ICPC20 – Industrial Instrumentation

July-Dec 2023 Session

Level Measurement
Part-2:- Hydrostatic Level Gauges
Dr. Sri Ram Shankar R.
Assistant Professor, Dept. of ICE,
NIT-Tiruchirappalli
[email protected]
Pressure of a fluid column P = ρgh
Hydrostatic level transmitters, or
pressure level transmitters, use the
pressure exerted by a resting body
of fluid in a container to determine
its level.

Basically, the more force the liquid

exerts on the container, and thus
the sensor, the more liquid there is
present in the container.
Assumptions:
• Density of the liquid being measured must remain consistent.
Therefore, these transmitters are less useful for applications where a liquid
might have variable density because of impurities or other factors.
Level Measurement - Hydrostatic Level Gauges 2
1. Diaphragm type Level detector

where Δp = change in pressure

g = specific weight
Δh = depth

Level Measurement - Hydrostatic Level Gauges 3

 2. Level Measurement using a Differential
Pressure Transmitter (DPT)
Differential pressure transmitters are the most common pressure-sensing device used in
this capacity to infer liquid level within a vessel.

The hydrostatic pressure, applied to the HP, is causing any

response to the transmitter, as proportional to the level.

The DPT has inbuilt pressure sensors like

Diaphragm, capsules, strain gauges etc to
measure the differential pressure.
Rosemount hydrostatic level transmitter
• Eliminating impulse tubing altogether
• A sealing diaphragm extending slightly
into the vessel through a flanged pipe
entry
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 Closed Tank Level Measurement

The tank bottom tapping point is High pressure (HP) tapping point and Tank top tapping
is Low Pressure (LP) tapping point.
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DPT Calibration for Level Measurement
DP Transmitter calibration parameters will vary depending on installation & seal
system.
Three possibilities of installation of a transmitter in the field.

1. Transmitter installed Exactly at HP tapping point

( Ideal & preferred way of installation)

2. Transmitter installed above HP tapping point → “Zero Elevation”

( Not preferable, Chance of bubble formation in the impulse line)

3. Transmitter installed below HP tapping point → “Zero Suppression/ Depression”

(Error can be compensated effectively)

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Zero Elevation and Suppression
Zero Elevation
Transmitter located
Ideal Case above the Low Level;
LRV is a negative
number

Zero
Upper Range Value (URV) and
Lower range value (LRV) of the transmitter’s calibration Suppression/
Depression

Transmitter located below the tank;

LRV is a positive number

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Rosemount model 3051 DPT
Zero Elevation and Suppression
Pressure-sensing instrument is not located at the same level
as the 0% measurement point.
• the lower range value (LRV) of the transmitter’s calibration is a positive number,
is called zero suppression / zero depression.
• If the zero offset is reversed (e.g. the transmitter mounted at a location higher
than the 0% process level), it is referred to as zero elevation.

Level Measurement - Hydrostatic Level Gauges 8

 Displacer type Level Instrument
To measure liquid level by measuring the load of a
displacer rod immersed within the process liquid.
Displacer:
• Made of heavier medium than liquid.
• Cylindrical in form with a continuing cross-
sectional area.
• Created long or short as needed. (1 ft – 10 ft)

As liquid level increases (decreases), the displacer rod experiences a bigger (smaller)
buoyant force, creating it appear lighter (heavier) to the sensing instrument, that interprets
the loss (gain) of weight as a rise in level and transmits a proportional output signal.
Level Measurement - Hydrostatic Level Gauges 9
Force on the Displacer

The buoyant force on a cylindrical displacer

where g = specific weight of the liquid
d = float diameter
L = length of the displacer submerged in the liquid

The weight as seen by the force sensor is given by

Weight on force sensor = weight of displacer – F
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LVDT based Displacer Level Gauge

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3. Bubbler tube or Dip tube
• To measure hydrostatic pressure in a liquid-
containing vessel, Purge gas bubbles out the end of
a tube as that is submerged in process liquid.

