University of Southern Philippines foundation.

College of Engineering and Architecture.

MECH 411- ME Lab 1.

Topic # 11. Calibration and the use of pressure and temperature measuring
instruments

Tutor: Ma’am Nanette P. Dimagiba.

Name: Owia Jason.

Instrument calibration is one of the primary processes used to
maintain instrument accuracy. Calibration is the process of configuring an instrument to
provide a result for a sample within an acceptable range.

A temperature transmitter can be calibrated using a temperature calibrator.

To calibrate a temperature sensor, it must be inserted into a known temperature. Sensors
are calibrated either by using temperature dry blocks for industrial field or liquid baths
(laboratory).

Professional calibration

The professional execution of calibrations is governed by various standards, regulations and

directives. For a measuring instrument to be calibrated in the first place, it must fulfil certain
basic requirements. The physical conditions under which calibration can be carried out must
also be known and taken into account. Under these conditions, it is possible to select a
calibration procedure suitable for the requirements.

Calibration capability

Before a measuring instrument can be calibrated, it must be checked as to whether it is

suitable for this. The decisive factor is whether the condition of the instrument conforms to
generally recognised rules of technology and to the manufacturer’s documentation. If
calibration is possible only after maintenance or adjustment, this work must be agreed upon
beforehand between the customer and the calibration laboratory (Fig. 8). Any subsequent
intervention to the instrument will void a prior calibration. To determine whether a measuring
instrument is fit to be calibrated, its general condition and function are first checked. When
calibrating mechanical pressure measuring instruments,

Calibration sequences

In general when a measuring instrument is used, its measuring range is only partially
utilised. The calibration points must be selected such that they are within the working range
of the inspection equipment. In calibration, at least the upper and lower process points must
be considered. To check the linearity of the test item, at least one more checkpoint lying
between these end points is measured. To compare the measured values of the measuring
instrument and the reference or working standard, the measurement parameter can, in many
cases, be adjusted either according to the displayed values of the test item or according to
the readings of the standard. In many cases, the number of measuring points for the
calibration of a measuring instrument is not defined in a standard. In this case, close
coordination between the calibration laboratory and the user is required in order to define
suitable test points.

We can find out by doing experiment of Calibration and use of Pressure and Temperature
Measuring Instruments.
The instruments used to monitor systems or processes in a plant measure pressure.
I. Title:

Calibration and use of Pressure and Temperature Measuring Instruments.

Experiment

II. Theory.

 Many of the instruments used to monitor systems or processes in a plant measure

pressure. In order to understand how these instruments operate, instrument
technicians must understand:

 a. the concept of pressure

 b. the ways in which solids, liquids, and gases exert pressure

 c. the standards established for measurement.

 In order to compare temperature readings from different scales, it is necessary to

convert temperature readings from one scale to another.

 The formula for converting from degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit is as follows:

 oF = (1.8 x oC) + 32

 An understanding of how temperature measuring devices operate depends on

understanding the concept of temperature and the ways in which solids, liquids, and
gases respond to temperature changes.

 An understanding of how temperature measuring devices operate depends on

understanding the concept of temperature and the ways in which solids, liquids, and
gases respond to temperature changes.

III. Objective.

 a. To calibrate and adjust and to know the internal mechanism of a Bourdon

Dead Weight Gage Tester.

 b. To familiarize oneself with the different types of pressure and temperature

measuring devices. ( Optical and Radiation Pyrometers)

 c. To calibrate thermometers with the known melting and boiling points.

IV. Apparatus with pictures.

 a. Bourdon Gage Tester

 b. Set of Standard Weights

  c. Thermometer

d. Optical Pyrometer

e. Radiation Pyrometer

 f. Beakers

g. Bunsen Burner

 h. Steam Bath

V. Procedures.

A. Calibration of Bourdon Gage By Dead Weight Gage Tester

 1. Open the hand wheel fully and the valve of the oil reservoir.

 2. Fill up the oil reservoir up to its desired level and open the drain valve.

 3. To eliminate or remove the air trapped inside the oil cylinder, tightened the
hand wheel slowly so that the oil will spill out through the drain cock.

 4. Close the drain valve.

 5. Twist the rotating plunger to minimize friction.

 6. Close the hand wheel slowly until the platform rises to approximately one
cm. Record the pressure reading.

 7. Add weights one after the other with an increment stated on the data sheet
and make 12 trials repeating procedure no. 6.

 8. After all weights have been placed, get the difference between the standard
equivalent pressure and the gage pressure readings.

 9. Compute for the percentage of error.

Calibration by Reference the Known Melting and Boiling Points

 a. For Melting Point

 1. Place the ice into the graduated cylinder.

 2. Place the mercury thermometer into the cylinder and lower the thermometer
until the bulb is near the bottom.

3. Leaving the ice to melt, read the temperature on the thermometer. There
will come a point when the temperature is stable. Record this temperature as the melting
point of the ice.

For Boiling Point

 1. Place a fair amount of water on the steam bath.

 2. Place the thermometer in the steam bath through the desired location.

 3. Make a flame with the Bunsen burner place at the bottom of the apparatus.

 4. There will come a point when the water will begin to boil. Read the
thermometer and record the result as the boiling point reading of the thermometer.

VI. Findings

 Liquids unlike solids, do not have a definite shape. However, liquids do have a
definite measurable weight and volume.

 The pressure exerted by liquids can be divided into two groups: hydraulic pressures
and static pressures.
 Hydraulic pressures are the pressures exerted by liquids in motion, such as the
pressures created by a mechanical pump.

 Gases differ from solids and liquids in that they have neither a definite shape nor a
definite volume.

 Gases do have weight, however due to the force of gravity, so gases do exert
pressure.

 This formula was derived by using the freezing and boiling points of water as
reference points. Since there are 180 degrees between the freezing and boiling
points of water on the Fahrenheit scale and 100 degrees between two points on the
Celsius scale, the ratio of degrees Fahrenheit to degrees Celsius is 180:100.

 In other words, there are 1.8 times as many degrees between freezing and boiling on
the Fahrenheit scale as there are on the Celsius scale (180/100 = 1.8).

VII. Observations.

 Atmospheric pressure is factor that must be considered whenever pressure

measurements are taken, because the earth is always subjected to some
atmospheric pressure, with the amount being dependent on altitude and weather
conditions.

 Consequently, the scales that have been established as a basis for pressure
measurement reference atmospheric pressure, although in different ways.

VIII. Conclusion.

Temperature is the degree of hotness or coldness of a substance, as measured on a

definite scale. The relative hotness or coldness of a substance is often determined by
the sense of touch.

Things feel hot if their temperature is higher than skin temperature, or cold if their
temperature is lower than skin temperature.

However, the sense of touch is not enough to be an effective and reliable method of
temperature measurement; instruments marked with definite scales are needed.