Pressure balance cross-calibration method using a pressure transducer as transfer standard

Area of Science:

• Metrology
• Pressure Measurement
• Calibration Techniques

Background:

• Piston gauges are essential for realizing the SI unit of pressure (pascal) and calibrating pressure sensors.
• Traditional piston gauge calibration is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and demands significant technical skill.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate an alternative, more efficient method for piston gauge cross-calibration.
• To assess the feasibility of using a pressure transducer as an in-situ transfer standard to simplify calibration.

Main Methods:

• Developed a cross-calibration procedure incorporating a pressure transducer as an immediate in-situ transfer standard.
• Relaxed the strict requirement for balancing weights between two pressure gauges, leveraging transducer linearity.
• Compared results with the traditional piston gauge calibration method.

Main Results:

• The proposed method significantly reduces the time and technical expertise required for piston gauge calibration.
• Measurement uncertainty was not significantly increased compared to traditional methods.
• Results from the new method agreed with the traditional method within standard uncertainty (< 6 parts per million).

Conclusions:

• The pressure transducer-based method offers a viable and efficient alternative for piston gauge cross-calibration.
• This approach maintains high accuracy, making it suitable for practical metrology applications.
• The method simplifies calibration procedures without compromising measurement integrity.