Fluid Mechanics Lab

Lab Instructor:

Dr. Zafar Said, Assistant Professor

Department of Sustainable and Renewable Energy
College of Engineering, Office W9-112
University of Sharjah.

Experiment 2: Calibration of Pressure Gauge

Objective:
To calibrate a Bourdon tube pressure gauge
Investigation of the encountered errors, evaluation of the maximum
degree of uncertainty.

Introduction:
To calibrate a measurement system you have to compare its output with a standard
known input. Consider, for example, a pressure gauge. This device could be
calibrated by mounting the transducer in a closed vessel with a piston at one end.
(Such a vessel is called a dead-weight tester). Placing a weight on the piston
produces a known pressure in the vessel equal to the weight divided by the piston
area. After applying a series of weights and measuring the corresponding output
voltages of the pressure gauge you can plot the relationship between the gauge
reading and added weights. Now, if you want to measure the pressure in a pipe
you can use the gauge and the calibration curve to convert mass weights into
pressures at the pipe. Having a repeatable and accurate calibration is obviously a
prerequisite for an accurate measurement. Therefore, repeating a calibration at
regular intervals is a good idea since it may drift with time or ambient conditions.

Theory:
Bourdon pressure gauge is a thin-walled tube that is bent
into a quarter-circular arc. The tube is rigidly fixed at the
end where the pressure is applied, and free to move at the
end. The exterior of the tube is usually open to the
atmosphere. When the fixed end is subjected to a
pressure, the arc tends to straighten, thus causing the tube
end to move upward (or downward for vacuum
measurements). The deflection of the end is transmitted
mechanically to rotate the pressure gauge needle. The
magnitude of the deflection is proportional to the applied
pressure.

The Bourdon tube pressure gauge is loaded with known pressures using a Dead weight tester. This
Known pressure will be used for calibration. A diagram of Bourdon pressure gauge with a dead weight
tester is shown in the figure.

Fig: Dead Weight tester for calibration of pressure gauge.

A piston of known area (A) is loaded by a known Weights, therefore the actual pressure in the cylinder is
P

F mg

*103
A
A

( KN / m 2 )

Substituting known values:

For the piston with d=20 mm, the piston area can be calculated
A

(20)

314.16mm

9.81m N
N

0
.
03114
m

2
2
3.15 mm
mm

For each mass, calculate the actual pressure, and record the gauge reading.
Experimental Uncertainties & Error Analysis
2

dP
dm
dD

4

P
m
D

As seen from eq., uncertainty in diameter would propagate and could contribute to
the uncertainty in pressure four times as much as the uncertainty in mass.

The possible sources of error in the calibration are:

1. The area of the face of the piston: The error in diameter can be reduced by measuring the diameter of the piston with
micrometer with a known degree of uncertainty.
2. The weight of the masses: These can be reduced to a minimum by careful weighing of the piston and weighing platform
and of each of the two weights by using a balance of known degree of uncertainty.
3. The temperature: There will be an error introduced if the apparatus is used at a different temperature than the temperature
at which the piston diameter was measured. This error could be eliminated by measurement of these two temperatures and
correction of the result for any resultant expansion.