Performance Evaluation of Honeywell Silicon Piezoresistive Pressure Transducers for Oceanographic and Limnological Measurements*

Abstract

Abstract Simultaneous calibrations of three temperature-compensated piezoresistive ruggedized precision “absolute” pressure transducers (Honeywell model PPTR0040AP5VB-BD), which have been designed specially for long-term coastal oceanographic and limnological measurements, have been carried out at four differing temperatures (10°, 20°, 30°, and 40°C) to evaluate their suitability for such applications. The full-scale pressure range of these shallow water absolute pressure sensors is ≈ 2800 hPa (equivalent to water depth of ≈ 18 m). Measurement results have been used to examine the transducers’ performance indicators, such as zero-point offset, accuracy, linearity, hysteresis, temperature sensitivity, and slope. Differing piezoresistive ruggedized precision absolute pressure transducers (PPTRs) exhibited differing zero-point offset values, ranging from 2 to −79 hPa. Temperature sensitivity of zero-point offset was ≈0.3 hPa over the temperature range 10°–40°C. The mean hysteresis over the full-scale absolute pressure range (≈2800 hPa) varied from approximately 2 to 8 hPa over the temperature range 10°–40°C. The slope of the least squares–fitted linear graph (taking the mean of ascending and descending pressures) was close to the ideal value of unity (deviation from 1 over the temperature range 10°–40°C was in the range of −0.001 to +0.005). Linearity was excellent, its mean over the entire pressure range being between ≈ −0.006% and 0.008% of full-scale (FS) over the above temperature range. The worst performance was exhibited at input pressures below ≈1500 hPa. Zero-point offset has played a significant role in deteriorating the accuracy of the PPTR, the mean accuracy (within ≈0.1% and −5%) having been exhibited by those transducers having offsets of 2 and −79 hPa, respectively. The mean accuracy exhibited temperature sensitivity of ≈1% in the range 10°–20°C and negligible sensitivity beyond 20°C. Use of a calibration equation significantly improved the mean static accuracy obtainable from the PPTR, to between −0.04% and 0.01% of FS. Evaluation results have indicated that a suitably calibrated temperature-compensated Honeywell PPTR provides an alternate cost-effective means for pressure measurements for coastal oceanographic and limnological studies.