Pressure sensors for low pressure (negative differential pressure/ underpressure) ?

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Pressure sensors for low pressure (negative differential pressure/ underpressure) ?

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nvc
Contributor I

I am looking for a suitable pressure sensor for a project involving

a gripping system for composites. With the help of a

compressed air flow and the Coanda Effect a small vacuum is

generated inside the gripper chamber. Therefore, a pressure

sensor that is able to operate in the pressure range from -50kPa

to 0( negative differential pressure), is needed.

Along the Freescale line of products I was able to find the sensors

MP3V5050V and MPXV5050VC6T1. The main difference

between these two models that I was able to notice is the output

range, is there any other differences that I should be aware of?

However, I would like to have information about other suitable

options. The two previous mentioned sensor are of the type

gauge, are there any suitable ones of the type differential? Would

you recommend gauge over differential? What are the main

benefits of each type?

Other features that the sensor should have are:

-Temperature compensated

- Conditioned output Signal ( Amplified Analog Output in Vdc or

digital)

-Operating Temperature Range of 0 to 50 C or above

I thank you in advance for your time and support

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Joshevelle
Senior Contributor I

Hello Nicole,

Thanks for using our community.

The type of pressure sensor (gauge or differential) depends on the application. They’re basically the same device, both reads differential pressure.

Differential pressure sensor measures the differential pressure between two pressurized chambers, that’s why those sensors had two hose connection ports (P1 & P2).

Gauge pressure sensors measure the differential pressure between a pressurized chamber and atmospheric pressure. This kind of sensor only has one hose connection port (P1) and the second port (P2) is underneath the sensor, exposed to the atmospheric pressure. As per the description you wrote, I think you’d need a gauge pressure sensor, so that you can measure the generated vacuum inside the pressurized chamber using the atmospheric pressure as a reference.

Please notice that differential pressure sensors can also be used as gauge pressure sensors by connecting the pressurized chamber into P1 and leave P2 exposed to the atmospheric pressure (when measuring positive pressure). In your case, since you’d measure _negative_ pressure you should connect P2 to the pressurized chamber and leave P1 open to the atmospheric pressure (P1 should ALWAYS be greater than P2). Hence, you’d have plenty of options here.

You could use the sensor you mentioned or any differential pressure sensor that can measure 50kPa or more.

There are no other differences between the devices you mentioned but the operating voltage, both of them are temperature compensated (0 to 80°C) and signal conditioned.

Hope it helps!

Regards,

Josh

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