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II. Background
Temperature measurement is involved in many fields of study including thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, aerodynamics, chemistry, electronics, and physics. To measure temperature, it is necessary to measure some physical property that changes with temperature. Any instrument used to measure temperature is called a thermometer. Examples of different types of thermometers that you will be investigating in this laboratory exercise are described below.
A. Liquid Thermometer A commonly used instrument which uses liquid-in-glass as the measuring device. As the temperature on the outside of the glass-bulb section of the thermometer increases, the liquid inside the glass-bulb expands. When the temperature decreases, the liquid contracts. Thus, the instrument uses the differential expansion or contraction of the liquid and the glass. There is a scale on the glass that relates the expansion of the liquid in the glass to the temperature. B. Thermocouple Consists of an electrical circuit, which uses two unlike metals joined together to form a complete circuit. The junction of dissimilar metals generates a temperature-dependent electromotive force. Thermocouples are very important and commonly used temperature measurement devices and are based on the Seebeck effect. By definition, the Seebeck effect is the production of an electromotive force (emf) and consequently an electric current in a loop of material consisting of at least two dissimilar conductors when two junctions are maintained at different temperatures. As shown in Figure 1, if two wires composed of unlike metals are connected at both ends and one of the ends is heated, a continuous current flows through the circuit. If the circuit is broken, as shown in Figure 2, the net open circuit voltage (the Seebeck voltage) is a function of the temperature of the junction and the composition of the two metals. A chart that correlates temperature with the corresponding open circuit voltage can be used to determine the temperature at the thermocouple junction.
Metal A Metal A
Metal B Heat
Metal B Heat
C. RTD (Resistance Temperature Detector) Resistance thermometers, also known as RTDs, are wire-wound and thin-film devices that work on the physical principle of the temperature coefficient of electrical resistance of metals. They are nearly linear over a wide range of temperature and can be made small enough to have response times of a fraction of a second. They require an electrical current to produce a voltage drop across the sensor that can be then measured by a calibrated display device.
D. Thermistor Thermistors are thermally sensitive resistors whose prime function is to exhibit a large, predictable, and precise change in electrical resistance when subjected to a corresponding change in temperature.
E. Psychrometer This device measures both dry and wet bulb temperatures of the air. One thermometer is wrapped in cloth, which when wet and placed in an air stream, will indicate the wet bulb temperature of the air. Using the wet bulb and dry bulb temperatures, the amount of moisture in the air can be determined.
F. Device Selection Selection of a temperature measurement device is a common challenge in engineering. Table 1 contains a brief summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the more commonly used instruments. Considerations will also include the environment in which the temperature measurement is being made, e.g. liquid, gas, oxidizing environment; also electrical noise, such as in the presence of high energy ignition systems in engines; also the longterm maintenance and reliability required. Sometimes the choice is simple and obvious; other times, it is very difficult, and numerous iterations may be required until a satisfactory solution is found.
Advantages
Thermocouple Self powered Simple Rugged Inexpensive Wide variety Wide temperature range Non-linear Low-voltage Reference required Least stable Least sensitive
Disadvantages
Expensive Current source required Small change in resistance Low absolute resistance Self-heating
Applications
Commonly used to measure the temperature of a liquid or gas in a low temperature range
Best option in applications with high temperature ranges (up to 1800K) such as: steel and iron industry, heating appliances, lab environment, medical, etc.
For temperature control of precision processes Automatic temperature control of oven, injection molding, and test chambers.
G. Thermocouple Reference Junctions The Seebeck voltage cannot be measured directly. A voltmeter must be first connected to the thermocouple, however the voltmeter leads themselves create two new thermoelectric circuits. Consider a voltmeter connected across a copper-constantan (Cu-C) type T thermocouple, as shown in Figure 3.
! = !! !! = !(!!! !!! )
where tJ1 and tJ2 are absolute temperatures. Celsius, then:
(1)
!! ! + 273.15 = !!
V then becomes:
(2)
(3)
(4) (5)
This protracted derivation is used to emphasize that the ice bath junction output, V2, is not zero volts: it is a function of absolute temperature. By adding the voltage of the ice point reference junction, we have now referenced the reading V to 0C. This method is very accurate, because the ice point temperature can be precisely controlled. The ice point is used by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as the fundamental reference point for their thermocouple tables, so we can now look at the NIST tables and directly convert from voltage to temperature. Figure 4 shows a schematic of the circuit representing an ice bath reference junction.
I.
