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VOLUME 3
FORCE-RELATED MEASUREMENTS
http://www.omega.com e-mail: pressure@omega.com
PRESSURE STRAIN FORCE
VOLUME 3
FORCE-RELATED MEASUREMENTS
http://www.omega.com e-mail: das@omega.com
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PRESSURE CONVERSION TABLE
Atmos Bars Dynes/cm2 In of Hg In of H20 K grams/
Lb/in2 psi Lb/ft2 mm of Hg Microns Pascals
(0 C) (4 C) meter2 torr
9.86923
9.86923
3.34207
2.458
9.678
4.7254
1.316
1.316
9.869
Atmos
1
0.068046
x 10-1
x 10-7
x 10-2
x 10-3
x 10-5
x 10-4
x 10-3
x 10-6
x 10-6
3.3864
2.491
9.8067
6.8948
4.788
1.333
1.333
Bars
1.01325 1
10
-6
10
-5
x 10
-2
x 10
-3
x 10
-5
x 10
-2
x 10
-4
x 10
-3
x 10
-6
1.01325
3.386
2.491
6.8948
1.333
Dynes/cm2
10
6
1
98.067
4.78.8
1.333
10
x 10
6
x 10
-2
x 10
3
x 10
4
x 10
3
In of Hg (0C)
29.9213
29.53
29.53
1
7.355
2.896
0.014139
3.937
3.937
2.953
2.036
x 10
-5
x 10
-2
x 10
-3
x 10
-2
x 10
-5
x 10
-4
4.0148
3.937
5.354
4.014
In of H20 (4C)
406.8
4.01.48
13.60
1
0.1922
0.5354
27.68
x 10
-4
x 10
-2
x 10
-4
x 10
-3
1.033227
1.0197
1.0197
7.0306
13.59
1.019
K grams/meter2
345.3
25.40
1
4.882
13.59
x 10
4
x 10
4
x 10
-2
x 10
2
x 10
-3
x 10
-1
Lb/in2 psi
1.4504
3.6126
1.423
6.9444
1.934
1.934
1.450
14.695595
14.504
0.4912
1
x 10-5
x 10
-3
x 10
-3
x 10
-3
x 10
-2
x 10-5
x 10-4
2.0885
2.7844
2.089
Lb/ft2
2116.22
2088.5
70.726 5.202
0.2048
144.0
1
2.7844
x 10
-3
x 10
-3
x 10
-2
7.5006
7.3558
7.502
mm of Hg torr
760
750.06
25.400
1.868
51.715 0.35913
1
10
-3
x 10
-4
x 10
-2
x 10
-3
760
750.06
2.54
1.868
51.715
0.75006
3
1
Microns
x 10
3
x 10
3
x 10
4
x 10
3
73.558
x 10
3
359.1
1 x 10 7.502
1.01325
3.386
2.491
6.8948
4.788
1.333
1.333
Pascals
1 x 10
-1 10
-1
9.8067
1
x 10
5
x 10
3
x 10
2
x 10
3
x 10
1
x 10
2
x 10
-1
STRAIN GAGE BRIDGE CIRCUITS AND EQUATIONS
Equations compute strain from unbalanced bridge voltages:
Sign is correct for VIN and VOUT as shown
Vr = [(VOUT /VIN )strained - (VOUT /VIN )unstrained]
Tensile is (+) and compressive is (-)
GF = Gage Factor = Poisson's Ratio
= Strain; multiply by 106 for micro-strain
QUARTER BRIDGE CONFIGURATIONS
Rl Rl
R1 R1
Rg() Rg()
+ Rl + Rl
VIN - VOUT + VIN - VOUT +
- Rl - Rg
R2 R3 R2 Dummy
Rl
=
-4Vr
GF(1 + 2Vr) (
R
1 + l
Rg )
HALF BRIDGE CONFIGURATIONS
(AXIAL)
(BENDING)
Rl
Rl
R1
R1
Rg(+) Rg(+)
+ Rl
+ Rl
VIN - VOUT + VIN - VOUT +
- -
R2 Rg(-) R2 Rg(-)
Rl Rl
=
-4Vr
GF[(1 + )-2Vr( - 1)] (
1 +
Rl
Rg ) =
-2Vr
GF (
R
1 + l
Rg )
(BENDING) (AXIAL)
- +
- + - +
+
+ +
VIN - VOUT + VIN - VOUT + VIN - VOUT +
-
- -
+ - + - + -
omega.com
Force-Related Measurements
P R E S S U R E S T R A I N W E I G H T AC C E L E R AT I O N TO RQ U E
VOLUME
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I N M E A S U R E M E N T A N D C O N T R O L
Overhead
Building
Structure
From Aristotle to Hawking Tension
Load Cell
Structure
Measurement Limitations
Stay Rods
120
Percent Change In Gauge Factor
Electrical Connector
Shrink Tubing Grooves
3 Process Pressure Measurement Transducer Types 5/16-24 Thd.
Seal Surface 26
Preload Screw
Practical Considerations Element Lead
Quartz Crystal (2)
Electrode
End Piece
Diaphragm
Positive Ion
Ions Collector Anode
High Pressure Designs Ion
Current
Detector + + +
@ - 30
To Vacuum
+ + System
4 High Pressure & Vacuum Very High Pressures Indicating
Meter Grid
+ 150V - - -
- - -
41
(100 mA/torr)
- -
Vacuum Instrumentation Hot
Cathode
Meter For
Electron
(10mA)
+
- +
06 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
REFERENCE SECTIONS
Inside Front Cover 02 70 Information Resources
Table of Contents 06 74 Glossary
Editorial 08 81 Index
About OMEGA 09 83 List of Figures
Operating Principles
7 Load Cell Designs New Sensor Developments 57
Strain Gage Configurations
Direction of Travel
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 07
Editorial
P.S. If you wish to submit an article of relevance for future issues of Transactions, please submit
via mail (P.O. Box 4047, Stamford, CT 06907), FAX (203-359-7700), or e-mail (info@omega.com).
08 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
About OMEGA
O encyclopedias, are designed to provide at-your-fingertips access to the technical information you need
to help meet your measurement and control requirements. But when your needs exceed the printed
wordwhen technical assistance is required to select among alternative products, or when no off-the-shelf
product seems to fill the billwe hope youll turn to OMEGA. There is no advertising or
promotional material in the Transactions series. There will be none.
Our people, our facilities, and our commitment to customer service set the standard
for control and instrumentation. A sampler of our comprehensive resources and
capabilities:
OMEGAs commitment to leading-edge research and development and
state-of-the-art manufacturing keeps us firmly at the forefront of technology.
OMEGAs Development and Engineering Center, located on our Stamford, CT,
campus, is home to OMEGAs design and engineering laboratories. All product
designs are tested and perfected here prior to marketing. This facility houses
OMEGAs metrology lab and other quality control facilities. The testing that takes place here assures
that you receive the best products for your applications.
On the manufacturing side, our Bridgeport, NJ, vertically integrated manufacturing facility near
Philadelphia houses advanced thermocouple wire production equipment along with a host of other com-
puterized CNC milling machines, injection molding equipment, screw machines, braiders, extruders,
punch presses and much, much more.
If our broad range of standard products doesnt quite match your needs, OMEGA is proud to offer the
most sophisticated and extensive custom engineering capabilities in the process measurement and control
industry. Whether you need a simple modification of a standard product or complete customized system,
OMEGA can accommodate your special request. Free CAD drawings also are supplied with customized product
orders, or a new design can be built to your specifications with no obligation.
We believe in active versus reactive customer service. To complement our current business and
manufacturing operations, OMEGA continues to strive toward new levels of quality by pursuing ISO 9000
quality standards. This systematic approach to quality strengthens OMEGAs competitive edge. Our
calibration services and quality control test center are trustworthy resources that help satisfy our customers
needs for accuracy on an initial and ongoing basis.
The companys technical center welcomes many corporate groups of engineers and scientists who
turn to OMEGA for training. Our 140-seat auditorium, equipped with the latest in multimedia presentation
technologies, provides an ideal learning environment for training tailored to your companys needsfrom
basic refreshers to in-depth courses.
In short, it is our commitment to quality instrumentation and exceptional customer service that remains
the cornerstone of our success. OMEGAs priority is clear: we exist to facilitate solutions to your needs.
For more information about Transactions or OMEGA Technologies, look us up on the Internet at
www.omega.com.
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 09
1
FORCE-RELATED MEASUREMENTS
A Historical Perspective
From Aristotle to Hawking
Force & Its Effects
Measurement Limitations
A Historical Perspective
he existence of life itself has neering experimentation. He not Leaning Tower of Pisa, that the veloc-
10 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
1 A Historical Perspective
was first fully understood by Sir Isaac of the same amount of force upon it. increasing. According to Hubble, this
Newton (1642-1727). His law of uni- 3) For every action, there is an expansion of the universe started 10
versal gravitation explained both the equal and opposite reaction. to 20 billion years ago with a big
fall of bodies on Earth and the After Newton, progress in under- bang, and the space-time fabric
motion of heavenly bodies. He proved standing force-related phenomena which our universe occupies contin-
that gravitational attraction exists slowed. James Prescott Joule (1818- ues to expand.
between any two material objects. He 1889) determined the relationship Carlo Rubbia (1934- ) and Simon van
also noted that this force is directly between heat and the various der Meer (1925- ) further advanced our
proportional to the product of the mechanical forms of energy. He also understanding of force by discovering
masses of the objects and inversely established that energy cannot be the subatomic W and Z particles which
proportional to the square of the lost, only transformed (the principle convey the weak force of atomic
of conservation of energy), defined decay. Stephen Hawking (1952- )
Fulcrum
potential energy (the capacity for advanced our understanding even fur-
Force Bar & Seal
doing work), and established that ther with his theory of strings. Strings
work performed (energy expended) can be thought of as tiny vibrating
is the product of the amount of loops from which both matter and
Vacuum
force applied and the distance trav- energy derive. His theory holds the
Reference
eled. In recognition of his contribu- promise of unifying Einsteins theory of
tions, the unit of work and energy in relativity, which explains gravity and
the SI system is called the joule. the forces acting in the macro world,
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) con- with quantum theory, which describes
tributed another quantum jump in our the forces acting on the atomic and
Process
Bellows understanding of force-related phe- subatomic levels.
Connection
nomena. He established the speed of
Figure 1-2: Vacuum Reference Gauge light (c = 186,000 miles/sec) as the Force & Its Effects
maximum theoretical speed that any Force is a quantity capable of chang-
distance between them. On the Earths object with mass can travel, and that ing the size, shape, or motion of an
surface, the measure of the force of mass (m) and energy (e) are equivalent object. It is a vector quantity and,
gravity on a given body is its weight. and interchangeable: e = mc2. as such, it has both direction and
The strength of the Earths gravitation- Einsteins theory of relativity cor- magnitude. In the SI system, the
al field (g) varies from 9.832 m/sec2 at rected the discrepancies in Newtons
sea level at the poles to 9.78 m/sec2 at theory and explained them geomet- Fulcrum
Force Bar
sea level at the Equator. rically: concentrations of matter & Seal
Bellows
Newton summed up his under- cause a curvature in the space-time
standing of motion in three laws: continuum, resulting in gravity
1) The law of inertia: A body dis- waves. While making enormous con- Stop
plays an inherent resistance to tributions to the advancement of sci-
changing its speed or direction. Both ence, the goal of developing a uni-
a body at rest and a body in motion fied field theory (a single set of laws
tend to remain so. that explain gravitation, electromag-
2) The law of acceleration: Mass (m) netism, and subatomic phenomena)
is a numerical measure of inertia. The eluded Einstein. Process
Atmospheric
acceleration (a) resulting from a force Edwin Powell Hubble (1889-1953) Connection Reference
(F) acting on a mass can be expressed improved our understanding of the Figure 1-3: Atmospheric Reference Gauge
in the equation a = F/m; therefore, it universe, noting that it looks the
can be seen that the greater the mass same from all positions, and in all magnitude of a force is measured in
(inertia) of a body, the less accelera- directions, and that distances units called newtons, and in pounds
tion will result from the application between galaxies are continuously in the British/American system. If a
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 11
A Historical Perspective 1
body is in motion, the energy of that The First Gas Law, called Boyles object (Figure 1-1). It is a beam sup-
motion can be quantified as the law, states that the pressure and vol- ported from hooks (A or B), while the
momentum of the object, the product ume of a gas are inversely propor- object to be weighed is attached to
of its mass and its velocity. If a body is tional to one another: PV = k, where the shorter arm of the lever and a
free to move, the action of a force will P is pressure, V is volume and k is a counterpoise is moved along the
longer arm until balance is estab-
lished. The precision of such weight
scales depends on the precision of
the reference weight (the counter-
poise) and the accuracy with which it
is positioned.
Similarly, errors in pressure mea-
surement are as often caused by
inaccurate reference pressures as
Normal Angular
Parallel
they are by sensor inaccuracies. If
Misalignment Misalignment absolute pressure is to be detected,
the reference pressure (theoretically)
Figure 1-4: Flexible Load-Cell Connections should be zeroa complete vacuum.
In reality, a reference chamber can-
change the velocity of the body. constant of proportionality. The not be evacuated to absolute zero
There are four basic forces in Second Gas Law, Charles Law, states (Figure 1-2), but only to a few thou-
nature: gravitational, magnetic, strong that the volume of an enclosed gas is sandths of a millimeter of mercury
nuclear, and weak nuclear forces. The directly proportional to its tempera- (torr). This means that a nonzero
weakest of the four is the gravitation- ture: V = kT, where T is its absolute quantity is used as a zero reference.
al force. It is also the easiest to temperature. And, according to the Therefore, the higher that reference
observe, because it acts on all matter Third Gas Law, the pressure of a gas is pressure, the greater the resulting
and it is always attractive, while hav- directly proportional to its absolute error. Another source of error in
ing an infinite range. Its attraction temperature: P = kT. absolute pressure measurement is the
decreases with distance, but is always Combining these three relation- loss of the vacuum reference due to
measurable. Therefore, positional ships yields the ideal gas law: PV =
equilibrium of a body can only be kT. This approximate relationship
achieved when gravitational pull is holds true for many gases at rela-
balanced by another force, such as the tively low pressures (not too close
upward force exerted on our feet by to the point where liquification
the earths surface. occurs) and high temperatures (not
Pressure is the ratio between a too close to the point where con-
force acting on a surface and the area densation is imminent).
of that surface. Pressure is measured
in units of force divided by area: Measurement Limitations
pounds per square inch (psi) or, in the One of the basic limitations of all
SI system, newtons per square meter, measurement science, or metrology, Figure 1-5: Typical Load Cell Installation
or pascals. When an external stress is that all measurements are relative.
(pressure) is applied to an object Therefore, all sensors contain a refer- the intrusion of air.
with the intent to cause a reduction ence point against which the quanti- In the case of gauge pressure
in its volume, this process is called ty to be measured must be com- measurement, the reference is atmos-
compression. Most liquids and solids pared. The steelyard was one of pheric pressure, which is itself vari-
are practically incompressible, while mankinds first relative sensors, able (Figure 1-3). Thus, sensor output
gases are not. invented to measure the weight of an can change not because there is a
12 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
1 A Historical Perspective
change in the process pressure, but and protected from horizontal or torsshould be stayed, that is, pro-
because the reference pressure is rotary movement. This is much more tected from rotary motion. This is
changing. The barometric pressure easily said than done. achieved by installing three stay rods,
can change by as much as an inch of Freedom for the vessel to move in each with two ball joints (Figure 1-6).
mercury (13.6 inches of water), which the vertical direction is achieved if The art of weighing requires a lot
in some compound measurements the tank is supported by nothing but of common sense. A successful
can result in excessive and intolera- the load cells. (The amount of verti- weighing system requires that tank
ble errors. By definition, a compound cal deflection in modern load cells is supports be rigid and be located
pressure detector measures near
atmospheric pressures, both above
and below atmospheric.
Consider, for example, a blanketed Overhead
Building
Structure Structure
chemical reactor. A typical case is a
reactor which (when empty) needs to Tension
Load Cell
be evacuated to an absolute pressure Stay Rods
of 10 torr. After evacuation, it must be Tank Ball
purged with an inert gas, while the Joints
pressure in the reactor is maintained
at 1 in. of water above atmospheric.
No pressure sensor provided with a Stay Rods
single reference is capable of detect-
ing both of these pressures. If a vacu-
um reference is used, the purge set- Figure 1-6: Tank "Staying" Designs
ting of 1 in. water cannot be main-
tained, because the instrument does less than 0.01 in.) This means that all above the vessels center of gravity
not know what the barometric pres- pipes, electrical conduits, and stay for stability. This is particularly
sure is. On the other hand, if a baro- rods connected to the vessel must important outdoors, where outside
metric reference is used, the 10-torr be designed to offer no resistance to forces such as the wind need to be
vacuum cannot be measured because vertical movement. In pressurized considered. It is also important that
the reference can change by more reactors, this usually requires the use the load be evenly distributed among
than the total value of the measure- of flexible piping connections the load cells. This consideration
mentas much as 25 torr. installed in the horizontal plane necessitates that all load buttons be
Today, with microprocessors, it (Figure 1-4) and ball joints in the stay positioned in the same plane. Since
would be possible to provide the same rods. For best results in larger pipes, three points define a plane, equal
pressure sensor with two references two horizontal flexible couplings are load distribution is easiest to achieve
and allow the intelligence of the unit typically installed in series. by using three load cells.
to decide which reference should be It is equally important to protect Common sense also tells us that
used for a particular measurement. and isolate the load cells from hori- the accuracy of an installation will not
Another important consideration zontal forces. These forces can be match the precision of the load cells
in force-related measurements is the caused by thermal expansion or by (which is usually 0.02% or better) if
elimination of all force components the acceleration and deceleration of the full load is not being measured or
which are unrelated to the measure- vehicles on active weighing plat- if the load cells are not properly cali-
ment. For example, if the goal is to forms. Therefore, it is essential that brated. The precision of high quality
measure the weight of the contents load cells be either free to move in load cells does little good if they are
of a tank or reactor, it is essential to the horizontal (Figure 1-5) or be pro- calibrated against flowmeters with
install the vessel in such a way that vided with an adaptor that transmits errors of 1% or more. The only way to
the tank will behave as a free body in virtually no side load. In addition, take full advantage of the remarkable
the vertical but will be rigidly held tanksparticularly agitated reac- capabilities of accurate modern load
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 13
A Historical Perspective 1
14 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
2
FORCE-RELATED MEASUREMENTS
The Strain Gage
Sensor Designs
Measuring Circuits
hen external forces are wire is held under tension, it gets Shearing strain considers the
W applied to a stationary
object, stress and strain
are the result. Stress is
defined as the objects internal
resisting forces, and strain is defined
slightly longer and its cross-section-
al area is reduced. This changes its
resistance (R) in proportion to
the strain sensitivity (S) of the
wires resistance. When a strain is
angular distortion of an object
under stress. Imagine that a horizon-
tal force is acting on the top right
corner of a thick book on a table,
forcing the book to become some-
as the displacement and deforma-
tion that occur. For a uniform distrib-
ution of internal resisting forces,
F
stress can be calculated (Figure 2-1)
by dividing the force (F) applied by Force
Force
(F) (F)
the unit area (A):
Stress () = F/A L
L
Plane Area, A
Strain is defined as the amount of
deformation per unit length of an Stress () =
Strain () =
Force/Unit Area = F/A Change in Length/Length = L/L
object when a load is applied. Strain
is calculated by dividing the total
deformation of the original length by Figure 2-1: Definitions of Stress & Strain
the original length (L):
introduced, the strain sensitivity, what trapezoidal (Figure 2-2). The
Strain () = ( L)/L which is also called the gage factor shearing strain in this case can be
(GF), is given by: expressed as the angular change in
Typical values for strain are less than radians between the vertical y-axis
0.005 inch/inch and are often GF = ( R/R)/( L/L) =
expressed in micro-strain units: ( R/R)/ Strain
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 15
The Strain Gage 2
in a strained bar (Figure 2-3). Poisson strain to a readable value. In general, They use interference fringes pro-
strain is defined as the negative ratio however, mechanical devices tend to duced by optical flats to measure
of the strain in the traverse direction provide low resolutions, and are strain. Optical sensors operate best
under laboratory conditions.
