WILJAM FLIGHT TRAINING

Chapter 8.3
Pressure and Temperature Indicators
Introduction
Various pressure and temperature indicators are used on board an aeroplane, so that the
engine parameters can be effectively controlled
Pressure Indicators
A number of pressures on an engine have to be sensed. These include gas pressures and fluid
pressures, although all indicators use the same basic principle.
Manifold Pressure (MAP). These indicators, colloquially termed boost gauges, are
of the direct-reading type, and are calibrated to measure absolute pressure in inches of
mercury. This pressure is representative of that produced at the induction manifold of a
supercharged piston engine. In order to measure the pressure delivered by the
supercharger and obtain an indication of engine power, it is necessary to have an
instrument that indicates absolute pressure. This is measured between the throttle valve
and inlet valve. The mechanism of a typical indicator is illustrated below.

In this system the measuring element is made up of two bellows, one open to the
induction manifold and the other evacuated and sealed. A controlling spring is fitted
inside the sealed bellows and the distension of both bellows is transmitted to the pointer
via a lever, quadrant and pinion mechanism. A filter is located at the inlet to open the
bellows; where there is also a restriction to smooth out any pressure surges.
When pressure is applied to the open bellows the latter expands causing the pointer to
move over the scale (calibrated in inches of mercury) and indicate a change in pressure
from the standard sea level value of 29.92 in. Hg (zero `boost'). With increasing

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altitude, there is a tendency for the bellows to expand a little too far because the
decrease in atmospheric pressure acting on the outside of the bellows offers less
opposition. This tendency is counteracted by the sealed bellows, which also sense the
change in atmospheric pressure, but expands in the opposite direction. Thus a
condition is reached at which the forces acting on each bellow are equal. This cancels
out the effects of atmospheric pressure, and the manifold pressure is measured directly
against the spring. A typical manifold pressure gauge is shown below.

Engine Pressure Ratio (EPR). This measuring system consists of an engine inlet
pressure probe, a number of pressure-sensing probes projected into the exhaust unit of
the engine, a pressure ratio transmitter, and an indicator. The interconnection of these
components based on a typical system is schematically shown below.

The inlet pressure (P1) sensing probe is similar to a pitot probe, and is mounted so that
it faces into the airstream in the engine intake or, as in some power plant installations,
on the pylon, and in the vicinity of the air intake. The probe is also protected against
icing by a supply of warm air from the engine anti-ice system.

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Pipelines terminating at a manifold interconnect the exhaust pressure-sensing probes
(PEX) in order to average out the pressures. In some engine systems, pressure sensing
is done from chambers contained within the EGT sensing probes. A pipeline from the
manifold, and another from the inlet pressure probe, is each connected to the pressure
ratio transmitter. The indicators may be of the servo-operated type, but in electronic
display systems, the transmitter output signals are supplied directly to the appropriate
system computer. If a circuit malfunction occurs, an integrity monitoring circuit within
the indicator will activate a warning flag circuit, which will obscure the digital counter
display.
In some aeroplanes, a maximum allowable EPR limit indicator is also provided. It is
integrated with a TAT indicator and also with the CADC; its purpose being to indicate
limits related to air density and altitude values from which thrust settings have been
predetermined for specific operating conditions. These conditions are climb, cruise,
continuous and go-around. They are selected as appropriate by means of a mode
selector switch, which is connected to a computing and switching circuit, and generates
a datum signal corresponding to each selected condition. The signal is then supplied to
a comparator, which also receives temperature signals from the TAT sensor and
altitude signals from the CADC. These signals are compared with the datum signal and
the lower value of the two is automatically selected as the signal representing the
maximum EPR limit for the selected operating condition. The Comparator transmits this
signal to an amplifier, and then to a servomotor, which drives a digital counter to display
the limiting values.
Fuel and Oil Pressures. The oil pressure gauge is the most important gauge for
satisfactory engine operation. If the oil pressure fails, bearing failure will occur quickly.
The face of the gauge has a green arc showing the normal pressure range, a yellow arc
for the caution range and a red line for maximum oil pressure. It is important that the oil
pressure registers on the gauge within 30 seconds of the engine starting. Metal
capsules (or diaphragms) are normally used as sensors for measuring oil and fuel
pressures. These are connected by an electrical transmission system to the indicators
on the flight deck.
Temperature Indicators
The type of sensors, which are used to indicate engine associated temperatures are:Cylinder Head Temperatures. High temperatures are sensed in this area of the
engine so a probe capable of withstanding these values is used. This would typically be
a thermocouple, which can be in the form of a gasket beneath the spark plug, or a
bayonet type probe placed in the hottest part of the engine within a recess. The gauge
is positioned at the cold junction
Exhaust Gas Temperatures. In a reciprocating engine aeroplane the EGT gauge is
used to manually lean the fuel-air mixture for better economy. Rich mixtures reduce the
engine exhaust gas temperature and weak mixtures increase it. Any adjustment of the
mixture using the EGT must be carried in the cruise and below 75% power. To facilitate
this a thermo-couple probe is installed in the exhaust pipe and connected to a simple
gauge on the flight deck. If the EGT gauge is used for leaning the mixture there is no
redline on the gauge, but in a turbo-supercharged reciprocating engine aeroplane the
gauge has a redline because the turbo-supercharger can be damaged by high
temperatures. In gas turbine engines a thermo-couple is also used to measure the
Turbine Gas Temperature (TGT), which is sometimes referred to as exhaust gas
temperature, or Jet Pipe Temperature (JPT) This is because this type of engine can
be severely damaged by high temperatures in the turbine sections, which in some
regions can reach up to 1100C. Thermocouples are used in parallel with multiple pickup points, so that the failure of one will not affect the reading

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Fuel and Oil Temperature. These are of the variable resistance type with the sensitive
element contained in a bulb and immersed in the fluid. This data is transmitted by a
Wheatstone bridge arrangement to a gauge on the flight deck.

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