Isothermal Block
Consider using an iron-constantan (Type J) thermocouple instead. The iron wire, shown in Figure 5, increases the number of dissimilar metal junctions in the circuit, as both voltmeter terminals become Cu-Fe thermocouple junctions.
If both voltmeter terminals are at the same temperature, the voltages cancel, as shown in Figure 6. However, if the terminals are at different temperatures, there will be an error introduced. For a more precise measure the copper voltmeter leads should be extended so the copper-iron junctions are made on an isothermal block, as shown in Figure 7. An isothermal block is an electrically insulating but thermally conducting material, which serves to hold J3 and J4 at the same temperature. The absolute block temperature is unimportant because the two Cu-Fe junctions act in opposition. We will have:
! = !(!!! !!"# )
(6)
Replacing the ice bath with another isothermal block results in the circuit shown in Figure 8:
The new block is at some reference temperature, TREF, and because J3 and J4 are still at the same temperature, we can again show that:
! = !(!!! !!"# )
(7)
This is still a rather inconvenient circuit because we have to connect two thermocouples. Lets eliminate the extra Fe wire in the negative (low) lead by combining the Cu-Fe junction (J4) and the Fe-C junction (JREF). We can do this by first joining the two isothermal blocks, as shown in Figure 9.
! = !(!!! !!"# )
(8)
Now we call upon the law of intermediate metals to eliminate the extra junction. This empirical law states that a third metal (in this case, iron) inserted between the two dissimilar metals of a thermocouple junction will have no effect upon the output voltage as long as the two junctions formed by the additional metal are at the same temperature. Figure 10 illustrates the lat of intermediate materials.
This is a useful conclusion, as it completely eliminates the need for the iron (Fe) wire in the low lead.
Figure 11. Equivalent Circuit Again, ! = !(!!! !!"# ) where is the Seebeck coefficient for a Fe-C thermocouple. Junctions J3 and J4 in Figure 11 take the place of the ice bath. These two junctions become the Reference Junction.
J.
Software Compensation
Now we can proceed to the next logical step: directly measure the temperature of the isothermal block and use that information to compute the unknown temperature, TJ1 as indicated in Figure 12.
Figure 12 External Reference JunctionNo Ice Bath A thermistor whose resistance RT is a function of temperature provides us a means to measure the absolute temperature of the reference junction. Junctions J3 and J4 and the thermistor are all assumed to be at the same temperature, due to the design of the isothermal block. Using a digital multimeter (DMM) , we simply: Measure RT to find TREF and convert TREF to its equivalent reference junction voltage, VREF using the NIST tables. Measure V and subtract VREF to find V1, and convert V1 to temperature TJ again using the NIST tables.
This procedure is known as software compensation because it relies upon the software of a computer or controller to compensate for the effect of the reference junction. The isothermal terminal block temperature sensor
K. Electronic Ice Point Rather than measuring the temperature of the reference junction and computing its equivalent voltage as we did with software compensation, we could insert a battery to cancel the offset voltage of the reference junction. The combination of this hardware compensation voltage and the reference junction voltage is equal to that of a 0C junction. The compensation voltage, e, is a function of the temperature sensor resistor, Rt. The voltage V is now referenced to 0C and may be read directly and converted to temperature using the NIST tables. Another name for this circuit is electronic ice point reference. These circuits are commercially available for use with any voltmeter and with a wide variety of thermocouples. The major drawback is that a unique ice point reference is usually needed for each individual thermocouple wire.
Figure 13 Hardware Compensation Circuit It seems logical to ask that if we already have a device that will measure absolute temperature, like an RTD or thermistor, why do we even bother with a thermocouple that requires reference junction compensation? The single most important answer to this question is that the other devices are only useful over a narrow temperature range. Thermocouples, on the other hand, can be used over a wide range of temperatures, and optimized for various environments. They are much more rugged than thermistors, as evidenced by the fact that they are often welded to a metal part or clamped under a screw. They can be manufactured quickly and easily, even in the field. They are the most versatile temperature transducer available and since the measurement system performs the entire task of reference compensation and software voltage to temperature conversion, using a thermocouple becomes as easy as connecting a pair of wires.
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Figure 14. Photo of the main control panel and its components
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12
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Figure 18 Equivalent circuit corresponding to Figure 17 5. Connect one end of the red extension wire to the output socket of the Thermal Reference Junction labeled (+). Connect the other end to the red wire to the (+) input of the Millivolt Digital Meter.
