Deadweight Testers
Deadweight Testers
Deadweight testers are primary pressure standard instruments that generate highly accurate and stable pressure references using precision-machined pistons and calibrated weights. When masses are loaded onto a piston–cylinder assembly, the resulting gravitational force divided by the effective piston area produces a precisely known pressure. This fundamental physical principle makes deadweight testers the most accurate and traceable method for pressure calibration, inherently independent of electronic drift or reference sensor degradation over time.
Deadweight testers serve as the top-tier reference for calibrating all other pressure instruments and are available for both hydraulic and pneumatic operation. They cover pressure ranges from fractions of a bar to thousands of bar, with typical measurement uncertainties from 0.005% to 0.1% of reading, making them the standard for ISO/IEC 17025-accredited calibration laboratories and national metrology institutes.
Typical Applications
- Primary pressure standard calibration in national and accredited metrology laboratories
- Calibrating high-accuracy pressure gauges and digital pressure indicators
- Verification of pressure transmitters in oil & gas, power, and chemical industries
- Aerospace hydraulic and pneumatic system pressure standard calibration
- Establishing calibration hierarchy and traceability for ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation
Popular Brands
Ashcroft offers a broad range of hydraulic and pneumatic deadweight testers for industrial and laboratory use. Fluke Calibration (formerly DH Instruments) produces the RPM series of electronic deadweight testers with automated mass loading. Budenberg is a long-established manufacturer of high-precision hydraulic testers, and Ametek provides instruments spanning low to ultra-high pressure ranges.
