High-accuracy board-mount pressure sensors for low-pressure applications

Aimed at applications such as medical devices, HVAC systems and drones, a new series of board-mount pressure sensors designed to measure low airflow with high accuracy has been released by Honeywell. The TruStability RSC Series sensors offer enhanced reliability to minimize system downtime and provide high accuracy to reduce the reliance on software to correct system inaccuracies. This minimizes design time, improves efficiency and often simplifies development. With a small footprint that occupies less area on a printed circuit board, the piezoresistive silicon pressure sensors reduce overall system size to allow easier fit and potentially reduce production costs. The RSC Series’ extremely high measurement accuracy and design flexibility make them ideal for a variety of applications and uses, including measuring : 1 - Breathing airflow in medical systems such as ventilators, affording precise control of ventilator trigger points and providing an accurate baseline for lung volume measurement and flexible sensor applications in both adult and paediatric devices. 2 - Barometric pressure changes for drones or weather balloons to indicate altitude changes even at high altitudes and allow for rapid altitude changes of the device. 3 - Airflow in HVAC ducts for precise control of airflow set points, significantly reducing the frequency of shutting down ducts to measure sensor offset. Features include : 1 - Total error band as low as 0.25 percent Full Scale Span. 2 - Energy efficient operation with a power consumption of less than 10 milliwatts. 3 - Miniature sensor size of 10mm x 12.5mm. 4 - Measurement accuracy of ±0.1 percent Full Scale Span Best Fit Straight Line. 5 - Ability to read pressure ranges from ±1.6 mbar to ±10 bar, ±160 Pa to ±1 MPa, ±0.5 inH2O to 150 psi, absolute range 1 bar to 8 bar, and 15 psi to 150 psi. Robert Robinson, senior product marketing manager, Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions., said: “These new pressure sensors have a real-life impact. Their accuracy and reliability could help make buildings more energy-efficient by accurately measuring airflow across all HVAC systems. They can also enable healthcare providers to improve patient care and safety with more accurate readings of airflow in ventilators, including accurate calculations of lung volume to determine how much air to supply to the patient.”