PRESSURE MEASURING

DEVICES

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What is Fluid Pressure?
 Fluid contained in a vessel exerts force on all
its sides. The force per unit area is called Fluid
Pressure.

 Mathematically-
p= P/A
where P= the force and
A= area on which the force acts
p= intensity of pressure
S.I. unit is N/m2 or Pascal
Pressure Head-
 Represents the internal energy of a fluid due to
the pressure exerted on its container. It may also
be called static pressure head or simply static
head.
 Mathematically,

h=p/γ
where h=pressure head
p=intensity of pressure
γ=specific wt. of the liquid
Hence, pressure intensity may be expressed in two
ways-
1. As force per unit area &
2. As an equivalent static head.
Pascal’s Principle:
Any change in the pressure of a fluid is transmitted
uniformly in all directions throughout the fluid.
A small force F1 applied to a piston with a small
area produces a much larger force F2 on the larger
piston. This allows a hydraulic jack to lift heavy
objects.
Atmospheric,absolute and gauge pressure
 Devices used for measuring pressure-
 Fluid pressure may be measured by following
devices-
1. Manometers-
(a) Simple manometers-
PIEZOMETER, U-TUBE MANOMETER & SINGLE-
COLUMN MANOMETER.
(b) Differential manometers-
U-TUBE DIFFERENTIAL MANOMETER & INVERTED U-
TUBE DIFFERENTIAL MANOMETER.
2. Mechanical gauges-
BOURDON TUBE PRESSURE GAUGE, DIAPHRAGM
PRESSURE GAUGE & VACUUM GAUGE.
MANOMETER- measures pressure at a point in a fluid
by balancing the column of fluid by the same or another
column of fluid.

U-TUBE MANOMETER

PIEZOMETER

SINGLE-COLUMN
MANOMETERS

INCLINED
VERTICAL
 Differential manometers-

U-TUBE INVERTED U-TUBE

DIFFERENTIAL DIFFERENTIAL
MANOMETER MANOMETER
Simple manometers-
Consists of a glass-tube whose one end
is connected to a point where pressure
is to be measured and the other end is
exposed to the atmosphere

Includes-
Piezometers
U-tube manometers &
Single-column manometers
PIEZOMETER-
-It is the simplest form of
Manometer,used for measuring
moderate pressure.It consist of a
Tube,open at one end to the
Atmosphere,in which,Liquid can
rise freely without overflow,the
Height,to which the Liquid rises up
in the Tube,gives the Pressure
Head directly.

p= γ h
- Disadvantages
Measures gauge pressure only. Cannot be used for
measuring large pressures in
case of lighter liquids.
&
-not suitable for measuring Cannot be used for
Negative Pressure because Air will measuring gas pressures
enter in the pipe through the Tube
U-tube manometer-
 "U"-Tube manometer S2
enables the pressure of both
liquids and gases to be
measured with the same
instrument.
 The fluid whose pressure is
being measured should have S1
a mass density less than that
of the manometric fluid and
the two fluids mustThe
be pressures in the right limb and the left limb
immiscible. above the datum line B-C are equal
FOR POSITIVE Pressure head above B-C in the right limb= h2S2
GAUGE
PRESSURE Pressure head above B-C in the left limb = h+h1S1
Equating,
h+h1S1= h2S2 OR, h= h2S2 _ h1S1
 .

S1

U-TUBE MANOMETER S2

The pressures in the right limb and the left limb above
the datum line X-X are equal
Pressure head above X-X in the right limb= 0
Pressure head above X-X in the left limb = h+h1S1+h2S2 FOR NEGATIVE GAUGE
PRESSURE
Equating,
h+h1S1+h2S2 = 0 OR ,h = _( h1S1+h2S2)
 A>>a
S1

SINGLE- Light liquid

COLUMN a= area of
MANOMETER crossection
(VERTICAL) A= area of
crossection

Datum line
A x Z1 = a x h2
Or, Z1= (a x h2)/A ............(1)
Equating the pressure heads above the datum line Z-Z,
Heavy liquid S2

h +(h1+ Z1)S1 = (h2+ Z1)S2

or, h = (h2+ Z1)S2 _­ (h1+ Z1)S1 or, h = Z1 (S2 _ S1) + h2S2 _ h1S1
= { (a x h2)/A } (S2 _ S1) + h2S2 _ h1S1
As A>>a, so ratio A/a is very very small and can be neglected and above equation
becomes,
h=h S _h S (2)
#useful for the
measurement of
small pressures and
is more sensitive
than the vertical
tube.
-# Due to
inclination the
distance moved by
the heavy liquid in
the right limb is
more.

