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Design Considerations For Diaphragm Pressure Transducers

Introduction
 
The following notes are intended only as general guidance for the preliminary design of diaphragm pressure transducers. The actual design and development process involves arriving at the best compromise (relative to the performance specifications) of sensitivity, linearity, and frequency response, as determined primarily by the diaphragm diameter and thickness.
 
The formulas included here are based upon the following assumptions:
 
  • Uniform diaphragm thickness
     
  • Small deflections
     
  • Infinitely rigid clamping around the diaphragm periphery
     
  • Perfectly elastic behavior
     
  • Negligible stiffening and mass effects due to the presence of the strain gage on the diaphragm.
     
To the degree that the actual transducer fails to satisfy all of the above assumptions, the formulas will be inaccurate. Because of this, the formulas should be used only in the initial stages of transducer development to determine the approximate proportions of the transducer.
 


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