The most widely used characteris-
tic that varies in proportion to strain is
electrical resistance. Although capaci-
D tance and inductance-based strain
F F
gages have been constructed, these
devices sensitivity to vibration, their
L mounting requirements, and circuit
D-D
complexity have limited their applica-
L+L tion. The photoelectric gage uses a
Traverse Strain (t) = D/D
light beam, two fine gratings, and a
Longitudinal Strain (l) = L/L
photocell detector to generate an
Poisson Ratio () = -[(D/D)/(L/L)] = -(t/l) electrical current that is proportional
to strain. The gage length of these
Figure 2-3: Poisson Strain devices can be as short as 1/16 inch,
but they are costly and delicate.
(caused by the contraction of the bulky and difficult to use. The first bonded, metallic wire-
bars diameter) to the strain in the Optical sensors are sensitive and type strain gage was developed in
longitudinal direction. As the length accurate, but are delicate and not very 1938. The metallic foil-type strain gage
increases and the cross sectional area popular in industrial applications. consists of a grid of wire filament
decreases, the electrical resistance
of the wire also rises.
Bending strain, or moment strain,
is calculated by determining the rela- Stressed
Adhesive Force
tionship between the force and the Gage Detector
amount of bending which results
A. Adhesive bonded metallic
from it. Although not as commonly foil element
detected as the other types of strain,
torsional strain is measured when the Semiconductor
Thin layer
strain produced by twisting is of Wafer Element of epoxy
interest. Torsional strain is calculated B. Semiconductor wafer made of
adhesive
resistance element diffused into
by dividing the torsional stress by the substrate and bonded to surface
torsional modulus of elasticity. by thin adhesive layer
16 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
2 The Strain Gage
(a resistor) of approximately 0.001 in. and temperature sensitivity, they had attach foil gages also are used to
(0.025 mm) thickness, bonded directly gage factors more than fifty times, bond semiconductor gages.
to the strained surface by a thin layer and sensitivity more than a 100 While the higher unit resistance
of epoxy resin (Figure 2-4A). When a times, that of metallic wire or foil and sensitivity of semiconductor
load is applied to the surface, the strain gages. Silicon wafers are also wafer sensors are definite advan-
resulting change in surface length is more elastic than metallic ones. tages, their greater sensitivity to
communicated to the resistor and the After being strained, they return temperature variations and tendency
corresponding strain is measured in more readily to their original shapes. to drift are disadvantages in compar-
terms of the electrical resistance of Around 1970, the first semiconduc- ison to metallic foil sensors. Another
the foil wire, which varies linearly with tor (silicon) strain gages were devel- disadvantage of semiconductor
strain. The foil diaphragm and the oped for the automotive industry. As strain gages is that the resistance-
adhesive bonding agent must work opposed to other types of strain to-strain relationship is nonlinear,
together in transmitting the strain, gages, semiconductor strain gages varying 10-20% from a straight-line
while the adhesive must also serve as depend on the piezoresistive effects equation. With computer-controlled
an electrical insulator between the of silicon or germanium and measure instrumentation, these limitations
foil grid and the surface.
When selecting a strain gage, one
must consider not only the strain
characteristics of the sensor, but also
its stability and temperature sensitiv-
ity. Unfortunately, the most desirable
strain gage materials are also sensitive
Wire Grid
to temperature variations and tend to Leads
change resistance as they age. For
tests of short duration, this may not
be a serious concern, but for continu-
ous industrial measurement, one
must include temperature and drift
compensation.
Felt
Each strain gage wire material has
its characteristic gage factor, resis-
Paper
tance, temperature coefficient of
gage factor, thermal coefficient of
resistivity, and stability. Typical mate- Figure 2-5: Bonded Resistance Strain Gage Construction
rials include Constantan (copper-nick-
el alloy), Nichrome V (nickel-chrome the change in resistance with stress can be overcome through software
alloy), platinum alloys (usually tung- as opposed to strain. The semicon- compensation.
sten), Isoelastic (nickel-iron alloy), or ductor bonded strain gage is a wafer A further improvement is the thin-
Karma-type alloy wires (nickel- with the resistance element diffused film strain gage that eliminates the
chrome alloy), foils, or semiconductor into a substrate of silicon. The wafer need for adhesive bonding (Figure 2-
materials. The most popular alloys element usually is not provided with 4C). The gage is produced by first
used for strain gages are copper-nick- a backing, and bonding it to the depositing an electrical insulation
el alloys and nickel-chromium alloys. strained surface requires great care as (typically a ceramic) onto the
In the mid-1950s, scientists at Bell only a thin layer of epoxy is used to stressed metal surface, and then
Laboratories discovered the piezore- attach it (Figure 2-4B). The size is depositing the strain gage onto this
sistive characteristics of germanium much smaller and the cost much insulation layer. Vacuum deposition
and silicon. Although the materials lower than for a metallic foil sensor. or sputtering techniques are used to
exhibited substantial nonlinearity The same epoxies that are used to bond the materials molecularly.
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 17
The Strain Gage 2
Because the thin-film gage is mole- moderate-temperature applications represent a popular method of mea-
cularly bonded to the specimen, the and requires temperature compensa- suring strain. The gage consists of a
installation is much more stable and tion. Diffused semiconductors often grid of very fine metallic wire, foil, or
the resistance values experience less are used as sensing elements in pres- semiconductor material bonded to
drift. Another advantage is that the sure transducers. They are small, the strained surface or carrier matrix
stressed force detector can be a inexpensive, accurate and repeatable, by a thin insulated layer of epoxy
(Figure 2-5). When the carrier matrix
is strained, the strain is transmitted
to the grid material through the
Output
adhesive. The variations in the elec-
mV trical resistance of the grid are mea-
sured as an indication of strain. The
C grid shape is designed to provide
maximum gage resistance while
R1 R4 or Rg keeping both the length and width of
the gage to a minimum.
Bonded resistance strain gages
VIN B VOUT D have a good reputation. They are rel-
atively inexpensive, can achieve
overall accuracy of better than
R2 R3 0.10%, are available in a short gage
length, are only moderately affected
by temperature changes, have small
A
physical size and low mass, and are
highly sensitive. Bonded resistance
R3 R2 strain gages can be used to measure
VOUT = VIN _
R3 + Rg R1 + R2 both static and dynamic strain.
In bonding strain gage elements to
a strained surface, it is important that
the gage experience the same strain
Figure 2-6: Wheatstone Bridge Circuit Schematic as the object. With an adhesive
material inserted between the sen-
metallic diaphragm or beam with a provide a wide pressure range, and sors and the strained surface, the
deposited layer of ceramic insulation. generate a strong output signal. Their installation is sensitive to creep due
Diffused semiconductor strain limitations include sensitivity to to degradation of the bond, temper-
gages represent a further improve- ambient temperature variations, ature influences, and hysteresis
ment in strain gage technology which can be compensated for in caused by thermoelastic strain.
because they eliminate the need for intelligent transmitter designs. Because many glues and epoxy resins
bonding agents. By eliminating bond- In summary, the ideal strain gage is are prone to creep, it is important to
ing agents, errors due to creep and small in size and mass, low in cost, use resins designed specifically for
hysteresis also are eliminated. The dif- easily attached, and highly sensitive strain gages.
fused semiconductor strain gage uses to strain but insensitive to ambient The bonded resistance strain gage
photolithography masking techniques or process temperature variations. is suitable for a wide variety of envi-
and solid-state diffusion of boron to ronmental conditions. It can measure
molecularly bond the resistance ele- Bonded Resistance Gages strain in jet engine turbines operating
ments. Electrical leads are directly The bonded semiconductor strain at very high temperatures and in
attached to the pattern (Figure 2-4D). gage was schematically described in cryogenic fluid applications at tem-
The diffused gage is limited to Figures 2-4A and 2-4B. These devices peratures as low as -452F (-269C). It
18 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
2 The Strain Gage
has low mass and size, high sensitivity, millivolts output per volt input. The The sensor, however, can occupy
and is suitable for static and dynamic Wheatstone circuit is also well suited one, two, or four arms of the bridge,
depending on the application. The
total strain, or output voltage of the
circuit (VOUT) is equivalent to the dif-
ference between the voltage drop
across R1 and R4, or Rg. This can also
be written as:
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 19
The Strain Gage 2
For example, it may be useful to con- shown in Figure 2-6, if a positive ten- nel positions are used to switch the
nect gages that are on opposite sides sile strain occurs on gages R2 and R3, digital voltmeter (DVM) between G-
bridge (one active gage) and H-
bridge (two active gages) configura-
tions. The DVM measurement
device always shares the power sup-
R1 ply and an internal H-bridge. This
arrangement is most popular for
R1 strain measurements on rotating
machines, where it can reduce the
V Rg number of slip rings required.
R1
20 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
2 The Strain Gage
of strain, a low current flow (typically difference is then used to compute advantage to using a constant cur-
one milliampere) is supplied to the the gage resistance. Because of their rent source (Figure 2-9) as compared
circuit. While the voltmeter measures sensitivity, four-wire strain gages are to a constant voltage, in some cases
the voltage drop across Rg, the typically used to measure low fre- the bridge output will be more linear
absolute resistance value is computed quency dynamic strains. When mea- in a constant current system. Also, if
by the multimeter from the values of suring higher frequency strains, the a constant current source is used, it
eliminates the need to sense the
voltage at the bridge; therefore, only
two wires need to be connected to
the strain gage element.
The constant current circuit is most
+ A effective when dynamic strain is being
- measured. This is because, if a dynam-
DVM R1 Rg DVM B Rg
ic force is causing a change in the resis-
C tance of the strain gage (Rg), one
2-Wire Bridge 3-Wire Bridge
would measure the time varying com-
ponent of the output (VOUT), whereas
slowly changing effects such as
changes in lead resistance due to tem-
perature variations would be rejected.
i=0
Using this configuration, temperature
DVM drifts become nearly negligible.
Rg Rg
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 21
The Strain Gage 2
and guarding. A shield around the Guarding guarantees that terminals in the lead-wire resistance (R1) will be
measurement lead wires will inter- of electrical components are at the indistinguishable from changes in the
cept interferences and may also same potential, which thereby pre- resistance of the strain gage (Rg).
reduce any errors caused by insula- vents extraneous current flows. To correct for lead-wire effects,
tion degradation. Shielding also will Connecting a guard lead between an additional, third lead can be
guard the measurement from capac- the test specimen and the negative introduced to the top arm of the
itive coupling. If the measurement terminal of the power supply pro- bridge, as shown in Figure 2-10B. In
leads are routed near electromag- vides an additional current path this configuration, wire C acts as a
netic interference sources such as around the measuring circuit. By sense lead with no current flowing
transformers, twisting the leads will placing a guard lead path in the path in it, and wires A and B are in oppo-
minimize signal degradation due to of an error-producing current, all of site legs of the bridge. This is the
magnetic induction. By twisting the the elements involved (i.e., floating minimum acceptable method of
wire, the flux-induced current is power supply, strain gage, all other wiring strain gages to a bridge to
cancel at least part of the effect of
extension wire errors. Theoretically,
120
if the lead wires to the sensor have
the same nominal resistance, the
Percent Change In Gage Factor
22 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
2 The Strain Gage
high temperatures. Temperature can the bonding agent. bility, particularly in high operating
alter not only the properties of a Compensation for apparent temperature environments.
strain gage element, but also can strain is necessary if the tempera- Before mounting strain-gage ele-
alter the properties of the base ture varies while the strain is being ments, it should be established that
material to which the strain gage is measured. In most applications, the the stressed force detector itself is
attached. Differences in expansion amount of error depends on the uniform and homogeneous, because
coefficients between the gage and alloy used, the accuracy required, any surface deformities will result in
base materials may cause dimension- and the amount of the temperature instability errors. In order to remove
al changes in the sensor element. variation. If the operating tempera- any residual stresses in the force
Expansion or contraction of the ture of the gage and the apparent detectors, they should be carefully
strain-gage element and/or the strain characteristics are known, annealed, hardened, and stress-
base material introduces errors that compensation is possible. relieved using temperature aging. A
are difficult to correct. For example, transducer that uses force-detector
a change in the resistivity or in the Stability Considerations springs, diaphragms, or bellows
temperature coefficient of resis- It is desirable that the strain-gage should also be provided with
tance of the strain gage element measurement system be stable and mechanical isolation. This will pro-
changes the zero reference used to not drift with time. In calibrated tect the sensor element from exter-
calibrate the unit. instruments, the passage of time nal stresses caused either by the
The gage factor is the strain sensi-
tivity of the sensor. The manufacturer
Apparent Strain Slope
should always supply data on the 10-6 Inches/Inch/F (Microns/mm/C)
temperature sensitivity of the gage
factor. Figure 2-11 shows the variation 100
(0.180)
in gage factors of the various strain
gage materials as a function of operat- Platinum Tungsten Alloy
75
ing temperature. Copper-nickel alloys (0.135)
such as Advance have gage factors
50
that are relatively sensitive to operat- (0.090)
ing temperature variations, making
20
Nichrome
them the most popular choice for
(0.036)
strain gage materials.
10
Karma
Apparent Strain (0.018)
Apparent strain is any change in gage Base Reference
0
resistance that is not caused by the Stainless Steel
Advance
strain on the force element. (-0.009)
Apparent strain is the result of the -5
500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300
interaction of the thermal coeffi- (260) (315) (371) (426) (482) (538) (593) (649) (704)
cient of the strain gage and the dif- Temperature F (C)
ference in expansion between the Figure 2-12: Apparent Strain Variation with Temperature
gage and the test specimen. The vari-
ation in the apparent strain of vari- always causes some drift and loss of strain of mounting or by the attaching
ous strain-gage materials as a func- calibration. The stability of bonded of electric conduits to the transducer.
tion of operating temperature is strain-gage transducers is inferior to If stable sensors are used, such as
shown in Figure 2-12. In addition to that of diffused strain-gage ele- deposited thin-film element types,
the temperature effects, apparent ments. Hysteresis and creeping and if the force-detector structure is
strain also can change because of caused by imperfect bonding is one well designed, balancing and com-
aging and instability of the metal and of the fundamental causes of insta- pensation resistors will be sufficient
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 23
The Strain Gage 2
for periodic recalibration of the unit. weight, and force detection. In Figure pressure transmitters. Figure 2-13C
The most stable sensors are made 2-13A, a vertical beam is subjected to shows a bellows type pressure sensor
from platinum or other low-temper- a force acting on the vertical axis. As in which the reference pressure is
ature coefficient materials. It is also the force is applied, the support col- sealed inside the bellows on the
important that the transducer be umn experiences elastic deformation right, while the other bellows is
operated within its design limits. and changes the electrical resistance exposed to the process pressure.
When there is a difference between
the two pressures, the strain detec-
Z tor elements bonded to the can-
Y X
tilever beam measure the resulting
compressive or tensile forces.
X Y Fixed
R1
R3 A diaphragm-type pressure trans-
Bonded
Support
ducer is created when four strain
Strain
a Column R2
Gages
b R4 gages are attached to a diaphragm
(Figure 2-13D). When the process
Mounted on
Neutral Axis Underside pressure is applied to the diaphragm,
A) Load Cell B) Cantilever the two central gage elements are
subjected to tension, while the two
gages at the edges are subjected to
Reference
Reference Pressure
compression. The corresponding
Pressure
(Vacuum or Atmospheric)
(Atm.
changes in resistance are a measure
or Vac.) R1 R2 R3 R4
of the process pressure. When all of
Process
the strain gages are subjected to the
Pressure Bending
Diaphram same temperature, such as in this
R1 R3 R2 R4
design, errors due to operating tem-
Process Pressure perature variations are reduced.
