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The world's average surface air temperature is about 15 °C. For information on
temperature changes relevant to climate change or Earth's geologic past see: Temperature
record.
TEMPERATURE-MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
A modification of this bimetallic strip serves as the basis for one of the simplest and most
commonly encountered temperature-measuring instruments, the bimetallic thermometer.
Figure shows a bimetallic thermometer. In it, a bimetallic strip is wound in the form of a
long helix. One end of the helix is held rigid. As the temperature varies, the helix tries to
wind or unwind. This causes the free end to rotate. The free end is connected to a pointer.
The pointer actually indicates angular rotation of the helix; however, since the rotation is
linear and a function of temperature, the scale is marked in units of temperature.
DISTANT-READING THERMOMETERS
TEMPERATURE SWITCHES
or helix, which is connected to the actuating device by a small tube or pipe. Figure 8-15
shows a temperature switch and two types of sensing elements.
A temperature change causes a change in the volume of the sealed-in gas, which causes
movement of a bellows. The movement is transmitted by a plunger to the switch arm. The
moving contact is on the arm. A fixed contact may be arranged so the switch will open or
close on a temperature rise. This allows the switch contacts to be arranged to close when
the temperature drops to a predetermined value and to open when the temperature rises to
the desired value. The reverse action can be obtained by a change in the contact positions.
Technologies
Many methods have been developed for measuring temperature. Most of these rely on
measuring some physical property of a working material that varies with temperature. One
of the most common devices for measuring temperature is the glass thermometer. This
consists of a glass tube filled with mercury or some other liquid, which acts as the
working fluid. Temperature increases cause the fluid to expand, so the temperature can be
determined by measuring the volume of the fluid. Such thermometers are usually
calibrated, so that one can read the temperature, simply by observing the level of the fluid
in the thermometer. Another type of thermometer that is not really used much in practice,
but is important from a theoretical standpoint is the gas thermometer.
• Thermocouples
• Thermistors
• Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD)
• Pyrometers
• Langmuir probes (for electron temperature of a plasma)
• Infrared
• Other thermometers
PYROMETER
Principle of operation
A pyrometer has an optical system and detector. The optical system focuses the thermal
radiation onto the detector. The output signal of the detector (Temperature T) is related to
the thermal radiation or irradiance j* of the target object through the Stefan–Boltzmann
law, the constant of proportionality σ, called the Stefan-Boltzmann constant and the
emissivity ε of the object.
This output is used to infer the object's temperature. Thus, there is no need for direct
contact between the pyrometer and the object, as there is with thermocouple and
Resistance temperature detector (RTDs). Pyrometer is used for measurement of high
temperature
RESISTANCE THERMOMETER
General description
Resistance thermometers are constructed in a number of forms and offer greater stability,
accuracy and repeatability in some cases than thermocouples. While thermocouples use
the Seebeck effect to generate a voltage, resistance thermometers use electrical resistance
and require a small power source to operate. The resistance ideally varies linearly with
temperature.
Resistance thermometers are usually made using platinum, because of its linear
resistance-temperature relationship and its chemical inertness. The platinum detecting
wire needs to be kept free of contamination to remain stable. A platinum wire or film is
supported on a former in such a way that it gets minimal differential expansion or other
strains from its former, yet is reasonably resistant to vibration. RTD assemblies made
from iron or copper are also used in some applications.
• High accuracy
• Low drift
• Wide operating range
• Suitability for precision applications
Limitations:
• RTDs in industrial applications are rarely used above 660 °C. At temperatures
above 660 °C it becomes increasingly difficult to prevent the platinum from
becoming contaminated by impurities from the metal sheath of the thermometer.
This is why laboratory standard thermometers replace the metal sheath with a
glass construction. At very low temperatures, say below -270 °C (or 3 K), due to
the fact that there are very few phonons, the resistance of an RTD is mainly
determined by impurities and boundary scattering and thus basically independent
of temperature. As a result, the sensitivity of the RTD is essentially zero and
therefore not useful.
• Compared to Thermistors, platinum RTDs are less sensitive to small temperature
changes and have a slower response time. However Thermistors have a smaller
temperature range and stability.
