This report presents a study conducted to determine if an internal pressure can be measured using a strain gauge. The main reason for performing the study was to find a way to eliminate unnecessary flanged joints in piping at process plants. These unnecessary flanged joints are implemented into the piping to install instrumentation to measure the current pressure inside the pipe. Each flanged joint poses a concern regarding leakage. Thus each flanged joint is a safety matter. If the number of flanged joints can be reduced, the costs regarding this issue can be reduced significantly.
To outline this issue, a test was performed to determine if the internal pressure causes the pipe to expand enough to have a measureable strain on the pipe surface. Secondly, the instrumentation needed to commercialize a product using the idea was determined, mainly concerning the installation area in relation to the electrical systems. Thirdly, a simple controller was programmed in MATLAB combined with SIMULINK to enable compensation for a change in temperature. It is also able to change parameters in relation to material properties and wall thicknesses based on NORSOK piping specifications as it is now. The database of materials can be expanded so that the controller can be applied in a wider market concerning piping specifications and material properties.