Experiment #2 Calibration of a Pressure Sensor

OBJECTIVE:
(1) To calibrate a hydraulic pressure sensor using Lab view (2) To determine uncertainty of pressure sensor

INTRODUCTION:
Pressure is defined as force per unit area. It is usually more convenient to use pressure rather than force to describe the influences upon fluid behavior. The standard unit for pressure is the Pascal, which is a Newton per square meter. The SI unit for pressure is the Pascal (N/m2), but other units of pressure include psi, atmospheres, bars, inches of mercury, millimeters of mercury, and torr. When you deal with the pressure of a liquid at rest, the medium is treated as a continuous distribution of matter. But when you deal with a gas pressure, it must be approached as an average pressure from molecular collisions with the walls. Pressure in a fluid can be seen to be a measure of energy per unit volume by means of the definition of work. This energy is related to other forms of fluid energy by the Bernoulli equation.

Absolute, gauge and differential pressures - zero reference:

Everyday pressure measurements, such as for tire pressure, are usually made relative to ambient air pressure. In other cases measurements are made relative to a vacuum or to some other specific reference. When distinguishing between these zero references, the following terms are used:

Absolute pressure is zero-referenced against a perfect vacuum, so it is equal to gauge pressure plus atmospheric pressure. Gauge pressure is zero-referenced against ambient air pressure, so it is equal to absolute pressure minus atmospheric pressure. Negative signs are usually omitted. To distinguish a negative pressure, the value may be appended with the word "vacuum" or the gauge may be labeled a "vacuum gauge." Differential pressure is the difference in pressure between two points.

Static and dynamic pressure

Static pressure is uniform in all directions, so pressure measurements are independent of direction in an immovable (static) fluid. Flow, however, applies additional pressure on surfaces perpendicular to the flow direction, while having little impact on surfaces parallel to the flow direction. This directional component of pressure in a moving (dynamic) fluid is called dynamic pressure.

Fluid pressure
The concepts of fluid pressure are predominantly attributed to the discoveries of Blaise Pascal and Daniel Bernoulli. Bernoulli's equation can be used in almost any situation to determine the pressure at any point in a fluid. The equation makes some assumptions about the fluid, such as the fluid being ideal and incompressible. An ideal fluid is a fluid in which there is no friction, it is inviscid, zero viscosity. The equation is written between any two points a and b in a system that contain the same fluid.

where: p = pressure of the fluid = g = densityacceleration of gravity = specific weight of the fluid.[7] v = velocity of the fluid g = acceleration of gravity z = elevation

Figure 1 Bernoullis Law Derivation Diagram

Liquid pressure
Liquid pressure also depends on the density of the liquid. If someone was submerged in a liquid more dense than water, the pressure would be correspondingly greater. The pressure due to a liquid in liquid columns of constant density or at a depth within a substance is represented by the following formula:

where: P is liquid pressure g is gravity at the surface of overlaying material is density of liquid h is height of liquid column or depth within a substance

Pressure of an ideal gas

In an ideal gas, molecules have no volume and do not interact. Pressure varies linearly with temperature, volume, and quantity according to the ideal gas law,

where: P is the absolute pressure of the gas n is the amount of substance T is the absolute temperature V is the volume R is the ideal gas constant. Real gases exhibit a more complex dependence on the variables of state.

Table(1) Pressure Units Unit Pascal Pa 1 N/m2 105 0.980665 105 1.01325 105 133.322 6.895103 Bar Pressure units Technical Standard Torr Pound per atmosphere atmosphere square inch at atm torr psi 5 6 3 1.019710 9.869210 7.500610 145.04106 1.0197 0.98692 750.06 14.5037744 0.96784 p0 735.56 760 = 1 mmHg 51.715 14.223 14.696 19.337103 1 lbF/in2

1 Pa 1 bar 1 at 1 atm 1 Torr 1 psi

bar 105 6 10 dyn/cm2 0.980665 1 kp/cm2 1.01325 1.0332

1.3332103 1.3595103 1.3158103 68.948103 70.307103 68.046103

Pressure measurement
Many techniques have been developed for the measurement of pressure and vacuum. Instruments used to measure pressure are called pressure gaugesor vacuum gauges. Many instruments have been invented to measure pressure, with different advantages and disadvantages. Pressure range, sensitivity, dynamic response and cost all vary by several orders of magnitude from one instrument design to the next.

