Eugene Bourdon and The Bourdon gauge

[Rick A]

Almost every gauge since 1849 has come with a Bourdon tube inside. It's the metal tube that flexes when put under pressure and causes the needle on the face of the gauge to read the pressure. Here's a copy of his original US patent and some information about him.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Portrait_of_Professor_Eugene_Bourdon.jpg

https://blog.wika.us/products/pressu...bourdon-gauge/

https://bourdonusa.com/products/pressure-gauges

 

[Rick A]

geoff1944 wrote:
"Bourdon's original gauge was not practical for cold climates because the two ends of the tube, or "spring," were pointed down. Condensed water would drain out of the end which was connected to the steam line but would collect in the other end and freeze, bursting the tube. This design is called a "single spring" gauge because the tube is considered to be one "spring."

T. W. Lane patented an improvement to the Bourdon gauge in 1859 which solved this problem. Lane oriented the tube so both ends were pointed up instead of down. He then placed the connection to the steam line in the middle of the tube, at the bottom. Condensed water would then run out of both ends of the tube. This is called a double spring gauge because the tubes on either side of the bottom connection are each considered to be a separate spring."



"You could just rotate the gauge 90*."
____________
Steven Harrod
Lektor
Danmarks Tekniske Universitet
Institut for Systemer, Produktion, og Ledelse



T.W. Lane's patent for the double spring gauge:

 

[Rick A]

Ashton Valve's double spring gage

 

[Rick A]

More info on Bourdon:


https://heatinghelp.com/blog/the-metal-manometer/

 

[Rick A]

A nice comparison of the 2 gauges.

 

[Rick A]

Bourdon gauge