University of Management and Technology

Sialkot
Mechanical Engineering Department

Course Title: Mechanical Measurement and

Metrology (ME-242)
 Pressure

• Pressure is defined as force per unit area

• The SI unit of pressure is the pascal, Pa

(N/m2)

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Categories of Pressure Instruments
— Pressure Reference Instruments

— Pressure Transducers

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Pressure Reference Instruments
― McLeod Gauge

― Barometer

― Manometer

― Deadweight Tester

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 McLeod Gauge
• A pressure-measuring instrument and a
laboratory reference standard

• Used to measure gas pressure in the range:

1 mm Hg (abs) down to 0.1 mm Hg (abs).

• A pressure that is below atmospheric pressure

is also called a vacuum pressure.

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The glass tubing is arranged so that a sample
of the gas at an unknown low pressure can be trapped by
inverting the gauge from the sensing
position, depicted as Figure a,

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to that of the measuring position, depicted as
Figure b. In this way, the gas trapped within the
capillary is isothermally compressed by a rising
column of mercury.

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• Boyle’s law is then used to relate the two
pressures on either side of the mercury to the
distance of travel of the mercury within the
capillary.
• Mercury is the preferred working fluid because
of its high density and very low vapor pressure.
• The McLeod gauge generally does not require
correction. The reference stem offsets capillary
forces acting in the measuring capillary.
• Instrument systematic uncertainty is on the
order of 0.5% (95%) at 1mmHg abs and
increases to 3% (95%) at 0.1 mm Hg abs.

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 Barometer
• It consists of an initially evacuated tube that
is closed on one end. The open end is
inverted and immersed within a liquid-filled
reservoir

• The reservoir is open to atmospheric

pressure, which forces the liquid to rise up
the tube

Continue…
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• To create the barometer, the tube,
which is sealed at only one end, is
evacuated to zero absolute pressure
• The reservoir is open to atmospheric
pressure, which forces the liquid to rise up the tube.
• Mercury is the most common liquid used
because it has a very low vapor pressure, and so,
for practical use, the indicated pressure can be taken
as the local absolute barometric pressure.
• However, for very accurate work the barometer
needs to be corrected for temperature effects,
which

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 …continued

• The resulting height of the liquid column

above the reservoir free surface is a
measure of the absolute atmospheric
pressure in equivalent head (p/ϒ)

• Barometers are used as local standards for

measuring atmospheric pressure

• Weather services report a barometric

pressure corrected to see-level elevation
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