C) Bellows D) Diaphragm
Installation Diagnostics
Figure 2-13: Strain Gage Installation Alternatives All strain gage installations should be
checked using the following steps:
Otherwise, permanent calibration of each strain gage. By the use of a 1. Measure the base resistance of the
shifts can result. Exposing the trans- Wheatstone bridge, the value of the unstrained strain gage after it is
ducer to temperatures outside its load can be measured. Load cells are mounted, but before wiring is con-
operating limits can also degrade popular weighing elements for tanks nected.
performance. Similarly, the transduc- and silos and have proven accurate in 2. Check for surface contamination
er should be protected from vibra- many other weighing applications. by measuring the isolation resis-
tion, acceleration, and shock. Strain gages may be bonded to tance between the gage grid and
cantilever springs to measure the the stressed force detector speci-
Transducer Designs force of bending (Figure 2-13B). The men using an ohmmeter, if the
Strain gages are used to measure dis- strain gages mounted on the top of specimen is conductive. This
placement, force, load, pressure, the beam experience tension, while should be done before connecting
torque or weight. Modern strain-gage the strain gages on the bottom expe- the lead wires to the instrumenta-
transducers usually employ a grid of rience compression. The transducers tion. If the isolation resistance is
four strain elements electrically con- are wired in a Wheatstone circuit and under 500 megaohms, contamina-
nected to form a Wheatstone bridge are used to determine the amount of tion is likely.
measuring circuit. force applied to the beam. 3. Check for extraneous induced volt-
The strain-gage sensor is one of Strain-gage elements also are used ages in the circuit by reading the
the most widely used means of load, widely in the design of industrial voltage when the power supply to
24 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
2 The Strain Gage
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 25
3
FORCE-RELATED MEASUREMENTS
Process Pressure Measurement
From Mechanical to Electronic
Transducer Types
Practical Considerations
Process Pressure Measurement
echanical methods of the differential pressure transmitter verter and a power supply. A pressure
A Process
Pressure
A
Process
Pressure Moving
Tip
Process
Pressure
Differential pressure transducers Often, the terms pressure gauge, distance from the data acquisition
often are used in flow measurement sensor, transducer, and transmitter hardware, high output voltage sig-
where they can measure the pressure are used interchangeably. The term nals are preferred. These signals
differential across a venturi, orifice, or pressure gauge usually refers to a must be protected against both elec-
other type of primary element. The self-contained indicator that con- tromagnetic and radio frequency
detected pressure differential is relat- verts the detected process pressure interference (EMI/RFI) when travel-
ed to flowing velocity and therefore into the mechanical motion of a ing longer distances.
to volumetric flow. Many features of pointer. A pressure transducer might Pressure transducer performance-
modern pressure transmitters have combine the sensor element of a related terms also require definition.
come from the differential pressure gauge with a mechanical-to-electri- Transducer accuracy refers to the
transducer. In fact, one might consider cal or mechanical-to-pneumatic con- degree of conformity of the mea-
26 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
3 Process Pressure Measurement
sured value to an accepted standard. From Mechanical to Electronic extended into spirals or helical coils
It is usually expressed as a percent- The first pressure gauges used flexi- (Figures 3-1B and 3-1C). This increases
age of either the full scale or of the ble elements as sensors. As pressure their effective angular length and
actual reading of the instrument. In changed, the flexible element therefore increases the movement at
Free End
Spacers
case of percent-full-scale devices, moved, and this motion was used to their tip, which in turn increases the
error increases as the absolute value rotate a pointer in front of a dial. In resolution of the transducer.
of the measurement drops. these mechanical pressure sensors, The family of flexible pressure sen-
Repeatability refers to the closeness a Bourdon tube, a diaphragm, or a sor elements also includes the bel-
of agreement among a number of bellows element detected the lows and the diaphragms (Figure 3-2).
consecutive measurements of the process pressure and caused a cor- Diaphragms are popular because
same variable. Linearity is a measure responding movement. they require less space and because
of how well the transducer output A Bourdon tube is C-shaped and the motion (or force) they produce is
increases linearly with increasing has an oval cross-section with one sufficient for operating electronic
pressure. Hysteresis error describes end of the tube connected to the transducers. They also are available in
the phenomenon whereby the same process pressure (Figure 3-1A). The a wide range of materials for corro-
process pressure results in different other end is sealed and connected to sive service applications.
output signals depending upon the pointer or transmitter mecha- After the 1920s, automatic control
whether the pressure is approached nism. To increase their sensitivity, systems evolved, and by the 1950s
from a lower or higher pressure. Bourdon tube elements can be pressure transmitters and centralized
10-14 10-10 10-6 10-3 10-1 1 50 200 400 600 4 7 11 102 103 104 105 106
-300 -200 -100 -10 -5 -1 +-0.1 +1 +5 +10 +100 +200 +300
Strain Gage V A
Capacitive Sensors V A
Potentiometric V A
Resonant Wire V A
Piezoelectric A
Magnetic V A
Optical A
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 27
Process Pressure Measurement 3
28 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
3 Process Pressure Measurement
larly in the petrochemical industry. sure the deflection of an elastic diaphragm. These devices can
But as control systems continue to diaphragm or Bourdon tube, it detect gauge pressure if the low
become more centralized and com- becomes a component in a pressure pressure port is left open to the
puterized, these devices have been transducer. Strain gage-type pressure atmosphere or differential pressure
replaced by analog electronic and,
more recently, digital electronic
transmitters.
Connecting
Spring Rod
Transducer Types
Figure 3-3 provides an overall orienta- To
tion to the scientist or engineer who Wheatstone
might be faced with the task of select-
Bridge
Circuit
ing a pressure detector from among
the many designs available. This table
shows the ranges of pressures and vac-
uums that various sensor types are
capable of detecting and the types of
internal references (vacuum or atmos-
pheric pressure) used, if any. Process
Because electronic pressure trans- Pressure
ducers are of greatest utility for Figure 3-6: Potentiometric Pressure Transducer
industrial and laboratory data acqui-
sition and control applications, the transducers are widely used. if connected to two process pres-
operating principles and pros and Strain-gage transducers are used sures. If the low pressure side is a
cons of each of these is further elab- for narrow-span pressure and for sealed vacuum reference, the trans-
orated in this section. differential pressure measurements. mitter will act as an absolute pres-
Essentially, the strain gage is used sure transmitter.
Strain Gage to measure the displacement of an Strain gage transducers are avail-
When a strain gage, as described in elastic diaphragm due to a differ- able for pressure ranges as low as
detail in Chapter 2, is used to mea- ence in pressure across the 3 inches of water to as high as
200,000 psig (1400 MPa). Inaccuracy
ranges from 0.1% of span to 0.25% of
full scale. Additional error sources
can be a 0.25% of full scale drift over
six months and a 0.25% full scale
temperature effect per 1000 F.
Capacitance
Capacitance pressure transducers
were originally developed for use in
low vacuum research. This capaci-
tance change results from the
movement of a diaphragm element
(Figure 3-5). The diaphragm is usually
metal or metal-coated quartz and is
exposed to the process pressure on
one side and to the reference pressure
Differential pressure transducers in a variety of ranges and outputs. on the other. Depending on the type
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 29
Process Pressure Measurement 3
of pressure, the capacitive transducer plates is detected as an indication of plate is located on the back side of
can be either an absolute, gauge, or the changes in process pressure. the diaphragm and the variable
differential pressure transducer. As shown in Figure 3-5, the deflec- capacitance is a function of deflec-
Stainless steel is the most common tion of the diaphragm causes a tion of the diaphragm. Therefore,
diaphragm material used, but for cor- change in capacitance that is detect- the detected capacitance is an indi-
rosive service, high-nickel steel alloys, ed by a bridge circuit. This circuit can cation of the process pressure. The
capacitance is converted into either
a direct current or a voltage signal
Electromagnetic
that can be read directly by panel
Plucking and Sensing Coil
meters or microprocessor-based
Pressure-Sensitive
Diaphragm input/output boards.
Capacitance pressure transducers
Wire Grip Wire Grip are widespread in part because of
their wide rangeability, from high vac-
Vibrating Wire uums in the micron range to 10,000
psig (70 MPa). Differential pressures as
To Oscillator
low as 0.01 inches of water can readi-
Resonant Wire Circuit ly be measured. And, compared with
strain gage transducers, they do not
Low-Side
High-Side Backup
Plate drift much. Better designs are avail-
Backup Plate
able that are accurate to within 0.1%
Preload
of reading or 0.01% of full scale. A
Spring
Magnet typical temperature effect is 0.25% of
Metal Tube full scale per 1000 F.
Capacitance-type sensors are
Magnet
often used as secondary standards,
Electrical
Insulator High-Pressure
especially in low-differential and
Diaphragm low-absolute pressure applications.
Low-Pressure
Diaphragm They also are quite responsive,
because the distance the diaphragm
Fluid Transfer Port must physically travel is only a few
microns. Newer capacitance pressure
Figure 3-7: Resonant-Wire Pressure Transducer transducers are more resistant to
corrosion and are less sensitive to
such as Inconel or Hastelloy, give bet- be operated in either a balanced or stray capacitance and vibration
ter performance. Tantalum also is unbalanced mode. In balanced mode, effects that used to cause reading
used for highly corrosive, high tem- the output voltage is fed to a null jitters in older designs.
perature applications. As a special detector and the capacitor arms are
case, silver diaphragms can be used varied to maintain the bridge at null. Potentiometric
to measure the pressure of chlorine, Therefore, in the balanced mode, the The potentiometric pressure sensor
fluorine, and other halogens in their null setting itself is a measure of provides a simple method for obtain-
elemental state. process pressure. When operated in ing an electronic output from a
In a capacitance-type pressure sen- unbalanced mode, the process pres- mechanical pressure gauge. The
sor, a high-frequency, high-voltage sure measurement is related to the device consists of a precision poten-
oscillator is used to charge the sensing ratio between the output voltage tiometer, whose wiper arm is mechan-
electrode elements. In a two-plate and the excitation voltage. ically linked to a Bourdon or bellows
capacitor sensor design, the move- Single-plate capacitor designs are element. The movement of the
ment of the diaphragm between the also common. In this design, the wiper arm across the potentiometer
30 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
3 Process Pressure Measurement
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 31
Process Pressure Measurement 3
(Figure 3-8). The fundamental differ- phenomenon also is discussed in Depending on which phenomenon
ence between these crystal sensors later chapters devoted to the is used, the crystal sensor can be
called electrostatic, piezoresistive,
or resonant.
When pressure is applied to a crys-
tal, it is elastically deformed. This
deformation results in a flow of elec-
tric charge (which lasts for a period of
a few seconds). The resulting electric
signal can be measured as an indica-
tion of the pressure which was
applied to the crystal. These sensors
cannot detect static pressures, but are
used to measure rapidly changing
pressures resulting from blasts, explo-
sions, pressure pulsations (in rocket
motors, engines, compressors) or
other sources of shock or vibration.
Analog pressure transmitter with adjustable zero and span. Some of these rugged sensors can
detect pressure events having rise
and static-force devices such as strain measurement of dynamic force, times on the order of a millionth of a
gages is that the electric signal gener- impact, and acceleration.) second, and are described in more
ated by the crystal decays rapidly. Piezoelectric devices can further detail later in this chapter.
This characteristic makes these sen- be classified according to whether The output of such dynamic pres-
sors unsuitable for the measurement the crystals electrostatic charge, its sure sensors is often expressed in
of static forces or pressures but use- resistivity, or its resonant frequency relative pressure units (such as psir
ful for dynamic measurements. (This electrostatic charge is measured. instead of psig), thereby referencing
#1 P #2
L2
Pressure Sensing
Capsule Helical
Bourdon
e
Cor
Tube L1
#1 #2
"E"
P
A) Inductive B) Reluctive
32 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
3 Process Pressure Measurement
the measurement to the initial con- which act upon the pressure-sensing Piezoresistive pressure sensors
dition of the crystal. The maximum crystal stack when accelerated. operate based on the resistivity
range of such sensors is 5,000 or Because quartz is a common and dependence of silicon under stress.
10,000 psir. The desirable features of naturally occurring mineral, these Similar to a strain gage, a piezoresis-
piezoelectric sensors include their transducers are generally inexpen- tive sensor consists of a diaphragm
rugged construction, small size, high sive. Tourmaline, a naturally occur- onto which four pairs of silicon resis-
speed, and self-generated signal. On ring semi-precious form of quartz, tors are bonded. Unlike the construc-
the other hand, they are sensitive to has sub-microsecond responsiveness tion of a strain gage sensor, here the
temperature variations and require and is useful in the measurement of diaphragm itself is made of silicon
special cabling and amplification. very rapid transients. By selecting the and the resistors are diffused into
They also require special care dur- crystal properly, the designer can the silicon during the manufacturing
ing installation: One such considera- ensure both good linearity and process. The diaphragm is completed
tion is that their mounting torque reduced temperature sensitivity. by bonding the diaphragm to an
should duplicate the torque at which Although piezoelectric transduc- unprocessed wafer of silicon.
they were calibrated (usually 30 in.- ers are not capable of measuring If the sensor is to be used to
lbs). Another factor that can harm
their performance by slowing
response speed is the depth of the
empty cavity below the cavity. The
LED
larger the cavity, the slower the Reference Diode
response. Therefore, it is recom- Measuring Diode
Opaque Vane
mended that the depth of the cavity
be minimized and not be deeper
than the diameter of the probe (usu-
ally about 0.25-in.).
Electrostatic pressure transducers
are small and rugged. Force to the
crystal can be applied longitudinally
or in the transverse direction, and in
either case will cause a high voltage
output proportional to the force
Measured
applied. The crystals self-generated Pressure
voltage signal is useful where provid-
ing power to the sensor is impracti-
cal or impossible. These sensors also Figure 3-11: Optical Pressure Transducer
provide high speed responses (30
kHz with peaks to 100 kHz), which static pressures, they are widely used measure absolute pressure, the bond-
makes them ideal for measuring tran- to evaluate dynamic pressure phe- ing process is performed under vacu-
sient phenomena. nomena associated with explosions, um. If the sensor is to be referenced,
Figure 3-9 illustrates an accelera- pulsations, or dynamic pressure con- the cavity behind the diaphragm is
tion-compensated pressure sensor. In ditions in motors, rocket engines, ported either to the atmosphere or to
this design, the compensation is pro- compressors, and other pressurized the reference pressure source. When
vided by the addition of a seismic devices that experience rapid used in a process sensor, the silicon
mass and a separate compensation changes. They can detect pressures diaphragm is shielded from direct
crystal of reverse polarity. These between 0.1 and 10,000 psig (0.7 KPa contact with the process materials by
components are scaled to exactly to 70 MPa). Typical accuracy is 1% full a fluid-filled protective diaphragm
cancel the inertial effect of the mass- scale with an additional 1% full scale made of stainless steel or some other
es (the end piece and diaphragm) per 1000 temperature effect. alloy that meets the corrosion
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 33
Process Pressure Measurement 3
requirements of the service. Reluctance is resistance to magnetic wired onto an insulating tube contain-
Piezoresistive pressure sensors are flow, the opposition offered by a ing an iron core, which is positioned
sensitive to changes in temperature within the tube by the pressure sensor.
and must be temperature compen- Alternating current is applied to
sated. Piezoresistive pressure sensors the primary coil in the center, and if
can be used from about 3 psi to a the core also is centered, equal volt-
maximum of about 14,000 psi (21 KPa ages will be induced in the secondary
to 100 MPa). coils (#1 and #2). Because the coils are
Resonant piezoelectric pressure wired in series, this condition will
sensors measure the variation in result in a zero output. As the
resonant frequency of quartz crys- process pressure changes and the
tals under an applied force. The core moves, the differential in the
sensor can consist of a suspended voltages induced in the secondary
beam that oscillates while isolated coils is proportional to the pressure
from all other forces. The beam is causing the movement.
maintained in oscillation at its reso- LVDT-type pressure transducers
nant frequency. Changes in the Flush-mount pressure sensor fits G-in. NPT are available with 0.5% full scale
applied force result in resonant fre- threads. accuracy and with ranges from 0-30
quency changes. The relationship psig (0-210 kPa) to 0-10,000 psig
between the applied pressure P and magnetic substance to magnetic flux. (0-70 MPa). They can detect
the oscillation frequency is: In these sensors, a change in pressure absolute, gauge, or differential pres-
produces a movement, which in turn sures. Their main limitations are sus-
P = A(1-TO/T) - B(1-TO/T2) changes the inductance or reluc- ceptibility to mechanical wear and
tance of an electric circuit. sensitivity to vibration and magnetic
where TO is the period of oscilla- Figure 3-10A illustrates the use of a interference.
tion when the applied pressure is linear variable differential transformer Reluctance is the equivalent of
zero, T is the period of oscillation (LVDT) as the working element of resistance in a magnetic circuit. If a
when the applied pressure is P, and a pressure transmitter. The LVDT change in pressure changes the gaps
A and B are calibration constants
for the transducer.
These transducers can be used for
absolute pressure measurements Force Bar
with spans from 0-15 psia to 0-900 Fulcrum & Seal
Overpressure Stop
psia (0-100 kPa to 0-6 MPa) or for dif-
ferential pressure measurements
Flexure
with spans from 0-6 psid to 0-40
psid (0-40 kPa to 0-275 kPa).
Atmosphere Process
Inductive/Reluctive Pressure
A number of early pressure transduc-
er designs were based on magnetic "C"- Bourdon
phenomena. These included the use
of inductance, reluctance, and eddy
currents. Inductance is that property
of an electric circuit that expresses Figure 3-12: Bourdon Tube Overpressure Protection
the amount of electromotive force
(emf) induced by a given rate of operates on the inductance ratio prin- in the magnetic flux paths of the
change of current flow in the circuit. ciple. In this design, three coils are two cores, the ratio of inductances
34 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
3 Process Pressure Measurement
L1/L2 will be related to the change between the source diode and the transducer is immune to temperature
in process pressure (Figure 3-10B). measuring diode, the amount of effects, because the source, mea-
surement and reference diodes are
affected equally by changes in tem-
Instrument perature. Moreover, because the
amount of movement required to
make the measurement is very small
(under 0.5 mm), hysteresis and
repeatability errors are nearly zero.
Optical pressure transducers do
D T Capped
not require much maintenance.
They have excellent stability and are
Test
Connection designed for long-duration mea-
surements. They are available with
ranges from 5 psig to 60,000 psig (35
Safe Drain
P kPa to 413 MPa) and with 0.1% full
scale accuracy.
