Cairn India – 2007

PRESSURE MESUREMENT
MODULE
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT - PRINCIPLES

Definition :-
¾ Pressure is the amount of force applied to
a unit of area.
¾ Units –
¾ Pressure - English or Metric (SI)
¾ In English units - Pressure measured in
Pounds ( of force ) per sq inch ( of area)
¾ In metric units ( SI ) Pressure is measured
as Newton’s per square meter
¾ Atmospheric Pressure is 14.696 psia or
101.325 Pa,1.01 Bar, 1.03 Kg/cm2
¾ Pa = 1 N/m2 , 1 lbf/in2 = 6895 Pa , KPa and
MPa are most commonly used. Another
term is Bar = 100 KPa ,= 0.987 atm. 14.50
psi , 1.02 kg/cm2
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT - PRINCIPLES

Conditions affecting Liquid

Pressure

1. Surface pressure
2. Depth
3. Density
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT - PRINCIPLES

¾ Density & Relative Density

¾ Water as reference liquid and comparing
the density of liquids or solids.
¾ Measuring and calculating liquid
pressures.
¾ Density is the mass per unit volume of
material. Eg Water has a density of 1000
kgms per cu meter.
¾ Gasoline has a density of 680 kg/m3 and
lead has density of 11300 kg/m3 .
¾ Air is used as the reference to compare
the density of gases . Air has a density of
1.22 kg/m3 at 60deg F and Hydrogen has
density of 0.085kg/m3.
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT

¾ Gauge Pressure & Absolute

pressure
¾ Gauge pressure is the difference
between measured pressure and
atmospheric pressure termed as
psig.
¾ Absolute pressure ie actual
pressure including atmospheric
pressure, termed as psia ( because
the gauges indicate actual
atmospheric pressure , they can be
termed as barometers for weather
instruments and altimeters to
indicate altitude above sea level.
¾ Barometer –is a closed tube
manometer with vacuum on the
sealed side.
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT- SENSORS

¾ Two types
¾ Wet sensors – contain a liquid that responds to the pressure
( eg manometer )
¾ Dry sensors – Use an elastic element that responds to the
pressure

¾ There are three basic kinds of elastic elements used for most dry
instruments.
¾ The bourden Tube
¾ The diaphragm
¾ The bellows.
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT

¾ Pressure sensors
¾ Sensing a process pressure is the first step in Pressure
measurement and control. The accuracy and sensitivity of a
Pressure sensor affect all of the elements that follow it in a process
control system.
¾ Basic kinds of pressure sensors – Four
¾ Manometers – Wet type
¾ bourden tubes – Dry Type
¾ Diaphragms
¾ Bellows
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT

¾ Manometers
¾ One of the simplest Pressure measuring instrument is the
Manometer – which is a tube with liquid inside.
¾ Principle - A pressure difference between the two ends of the
tubes causes the liquids to rise. The amount of rise indicates
the amount of pressure difference.
¾ Types - U Tube manometer
¾ Water is used inside liquid if the manometer is intended to
read fairly low pressure.
¾ For high Pressures mercury is used as liquid inside because
Mercury is 14 times heavier than water & the difference in a
mercury filled manometer is about 1/14 that in a water filled
manometer
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT -Types Of Manometers

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PRESSURE MESUREMENT- SENSORS

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PRESSURE MESUREMENT

¾ Bourden tube sensors

¾ A bourden tube is usually a metal tube bent in to one of the
four shapes.
¾ a “C”
¾ is a spiral
¾ a helix
¾ a twisted shape
¾ Construction :- the tube may be round or flat depending on
the material used . On end of the tube is sealed and shut the
other end is open to process pressure.
¾ The bourden tube is named after Eugene Bourdon , the
French scientist who invented it in 1847.
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT- TYPES OF BOURDON TUBES

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PRESSURE MESUREMENT- SENSORS

