Most of us don’t think about all of the elements that go into keeping our lives running smoothly. We board our planes, drive our cars, and visit our doctors every day without dwelling on the technical elements that keep these operations running. One of the products greatly contributing to our everyday activities is something called a differential pressure sensor. It’s used in the administration of anesthesia, the aviation industry, automotive testing, and in labs throughout the world every day. Don’t have any idea what we’re talking about? Keep reading.
The Definition
A pressure sensor does what its name suggests – measures pressure, typically of gases or liquids. A pressure sensor typically acts a transducer, meaning it generates a signal as a function of the pressure imposed. They are used for monitoring and control in a huge amount of everyday applications. This includes being used to indirectly measure fluid/gas flow, water level, altitude, and speed. They can be called transducers, transmitters, senders, indicators, piezometers, and monometers, and can vary drastically from in design, performance, technology, cost, and application suitability. There are over 300 companies producing these products throughout the world.
Some Common Examples
Pressure sensors are often used for measuring the combustion pressure in an engine cylinder or gas turbine. This is because they are designed for measuring very high-speed changes in pressure. Other types of sensors are also found in one of our least favorite new technologies – traffic enforcement cameras. When pressure is applied to the sensor, it completes or breaks an electrical circuit, taking the picture.
Varieties
Pressure sensors can be classified in terms of the pressure ranges they measure and what type of pressure they measure. Some of these classifications include absolute pressure, gauge pressure, vacuum pressure, differential pressure, and sealed pressure. A differential pressure sensor measures the difference between two pressures, one connected to either side of the sensor. Technically speaking, most pressure sensors are actually differential pressure sensors. For example, a gauge pressure sensor is still differentiating between pressure levels; however, one side is open to the ambient atmosphere. This method is often used to detect system leaks.