ME3122-1

TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENTS

2012/2013

Department of Mechanical Engineering National University of Singapore

AS A SAFETY MEASURE, WEARING OF SHOES DURING EXPERIMENTS IS MANDATORY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES NOMENCLATURE INTRODUCTION THEORY DESCRIPTION OF EQUIPMENT PROCEDURE CALCULATIONS AND DISCUSSION

(ii) (iii) 1 2 6 8 9

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Schematic diagram of temperature sensor calibration unit. Schematic diagram of temperature profile measurement unit Resistance-temperature response of typical thermistor material compared with platinum. 11 12 13

ii

NOMENCLATURE

Symbol

Description

Units (SI)

ao, a1 ..... an R T T V

Arbitrary constants Resistance of temperature sensor Temperature Temperature difference Voltage Seebeck coefficient for thermocouples Temperature resistance K coefficient of resistance for thermocouples/ thermistor

K K V V K-1

iii

INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE There are numerous ways of measuring the temperature at a point in heat transfer analysis. The use of thermocouples, resistance thermometers, and thermistors is the commonest. In this manual laboratory experiment is described in which three techniques are employed for temperature measurement. SCOPE (i) (ii) (iii) Calibration of different types of temperature sensors. Measurement of temperature profile along a rod. Measurement of surface temperature

THEORY
(a) Thermocouple (i) Thermo-electric E.M.F.

Whenever there is a temperature gradient in a continuous metal conductor, a potential difference is developed between any two points along the conductor. This phenomenon is referred to as Seebeck Effect. The voltage developed between the points due to temperature difference is given by

dV dT

or V B V A =

TB

TA

dT

where a is called the Seebeck coefficient which is dependent on the conductor material. Consider a case where two wires of different materials are joined together at one end to form junction as shown below.

The potential difference between the points A and C

2

VA VC = ( VA VB ) + ( VB VC ) = 1 dT + 2 dT
TB TC TA TB

TB

TA TB

( 2 1 ) dT

[ if TA = TC ]

= 21 dT
TA

The coefficient 2-1 is a function of the temperature difference ( TA TB ) and is tabulated for various combinations of wire materials at the junction. Thus, the voltage developed across, ( VA VC ) , becomes a function of the temperature difference ( TA TB ) . This arrangement where, two wires of different materials are joined at one point, is called a thermocouple. With the aid of a voltagetemperature curve, which is known as a calibration curve, a thermocouple can be used to measure, with respect to reference, the temperature at a point where the thermocouple junction is placed. (ii) Measurement of temperature with respect to a reference temperature.

Consider the arrangement with two thermocouples connected together in the manner shown. TB is the temperature to be measured and T D is the reference value. Using the arguments in (i), the voltage developed across A and E can be expressed in the form, VA VE = ( VA VB ) + ( VB VD ) + ( VD VE ) (Note: There is no potential difference across point C because the wires BC and CD are of the same material). VA VE = 1 dT + 2 dT + 1 dT
TB TC TE TA TB TD

TB

TD

( 2 1 ) dT
3

[ if

TA = TE ]

Thus, VA - VE is a unique function of temperature T B, provided TD is a fixed reference temperature. The reference temperature TD can be of any fixed value. However, the reference is usually taken to be the melting temperature of ice (0C) which is universally accepted. Note: Generally ( 2 1 ) = a o + a 1T + a 2 T + a 3 T 3 + where a o , a1 , a 2 , a 3 are constants. If T = (TB TD) is not very large, ( 2 1 ) can be taken to be a constant. Then, VA VE = ( cons tan t ) ( TB TD ) a linear function. (b) Resistance Thermometer (RTD)

The resistance thermometer is a temperature sensing transducer which operates on the principle of change in electrical resistance of a wire as a function of temperature. The resistance variation of a wire with temperature is expressed as R = R 0 1 + (T - T0 )

when is called the temperature coefficient of resistance of the wire material and R o is the resistance of the wire at a reference temperature To. Temperature measurement is carried out almost exclusively by sending continuously a direct current through the resistance element and observing the changes in voltage that occur as a result of electrical resistance variation due to temperature. A suitable calibration, then provides the corresponding temperature, without the need for cold junction compensation. Of all usable metals, platinum best meets the requirements of resistance thermometry, i.e. the relationship between temperature and resistance is quite linear; drift and error with age and use a negligible; very high contamination resistance. (c) Thermistor

Thermistors are essentially semiconductors which behave as thermal resistors. When externally heated they convert changes in ambient or contact temperatures directly to corresponding changes in voltage or current. The principle of operation is thus very similar to a resistance thermometer. The temperature coefficient of resistance of a thermistor may be expressed as = 1 Ro R o T

