Pressure

Prepared By: Dr. Alexis John M. Rubio

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Introduction
Pressure is the force per unit area that a liquid or gas
exerts on its surroundings, such as the force or pressure
of the atmosphere on the surface of the Earth, and the
force that liquids exert on the bottom and walls of a
container.
Pressure is not only an important parameter for process
control, but also as an indirect measurement for other
parameters. Not only is it important to select the right
device for the required range and accuracy, but the
device must be immune to contamination and
interaction with the fluid being measured.
As technology evolves, new and improved methods of
accurately measuring pressures are constantly being
developed.
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Pressure Measurement
Pressure units are a measure of force acting over unit
area. It is most commonly expressed in pounds per
square inch (psi) or sometimes pounds per square foot
(psf) in English units; or Pascals (Pa) in metric units, which
is the force in Newtons per square meter (N/m2).

Equation 1
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Pressure Measurement
Example #1
The liquid in a container has a total weight of 152 kN,
and the container has a 8.9 m2 base. What is the
pressure on the base?
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Hydrostatic Pressure
The pressure at a specific depth in a liquid is termed
hydrostatic pressure. The pressure increases as the depth
in a liquid increases. This increase is due to the weight of
the fluid above the measurement point. The pressure p is
given by:
Equation 2

where is the specific weight (lb/ft3 in English units, or

N/m3 in SI units), and is the distance from the surface in
compatible units (e.g., ft, in, cm, or m).
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Hydrostatic Pressure
Example #2
What is the depth in a lake, if the pressure is 0.1 MPa?
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Hydrostatic Pressure
The pressure at a given depth in a liquid is independent
of the shape of the container or the volume of liquid
contained. This is known as the Hydrostatic Paradox.
The value of the pressure is a result of the depth and
density. The total pressure or forces on the sides of the
container depend on its shape, but at a specified
depth, the pressure is given by Equation 2.
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Hydrostatic Pressure
Head is sometimes used as a measure of pressure. It is
the pressure in terms of a column of a particular fluid
(e.g., a head of 1 ft or 1m of water).
For example, the pressure exerted by a 1-ft head of
water is 62.4 psf, and the pressure exerted by 1-ft head
of glycerin is 78.6 psf. Here again, Equation 2 applies.
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Hydrostatic Pressure
Example #3
What is the pressure at the base of a water tower that
has 35m of head?
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Specific Gravity
The specific gravity (SG) of a liquid or solid is defined as
the density of a material divided by the density of
water.
SG also can be defined as the specific weight of the
material divided by the specific weight of water at a
specified temperature.
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Specific Gravity
The specific gravity of a gas is its density (or specific
weight) divided by the density (or specific weight) of air
at 60°F and 1 atmospheric pressure (14.7 psia).
In the SI system, the density in grams per cubic
centimeter or megagrams per cubic meter and the SG
have the same value. Both specific weight and density
are temperature-dependent parameters, so that the
temperature should be specified when they are being
measured. SG is a dimensionless value, since it is a ratio.
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Specific Gravity
Example #4
What is the specific gravity of glycerin, if the specific
weight of glycerin is 12.4 kN/m3?
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Units of Measurement
Many industrial processes operate at pressures that are
referenced to atmospheric pressure, and are known as
gauge pressures.
Other processes operate at pressures referenced to a
vacuum, or can be referred to as negative gauge
pressure. Atmospheric pressure is not a fixed value, but
depends on factors such as humidity, height above sea
level, temperature, and so forth.
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Units of Measurement
Atmospheric pressure is measured in pounds per square
inch (psi), in the English system.
Atmospheric pressure is measured in Pascals (Pa or
N/m2), in the SI system.
Atmospheric pressure can be stated in inches or
centimeters of water.
Atmospheric pressure can be stated in inches or
millimeters of mercury.
Atmosphere (atm) is the equivalent pressure in
atmospheres.
1 torr = 1 mm mercury, in the metric system.
1 bar (1.013 atm) = 100 kPa, in metric system.
