CALIBRATION OF A BOURDON GAUGE

OBJECTIVE

To study and sketch the construction of a typical Bourdon gauge and to describe how it works
To establish the calibration curve of the Bourdon Gauge

INTRODUCTION
Many types of gauges are available for the measurement of pressure. The simplest form
is a manometer, in which the rise of the level of a liquid indicates the static head, this being converted to
pressure by multiplying by the liquid density. An example of a much more sophisticated instrument is a
pressure transducer, in which the pressure is used to deflect a diaphragm. The deflection causes an
electrical signal to be generated by some means such as an electric resistance strain gauge, and this
signal is displayed, typically in digital form, as the corresponding pressure. The response is rapid, being
typically 1 ms, and the display can be remote from the point of measurement.
The Bourdon gauge uses the deflection of a tube of oval cross section to cause a pointer to move
over a scale. Its response time therefore is long, being of order of 1 second. Moreover the distance
between the measuring point and the gauge is limited by the practicable length of the capillary tube
connecting the gauge to the sensing point. Nevertheless because of its simplicity and low cost, and the
large section of pressure ranges which are available, the Bourdon gauge is widely used in engineering
practice.

APPARATUS

The TecQuipment Bourdon gauge and dead weight tester

Set of test weights
Laboratory scales

DISCUSSION
Sources of error:

There were some air bubbles in the tube which carried the water so that may have caused the
readings to alter.
Due to vibrations the gauge readings could have changed.
Another main source of error is that when we loaded and unloaded the weights, we didnt do it
in a constant manner so at times we added or reduced 2N or sometimes 1N and so on. This
random change changes the gauge reading.
The readings were had to be approximated because the gauge was not precise.

Advantages of Bourdon tube pressure gauge:

These Bourdon tube pressure gauges give accurate results.
Bourdon tube cost low.
Bourdon tube are simple in construction.
They can be modified to give electrical outputs.
They are safe even for high pressure measurement.
Accuracy is high especially at high pressures.

Limitations of bourdon tube pressure gauge:

they

respond

they
They

slowly

are
are

to

changs

subjected
sensitive

to

in
to

shocks

pressure
hysterisis.

and

vibrations.

Ampilification is a must as the displacement of the free end of the bourdon tube is low.
It cannot be used for precision measurement.

A Bourdon pressure gauge works by measuring the amount of change in a coiled or semicircular metal
tube by a pressurized fluid inside. This is due to the principle that a flattened tube tends to regain its
circular form when pressurized. In this experiment our main goal was to study the Bourdon gauge and
to explain how it works. The bourdon gauge is the most popular measuring device for both liquids and
gases. The bourdon gauge measures the gauge pressure which is the difference between the pressure
in the pressure source and the current atmospheric pressure. The gauge was been connected to the
dead weight tester. In order to obtain precise readings, the gauge had to be calibrated because the
tube tends to weaken with extended use.
A set of readings were obtained after conducting the experiment. The weights were used from
1Kg to 5Kg with a 0.5Kg increment. The weight and the cross sectional area of the piston was noted in
order to carry out the calculations. By determining the force and the cross sectional area the true
pressure was calculated for each weight. From the results we can observe that the true pressure was
increased when the force was been increased. For each weight the gauge reading was noted, that is,
the increasing and the decreasing pressure. When we look at the results we can see that there is not a
huge difference between the values of the increasing and decreasing pressure for the same weight.
The last weight which was the 5 Kg had the highest increasing pressure whereas it did not have a
decreasing pressure since it was the last weight that was been used. After determining the increasing
and decreasing pressure, the error in both pressures were calculated as well. Two graphs were plotted,
one for true pressure against the gauge reading and the other for the true pressure against error.