UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST – CALOOCAN

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL

NEE 4101 – 1EE

ACTIVITY NO. 4
TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT

Submitted by: Jett Dominic R. Bautista

Student No: 20151114771
Date Submitted: September 2, 2021

Engr. Romeo C. Hipol

Instructor
A. Explain the uses and operation of the different methods used in temperature measurement under Mechanical and
Electrical methods.

1. Mechanical Methods:

 Mercury in Glass Thermometers

- In a mercury thermometer, a glass tube is filled with mercury and a standard temperature
scale is marked on the tube. With changes in temperature, the mercury expands and contracts,
and the temperature can be read from the scale. Mercury thermometers can be used to
determine body, liquid, and vapor temperature.

 Bimetallic Thermometer

- A bimetallic thermometer is a temperature measurement device. It converts the media’s

temperature into mechanical displacement using a bimetallic strip. The bimetallic strip
consists of two different metals having different coefficients of thermal expansion. Bimetallic
thermometers are used in residential devices like air conditioners, ovens, and industrial
devices like heaters, hot wires, refineries, etc. They are a simple, durable, and cost-efficient
way of temperature measurement.

 Pressure Spring Thermometer

- The thermal system of pressure spring thermometer contains a metal bulb, capillary and
receiving element. Metal bulb contains a thermometer fluid, a liquid or a gas or a liquid vapor
and is inserted at the point at which the temperature is to be measured. The bulb comes in
thermal equilibrium with its surroundings, thereby developing a given pressure or
displacement of fluid. A metal capillary is connected to the bulb and transmit the pressure at
the bulb to the receiving element at the instrument. The receiving element is a form of
bourdon tube or pressure spring. It is used to convert the pressure of displacement of fluid in
the thermometer bulb into a motion. This motion is used to operate a pointer for the
indication of temperature.

 Four classes of Pressure Spring Thermometers

 Liquid Filled

- It utilizes the volumetric expansion of a liquid caused by the temperature changes to operate
the pressure spring and indicate the temperature. The relation between volume of expansion
of a liquid and its temperature is given by the law of cubical expansion: Vf = V0(1+BT)
Where Vf is the final volume, V0 is the initial volume, B is the mean coefficient of
volumetric expansion and T is the temperature. The equation indicates a linear relation which
is not quite true as the coefficient of volumetric expansion, B varies slightly, with
temperature. Working The bulb is filled with the thermal liquid at a high pressure. A
temperature increases at the bulb results in an expansion of the liquid which causes expansion
of the bourdon tube or pressure spring and thus indicates the temperature.
  Vapor Pressure

- It operates from the vapor pressure of a liquid that partially fills the bulb. The vapor pressure
is measured by a pressure spring and the instrument is calibrated in terms of temperature.
Since the vapor pressure depends solely on the temperature at the free surface of the liquid,
the vapor actuated thermometer indicates only the temperatures existing at the free surface.
The most commonly used fluids for vapor actuated thermometer include methyl chloride,
sulfur dioxide, ether, toluene, propane, butane and hexane. Its range depends entirely on the
filling medium. However, temperatures as low as -500F and as high as 6000F may be
measured.

 Gas Filled

- It utilizes the expansion of a gas caused by the temperature changes to operate the pressure
spring and indicate the temperature. The most commonly use gas is nitrogen. Hydrogen and
helium are also used as thermometric fluids in gas thermometer. There are two main types of
gas thermometer, one operating at constant volume and the other at constant pressure. The
constant volume gas thermometer is more widely used.

 Mercury Filled

- Mercury-in-glass thermometers consist of a sealed glass tube calibrated in degrees Centigrade

and/or degrees Fahrenheit, with a mercury-filled reservoir at one end. The mercury in the
reservoir expands with increased temperature, climbing higher up the thermometer, and it
contracts and recedes as the temperature falls.

2. Electrical methods of Temperature Measurement

 Explain the operation, uses, disadvantages and advantages of using;

a. Resistance

 RTD

- Resistance Temperature Detectors, are sensors used to measure temperature. Many

RTD elements consist of a length of fine wire wrapped around a ceramic or glass
core but other constructions are also used. The RTD wire is a pure material, typically
platinum, nickel, or copper. The material has an accurate resistance/temperature
relationship which is used to provide an indication of temperature. As RTD elements
are fragile, they are often housed in protective probes.

The advantages of platinum resistance thermometers include:

- High accuracy
- Low drift
- Wide operating range
- Suitability for precision applications.
 Thermistor

- A thermistor is a resistance thermometer, or a resistor whose resistance is dependent

on temperature. The term is a combination of “thermal” and “resistor”. It is made of
metallic oxides, pressed into a bead, disk, or cylindrical shape and then encapsulated
with an impermeable material such as epoxy or glass.

The main advantages of the thermistor are large temperature coefficient of resistance,
high sensitivity, small heat capacity, fast response; but the main disadvantages are
poor interchangeability and non-linearity of thermoelectric characteristics, which is
to expand the measurement.

b. Thermocouples

- Thermocouples are simple, rugged, easy to manufacture and relatively inexpensive.

They can be made with extremely fine wire to measure the temperature of tiny
objects such as insects. Thermocouples are useful over a very wide temperature range
and can be inserted in difficult locations like body cavities or abusive environments
like nuclear reactors.

 Base Metals

- Base metal thermocouples are made from conductors containing nickel alloys and
depending on thermocouple type are suited for measuring temperatures between -270
to +1300°C. They are a rugged design, suited for tough industrial use.

 Noble Metals

- Noble Metal Thermocouples are manufactured with precious or noble metals like
Platinum and Rhodium. Noble metal thermocouples can be used in oxidizing or inert
applications and must be used with a ceramic protection tube surrounding the
thermocouple element. These are normally used for high-temperature applications.

c. Radiation

- Radiation is energy that comes from a source and travels through space at the speed
of light. This energy has an electric field and a magnetic field associated with it, and
has wave-like properties. You could also call radiation “electromagnetic waves”.

d. Optical / Infrared

- An infrared thermometer is a thermometer which infers temperature from a portion of

the thermal radiation sometimes called black-body radiation emitted by the object
being measured. They are sometimes called laser thermometers as a laser is used to
help aim the thermometer, or non-contact thermometers or temperature guns, to
describe the device's ability to measure temperature from a distance. By knowing the
amount of infrared energy emitted by the object and its emissivity, the object's
temperature can often be determined within a certain range of its actual temperature.
Infrared thermometers are a subset of devices known as "thermal radiation
thermometers".
B. Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTD)

1. What is two wire and three wire R.T.D. system?

 Two Wire RTD

- 2-wire RTD's are mostly used with short lead wires or where close accuracy is not
required. third wire provides a method for removing the average lead wire resistance
from the sensor measurement.

 Three Wire RTD

- To compensate for lead wire resistance, 3 wire RTDs have a third wire that provides
a measurement of the resistance of the lead wire and subtracts this resistance from the
read value. This correction compensates for the effect of the resistance of the long
lead wires on the temperature measurement and results in improved accuracy.
Because 3 wire RTDs are so effective and affordable, they have become the industry
standard. They are used in a variety of industrial applications and processes,
especially in refineries and chemical and petrochemical plants where temperature
monitoring and control is of extreme importance. The 3 wire RTDs provide good
accuracy and repeatability at reasonable cost and have been adopted by all major
temperature transmitter manufacturers as the standard type of sensor for most
applications.