KNS 2591 CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY 3

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK

LAB F1 : CALIBRATION OF A PRESSURE GAUGE

OBJECTIVE :

To determine the accuracy in Bourdon gauge readings and calibration requirements.

APPARATUS :

The Bourdon gauge shown in Figure 1.1 has a transparent dial through which the construction may be
viewed. It consists essentially of a thin-walled tube of oval cross section, which is bent to the circular
arc encompassing about 270 degrees. It is rigidly held at one end, where the pressure is admitted. The
other end is free to move and is sealed. When pressure is applied, the tube tends to straighten, so that
the free end moves slightly. This movement operates a mechanism, which drives a pointer round the
graduated dial, the movement of the pointer being proportional to the applied pressure. The
construction of the dead weight tester is also shown in Figure 1.1. A cylindrical piston, free to move
vertically in a closely fitting cylinder, is loaded with known weights. The space below the piston is
filled with water, and the pressure is transmitted by the water to the gauge under test through a
transparent hose. The pressure generated by the piston is easily found in terms of the total weight
supported and the cross-sectional area of the piston.
 KNS 2591 CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY 3
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK

PROCEDURE :

1. The weight of the piston and its cross-sectional area should be noted.
2. The piston is removed and water is poured into the cylinder until is full to the overflow level.
3. Clear any air trapped in the tube by tilting and gently tapping the apparatus.
4. The piston is then replaced in the cylinder and allowed to settle.
5. A spirit level placed on the platform at the top of the piston may be used to ensure that the cylinder
stand quite vertically.
6. Weights are now added in convenient increments, and at each increment the pressure gauge reading
is observed.
7. A similar set of result is then taken with decreasing weights.
8. To guard against the piston sticking in the cylinder, it is advisable to rotate the piston gently while
the pressure gauge is being used.
 KNS 2591 CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY 3
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK

RESULTS / ANALYSIS :

Calibration Of A Pressure Gauge

Weight of piston = 9.81 N

Cross-sectional area = 3.15 x 10-4 m2

Total load incl. True Gauge Reading

Piston Weight Pressure
(kgf) (N) (kN/m2) Increasing Average Decreasing Average
Pressure Pressure
(kN/m2) (kN/m2)

1.0 9.81 31.14 30 31 30 30.33 35 34 34 34.33

1.5 14.72 46.73 48 48 48 48.00 50 49 49 49.33
2.0 19.62 62.29 63 63 62 62.67 64 63 64 63.67
2.5 24.53 77.87 80 80 80 80.00 81 80 79 80.00
3.0 29.43 93.43 98 97 94 96.33 98 97 95 96.67
4.0 39.24 124.57 130 128 128 128.67 130 128 128 128.67

Total load incl. Piston weight Gauge Error

(kgf) ( True Pressure - Increasing ( True Pressure - Decreasing
2
Pressure ) (kN/m ) Pressure) (kN/m2)

1.0 0.81 - 3.19

1.5 - 1.29 - 2.62
2.0 - 0.38 - 1.38
2.5 -2.14 - 2.14
3.0 - 2.90 - 3.24
4.0 - 4.10 - 4.10

KNS 2591 CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY 3

 FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK

a) The graph of gauge reading (kN/m2) versus true pressure (kN/m2) is plotted as shown below.

140

120
Gauge Reading (kN/m2)

100

80

60 Increasing pressure
Decreasing pressure
40

20

0
20 40 60 80 100 120 140
True Pressure (kN/m2)

b) The graph of gauge error (kN/m2) versus true pressure (kN/m2) is plotted as shown below.

0
Gauge error (kN/m2)

20 40 60 80 100 120 140

-1

-2

-3

-4

-5
True Pressure (kN/m2)

Increasing Pressure (kN/m2) Decreasing Pressure (kN/m2)

KNS 2591 CIVIL ENGINEERING LABORATORY 3

 FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK

DISCUSSION :

The graph plotted shows that the increasing pressure is similar with the decreasing pressure where the
slope plotted is almost overlapped to each other. However, the point plotted is not smoothly linear or
form a straight line. Furthermore, we can see that the gauge error occurred inconsistently where the
line plotted is going upward and downward. There are several factors that may influenced the results of
this experiment such as ;

a) There are bubbles or air trapped inside the tube when the experiment is carried out.
b) Pressure is exerted on the piston during it is placed into the cylinder where it can affected the
reading of gauge pressure taken for entire experiment.
c) The piston is not totally in stable condition during the value of gauge pressure is taken.
d) Parallax error is occurred where the observer’s eyes are not perpendicular to the scale of the
Bourdon gauge during the value of gauge pressure is observed.

CONCLUSION :

The objective to determine the accuracy in Bourdon gauge readings and calibration requirements is
achieved.