C O M B U S T I O N A N D F L A M E 67: 27-36 (1987)

27

An Improved Thermocouple Technique for Measurement of

Fluctuating Temperatures in Flames
MASASHI KATSUKI, YUKIO MIZUTANI, and YASUSHI MATSUMOTO
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Combustion Laboratory, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka,
Japan

When we use an electrically compensated thermocouple for its frequency response to measure temperatures in
turbulent flames, considerable errors occur due to the temperature- and velocity-dependences of time constant of
response, as well as surface reactions and radiative heat losses. An improved method of reproducing the patterns of
temperature fluctuation was developed, in which a thermocouple was coated to be free from the effects of surface
reactions and its unlinearized output was subjected to the thermal inertia compensation; then the compensated signals
were converted into temperatures following the modified EMF characteristics of the thermocouple. The accuracy was
examined in both a laminar diffusion flame and a turbulent premixed flame.

1. INTRODUCTION
Many researchers have been paying attention to
the measurement of temperature fluctuation in
turbulent reacting flows as a source of information
on the phenomenon. Progress in optical diagnostics has been remarkable in recent years in that
nondisruptive optical techniques, such as Raman
scattering, Rayleigh scattering, and CARS, have
been developed for the purpose. However, their
application is restricted yet to special fields of
research because most of them require a good deal
of experience and are expensive.
The technique of electrical compensation for the
delay of thermocouple response was first developed by Shepard and Warshawsky [1] in 1952.
Since then, it has been used by many investigators
and researchers because of its convenient applicability [e.g., 2-6]. However, a number of questions
have been raised concerning the validity of the
technique. Is the compensated thermocouple technique perfect? As an example, a typical bimodal
probability density function (PDF) of temperature
fluctuations slightly on the burned side in a flame
zone obtained by the technique often suggests that
the temperature of the unburned mixture, corresCopyright 1987 by The Combustion Institute
Published by Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc.
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017

ponding to the lower peak of the PDF, is shifted

from room temperature. Is it because the eddies of
the unburned mixture are actually preheated? Is it
due to the inappropriate compensation for low
temperatures or the effects of catalytic surface
reactions? Certainly, the technique still has some
difficulties, which are described as follows:
1. The time constant of response varies with the
fluctuations in local temperature and velocity.
Therefore, exact fluctuating patterns cannot be
reproduced so long as the compensating time
constant is set constant.
2. The coefficient of heat transfer to the hot
junction depends upon the surrounding gas film
temperature. The mean temperature of the hot
junction is shifted from that of the gas due to
the larger heat transfer coefficient in high
temperature parts of fluctuations. This means
that the actual mean temperature of gases
cannot be obtained by averaging the temperature of the hot junction.
3. The maximum possible frequency of compensation is restricted owing to the characteristics
of the compensating circuit and the limit in
diameter of thermocouple wire.

0010-2180/87/$03.50

28

MASASHI KATSUKI ET AL.

4. Measured temperatures must be corrected for

radiative and conductive heat losses. However,
the values of correction vary widely in connection with the temperature and flow field as well
as the geometries of sensing probes and combustion devices.
5. Catalytic reactions occur on the surface of the
hot junction in a chemically nonequilibrium
reactive flow.
To overcome some of these problems, improvements of the technique were proposed and tested.
Yule et al. [7] and Lockwood and Moneib [8]
proposed an on-line measurement of the time
constant for compensation. Heitor et al. [9]
improved it further by adopting "time-dependent
time constants" as a function of fluctuating temperature and velocity, which requires parallel
operation of a thermocouple and laser Doppler
anemometry (LDA). However, this is not helpful
to engineers without LDA who want to measure
temperature fluctuations for practical purposes.
The present paper describes the improvements
in the compensating technique for fluctuating
temperature measurements from a practical point
of view. In particular, the effects of coating on
compensation are carefully examined and a way of
improvement is proposed regarding the reproduction of the lower parts of fluctuating temperatures
by taking advantage of both the nonlinearity of the
EMF curve and the radiative heat loss. The
conclusions reached are applicable to an on-line
digital compensation technique as well.
2. T H E O R Y

