H3a Calibration of a Pressure Gauge © TecQuipment Ltd 2011 Do not reproduce or transmit this document in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system without the express permission of TecQuipment Limited TecQuipment has taken care to make the contents of this, ‘manual accurate and up to date. However, if you find any errors, please let us know so we can rectify the problem. ‘TecQuipment supplies a Packing Contents List (PCL) with the equipment. Carefully check the contents of the package(s) against the list I any items are missing or damaged, contact TecQuipment or the local agent. TecQuipment 8/0311Contents Introduction Descrip' Technical Details Noise Levels Installation and Assembly Theory Notation Units of Pressure Pressure and Force Calibration Constant Experiment (Calibration) Procedure Results Analysis. Typical Results Questions For Further Discussions. Maintenance, Spare Parts and Customer Care General Maintenance Spare Parts Customer Care TecQuipment Lid H7 Friction Lose in a Pipe " 12 13 14 18 15 16 16 User GuideTR Hea | Calibration of a TecQuipment Pressure Gauge User Guide Introduction Figure 1 Calibration of a Pressure Gauge (H3a) From the beginnings of scientific study, engineers and scientists have discovered and used many different types of pressure measuring instruments, The mast common and fundamental instrument is the water manometer or piezometer. For higher pressures, scientists have used mercury manometers in place of water, but this is known to have health and safety problems. Each instrument has advantages and disadvantages when used in different applications. For example some instruments work better at measuring pressures below atmospheric than others. Also, some instruments need electrical power to make them work. Alternatively, some applications may need an instrument that can resist extreme temperatures or acidic fluids When choosing an instrument for any particular application, engineers need to know the accuracy of the instrument over the range of pressures that they measure. They may also need to know how to calibrate the instrument for that application. Therefore, students of engineering and science need to know how the most popular pressure measuring instruments work and how to calibrate them for accurate readings, The TecQuipment Calibration of a Pressure Gauge uses a large Bourdon pressure gauge, with ‘dead weights’ on a plunger piston to show how the gauge works and how to calibrate it. Tecaupment Ltt 1 User Guide3a Catoeaton ofa Pressure Gauge User Guide 2 TeeQuipment Lid3a Calibration ofa Pressure Gauge Description Weights, Bourdon Piston — ‘Transparent tube Figure 2 Principle of the Bourdon Pressure Gauge Calibrator ‘A French engineer - Eugene Bourdon built and patented the Bourdon gauge during the middle of the 19th Century. tis still one of the most popular pressure measurement instruments, used in many different applications and has a good accuracy for any given pressure range. The transparent dial of the instrument allows you to see the workings of the gauge. A thin-walled tube with an oval cross-section forms a 270 degree circular arc. The tube has one end fixed and open to the applied pressure. its other end is sealed but free to move. As pressure enters the fixed end, the tube tries to straighten. This causes movement at the free end which moves a mechanical system connected to a pointer. The pointer moves around a graduated scale in proportion to the pressure applied. The sensitivity of the gauge depends on the material and dimensions of the Bourdon tube. A piston and cylinder assembly to the side of the gauge allows you to add known values of accurately calibrated weights, which force water towards the gauge, increasing the pressure in the Bourdon tube. ‘The pressure shown by the Bourdon gauge should match the pressure calculated from the force created by the weights, with an accuracy determined by experiment, The Bourdon gauge may have scales calibrated in both SI derived units of KN/m? ‘and non-SI units of lb/in?, You could calibrate the gauge using the non-SI units but the experiments in this guide only show the use of the SI derived units. si NoTE International System of Units TecQupment Lis 3 User Guideaa Calteaton ofa Pressure Gauge ser Guide TecQuipment Ltd3a Calibration ofa Pressure Gauge Technical Details Item Details ‘Nett Dimensions and | 470 mm x420 mm x 270 mm and Weight 4'kg (without the weight set) Set of Weights [4xtokg 2x05kg 1x0.2k9 Total 5.2 kg Range of gauge | 0 to 200 kN.m? Piston Diameter and | Nominal 20 mm and 314 mm? ot Deter to label om equipment [or accurate vats Mass of piston Nominal 1 kg (plunger) and Refer to label on equipment platform for accurate value. Noise Levels ‘The noise levels recorded at this apparatus are lower than 70 dB (A). TecQuipment Lis 5 User Guide3a Caltration ofa Pressure Gauge ser Guise 6 ‘TecCuipment Lis3a Calibration ofa Pressure Gauge Installation and Assembly + A wax coating may have been applied to parts ofthis apparatus to prevent coresion during transport Remove the wax coating by using NOTE ppararfin or white spin, applied with either a soft brush ora cloth, - \ ‘+ Follow any regulations that affect the instollation, operation and ‘maintenance ofthis apparatus in the country wher iti to be used. 1. Put the equipment on a flat, level surface that will not be damaged by water. 