CALIBRATION AND USE OF

PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE

MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
I) OBJECTIVES

1. To discuss calibration.
2. To define the Pressure and Temperature Measurement.
3. Identify the types and uses of pressure and temperature measuring instruments.
4. Perform the calibration procedure of pressure and measurement instruments.

II) CONCEPTS AND THEORIES

• 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. ways in which solids, liquids, and gases exert pressure
c. the standards established for measurement.

• Pressure is the force applied per unit of area. Gravity is a force applied to
everything on earth.
• The force of gravity exerts a downward pull on all forms of matter, causing them
to have weight.
• It is possible to determine the pressure exerted by solid, liquids, and gases by
determining the force they exert over a given area.
• In this unit, force is applied by weight due to the effect of gravity.
• The definition for pressure, that is, the force applied per unit of area, can be
expressed in terms of a mathematical formula:

P=F/A
where :
P = pressure
F = force
A = area

◊ In metric system, the common unit of pressure is the PASCAL. However, the
PASCALS represent such a small quantity that pressure is generally expressed in
kilo-Pascals.
◊ The metric unit for force is Newton, and the metric unit for area is the square
meter.
◊ Matter is considered a solid if it retains a definite shape and volume.
◊ 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.
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 pressures and static pressures.

◊ Hydraulic pressures
○ are the pressures exerted by liquids in motion, such as the pressures created
by a mechanical pump.
◊ Hydrostatic pressures
○ are pressure exerted by liquids at rest, that is, liquids that are not in motion.
○ determined by the height of a fluid, not by its volume.
○ increase with depth, due to the weight of the liquid pushing down from above.

◊ 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.
◊ 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.
◊ The two scales most commonly used in pressure measurements both reference
atmospheric pressure:
○ the absolute scale references the absence of atmospheric pressure
○ while the gage scale reference the presence of atmospheric pressure
◊ It is possible to convert pressure measurements back and forth from the absolute
scale to the gauge scale because the basic unit of measurement for both scales is
pounds per square inch (psi).
◊ Absolute pressure equals gauge pressure plus atmospheric pressure.

Conversely, gauge pressure equals absolute pressure minus atmospheric

pressure can be expressed in the following equation

Pabs = Pgauge + Patm

Pgauge = Pabs - Patm

wherein :
Pabs = absolute pressure
Pgauge = gauge pressure
Patm = atmospheric pressure

◊ Vacuum pressure is any pressure below the atmospheric pressure.

DEAD WEIGHT TESTER

How does a Deadweight Tester Work? Set-up | Operation | Pressure Flow

CALIBRATION AND USE OF PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE ME Page 2

TEMPERATURE

 All thermometers are designed so that temperature are indicated on one or more
four scale: Fahrenheit, Celsius, Rankine, and Kelvin.
 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:
°F = 1.8°C + 32

 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)
 Furthermore, because the freezing temperature of water is 32 degrees higher for
Fahrenheit than for Celsius, 32must be added to (1.8 x °C) to make both sides
accurate and reliable temperature measuring instruments help industrial facilities
operate with maximum safety and efficiency.
In industry, thermometers are used to monitor and in some cases control the
temperature of process system.
 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.
 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.
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 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.

 A thermometer is a commonly used instrument that measures and indicates

temperature. But temperatures of very hot surface body like the blast furnace,
bed of coal, fire tube type boilers and the like, optical and radiation pyrometers
are used.
 To understand temperature completely, it is necessary to distinguish between
temperature and heat.
 The terms heat and temperature are often used interchangeably, but their
meanings are not the same. Heat is the thermal energy of a substance
 The addition or removal of heat is what causes temperature to increase or
decrease. Because heat is not the same as temperature, heat is measured in
units rather than degrees.

 Two units often used to measure heat are the British Thermal Unit (BTU) and
the calorie.
○ A BTU is the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound
of water one degree Fahrenheit.
○ A calorie is the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram
of water one degree Celsius.

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