R o represents the incremental change in resistance with temperature at resistance T Ro. Unlike that of most materials, the value of for a thermistor is very large and is negative. This makes the thermistor an unusually effective transducer for temperature measurement and control where accuracy and high resolution are important. where, A typical comparison of resistance change with temperature of a thermistor and platinum resistance thermometer is given in Fig. 3.
4

COMPARISON OF MERITS OF TEMPERATURE SENSORS (a) Type of measurement

Resistance-temperature devices such as thermistors and resistance thermometers provide a direct indication of absolute temperature. Thermocouples, on the other hand, which measure the temperature differential between two junctions of dissimilar metals, provide a relative measure. For direct temperature indication, one thermocouple junction must be accurately maintained at or compensated to a known reference temperature. (b) Temperature range

Thermistors are available for measuring temperatures from a few degrees above absolute zero to about 300C. They can be used at higher temperatures but tend to decrease in stability (repeatability) above 300C. Platinum resistance thermometers normally have a range of -180C to about 1000C, while iridium units can be used up to 2000C. The non-linearity of resistance change, however, increases at temperature extremes. Thermocouples are available for use up to more than 3000C. Accuracy at extremely high and low temperatures is usually limited. (c) Sensitivity

dV dT For a thermocouple system, S = , the Seebeck coefficient. The sensitivity of a temperature measuring system is S = The sensitivity of resistance-temperature transducers is a function of the change in resistance resulting from a unit change in temperature. A typical platinum resistance bulb will exhibit a change of less than 0.2 /0C at room temperature. Thermistors, on the other hand, provide changes of from 20 to 2 x 105 /0C under the same circumstances (Between -100C and 400C the resistance of a thermistor may change by ten million to one, compared with a change of about four to one in the resistance of platinum over the same temperature range). The following Table provides relative sensitivities of thermocouples, resistance thermometers and thermistors.

Table 1 Relative sensitivities of different temperature sensors V/C Sensor 25C Thermistor 104 to 106 Platinum resistance bulb 30 300 Copper/Constantan 40 Chromel/Alumel 40 Iron/Constantan 50 (d) Accuracy
5

300C 2 x 103 200 60 40 55

In general, thermistors and resistance thermometers provide relatively high absolute accuracies. Ordinary commercial grade thermocouples are normally of specified accuracy of 1C or less over their measurement range. Both thermistors and resistance bulbs will provide accuracies of 0.01C or better. Repeatability of thermistor measurements is such that variations and repeated readings are smaller than the overall accuracy of the measuring circuit. (e) Response

How quickly a temperature sensor can respond to temperature fluctuations is an important consideration in selecting a sensing device for transient temperature measurements. Generally, thermocouples have extremely high response. However, owing to relatively large mass of the sensor, resistance thermometers have poor temperature response and the response of thermistors is moderate.

DESCRIPTION OF EQUIPMENT
(c) Temperature sensor calibration unit (Fig. 1). The unit consists of a thermostat-controlled immersing heater and motor-driven stirrer. The water bath can be maintained at a constant temperature ( 0.1C) which is determined by thermostat setting of the unit. The mercury-in-glass thermometer ( 0.1C) and the temperature sensors are immersed in the water bath and the two readings are taken simultaneously to obtain the calibration curve. The batch temperature is varied by changing the thermostat setting of the heater which controls the heat supply to the water bath. (b) Temperature profile measurement unit (Fig. 2)

The apparatus is an insulated metal container with a stirrer and an immersion heater. A 6erspex rod is attached to one side of the container and is heavily insulated on the outside. There are six thermocouples attached to the 6erspex rod 4 thermocouples embedded in the medium to measure the axial temperature profile along the 6erspex rod and 2 thermocouples partially embedded at the surface to measure the interface temperature of the two circular faces of the rod. There is another three temperature sensor attached to the exposed face of the rod in order for the surface temperature to be measured by different techniques.

The types of temperature sensors used in the apparatus for surface temperature measurements are: (a) a thermocouple glued to the surface (not embedded) (b) a resistance thermometer (film or stud) a thermistor (stud) Specification of Temperature Profile Measurement Unit: Diameter of Perspex rod Length of Perspex rod Pitch of thermocouples embedded in Perspex rod Thermocouple wire material Maximum permissible water bath temperature
6