• Eliminates the need for direct contact of the

process liquid against the pressure-sensing
element.

• Advantageous if the process liquid is corrosive.

Level Measurement - Hydrostatic Level Gauges 12

 Straw Experiment

• Gently blowing air through a straw into a glass of water, maintaining

a steady rate of bubbles exiting the straw while changing the depth
of the straw’s end in the water.

• The deeper you submerge the straw, the harder it becomes to blow
bubbles out the end with your breath.

• Air pressure in the mouth must just exceed the hydrostatic pressure
of water at the straw’s tip in order for the bubbles to escape out the
end of the straw.

• If the flow rate of air is modest, the air pressure at any point along
the length of the air tube will be nearly equal to the water pressure.
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 Industrial Bubbler System

Air compressor to maintain continuous purge air pressure.

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Industrial Bubbler system
• Purge gas is slowly introduced into a “dip tube” submerged in the process liquid, so
that no more than a few bubbles per second of gas emerge from the tube’s end.

• Any pressure-measuring device tapped anywhere along the length of this tubing
system will sense this pressure and be able to infer the depth of the liquid in the
process vessel without having to directly contact the process liquid.

• Suitable for liquids that are highly corrosive, prone to plugging sample ports, or in any
other way objectionable to have in direct contact with a pressure sensor.

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Industrial Bubbler system
✓ The dip tube need not be flexible and therefore may be constructed of any material
capable of withstanding the process liquid. (Plastic, Ceramic)

✓ Dip tube is continuously purged with clean gas. →

✓ Suitable for process liquid so laden with solids that it plugs up any non-flowing port
(sample port and impulse line)

✓ Convenient access to the pressure sensor, anywhere along the length of the dip
tube.

Non-reactive purge : Use gases such as nitrogen stored in cylinders (though

expensive)

Level Measurement - Hydrostatic Level Gauges 16

 Criteria for Purge gas in the Bubbler system
• Supply must be reliable: if the flow stops for any reason, the level measurement will
cease to be accurate, and the dip tube may even plug with debris!
• Supply pressure must exceed the hydrostatic pressure at all times, or else the level
measurement range will fall below the actual liquid level.
• Gas flow must be maintained at a low rate, to avoid pressure drop errors (i.e. excess
pressure measured due to friction of the purge gas through the tube).
• Must not adversely react with the process.
• Must not contaminate the process.
• Reasonable in cost, since it will be continuously consumed over time.

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Effect of bubbles
Slight variation in pressure each time a new bubble breaks away from the end of
the tube.
The frequency of this pressure oscillation, will be equal to the rate at which
individual bubbles escape out the end of the dip tube. (These oscillations filtered
out by Pressure Transmitters)

Pressure variation is approximately equal to the hydrostatic pressure of process

fluid at a height equal to the diameter of the bubble, which in turn will be equal to
the diameter of the bubble tube.

→ Place small V-shaped notches at the end of

the dip tube, to help bubbles escape at sizes
smaller than the tube’s diameter.
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Flow regulation and monitoring in Bubbler systems
• Excessive purge gas flow
through the tube will result in
additional pressure caused by
frictional pressure drop along
the tube’s length.

• Use either a rotameter or a

sightfeed bubbler to monitor
purge gas flow rate, with a
needle valve to restrict that
flow.

• economic benefits aside from

increased measurement
accuracy. Level Measurement - Hydrostatic Level Gauges 19
Materials Referred to:
Tony.R. Kuphaldt, Lessons in Industrial Instrumentation, Version 2.02, April 2014
Patranabis D, Principles of Industrial Instrumentation, Tata McGraw Hill, 3rd Edition, 2010.
Fundamentals of Industrial Instrumentation and Process Control, William Dunn
Notes on Industrial Instrumentation from Sathyabama Inst. Sci Tech. and
Notes on Industrial Instrumentation by Prof. Saraswathi, SCSVM.

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