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PRESSURE MESUREMENT

¾ Spiral
¾ These instruments are wound with the bourden tube in spiral. This
shape allows longer tube to fit in the same space. The movement of
the tip is greater because of the longer tube.
Helical
¾ The tube can be wound in the form of a helix allowing it to be even
longer than a spiral tube. The longer tube results in greater motion
of the tip , making the helical pressure gauge the most sensitive of
the bourdon tube shapes.
¾ Twisted shape
¾ The twisted bourdon tube untwists as pressure increases.. Because
twisted tube produces less tip motion than other shapes , it is not
commonly used as often as others. However twisted tube is very
rugged, , compact , light in weight. An excellent pressure measuring
instrument in harsh conditions where durability is more important
than sensitivity.
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT –BOURDON TUBES

¾ C –Shaped Bourdon tube

¾ Commonly used in Pressure
measuring devices ranging from 0-
15 psig to 0- 10,000psig. The range
depends on the material used,
flatness of the tube , cross –
sectional area, .
¾ As the pressure increases the
bourdon tube becomes straighter. ,
since the open end of the tube
cannot move and the closed end of
the tube remains free to move. The
amount of movement indicates the
amount of pressure.
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT

¾ Diaphragm pressure sensors - Principle

¾ A Diaphragm is a flexible disk that changes shape as the process changes.

The disk is held finally all around the outer edge. The process pushes on
one side of the disk. The central portion of the disk moves in or out as the
process pressure changes. The Diaprgham may be elastic and spring back
against process pressure or it may be slack and use a separate specially
calibrated spring. Diaphragm sensors can measure wide range of pressures,
including pressure below atmospheric pressures.
¾ The high Pr side is pushed by a force equal to the pressure multiplied by the
area of the diaphragm. The force on the low pr side acts against this force.
The difference between these two forces pushes the central part of the
Diaphragm upward. As the diaphragm moves the flexible material stretches
and resists further movement.
¾ Types
¾ Single diaphragm – One flexible element
¾ Capsule diaphragm- two elements
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT

¾ Construction
¾ Diaprgham may be made of
rubber or other materials . ,
synthetic materials ., metals etc
¾ Stainless steel is used most
often particularly for capsule
Diaprgham
¾ Capsule elements :- Phosphor
bronze , stainless steel, or alloys.
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT

¾ Bellows pressure sensors

A bellows looks like a small can with flexible
sides and a rigid top and bottom. These
devices are made up of brass or stainless
steel. Process pressure makes the unit
expand or contract. The resilience of the
flexible sides , a spring on one
end resists the effects of the process
pressure. Thus the bellow expands or
contracts in response to pressure changes.
Principle :- Process pressure usually is applied
inside the bellows for measurements below
atmospheric pressure . If the process pressure
is higher it is applied to a sealed case around
the bellows.
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT- PRESSURE TRANSUDECERS

¾ Pressure sensor based Electrical

principles
¾ Pressure Conversion
¾ Principle :- The output movement of
the mechanical pressure sensor must
be converted to a standard signal.,
which is often electric signal. The
device that converts the signal is
termed as transducer.
¾ Consists of 3 elements –
¾ Pressure sensing element
¾ Primary conversion element (
mechanical action to electrical action )
¾ Secondary conversion element ( An
electronic circuit suitable for the
control system )
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT- Capacitance type Pressure

Transducers
¾ Consists of two metal plates
separated by air or some other
insulator which can store an
electrical charge. This plate and an
insulation arrangement is a
capacitor and stores electrical
charge referred to as Capacitance.
If capacitor is connected to an AC
circuit, a change in the
capacitance affects the voltage
output of the circuit. One
advantage of the capacitance
circuit is its rapid response to
changes in pressure as the
response time is shorter than ten
milliseconds (10/1000 of a second
) another being durability ,under
harsh operating conditions. ,
withstand vibration & shock .
¾
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT

¾ Reluctance
¾ Suppose two coils of wire each wound on an iron core are placed
near each other and an AC voltage is applied to one coil , it
induces an AC voltage in the other. The electrical coupling is due
to the magnetic interaction between the coils. The amount of
induced voltage depends on the applied ac voltage , space
between the coils, no of terns in each coil etc .
¾ Reluctance is a term used in describing how magnetic devices
work. Reluctance in a magnetic circuit is similar to resistance in
electrical circuit. Changing the space between the two magnetic
devices changes the reluctance between them.
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT

