. Bellows-type instruments are also sometimes used
for this purpose, but much less frequently.
• If very high measurement accuracy is required, the resonant-wire
device is a popular choice.
• In the case of pressure measurement in the vacuum range (less
than atmospheric pressure, i.e. below 1.013 bar), adaptations of
most of the types of pressure transducer described earlier can be
used.
• Special forms of Bourdon tubes measure pressures down to 10
mbar, manometers and bellows-type instruments measure26
How much human brain
produces electricity when
awake???

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