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 Dead weight testers are the most widely used type of pressure calibrator.
 Pressure standards are available that use highly accurate and stable pressure
transducers as the reference elements.
 Low cost digital manometers that use transducers to measure pressure have
largely replaced the liquid manometer.

Terminology

Annular: shaped like a ring

Axial: along, or parallel to, the main axis; lengthwise, longitudinal
Viscous friction is stickiness in a liquid, gel, or emulsion. It represents a "resistance
to flow."
Hysteresis is the maximum difference in output for any given input (within the
specified range) when the value is approached first with increasing, and then with
decreasing, input signals.
Linearity is the closeness of a calibration curve to a specified straight line. Linearity
is the maximum deviation of any calibration point from a specified straight line
during any one-calibration cycle.
Repeatability is the precision with which repeat measurements of the same sample
give the same value with all conditions unchanged between measurements except
time.
Piezoresistive: The piezoresistive effect describes the changing electrical resistance
of a material due to applied mechanical stress. If you bend a material that has
electricity flowing through it, the resistance of the material to that electrical flow
changes.

Dead weight testers

Dead weight testers are the most widely used type of pressure calibrator and are
available in a variety of accuracies, fluid types, ranges, and pressure units.
A typical dead weight tester consists of a fluid filled chamber that a hand pump,
ram screw, or some external force pressurizes. A vertical cylinder together with a
close fitting piston that rotates within the cylinder is part of the chamber wall so
the fluid pressure acts on the bottom area of the piston.
A pressure port in the chamber allows the connection of the pressure instrument.
The fluid pressure acting on the bottom area of the piston produces an
upwards \force that lifts the piston. The upward force balances out the downward
force produced by the addition of weights to the top of the piston.
This force—the weight—is equal to the mass of the weights + the mass of the
cylinder × the acceleration due to gravity. When the two forces are equal, the
piston will float within the cylinder.
Upward force = pressure × piston area
Downward force = mass × acceleration due to gravity = weight
At balance (piston floating)
Upward force = Downward force
Pressure × piston area = weight
Pressure = weight ÷ piston area
Piston and cylinder assemblies come with extremely small annular gaps between
the two parts. The fluid fills this gap and acts as a lubricating film between the
two surfaces.
This film reduces wear and friction between the two parts, and any axial viscous
friction caused by the film reduces by slowly spinning the weights and piston at
the balance point.
A tiny amount of the fluid will eventually escape past the piston, and the piston
will slowly sink within the cylinder. The use of a trimming ram screw that
provides a small increase in pressure to raise the piston again compensates for
this leakage.
The basic accuracy of a dead weight tester stems from how accurate the
measurements of the piston area and the mass of the weights are. The accuracy
of testers ranges from 0.1% of reading for basic working standards to 0.003% of
reading for a primary standard.
Reaching the primary standard accuracy requires compensating for a large
number of factors such as local gravity, air buoyancy, temperature, air density,
fluid surface tension, and piston/cylinder deformation under high pressure.
The calculation of these effects usually takes place using a computer program
supplied by the tester manufacturer. The major effect that should be accounted
for in lower accuracy tester is the variation in gravity since this directly affects
the weight value of the masses.
The pressure range covered by dead weight testers is from approximately 5 psi
to 100,000 psi, although it would require more than one tester to cover the
entire range.
The weight of the piston and weight carrier assembly determines the minimum
pressure since this is the minimum weight that can float. Absolute pressure
calibrations are carried out using a tester that has the weights and piston in an
enclosure that is evacuated to as close as possible to a perfect vacuum.
Vacuum calibrations use a tester that is essentially upside down and uses a
variable vacuum source to lift the piston and the suspended weights to a floating
position.
A typical working standard dead weight tester might have two interchangeable
piston and cylinder assemblies with different piston areas and a range of weights
that would allow the tester to cover the range from 5 to 10,000 psi.
The piston areas would be 0.1 square inch for the low range operation and 0.01
square inch for the high range operation. Each piston and weight carrier would
have a weight of 0.5 pounds.
A weight set would be as follows:
 Four weights at 0.5 pounds
 Four weights at 2.0 pounds
 One weight at 9.5 pounds
 Nine weights at 10.0 pounds

