ENGINE PRESSURE

GAUGES INDICATOR
Aircraft Pressure Gauges
• Instruments used to measure pressure are called
pressure gauges
Examples of pressure gauges are:
• Manifold pressure gauge
• Suction gauge
• Engine Pressure Ratio (EPR) indicator
• Engine oil pressure gauge
• Hydraulic pressure gauge
• Oxygen pressure gauge
• Cabin pressure gauge
Types of Pressure
Absolute pressure
• Pressure referenced against absolute zero or perfect
vacuum.
• Sum of gauge pressure and atmospheric pressure

Gauge pressure
• Pressure reference against atmospheric pressure
• Difference of absolute pressure and atmospheric pressure

Differential pressure
• Difference in pressure between two points
Types of Pressure
Examples of different pressure uses
Absolute pressure
• Manifold pressure gauge

Gauge pressure
• Engine oil pressure gauge
• Hydraulic pressure gauge

Differential pressure
• EPR gauge
• Airspeed indicator
Pressure Sensing Elements
Principle: Deflection/movement due to changes in pressure

Common types
• Bourdon tubes
• Diaphragms
• Capsules
• Bellows
Bourdon tubes
• Consist of a flatten tube
anchored at one end

• When pressure increase,

tube tends to straighten
out.

• The movement is
converted to the rotation
of the pointer

• Measures gauge
pressure
Diaphragms
• The diaphragm has a
flexible membrane with two
sides
• One side is enclosed at
fixed pressure and the other
side exposed
• When there is pressure
difference, the membrane
will be deflected.
• Deflection is converted into
dial movement
Capsules
• Enclosure made of
flexible metal
• Pre-filled and sealed
air chamber
• As pressure changes,
capsules expands or
contracts
• Movement will deflect
the pointer.
Bellows
• Use the sealed chamber as
a reference pressure and
are driven by the external
pressure
• As pressure increases,
bellow shortens and vice
versa.
• Movement will deflect the
pointer.
Direct Reading Vs Remote Indicating
Direct reading
• Source of pressure is directly connected
• Mostly bourdon tube type
• E.g. pitot-static

Remote Indicating
• Connected to pressure at a remote point
• Eliminates pipelines → saves weight
• Hazardous fluids not channeled to cockpit
• E.g. oil pressure, hydraulic pressure gauge
Manifold Pressure Gauge
• Measures the absolute
pressure inside the engine
intake manifold

• Provides an indication of
engine power
Operation of Manifold Pressure Gauge
Engine stationary
• Manifold pressure
• = Atmospheric pressure
• = 29.9 inHg

Engine running, throttle

closed
• Little air can enter
manifold
• Suction effect by piston
movement, creating a
vacuum
Operation of Manifold Pressure Gauge
Engine running, throttle
open
• More air can enter the
manifold

• Manifold pressure
increases
Engine Pressure ratio Indicator
• Engine Pressure Ratio (EPR), in a jet engine, is the ratio of the
turbine discharge pressure divided by the compressor inlet
pressure.

• Engine Pressure Ratio (EPR) is a means of measuring the

amount of thrust being produced by a jet engine.

• With adjustments for temperature, altitude, and other factors,

the EPR gauge presents an indication of the thrust being
developed by the engine.
• Since the EPR gauge compares two pressures, it is a differential
pressure gauge. It is a remote-sensing instrument that receives
its input from an engine pressure ratio transmitter or, in digital
instrument systems displays, from a computer

• The pressure ratio transmitter contains the bellows arrangement

that compares the two pressures and converts the ratio into an
electric signal used by the gauge for indication.

• When a number of diaphragm chambers are connected together,

the device is called a bellows.

• This assembly of diaphragms can be very useful when

measuring the difference in pressure between two gases, called
differential pressure.
• A bellows unit in a differential pressure gauge compares two
different pressure values.

• End movement of the bellows away from the side with the
highest pressure input occurs when the pressures in the bellows
are not equal.
Figure : A bellows unit in a differential pressure gauge
compares two different pressure values
 CYLINDER HEAD TEMPERATURE
GAUGE
• A cylinder head temperature gauge is
used to determine if the engine is
operating at the proper temperature.

• This instrument system uses a

thermocouple under a spark plug or
mounted on the side of the cylinder head,
as shown in Figure.