Compensation with a time constant rc for first

order delay of response gives

rc =

l + rc --~

Tj,

(2)

where Tc is the compensated temperature. Assuming that both rj and rc are constant, Laplace
transformation of Eqs. (1) and (2) yields the
following relation:
1 +rS
~[Tc]- - o~ [ Tg].
l+rjS

(3)

The actual gas temperature can be obtained

through a compensating circuit when rc is set equal
to rj. Practically, however, the compensation is
performed with a prescribed "constant" time
constant, rc, while rj has temperature dependence
as shown in Fig. 6. Therefore, when we prescribe
rc so that Tc may coincide with Tg at its peak
temperature of fluctuations, the compensation at
lower temperatures would be insufficient because
r~ is smaller than rj. It also results that the time
averaged temperature, To, of the compensated
fluctuations does not agree with the mean value of

rg.
According to Ref. [10], rj is a function of the
temperature, Tf, of the gas layer surrounding the
hot junction defined by the following equation:

T f = ( T g + Tj)/2.

(4)

Figure 1 shows the principles of compensation

and linearization. The solid curve O B ' B J A is an
actual EMF eurve and the straight dot-and-dash

Assuming cross-sectional uniformity of temperature in a fine thermocouple wire, the relation

between the temperature of a cylindrical hot
junction of a butt-welded thermocouple and that of
the surrounding gas in the absence of radiative and
conductive losses is given by

drj

rj --~- = T g - Tj,

a'

~~

(1)

where rj and Tj are the time constant of response

and temperature of the hot junction, respectively,
Tg is the temperature of surrounding gases, and t is
time.

[es')

ebe~

ej

e,;(e~ e,
e mY

Fig. 1. Electromotive force-temperature relation and the

principle of compensation.

MEASUREMENT OF FLUCTUATING TEMPERATURES

line Obja shows a linearized EMF-temperature
relation between 0*C and a specified temperature,
which covers the temperature fluctuation. The
nonlinearity of the actual EMF curve is rather
exaggerated in the figure for the sake of explanation. In practice, compensation is applied to the
EMF, e, rather than to the temperature, T, itself.
Therefore, we have to rewrite Eq. (1) as

drj de
- T g - Tj.
rJdedt

(5)

When we put a linearizer prior to the compensator

as shown in Fig. 2a, Eq. (3) is still valid, since the
linearized output signal of thermocouple keeps the
relation dTJde = constant. If the linearizer is
removed, however, the compensated EMF-temperature relation can be taken as a line tangent at
point J to the actual EMF curve. This is shown as
the dotted line, b'Ja', in Fig. 1. Hence, when the
frequency of the temperature fluctuation is high
enough compared with 1/rj and Tj stays nearly
constant, dTJde is also constant.
Now let us see how the two measuring systems
behave for a specified temperature fluctuation.
The fluctuation of gas temperature is assumed here
as a rectangular wave between 0*C and 1500"C
with the high frequency compared with 1/rj.
Therefore, Tj fluctuates slightly and stays nearly
constant.
In the case of the linearizer placed prior to the
compensator (System A), the uncompensated output signal from the linearizer fluctuates slightly
around point j , corresponding to Tj, along the
dot-and-dash line in Fig. 1. On the other hand, the
output of the compensator fluctuates widely between a and b along the same line. We can easily
prescribe the "constant" time constant rc so that
the peak of the compensated output may coincide
[Preamplifier~-~( Linearizer l~" Compensator]
Thermocouple

[Minicomputer~A/D Converter[
(a) Measuring system A

[P. . . . plifier~Compensator [--~V/T Converterl

I
Thermocoup]e
[Minicomputerj~A/D ConverterI
(b) Measuring system B

Fig. 2. Signal processing systems.

