Thermal conductivity vacuum gauges

Classical physics teaches and provides experimental confirmation that the thermal conductivity of a static gas is independent of the pressure at higher pressures (particle number density), p 1 mbar. At lower pressures, p 1 mbar, however, the thermal conductivity is pressure-dependent (approximately proportional 1 / iU). It decreases in the medium vacuum range starting from approx. 1 mbar proportionally to the pressure and reaches a value of zero in the high vacuum range. This pressure dependence is utilized in the thermal conductivity vacuum gauge and enables precise measurement (dependent on the type of gas) of pressures in the medium vacuum range. 

The sensing filament in the gauge head forms a branch of a Wheatstone bridge. In the TFIERMOTRON thermal conductivity gauges with variable resistance which were commonly used in the past, the sensing filament was heated with a constant current. As gas pressure increases, the temperature of the filament decreases because of the greater thermal 

I Thermal dissipation due to radiation and conduction in the metallic ends 

An extreme example of the discrepancy between true pressure pT and indicated pressure pi in pressure measurement is the admission of air to a vacuum system with argon from a pressure cylinder to avoid moisture (pumping time). According to Fig. 3.11, one would obtain a p, reading of 

---

The tilting McLeod gauge (Fig. 7.8) is a simple, inexpensive, and portable gauge which may be used to measure pressures down to about 10 3 torr. These gauges are very useful for checking rough vacuum systems, Schlenk systems, and for the calibration of thermal conductivity vacuum gauges. 

Thermal Conductivity Vacuum Gauges. A very widely applied gauge of this type is the Pirani gauge. Such gauges consist of a wire (Pt, W or Ni, d = 5-20 pm / 5 cm) mounted axially in a cylindrical tube (d 2 cm). The wire is heated by an electric current to approximately 100°C above the ambient temperature and heat loss occurs by three mechanisms, as indicated in Figure 5.3. 

Figure 38 Electric energy needed to keep the temperature of the hot wire constant as a function of pressure in a thermal conductivity vacuum gauge. (From M. Wutz, H. Adam, and W. Walcher, Theorie und Praxis der Vakuumtechnik, 2nd ed. Copyright 1982 Friedr. Vieweg Sohn, Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, D-65048 Wiesbaden, Germany.)...

Fig. 6.21. Thermal conductivity vacuum-sensing (Pirani) gauge (a) Pirani transducer (6) typical bridge circuit for Pirani gauge...

Vacuum gauges may be broadly classified as either direct or indirect (10). Direct gauges measure pressure as force pet unit area. Indirect gauges measure a physical property, such as thermal conductivity or ionisation potential, known to change in a predictable manner with the molecular density of the gas. 

The fact that the pressure reading at vacuum gauges (see Section 3.3) is sensitive to the type of gas involved can, to a certain extent, be utilized for leak detection purposes. Thus it is possible to brush or spray suspected leaks with alcohol. The alcohol vapors which flow into the device - the thermal conductivity and ionizablity of which will vary greatly from the same properties for air - will affect and change pressure indication to a greater or lesser extent. The availability of more precise, easy-to-use helium leak detectors has, however, rendered this method almost completely obsolete. 

These measure the change in thermal conductivity of a gas due to variations in pressure—usually in the range 0.75 torr (100 N/m2) to 7.5 x 10"4 torr (0.1 N/m2). At low pressures the relation between pressure and thermal conductivity of a gas is linear and can be predicted from the kinetic theory of gases. A coiled wire filament is heated by a current and forms one arm of a Wheatstone bridge network (Fig. 6.21). Any increase in vacuum will reduce the conduction of heat away from the filament and thus the temperature of the filament will rise so altering its electrical resistance. Temperature variations in the filament are monitored by means of a thermocouple placed at the centre of the coil. A similar filament which is maintained at standard conditions is inserted in another arm of the bridge as a reference. This type of sensor is often termed a Pirani gauge. 

The measurement of total pressure in a vacuum system is essential. Chapter 5 outlined the two general principles involved (direct and indirect). Direct methods included manometric measurements (Examples 5.1 and 5.3) and those involving the mechanical deformation of a sensing element. Indirect methods, which depend on the estimation of a physical property of the gas (e.g. thermal conductivity, ionisation) that depends on number density, were also discussed. Uncertainty of measurement is a parameter associated with the result of a measurement. It may influence the choice of a pressure gauge, and its practical expression was illustrated in Example 5.4. 

As mentioned in Sec. 7.5.14, many gauges read an inferred pressure, not real pressure. Some vacuum gauges use the thermal conductivity of gases present in the system to infer the pressure of the system. These gauges are based on the concept that less gas will conduct less heat. Because different gases have different thermal conductivities,83 the user needs to make allowances if the gas in a system has a different thermal conductivity than the particular gas a gauge has been calibrated to use. 

---