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Units of Measurement
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Units of Measurement
Example #5
What pressure in psi corresponds to 98.5 kPa?
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Units of Measurement
Total vacuum is zero pressure or lack of pressure, as
would be experienced in outer space, and is very
difficult to achieve in practice. Vacuum pumps can
only approach a true vacuum.
Atmospheric pressure is the pressure on the Earth’s
surface, due to the weight of the gases in the Earth’s
atmosphere (14.7 psi or 101.36 kPa absolute). The
pressure decreases above sea level. For example, at an
elevation of 5,000 ft., it has dropped to approximately
12.2 psi (84.122 kPa).
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Units of Measurement
Absolute pressure is the pressure measured with respect
to a vacuum, and is expressed in psia or kPa(a). Note
the use of a and g when referencing the pressure to
absolute and gauge.
Gauge pressure is the pressure measured with respect
to atmospheric pressure, and is normally expressed in
psig or kPa(g).
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Units of Measurement
Vacuum is a pressure between total vacuum and
normal atmospheric pressure. Pressures less than
atmospheric pressure are often referred to as “negative
gauge,” and indicated by an amount below
atmospheric pressure. As an example, -5 psig
corresponds to 9.7 psia.
Differential pressure is the pressure measured with
respect to another pressure, and is expressed as the
difference between the two values. This represents two
points in a pressure or flow system, and is referred to as
the “delta p,” or ∆p.
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Units of Measurement
Example #6
The atmospheric pressure is 14.5 psi. If the absolute
pressure is 2,865.6 psfa, what is the gauge pressure?
Example #7
What is the gauge pressure in (a) kPa, and (b) N/cm2, at
a distance 5.5 ft below the surface of a column of
water?
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Units of Measurement
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Units of Measurement
The g and a should be used where possible to avoid
confusion. In the case of psi and psf, this becomes psig
and psfg, or psia and psfa. In the case of kPa, use
kPa(a) or kPa(g).
It also should be noted that if glycerin were used instead
of water, then the pressure would be 1.26 times higher,
since its specific gravity is 1.26.
23
Buoyancy
Buoyancy is the upward force exerted on an object
immersed or floating in a liquid.
The weight is less than it is in air, due to the weight of the
displaced fluid. The upward force on the object causes
the weight loss, called the buoyant force, and is given
by:
Equation 3
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Buoyancy
where ℬ is the buoyant force in pounds, is the specific
weight in pounds per cubic foot, and is the volume of
the displaced liquid in cubic feet.
If working in SI units, then ℬ is in newtons, is in newtons
per cubic meter, and is in cubic meters.
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Buoyancy
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Buoyancy
In figure on the previous slide, items a, b, c, and d, are
the same size, and the buoyancy forces on a and c are
the same, although their depths are different. There is
no buoyant force on d, since the liquid cannot get
under it to produce the buoyant force. The buoyant
force on b is one-half that on a and c, since only one-
half of the object is submerged.
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Buoyancy
Example #7
What is the buoyant force on a plastic cube with 2.5m
sides, floating in water, if three-quarters of the block is
submerged?
What is the apparent weight of a 3.7m3 block of wood
totally immersed in acetone? Assume the specific
weight of wood is 8.5 kN/m3.
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Pascal’s Law
Pascal’s Law states that the pressure applied to an
enclosed liquid (or gas) is transmitted to all parts of the
fluid and to the walls of the container.
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Pascal’s Law
A force of FS exerted on the small piston (ignoring
friction) will exert a pressure in the fluid given by: p = FS /
AS. Where AS is the cross sectional area of the smaller
piston.
Since the pressure is transmitted through the liquid to the
second cylinder, according to Pascal’s Law, the force
on the larger piston (FL) is given by: FL = pAL. Where AL is
the cross sectional area of the larger piston (assuming
that the pistons are at the same level), from which:
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Pascal’s Law
Example #8
In the figure on slide 28, if the area of the small piston AS
is 8.2 in2, and the area of the large piston AL is 2.3 ft2,
what is the force FL on the large piston, if the force FS on
the small piston is 25N?