Let,
l = length of the heavy liquid moved in the right limb,
θ = inclination of right limb horizontal and
SINGLE-
Z2 = vertical rise of liquid in the right limb from X-X= l sin θ
COLUMN
Putting the value of Z2 in equation (2) we get, MANOMETER
h = l sinθ x S2 _ h1S1 (INCLINED)
Differential U-tube manometer-

 a differential manometer is used to

measure the difference in pressures
between two points in a pipe, or in two
different pipes.
-most commonly used types-
1.U-tube differential manometer.
2.Inverted U-tube differential
manometer
 Case 1.Figure (a) below shows a differential
manometer whose two ends are connected with two
different points A and B at the same level and
containing same liquid.

We know that the pressures in the left limb and the

right limb , above the datum line X-X, are equal
Pressure head in the left limb = hA + (h +h1)S1
Pressure head in the right limb = hB + h1S1 + hS
Equating,
hA + (h +h1)S1 = hB + h1S1 + hS
or, hA - hB = h ( S – S1)
i.e. difference of pressure head,
hA - hB = h ( S – S1)
 case 2- Figure (b) below shows a
differential manometer whose two ends
are connected with two different points A
and B at different levels and containing
different liquids.
We know that the pressures in the left limb and
the right limb , above the datum line X-X, are
equal
Pressure head in the left limb = hA + (h +h1)S1
Pressure head in the right limb = hB + h2S2 + hS
Equating,
hA + (h +h1)S1= hB + h2S2 + hS
or, hA - hB = h ( S – S1) + h2S2 - h1S1

Thus, difference of pressure at A and B,

hA - hB = h ( S – S1) + h2S2 - h1S1
Mechanical gauges-
 Used for measuring medium and high
pressures.
 Employs elastic systems such as tubes,
diaphragms, bellows,etc.
 Types-

Bourdon tube pressure gauge.

Diaphragm gauge &
Vacuum gauge.
 Bourdon tube pressure gauge
The bourdon tube pressure instrument is
one of the oldest pressure sensing
instruments in use today. The bourdon tube
consists of a thin-walled tube that is
flattened diametrically on opposite sides to
produce a cross-sectional area elliptical in
shape, having two long flat sides and two
short round sides. The tube is bent
lengthwise into an arc of a circle of 270 to
300 degrees. Pressure applied to the inside
of the tube causes distension of the flat
sections and tends to restore its original
round cross-section. This change in cross-
section causes the tube to straighten BOURDON TUBE PRESSURE GAUGE
slightly.
Since the tube is permanently fastened at
one end, the tip of the tube traces a curve
that is the result of the change in angular position with respect to the centre. Within
limits, the movement of the tip of the tube can then be used to position a pointer to
indicate the applied internal pressure.
 Diaphragm gauge-
 This type of gauge employs a
metallic disc or diaphragm
instead of a bent tube. This
tube or diaphragm is used for
actuating the indicating device.
Referring to the figure below,
when pressure is applied on
the lower side of the diaphragm
it is deflected upward. This
movement of the diaphragm is
transmitted to a rack and
pinion. The latter is attached to
the spindle of needle moving
on a graduated dial. The dial
can again be graduated in a
suitable scale.
Vacuum Gauge-
Bourdon gauges discussed earlier can
be used to measure vacuum instead of
pressure. Slight changes in the design are
required for this purpose. Thus, in this case,
the tub is bent inwards instead of outwards
as in pressure gauges. Vacuum gauges are
graduated in millimetres of mercury blow
the atmospheric pressure. In such cases,
therefore, absolute pressure in millimetres
of mercury is the difference between
barometer reading and vacuum gauge
reading.
Vacuum gauges are used to measure
the vacuum in the condensers, etc. if there
is leakage the vacuum will drop.