Practical Considerations
Process In industrial applications, good
repeatability often is more impor-
Figure 3-13: Three-Valve Manifold for Instrument Isolation tant then absolute accuracy. If
process pressures vary over a wide
Reluctance-based pressure transduc- infrared light received changes. range, transducers with good linear-
ers have a very high output signal (on The optical transducer must com- ity and low hysteresis are the pre-
the order of 40 mV/volt of excita- pensate for aging of the LED light ferred choice.
tion), but must be excited by ac volt- source by means of a reference Ambient and process temperature
age. They are susceptible to stray diode, which is never blocked by the variations also cause errors in pres-
magnetic fields and to temperature vane. This reference diode also com- sure measurements, particularly in
effects of about 2% per 1000 F. pensates the signal for build-up of detecting low pressures and small
Because of their very high output sig- dirt or other coating materials on the differential pressures. In such appli-
nals, they are often used in applica- optical surfaces. The optical pressure cations, temperature compensators
tions where high resolution over a rel-
atively small range is desired. They can
cover pressure ranges from 1 in. water Dead
to 10,000 psig (250 Pa to 70 MPa). Weight
Gauge
Typical accuracy is 0.5% full scale. Under Test Primary Piston
Reservoir Cylinder
Optical
Optical pressure transducers detect
the effects of minute motions due to
Screw
changes in process pressure and gen-
erate a corresponding electronic out-
Secondary
put signal (Figure 3-11). A light emitting (Pumping)
diode (LED) is used as the light source, Piston
and a vane blocks some of the light as
it is moved by the diaphragm. As the
process pressure moves the vane Figure 3-14: Dead-Weight Tester Schematic
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 35
Process Pressure Measurement 3
To
Gauge
Internal
Felt
Variable
Washer
Orifice
Oil
Porous
Piston Filled
Rubber
External
Filter
Variable
Disc Bulb
Orifice
Filter
Process
Pressure
36 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
3 Process Pressure Measurement
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 37
Process Pressure Measurement 3
recalibrated against the primary. Of pensation and the means to rotate precise enough to be used to cali-
course, these secondary standards are the piston in its cylinder to negate brate most industrial pressure trans-
less accurate than the primary, but the effects of friction. ducers, but must be NIST-traceable
they provide a more convenient In the United States, the National to be used as an official calibration
means of testing other instruments. Institute of Standards & Technology standard. The best accuracy claimed
A deadweight tester consists of a (NIST) provides certified weights and by the manufacturers is typically
pumping piston with a screw that calibrates laboratory piston gauges by 0.05% full scale.
presses it into the reservoir, a primary measuring the diameter of the piston.
piston that carries the dead weight, Deadweight testers can be used to Installation & Accessories
and the gauge or transducer to be calibrate at pressure levels as low as 5 When possible, pressure instrumenta-
tested (Figure 3-14). It works by loading psig (35 kPa) and as high as 100,000 tion should be installed in visible,
the primary piston (of cross sectional psig (690 MPa). Tilting type, air-lubri- readily accessible locations. Readouts
area A), with the amount of weight cated designs can detect pressures in should be located at eye elevation.
(W) that corresponds to the desired the mm Hg range. NIST calibrated Headroom should be provided for
calibration pressure (P = W/A). The deadweight testers can be accurate to instrument removal, as well as any
pumping piston then pressurizes the 5 parts in 100,000 at pressures below space for tools and test equipment
whole system by pressing more fluid 40,000 psig (280 MPa). For an industri- that might be needed.
into the reservoir cylinder, until the al quality deadweight tester, error is In some applications, it is desirable
dead weight lifts off its support. typically 0.1% of span. to prevent the process fluid from
Todays deadweight testers are A typical secondary standard used coming in contact with the sensing
more accurate and more complex for calibrating industrial pressure element. The process may be noxious,
than the instrument in Figure 3-14, transducers contains a precision poisonous, corrosive, abrasive, have
but the essential operating princi- power supply, an accurate digital the tendency to gel, freeze or decom-
ples are the same. Sophisticated readout, and a high-accuracy reso- pose at ambient temperatures, or be
features include temperature com- nant (quartz) pressure sensor. It is hotter or colder than the sensor can
Sensing
Diaphragm Diaphragm Diaphragm Diaphragm
Capillary
Tube Seal
Capillary Diaphragm
Capillary
Side View Capillary
38 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
3 Process Pressure Measurement
tolerate. Other reasons for inserting oil. The top section with the filled are well suited for high pressure and
accessories between the process and diaphragm capsule can be removed high viscosity applications such as
the pressure instrument are to filter with the pressure instrument while extruders.
out potentially plugging solids or to the operator cleans out the material Adding seals to a press measure-
remove potentially damaging pres- accumulated in the bottom housing. ment device can cause the following
sure spikes or vibrations. This lower body is made of pipe problems:
specification (process compatible) Long or large bore capillaries
Snubbers & Pulsation Dampers materials and can be continuously or increase the volume of the filling
An unprotected pressure sensor on periodically cleaned by purging. fluid, increasing the temperature
the discharge of a positive displace- The seal shown in Figure 3-16A is an error.
ment pump or compressor would off-line design; an in-line design is Smaller diameter diaphragms are
never come to rest, and its pointer shown in Figure 3-16B. In-line devices stiff and increase error, particular-
would cycle continuously. To filter
out pressure spikes, or to average
out pressure pulses, snubbers and
pulsation dampers are installed
between the process and the instru-
ment (Figure 3-15).
The first design shown in the illus-
tration uses a corrosion-resistant
porous metal filter to delay the pres-
sure reading by about 10 seconds.
Other designs provide shorter delays
via fixed or variable pistons or
restrictions. The advantage of an Miniature pressure sensor fits in tight spots.
adjustable restriction is that if, for
example, a pressure gauge is placed are less likely to plug, but the process ly at low temperatures.
on the discharge of a compressor, has to be shut down if maintenance is Filling fluid viscosity, acceptable at
one can see when the pointer required. The ultimate in self-cleaning normal ambient temperatures,
cycling has stopped. Naturally, when designs is shown in Figure 3-16C, in may be unacceptably high at low
one is interested in the measurement which all sharp edges and dead- temperatures.
of fast, transient pressures (such as to ended cavities (where solids could Long capillary lengths or smaller
initiate safety interlocks on rising accumulate) have been eliminated. bores can cause slow response.
pressures), snubbers must not be The flexible cylinder can be made of Uneven heating/cooling of seals
used, as they delay the response of a variety of plastics, including Teflon, and capillaries can cause errors.
the safety system. and is available in spool and wafer Some fill fluids expand excessively
configurations. with temperature and damage the
Chemical Seals As the process pressure changes, instrument by overextending the
The chemical seal is also known as a the amount of liquid displaced by diaphragm.
diaphragm protector. Its main com- the sealing diaphragm is small, and is High temperature and/or high
ponents (the upper and lower body sometimes insufficient to fill and vacuum may vaporize the fill fluid
and the clean-out ring) are shown in operate bellows-type sensors. In that and damage the instrument.
Figure 3-16A. The pressure instrument case, larger displacement rolling Fluid may contract excessively at
is screwed into the upper body, which diaphragms are used. Volumetric seal low temperatures, bottoming the
can be made of standard materials elements (Figure 3-17) also can elimi- diaphragm and preventing opera-
because it contacts only the non-cor- nate cavities and sharp edges where tion.
rosive filling fluid, usually a silicone material might accumulate. They also Frozen fill fluid also will prevent
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 39
Process Pressure Measurement 3
operation. filled with a stable, process compat- small pressure vessel about one
For a successful seal installation, ible fluid, the installation is called a quart in volume that is mounted at
the following must also be consid- wet-leg installation. The net the top of the wet leg line. If two
ered: effect of the legs height above the wet legs are used in a differential
Process and ambient temperature instrument and specific gravity of application, the pots must be mount-
range. the fluid must be considered in the ed at the same elevation. Each pot
Relative elevation of the seals and calibration. Wet leg design must acts as a reservoir in the impulse line
the instrument and the hydrostat- also allow for the filling and drain- where large volume changes will
ic head of the fill fluid. Instrument ing of the leg(s). result in minimal elevation change so
should be rezeroed after installa- Seal pots are used with wet legs that seal liquid is not dumped into
tion to correct for elevation. when the instrument displaces a the process line and elevation shifts
Temperature, pressure, and physi- large volume of liquid as the mea- of the wet leg liquid do not cause
cal damage potentials during surement changes. A seal pot is a measurement errors. T
cleaning and emptying.
Possible consequences of diaphragm
rupture in terms of hazard and References & Further Reading
contamination. Omegadyne Pressure, Force, Load, Torque Databook, OMEGADYNE, Inc.,
Identical seals and capillary 1996.
lengths for both sides of a differ- The Pressure, Strain, and Force Handbook, Omega Press LLC, 1996.
ential pressure device. Industrial Control Handbook, E. A. Parr, Butterworth, 1995.
Seal and instrument performance Instrument Engineers Handbook, Bela Liptak, CRC Press LLC, 1995.
at maximum temperature/mini- Marks Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, 10th Edition,
mum pressure and minimum pres- Eugene A. Avallone, and Theodore Baumeister, McGraw-Hill, 1996.
sure/temperature combinations. Pressure Transducers, Raymond Williams, Flow Control, March, 1998.
Process/Industrial Instruments and Controls Handbook, 4th Edition,
Wet Legs & Seal Pots Douglas M. Considine, McGraw-Hill, 1993.
When one or both impulse lines to Van Nostrands Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine and Glenn
a differential pressure device are D. Considine, Van Nostrand, 1997.
40
4
FORCE-RELATED MEASUREMENTS
High Pressure & Vacuum
High Pressure Designs
Very High Pressures
he term high pressure is rel- extruder pressures up to 10,000 psig can measure pressures well in excess
Output
Balancing
Air Signal (P2) Diaphragm Deadweight
A2
Moving Tip
Regulating
Valve
Screw
Sensing
Secondary
Diaphragm PI Process
Piston
AI Pressure
A) Button Diaphragm Repeater B) Helical Bourdon Tube C) Deadweight Tester
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 41
High Pressure & Vacuum 4
errors typically are negligible. Such (capacitance, potentiometric, induc- change in proportion to the pressure
units are available for measuring tive, reluctive) are also capable of experienced on their surfaces. They
pressures up to 60,000 psig. detecting pressures up to 10,000 are reasonably insensitive to temper-
ature variations. The pressure-resis-
tance relationship of Manganin is
positive, linear, and substantial.
Manganin cells can be obtained for
pressure ranges up to 400,000 psig
and can provide 0.1% to 0.5% of full
scale measurement precision. The
main limitation of the Manganin cell
Pressure Stem is its delicate nature, making it vul-
nerable to damage from pressure
pulsations or viscosity effects.
Some solids liquefy under high
Probe Cell Body Packing
pressures. This change-of-state phe-
nomenon also can be used as an indi-
Figure 4-2: Bulk Modulus Cell cation of process pressure. Bismuth,
for example, liquefies at between
Deadweight testers also are used psig, but none can go as high as the 365,000 and 375,000 psig and, when
as primary standards in calibrating strain gage. it does, it also contracts in volume.
high-pressure sensors (Figure 4-1C). Other materials such as mercury
The tester generates a test reference Very High Pressures have similar characteristics, and can
pressure when an NIST-certified The bulk modulus cell consists of a be used to signal that the pressure
weight is placed on a known piston hollow cylindrical steel probe closed has reached a particular value.
area, which imposes a corresponding at the inner end with a projecting
pressure on the filling fluid. (For more stem on the outer end (Figure 4-2). Vacuum Measurement
details, see Chapter 3 of this volume.) When exposed to a process pressure, Engineers first became interested in
NIST has found that at pressures the probe is compressed, the probe vacuum measurements in the 1600s,
exceeding 40,000 psig, the precision tip is moved to the right by the when they noted the inability of
of their test is about 1.5 parts in isotropic contraction, and the stem pumps to raise water more than
10,000. Typical inaccuracy of an moves further outward. This stem about 30 ft. The Duke of Tuscany in
industrial deadweight tester is 1 part motion is then converted into a pres-
in 1,000 or 0.1%. sure reading. The hysteresis and tem-
In the area of electronic sensors perature sensitivity of this unit is Full
Vacuum
for high-pressure measurement, the similar to that of other elastic ele-
strain gage is without equal (see ment pressure sensors. The main
Chapter 2 for more details on strain advantages of this sensor are its fast
gage operation). Strain gage sensors response and safety: in effect, the Atmosphere
can detect pressures in excess of unit is not subject to failure. The bulk
100,000 psig and can provide mea- modulus cell can detect pressures up
surement precision of 0.1% of span or to 200,000 psig with 1% to 2% full
0.25% of full scale. Temperature com- span error.
pensation and periodic recalibration In another high-pressure design,
are desirable because a 1000F tem- Manganin, gold-chromium, platinum,
perature change or six months of drift or lead wire sensors are wound heli-
can also produce an additional 0.25% cally on a core. The electrical resis-
error. Other electronic sensors tance of these wire materials will Figure 4-3: Barometer Operation
42 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
4 High Pressure & Vacuum
Italy commissioned Galileo to inves- (760 mm). The height of a mercury once at the unknown low pressure
tigate the problem. Galileo, among column is therefore a direct measure and again at a higher reference pres-
others, also devised a number of of the atmospheric pressure. sure. The pressurized new volume is
experiments to investigate the In 1644, French mathematician then an indication of the initial
properties of air. Among the tools Blaise Pascal asked a group of absolute pressure. Versions of the
used for these experiments were mountaineers to carry a barometer McLeod Gauge continue to be used
pistons to measure force and a into the Alps and proved that air today as a standard for calibrating
water barometer (about 34 ft. tall) pressure decreases with altitude. vacuum gauges.
10-12 10-11 10-10 10-9 10-8 10-7 10-6 10-5 10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 1 10 100 1000
Bourdon
Bellows
Diaphragm
Quartz Helix
Mechanical
Liquid Manometer
Molecular
Momentum
Capacitance
Diaphragm
McLeod Gage
Viscuous Friction
of Spinning Ball
Pirani (Thermistor)
Thermal
Thermocouple,
Thermopile
Convectron Gage
Hot Cathode
(Schultz-Phelps)
Hot Cathode
Ionization
(Bayard-Alpert)
Cold Cathode
(Philips)
Cold Cathode
(Redhead)
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 43
High Pressure & Vacuum 4
For vacuums in the millitorr range Mechanical Designs unknown process vacuum. The pres-
(required for sputtering applications), Mechanical gauges measure pressure sure difference between the two
one might consider a hot cathode ion or vacuum by making use of the sides causes an angular deflection
gauge. For more accurate measure- mechanical deformation of tubes or that is detected optically.
ments in this intermediate range, the diaphragms when exposed to a dif- The optical readout has a high res-
capacitance manometer is a good ference in pressure. Typically, one olution, about one part in 100,000.
choice. For intermediate vacuum side of the element is exposed to a Advantages of this sensor are its
applications (between 10-4 and 10-2 reference vacuum and the instru- precision and the corrosion resis-
torr), capacitance manometers are ment measures the mechanical tance of quartz. Its main limitation
is high price.
Manometer: A basic manometer
can consist of a reservoir filled with a
High Low Low
liquid and a vertical tube (Figure 4-5).
When detecting vacuums, the top of
High
the column is sealed evacuated. A
manometer without a reservoir is
simply a U-shaped tube, with one
leg sealed and evacuated and the
other connected to the unknown
process pressure (Figure 4-5A). The
A) U-Tube Manometer B) Well (Resevoir) Manometer difference in the two column
heights indicates the process vacu-
um. An inclined manometer (Figure
4-5D) can consist of a well and trans-
High Low
High parent tube mounted at an angle. A
Low small change in vacuum pressure will
cause a relatively large movement of
the liquid. Manometers are simple,
low cost, and can detect vacuums
down to 1 millitorr.
Capacitance Manometer: A capac-
C) Float Manometer D) Inclined Manometer itance sensor operates by measuring
the change in electrical capacitance
Figure 4-5: Manometer Designs that results from the movement of a
sensing diaphragm relative to some
the best in terms of performance, but deformation that occurs when an fixed capacitance electrodes (Figure
are also the most expensive. The low- unknown vacuum pressure is 4-6). The higher the process vacuum,
est priced gauge is the thermocouple exposed to the other side. the farther it will pull the measuring
type, but its error is the greatest. Quartz Bourdon Tube: Similar to a diaphragm away from the fixed capac-
Digital Pirani gauges can represent a standard Bourdon tube, this gauge itance plates. In some designs, the
good compromise solution, with uses a quartz helix element, but diaphragm is allowed to move. In oth-
accuracy between that of capaci- instead of moving linkages, the ers, a variable dc voltage is applied to
tance and thermocouple sensors. deformation rotates a mirror. When keep the sensors Wheatstone bridge
For low vacuums (higher pressures) used for vacuum detection, two in a balanced condition. The amount
between atmospheric and 10-2 torr, quartz Bourdon elements are formed of voltage required is directly related
Bourdon tubes, bellows, active strain into a helix. The reference side con- to the pressure.
gages, and capacitance sensors are all tains a sealed vacuum and the mea- The great advantage of a capaci-
suitable. surement side is connected to the tance gauge is its ability to detect
44 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
4 High Pressure & Vacuum
extremely small diaphragm move- molecular friction on a ball that is is heated electrically and the pres-
ments. Accuracy is typically 0.25 to spinning in a magnetic field. Vacuum sure of the gas is determined by mea-
0.5% of reading. Thin diaphragms can is determined by measuring the suring the current needed to keep
measure down to 10-5 torr, while length of time it takes for the ball to the wire at a constant temperature.
thicker diaphragms can measure in drop from 425 to 405 revolutions per The thermal conductivity of each gas
the low vacuum to atmospheric second after drive power is turned is different, so the gauge has to be
range. To cover a wide vacuum range, off. The higher the vacuum, the lower calibrated for the individual gas
one can connect two or more capac- the friction and therefore the more being measured. A Pirani gauge will
itance sensing heads into a multi- time it will take. This design is accu- not work to detect pressures above
range package. rate to 1.5% of reading, is resistant to 1.0 torr, because, above these pres-
The capacitance diaphragm gauge corrosion, and can operate at tem- sures, the thermal conductivity of
is widely used in the semiconductor peratures up to 7500 F. the gases no longer changes with
industry, because its Inconel body Thermal Designs: The thermal pressure. The Pirani gauge is linear in
and diaphragm are suitable for the conductivity of a gas changes with the 10-2 to 10-4 torr range. Above
corrosive services of this industry. its pressure in the vacuum range. If these pressures, output is roughly
They are also favored because of an element heated by a constant logarithmic. Pirani gauges are inex-
their high accuracy and immunity to power source is placed in a gas, the pensive, convenient, and reasonably
contamination.
