The determination of volume ratios by gas depletion through multiple expansions

Abstract

We present a new technique for the determination of the volume ratio of two vacuum chambers connected through a valve. The method is based on the measurement of the pressure in a chamber filled with a gas that is repeatedly depleted by expansion in a second chamber that was previously evacuated. Our calculation shows that under the reported measurement conditions, this technique has an uncertainty comparable to that obtained from the gas accumulation technique [Elliott KWT, Clapham PB.The accurate measurement of the volume ratios of vacuum vessels. NPL Report MOM 28, January 1978]. An excellent equivalence between the results obtained with this new technique and the measurements obtained by the gas accumulation technique is demonstrated. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.