2. Remove the piston from the unit and fill the cylinder with clean, cool water that has a low mineral content. The water should also fil the transparent tube. To remove any air trapped in the tube, gently tap it with your fingers or gently tilt the equipment. A few small bubbles of air will not affect the results = 3, TecQuipment may have lightly oiled the piston to protect it from corrosion during transport and storage, so wipe it with a clean cloth to help remove most of the oil 4, If necessary, top up the cylinder with more water, then carefully insert the piston into the cylinder. Take care to insert the piston perpendicular and square to the bore, or you may accidentally scratch the surfaces and the equipment may leak or not work Do not use water with a high mineral content. it may damage the inside surfaces of the cylinder. 5. Allow the piston to settle. TecOuipment Ltd 7 User Guide32 Caltrain ofa Pressure Gauge User Guide 8 TecQuipment LtdTheory Notation 3a Callration ofa Pressure Gauge gravity symbol ‘Meaning Units A Pressure | Pa or Nam? or Nim? ‘ wea Te? ea : 9.81 ms? or 9.81 m/s? course the same as kN.mr2, and both are correct SI units but just a different way {|__Theunts of resi sown on the Bourdon gouge ay bein Tis NOTE & of writing it Units of Pressure ‘The standard units of pressure are the Pascal (Pa) and Newtons per square metre (N/m), but some3a Calbraton ofa Pressure Gauge Therefore: W = mg aM The pressure (p) caused by the force is therefore the force divided by the cross-sectional area of the cylinder (1), over which the force is applied: Po (2) The relative heights ofthe cylinder and gauge are similar, so there is very litle ‘pressure head’ difference between them caused by different heights of water. Therefore, the pressure is constant from the cylinder to the Bourdon gauge, so the gauge should give a direct reading of the pressure caused by the dead weight on the piston. Calibration Constant From Equations 1 and 2: im aA Therefore, as the acceleration due to gravity (g) and area (1) are constant for the equipment, then you can find the pressure (p) by a simple calculation of: p=mxk where & =a constant found from 4 For example, for a piston area of 315 mm? (0.000315 m2) and g = 9.81 m.s%, then & = 31143. Therefore: Pressure (in N/m?) = mass (in kg) x 31143, Pressure (in kN/m) = mass (in kg) x 31.143 User Guide 10 TecQuipment LtdH3a Calibration ofa Pressure Gauge Experiment (Calibration) Procedure 1. Create a blank table of results, similar to Table 1 2, Note the cross-sectional area of the piston (indicated on the base of the equipment). Piston Area (4): Applied Gauge Reading (kN/m?) Average | Error (9% Mass(m) | Force | Pressure (p) Error, | of full (ka) | OP) | -kN/m? | Increasing | Decreasing | Average | (kN/m?) | scale) Table 1 Blank Results Table 3. IF fitted, carefull lift the piston from the cylinder and check that the gauge reads zero pressure. You ‘may need to gently ‘tap’ the gauge to make the indicator settle down to zero, 4, Carefully insert the piston with its loading platform. From the information on the equipment, note the mass of the piston (plunger) and platform, and write this in the first line of your results table. Note the gauge reading in the ‘increasing’ column of your results table. 5. Add the weights to the loading platform of the piston in at least 8 steps up to an indicated reading of around 170 kN/m? or a maximum applied mass of around 6 kg including the mass of the piston. 6. Ateach step, gently rotate the piston to help prevent the piston sticking and record the gauge reading in the increasing colurnn, Gre & To avoid reading errors, look directly at the gauge, not at an angle. \ 7. Reverse the procedure, reducing the weights and recording the gauge readings as the pressure decreases. TecQuipment Lis " User GuiseHa Calibration ofa Pressure Gauge Results Analysis Using equation 1, multiply the mass of the weight by the acceleration due to gravity to find the force GP) applied to the piston. Using equation 2, divide the force by the piston area to find the applied pressure. Alternatively, find the applied pressure (in kN.m2) by multiplying the mass (in kg) by the calibration constant shown on the equipment. Find the average pressure from the increasing and decreasing pressures. Subtract the applied pressure from the average pressure to find the average errors. Now divide by the full scale reading of the gauge and multiply by 100 to convert this into percentage of full scale. Plot a chart of the increasing and decreasing gauge readings (vertical axis) against the applied pressure to give a visual indication of any hysteresis in the gauge. Now plot a chart of the average error (vertical axis) against applied pressure to give a visual indication of the reading error across the pressure range. User Guide 2 TeeCuipment Lid3a Calibration ofa Pressure Gauge Typical Results Increasing and Decreasing Gauge Reading against Applied Pressure (Hysteresis) 200 - 190 | increasing 160 == = Decreasing 140 120 oon Indicated Gauge Pressure (kNim *) - eo 7 _ . 