McLeod Gauge: Originally invent-
ed in 1878, the McLeod gauge mea- Tensioned Inconel
sures the pressure of gases by com- Diaphragm
pressing a known volume with a fixed
pressure. The new volume is then a
measure of the initial absolute pres-
sure. Little changed since the day it Capacitance
was invented, the McLeod gauge has Signals
been used until recently for calibrat-
ing other gauges. It covers the vacu-
Process Pressure
um range between 1 and 10-6 torr.
Molecular Momentum: This vacu-
um gauge is operated with a rotor that Evacuated
spins at a constant speed. Gas mole- and Sealed
cules in the process sample come in
contact with the rotor and are pro-
Capacitance
pelled into the restrained cylinder. Electrodes
The force of impact drives the cylin- High Vacuum
Reference Cavity
der to a distance proportional to the
energy transferred, which is a measure Figure 4-6: Capacitance Vacuum Manometer
of the number of gas molecules in
that space. The full scale of the instru- resulting surface temperature of the accurate. They are 2% accurate at the
ment depends on the gas being mea- element will be a function of the calibration point and 10% accurate
sured. The detector has to be calibrat- surrounding vacuum. Because the over the operating range.
ed for each application. sensor is an electrically heated wire, Thermocouple: The thermocouple
Viscous Friction: At high vacuums, thermal vacuum sensors are often gauge relates the temperature of a
viscosity and friction both depend called hot wire gauges. Typically, filament in the process gas to its vac-
on pressure. This instrument mea- hot wire gauges can be used to mea- uum pressure. The filament is heated
sures vacuums down to 10-7 torr by sure down to 10-3 mm Hg. by a constant current of 20-200 mA
detecting the deceleration caused by Pirani: In this design, a sensor wire dc, and the thermocouple generates
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 45
High Pressure & Vacuum 4
an output of about 20 mV dc. The Combined Gauges: To get around Ionization Types: Ionization detec-
heater wire temperature increases as the range limitations of certain sen- tors have been available since 1916.
pressure is reduced. sors, gauge manufacturers have They measure vacuum by making use
Typical thermocouple gauges devised means for electronically of the current carried by ions formed
measure 1 millitorr to 2 torr. This linking multiple sensor heads. For in the gas by the impact of electrons.
Two types are available: hot cathode
and cold cathode.
Refined by Bayard-Alpert in 1950,
Positive Ion
the hot filament off the hot-cathode
Ions Collector Anode
Ion
@ - 30 gauge emits electrons into the vacu-
Current
Detector + + + To Vacuum
um, where they collide with gas mol-
Indicating
+ + System ecules to create ions (Figure 4-7).
Meter Grid
+ 150V - - - These positively charged ions are
(100 mA/torr)
- - - accelerated toward a collector
- - where they create a current in a con-
Meter For
Hot
Electron
ventional ion gauge detector circuit.
Cathode (10 mA)
+ The amount of current formed is
- + proportional to the gas density or
pressure. Most hot-cathode sensors
Figure 4-7: Hot-Cathode Vacuum Gauge measure vacuum in the range of 10-2
to 10-10 torr.
range can be increased by use of a example, one manufacturer offers Newer instruments extend this
gauge controller with a digital/ana- a wide-range vacuum gauge that range significantly by using a modu-
log converter and digital processing. incorporates two pressure sensors in lated electron beam, synchronously
Using an industry standard thermo- one housing: a fast response detected to give two values for ion
couple sensor, such a gauge con- diaphragm manometer for measure- current. At pressures below 10-3 torr,
troller can extend the range of a ments between 1,500 torr and 2 torr, there is little difference in the two
thermocouple sensor to cover from and a Pirani gauge for measuring values. At higher pressures, the ratio
10-3 to 1,000 torr, thereby giving it the between 2 torr and 1 millitorr. The between the two readings increases
same range as a convection-type gauge controller automatically monotonically, allowing the gauge to
Pirani gauge but at a lower price. switches between the two sensors. measure vacuums up to 1 torr.
Convection Gauge: Similar to the
Pirani gauge, this sensor uses a tem-
perature-compensated, gold-plated
tungsten wire to detect the cooling
effects of both conduction and con- Cathode
vection, and thereby extends the
sensing range. At higher vacuums,
Micro-
response depends on the thermal Process
Ammeter
Anode + -
conductivity of the gas, while at Vacuum Reads the
Vacuum ~4000 V
lower vacuums it depends on con-
vective cooling by the gas mole-
cules. Measurement range is from Cathode
10-3 to 1,000 torr. With the excep-
tion of its expanded range, features
and limitations of this sensor are the ~1500 Gauss
same as those of Pirani and most Magnetic Field
thermocouple gauges. Figure 4-8: Cold-Cathode Vacuum Gauge
46 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
4 High Pressure & Vacuum
Because most high-vacuum sys- from 10-10 to 10-2 torr. The main burn out, they are unaffected by
tems were made of glass in 1950, it advantages of cold cathode devices the inrush of air, and they are rela-
made sense to enclose the elec- are that there are no filaments to tively insensitive to vibration. T
trode structure in glass. Today, how-
ever, a modern vacuum system may
be made entirely of metal. One References & Further Reading
argument in favor of this is that Omegadyne Pressure, Force, Load, Torque Databook, OMEGADYNE, Inc.,
glass decomposes during routine 1996.
degassing, producing spurious sodi- The Pressure, Strain, and Force Handbook, Omega Press LLC, 1996.
um ions and other forms of contami- Considerations In Selecting Pressure Calibrators, L. Buckon, Paper 91-
nation. Nevertheless, glass gauges for 0449, 1991.
the time being do remain the most Dead Weight Pressure Measurement, G.F. Budenberg, I&CS, February,
popular hot cathode sensors. 1971.
Cold Cathode: The major differ- Keeping Up With Pressure Sensors, R. Merritt, I&CS, April, 1982.
ence between hot and cold cath- Strain Gages, Bonded Resistance National Aerospace Standard 942,
ode sensors is in their methods of Revision 2, 1964.
electron production. In a cold cath- The Strain Gage Primer, C.C. Perry and H.R.Lisser, McGraw Hill, 1962.
ode device, electrons are drawn Instrument Engineers Handbook, Bela Liptak, CRC Press LLC, 1995.
from the electrode surface by a Measuring High Pressures Above 20,000 psig, R.K. Kaminski, Intech,
high potential field. In the Phillips August, 1968.
design (Figure 4-8), a magnetic field Marks Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, 10th Edition,
around the tube deflects the elec- Eugene A. Avallone and Theodore Baumeister, McGraw-Hill, 1996.
trons, causing them to spiral as they McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, McGraw-
move across the magnetic field to Hill, 1998.
the anode. This spiraling increases Process/Industrial Instruments and Controls Handbook, 4th Edition,
the opportunity for them to Douglas M. Considine, McGraw-Hill, 1993.
encounter and ionize the mole- Van Nostrands Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine and Glenn
cules. Typical measuring range is D. Considine, Van Nostrand, 1997.
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 47
5
FORCE-RELATED MEASUREMENTS
Pressure Gauges & Switches
Pressure Gauge Designs
Protective Accessories
Pressure Switches
Pressure Gauges & Switches
ressure gauges and switches do with the reading of this gauge? approaches the specification of
A
pressure gauges with this mentality,
the number of gauges used will be
48 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
5 Pressure Gauges & Switches
gauge housing. Figure 5-1 illustrates blocking while removing or per- fluid. For high temperature applica-
the design of both a traditional and a forming maintenance. A second tions, a sodium-potassium eutectic
more reliable, filled pressure gauge. valve is often added for one of two often is used; at ambient tempera-
reasons: draining of condensate in tures, a mixture of glycerine and
vapor service (such as steam), or, for water; and at low temperatures, ethyl
higher accuracy applications, to alcohol, toluene, or silicon oil.
allow calibration against an external The pressure gauge can be located
pressure source. for better operator visibility if the
Other accessories include pipe chemical seal is connected to the
coils or siphons (Figure 5-2A), which gauge by a capillary tube. To maintain
in steam service protect the gauge accuracy, capillary tubes should not
from temperature damage, and snub- be exposed to excessive temperatures
bers or pulsation dampeners (Figure and should not exceed 25 feet (7.5 m)
5-2B), which can both absorb pres- in length. The chemical seal itself can
sure shocks and average out pressure be of four designs: off line, flow-
fluctuations. If freeze protection is through type self-cleaning, extended
needed, the gauge should be heated seal elements, or wafer elements that
Pressure switches with adjustable setpoints. by steam or electric tracing. fit between flanges.
Chemical seals (Figure 5-2C) pro- The spring rate of the diaphragm
The delicate links, pivots, and pinions tect the gauge from plugging up in in the chemical seal can cause mea-
of a traditional gauge are sensitive to viscous or slurry service, and prevent surement errors when detecting low
both condensation and vibration. The corrosive, noxious or poisonous pressures (under 50 psig, 350 kPa)
life of the filled gauge is longer, not process materials from reaching the and in vacuum service (because gas
only because it has fewer moving sensor. They also keep the process bubbles dissolved in the filling fluid
parts, but because its housing is filled
with a viscous oil. This oil filling is
beneficial not only because it damp- Proof Pressure
ens pointer vibration, but also
because it leaves no room for humid Detects Pressure Increase Detects Pressure Decrease
ambient air to enter. As a result, water
Setpoint Reactivation
cannot condense and accumulate. Point
Available gauge features include Accuracy Tolerance
illuminated dials and digital readouts Differential Adjustable
Differential
for better visibility, temperature Range
Tolerance Accuracy
compensation to correct for ambient
temperature variation, differential Reactivation
Setpoint
Point
gauges for differential pressures, and
duplex gauges for dual pressure indi-
cation on the same dial. Pressure Figure 5-3: Pressure Switch Terminology
gauges are classified according to
their precision, from grade 4A (per- fluid from freezing or gelling in a might come out of solution). For
missible error of 0.1% of span) to dead-ended sensor cavity. The seal these reasons, pressure repeaters
grade D (5% error). protects the gauge by placing a often are preferred to seals in such
diaphragm between the process and service. Pressure repeaters are avail-
Protective Accessories the gauge. The cavity between the able with 0.1% to 1% of span accura-
The most obvious gauge accessory gauge and the diaphragm is filled cy and with absolute pressure
is a shutoff valve between it and the with a stable, low thermal expansion, ranges from 0-5 mm Hg to 0-50 psia
process (Figure 5-2), which allows low viscosity and non-corrosive (0-0.7 to 0-350 kPa).
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 49
Pressure Gauges & Switches 5
as single pole double throw (SPDT), Figure 5-3 illustrates the terminolo-
in which case the switch is provid- gy used to describe pressure switch
ed with one normally closed (NC) functionality and performance. When
and one normally open (NO) con- the pressure reaches the setpoint
tact. Alternately, the switch can be (which is adjustable within the range),
configured as double pole double the switch signals an abnormal con-
throw (DPDT), in which case two dition and it does not return to nor-
SPDT switches are furnished, each mal (the reactivation point) until the
of which can operate a separate pressure moves away from the abnor-
electric circuit. The switch housings mal condition by the differential
can meet any of the NEMA stan- (also called dead-band). The precision
dards from Type 1 (general purpose) of setpoint actuation is called its
to Type 7 (explosion proof), or Type accuracy, while the precision of
Pressure gauges come in a wide variety of 12 (oil tight). reactivation is called tolerance. T
ranges and units.
50 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
6
FORCE-RELATED MEASUREMENTS
Force, Acceleration, & Torque
Force Sensors
Acceleration & Vibration
he fundamental operating is expressed in units of weight times crystal is converted (by an amplifier)
Force Sensors
The most common dynamic force
and acceleration detector is the
to a low impedance signal suitable for
such an instrument as a digital storage
oscilloscope. Digital storage of the
signal is required in order to allow
analysis of the signal before it decays.
pressures discussed in earlier chap- piezoelectric sensor (Figure 6-1). The Depending on the application
ters. It is often the specifics of con- word piezo is of Greek origin, and it requirements, dynamic force can be
figuration and signal processing that means to squeeze. This is quite measured as either compression, ten-
determine the measurement output. appropriate, because a piezoelectric sile, or torque force. Applications
An accelerometer senses the sensor produces a voltage when it is may include the measurement of
motion of the surface on which it is squeezed by a force that is propor- spring or sliding friction forces, chain
mounted and produces an electrical tional to the force applied. The fun- tensions, clutch release forces, or
output signal related to that damental difference between these peel strengths of laminates, labels,
motion. Acceleration is measured in devices and static force detection and pull tabs.
feet per second squared, and the devices such as strain gages is that A piezoelectric force sensor is
product of the acceleration and the the electrical signal generated by the almost as rigid as a comparably pro-
measured mass yields the force. crystal decays rapidly after the appli- portioned piece of solid steel. This
Torque is a twisting force, usually cation of force. This makes these stiffness and strength allows these
encountered on shafts, bars, pulleys, devices unsuitable for the detection sensors to be directly inserted into
and similar rotational devices. It is of static force. machines as part of their structure.
defined as the product of the force The high impedance electrical sig- Their rigidity provides them with a
and the radius over which it acts. It nal generated by the piezoelectric high natural frequency, and their
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 51
Force, Acceleration, & Torque 6
the flow signal to the control system. suited for the laboratory than the
Impact flowmeters can be used as plant floor. Modern accelerometers,
alternatives to weighing systems to however, have benefited from the
measure and control the flow of bulk advance of technology: their cost,
solids to continuous processes as accuracy, and ease of use all have
illustrated in Figure 6-2. Here, an improved over the years.
impact flowmeter is placed below Early accelerometers were analog
the material chute downstream of a electronic devices that were later
variable speed screw feeder. The converted into digital electronic and
feed rate is set in tons per hour, and microprocessor-based designs. The
the control system regulates the air-bag controls of the automobile
speed of the screw feeder to attain industry use hybrid micro-electro-
Tiny accelerometer is useful for low-mass labo- the desired feed rate. The control mechanical systems (MEMS). These
ratory applications. system uses a PID algorithm to adjust devices rely on what was once con-
the speed as needed to keep the sidered a flaw in semiconductor
corresponding rapid rise time makes flow constant. Impact flowmeters design: a released layer or loose
them ideal for measuring such quick can measure the flow rate of some piece of circuit material in the micro-
transient forces as those generated bulk materials at rates from 1 to 800 space above the chip surface. In a
by metal-to-metal impacts and by tons per hour and with repeatability digital circuit, this loose layer inter-
high frequency vibrations. To ensure and linearity within 1%. feres with the smooth flow of elec-
accurate measurement, the natural trons, because it reacts with the sur-
frequency of the sensing device must Acceleration & Vibration rounding analog environment.
be substantially higher than the fre- Early acceleration and vibration sen- In a MEMS accelerometer, this
quency to be measured. If the mea- sors were complex mechanical con- loose layer is used as a sensor to
sured frequency approaches the nat- traptions (Figure 6-3) and were better measure acceleration. In todays
ural frequency of the sensor, mea-
surement errors will result.
52 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
6 Force, Acceleration, & Torque
autos, MEMS sensors are used in air analyzed, and compared to a refer- velocity sensor, and the mechanical
bag and chassis control, in side- ence signature. magnetic switch, detect the force
impact detection and in antilock Acceleration sensors also play a imposed on a mass when acceleration
braking systems. Auto industry accel-
eration sensors are available for fre-
quencies from 0.1 to 1,500 Hz, with Mass Strain Gages
dynamic ranges of 1.5 to 250 G
around 1 or 2 axes, and with sensitiv-
ities of 7.62 to 1333 mV/G.
Industrial applications for Insulated
accelerometers include machinery Posts
vibration monitoring to diagnose, for Base
example, out-of-balance conditions Cantilever
Sensitive Axis Springs
of rotating parts. An accelerometer-
based vibration analyzer can detect
abnormal vibrations, analyze the Figure 6-3: Early Mechanical Vibration Sensor
vibration signature, and help identify
its cause. role in orientation and direction- occurs. The mass resists the force of
Another application is structural finding. In such applications, minia- acceleration and thereby causes a
testing, where the presence of a ture triaxial sensors detect changes deflection or a physical displace-
structural defect, such as a crack, bad in roll, pitch, and azimuth (angle of ment, which can be measured by
weld, or corrosion can change the horizontal deviation), or X, Y, and Z proximity detectors or strain gages
vibration signature of a structure. The axes. Such sensors can be used to (Figure 6-3). Many of these sensors
structure may be the casing of a track drill bits in drilling operations, are equipped with dampening
motor or turbine, a reactor vessel, or determine orientation for buoys and devices such as springs or magnets to
a tank. The test is performed by strik- sonar systems, serve as compasses, prevent oscillation.
ing the structure with a hammer, and replace gyroscopes in inertial A servo accelerometer, for exam-
exciting the structure with a known navigation systems. ple, measures accelerations from
1 microG to more than 50 G. It uses a
rotating mechanism that is intention-
ally imbalanced in its plane of rota-
tion. When acceleration occurs, it
causes an angular movement that can
be sensed by a proximity detector.
Among the newer mechanical
accelerometer designs is the thermal
accelerometer: This sensor detects
position through heat transfer. A seis-
mic mass is positioned above a heat
source. If the mass moves because of
acceleration, the proximity to the
heat source changes and the temper-
ature of the mass changes. Polysilicon
thermopiles are used to detect
Industrial accelerometer with associated electronics. changes in temperature.
In capacitance sensing accelerom-
forcing function. This generates a Mechanical accelerometers, such eters, micromachined capacitive
vibration pattern that can be recorded, as the seismic mass accelerometer, plates (CMOS capacitor plates only
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 53
Force, Acceleration, & Torque 6
60 microns deep) form a mass of sensors operate in a similar fashion, have increased the need for accurate
about 50 micrograms. As accelera- but strain gage elements are tem- torque measurement.
tion deforms the plates, a measur- perature sensitive and require com-
able change in capacitance results. pensation. They are preferred for Torque Applications
But piezoelectric accelerometers are low frequency vibration, long-dura- Applications for torque sensors
perhaps the most practical devices tion shock, and constant accelera- include determining the amount of
for measuring shock and vibration. tion applications. Piezoresistive power an engine, motor, turbine, or
Similar to a mechanical sensor, this units are rugged, and can operate at other rotating device generates or
device includes a mass that, when frequencies up to 2,000 Hz. consumes. In the industrial world,
accelerated, exerts an inertial force ISO 9000 and other quality control
on a piezoelectric crystal. Torque Measurement specifications are now requiring
In high temperature applications Torque is measured by either sensing companies to measure torque dur-
where it is difficult to install micro- the actual shaft deflection caused by ing manufacturing, especially when
electronics within the sensor, high a twisting force, or by detecting the fasteners are applied. Sensors make
the required torque measurements
automatically on screw and assem-
bly machines, and can be added to
Compression
30 ft. lb.
