I have a research problem where I need to detect leaks and obstructions in a pipe network, I want to run a test program and fit 12 pressure sensors to measure water pressure at various points along the pipe-network. What kind of pressure sensor can I use for my project? How can I transfer the data from the pressure sensors to the RAM of my computer via the com port or USB port?
We would suggest the 33X and PD33X which are high resolution pressure sensors with a USB interface. The 33X can be specified for measuring gauge or absolute pressure and the PD33X for measuring differential pressure. Depending on the system pressure and the pressure drop across the obstructions, you can either use two 33X measuring the total pressure either side of the pipe obstructions, or one PD33X to measure small pressure differences across the pipe obstructions.
If the water leaks are very small you will need to measure the pressure drops to a high resolution. The 33X and PD33X provide a very high resolution reading of 0.002% FS so it is possible to detect very small changes in pressure over a long period of time.
All 12 pressure sensors could be connected to the computer at the same time and the pressure readings from each sensor logged simultaneously on a graph and saved to a data file using the provided desk/laptop PC logging software.