29

with 1500"C. However, this rc is always smaller

than rj at lower temperatures, as stated previously.
Therefore, the insufficiently compensated bottom
temperature Ta corresponding to the point b is
considerably higher than 0*C. Of course, rc can be
chosen so that TB may agree with 0*C. The
overcompensated peak temperature TA is far
higher than 1500"C in this case.
With the linearizer removed (System B), as
demonstrated in Fig. 2b, the compensated EMFtemperature relation can be taken as a line tangent
at point J to the actual EMF curve. This is shown
as the dotted line, b'Ja', in Fig. 1. Posterior to
the compensator, we put a voltage-temperature
converter, which converts the output e of the
compensator to the temperature To, based on the
"actual" EMF curve. Therefore, though the
unlinearized compensated signal fluctuates along
the dotted line tangent at point J, the converted
temperature fluctuates along the actual EMF
curve. When we adjust the constant time constant
of the compensator, re, so that the peak of e may
correspond to 1500"C, the output signal of the
compensator fluctuates between a ' and b ' and that
of the converter between A ' (A) and B ' ; hence
the bottom temperature, Ta,, comes down nearer
to 0*C than that of System A. Since the voltagetemperature converter need not hold to the original
EMF-temperature relation, it is possible to make
the bottom temperature TB, coincide with 0C by
adopting a modified curve like A "JB' shown by
the double-dots-and-dash line in Fig. 1.
As an example, consider temperature fluctuations with a rectangular wave between 0*C and
1500C, and a frequency high enough compared
with 1/rj, so that Tj is almost constant. Then, we
have the following relation from Eq. (1):
fcycle d T j = 0 = Icycle T g - Tj dr.
rj

(6)

In this case, the junction temperature, Tj, is

determined by the relation
Tj -

1500

(7)

1 + Tj,1500/7"j. 0
Tj comes to 750"C for rj,15oo/rj,o = I. Practically,
however, Tj is always higher than 750"C because

30
the ratio, rj.~500/rj.0, is smaller than unity. In other
words, Tj is more likely to indicate the higher
temperature than the time averaged temperature,
Tg, of gases. Irrespective of the wave pattern or
the frequency of the fluctuation of Tg, Tj becomes
higher than Tgg as long as re is held constant.

MASASHI KATSUKI ET AL.

~ Thermocouple /"
I Vibrator LJF'
< ~.~__~"

II
'

Air Fuel

3. E X P E R I M E N T A L P R O C E D U R E

Two measuring systems shown in Fig. 2 were

tested. In System A, which is often used in
practice, the thermal inertia is compensated by a
first order delay compensating circuit after the
EMF is linearized. In System B, in contrast, the
thermal inertia of the output from the thermocouple is compensated by the compensating circuit,
and then the voltage-temperature conversion is
applied. In the experiment, however, the analog
output signal of the compensator is stored by a tape
recorder and later digitized by an A / D converter.
Then, the digitized voltage signal is converted to
temperature by a microcomputer using the original
EMF curve of the thermocouple. The block
diagram of this operation is shown in Fig. 2b.
In order to compare the characteristics of the
two systems a gas flow with prescribed temperature fluctuations is needed. Tsuzura and Yanagi
[10] established a wrinkled laminar flame using a
vibrating wire as a flame holder in a mixture
stream. However, this does not provide a well
defined temperature field, because the amplitude
of the fluttering flame front is not the same as the
amplitude of wire vibration, as indicated in Ref.
[11]. Here, we adopt the procedure in which the
junction of the thermocouple is vibrated across a
laminar diffusion flame. A strictly prescribed
temperature fluctuation can be confirmed by measuring the temperature distribution along the line
of vibration. The procedure has the advantage that
the independent influence of thermal resistivity of
the coating can be investigated, because the gas
phase is in almost chemical equilibrium and
surface catalytic reactions are scarcely expected.
However, this procedure has the shortcoming that
the gas velocity relative to the junction is not
constant and varies periodically due to the vibration of the hot junction.
Figure 3 illustrates the experimental arrange-

~ ~ / ~

Unit: mn

Fig. 3. Experimental arrangement and the burner geometry.

ment and the details of the burner geometry. Air

and fuel (99 % propane) were partitioned by a thin
plate as they passed through porous plates of
sintered metal into a stagnant atmosphere to form a
stable laminar diffusion flame. Bulk velocities of
the air and fuel streams were 0.5 and 0.02 m/s,
respectively.
Temperature was measured using a Pt/Pt13%Rh thermocouple of 100 #m wire diameter
supported by relatively heavier wires (500 #m).
Though the time constant of this diameter is not
small, we wanted to examine the affecting factors
under rather large values of time constants so as to
make their evaluation easy. The same combination
of 25 #m wire diameter was used later for the
experiments on turbulent premixed flames. The
junction was coated with silica (SiO2) to eliminate
surface reactions. The possibility of contamination
by silicon [12] was decreased by cllanging the
sensing wire frequently.
Measurements were carried out along the cross
section normal to the flame sheet at 3 mm above
the partition edge, which is shown in Fig. 4. The
correction for radiative heat loss was taken inte
account. The fluctuating temperature measurements were simulated by vibrating the thermocoupie along the measured profile. The thermocouple
was inserted into the flame with the sensing wire
held horizontal and parallel to the flame sheet and
vibrated along the measuring line with a frequenc)
of 30 Hz. The horizontal x-axis was set along the
measuring line having its origin at the partitior
plane. The range of vibration covered - 4 mm _<__