(Permeability
Applied
hand tools. In both cases, the col-
3 ft. Decreases) Torque lected data can be accumulated on
dataloggers for quality control and
reporting purposes.
45
Shaft
Axis Other industrial applications of
torque sensors include measuring
10 lb. metal removal rates in machine
Tension
tools; the calibration of torque
(Permeability
tools and sensors; measuring peel
Increases)
forces, friction, and bottle cap
Figure 6-4: Torque on a Rotating Shaft torque; testing springs; and making
biodynamic measurements.
impedance devices can be used. effects of this deflection. The sur-
Here, the leads from the crystal sen- face of a shaft under torque will Sensor Configurations
sor are connected to a high gain experience compression and tension, Torque can be measured by rotating
amplifier. The output, which is pro- as shown in Figure 6-4. To measure strain gages as well as by stationary
portional to the force of accelera- torque, strain gage elements usually proximity, magnetostrictive, and
tion, is then read by the high gain are mounted in pairs on the shaft, magnetoelastic sensors. All are tem-
amplifier. Where temperature is not one gauge measuring the increase in perature sensitive. Rotary sensors
excessive, low impedance microelec- length (in the direction in which the must be mounted on the shaft,
tronics can be embedded in the sen- surface is under tension), the other which may not always be possible
sor to detect the voltages generated measuring the decrease in length in because of space limitations.
by the crystals. Both high and low the other direction. A strain gage can be installed
impedance designs can be mechani- Early torque sensors consisted of directly on a shaft. Because the
cally connected to the structures mechanical structures fitted with shaft is rotating, the torque sensor
surface, or secured to it by adhesives strain gages. Their high cost and low can be connected to its power
or magnetic means. These piezoelec- reliability kept them from gaining gen- source and signal conditioning elec-
tric sensors are suited for the mea- eral industrial acceptance. Modern tronics via a slip ring. The strain gage
surement of short durations of accel- technology, however, has lowered the also can be connected via a trans-
eration only. cost of making torque measurements, former, eliminating the need for
Piezoresistive and strain gage while quality controls on production high maintenance slip rings. The
54 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
6 Force, Acceleration, & Torque
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 55
Force, Acceleration, & Torque 6
56 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
7
FORCE-RELATED MEASUREMENTS
Load Cell Designs
Operating Principals
New Sensor Developments
efore strain gage-based load the resistance changes that occur in to 0.25% full scale and are suitable
levers. The earliest, pre-strain gage ances are still used, strain gage load the various load cell designs are sum-
force sensors included hydraulic and cells dominate the weighing industry. marized in Figure 7-1.
pneumatic designs. Pneumatic load cells are sometimes
In 1843, English physicist Sir used where intrinsic safety and Operating Principles
Charles Wheatstone devised a bridge hygiene are desired, and hydraulic Load cell designs can be distin-
circuit that could measure electrical load cells are considered in remote guished according to the type of
resistances. As was discussed in locations, as they do not require a output signal generated (pneumatic,
detail in Chapter 2, the Wheatstone power supply. Strain gage load cells hydraulic, electric) or according to
bridge circuit is ideal for measuring offer accuracies from within 0.03% the way they detect weight (bending,
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 57
Load Cell Designs 7
58 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
7 Load Cell Designs
regulated air or nitrogen. piezoresistive devices is their non- commercially available. One fiber
Strain-gage load cells convert the linear output. optic strain gage can be installed by
load acting on them into electrical Inductive and reluctance: Both of drilling a 0.5 mm diameter hole into
these devices respond to the a stud or bolt, and then inserting the
weight-proportional displacement strain gage into it. Such a sensor is
of a ferromagnetic core. One completely insensitive to off-axis
changes the inductance of a sole- and torsion loads.
noid coil due to the movement of
its iron core; the other changes the
reluctance of a very small air gap. Load
Bellows Load
Magnetostrictive: The operation Beam
of this sensor is based on the A C
B D
change in permeability of ferro-
Strain
magnetic materials under applied Gage
A) Binocular
stress. It is built from a stack of
laminations forming a load-bear-
S beam load cell for compression or tension ing column around a set of prima- Load
applications. ry and secondary transformer
windings. When a load is applied,
signals. The gauges themselves are the stresses cause distortions in
bonded onto a beam or structural the flux pattern, generating an
member that deforms when weight is output signal proportional to the
B) Ring
applied. In most cases, four strain applied load. This is a rugged sen-
gages are used to obtain maximum sor and continues to be used for Load
sensitivity and temperature compen- force and weight measurement in
sation. Two of the gauges are usually rolling mills and strip mills.
in tension, and two in compression, Load
P
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 59
Load Cell Designs 7
using micromachining techniques, sensors can be mounted in a protec- a faster return to zero.
and it is possible that silicon load tive, self-aligning assembly that limits Direct stress (or column/canister)
cells might dominate the industry in load movement and directs the load load cells are essentially bending
the future. toward the center of the pancake. beam sensors mounted in a column
Compression-tension designs have a inside a rugged, round container
Strain Gage Configurations threaded hole running completely (Figure 7-3D). The beam sensor is
The spring elements in a load cell (also
called the beam) can respond to
direct stress, bending, or shear. They
are usually called by names such as
bending beam, shear beam, column,
canister, helical, etc. (Figure 7-3). The
two most popular designs for industri-
al weighing applications are the bend-
ing beam and the shear beam cells.
The bending beam sensor is one of
the most popular load cell designs
because of its simplicity and relative-
ly low cost. It consists of a straight
beam attached to a base at one end
and loaded at the other. Its shape
can be that of a cantilever beam, a
binocular design (Figure 7-3A) or a
ring design (Figure 7-3B). Strain
gages are mounted on the top and
bottom to measure tension and
compression forces. Because the
strain gages are vulnerable to dam- Typical high-capacity canister load cell.
age, they are typically covered by a
rubber bellows. The beam itself through the center of the sensor. mounted upright, with two of the
often is made of rugged alloy steel Stabilizing diaphragms are welded to four strain gages mounted in the lon-
and protected by nickel plating. the sensing load button. gitudinal direction. The other two
In medical instrumentation, robot- Shear beam sensors measure the are oriented transversely. The col-
ics, or similar low-load applications, shear caused by a load. A bending umn may be square, circular, or circu-
smaller mini-beam sensors are avail- beam sensor cannot measure shear, lar with flats machined on the sides
able for measuring loads of up to because shear stresses change across to accommodate the strain gages.
about 40 pounds (18 kg). For loads up the cross section of the cell. In a If provided with a rocker assembly
to 230 grams, the beam is made of shear sensor, the I-beam construc- or with self-aligning strut bearings, a
beryllium copper, and for larger loads tion produces a uniform shear that canister load cell can tolerate a cer-
stainless steel is used. In this design, can be accurately measured by strain tain amount of tank movement and is
strain gages typically are protected gages. A shear beam sensor (Figure 7- relatively insensitive to the point of
by a urethane coating. 3C) is provided with a pair of strain loading. Also, the canister protects
Ring or pancake designs are round gages installed on each side of the I- the strain gages from physical and
and flat bending beam sensors consist- beam, with grid lines oriented along environmental damage. Canister cells
ing of bonded foil strain gages encap- the principal axes. Advantages of a range in size from 1-1/2 in. diameter
sulated in a stainless steel housing. The shear beam sensor over a bending studs with 100-500 lb. capacity to
entire package resembles a flat pan- beam include better handling of side 6-1/2 in. diameter compression cells
cake (Figure 7-3B). Compression-only loads and dynamic forces, as well as suitable for weighing trucks, tanks,
60 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
7 Load Cell Designs
and hoppers up to 500,000 lb. making it ideal for force or load mea- capable of measuring up to 50,000 lb.
Helical load cells are better able surements on vehicle axles, seats, or in Because these little cells have no fix-
to handle off-axis loading than are forklift applications. tures or flexures, off-axis loading and
canister-type compression cells Button and flat washer bonded shifting loads cannot be tolerated.
(Figure 7-3E). The operation of a strain gage load cells are available in On the other hand, button and
helical load cell is based on that of sizes from 1/4 to 1-1/2 in. diameter. flat washer load cells are extremely
a spring. A spring balances a load The smallest sensors are available convenient and easy to use. Even the
force by its own torsional moment. only in compression styles, but some smallest sensor is built of stainless
The torsional reaction travels from of the larger cells have threaded steel, has a built in, full four-arm
the top of the helix to the bottom. holes for also measuring tension. Wheatstone bridge, and can mea-
By measuring this torsional moment While most of the tiny sensors han- sure up to 200 lb. at temperatures up
with strain gages mounted on the dle up to about 200 lb., some are to 1500F. T
spring, a helical load cell can pro-
vide reasonably accurate load mea-
surement without the need for References & Further Reading
expensive mounting structures. OmegadynePressure, Force, Load, Torque Databook, OMEGADYNE, Inc.,
Forces caused by asymmetrical or 1996.
off-axis loading have little effect on The Pressure, Strain, and Force Handbook, Omega Press LLC, 1996.
the spring, and the strain gage sen- Elements of Electronic Instrumentation and Measurements, 3rd Edition,
sors can measure both tension and Joseph J. Carr, Prentice Hall, 1996.
compression forces. Industrial Control Handbook, E.A. Parr, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1995.
A helical load cell can be mounted Instrument Engineers Handbook, Bela Liptak, CRC Press LLC, 1995.
on rough surfaces, even where the Process/Industrial Instruments and Controls Handbook, 4th Edition,
upper and lower surfaces are not par- Douglas M. Considine, McGraw-Hill, 1993.
allel, and total error can still remain Van Nostrands Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine and Glenn
within 0.5%. The helical load cell also D. Considine, Van Nostrand, 1997.
is resistant to shock and overload (it Weighing and Force Measurement in the 90s, T. Kemeny, IMEKO TC
can handle a thousandfold overload), Series, 1991.
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 61
8
FORCE-RELATED MEASUREMENTS
Weighing Applications
Weighing System Design
Installation & Calibration
Specialized Installations
Weighing Applications
he designs of the earliest accurate and reliable. track scales, hopper scales, tank
62 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
8 Weighing Applications
method, whereby the total bulk The first step in selecting load cells temperature, vibration, structural
weight is obtained by integrating the is to determine the total weight to be movement, environment, and main-
product of the belt speed and the supported (gross weight). This is the tenance. Temperature compensation
belt loading over some time period. sum of the net weight of the tank is usually provided for most systems
Batch weighing systems satisfy the contents, the weight of the vessel and and its range should always exceed
requirements of industrial recipes by attached equipmentincluding relief the expected range of ambient and
accurately dispensing a number of valves, instruments, mixers and their operating temperature variations.
Customer's
Support
Bracket
Vessel Gusset
Vessel
Retainer
Sensing
Yoke
Beam (Bearing Can Be
Provided with Yoke)
Retainer
Threaded Section
materials into a common receiving motors, ladders, heating jackets and When the process vessel is hot (or
vessel for blending or reaction. their contentsand any weight that cold), tank-to-cell temperature isola-
might be imposed on the tank by pip- tion pads can be provided.
Weighing System Design ing or conduits. If the tare weight of Temperature compensation adjust-
When a load is applied to the center the vessel is excessive compared with ments for zero and span are built into
line of a cylindrical load cell, it causes the contents, the accuracy of the most high quality strain gage load cell
tension, or compression. When measurement will be reduced. circuits. For operation outside the
applied to a beam, it causes shear, or Pressurized vessels and vessels typical temperature limits of -4 to
bending. Beams can be installed in with vapor phase heating jackets 160F, added correction is needed, or
either single-ended or double-ended require additional compensation the temperature around the load cell
configurations. Factors in making the because the weight of the vapors should be controlled. The load cell
decision between the two options will vary as temperature and pressure should also be protected from strong
include structural and stabilization change. Even if the tank contains radiant heat, particularly if it reaches
requirements and the associated con- only air, a 5,000-gallon vessel will only one side of the cell.
siderations of cost, complexity, and gain 45 lbs. if the pressure is In the metal processing industry,
maintenance. The selected load cell increased by one atmosphere at load cells must be able to operate
should always be suitable for the ambient temperature. continuously at temperatures as
operating environment in terms of its high as 500F. The bonding sub-
corrosion resistance, electrical safety Performance Considerations stances used as backings on strain
(intrinsically safe designs are avail- Weighing system performance is gages typically limit their applica-
able), hose-down requirements, etc. affected by many factors including: tion for high temperatures. For high
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 63
Weighing Applications 8
temperature applications, strain In agitated vessels, baffle plates should unloaded, and at all possible ves-
sensing wire alloys can be installed be added to reduce surging and gyra- sel/structure temperatures.
with inorganic (ceramic) bonding tion of the contents.
cement. Alternatively, a flame spray The load cell environment is a Vessel Support Structure
technique can be used, where molten dynamic one and therefore requires The next step in the design process is
aluminum oxide is sprayed on the periodic checking. This should the selection of the required struc-
strain sensing grid to hold it in place. include an attempt to keep the tural supports for the tank. Tension
Such installations can tolerate short- cell(s), cable, and associated junction support can only be used to weigh
term operations up to 1000F. box clear of debris, ice, or standing small vessels because of the limited
Vibration influences can be mini- water (or other liquids), and shielded weight ranges of tension cells. In ten-
mized by isolating the weighing system from heat, direct sunlight, and wind. sion-type installations, one to four
supports from structures or concrete Cells should also be protected from cells are used (usually one), while in
foundations that support motors or lightning and electrical surges. compression-type installations usu-
other vibrating equipment or are Maintenance should include checking ally three or more are used. When
affected by nearby vehicular traffic. the load cell environment, structures, accuracy is not critical (0.5% full
Vibration absorption pads are available wiring and junction boxes (for mois- scale or less) and the tank contains a
to isolate the load cells from the vibra- ture and to tighten terminals), adjust- liquid, costs can be reduced by
tion of the tank, but performance will ment of stay and check rods, and peri- replacing load cells with dummy
be best if isolation pads are used at the odic calibration and checking to make cells or with flexure beams. Vertical
vibration source. Similarly, weight sure that the load is balanced. round tanks are typically supported
transmitters can be provided with fil- Load cells can withstand up to off three, while four are used for
tering for the removal of noise caused 200% of their capacity in side loads. square or horizontal round vessels. It
is preferable that all load cells in the
system be of the same capacity.
Direct
ion of Vessels that are very large, have
Traffic
unbalanced loads, contain hazardous
Load
Cell Electrical Cable
materials, or are at risk of overturning
Platform Main
Fitting might use more cells. If wind shield-
Side Rail Double Parallel
Link Suspension ing is not provided for the vessel, cell
capacity must be increased to also
provide for the uplift and down-
thrust caused by the worst case of
wind-induced tipping.
Three cells are best for accurate
weighing because three points define
a plane and therefore the load will
Steel and Concrete
be equalized naturally. Four or more
Foundation cells require load adjustments. The
Load Cell
Support minimum load cell range (size) is
Link Suspension
Support obtained by dividing the gross
Figure 8-3: End-Loaded Shear-Beam Installation weight by the number of support
points. One usually selects the next
by vibration, but it is best if vibration If a vessel is bumped by a vehicle or standard cell which exceeds the cal-
does not exist in the first place. During is otherwise disturbed, the cells culated requirement. Some applica-
weighing, it is desirable to stop all in- should be checked for damage and tion engineers will add a safety fac-
and outflows and to turn off all be recalibrated. Maintenance related tor of 25% to the gross weight before
motors and mixers that are attached checking should be performed with making the above calculation. Others
to the weighed tank, if at all possible. the vessel both loaded and will also add a dynamic loading
64 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
8 Weighing Applications
factor if, prior to weighing, the load thermal expansion, stay rods and suspended vessels, check rods also
is dropped onto the scale. It also is check rods are used. They are made serve as back-up hangers.
preferable that all load cells in the from threaded rods and nuts and To determine the required size and
system be of the same capacity. serve to provide lateral restraint. Their location for stabilization systems,
The vessel support structure nuts are adjusted snug to the gusset of external forces (seismic, agitator, etc.)
must be rigid and stable, while leav- the vessel support bracket and to a must be evaluated. The most stable
ing the tank completely free to rigid bracket on the structure. Nuts support plane is at the center of
move in the vertical. Each weighing should be finger tight and then gravity of the tank when it is full.
system structure should be inde-
pendent of structures supporting
other vessels or vehicular traffic. Closed
The combined deflection of the Frame
structure supporting the cells and Master Loadcell
Electromechanical
the structure supported by the cells, Readout Scale Readout
00000 00000
when going from unloaded to fully
loaded (including vessel wall flexure), Force Generation
should not exceed 1/1,200th of the
distance between any two cells. This Weighbridge
corresponds to an angle of 0.5. Some
shear beam mounting yokes allow a
little more.
Support leg bowing also adds
torque to the support beam. Uneven
Electrical Connection of Loadcells
loading due to wind shear, uplift, and
download must also be considered in
order for the structural design to Figure 8-4: Master Load Cell for Weighbridge Calibration
meet structure performance specifi-
cations. A wind shield is essential, if secured with jam nuts (Figure 8-1). Suspended vessels require check or
without it any one of the load cells Rods must be level and installed stay rods only when horizontal vessel
could be totally unloaded. For most perpendicular to the direction of ther- movement can be caused by external
cells, wind effect without shields will mal expansion of the vessel. This forces. For minor forces, bumpers
cause errors under 0.1% full scale. allows unrestricted vertical movement may be sufficient.
