09-02-2022

PRESSURE MEASURENT

- Prof. Ruchi Khare

Associate Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
MANIT, Bhopal

Static Characteristics

 Pressure means force per unit area, exerted by a fluidon

the surface of the container.
 Absolute pressure means the fluid pressure above the
reference value of
A perfect vacuum or the absolute zero pressure.
 Gauge pressure represents the value of pressure above the
reference value of atmospheric pressure.
 It is the difference between the absolute and local
atmospheric pressures.

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• The techniques for pressure measurements are quite varied,

depending on whether the pressure is:
• Moderate,
• Very high
• or Very low and also whether
• It is static or dynamic.
• Pressures higher than 1000 atm are usually regarded as very high
while those of the order of 1 mm of Hg or below are regarded as
very low.

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• Pressures higher than 1000 atm are usually regarded as

very high while those of the order of 1 mm of Hg or
below are regarded as very low.

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MODERATE PRESSURE MEASUREMENT

Manometers • meant for measuring static pressures

Other Elastic • used for both static and dynamic

Elements measurements

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Manometers
• A manometer is the simplest
device for measuring static
pressure. A simple U-tube
manometer uses water, mercury
or any other suitable fluid. The
difference in levels h between
the two limbs is an indication of
the pressure difference between
the two limbs.
• If one of the pressures, say that
applied to limb 2, is atmospheric,
the difference gives the gauge
pressure applied to limb 1. h = (Pi — P2) ρg
ρ being the mass density of the liquid used in the
manometer.
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The desirable characteristics of a manometer fluid

are:

1. it should be non-corrosive and not have any chemical

reaction with the fluid whose pressure is being measured,
2. it should have low viscosity and thus ensures quick
adjustment with pressure change,
3. 3. it should have negligible surface tension and capillary
effects.
Several types of modified manometers are available which
have the advantages of ease in use and high sensitivity.

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Well type manometer

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Inclined tube Manometer

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Micrometer Head…………arrangement

• For increased accuracy in reading the output

of the manometer, i.e., liquid displacements,
can be measured with micrometer heads (Fig.
1). The contact between the micrometer
movable points and the liquid may be sensed
electrically or visually.
• In order to minimise capillary and meniscus
errors, the meniscus is returned to a
reference position marked on the inclined
transparent portion of the manometer
tube (Fig. 2).
• This is done by a motorised screw (Fig. 3),
whose rotation is converted to a digital read-
out.
• This type of manometer is quite sensitive,
accurate and easy to use.

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Movable tube type micromanometer

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Micro-manometer with motor drive and digital

read-out

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Numerical
• Find the required diameter for the right-
hand chamber. For mercury, density p
= 13600 kg/m3. Assume that the other
end of the manometer is open to the
atmosphere.

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Elastic Transducers

• Elastic elements, when subjected to pressure, get deformed.

The deformation, when measured, gives an indication of the
pressure.
• These elements may be in the form of diaphragms,
capsules, bellows, Bourdon or helical tubes
• These devices are convenient to use and can cover a wide
range of pressures, depending on the design of the elastic
elements.

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Elastic elements

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Bourdon gauge
• A Bourdon gauge is commonly used
for measuring pressure (Fig.). This
incorporates an elastic Bourdon tube.
The elliptical cross-section of the
tube, due to pressure, tends to
become round shaped. The tube
uncoils since the inner and outer arc
lengths remain almost equal to their
original lengths. The motion of the
end of the tube is amplified and
indicated by a pointer moving on a
calibrated scale.
• Electromechanical transducer is used
along with the elastic element,
especially when dynamic pressures
are to be measured

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Bellows Pressure Gauge with LVDT Transducer

The motion of the

bellows is communicated
to the core, whose
motion gives an output
voltage proportional to
it. Since the bellows
motion is proportional
to pressure p, the
output voltage is also
proportional to p.
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Variable capacitance type pressure transducer

Due to a pressure p, the elastic diaphragm deflects, changing the

capacitance between it and the fixed electrode. The output of the bridge
is proportional to the pressure p
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Piezoelectric Type Pressure Transducer

• A voltage is developed between A and B, according to the

pressure p applied.

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Elastic Element Characteristics

Elastic elements used for pressure transducers

have to be carefully designed for
1. deflection due to pressure, and
2. dynamic considerations.

It is known that an elastic diaphragm would remain linear for small deflections only
and for this purpose, maximum deflection y should be < t/3, t being the diaphragm
thickness.

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Dynamic Effect of Connecting Tubing

• Usually, a connecting tube is used between the pressure measuring
instrument and the location where the fluid pressure is to be measured
(Fig.).
• Such a tubing would cause a lag under dynamic conditions.
• The lag may be determined as below. The inertia effect due to fluid motion
is ignored.
• Referring to Fig., in which a manometer is the measuring instrument, it is
seen that the mass rate of fluid flow in the tubing would be affected due to
1. change of fluid density due to pressure change, and
2. change of volume of fluid as a result of change of liquid level of the
manometer.