00 /\

MEASUREMENT OF FLUCTUATING TEMPERATURES

31
300

O Without coating
With coating

~ I000

200

500

o o

100

O00 ~ ' ~

0A~-I? ~Air0Fuel> 2
I

x mm

Fig. 4. Measured temperature profile 3 mm above the burner

port.

x < 1 mm. Figure 5 shows the predicted

temperature history during a cycle transformed
into the time-temperature domain, which the
junction of the thermocouple is supposed to be
exposed to, under the sinusoidal 30 Hz mode of
vibration. Hereafter, we shall examine the accuracy of the measurements using this temperature
pattern as the basic constituent cycle of temperature fluctuations.
4. R E S U L T S A N D D I S C U S S I O N

4.1. Time Constant of Frequency Response

Local time constants of the thermocouple can be
determined by the step response method. A high
frequency (50 kHz) heating current is put on the
thermocouple positioned in a flame to raise the
temperature by approximately 100*C. Switching
off the heating current, the output record of the
thermocouple decays with time to the level of the
flame temperature. The time constant, rj, is
200C
1500
1000

5OO

oG

500

1000

Tf

1400

Fig. 6. Time constants of frequency response at various

temperature levels in the measuring line.

determined from the exponential decay. Measured

time constants of the thermocouple at various
temperature levels are plotted in Fig. 6, showing
the effect of the SiO2 coating. The abscissa is the
arithmetic mean temperature, Tf, of surrounding
gas and junction, just after cutting off the heating
current [10].
It has sometimes been argued that a coated
thermocouple is not suited for the fluctuating
temperature measurements because the coating
deteriorates the frequency response by increasing
the time constant. However, we found that the
magnitude of the time constant does not affect the
results of the compensation if the temperature
dependence of time constants is the same for both
coated and uncoated cases. In other words, the
reproduced wave patterns of temperature fluctuations become identical regardless of coating. The
temperature dependence of time constants in Fig.
6 is redrawn in Fig. 7 using the relative magnitude, normalized by the respective time constant,
rj(200f), at Tf = 200"C of the coated and uncoated
cases. The difference in temperature dependence
between the two cases is negligibly small, which
supports the previous discussion. Of course, we
should use the absolute value of the time constant
in any practical compensation.

4.2. Temperature of the Hot Junction

B

16
t

24

32

ms

Fig. 5. Basic constituent cycle of temperature fluctuations.

The time averaged gas temperature, Tgg, estimated

from the basic pattern in Fig. 5, becomes 757"C.

32

MASASHI KATSUKI ET AL.

1.0

21
~

0 ~

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

t
ms
c o a t i n g (r,= 9 6 m s )

(a)Without

2ooo[

06

0.4

4OO

800
T+

0 |

1200

I
I

10

20

(b)With

30

40

50

60

70

t
ms
coating('%=118 m s )

Fig. 7. Temperature dependence of time constants.

In contrast, the observed mean temperatures of the

hot junction, Tj, being exposed to the same
temperature fluctuations, are 813*C for the uncoated junction and 748"C for the coated one,
respectively. The respective differences between
Tj and Tgg are 56C and - 9 " C . The observed
temperature difference between the uncoated and
coated cases may be ascribed to the difference in
radiative heat transfer, and if this is so, the actual
time averaged temperature of the hot junction, Tj,
must be higher than 813 C irrespective of coating,
if the radiative heat losses were to be eliminated.
The influence of the temperature dependence of
the time constant cannot be seen explicitly from
the observations owing to the radiative heat
transfer. Therefore, the value of Tj for nonradiative heat transfer was estimated by a numerical
simulation, substituting the measured time constants of Fig. 6 into Eq. (1). The Tj obtained is
863"C, 106C higher than Tgg, and the radiative
heat loss turns out to be 50*C for the uncoated
junction and 115"C for the coated one, respectively. When compared with the values of radiative heat loss reported in Ref. [13] for the uncoated
case and in Ref. [14] for the coated one, the
estimated values seem to be reasonable. It is thus
confirmed that the observed Tj shows a considerably higher value than Tgg, when the amplitude of
temperature fluctuation of the gas is large.