A strain gauge changes its electrical

resistance as it is starched and relaxed.
It can be attached to a pressure
sensing diaphragm. When the
diaphragm flexes the strain gauge
stretches or relaxes in turn converting
pressure changes to electrical
changes. The amount of flexing is very
small and hence all strain gauges are
force balance devices only.
¾ Various types :-
¾ Metal wire
¾ Metal foil
¾ Thin strip of semiconductor
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PIEZO ELECTRIC PRESSURE TRANSDUCERS

¾ When measurement requires to measure high pressure that

change rapidly this type is found most suitable. ( eg Pressure
inside the cylinder of a gasoline engine is subjected to
change from < atmospheric pressure to thousand of pounds
per square inch. Ordinary Pressure transducers cannot
measure great pressure changes over a short time period .
¾ A material that produces Electric voltage when pressure is
applied is referred to as Piezoelectric.( eg crystals of quartz ,
barium titanate powder, Rochelle salts etc)
¾ The material produces an electrical voltage when they are
squeezed suddenly. The voltage ceases when the pressure
stops changing.
¾ Transducer ranges from 0-50000 psi .
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PIEZO ELECTRIC PRESSURE TRANSDUCERS

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PRESSURE MESUREMENT

¾ LOW PRESSURE MEASUREMENT

¾ Vacuum
¾ Normally pressure higher than atmospheric pressure is measured.
How to measure pressure less than atmospheric pressure, Pressure
below atmospheric is known as Absolute Pressure ( psia or vacuum)
. A perfect vacuum means zero pressure – the space totally empty of
all gas molecules
¾ Units of measurement
¾ Psi & PA.
¾ Column of Hg can be measured in mm of HG Normal atmospheric Pr
at sea level is 760 mm of Hg equal to 29.921 mm of Hg.
¾ Torr is used to measure low pressure as well. 1 Psia # 51.7 Torr
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT
¾ Differential Pressure Switches
¾ Pressure switches are used to energise
and de- energise electric circuit as a
function of the relationship between
process pressure and pre- determined
set point.
¾ Pressure switches are available to
detect absolute , compound , gauge and
differential pressures. ( accuracy +/ - ½
% of span.
¾ Most elastic elements would have a
service life of ½ million cycle if the cycle
time is less than 5 milli seconds.
¾ Types :-
¾ Single pole Double throw switch ( SPDT
)
¾ Double make double make switch (
DPMB )
¾ Double throw double throw switch (
DPDT )
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT
¾ The fixed differential pr switches are
furnished with a single adjustment for set
point. These units are factory set and
cannot be re adjusted. On double
adjustment designs both set and re
actuation points can be independently
adjusted. The electrical rating of these
switches can be 115 volt operating level
varies from 0.3 to 15 amps both AC or DC.
¾ Pressure transmitter – General Principles
¾ ( pneumatic)
¾ The pneumatic transmitter measuring the
process variable and producing a remote
output pressure for each position of its
pointer.
¾ A receiver instrument ( indicator ) converts
the transmitted air pr in to a reading .
¾ Flapper nozzle / Nozzle amplifier
¾ Force balance Pressure type
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PRESSURE MESUREMENT

¾ Failure & Abnormalities

¾ Even though a careful design of the plant process instrumentation is provided , due to the
operational conditions and other hazardous conditions , failure or abnormalities takes place
in these devices.

¾ These can be grouped in to two broadly .

¾ 1. Field failures –
¾ 2. Control room or Control system failures
¾ Filed failures – relates to the following even though not confined to these only.
¾ Calibration
¾ High out put / Erratic out put
¾ power supply – Check output of power supply
¾ Pressure piping - Check for Impulse lines leak or blockage,
¾ Check for entrapped gas in liquid lines or liquid in dry lines
¾ Transmitter Electronics failure – Check for faulty amplifier with a spare amplifier assy.
¾ Loop wiring Transmitter electronics – check for intermittent shorts , open circuits , and
multiple grounds
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¾
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Functions / Principles of Measuring instruments

Two Basic Functions

An instrument must sense Pressure to be measured. Part of the
Instrument must stretch bend, or change position or characteristic
when affected by pressure while remaining un affected by other
influences eg temperature.

The instrument must convert this response in to an electrical or

pneumatic signal that other elements in the control system can use.
Sensors are part of the pressure instruments that responds to the
pressure .