Experiment: Dead weight pressure gauge calibrator

Objectives:
To calibrate the reading of bourdon manometer and to determine the gauge error.
Determine the measurement error in reference pressure source used for calibration
Chemical used:
Vaseline
Apparatus:
 Cylinder
 Piston
 Flexible tube
 Bourdon pressure gauge
 Dead Weight Calibrator
 Set of Test weights
Procedure:
 Precision balance is required to determine the weight of piston and masses
 Place the equipment on a flat and even surface and connect the supply tube that
connects the inferior area of cylinder to the input of manometer. The output of
this manometer should be prolonged, by means of flexible tube, from the
drainage faucet until its free end is settled inside an empty recipient to avoid
splashes
 Disassemble the piston and determine accurately its weight and also determine
the weight of masses if it has not done yet
 Cover the piston with Vaseline for the best operation.
 Open the faucet of the manometer, when the air of a system has been
eliminated.
 Now put the one-way valve in the flexible tube that come from the supper part
of a cylinder.
Later on, closed the output of faucet of manometer and introducing water inb
the equipment.
 Introduce the piston totally inside the cylinder.
  Repeat these steps adding to the piston, in a staggering way, the different
masses of the given sets of weight.
 Once the test has been completed removed the piston and dry it.
 Lastly empty the cylinder. Do not leave the piston inside the cylinder when it is
not been used.
Theory:
Introduction:
Instrument calibration is one of the primary processes used to maintain
instrument accuracy. It is the process of configuring an instrument to provide
results within an acceptable range. Known weights have been applied on a
Dead Weight Calibrator to apply pressure to a fluid for checking the accuracy
of readings from a pressure gauge.
Various types of pressure measuring instrument have been used to measure the
pressure intensity at any point in static or moving fluid. One of these devices is
the Bourdon tube pressure gauge. Bourdon-tube pressure gauges are most
widely used now-a-days because of their reliability, compactness, low cost and
ease of use. It consists of a curved tube of elliptical cross-section bent into a
circular arc.
When pressure is applied to the tube, it tends to straighten out, and the
deflection of the end of the tube is communicated through a system of levers to
a recording pointer. This gauge is widely used for steam and compressed gases.
The pressure indicated is the difference between the system pressure and to the
external (ambient) pressure, and is usually referred to as the gauge pressure.

Dead weight pressure gauge

Related Theory:

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The bourdon gauge is the most popular pressure measuring device for both liquids
and gasses. It can be connected to any source of pressure such as a pipe or vessel
containing a pressurized fluid.
Bourdon Gauge:
The Bourdon Gauge is fitted with a transparent dial, which lets you see the internal
workings of the gauge. The gauge consists of a thin-walled closed ended tube which
is oval in cross section. This tube is bent through an angle of about 270o along its
long axis. The open end of the tube is welded to a hollow mounting block which
allows the pressurized fluid to reach the tube. This causes the pressure from the
source to be transmitted directly to the inside of the bourdon tube. The applied
pressure causes the oval tube to become rounder (since a round cross section has the
maximum area for a given circumference). As it becomes rounder, the bourdon tube
tends to uncurl which causes its free end to move. A system of linkages and levers
transmits this motion to the gauge needle which moves over the scale.

Bourdon Gauge

Dead Weight Calibrator:

In order to obtain very accurate pressure measurements, it is essential to regularly re-
calibrate the gauge. This is because the tube tends to become weaker with extended
use. The usual procedure is to apply a known pressure to the gauge using a device
called a Dead Weight Calibrator. The normal calibration procedure is to load the
gauge for known pressures, using a dead weight calibrator including a liquid of
known specific gravity (use water as the liquid). This dead weight tester uses a
simple piston and cylinder arrangement to provide a source of pressurized liquid (in
the experiment water will produced a better result than oil) which is transmitted to the
gauge. Since the true pressure of the liquid can be easily calculated, the value can be
compared directly to the reading on the gauge over the complete scale range. (The

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scale range is the range of pressures from zero to the full-scale deflection value). The
dead weight tester consists of a cylindrical piston which is free to move vertically in a
close fitting cylinder. A Platen is attached to the piston which can be loaded with a
series of accurate weights. The pressure developed in the cylinder is transmitted via a
transparent tube to the gauge under test. The cylinder is mounted on a base board
which is supported on leveling screws and fitted with a spirit level.
Equations:
The use of the piston and weights with the cylinder generates a measurable reference
pressure:
P=F/A F=M*g
Where: F = Force applied to the liquid in the calibrator cylinder in Newton (N).
M = Total mass including the mass of the piston in kilogram (kg).
A = Cross-sectional area of the piston in square meter (m2).
g = Acceleration due to gravity in meter per square second (m/s2).
Mp = Mass of the piston (kg).
d = Diameter of the piston (m)

Set Up of Equipment:
 Position the calibrator without the piston on the hydraulic bench top and ensure
that the base is horizontal by adjusting the feet and using the spirit level. This is
necessary to ensure vertical transfer of the applied load and free rotation of the
piston.
 Open all cocks on the pressure gauge base
 Connect the inflow cock to the bench flow connector and the outflow cock to the
lower tube from the calibrator cylinder
 Open slowly the bench valve to produce a flow, tilt the pressure gauge to ensure
that air is driven out from the manifold and then close the middle cock on the
manifold.
 When there is no further air emerging and the calibrator cylinder is full, close the
bench valve and the inflow cock on the manifold.

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 Observation & Calculations:
Diameter of cylinder = 18mm2 F=mg/A

Area of cylinder = πr2

A= 254.469mm2
A= 2.54×10-4 m2

No of Mass Pressure of Manometer Manometer Absolute Relati

Obs. of cylinder reading reading error ve
piston (bar) (measuring)
(actual) (KN/m2 error
(kg)
(KN/m2 ) (KN/m2 ) ) (%)
1 1.0 38.58 0.25 25 13.58 35.19
9
2 1.5 57.87 0.44 44 13.87 23.96
3 2.5 96.45 0.82 82 14.45 15
4 3.5 135.039 1.25 125 10.039 7.434
5 5.0 192.913 1.9 190 2.193 1.136

Graph:
I. Pressure in manometer vs measuring error

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 Pressure in manometer vs
4 erro
Measuring
0
3 r

measurin erro
5
3

r
0
2
5
2
g 0
1
5
1
05
03 5 7 9 1 1 1 1 1 2
0 0 0 0
1 in 0
0pressure 3 0
5 0
7 0
9 0
1
(manometer
KN/ )
2

m
absolute relative
erro erro
r r

Results:
As the mass of the piston increases, the pressure in the manometer tends to
increase. So the absolute error increases for a moment but then decrease with
a linear trend. The relative error was large at the start but then decrease
linearly.

Errors
• No detector for mass measurement, so may be the error in mass
measurement.
• May be the error is in the gauge reading.
• Instability in pointer of gauge

References:
 https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F
%2Fuomustansiriyah.edu.iq%2Fmedia%2Flectures
%2F5%2F5_2020_12_27!
12_42_57_AM.pdf&psig=AOvVaw2OOCMb90_8DGgBA2XGAhN4&

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 ust=1671556751005000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CBAQjRxqF
woTCKC4uKWYhvwCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAh
 https://www.academia.edu/14648443/
CALIBRATION_OF_BOURDON_GAUGE
 https://www.scribd.com/document/389016651/Calibration-of-Pressure-
Gauge-Using-Dead-Weight-Apparatus

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