Mansoor Asif

Lecturer
Electronics, Power and Control
Group
Electrical Engineering Department
SEECS, NUST
School of Electrical Engineering
and Computer Science, NUST

Chapter-15

Alan S. Morris

School of Electrical Engineering

and Computer Science, NUST

Pressure Measurements

School of Electrical Engineering

and 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
P
A

or

F
P
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
Can measure
50 bar-absolute
2000 bar-gauge pressure
2.5 bar-differential

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)
Can measure
2.5 bar-absolute
150 bar-gauge pressure

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
P=hg
P=pressure
= specific gravity of fluid

Can measure atmospheric, gauge

and applied pressure
Human involvement in measurement 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

3.1.5- Dead-weight gauge

Weights are added until the piston is
adjacent to the fixed reference mark
Very accurate
It is used for calibration of other
pressure measuring instrument
Gauge pressure up to 700
bar can be measured

3.2.1- Thermocouple gauge

(thermal conductivity
principal)

At low pressure there is a linear

relationship between pressure and
thermal conductivity- Kinematic
theory of gases

Measurement of thermal conductivity

can give an indication of pressure
Thermal conductivity Pressure
Pressure range

10^-4 mbar ~ 1 mbar

Thermocouple gauge
Source of Error
Thermal radiation
Independent of pressure of gas
It can be quantized and correction can be
made

Heated element with low emissivity

should be chosen for low radiation
loss

3.2.2- Pirani Gauge (thermal

conductivity principle)
Pirani gauge
Two identical tubes are connected in
a bridge circuit
Pressure range
10^-5 mbar ~ 1 mbar

3.2.3- Thermistor Gauge

(thermal conductivity
principle)

Uses semiconductor materials as a

heating element
Pressure range
10^-4 mbar ~ 1 mbar

3.2.4- Ionization Gauge

Used for measuring very low
pressures
10^-13 bar to 10 ^-3 bar

Gas pressure is determined by

determining the current flowing
between the anode and cathode
within the vessel

3.3- High pressure

measurement (>7000 bar)
Materials having Resistance-pressure
characteristic that is suitably linear
Manganin
Gold-chromium alloys

Measurement of pressure is
monitored electrically by monitoring
the resistance change

4- Intelligent Pressure
Sensors
Adding microprocessor to pressure
sensors make them intelligent
Advantages
Improved measurement sensitivity
Extended Measurement Range
Compensation for nonlinearities