4.3. Compensated Fluctuating Wave Patterns

Obtained by System A
The fluctuating wave patterns of compensated
temperatures, Tc, obtained by System A are shown
in Fig. 8 and their PDFs are given in Fig. 9. When

Fig. 8. Fluctuating wave forms of compensated temperatures

obtained by System A.
4

~/With

Coating

o2

-400

400

800 1200 1600

T *C

Fig. 9. PDFs of compensated temperatures obtained by System A.

we adjust the time constant, rc, of compensation so

that the peak values of Tc and Tg may agree with
each other, the bottom temperature of Tc comes to
430C for the uncoated junction and 345"C for the
coated one, respectively. As far as the temperature
dependence of the time constant is concerned, the
coating is not supposed to affect the compensated
patterns of fluctuation, as explained in section 4.1.
This result suggests that the discrepancy between
bottom temperatures in the coated and uncoated
cases comes from the difference in radiative heat
transfer. In the case when the temperature, 7~'j, of
the hot junction decreases from 813"C down to
748"C due to coating, we must take a larger
compensating time constant to make the peak of Tc
agree with that of Tg. The larger time constant in
compensation, together with the decrease in Tj
itself, brings about lower bottom temperatures of
fluctuation, and the difference between bottom
temperatures in the coated and uncoated cases
reaches nearly 100*C, almost twice as much as the
decrease in Tj. Although the effects of surface
reaction are not taken into account here, they are
thought to be negligible even without coating in

MEASUREMENT OF F L U C T U A T I N G TEMPERATURES
this case because the local gaseous composition is
controlled by molecular diffusion processes and
almost equilibrated. This will be discussed later.
In order to confirm the above interpretations we
predicted the compensated wave patterns of Tc by
numerical simulations. The predicted wave patterns in Fig. 10 exhibit the same discrepancy
between bottom temperatures for the coated and
uncoated cases, as seen between Figs. 8 and 9,
even though surface reactions are neglected in the
simulation. Time constants of frequency response
of the hot junction, rj, exposed to the prescribed
temperature fluctuations in Fig. 5 were obtained
from the solid curve in Fig. 6, and the compensating time constant, re, was assumed to be constant
in the calculation of Eqs. (1) and (2). Although we
cannot estimate the exact values of radiative heat
transfer, the approximate increase in radiative heat
loss due to coating can be evaluated from experiments or the literature, referred to in section 4.2.
The decrease in Tj by radiative heat loss is
assumed to be zero for the uncoated junction and
60C for the coated one, respectively, in the
present simulation, because the emissivity of silica
is larger than that of platinum. The assumed values
of 7c to make the peaks of Tg and Tj coincide are
given in Fig. 10. As long as the normalized time
constants of frequency response have the same
temperature dependence, the absolute value of rj
does not affect the results of simulations, as
described in section 4.1. In the present simulation,
therefore, the values of rj for the uncoated junction
were used throughout. That is the reason why the
difference in rc values for both cases is slightly
smaller than that in Fig. 8.
From these facts we can conclude that the
observed difference in bottom temperature of
fluctuations in Figs. 8 and 9 has almost nothing to

33

do with catalytic surface reactions but instead is

caused by the difference in radiative heat transfer
from the uncoated and coated hot junctions.

4.4. Fluctuating Wave Patterns Obtained by

System B
A fluctuating wave pattern of Tc and its PDF are
shown in Figs. 11 and 12. These were obtained by
System B with a coated thermocouple, setting the
compensating time constant rc equal to 130 ms. On
comparing them with those in Figs. 8 and 9, it is
seen that the insufficient compensation at low
temperatures is considerably eliminated; hence the
compensated bottom temperature of fluctuation
comes nearer to the real temperature. As stated
previously, it is even possible to make them agree
with each other by modifying the characteristics of
the voltage-temperature converter at the low
temperature range. The realistic compensation of
frequency response over the whole temperature
range is now established by the present method,
without making a compromise such as taking the
time constant for the mean temperature to be
between the peak and the bottom of fluctuations,
which was proposed by Ballantyne and Moss [15].