• Fig (A) shows the cylinder head

temperature thermocouple with a gasket
type hot junction is made to be installed
under the spark plug or a cylinder.

• Fig (B) shows the thermocouple is

installed in a bore in the cylinder wall
• Thermocouple made by two dissimilar metal wires joined at one
end, this joint ends is placed in a temperature zone where the
temperature is to be maintained and another junction is kept at a
point where temperature is known that is called as a cold
junction.

• When there is a difference in temperature between these two

junctions it will create an EMF which will help to move the
pointer on the dial.

• In its basic form this instrument does not need a power source
because the current generated is sufficient to power the
indicating instrument.
 EXHAUST TEMPERATURE GAUGE
• EGT is a critical variable of turbine engine operation. The EGT
indicating system provides a visual temperature indication in the
cockpit of the turbine exhaust gases as they leave the turbine unit.

• In certain turbine engines, the temperature of the exhaust gases is

measured at the entrance to the turbine unit. This is referred to as
a turbine inlet temperature (TIT) indicating system.

• Several thermocouples are used to measure EGT or TIT.

• They are spaced at intervals around the perimeter of the engine

turbine casing or exhaust duct
• The tiny thermocouple voltages are typically amplified and used
to energize a servomotor that drives the indicator pointer.
• Several thermocouples are usually used, that are spaced
at intervals around the perimeter of the engine exhaust
duct near the turbine exit.

• The EGT indicator in the flight deck shows the average

temperature measured by the individual thermocouples.
FUEL FLOW INDICATOR
Mechanical Fuel Quantity
• A float that follows the fuel level remains the primary
sensing element, but a mechanical linkage is connected
to move a pointer across the dial face of an instrument.
• This can be done with a crank and pinion arrangement
that drives the pointer with gears, or with a magnetic
coupling, to the pointer.
Simple mechanical fuel indicators used on light aircraft with fuel tanks in close
proximity to the pilot
Electric Fuel Quantity Indicators
• Electric
fuel quantity indicators are more common
than mechanical indicators in modern aircraft.

• Most of these units operate with direct current (DC) and

use variable resistance in a circuit to drive a ratiometer-
type indicator.

• The movement of a float in the tank moves a connecting

arm to the wiper on a variable resistor in the tank unit.
• This resistor is wired in series with one of the coils of the
ratiometer-type fuel gauge in the instrument panel.

• Changes to the current flowing through the tank unit

resistor change the current flowing through one of the coils
in the indicator.

• This alters the magnetic field in which the indicating

pointer pivots.

• The calibrated dial indicates the corresponding fuel

quantity.
A DC electric fuel quantity indicator uses a variable resistor in the tank unit,
which is moved by a float arm
 Digital Indicators
• Digital indicators are available that work with the
same variable resistance signal from the tank unit.
• They convert the variable resistance into a digital display
in the cockpit instrument head.

Digital fuel quantity gauges that work off of variable resistance from the tank
unit are shown in A and B. The fuel quantity indication of a Garmin G-1000 flat
screen display is shown in C
Fuel Temperature Gauges
• Monitoring fuel temperature can inform the pilot when fuel
temperature approaches that which could cause ice to
form in the fuel system, especially at the fuel filter.
• A low fuel temperature can be corrected with the use of a
fuel heater if the aircraft is so equipped.

A Boeing 737 cockpit fuel panel

showing illuminated valve
position indicators and fuel filter
bypass lights.
Fuel Pressure Gauges
• Monitoring fuel pressure can give the pilot early warning
of a fuel system related malfunction.

• Simple light reciprocating-engine aircraft typically utilize a

direct reading Bourdon tube pressure gauge.

• It is connected into the fuel inlet of the fuel metering

device with a line extending to the back of the gauge in
the cockpit instrument panel.
A typical fuel gauge that uses a signal from a sensing
transducer to display fuel inlet pressure at the metering device
• More complex and larger reciprocating engine aircraft
may use a differential fuel pressure gauge.
• It compares fuel inlet pressure to the air inlet pressure at
the fuel metering device.
• A bellows type pressure gauge is normally used.
• Modern aircraft may use a variety of sensors including
solid state types and those with digital output signals or
signals that are converted to digital output.
• These can be processed in the instrument gauge
microprocessor, if so equipped, or in a computer and sent
to the display unit.

An electronic display
of fuel parameters,
including fuel
pressure