The support structure should be without producing a side load. Stay Thermal expansion of vessels rela-
level to within 1/8 in.; otherwise, rods should be installed as close as tive to their supports can cause unde-
shims should be placed under the possible to the plane of vessel sup- sirable side loads on the load cells.
cell(s) to provide a level loading port. On long, round, horizontal tanks, Some load-cell designs provide for
plane. In both compression and ten- the axial vessel stay rod connection horizontal vessel movement to relieve
sion applications, the vessel load should be near the center of the ves- side loading. Load cell rods suspend-
must be transferred through the sel, and lateral restraints should be ing a vessel must remain plumb to
load cell to the centerline of the located near the ends. This helps to within 0.5. Single and double-ended
web of the supporting steel. This avoid large axial thermal expansion. shear beam cell designs can eliminate
will prevent twisting of the beams. Check rods are identical to stay or minimize the need for stay or check
Gussets should be provided at the rods except that their fit is made rods (Figure 8-2), while cylindrical cells
support locations. loose by providing a 1/8-in. gap at always require both.
the nut and oversized rod holes. In terms of allowing horizontal
Vessel Stabilization Check rods may be mounted above movement, load cell designs can be
To provide unrestricted vertical or below the support plane or verti- fixed (allowing no movement), lin-
motion while allowing for horizontal cally to prevent vessel overturn. On ear (allowing linear movement), or
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 65
Weighing Applications 8
full (allowing any horizontal tank vessel and the first pipe support and must align normal to the
movement). Fixed and linear cells are should be long enough to provide tank connection, without force.
mounted in support positions that vertical flexure, but not so long Braid-jacketed hose should not
are farthest apart, with the linear that the pipe will sag and add be used. Flexible rubber boots are
movement being allowed in a line weight to the vessel. acceptable for making vertical
that intersects the fixed cell. Load cell supports should also connections.
Load cell adaptors are used in support the first two pipe sup- When a hopper and its hood are
vehicle scales where large horizontal ports. The up and down motion of independently supported and
forces occur due to the deceleration the pipe supports must be limited. sealed with a boot, weighing error
or acceleration of the vehicles on the When possible, use a lighter can occur due to the pressure
scale. The adaptor suspends the schedule pipe because it will change caused by in-rushing or
weighing platform from the top of provide more flexibility. For out-flowing material. Hood vent-
the load cell through swivel links example, schedule 10S is more ing (and, therefore, vacuum break-
connected to the lower plate and flexible than 40S. ing) is required to eliminate this
the platform. The load cell is sup- The transmission of horizontal error source.
ported by a base plate that absorbs
heavy side loads when the horizontal
deflection exceeds the clearances
Road
around the base plate. Similar Vehicle Travel
Bed
designs are available for double- Direction
ended shear beams (Figure 8-3).
Piping Connections
If a pipe is attached to a weighed ves-
sel, it will introduce vertical and hori-
zontal forces. The total vertical force
(V) generated by all piping connected Bridging Plate
Sensing
to a weighed vessel should be less than Element
30 times the system accuracy (A) mul-
tiplied by the maximum live load (L): Strain Gauge
Direction
Locations
Sensing
V < 30 AL Gauges
66 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
8 Weighing Applications
The electrical devices on the tank is usually performed with dead A master cell can also be used for
(including load cells) should be weights and is the only calibration calibration as long as the master is
wired using flexible conduit that is method recognized by weights and about three times more accurate
looped. measures agencies. All calibration than the accuracy expected from
starts by zeroing the system: the calibrated system. The calibra-
Installation & Calibration During deadweight calibration, the tion procedure involves incremen-
To check if the transducers and load vessel is evenly loaded to 10% of tal loading and the evaluation at
cells are functioning properly, the
following should be evaluated: Does
the weight indication return to zero
Direction of Travel
when the system is empty or
unloaded? Does the indicated weight Strain Gauges
double when the weight is doubled?
Does the indicated weight remain
the same when the location of the
load changes (uneven loading)? If the
answers are yes, the cells and trans- "Live"
ducers are probably in good condi- Rail
tion and need no attention.
Before calibration, the mechani- Figure 8-6: Monorail Weighing Transducer
cal system should be examined and
the cell installation checked for the the live load capacity using stan- each step of the output signals of
following: dard weights. The weight indica- both the calibrated weighbridge
Inspect the load cell cables, and tion is recorded and the weights and of the master load cell (Figure
coil and protect any excess. are removed. Next, process mater- 8-4). The number of divisions used
The load should be equally distrib- ial is added to the vessel until the and the method of applying the
uted among multiple load cells of weight indicator registers the force (hydraulic or servomotor) is
multiple load cell installations. If same (10%) weight as it did with up to the user.
they differ by more than 10%, the the calibration weights. Now the If a load cell system is causing prob-
load should be rebalanced and calibration weights are loaded on lems, four tests can be conducted:
adjusted with shims. the vessel again and the reading Mechanical Inspection: Check the
When calibrating, installing, or (now about 20%) is recorded. load cell for physical damage. If it has
removing a cell, the vessel should These steps are repeated until been physically deformedbent,
be lifted without unloading or 100% of capacity is reached. stretched or compressed relative to
overloading the other cells. The Live weight calibration is a novel its original shapeit is not repairable
design of the system should pro- and faster method, which uses and must be replaced. Look for distor-
vide for jacking and the horizontal pre-weighed people instead of tion or cracks on all metal surfaces.
removal of the cell. calibration weights. The procedure Flexure surfaces must be parallel to
Dummy load cells should be used is identical to deadweight calibra- each other and perpendicular to both
in place of operational ones until tion. This method should not be end surfaces. Check all cables along
all construction and welding are used if there is a risk of injury. their entire length. Nicked or abraded
completed. The material transfer method of cables can short out a load cell.
The calibration of the vessel calibration uses some other scale Zero Balance (No Load): Shifts in
requires hangers or shelves to support to verify weight. This method is the zero balance are usually caused
the calibration weights. For an ASME limited by the accuracy of the ref- by residual stress in the sensing area.
vessel, they must be added when the erence scale and risks some error Residual stresses result from over-
vessel is fabricated. Calibration to an due to possible loss of material in loading the cell or from repeated
accuracy of 0.25% full scale or better transfer. operation cycles. With a voltmeter,
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 67
Weighing Applications 8
measure the load cells output when problem may be in the load-cell measure and eliminate errors caused
there is no weight on the cell. It cable. It is usually the infiltration of by thermal stresses.
should be within 0.1% of the speci- moisture that causes short circuiting These cells are very temperature
fied zero output signal. If the output (current flow) between the load cells sensitive and therefore require sun
is outside the zero balance tolerance electronics and the cell body. and wind shielding and insulation.
band, the cell is damaged but per- Locating the cell on an I-beam web
haps correctable. Specialized Installations will minimize temperature error. The
Bridge Resistance: Measure the Leg-mounted load cells measure base metal of single-axis cells must
resistance across each pair of input stress changes in the vessels support exactly match the vessel leg materi-
and output leads. Compare these structure and can determine tank al, or errors will be introduced. If
readings against the specification of weights to between 0.1% and 0.5% dual-axis cells are used, they com-
the load cell. Out-of-tolerance read- full-scale accuracy. These cells can pensate for material differences and
ings are usually caused by the failure be installed on existing tank sup- this will not be a concern. The best
of one or more elements, typically ports, and several can be mounted or design is to mount a dual-axis cell at
the result of electrical transients or bolted to the legs of a vessel. The the center of the I-beam web. The
lightning strikes. legs can be made of I-beams, pipes, next best is to install two single-axis
Resistance to Ground: Connect all concrete-filled pipes, or angle iron. cells mounted opposite each other
the input, output, sense and ground These load cells are available in on the face of the flange where the
flange is joined to the web.
Treadle scales eliminate the com-
plexity of building vehicle scales
from individual load cells, weigh-
Inlet
Hopper bridges, and stabilization hardware,
Feeder
and therefore are less expensive
Screw Feeder
(Figure 8-5). A treadle scale is a self-
contained unit that can be readily
On-Off Valve
lowered into a shallow pit. In addi-
tion to being accurate, directional
Scale
strain gages are provided to sense
Hopper Feeder
vehicle motion.
Screw Feeder Monorail weighing transducers
measure live loads using integrated
load cell and flexure assemblies built
Scale into a single self-supporting module
Continuous
(Figure 8-6). The strain gage arrange-
Flow ment in this module detects the cor-
A) Gain-in-Weight B) Loss-In-Weight rect weight independent of load
position. The sloping arrangement on
Figure 8-7: Load Cell Configurations for Solids Batching the top of the module decouples the
load from the pusher during weight
leads together, and measure the single and double-axis designs. measurement and thereby eliminates
resistance between the load cell Double-axis cells are able to provide these forces.
body and the leads with an ohmme- perpendicular strain monitoring of Belt weighing systems are used on
ter. The reading should be at least thermal or other (interfering) stress- flat or trough belts. Flat belts are
5,000 megaohms. If the load cell fails es, which can eliminate errors from more accurate, but also tend to spill
this test, repeat the test without the the primary signal. If single-axis cells more material. This type of weighing
ground wire. If it still fails, the load are used, a second cell can be system consists of load cells sup-
cell requires repair. If it passes, the installed perpendicular to the first to porting a set of rollers, including
68 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
8 Weighing Applications
three idler rollers on either side that rate of speed (bulk rate) until the total entire feeder, including the inlet hop-
stabilize and support the belt and its target weight is approached. At that per and the screw feeder, is mounted
contents as they move over the point the control system slows the on load cells. When the feeder inlet
scale. Delivered weight is determined screw feeder down to a dribble rate. valve is closed, the slope at which the
by integrating the product of weight The screw feeder continues charging total weight is dropping indicates the
and belt speed signals. at the dribble rate for a short period of continuous discharge from the feeder.
The weighing system should be time, stopping just before the target This slope is controlled by loss-in-
located away from the material load- weight is attained. weight controls, which calculate the
ing impact and spread area, and on The difference between the tar- rate at which the total weight is
the opposite end from the drive pul- get weight and the weight at which changing. The feed rate is set in
ley to avoid high belt tension. Belts the screw feeder is stopped is called pounds per hour, and the control sys-
should be single-ply, flexible, and the pre-act weight. This pre-act tem regulates the speed of the screw
should track without lateral move- difference setting allows the con- feeder to maintain this desired dis-
ment. The belt tension should be trol system to consider the in-flight charge feed rate.
maintained by weight-and-pulley to material that is still falling from the The control system speeds up
minimize jamming or resistance to screw feeder into the scale hopper. the screw feeder when the feed
movement. Belt tension should be The pre-act weight can be adjusted rate is below setpoint, and slows it
adjusted after monitoring the systems either manually or automatically, down when it is above setpoint.
response with more or less tension. A and its correct setting is critical for When the feeder is nearly empty,
loose belt causes side load error high accuracy applications. the control system switches the
because of belt slap or wrap, while a In the case of loss-in-weight batch- feeder into its refill mode. In this
tight belt can cause the load cell to ing, a feeder is provided with an on- mode, the inlet valve is opened and
measure belt tension instead of load. off valve at its inlet and with a variable it is kept open until the desired full
Load cells are widely used in speed screw feeder at its outlet. The weight is reached. T
applications requiring precision
weighing of solid and liquid materi-
als. Depending on whether the References & Further Reading
receiver or dispenser is being Omegadyne Pressure, Force, Load, Torque Databook, OMEGADYNE, Inc.,
weighed, these applications are 1996.
referred to as gain-in-weight or loss- The Pressure, Strain, and Force Handbook, Omega Press LLC, 1996.
in-weight configurations (Figure 8-7). How to troubleshoot your electronic scale, Brent Yeager, Powder and
Loss-in-weight scales measure the Bulk Engineering, September, 1995
rate at which the total weight in the Ten rules for installing a belt scale, Steve Becker, Powder and Bulk
dispensing tank changes. They are Engineering, September, 1996.
used to control small mass flow rates Flat-belt weigh feeder accuracy: How to achieve it, maintain it, and ver-
into a process. These scales consist ify it, Pete Cadou and Chuck Homer, Powder and Bulk Engineering,
of a small load cell system, a differ- September, 1997.
entiating measurement and control Electronic Weigh Systems Handbook, BLH Electronics, 1986.
system and a variable speed dis- Instrument Engineers Handbook, Bela Liptak, CRC Press LLC, 1995.
penser. Normally, the speed of the Marks Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, 10th Edition,
dispenser is adjusted to maintain the Eugene A. Avallone and Theodore Baumeister, McGraw-Hill, 1996.
mass flow rate into the process; dur- McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, McGraw-
ing the refill cycle, it is held constant Hill, 1998.
at its last setting. Process/Industrial Instruments and Controls Handbook, 4th Edition,
The scale hopper is weighed by load Douglas M. Considine, McGraw-Hill, 1993.
cells connected via a summing box to Van Nostrands Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine and Glenn
a weight transmitter. The control sys- D. Considine, Van Nostrand, 1997
tem runs the screw feeder at a high Weighing and Force Measurement in the 90s, IMEKO TC, 1991.
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 69
Information Resources
Information Resources
ORGANIZATIONS
NAME/ADDRESS PHONE WEB ADDRESS
American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
345 East 47 Street, New York, NY 10017-2395 212/705-7338 www.aiche.org
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
11 West 42 Street, New York, NY 10036 212/642-4900 www.ansi.org
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
345 East 47 Street, New York, NY 10017 212/705-7722 www.asme.org
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959 610/832-9585 www.astm.org
American Vacuum Society (AVS)
120 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005 212/248-0200 www.vacuum.org
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
3412 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94303 415/855-2000 www.epri.com
Electronic Industries Association (EIA)
2500 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201-3834 703/907-7500 www.eia.org
Factory Mutual
1151 Boston-Providence Turnpike, Norwood, MA 02062 781/762-4300 www.factorymutual.com
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
3, rue de Varemb, P.O. Box 131 +41 22 919 02 11 www.iec.ch
CH - 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
1, rue de Varemb, Case postale 56, +41 22 749 01 11 www.iso.ch
CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland
Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331 732/981-0060 www.ieee.org
ISAThe International Society for Measurement and Control
67 Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 919/549-8411 www.isa.org
National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)
1300 North 17th Street, Suite 1847, Rosslyn, VA 22209 703/841-3200 www.nema.org
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269-9101 617/770-3000 www.nfpa.org
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001 301/975-3058 www.nist.gov
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096-0001 724/776-4841 www.sae.org
Underwriters Laboratories
333 Pfingsten Road, Northbrook, IL 60062 847/272-8800 www.ul.com
70 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
Information
InformationResources
Resources
APPLICABLE STANDARDS
Acceleration, IEC:68-2-7 Pressure Gauges, ANSI: B40.1
Accelerometers, IEEE: 337 Pressure Measurement, ASME: PTC 19.2
Electrical Instruments in Hazardous Atmospheres, Pressure Transducers,
ISA: RP12.1,4,6,10,11 Calibration, ANSI: B88.1
Electrical Transducers, Terminology, ISA: S.37.1 Pressure Transducers, Potentiometric, ISA: S37.6
Electrical Transducers, Testing, ANSI: S2.11 Shock and Vibration, ANSI: S2.2, S2.4, S2.10, S2.11
Hazardous Areas, IEC: 79-10 Strain Gages, Calibration, ASTM: E251-67
Intrinsically Safe Circuits, IEC: 79-3, UL: 913 Strain Gage Transducers, ISA: S37.3, 5
Piezoelectric Crystals, IEEE: 179 Vacuum Gauges, Calibration, AVS: 6.2, 6.4, 6.5
Piezoelectric Acceleration Transducers, ISA: RP37.2 Vacuum Gauges, Ionization, ASTM: E297-70
Piezoelectric Pressure Transducers, ISA: S37.10 Vibration, IEC: 69-2-6
Potentiometers, Laboratory, ANSI: C100.2 Weighing Scales, ASME: PTC 19.5.1
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 71
Information Resources
72 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
Information Resources
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 73
Glossary
A
Glossary
instrument from being affected by variations in ambi-
Absolute pressure: Pressure referenced to full vacuum. In ent temperature. The compensator specifications state
English (pounds per square inch) units, designated as PIA. the temperature range within which the compensation
Accuracy: Degree of conformity of a measured value to is effective.
an accepted standard value or closeness of a reading or American National Standards Institute (ANSI): A profes-
indication of a sensor to the actual value of the quantity sional organization in the United States responsible for
being measured. accepting and designating the standards developed by
Accuracy rating: A number that defines a limit that the other organizations as national standards.
measurement errors will not exceed under some refer- Ampere (A or amp): The unit of electric current flow,
ence operating conditions. It includes the combined defined as the rate at which one coulomb of electric
effects of conformity, hysteresis, dead band and repeata- charge (6.25x1018 electrons) is transferred in a second.
bility errors. Amplifier: A device that generates an output which is
Accuracy, units: The maximum positive or negative devi- stronger than and bears some predetermined relation-
ation (inaccuracy) observed in testing a device. It can be ship (often linear) to its input. It generates the amplified
expressed in terms of the measured variable (plus-minus output signal while drawing power from a source other
1C), or as a percentage of the actual reading (%AR), of than the signal itself.
the full scale (%FS), of upper range value (%URL), of the Analog signal: A signal that continuously represents a
span or of scale length. variable or condition.
Admittance: Admittance of an AC circuit is analogous to Analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion: A generic term
the conductivity of a DC circuit; it is the reciprocal of the referring to the conversion of an analog signal into a dig-
impedance of an AC circuit. ital form.
Air consumption: The maximum rate at which air is con- Analog-to-digital converter (ADC): An electronic device
sumed by an instrument while operating within its oper- that converts analog signals to an equivalent digital form.
ating range, usually expressed in units of standard cubic Attenuation: The reciprocal of gain; a dimensionless
feet per minute. ratio defining the decrease in signal magnitude as it pass-
Alphanumeric: A character set containing both letters es between two points or two frequencies. Large values
and numbers. of attenuation are expressed in decibels (dB).
Alternating current (AC): A flow of electric charge (elec- B
tric current) that undergoes periodic reverses in direc- Backlash: The relative movement of interlocked mechan-
tion. In North America, the household current alternates ical parts which occurs when motion is reversed.
at a frequency of 60 times per second. Baud rate: Serial communications data transmission rate
Ambient pressure: The atmospheric pressure of the expressed in bits per second (bps).
medium surrounding a particular sensor. When no spe- Bipolar: A signal range that includes both positive and
cific information is available, it is assumed to be 14.7 PSIA. negative values (i.e., -10 V to +10 V).
