PRESSURE

Pressure
• is the force exerted by gases and liquids due to their
weight, such as the pressure of the atmosphere on
the surface of the earth and the pressure
containerized liquids exert on the bottom and walls
of a container.
• Pressure units are a measure of the force acting
over a specified area. It is most commonly
expressed in pounds per square inch (psi),
sometimes pounds per square foot(psf) in English
units, or pascals (Pa or kPa) in metric units.
 PRESSURE MEASUREMENT
• Total vacuum–which is zero pressure or lack of
pressure, as would be experienced in outer
space.
• Vacuum is a pressure measurement made
between total vacuum and normal atmospheric
pressure (14.7 psi).
• Atmospheric pressure is the pressure on the
earth’s surface due to the weight of the gases in
the earth’s atmosphere and is normally
expressed at sea level as 14.7 psi or 101.36 kPa.
 PRESSURE MEASUREMENT
• Absolute pressure is the pressure measured with
respect to a vacuum and is expressed in pounds
per square inch absolute (psia).
• Gauge pressure is the pressure measured with
respect to atmospheric pressure and is normally
expressed in pounds per square inch gauge
(psig).
• Differential pressure is the pressure measured
with respect to another pressure and is
expressed as the difference between the two
values.
 EXAMPLE:

•What pressure in
Pascals corresponds
to 15 psi?
What pressure in pascals corresponds
to 15 psi?

p = 15 psi (6.895 kPa/psi) = 102.9 kPa

 Pressure Formulas
• Hydrostatic pressure is the pressure in a liquid.
The pressure increases as the depth in a liquid
increases. This increase is due to the weight of
the fluid above the measurement point. The
pressure is given by
• Buoyancy is the upward force exerted on an
object immersed or floating in a liquid. The
weight is less than it is in air due to the weight
of the displaced fluid. The upward force on
the object causing the weight loss is called the
buoyant force and is given by
 Measuring Instruments
• Manometers are good examples of pressure
measuring instruments, though they are not
as common as they used to be because of the
development of new, smaller, more rugged,
and easier to use pressure sensors.
• U–tube manometers consist of U-shaped
glass tubes partially filled with a liquid.
 Other manometer:
• Inclined manometers were developed to
measure low pressures. The low pressure arm
is inclined, so that the fluid has a longer
distance to travel than in a vertical tube for
the same pressure change.
• Well manometers are alternatives to inclined
manometers for measuring low pressures
using low-density liquids.
 Other pressure sensor:
• Barometers are used for measuring atmospheric
pressure.
• A piezoelectric pressure gauge- Piezoelectric
crystals produce a voltage between their
opposite faces when a force or pressure is
applied to the crystal. This voltage can be
amplified and the device used as a pressure
sensor.
• Capacitive devices use the change in capacitance
between the sensing diaphragm and a fixed plate
to measure pressure.