Pressure and Vacuum Chamber used for Calibration of Weather Stations across the US

Have you ever wondered how the weather forecast works? You must admit; the weathermen (or weatherwoman) have become a whole lot more accurate over time. 10 years ago, the weather forecast was not as accurate as it is today.

Part of the reason is that we have better forecasting technology as in more powerful computers who crunch numbers faster to out a most likely scenario. Another reason is that mathematics, physics, and science has progressed. The main reason however, is that we have better tools and equipment.

Did you know that there are countless large weather stations spread across the US that continuously measure and record temperature, moisture, wind speed, barometric pressure, etc. Over the years, I have done a lot of trail running and have passed countless of these weather stations and never bothered to ask myself what these fenced off structures were spread all across the Wasatch Front. It all changed one day when we received a call from one of the engineers who maintains and calibrates the sensors of weather stations.

The requirements were simple, build a pressure and vacuum chamber with several vacuum feedthrough wires so that the calibration engineer has the ability to connect to the sensors inside the vacuum chamber during the vacuum run without compromising the vacuum. The overpressure is required because the sensors are calibrated from sea level to 30,000 feet. At higher altitudes, additional pressure must be applied to simulate atmospheric pressure present at sea level.

Clear Acrylic Vacuum Chambers turned out to be a good choice because the walls are transparent enabling full view of chamber interior during calibration. In addition to being fully transparent, acrylic vacuum chambers are easily modified which means that several vacuum feedthroughs can be added to the vacuum chamber with relative ease.

If you would like to find out more about how to get a similar vacuum chamber, fell free to Contact Us

WAIT! Take a look at similar Items you may like…

Our clients prefer to work with us because we are Experts in Vacuum Science and Technology. You should check out some of our other items we carry; click on the links below.

Vacuum Bubble Emission ASTM 3078 Leak Testing Systems
Bubble Emission (ASTM 3078) Leak Testing Systems are instruments that are used during the Quality Control process discover and locate leaks or seal integrity failures. Leaks are detected by submerging the specimen into a tank of water, applying a vacuum, and inspecting the submersed specimen for bubble emission. Our Bubble Leak Testing Systems are designed and built to conform to the ASTM D3078 protocol standard.
Belt Drive Rotary Vane Vacuum Pumps
A Belt Drive Rotary Vane Pump is almost identical to a Direct Drive Rotary Vane Pump. The only difference between the two is that the belt drive Rotary Vane Vacuum Pump is driven by a belt. There are several advantages why a belt drive vacuum pump would be preferable. One of these reasons is that the belt drive Rotary Vane Vacuum Pump runs at a slower RPM therefore the temperature created is lower, the wear and tear is less, and the overall lifetime of the pump is longer. The disadvantages are a lower CFM and performance.
Our Work: Vacuum Testing of Lithium Ion Batteries, Thin Film, Fuel Cells, Supercapacitors, and Nano materials
This vacuum chamber is a modification to our basic acrylic vacuum chamber 12 inch, removable lid model; except that our customer requested additional ports and electrical feed-through for testing of electrical equipment under vacuum. You know, I wish we would have asked them for more details on what they were doing with this chamber; their short and concise answer was that they were using our chamber to perform scientific work on the subjects of: lithium ion batteries, thin films, fuel cells, super-capacitors, and nano-materials testing in a vacuum environment.
Related Articles: Anatomy of the Pressure Decay, Vacuum Decay, and Force Decay Curve
How do you know that you have a good part during your leak test? In order to understand your leak test, you must first understand the Test Decay Curve and what it tells you about your test specimen. There is a certain way that a test specimen behaves during the leak test.