Using the 0.1 square inch piston, the minimum pressure would come by floating
just the piston and weight carrier, which weigh 0.5 pounds.
The resulting pressure would be 0.5 ÷ 0.1 = 5 psi
Adding one 0.5-pound weight to the weight carrier would increase the total
weight to 1.0 pounds, and the resulting pressure at balance would be 1.0 ÷ 0.1
= 10 psi. Additional 0.5-pound weights result in an increase of 5 psi per weight.
Adding 2.0-pound weights result in an increase in pressure of 2.0 ÷ 0.1 = 20 psi
per weight.
The 9.5-pound weight is there for convenience since the weight plus the piston
and carrier weigh 9.5 + 0.5 = 10.0 pounds. This combination results in a
pressure of 10.0 ÷ 0.1 = 100 psi. Each additional 10.0-pound weight will
increase the pressure by 10.0 ÷ 0.1 = 100 psi.
The total weight of all the weights plus the piston and weight carrier is 110.0
pounds. This combination would result in a pressure of 110.0 ÷ 0.1 = 1,100 psi.
Using this set of weights and the 0.1 square inch piston, any pressure between 5
psi and 1,100 psi in increments of 5 psi is possible.
If the 0.01 square inch piston is used, the minimum pressure produced by
floating just the piston and weight carrier is 0.5 ÷ 0.01 = 50 psi. Adding weights
as above will produce pressures that are 10 times higher than those produced by
the 0.1 square inch piston. The same set of weights and the 0.01 square inch
piston will produce any pressure between 50 and 11,000 psi in 50-psi
increments.
The incremental pressure steps also make the dead weight tester difficult or
impossible to use to determine transducer characteristics such as hysteresis and
linearity since the pressure is increasing and decreasing as the weights add on
and move off.
Overshooting the calibration points is also common unless one uses great care
when adding weights or increasing pressure.
Other considerations when using dead weight testers include making sure the
tester is leveled and eliminating or accounting for errors produced by locating the
instrument above or below the reference height of the tester.
The height of liquid will cause an error equal to the height times the density of
the fluid. The reference level of most dead weight testers is at a plane through
the center of the vertical travel of the piston.
The main concern in the maintenance of dead weight testers is keeping the
tester free of dirt and debris. External dirt can change the mass of weights while
dirt and debris in the tester fluid can prevent internal check valves from closing,
plug small orifices, and even enter the small clearance between the piston and
cylinder.
This can cause binding or surface scoring and the eventual need to scrap an
expensive component. The instrument seeing calibration should be as clean as
possible prior to attachment to the tester for calibration. Filters are available for
some testers to reduce the introduction of dirt and debris into the tester fluid.
Manometers are primary

In theory, a manometer is a primary standard since it measures pressure by

using the fundamental units of length and mass. In practice, there are many
factors that limit its use as a practical calibration tool.
The simplest form of a manometer is the U-tube manometer. This is glass tubing
in the shape of a 'U' with liquid partially filling the tube. With equal pressure
applied to each leg, the height of the liquid in the one leg will be equal to the
height in the other leg.
If a pressure applies to the right leg, the height of the liquid will fall in the right
leg and rise in the left leg. The pressure is equal to the ratio of the force applied
to the surface area of the liquid in the tube.
Pressure = Force ÷ Area
Applying more pressure will cause the level in the right leg to fall further and
cause the level in the left leg to rise further. Further changes in pressure show us
the difference in height between the two legs is proportional to the applied
pressure.
This difference in height of the liquid causes a force equal to the mass of liquid
times the acceleration due to gravity, which equals the force created by the
pressure on the fluid area.
F=m×g
This force distributes across the cross-sectional area of the tube producing a
pressure that is equal to the applied pressure.
Pressure = (m × g) ÷ Area
The mass of liquid is equal to the volume times the density and the volume in
the tubing is equal to the cross-sectional area times the height.
This results in:
Pressure = (density × Area × height × g) ÷ Area
or
Pressure = (density × height × g)
This equation shows the maximum pressure measurable by a manometer with a
reasonable length has limits the density of the fluid dictates.
Using mercury as the fluid, a 100-inch manometer can only measure
approximately 49 psi. Using water as the fluid, a 100-inch manometer can
measure approximately 3.6 psi. This relatively narrow range is one of the
disadvantages of manometers.
The fact that the pressure reading is proportional to density means corrections
for density changes with temperature are necessary. Temperature can also
change the length of the scale that serves to measure the fluid height.
Other disadvantages include the difficulty in reading the fluid height due to
parallax errors and difficulty in keeping the internal tube walls clean.