Chapter-15

Alan S. Morris

School of Electrical Engineering and

1
Computer Science, NUST
Pressure Measurements

School of Electrical Engineering and

2
Computer Science, NUST
 1-Pressure
• Pressure (P ) expresses the magnitude of normal
force (F-N) per unit area (A-m^2) applied on a
surface
F F
P  or P 
A A

• Units:
– Pa= N/m2
– bar =105 Pa=100 kPa
– mbar =100 Pa
 2-Pressure Measurement
Pressure measurement is a very common requirement for most
industrial process control systems.
•Absolute Pressure
– The difference between pressure of the fluid and absolute zero of the
pressure
•Gauge Pressure
– The difference between pressure of the fluid and atmospheric
pressure
Absolute Pressure= Gauge Pressure + Atmospheric Pressure
•Differential Pressure
– The difference between absolute pressure values at two different
points in the same fluid
 3-Pressure Sensors
• Normal Range (1.073 bar ~ 7000 bar)
– Diaphragms
– Bellows
– Bourdon Tube
– Manometers
– Deadweight Gauge
• Low Pressure (< 1.073 bar) (Very Expensive)
– Thermocouple Gauge
– Pirani Gauge
– McLeod Gauge
• High Pressure (> 7000 bar)
– Fluid filled flexible bellow
3.1.1-Diaphragms (elastic element
type)
• Applied pressure causes displacement of
diaphragms and this displacement is
measured by displacement sensors
 Diaphragms
• Materials used
– Plastic (Cheapest)
– Metal Alloy (Accurate)
– Stainless steel (Suitable for high temperature/
corrosive application)
– Ceramic (Resistant towards strong acids & alkali)
• Displacement
– 0.1 mm can be measured with strain gage placed
in a Wheatstone bridge
 3.1.2-Bellows (elastic element
type)
• Applied pressure causes displacement of
bellow and this displacement is measured by
displacement sensors (potentiometric,
capacitive or inductive)
 Bellows
• Materials used
– Metal or Metal alloy
• High cost
• Prone to failure
• More sensitive than diaphragms
• Measurement uncertainty of +-0.5%
 3.1.3-Bourdon tube (elastic
element type)
• Used for measurement of liquid and gaseous
fluids
• Relatively Cheap
 C- type Tube
• Arc subtended is less than 360 deg.
• Can measure pressure up to 6000 bar.
• A C-type tube of 25 mm radius has a
maximum displacement travel of 4 mm.
• Measurement accuracy of +-1%
• Measurement resolution is moderate
• Displacement sensor has to be employed
 Helical & Spiral Tube
• Rotating pointer moves against the scale to
give the visual indication of measurement
• Measurement accuracy of +-1% of full scale
deflection
• Measurement resolution is relatively higher
than C-type tube
• Maximum measurable pressure is 700 bar.
 Disadvantages of Bourdon tube
• If the measured fluid is not same as the fluid
used for calibration an error may occur
• Hence their uncertainty limits are hard to
define
 3.1.4- Manometers
• Passive instrument that give visual indication
of pressure values
• Types
– U-tube
– Well type
 U-tube Manometer
• Applied pressure creates the difference in level of
fluid in the tubes
• Can measure atmospheric, gauge
and applied pressure
• Human involvement in measurem-
ent of liquid levels in both tubes
can cause error
 Well-type or Cistern manometer
• The change in level of well due to change in
pressure changes very negligibly
• The level of liquid in tube has to be measured
only