0 20 | 2 : - —— 0 so 100 180 200 Appli 1d Pressure (kNim?) Figure 3 Gauge Reading Hysteresis Mechanical gauges normally have three main causes of error: 1. Hysteresis caused by friction in the mechanical movement in the gauge. ‘The results (Figure 3) show only a small hysteresis for this gauge, typically less than 1 kN/m? across the entire range. In normal use, you would gently ‘tap’ the gauge between readings to help relieve this - friction - often called ‘stiction’. 2. Accuracy of the printed scale. ‘The results (Figure 4) show an indicated pressure error trend that increases with the applied pressure. When converted into percentage of full scale you can expect a maximum error of around 2.5%. This is acceptable for many engineering purposes, although some manufacturers can supply gauges with an - error of only 0.5% of the full-scale reading. However, greater accuracy usually means higher unit costs of the gauge. 3. Reading error. If the user does not look directly through the printed scale at the pointer at a position perpendicular to the gauge face, then the reading may be subject to parallax error. TecQuipment Lid 3 User Guide3a Caltoration ofa Pressure Gauge Average Gauge Error Reading against Applied Pressure 45 Error (kNin?) 15 | 1 a = - os a. ° 50 100 180 200 ‘Applied Pressure (kN) Figure 4 Average Gauge Error Reading Questions For Further Discussions 11. What suggestions do you have for improving the apparatus? 2, No correction has been allowed for the slight variations in height of the piston and therefore pressure head with respect to the gauge while you add weights. This is because the errors caused by this difference are too small to measure with this equipment. Remember that 10 mm of water = 9.8 Nim? = 0.0098 kN/m?. However, ifthe centre of the gauge were 200 mm (0.2m) higher than the base of the piston, should a correction be made and, if so, how big would it be? 3. How would you change the dimensions of the piston to use it for calibrating a gauge having a full scale reading of 3500 kN/m? using the same weights? ser Guide “ TecQuipment Ltd3a Calibration ofa Pressure Gauge Maintenance, Spare Parts and Customer Care General Maintenance Alter use, drain out any water and dry both the cylinder and piston with a lint-free cloth. Smear the whole piston surface lightly with oll after use. NOTE {"S TecQuipment carefully match the cylinder and piston to give a good sliding fit. They are therefore not interchangeable with other units. Regularly check all parts of the apparatus for damage, renew if necessary. When not in use, store the apparatus in a dry, dust-free area, covered with a plastic sheet. If the apparatus becomes dirty, wipe the surfaces with a damp, clean cloth. Do not use abrasive cleaners. Regularly check all fixings and fastenings for tightness, adjust where necessary. fal Renew faulty or damaged pars with an equivalent tem ofthe same type or Nore (B, ratig Ifyou leave water in the equipment for long periods, water deposits or corrosion may cause the piston to stick firmly in the body. If this happens, add penetrating oil into the cylinder and leave the unit to stand for three to four hours before twisting the piston free from the body. Do not attempt to polish the piston rod with emery cloth, or any harsh CAUTION FL, abrasive. Use only a mixture of powdered chalk and oil to remove discolouration. TecQuipment Lid 16 User Guide3a Calioration ofa Pressure Gauge Spare Parts Check the Packing Contents List to see what spare parts we send with the apparatus. If you need technical help or spares, please contact your local TecQuipment agent, or contact TecQuipment direct. When you ask for spares, please tell us: Your name The full name and address of your college, company or institution Your email address The TecQuipment product name and product reference The TecQuipment part number (if you know it) The serial number The year it was bought (if you know it) Please give us as much detail as possible about the parts you need and check the details carefully before you contact us. If the product is out of warranty, TecQuipment will let you know the price of the spare parts. Customer Care User Guide We hope you like our products and manuals. if you have any questions, please contact our Customer Care department: Telephone: +44 115 954.0155 Fax: 444 115 973 1520 Email: [email protected] For information about all TecQuipment products visit: www.tecquipment.com 6 TecQuipment Ltd