06-'b

2'o ~'o~'o
t

"o ~'o-'-7o

ms

Fig. 11. Fluctuatingwave forms of compensatedtemperatures

obtained by System B (With coating, rc = 130 ms).

2000r
I Without coating(~=lO5ms)

I000

16
ms

24

32

Fig. 10. Numerically simulated wave forms of compensated

temperatures (SystemA).

re "C

Fig. 12. PDF of compensated temperatures obtained by

System B.

34

MASASHI KATSUKI ET AL.

4.5. Applicability to a Turbulent Premixed

Flame

2000 -- -1500

The influence of coating and characteristics of

compensation are examined when they are applied
to a turbulent premixed flame. The burner used in
the experiments is a Bunsen-type of 12.5 mm i.d.
The bulk velocity and the equivalence ratio of the
mixture stream are 5 m/s and 0.7, respectively. All
measurements were carried out in the cross section
40 mm above the burner nozzle. The thermocoupie consists of a 25 ~tm Pt/Pt-13%Rh wire
combination to ensure higher frequency response.
The time constants of compensation, rc, were set
so that the compensated high temperature peak in
PDF may agree with the maximum temperature of
burned gas.
Figure 13 shows the PDFs of compensated
temperature fluctuations obtained by three different combinations of coating and compensating
systems. The low temperature peak in PDF in case
(a) comes to approximately 600"C, which is
unexpectedly higher than those for cases (b) and
(c) or the counterparts for the diffusion flame
shown in Fig. 9. Surface reactions on the uncoated
thermocouple could have contributed to the difference. In fact, Fig. 14 shows radial temperature
profiles together with rms values, t ' , of fluctuations for cases (a) and (c). The difference is
significant on the unburned side of the reaction
zone, and an unnatural step is observed in the
profile in case (a). The relation between mean
temperatures and rms values is illustrated in Fig.
15 using nondimensional coordinates. The solid
curve indicates the relation for the ideal fluctuations with bimodal PDF. The observed relation for

t~
~3
0 2

f (a)Syslern A without coating (T~=IO m s )

(b)SystemAwilh coating(x:o:13ms) I
(c)SystemB wilh coaling(~c~=14ms) I
(c)

-400

(b)

400

(a)

BOO 1200 1600 2000

Tc*C

Fig. 13. PDFs of compensated temperature fluctuations in a

turbulent flame obtained by three combinations of coating and
compensating systems.

300

2000

600

15O0

(~)s~t~ A w~tt~t~t~rq

,_1000

400.~ "~I000

5OO

o,,

00

10
r rnm

500

O~

(c] 5~st~ 8 with c~tir~

L
5

I0

~00

2O0

I~50

r mm

Fig. 14. Profiles of mean temperatures and the rms values of

fluctuations for two systems.

-- Ideal bimodal P O F
(a)System A wilhout coating
(c)S~tem B with coating

0.~

)
i i

i i t i i
0.5
ff-TL)/(T. -TO

i i

Fig. 15. Relation between normalized mean temperatures and

the normalized rms values of fluctuations.

the coated case, (c), shows a trend which is similar
to the ideal one, which implies that the flame
structure at the observed cross section consists of
laminar flamelets, as is often pointed out (e.g.,
[5]). On the other hand, a significant discrepancy
occurs on the unburned side for the uncoated case,
(a). These results mean that the effects of surface
reactions become marked in turbulent premixed
flames, while they do not in laminar diffusion
flames. Eddies of the unburned mixture due to
"unmixedness" in turbulent flow are prompted to
react on the surface of thermocouple by catalysis,
whereas a chemical equilibrium is almost attained
in laminar diffusion flames because the mixing is
dominated by molecular diffusion processes.
Therefore, coating is essential in order to eliminate the effects of surface reactions in the temperature measurements of turbulent premixed flames.
Each PDF in Fig. 13 exhibits broader peaks
compared with those for laminar diffusion flames
in Fig. 9 or 12. This may be ascribed to the fact
that the time constant of frequency response varies
considerably not only with temperature fluctua-

