Reverse Engineering of Bourdon pressure gauge

Introduction:
There are different methods developed for the measurement of pressure and vacuum. Instruments used to measure pressure are called pressure gauges or vacuum gauges. A manometer is an instrument that uses a column of liquid to measure pressure, although the term is often used nowadays to mean any pressure measuring instrument. A vacuum gauge is used to measure the pressure in a vacuum. A manometer will find its use mostly for experimental purpose. Moreover it is not calibrated directly in terms of pressure. Hence in order to facilitate ease in reading and simplify mounting in application like boilers etc we use mechanical pressure gauge. The most commonly use is Bourdon pressure gauge. The range of the bourdan pressure gauge is from 0 to 600 bars.

Bourdon pressure gauge:

Eugene Bourdon first patented his gauge in France in 1849. Edward Ashcroft purchased Bourdon's American patent rights in 1852 and became a major manufacturer of gauges.

Principle of operation:
When an elastic transducer is subjected to a pressure, it deflects. This deflection is proportional to the applied pressure when calibrated.

Constructional features of Bourdon gauge:

An elastic transducer in this case is the bourdon tube which is fixed and open at one end to receive the pressure which is to be measured. The other end of the bourdon tube is free and closed. The cross-section of the bourdon tube is elliptical. The bourdon tube is in a bent form to look like a circular arc which is in the form of C shape or helix such that the entire tube tends to straighten out elastically when stressed due to application of pressure. Various parts and the systems in the gauge that are in cooperated within it are shown separately below.

Moving Parts: 1. Stationary end of Bourdon tube. 2. Moving end of Bourdon tube. Pivot and pivot pin. 3. Pivot and pivot pin 4. Link joining pivot pin to lever (5) with pins to allow joint rotation. 5. Lever. This is an extension of the sector gear (7). 6. Sector gear axle pin. 7. Sector gear. 8. Indicator needle axle. 9. Hair spring needle. 1. 2. 3. 4. Receiver block. C tube. Link connecting the tube Fixed link.

Disassembly of Bourdon pressure gauge:

Elliptical C/S Bourdon tube assembly

Sector Assembly

Torsional Spring

Pinion

Dial assembly

Operation of Bourdon pressure gauge:

The bourdon pressure gauge used for the study was utilized in centrifugal pumps to maintain and monitor the supply of water under desired pressure. The pressure to be measured is connected to the fixed open end of the bourdon tube. The applied pressure acts on the inner walls of the bourdon tube. Due to the applied pressure, the bourdon tube tends to change its cross section from elliptical to circular. This tends to straighten the bourdon tube causing a displacement of the free end of the bourdon tube. This displacement of the free closed end of the bourdon tube is proportional to the applied pressure. The free end of the bourdon tube is connected to a link sector pinion arrangement; the displacement is amplified and converted to a rotary motion of the pinion. The link which is connected to the tube moves in a vertical plane in a straight line. The other end of the link is connected to the sector. The displacement of the link 4 is the same as the displacement of the tube is the same plane. This motion is communicated to the sector which has teeth cut on the outer profile. These teeth mesh with the pinion which is connected to the torsional spring on the same shaft. The small angular displacement of the sector (57 degrees) having 24 teeth is amplified by the pinion having 12 teeth. The shaft on which the pinion is mounted is the same as that of the pointer needle. As the pinion rotates it moves the pointer on a calibrated scale indicating the pressure in the system. The calibration is done on an aluminum plate from 0 to 7 bars with a LC of 0.2 bar. The corresponding angle that the needle or the pinion has to traverse is 7.7 on a scale which is calibrated for 270. My approximate calculation indicates that the magnification factor is of 12. Thus the angle moved by the sector will be 0.64. Assuming the length of the fixed link 4 and the link connecting the sector to be the same the distance moved by the free end of the tube is approximately 0.13mm for its LC. When the system is relieved of the pressure the torsional spring unwinds bringing the needle to 0 gauge pressure where the further movement of the needle is restricted by the stopper. The study of the gauge reveals that one end of the spring is connected to the pinion shaft and the other end to the secondary chassis plate c.

The disassembly of the gauge reveals that the orifice through which the fluid under pressure is having uniform diameter (approx. 4mm) from the inlet to the C-tube opening. The major axis of the elliptical tube is 13mm and minor axis is (2.5 to 3) mm in length. The connection between the receiver block and the elliptical tube can be predicted as done by silver (as the filler metal) brazing. The connection between the main pressurized system and the guage was properly sealed indicated by the remnants of the white adhesive tape. This clearly indicated that care needs to be taken while mounting the gauge on the system to prevent leakage by adequate sealing. This is of prime importance in high pressure systems. The pressure in the case containing the bourdon tube is usually atmospheric, the pointer indicates gauge pressure. The entire system (excluding the body and the dial) is made up of brass. It is mainly selected as it has good corrosion resistance. The body can be made of stainless steel to prevent against atmospheric corrosion. The pointer is made of ABS while the circular scale is made up of aluminum. The accuracy of the gauge studied was 1% of FSD.

Some of the modifications that can be made:

1. A mirror should be provided to eliminate the parallax which might be introduced while taking readings.
2. There should be a mechanism to correct the zero error if it exits.