Selecting pressure instruments for multiple application requirements

Choosing a pressure instrument can be a complex operation particularly if there are many application requirements that have to be met.

Assigning products to different categories helps to home in on one critical requirement, but if you have more than one requirement it requires sifting through the individual product specifications assigned to that particular category to pull out the ones which satisfy all the requirements.

Incompatible Pressure Sensor Specifications

We occasionally receive requests for combinations of pressure sensor features that are not practical to include in the same specification.  Below is a list of the most requested parameter combinations that are declined including explanations.

Low Pressure Range with High Media Temperature - the thin and large diameter diaphragms used in the construction of low range pressure sensors are more sensitive to thermal expansion which significantly effects sensor performance.

What are the abbreviations added to the end of a pressure range description

There is a loose convention across manufacturers for designating the type of reference that a pressure sensing device has, which can be confusing if you are unfamiliar with specifying this often overlooked but critical specification parameter.

To help identify the reference of a particular pressure range found on a product label or technical data sheet a list of abbreviated suffixes is provided below.

Gauge - Measuring pressure with reference to atmospheric pressure, also referred to as Relative and Vented Gauge:

g, G, rel, REL, vg, VG

Measuring the difference in air pressure between rooms

Monitoring and controlling the pressure in a room is a critical parameter in many indoor environments where the climate must be maintained at a particular temperature, humidity and cleanliness/containment level

In hospital operating theatres, semiconductor manufacturing facilities, computer data centers and biochemical research laboratories, it is necessary to ensure either a slightly higher or lower air pressure to prevent a contaminated atmosphere leaking outside or a clean atmosphere becoming contaminated from outside air.