48 mm 50 mm 10 mm copper-constantan Gauge 30 90C

 Instrumentation All voltage measurements are made using a very accurate digital voltmeter. A selector switch is employed between the numerous thermal sensors and the voltmeter to enable the voltages of the various sensors to be measured using just one voltmeter. As the emf of a thermocouple only corresponds to the temperature difference between the hot and cold junction temperatures, the voltage corresponding to the hot junction temperature depends on the temperature of the cold junction. In the calibration part of the experiment, two thermocouples will be employed. One will have the cold junction at room temperature and the other will have the cold junction effectively set at 0C using an electronic ice-point. A constant current source of i = 2.1 mA is supplied to the resistance element (Ro = 100 ) of the resistance thermometer. Thus the temperature coefficient of resistance is related to the sensitivity S by 1 dRo Ro dT 1 dV iRo dT S iRo

The thermistor is connected as part of a bridge circuit shown below:

Changes in the resistance Rt of the thermistor causes changes in the voltage V between nodes A and B. It can be shown that 1 dRt Rt dT ( Rt + R3 ) 2 V E o Rt R3 T ( Rt + R3 ) 2 S E o Rt R3

where Eo = 1.5 V, R2 = R3 = 7599 , Rt = 30 k at room temperature and R1 is a variable resistance. Just before the commencement of the experiment, the value of R1 is adjusted until the digital voltmeter reading is zero. In practice, because the thermistor is so sensitive, it is very difficult to get the voltage reading to be exactly zero. However, this value should be as close to zero as possible.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
(a) Calibration of Temperature Sensors
1.

Set the voltage V of the thermistor bridge circuit to zero or as close to zero as possible by adjusting the variable resistance R1. Record the voltages across the thermistor, the two thermocouples and the resistance thermometer. Record the temperature of the reference mecury-in-glass thermometer. (Note: A specially prepared form will be provided during the laboratory session for you to record your readings.) Switch on the water bath heater. Set the bath temperature to about 40C and allow time for the bath temperature to reach the set temperature. Repeat Step 2. Repeat Step 3 for water bath temperatures of about 50C, 60C, 70C and 80C.

2.

3.

4.

(b) Measurement of Temperature Profiles Measure the output voltages of the thermocouples embedded in the perspex rod. 2. Wait for 15 minutes and then repeat Step (b) 1. 3. Wait for another 15 minutes and then repeat Step (b) 1.
1.

(c) Measurement of Surface Temperature. Before proceeding, ask the technician to first connect the thermocouple, thermistor and resistance thermometer which are attached to the exposed end of the perspex rod to the selector switch. Then record the output voltages of the 4 temperature sensors mounted at the exposed end of the perspex rod. One of the temperature sensors is an embedded thermocouple while the other three are surface-mounted thermocouple, thermistor and resistance thermometer.

CALCULATIONS AND DISCUSSION

(a)

Obtain calibration curves for the 4 temperature sensors by plotting the output voltages and the temperature of the reference mercury-in-glass thermometer. The calibration curves for the 2 thermocouples may be plotted on the same graph, but those for the thermistor and the resistance thermometer should be plotted on separate graphs. Determine the sensitivities of the 4 temperature sensors. Calculate the temperature coefficient of resistance of the thermistor and the resistance thermometer and compare their magnitudes.

(b) Using the calibration curves obtained, determine the temperature profile along the perspex rod at the 3 different times and plot them on a single graph. Comment on your findings. Would you expect a linear temperature profile? Did you obtain a linear temperature profiles? If not, can you explain why? (c) In order to measure correctly the temperature at a point on a surface, one must ensure that the temperature sensor experiences the true temperature at the point. However, the temperature experienced by a temperature sensor is the result of thermal equilibrium with the surroundings. The temperature measured by the embedded thermocouple may be taken
8

to be the true temperature of the surface of the exposed end of the perspex rod. Hence, determine the relative percentage error of the temperatures measured by the 3 surfacemounted sensors. Comment on your findings.

Date: Table 2 Calibration Data Temp Vout(RTD) (C) Ch 8 (mV)

Experiment Set No: Vout(Thermistor) Ch 9 (mV) Thermocouple w/o ice-pt Ch 10 (mV) Thermocouple with ice-pt Ch 11 (mV)

Table 3 Transient Readings for Temperature Along Perspex Rod: Clock Time 0 min mV Channel 1 at 0 mm apart from the hot end Channel 2 at 10 mm apart from the hot end Channel 3 at 20 mm apart from the hot end Channel 4 at 30 mm apart from the hot end Channel 5 at 40 mm apart from the hot end Channel 6 at 50 mm apart from the hot end (Embedded thermocouple wire) Channel 7 for surface thermocouple wire Channel 8 for surface RTD Channel 9 for surface thermistor
o

15 min C mV
o

30 min C mV
o

10

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the temperature sensor calibration unit

11

Figure 2 a. Schematic diagram of the apparatus

Figure 2 b. Mounting arrangements for surface temperature sensors

12

Figure 3 Resistance-temperature response of typical thermistor material, compared with platinum

13