Resistance thermometer construction
These elements nearly always require insulated leads attached. At low temperatures PVC,
silicon rubber or PTFE insulators are common to 250°C. Above this, glass fibre or
ceramic are used. The measuring point and usually most of the leads require a housing or
protection sleeve. This is often a metal alloy which is inert to a particular process. Often
more consideration goes in to selecting and designing protection sheaths than sensors as
this is the layer that must withstand chemical or physical attack and offer convenient
process attachment points.
THERMOCOUPLE
Types
Type E (chromel–constantan)[4] has a high output (68 µV/°C) which makes it well suited
to cryogenic use. Additionally, it is non-magnetic.
Type J (iron–constantan) is less popular than type K due to its limited range (−40 to
+750 °C). The main application is with old equipment that cannot accept modern
thermocouples. The Curie point of the iron (770 °C) causes an abrupt change to the
characteristic and it is this that provides the upper temperature limit. Type J
thermocouples have a sensitivity of about 50 µV/°C.
Type N (nicrosil–nisil) thermocouples are suitable for use at high temperatures, exceeding
1200 °C, due to their stability and ability to resist high temperature oxidation. Sensitivity
is about 39 µV/°C at 900°C, slightly lower than type K. Designed to be an improved type
K, it is becoming more popular.
B, R, and S
Type B thermocouples use a platinum–rhodium alloy for each conductor. One conductor
contains 30% rhodium while the other conductor contains 6% rhodium. These
thermocouples are suited for use at up to 1800 °C. Type B thermocouples produce the
same output at 0 °C and 42 °C, limiting their use below about 50 °C.
Type R thermocouples use a platinum–rhodium alloy containing 13% rhodium for one
conductor and pure platinum for the other conductor. Type R thermocouples are used up
to 1600 °C.
Type S thermocouples use a platinum–rhodium alloy containing 10% rhodium for one
conductor and pure platinum for the other conductor. Like type R, type S thermocouples
are used up to 1600 °C. In particular, type S is used as the standard of calibration for the
melting point of gold (1064.43 °C).
Type M thermocouples use a nickel alloy for each wire. The positive wire contains 18%
molybdenum while the negative wire contains 0.8% cobalt.[6] These thermocouples are
used in the vacuum furnaces for the same reasons as with type C. Upper temperature is
limited to 1400 °C. Though it is a less common type of thermocouple, look-up tables to
correlate temperature to EMF (milli-volt output) are available.
MERCURY-IN-GLASS THERMOMETER
THERMISTOR
ΔR = kΔT
Where
ΔR = change in resistance
ΔT = change in temperature
k = first-order temperature coefficient of resistance
Thermistors can be classified into two types depending on the sign of k. If k is positive,
the resistance increases with increasing temperature, and the device is called a positive
temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistor, or posistor. If k is negative, the resistance
decreases with increasing temperature, and the device is called a negative temperature
coefficient (NTC) thermistor. Resistors that are not Thermistors are designed to have a k
as close to zero as possible, so that their resistance remains nearly constant over a wide
temperature range.
Thermistors differ from resistance temperature detectors (RTD) in that the material used
in a thermistor is generally a ceramic or polymer, while RTDs use pure metals. The
temperature response is also different; RTDs are useful over larger temperature ranges,
while thermistors typically achieve a higher precision within a limited temperature range.
Steinhart-Hart equation
In practice, the linear approximation (above) works only over a small temperature range.
For accurate temperature measurements, the resistance/temperature curve of the device
must be described in more detail. The Steinhart-Hart equation is a widely used third-order
approximation:
Where a, b and c are called the Steinhart-Hart parameters, and must be specified for each
device. T is the temperature in kelvins and R is the resistance in ohms. To give resistance
as a function of temperature, the above can be rearranged into:
where
and
The error in the Steinhart-Hart equation is generally less than 0.02°C in the measurement
of temperature. As an example, typical values for a thermistor with a resistance of 3000 Ω
at room temperature (25°C = 298.15 K) are:
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