Ambient temperature: The average or mean tempera- Bode diagram: A plot of log amplitude ratio and phase
ture of the atmospheric air which is surrounding a sen- angle values used in describing transfer functions.
sor or instrument. If the sensor is a heat generator, this Breakdown voltage: Threshold voltage at which circuit
term refers to the temperature of the surroundings components begin to be damaged.
when the sensor is in operation. The ambient tempera- Byte (B): Eight related bits of data or an eight-bit binary
ture is usually stated under the assumption that the number. Also denotes the amount of memory required
sensor is not exposed to the sun or other radiant ener- to store one byte of data.
gy sources. C
Ambient temperature compensation: An automatic Calibrate: To ascertain that the output of a device prop-
correction which prevents the reading of a sensor or erly corresponds to the information it is measuring,
74 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
Glossary
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 75
Glossary
76 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
Glossary
to the change in the error signal for all real frequencies. which detects process pressure and generates an air (or
Loop transfer function: Of a closed loop, the transfer nitrogen) output signal of equal pressure.
function obtained by taking the ratio of the Laplace Optical isolation: Two networks or circuits in which an
transform of the return signal to the Laplace transform of LED transmitter and receiver are used to maintain elec-
its corresponding error signal. trical discontinuity between the circuits.
Lower range limit (LRL): The lowest value of a measured Output settling time: Time required for the analog output
variable that a device can be adjusted to measure. voltage to reach its final value within specified limits.
Lower range value (LRV): The lowest value of a measured Output signal: A signal delivered by a device, element or
variable that a device is adjusted to measure. system.
M Output slew rate: Maximum rate of change of analog
Manipulated variable: A quantity or condition which is output voltage from one level to another.
varied as a function of an actuating error signal so as to Overtravel: That part of a stroke which falls between the
change the value of the directly controlled variable. end of the calibrated range and the travel stop.
Measurement signal: The electrical, mechanical, pneu- P
matic, digital or other variable applied to the input of a Phase: A time-based relationship between a periodic
device. It is the analog of the measured variable pro- function and a reference.
duced by the transducer. Phase shift: The angle in degrees between an energizing
Measurement variable: A quantity, property or condition voltage waveform and an output signal waveform.
which is being measured. Sometimes referred to as the Polarity: In electricity, the quality of having two charged
measurand. poles, one positive and one negative.
Milliamp (mA): One thousandth of an ampere. Port: A communications connection on an electronic or
Millivolt (mV): One thousandth of a volt. computer-based device.
Multiplexer (Mux): A switching device that sequentially Power supply: A separate unit or part of a system that
connects multiple inputs or outputs in order to process provides power (pneumatic, electric, etc.) to the rest of
several signal channels with a single A/D or D/A con- the system.
verter. Pressure, ambient: The pressure of the medium sur-
N rounding a device.
Noise: Any undesirable electrical signal, whether from Pressure, design: The pressure used in the design of a ves-
external sources such as AC power lines, motors, electri- sel or other equipment for the purpose of determining
cal storms, radio transmitters, or from internal sources the minimum permissible wall thickness or size of parts
such as electrical components. for a given maximum working pressure (MWP) at a given
Non-linearity: The deviation from the best fit straight temperature.
line that passes through zero. Pressure, maximum working: The maximum permissible
Normal-mode rejection ratio: The ability of an instru- operating pressure at a specified temperature. This is the
ment to reject electrical interference across its input ter- highest pressure to which the device will be subjected
minals, normally of line frequency (50-60 Hz). during regular use.
Nyquist theorem: The law that provides the basis for Pressure, operating: The actual (positive or negative)
sampling continuous information. It states that the fre- pressure at which a device operates under normal condi-
quency of data sampling should be at least twice the max- tions.
imum frequency at which the information might vary. This Pressure, rupture: The burst pressure of a device (deter-
theorem should be observed in order to preserve pat- mined by testing).
terns in the information or data, without introducing arti- Pressure, static: The steady-state pressure applied to a
ficial, lower frequency patterns. device.
O Pressure, supply: The pressure at which a utility (such as
Ohm meter: A device used to measure electrical resis- air) is supplied to a device.
tance. Pressure, surge: Operating pressure plus the increment to
One-to-one repeater: A diaphragm-operated device which a device can be subjected for a very short time
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 77
Glossary
during temporary pressure surges caused by such phe- under the operating conditions specified.
nomena as pump start-up or valve shut-off. Remote terminal unit (RTU): Industrial control and data
Pretravel: That part of a stroke which falls below the cal- collection device similar to a PLC but designed for remote
ibrated range, between zero and the travel stop. data collection, transfer and communication via wire-based
Primary element: The element which converts a mea- or radio telemetry links to DCS or computer systems.
sured variable into a force, motion or other form suitable Repeatability: The maximum difference between output
for measurement. readings when the same input is applied consecutively.
Process: Physical or chemical change of matter or con- This is the closeness of agreement among consecutive
version of energy. measurements of an output for the same value of input
Process measurement: The acquisition of information under the same operating conditions, approaching from
that establishes the magnitude of process quantities. the same direction. It is usually measured as non- repeata-
Programmable logic controller (PLC): Computer-based bility and expressed as a percentage of span.
industrial monitoring and control package with applica- Reproducibility: The closeness of agreement among
tions mostly in the areas of safety, sequential or logical repeated measurements of an output for the same value
operations, where control actions are based on equip- of the input made under the same operating conditions
ment and alarm status. over a period of time, approaching from both directions.
Proportional control: A control mode which generates It includes hysteresis, dead band, drift, and repeatability.
an output correction in proportion to the error (the Resistance, resistivity: Resistance is the opposition to
process variables deviation from setpoint). the flow of current in a DC circuit. Its unit is the ohm,
Proportional-integral-derivative (PID): Also referred to which is defined as the resistance that will give a one
as a 3-mode controller, combining proportional, integral, ampere current flow, if a one volt potential difference is
and derivative control actions. applied in the circuit Resistivity is the reciprocal of con-
PSIA: Pounds per square inch absolute, the pressure unit ductivity; its unit is the ohm/cm.
used when the zero reference is full vacuum. Resolution: The smallest change in input which produces
PSIG: Pounds per square inch gauge, the pressure unit a detectable change in output; the smallest increment of
used when the zero reference is the barometric pressure change that can be detected by a measurement system.
of the atmosphere. Resolution can be expressed in bits, in proportions, in
R percent of actual reading or in percent of full scale. For
Radio frequency: The frequency range between ultrason- example, a 12-bit system has a resolution of one part in
ic and infrared. AM broadcast frequencies range from 540 4,096 or 0.0244% of full scale.
to 1,800 kHz, while FM broadcasts from 88 to 108 MHz. Resonance: A condition of oscillation caused when a small
Radio frequency interference (RFI): Noise induced upon sig- amplitude of periodic input has a frequency approaching
nal wires by ambient radio-frequency electromagnetic radi- one of the natural frequencies of the driven system.
ation, with the effect of obscuring the instrument signal. Response time: An output expressed as a function of
Ramp: The total (transient plus steady-state) time response time, resulting from the application of a specified input
resulting from a sudden increase in the rate of change from under specified operating conditions.
zero to some finite value of an input stimulus. RMS value: The square root of the average of the squares
Range: The region between the limits within which a (root-mean-square) of the instantaneous values. It is the
quantity is measured, received or transmitted, expressed square root of the arithmetical mean of the squares.
by stating the lower and upper range values. S
Reactance: The opposition to the flow of AC current, Sample-and-hold (S/H): Circuit that acquires and stores an
which is created by either inductance or capacitance. In analog voltage on a capacitor for subsequent conversion.
such a circuit, total impedance is therefore the sum of Sampling period: The time interval between observa-
reactance and resistance. Its unit is the ohm. tions.
Reference input: An external signal serving as a setpoint Scale factor: The factor by which the number of scale
or as a standard of comparison for a controlled variable. divisions indicated or recorded by an instrument should
Reliability: The probability that a device will perform its be multiplied in order to compute the value of the mea-
objective adequately for the period of time specified, sured variable.
78 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
Glossary
SCFM: Standard cubic foot per minute, where the term Strain: The ratio of the change in length to the initial
standard usually refers to 14.7 PSIA pressure and 68F unstressed reference length of an element under stress.
temperature. Strain gage: Sensor whose resistance varies with applied
Sensing element: The element which is directly respon- force. A measuring element for converting force, pressure,
sive to the value of the measured variable. tension, weight, etc., into a change in electrical resistance.
Sensitivity: The minimum change in a physical variable Subsidence: The progressive reduction or suppression of
to which an instrument can respond; the ratio of the oscillation in a device or system.
change in output magnitude to the change of the input Suppressed range: The range in which the zero value of a
which causes it after steady-state has been reached. measured variable is greater than the lower-range value
Sensor: An element or device which detects a variable, (LRV). The terms elevated zero, suppression or sup-
receiving information in the form of one quantity and pressed span are also used to express the condition that
converting it to information in the form of that or exists when the zero of the measured variable is greater
another quantity. than the LRV.
Servomechanism: An automatic feedback device in Suppressed span: The span in which the zero of the mea-
which the controlled variable is mechanical position or sured variable is greater than the LRV.
any of its time derivatives. Suppressed zero: The range in which the zero value of the
Setpoint: A variable, expressed in the same units as the measured variable is less than the lower range value. The
measurement to be taken, which sets either the desired terms elevation, elevated range and elevated span are
target for a controller or the condition at which alarms frequently used to express the condition in which the zero
or safety interlocks are to be energized. of the measured variable is less than the lower range value.
Settling time: The time required after a stimulus for the Suppression ratio: The ratio of the lower-range value to
output to center and remain within a specified narrow the span. If range is 20-100 and therefore span is 80 and
band centered on its steady-state value. LRV is 20, the suppression ratio is 20/80 = 0.25 or 25%.
Shielded twisted pair (STP): Cable construction that Synchronous: An event or action that is synchronized to
includes an external grounded shield as well as twisting a reference clock.
on a regular basis to minimize noise. System noise: The measure of the amount of noise seen
Signal: A variable that carries information about another by an analog circuit or an ADC when the analog inputs
variable that it represents. are grounded.
Signal-to-noise ratio: Ratio of signal amplitude to noise T
amplitude; the ratio of the overall rms signal level to the Temperature coefficient: The amount of drift, in percent
rms noise level, expressed in dB. For sinusoidal signals, of full scale output, that might result from a 1C change
amplitude may be peak or rms. in ambient temperature.
Single-ended (SE): An analog input that is measured with Thermal shock: An abrupt temperature change applied
respect to a common ground. to a device.
Span: The algebraic difference between the upper and Time constant: The value T in an exponential term A(-t/T).
lower range values, expressed in the same units as the For the output of a first-order system forced by a step or
range. an impulse, T is the time required to complete 63.2% of
Span shift: Any change in slope of the input-output the total rise or decay. For higher order systems, there is
curve. a time constant for each of the first-order components
Stability: The ability of an instrument or sensor to main- of the process.
tain a consistent output when a constant input is Torque tube: A torsion spring used to measure force or
applied. pressure.
Steady-state: A characteristic of a condition, such as Transducer: An element or device which receives infor-
value, rate, periodicity, or amplitude, exhibiting only neg- mation in the form of one quantity and converts it to
ligible change over an arbitrary long period of time. information in the same or another quantity or form.
Stiffness: The ratio of change of force (or torque) to the Primary elements and transmitters are also referred to as
resulting change in deflection of a spring-like element; transducers.
the opposite of compliance. Transfer function: Mathematical, graphical, or tabular
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 79
Glossary
80 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
Index
Index
A Gage factor,
Acceleration, definition 15
definition 51 temperature effect 22
law of 11 Gauge pressure 26
Accelerometer, H
application 53 Hawking, Steven 11
description 51 Helical Bourdon tube 41
mechanical 52 High pressure 41
servo 53 Hubble, Edwin Powell 11
Accuracy, J
reference 12 Joule, Prescott 11
Archimedes 10 K
Aristotle 10 Kelvin, Lord 15
B Kepler, Johannes 10
Barometer 42 L
Bending strain 15 Lead-wire effects 22
Bourdon tube 26 Load cell,
Button diaphragm repeater 41 bending-beam 60
C button 61
Capacitance manometer 44 column/canister 60
Chemical seals 39, 49 direct-stress 60
Chevron bridge, helical 61
diagram 19 hydraulic 58
description 20 isolation 64
Compound pressure detector 13 micro-machined 59
Constant-current circuit, operation 57
description 21 optical 59
diagram 20 performance 13, 57
Convection gauge 46 pneumatic 58
Conversion chart 2 ring 60
Copernicus, Nicholas 10 selection criteria 14, 57
D shear-beam 60, 64
Dead-weight tester 35, 41 strain-gage 59
Differential pressure 26 M
E Manometer 26, 44
Einstein, Albert 11 McLeod gauge 45
F N
Force, Newton, Sir Isaac 10
definition 11 O
errors 13 OMEGA Engineering,
sensors 51 about 9
Four-wire ohm circuit 20 contact information 71
G Overpressure 34
Gallilei, Gallileo 10, 43
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 81
Index
P thin-film 17
Pascal, Blaise 10 troubleshooting 24
Pirani gauge 45 Stress 15
Pressure 12, 26 T
Pressure gauge, Torque 54
accessories 48, 49 Torque sensor,
designs 48 applications 54
Pressure switch, configurations 54
description 48 inductive coupling 55
design 50 magnetoelastic 56
terminology 49 optical 55
Pressure sensor, strain gage 55
accessories 38 V
calibration 37 Vacuum gauges
capacitance 29 gauge designs 42
differential 29 applications 43
diaphragm designs 27 cold-cathode 46
electronic 27 hot-cathode 46
electrostatic 33 ionization 46
inductive 34 mechanical 44
installation 38 molecular momentum 45
maintenance 37 Pirani 45
mechanical 27 thermal 45
optical 35 thermocouple 45
piezoelectric 31 Van der Meer, Simon 11
potentiometric 30 Vibration
resonant wire 31 (see Acceleration)
selection criteria 36 W
strain gage 29 Weighing system,
Ptolemaeus, Clausius 10 application 62
Pulsation damper 36, 39 batching 68
R calibration 67
Rubbia, Carlo 11 design 63
S installation 67
Snubber 36, 39 gain-in-weight 69
Stay rod 13 loss-in-weight 69
Strain 15 performance 63
Strain gage, piping 66
application 21 stabilization 65
resistance wire 17, 18 vessel support 64
bridge circuits 3 Weight measurement,
diffused seminconductor 18 errors 13
error 23 sensor configuration 60
guarding 21 Wheatstone bridge,
installation 21, 24 compensation 58
sensor designs 16, 24 equations 19
shielding 21 schematic 18
silicon 17 Wheatstone, Sir Charles 57
stability 23
82 Volume 3 TRANSACTIONS
Index
List of Figures
Section 1 3-15. Pulsation Damper & Snubber Design 36
A Historical Perspective 3-16. Chemical Seal Alternatives 37
1-1. Steelyard for Weight Comparison 10 3-17. Volumetric Seal Element Designs 38
1-2. Vacuum Reference Gauge 11 Section 4
1-3. Atmospheric Reference Gauge 11 High Pressure & Vacuum
1-4. Flexible Load-Cell Connections 12 4-1. Mechanical High Pressure Sensors 41
1-5. Typical Load Cell Installation 12 4-2. Bulk Modulus Cell 42
1-6. Tank Staying Designs 13 4-3. Barometer Operation 42
Section 2 4-4. Vacuum Gauge Measurement Ranges 43
The Strain Gage 4-5. Manometer Designs 44
2-1. Definitions of Stress & Strain 15 4-6. Capacitance Vacuum Manometer 45
2-2. Shearing Strain 15 4-7. Hot-Cathode Vacuum Gauge 46
2-3. Poisson Strain 16 4-8. Cold-Cathode Vaccum Gauge 46
2-4. Strain Gage Designs 16 Section 5
2-5. Bonded Resistance Strain Gage Construction 17 Pressure Gauges & Switches
2-6. Wheatstone Bridge Circuit Schematic 18 5-1. Pressure Gauge Designs 48
2-7. Chevron Bridge Circuit Schematic 19 5-2. Pressure Gauge Accessories 48
2-8. Four-Wire Ohm Circuit Schematic 20 5-3. Pressure Switch Terminology 49
2-9. Constant Current Circuit Schematic 20 Section 6
2-10. Alternative Lead-Wire Configurations 21 Force, Acceleration, & Torque
2-11. Gage-Factor Temperature Dependence 22 6-1. Piezoelectric Sensor Element Designs 51
2-12. Apparent Strain Variation with Temperature 23 6-2. Impact Flowmeter Application 52
2-13. Strain Gage Installation Alternatives 24 6-3. Early Mechanical Vibration Sensor 53
Section 3 6-4. Torque on a Rotating Shaft 54
Process Pressure Measurement 6-5. Inductive Coupling of Torque Sensors 55
3-1. Bourdon Tube Designs 26 Section 7
3-2. Pressure Sensitive Diaphragm Designs 27 Load Cell Designs
3-3. Electronic Pressure Sensor Ranges 27 7-1. Load Cell Performance Comparison 57
3-4. Strain-Gage Based Pressure Cell 28 7-2. Wheatstone Circuit with Compensation 58
3-5. Capacitance-Based Pressure Cell 28 7-3. Load Cell Spring Elements 59
3-6. Potentiometric Pressure Transducer 29 Section 8
3-7. Resonant-Wire Pressure Transducer 30 Weighing Applications
3-8. Typical Piezoelectric Pressure Sensor 31 8-1. Tank Staying Arrangement 62
3-9. Acceleration-Compensated Piezoelectric Sensor 31 8-2. Cantilever Load Cells
3-10. Magnetic Pressure Transducer Designs 32 Reduce Staying Requirements 63
3-11. Optical Pressure Transducer 33 8-3. End-Loaded Shear-Beam Installation 64
3-12. Bourdon Tube Overpressure Protection 34 8-4. Master Load Cell for Weighbridge Calibration 65
3-13. Three-Valve Manifold for 8-5. Treadle Scale Design 66
Instrumentation Isolation 35 8-6. Monorail Weighing Transducer 67
3-14. Dead-Weight Tester Schematic 35 8-7. Load Cell Configuration for Solids Batching 68
TRANSACTIONS Volume 3 83
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