Pressure measurement

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Manometer: a pressure measuring
instrument, usually limited to measuring
pressures near to atmospheric. The term
manometer is often used to refer specifically
to liquid column hydrostatic instruments.
 Zero reference

Absolute pressure is zero referenced against a

perfect vacuum (it-the value-is equal to gauge
pressure plus atmospheric pressure).
Gauge pressure is zero referenced against
ambient air pressure; it-the value-is equal to
absolute pressure minus atmospheric pressure.
Negative signs are usually omitted; often
expressed as inches of vacuum or some such.
Examples?
Differential pressure is the difference in
pressure between two points. Examples of uses?
 Zero reference

Absolute pressure
Gauge pressure
Differential pressure
Are these distinctions:
Meaningful?
Accurate?
Useful?
Explain and discuss
Pressure conversion table
 Error? In Wikipedia???
In American and Canadian engineering,
stress is often measured in kip. Note that
stress is not a true pressure since it is not
scalar.
Really! kip stands for kilopounds. Is this
a unit of stress or pressure?
 Is pressure related to stress?
Pressure is a property of fluids, which, by
definition cannot support a shear.
Stress comes in three forms:
Tensile/compressive stresses are related to forces
normal to a surface
Shear stresses are in the plane of the surface
The bulk modulus is related to hydrostatic forces
(pressure)
Except for the fact that the bulk modulus is
measured by applying hydrostatic pressure,
stress relates to properties of solids
Stress is not relevant to discussions of pressure
 Hydrostatic Gauges
Hydrostatic gauges (such as the mercury
column manometer) compare pressure to the
hydrostatic force per unit area at the base of a
column of fluid. Hydrostatic gauge
measurements are independent of the type of
gas being measured, and can be designed to
have a very linear calibration. They have poor
dynamic response.
Why?
 Piston

Piston-type gauges counterbalance the

pressure of a fluid with a solid weight or a
spring. For example dead-weight testers
used for calibration and Tire-pressure
gauges.
How do you get from spring displacement
to pressure?
How do you calibrate a tire gauge?
Liquid column

P = mg h
 Bourdon Gauge (Mechanical)

Key concept: pressure

difference across different
areas of inner and outer
surfaces causes crescent to flex
Diaphragm (Ancient, mechanical)

If each element is sealed

with a known, fixed internal
pressure, flex will depend
on pressure change on
outside. Stacking amplifies
effect!
 Diaphragm (modern, capacitance)
resistive (strain gauge)
inductive
capacitive - The deflection of the piston is often one half
of a capacitor, so that when the piston moves, the
capacitance of the device changes. This is a common
way (with proper calibrations) to get a very precise,
electronic reading from a manometer, and this
configuration is called a capacitive manometer
vacuum gauge.
This is also called a capacitance manometer, in which
the diaphragm makes up a part of a capacitor. A change
in pressure leads to the flexure of the diaphragm, which
results in a change in capacitance. These gauges are
effective from 103 Torr to 104 Torr. [Nonsense! MKS
sells capacitance gages over the range 0.01 155,000
Torr!]
piezoelectric/piezoresistive
 Capacitance Manometer

A = Annular electrode
D = Disk electrode
S = Substrate
G = Getter (in vacuum
space)
Differential capacitance
between annulus and
disk depends on
pressure difference
between Test Chamber
and Getter.
 Thermal conductivity gauges
Thermal conductivity of gases depends on density
Gas density is directly proportional to pressure at a given
temperature.
A thermocouple or Resistance Temperature Detector
(RTD) can then be used to measure the temperature of
the filament.
This temperature is dependent on the rate at which the
filament loses heat to the surrounding gas, and therefore
on the thermal conductivity.
Common variant: Pirani gauge
uses a single platinum filament as both the heated element and
RTD. These gauges are accurate from 10 Torr to 103 Torr, but
they are sensitive to the chemical composition of the gases
being measured.
 Heat Transfer of Gases

Conductivity is
linear in
pressure over
about 2 orders
of magnitude.
Viscous flow
regime
Pirani and
thermocouple
gauges
 Ionization gauge
Most sensitive gauges for very low
pressures (high vacuums, AKA "hard"
vacuums).
Sense pressure indirectly by measuring
the electrical ion current produced when
the gas is bombarded with electrons.
Ion density will be proportional to gas
density.
The calibration of an ion gauge is unstable
and dependent on the nature of the gases
being measured, which is not always
known.
 Ionization gauges
Useful range: 10-10 - 10-3 Torr (roughly 10-8 - 10-1
Pa)
Hot cathode version: an electrically heated
filament produces an electron beam. The
electrons ionize residual gas molecules. Ion
current current depends on the number of ions,
which depends on the pressure in the gauge.
Cold cathode version: the same, except that ions
are produced by electrons from a high voltage
electrical discharge.
 Making vacuum: pumps
Two kinds:
Displacement
Remove gas from system by putting it somewhere
else
Works like a water pump
Entrapment
Remove gas molecules from vapor
Gas remains in the system
Works like a garbage can? Better example?
 Rotary vane pump
Exhaust
It was invented
by Charles C. Barnes
of Sackville, New Brunswick
who patented it on
June 16, 1874.[1]
Intake
The workhorse of
physics labs for the
last70?... years!
Note that the vanes
are spring-loaded,
so the expand and
contract while traversing
the eccentric hole.
 Scroll Pump

Exhaust port in center

Blue area rotates

counterclockwise
with silver area sprung
against it. Volume
Intake between parts decreases.
 Oil Diffusion Pump
Water
cooling
Text
Tex
t

Vapor jet entrains residual

gas molecules.
Molecular flow required.
Hence must be backed.
Its all about momentum
transfer!
Boiler
Turbomolecular Pump

Oilfree
Must be backed
Vacuum to 10-7 Torr
Expensive
Finite lifetime (5 years)
Cryopumps

Basically just
two cold fingers:
77 K traps water
10 K traps
everything else
but hydrogen
Activated carbon
adsorbs hydrogen
Must be backed
SEMs run at 10-10 Torr!