Liquid column:
By using Bernoulli's principle and the derived pressure head equation, liquids can be used for instrumentation where gravity is present. Liquid column gauges consist of a vertical column of liquid in a tube that has ends which are exposed to different pressures. The column will rise or fall until its weight (a force applied due to gravity) is in equilibrium with the pressure differential between the two ends of the tube (a force applied due to fluid pressure). A very simple version is a U-shaped tube half-full of liquid, one side of which is connected to the region of interest while the reference pressure (which might be the atmospheric pressure or a vacuum) is applied to the other. The difference in liquid level represents the applied pressure. The pressure exerted by a column of fluid of height h and density is given by the hydrostatic pressure equation, P = hg. Therefore the pressure difference between the applied pressure Pa and the reference pressure P0 in a U-tube manometer can be found by solving Pa P0 = hg. In other words, the pressure on either end of the liquid (shown in blue in the figure to the right) must be balanced (since the liquid is static) and so Pa = P0 + hg.

Figure 2 a liquid column manometer

Bourdon
The Bourdon pressure gauge uses the principle that a flattened tube tends to straighten or regain its circular form in cross-section when pressurized. Although this change in cross-section may be hardly noticeable, and thus involving moderate stresses within the elastic range of easily workable materials, the strain of the material of the tube is magnified by forming the tube into a C shape or even a helix, such that the entire tube tends to straighten out or uncoil, elastically, as it is pressurized.

Figure 3 Mechanical side of Bourdon tube

Electronic pressure sensors

Piezoresistive Strain Gage Uses the piezoresistive effect of bonded or formed strain gauges to detect strain due to applied pressure. Capacitive Uses a diaphragm and pressure cavity to create a variable capacitor to detect strain due to applied pressure. Magnetic Measures the displacement of a diaphragm by means of changes in inductance (reluctance), LVDT, Hall Effect, or by eddy current principal. Piezoelectric Uses the piezoelectric effect in certain materials such as quartz to measure the strain upon the sensing mechanism due to pressure. Optical Uses the physical change of an optical fiber to detect strain due applied pressure. Potentiometric Uses the motion of a wiper along a resistive mechanism to detect the strain caused by applied pressure. Resonant Uses the changes in resonant frequency in a sensing mechanism to measure stress, or changes in gas density, caused by applied pressure.

Choosing the Right Pressure Sensor

Bridge-based or piezoresistive sensors are the most common type of sensor because of the simple construction and durability. This translates to lower cost and makes them ideal for higherchannel systems. They offer the flexibility of using a variety of signal conditioners based on your performance needs. Bridge sensors are used for high- and low-pressure applications, and can measure absolute, gauge, or differential pressure. Amplified sensors are built on many different technologies but offer built-in conditioning. This is helpful for lower-channel systems that do not warrant a dedicated signal conditioning system. Because the conditioning is built-in it, you can connect the sensor directly to a DAQ device as long as power is provided to the sensor in some way. For these reasons, amplified sensors are more costly. Capacitive and piezoelectric pressure transducers are generally very stable and linear, but are sensitive to high temperatures and are more complicated to set up than most pressure sensors. Piezoelectric sensors respond very quickly to pressure changes. For this reason, they are used to make rapid pressure measurements from events such as explosions. Because of their superior dynamic performance, these types of sensors are the least cost-effective and care must be taken to protect the sensitive crystal core. Some of the pressure sensors are,

Capacitance Pressure Transducer

Piezoelectric Pressure Transducer

Designing the Right Measurement System:

Bridge-based pressure sensors are by far the most common pressure sensor. The following section describes the necessary signal conditioning to make an effective bridge-based pressure measurement system. The basic signal conditioning requirements include amplification, filtering, excitation, offset nulling, and shunt calibration. The output of the bridge is relatively small. In practice, most bridge-based sensors output less than 10 mV/V, which means 10 mV per volt of excitation. Therefore, bridge signal conditioners usually include amplifiers that boost the signal level to increase resolution and improve signal-to-noise ratios. Bridge-based sensors are often located in electrically noisy environments. It is essential to be able to eliminate noise that can couple to strain gages. Lowpass filters, when used with strain gages, can remove the highfrequency noise prevalent in most environmental settings. Digital filtering offers very high levels of rejection with sharp roll-off characteristics without impacting accuracy.

THEORY:
The pressure on the bottom of a tank due to a liquid in it depends on the level up to which it contains the liquid. The pressure and level of water is related through Pascals Law. P = g H Where P is the pressure at the bottom of the tank in Pascal is the density in kg/m3 g is acceleration due to gravity =9.81 m/s2 H is the level liquid in the tank. The pressure can be measured by any pressure sensor or transducer. The transducer will convert pressure into a voltage signal that can be read by an data presentation device. Usually a piezoelectric transducer is used because it becomes easy for it to convert the force or pressure signal into voltage.

EXPERIMENTAL SET UP:

Experimental set up consists of: Tank Pump Pressure Sensor A/D convertor Screen as data presentation element using Labview.