Measurement of Temperature

Reference Book: Electrical Measurement & Instrumentation, By-A.K. Sawhney, Chapter: 29, Page: 1384-1402

Prepared By: Md. Ahsanul Hoque, Lecturer, IIUC

Why we need temperature Measurement ?

Different way of Temperature Measurement

Some Implemented devices of temperature Measurement

Thermocouple Temperature Measurement Sensors Thermocouples consist essentially of two strips or wires made of different metals and joined at one end. Changes in the temperature at that juncture induce a change in electromotive force (emf) between the other ends. As temperature goes up, this output emf of the thermocouple rises, though not necessarily linearly.

 Resistance Temperature Devices(RTD) Resistive temperature devices capitalize on the fact that the electrical resistance of a material changes as its temperature changes. Two key types are the metallic devices (commonly referred to as RTDs), and thermistors. As their name indicates, RTDs rely on resistance change in a metal, with the resistance rising more or less linearly with temperature. Thermistors are based on resistance change in a ceramic semiconductor; the resistance drops nonlinearly with temperature rise.

Infrared Temperature Measurement Devices Infrared sensors are noncontacting devices. They infer temperature by measuring the thermal radiation emitted by a material.

Bimetallic Temperature Measurement Devices Bimetallic devices take advantage of the difference in rate of thermal expansion between different metals. Strips of two metals are bonded together. When heated, one side will expand more than the other, and the resulting bending is translated into a temperature reading by mechanical linkage to a pointer. These devices are portable and they do not require a power supply, but they are usually not as accurate as thermocouples or RTDs and they do not readily lend themselves to temperature recording.

Fluid-Expansion Temperature Measurement Devices Fluid-expansion devices, typified by the household thermometer, generally come in two main classifications: the mercury type and the organic-liquid type. Versions employing gas instead of liquid are also available. Mercury is considered an environmental hazard, so there are regulations governing the shipment of devices that contain it. Fluid-expansion sensors do not require electric power, do not pose explosion hazards, and are stable even after repeated cycling. On the other hand, they do not generate data that is easily recorded or transmitted, and they cannot make spot or point measurements.

Change-of-State Temperature Measurement Devices Change-of-state temperature sensors consist of labels, pellets, crayons, lacquers or liquid crystals whose appearance changes once a certain temperature is reached. They are used, for instance, with steam traps when a trap exceeds a certain temperature, a white dot on a sensor label attached to the trap will turn black. Response time typically takes minutes, so these devices often do not respond to transient temperature changes. And accuracy is lower than with other types of sensors. Furthermore, the change in state is irreversible, except in the case of liquid-crystal displays. Even so, change-of-state sensors can be handy when one needs confirmation that the temperature of a piece of equipment or a material has not exceeded a certain level, for instance for technical or legal reasons during product shipment.

Our Focus
Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD) Bimetallic Thermometers Radiation Pyrometers or Optical Pyrometers

Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD)

Figure A: Construction of an industrial RTD

Bimetallic Thermometers
The Bimetal Thermometer employs a bimetallic sensing element which reacts consistently to temperature change, producing an accurately calibrated temperature measurement. The sensing element consists of two dissimilar metals welded together (in the form of a coil), and encased in a stainless steel stem. When the stem is exposed to temperature change, the coil expands or contracts, and the corresponding reaction is transmitted to the pointer, thereby indicating the temperature of the process.

Three fundamental principles are: 1. 2. All the metals expand or contract with change in temperature The temperature coefficient of expansion or contraction is not the same for all the metals The difference in the expansion rates is used to produce a deflection proportional to temperature change

3.

Constructed by bonding two different metals such that they cannot move relative to each other

Construction
The bimetallic thermometer consists of a bimetallic strip. A bimetallic strip is made of two thin strips of metals which have different co efficient of expansion. The two metal strips are joined together by brazing, welding or riveting so that the relative motion between them is arrested. The bimetallic strip is in the form of a cantilever beam. An increase in temperature will result in the deflection of the free end of the strip as shown i diagram. This deflection is linear and can be related to temperature changes.

 Bimetallic strip bends towards the side whose

Metal has a lower thermal expansion coefficient when there is increase in temperature Metal has a higher thermal expansion coefficient when there is decrease in temperature

What is a Pyrometer??
Pyrometer, an instrument for measuring temperature. As the name itself signifies, they are high temperature measuring devices They measure the tempereatue of the surface of objects. Does not involve any physical contact

1. The amount of thermal energy or heat leaving a body by radiation and the wavelength of that radiation are functions of the temperature of the body. 2. This dependence on temperature of the characteristics of radiation is used as the basis of temperature measurement in these instruments.

3. Here the temperature is measured by sensing the heat radiated from a hot body through a fixed lens that focuses the heat energy on to a thermopile

 According to the application of the device, the way in which the heat is measured can be summarized into two:
Total Radiation Pyrometer In this method, the total heat emitted from the hot source is measured at all wavelengths. Selective Radiation Pyrometer In this method, the heat radiated from the hot source is measured at a given wavelength. Also we have optical pyrometer, radiation pyrometer, digital pyrometer Infrared pyrometer

As shown in the figure below, the radiation pyrometer has an optical system, including a lens, a mirror and an adjustable eye piece. The heat energy emitted from the hot body is passed on to the optical lens, which collects it and is focused on to the detector with the help of the mirror and eye piece arrangement. The detector may either be a thermistor or photomultiplier tubes. Though the latter is known for faster detection of fast moving objects, the former may be used for small scale applications. Thus, the heat energy is converted to its corresponding electrical signal by the detector and is sent to the output temperature display device.

 The operation of Thermal radiation pyrometer is based upon black body concepts. The total thermal radiation emitted by a blackbody is

Advantages The device can be used to measure very high temperatures without direct contact with the hot source (Molten metal). The biggest advantage is that the optical lens can be adjusted to measure temperature of objects that are even 1/15 inch in diameter and that too kept at a long s=distance from the measuring device. The sight path of the device is maintained by the construction of the instrument components, such as the lens and curved mirrors.