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Dynamic Effect of Connecting Tubing…………….

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• Effect 1 would be absent in the case of liquids while both

effects 1 and 2 would be involved in case of gases.
• p1 and p2 are absolute pressures at the beginning and
end of the tubing respectively, using Eq. (A) for pressure
loss in the tubing, viz.

µ being viscosity of the fluid and Q the volume flow rate. Mass flow rate of the fluid
through the tubing
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p being the mass density of the fluid mass. Flow rate is also equal to d/dt (pV), V being the
volume of space

A being area of cross-section of the manometer tube and dh the liquid motion in the manometer
arm.

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τ is the time constant of the first order relation representing the lag of the
system. In order to reduce τ ; l, A and V should be small and d should be
large.

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HIGH PRESSURE MEASUREMENT

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HIGH PRESSURE MEASUREMENT

• For pressures above 1000 atm, special techniques have to be
used. One such technique is based on the electrical resistance
change of a managing (alloy of Cu, Ni, Mn) or gold chrome wire,
with hydrostatic pressure, due to bulk compression effect.
• Figure shows an outline diagram of this type of device. Usually, the
coil is enclosed in a flexible bellows filled with kerosene, for
transmitting the pressure to be measured to the coil.
• The change in the resistance of the wire between A and B is
measured by usual methods like Wheatstone bridge, etc.

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For manganin, the sensitivity is while for gold—chrome, the same is Even
though gold—chrome is less sensitive, it is preferred to manganin, since the former is less temperature
sensitive than the latter.

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LOW PRESSURE (VACUUM) MEASUREMENT

• Units of vacuum measurements are Torr and micron. One Torr is a

pressure equivalent of 1 mm of Hg while 1 micron is 10-3 Torr.
• Manometer and elastic element gauges can be used to about 0.1
Ton. Below these ranges, other types of vacuum gauges are needed.

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McLeod Gauge
• This is used between 0.01 and 1000 microns and is a modified mercury
manometer.
• It operates on the principle of compressing a known volume of low-
pressure gas to a higher pressure and measuring the resulting volume
change.
• The unknown pressure source is connected to the gauge as shown in
Fig. (next slide) and the mercury level adjusted so that the pressure source
fills the bulb B and capillary C.
• Mercury is then forced out of reservoir A up in the bulb and reference
column R. When the level reaches the cut-off point F, a known volume of
gas is trapped in the bulk and capillary

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McLeod Gauge

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• The mercury level is raised till it reaches the zero reference point 0 in R. Under
these conditions, the volume remaining in the capillary is read directly from the scale
and the difference in heights y is a measure of the pressure p. Pressure p is then
obtained using Boyle's law,
•
If p = unknown pressure
• A = area of cross-section of capillary
• V = Volume of gas in capillary = Ay
• Pc= pressure of gas in the capillary c after compression
• VF = volume of capillary and bulb till F
then,

The capillary can be directly calibrated in terms of

pressure p.
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Working…………………

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Thermal Conductivity Gauge or Pirani Gauge

• It consists of a platinum filament

enclosed in a chamber, The wire
forms an arm of a Wheatstone
bridge.
• The temperature of the wire, for a
given magnitude of current,
depends on the rate of heat
dissipation, which in turn depends
on the conductivity of the
surrounding medium and hence its
pressure.
• With change in pressure of the
medium, the temperature and
hence the resistance of the wire
changes, which can be measured
by using the Wheatstone bridge.
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Pirani Gauge

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Ionization Gauge
• This is used for measurement of very low pressures, of the order of 1 micron and
below.
• The gauge consists of a triode vacuum tube .The heated cathode emits electrons
which are accelerated by the positively charged grid.
• As the electrons move towards the grid, they ionise the gas molecules through
collisions. The plate is maintained at a negative potential so that positive ions
collect there, producing a plate current ii. The electrons and negative ions are
collected by the grid, producing grid current i2. It is found that the pressure of the
gas is given by

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Ionization Gauge

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Knudsen Gauge
• In this type of gauge the gas chamber contains fixed plates F1 and
F2 heated to and maintained at temperature T.
• Near these plates is a restrained movable vane V, such that the gap
between the vane and fixed plates is less than the mean free path of
the gas whose pressure is to be measured.
• The vane is at gas temperature To. The gas molecules rebound from
plates F1 and F2 with greater momentum than from V, thus imparting a
net force to V which may be measured by measuring the angular
displacement of mirror M. It is seen that

where p is gas pressure, F the force and K is a

constant.

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Knudsen Gauge

• The Knudsen gauge gives an

absolute measurement of pressure
p, which is independent of gas
composition. It can cover a range
of pressure from 10-8 to 10-2 Torr.

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The approximate range for various types of

pressure measuring devices

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