CALIBRATION OF BOURDON

GAUGE
Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulic Machinery
ME3110

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology
Malabe

Name : K.H.U.D.R.T.H.ULUWATTA
Date of Submission : 25/05/2018
EN Number : EN16530522
Program : SLIIT

Instructed By : Mrs.Thilini
Date of Performance : 23/05/2018
Date of Submission : 25/05/2018
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.

When a gauge is pressurized, the Bourdon creates the dial tip travel to enable pressure measurement.
The higher the pressure requirement of the application, the stiffer the Bourdon tube needs to be, which
means Bourdon wall thickness and diameter are key considerations for enabling the required tip travel
to traverse the necessary movement and, thus, facilitate pressure measurement accuracy.

The Bourdon gauge is a highly accurate but rather delicate instrument. You can easily damage it. In
addition, it malfunctions if pressure varies rapidly. This problem was overcome by the development
of another type of gauge.
Objectives
 To study and sketch the construction of a typical Bourdon Gauge and to describe how it works.
 To establish the calibration of the Bourdon Gauge.

Apparatus
This dead weight pressure gauge calibrator consists of a precision machined piston and cylinder
assembly mounted on levelling screws. A Bourdon gauge is supplied for calibration. The weights
supplied are added to the upper end of the piston rod which is rotated to minimise friction effects.
The gauge is thus subject to known pressures which may be compared with the gauge readings and
an error curve drawn.
The TecQuipment Bourdon Gauge and dead weight tester
Set of Test weights
Laboratory Scales

Procedure
 The weight of the Piston, and its cross sectional area should be noted.

 The piston should be removed, and water is poured into the cylinder until it is full to the
overflow level. Any air trapped in the tube may be cleared by tilting and gently tapping
the apparatus. A small amount of air left in the system will not affect the experiment,
however, a large amount of air would cause the piston to bottom on the base of the
cylinder.

 The piston is then re-placed in the cylinder and allowed to settle. A spirit level placed
on the platform at the top of the piston may be used to ensure that that the cylinder is
vertically upright.

 Weights are now added in convenient increments, and at each increment, the pressure
gauge reading is observed.

 A similar set of results is then taken with decreasing weights.

 To guard against the piston sticking in the cylinder, it is advisable to rotate the piston
gently while the pressure gauged is being read.

Mass of Piston= 1 kg
Weight of Piston= 9.81N
Cross sectional area= 333 mm^2
Theory

Bourdon Gauge

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.

Figure 1-Dead Weight tester for calibration of pressure gauge

Observation

True pressure vs gauge pressure

(when increasing pressure)
250

200
Gauge reading(kN/m^2)

150

100

50

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
True pressure (kN/m^2)

True pressure vs gauge pressure

(when decreasing pressure)
250

200
Gauge reading (kN/m^2)

150

100

50

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
True Pressure(kN/m^2)
 True pressure vs error
(when increasing pressure)
20

18

16

14
Gauge reading(kN/m^2)

12

10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
True pressure (kN/m^2)

True pressure vs error

(when decreasing pressure)
20

18

16
Gauge Pressure (kN/m^2)

14

12

10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
True Pressure (kN/m^2)
Discussion
Possible sources of error in this experiment:

1- Wear and backlash in the gauge linkage can increase or decrease the
pressure.

2- Air bubbles inside the tester unit may result in inaccurate reading.

3- Static friction between the piston and cylinder, yield smaller gauge
reading.

3- Human error.

There is the graduation error due to the scale being marked off incorrectly. In this gauge, the
graduation error increases fairly steadily from 10.85kN/m2 to approximately 18.25 kN/m2 at a
reading of around 195 kN/m2. This error, of about 10.32 percent would be acceptable, small for many
engineering purposes, although Bourdon gauges with a much higher accuracy are available for
accurate work.
If there is an air bubble inside the connecting rubber tube between death weight and bourdon gauge,
the bubble should be taken out from tube, shaking the bourdon gauge. This bubble cause to giving
inaccurate reading during the experiment. And also cylinder should be filled using water until excess
water drains out through the overflow tube. Bubbles are not remain between piston and water, because
cylinder is fully filled.

Conclusion
Industrially Bourdon tube pressure gauges are used for,
 Critical applications there are Bourdon tube pressure gauges with liquid filling. Through the
case liquid, a precise readability is ensured, even with high dynamic pressure loads
 Highly automated chemical processes, such as, refineries and petrochemical processing, to
hydraulic and pneumatic installations.

Advantages,
 Inexpensive
 Simple Design
 Good accuracy except at low pressure.
 High-pressure range.
Disadvantages,
 Susceptible to shock and vibration
 Gauges are subjected to hysteresis
References
Uomustansiriyah.edu.iq. (2018). [online] Available at:
https://uomustansiriyah.edu.iq/media/lectures/5/5_2017_12_15!12_50_51_AM.pdf [Accessed
24 May 2018].

TecQuipment. (2018). Calibration of a Pressure Gauge | Pressure Measurement |

TecQuipment. [online] Available at: https://www.tecquipment.com/calibration-of-a-pressure-
gauge [Accessed 24 May 2018].

Laurila, H. (2018). How to calibrate pressure gauges - 20 things you should consider. [online]
Blog.beamex.com. Available at: https://blog.beamex.com/how-to-calibrate-pressure-gauges
[Accessed 24 May 2018].