5.3.

1 Bourdon Tube
A bourdon gauge is commonly used for measuring pressure. The Bourdon tubes find
wide applications because of their simple design and low cost. There are three types
of Bourdon elements and they are,
(i) C- type
(ii) spiral type
(iii) Helical type.
(i) C- type Bourdon element:The tube which is oval in section is formed into an
arc of 2500and hence the name C for the configuration which is shown in Fig.5.5 One
end called the tip of the tube is sealed and is called free end. This is attached by a
light link-work to a mechanism which operates the pointer. The other end of the
tube is fixed to a socket where the pressure to be measured is applied. The internal
pressure tends to change the section of the tube. The degree of linearity depends
upon the quality of gauge from oval to circular, and this tends to straighten out the
tube. The movement of the tip is ideally proportional to the pressure applied. The
tip is connected to a spring loaded link-work and a geared sector and pinion
arrangement which amplifies the displacement of tip and converts into the
deflection of the pointer. The linkage is constructed so that the mechanism may be
constructed for optimum linearity and minimum hysteresis, as well as to
compensate for wear which may develop over the time.

Figure5.5: C type Bourdon tube Figure5.6: Displacement at the free

end of Bourdon Tube

The displacement of tip is

Where
E is the modulus of elasticity and other terms are as shown in the above figure
The normal accuracy of C type Bourdon tube is about 1%
(ii) Spiral type Bourdon tube:Spiral tubes are made by winding several turns of
the tube with its flattened cross-section in the form of a spiral. When the pressure to
be measured is applied to the spiral, it tends to uncoil producing a relatively long
movement of the tip whose displacement can be used for indication or transmission.
The accuracy of spiral tube elements is higher than that of C type elements on
account of absence of magnifying elements and is typically about 0.5%.

Figure5.7: Helical type Bourdon tube

(iii) Helical Type:A helical type Bourdon tube is shown in Fig.5.7 Helical and Spiral
bourdon tube elements are similar, except it is wound in the form of a helix. The
displacement of the tip of a helical clement is larger than that of spiral element.
Usually a central shaft is installed within a helical element and the pointer is driven
from this shaft by connecting links. This system transmits only the circular motion of
the tip to the pointer which is directly proportional to the changes in pressure.
The advantages of helix elements include its stability in fluctuating pressure
applications, and its adaptability for high pressure service. The number of coils
employed in helix elements depends upon the pressure to be measured. Helix type
of pressure elements use as few as three coils while elements used for
measurement for high pressures may have as many as 16 coils or even more. The
accuracies obtainable from helical elements may vary from 0.5 % to 1 %.
Materials used for constructing Bourdon Tubes:
Bourdon tubes are made up of different materials which include brass, alloy steel,
stainless steel, bronze, phosphor bronze, beryllium, copper, and Monel.
Phosphor bronze is used in low pressure applications where the atmosphere is non-
corrosive while in applications where corrosion and / or high pressure is a problem,
stainless steel or Monel are used.
Pressure gauges using bourdon tube elements are made with ranges from 760 mm
of mercury to 700 M Pa or higher for special applications with the minimum span
being about 70 kPa.