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Figure 20 Equivalent circuit corresponding to Figure 19 D. Psychrometrics 1. 2. 3. Make sure the center glass tube is filled with water and that the cloth around the wet-bulb thermometer is wet. Wait until the temperature measurement on the wet-bulb thermometer comes to a steady state. Record the dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures in the data table Use the data table on the front panel of the thermometers to find relative humidity.
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A. Experiments 1 & 2 1. Prepare a data table using Excel or other similar application which contains all of the temperature measurements. Show the average temperature measured for each case. 2. Do all of the temperature measurements agree? Report the greatest observed difference from the average for each case in a table. Report these both in terms of percentage and C. Which device exhibited the greatest deviation from the average? Offer an explanation as to why 3. According to your results, is it better to report the observed difference from the average in terms of percentage, C or Kelvin? 4. Which thermometer seemed to respond faster/slower in each situation? Offer an explanation regarding the characteristics of each device. B. Experiment 3 5. Prepare a table as above with the recorded data and add the corresponding temperature as determined from the NIST table in Appendix A. 6. To which temperature does the recorded value in mV from Experiment 3.1 of the Data Sheet corresponds? Is this value different from 0C? Why? 7. Do the ice water compensation and electronic cold reference junction temperature measurements agree? Which technique do you think is more accurate, and why?
C. Experiment 4 8. Using the psychrometric chart provided in Appendix B of your lab manual or another source such as your thermodynamics text book or the internet, determine the following parameters for the wet-bulb and dry-bulb temperatures you recorded: a. b. c. d. 9. Relative Humidity Humidity Ratio Specific Volume Enthalpy
If the wet-bulb temperature is kept constant but the dry bulb temperature increased by 5 degrees, what would you expect the change to the above parameters to be? Would they increase, decrease, or remain the same?
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C -40 -30 -20 -10 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150
0 -1.475 -1.121 -0.757 -0.383 0.000 0.000 0.391 0.789 1.196 1.611 2.035 2.467 2.908 3.357 3.813 4.277 4.749 5.227 5.712 6.204 6.702 0
1 -1.510 -1.157 -0.794 -0.421 -0.039 0.039 0.430 0.830 1.237 1.653 2.078 2.511 2.953 3.402 3.859 4.324 4.796 5.275 5.761 6.254 6.753 1
2 -1.544 -1.192 -0.830 -0.458 -0.077 0.078 0.470 0.870 1.279 1.695 2.121 2.555 2.997 3.447 3.906 4.371 4.844 5.324 5.810 6.303 6.803 2
3 -1.579 -1.228 -0.867 -0.496 -0.116 0.117 0.510 0.911 1.320 l.738 2.164 2.599 3.042 3.493 3.952 4.418 4.891 5.372 5.859 6.353 6.853 3
4 -1.614 -1.263 -0.903 -0.534 -0.154 0.156 0.549 0.951 1.361 1.780 2.207 2.643 3.087 3.538 3.998 4.485 4.939 5.420 5.908 6.403 6.903 4
5 -1.648 -1.299 -0.940 -0.571 -0.193 0.195 0.589 0.992 1.403 1.822 2.250 2.687 3.131 3.584 4.044 4.512 4.987 5.469 5.957 6.452 6.954 5
6 -1.682 -1.334 -0.976 -0.608 -0.231 0.234 0.629 1.032 1.444 1.865 2.294 2.731 3.176 3.630 4.091 4.559 5.035 5.517 6.007 6.502 7.004 6
7 -1.717 -1.370 -1.013 -0.646 -0.269 0.273 0.669 1.073 1.486 1.907 2.337 2.775 3.221 3.676 4.137 4.607 5.083 5.566 6.056 6.552 7.055 7
8 -1.751 -1.405 -1.049 -0.683 -0.307 0.312 0.709 1.114 l.528 1.950 2.380 2.819 3.266 3.721 4.184 4.654 5.131 5.615 6.105 6.602 7.106 8
9 -1.785 -1.440 -1.085 -0.720 -.0345 0.351 0.749 1.155 1.569 1.992 2.424 2.864 3.312 3.767 4.231 4.701 5.179 5.663 6.155 6.652 7.156 9
10 -1.819 -1.475 -1.121 -0.757 -0.383 0.391 0.789 1.196 1.611 2.035 2.467 2.908 3.357 3.813 4.277 4.749 5.227 5.712 6.204 6.702 7.207 10
C -40 -30 -20 -10 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150
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