MEASUREMENT OF FLUCTUATING TEMPERATURES

tions but also with velocity fluctuations because
the correlation between temperature and velocity
fluctuations is not so strong in turbulent flames,
while the buoyancy effect caused by temperature
variation correlates directly with the velocity
profile in laminar flames.
Figure 16 shows the compensated temperature
fluctuations corresponding PDFs in Fig. 13. In
case (a), the elevated bottom temperatures seem to
be brought about by the inappropriate compensation in the low temperature range and the catalysis.
The inappropriately compensated wave patterns at
the bottom of fluctuations are still observed in (b),
though the elevation is eliminated by coating. In
(c), most of the bottom temperatures of fluctuations correspond to the room temperature. However, overcompensated lower temperatures come
out frequently, which indicates the existence of
low temperature eddies with high velocity. Thus,
if we set the compensating time constant so that the
lower temperature peak in PDF may coincide with
the room temperature, it causes a partial overcompensation and yields distortions in the reproduced
wave patterns and PDFs of fluctuations. This leads
to the conclusion that the simultaneous measurements of velocity fluctuations are essential for the
more precise compensation of frequency response
of a fine thermocouple.
2ooof

nnnl
I
I
I
- vv~0
20
40
60
80
t ms
(a) System A without Coating (T~=10 ms)
20001

- 100001

20
40
60
80
t ms
(b)System A with Coating (~ =13ms)

2000/

_ooo! 2'0

t ms
()System 8 with Coating ('~=14ms)
Fig. 16. Fluctuating wave forms of compensated temperatures
in a turbulent flame obtained by three combinations of coating
and compensating systems.

35

5. C O N C L U S I O N S
The causes of error in temperature measurements
by a fine thermocouple were discussed. A simple
improved technique for measuring fluctuating
temperatures has been proposed to minimize the
influences of surface reaction, radiative heat transfer, and temperature dependence of time constants
of frequency response. Applying the technique to
both laminar and turbulent flames, the accuracy of
the method was discussed and the following
conclusions have been obtained:
1. Time constants of frequency response of a
thermocouple decrease with the increase in gas
film temperature surrounding the hot junction.
2. The time averaged temperature of the hot
junction is considerably higher than that of
gases due to the temperature dependence of
time constants of the thermocouple.
3. The inappropriate compensation at low temperatures can be eliminated by the proposed
compensation technique, in which the compensation is applied directly to the output signal of
a thermocouple prior to the voltage-temperature conversion according to the modified EMF
curve.
4. Catalysis-proof coatings enlarge the time constants of frequency response due to the increase
in thermal resistance. However, the temperature dependence of the time constants remains
the same as that for an uncoated one. This
indicates that the temperature fluctuations of
gases can be reproduced, without being affected by coating, by adopting larger time
constants in compensation.
5. The increased radiative heat transfer caused by
the coating reduces the mean temperature of
the hot junction, which cancels the influence of
temperature dependence of time constants and
results in the improvement of compensation at
low temperatures.
6. By combining the effects of (3) and (5), the
influences of catalysis and radiative heat losses
are eliminated; hence fluctuating temperatures
can be properly compensated over the whole
temperature range.
7. Catalysis is negligible in laminar diffusion
flames. In turbulent premixed flames, how-

36

MASASHI KATSUKI ET AL.

ever, the actual wave patterns of temperature

fluctuations, even if they are compensated,
cannot be reproduced with an uncoated thermocouple.
8. Velocity fluctuations in turbulent premixed
flames cause the fluctuations of time constants
of frequency response of a thermocouple,
bringing about the deformation in PDFs and/or
wave patterns of compensated temperature
fluctuations.
The proposed method is attractive as a practical
way of measuring fluctuating temperatures. It is
also capable of improving the accuracy of the
conventional procedure of compensation. However, further improvement requires simultaneous
measurement of velocity fluctuations by LDA.

4.

5.
6.

7.
8.
9.
10.

11.
12.
13.

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1.
2.
3.

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Lewis, K. J., and Moss, J. B., Seventeenth Symposium

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Received 18 November 1985; revised 24 July 1986