Course Name: 77784 

Auto 221: Basic Control Engineering

Course Schedule: Monday and Wednesday (6:01-7:31PM)
Student's Name: BEN ALDRIAN T. IBAÑEZ
Instructor's Name: ENGR. ORBELY D. AGUSTINO

 Guide questions:

1. Secure a drawing or a diagram of the following temperature measuring instruments.

(A)       Copper–Constantan Thermocouple

A thermocouple is an electrical device consisting of two dissimilar electrical conductors forming an

electrical junction. A thermocouple produces a temperature-dependent voltage because of the
thermoelectric effect, and this voltage can be interpreted to measure temperature. Thermocouples are a
widely used type of temperature sensor.
Commercial thermocouples are inexpensive, interchangeable, are supplied with standard connectors,
and can measure a wide range of temperatures. In contrast to most other methods of temperature
measurement, thermocouples are self-powered and require no external form of excitation. The main
limitation with thermocouples is precision; system errors of less than one degree Celsius (°C) can be
difficult to achieve.
Thermocouples are widely used in science and industry. Applications include temperature
measurement for kilns, gas turbine exhaust, diesel engines, and other industrial processes. Thermocouples
are also used in homes, offices and businesses as the temperature sensors in thermostats, and also as flame
sensors in safety devices for gas-powered appliances.
Course Name: 77784 Auto 221: Basic Control Engineering
Course Schedule: Monday and Wednesday (6:01-7:31PM)
Student's Name: BEN ALDRIAN T. IBAÑEZ
Instructor's Name: ENGR. ORBELY D. AGUSTINO

(C)        Mercury-In-Glass Thermometer

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. Mercury thermometers are used in households, laboratory experiments, and industrial
applications. Mercury thermometers cover a wide temperature range from −37 to 356 °C (−35 to 673 °F);
the instrument's upper temperature range may be extended through the introduction of an inert gas such as
nitrogen.

Also, the mercury-in-glass or mercury is consists of a bulb containing mercury attached to a glass
tube of narrow diameter; the volume of mercury in the tube is much less than the volume in the bulb. The
volume of mercury changes slightly with temperature; the small change in volume drives the narrow
mercury column a relatively long way up the tube. The space above the mercury may be filled with
nitrogen gas or it may be at less than atmospheric pressure, a partial vacuum.
In order to calibrate the thermometer, the bulb is made to reach thermal equilibrium with a
temperature standard such as an ice/water mixture, and then with another standard such as water/vapor,
and the tube is divided into regular intervals between the fixed points. In principle, thermometers made of
different material (e.g., colored alcohol thermometers) might be expected to give different intermediate
readings due to different expansion properties; in practice the substances used are chosen to have
reasonably linear expansion characteristics as a function of thermodynamic temperature, and so give
similar results.
In the first decades of the 18th century in the Dutch Republic, Daniel Fahrenheit made two
revolutionary breakthroughs in the history of thermometry. He invented the mercury-in-glass
thermometer (first widely used, accurate, practical thermometer) and Fahrenheit scale (first standardized
temperature scale to be widely used). The application of mercury (1714) and Fahrenheit scale (1724) for
liquid-in-glass thermometers ushered in a new era of accuracy and precision in thermometry, and is still
to this day (as of 1966) regarded as one of the most accurate thermometers available.
Course Name: 77784 Auto 221: Basic Control Engineering
Course Schedule: Monday and Wednesday (6:01-7:31PM)
Student's Name: BEN ALDRIAN T. IBAÑEZ
Instructor's Name: ENGR. ORBELY D. AGUSTINO

(D)       Total Radiation Pyrometer
The total radiation pyrometer receives all the radiation from a particular are of hot body. The term
total radiation includes both the visible and invisible radiations. It consists of radiation receiving element
and a measuring device. The mirror type radiation pyrometer is shown in figure below. Total radiation
pyrometers are used to measure temperature in the range 700°C to 2000°C.

Also, the total radiation pyrometer receives all the radiation from a particular are of hot body. The
term total radiation includes both the visible and invisible radiations. It consists of radiation receiving
element and a measuring device. The temperature measurements are independent of the distance of the
target. If there is any smoke, dust in the space between the target and transducer, it reduces the radiation.
Hence negative errors. If there is any heat sources like hot gases and flames, then the meter reading will
be high. The characteristics of this pyrometer is non-linear. It has poor sensitivity. This device is not used
for temperature lower than 600 to 1200 degree Celsius. Output from this pyrometer is taken to pmmc
instrument. Total radiation pyrometer is used to measure temperature of moving target, used to measure
temperature of a target where physical contact is impossible, used to measure temperature in corrosive
environment and used to measure invisible rays from radiations.
Course Name: 77784 Auto 221: Basic Control Engineering
Course Schedule: Monday and Wednesday (6:01-7:31PM)
Student's Name: BEN ALDRIAN T. IBAÑEZ
Instructor's Name: ENGR. ORBELY D. AGUSTINO

(E)        Platinum Resistance Thermometer

The platinum resistance thermometer is a versatile instrument for temperature measurement in the
range from 200° to 1000°C. It is used both for precision measurements of the highest accuracy and for
routine industrial work. This article discusses the development and construction of resistance
thermometers and their uses in a wide range of industries.

Also, the platinum resistance thermometer—in which the principle of measurement is the
variation in the resistance of a platinum wire as a function of temperature—is generally accepted as the
most accurate temperature measuring instrument available. Its sensitivity and reliability are evident from
the fact that it was first used in 1928 to define the International Temperature Scale from −190° to 660°C
and has thus been the primary international standard for over thirty years. But it has other advantages that
find many and increasing applications in industry. It is particularly suitable where measurements are to be
made over a relatively narrow range of temperature, where the point of measurement is some distance
from the recording instrument, and where there are several measuring points and readings are required at
one central instrument panel. In addition to the measurement of elevated temperatures, the platinum
resistance thermometer is also finding a number of applications where the accurate determination or
control of sub-zero temperatures is needed.The operation of the resistance thermometer depends upon two
characteristics of platinum—first the simple relationship between its resistance and its temperature, and
secondly the high purity, stability and reproducibility of the specially prepared platinum employed for this
purpose. The requirements of the International Temperature Scale of 1948 for the purity and physical
condition of platinum to be used in resistance thermometry are based upon the change in resistance
between 0° and 100°C, this range being known as the fundamental interval: the ratio R100/R0 is required
to be greater than 1.3910. British Standard 1904 : 1952 on Commercial Platinum Resistance
Thermometer Elements calls for a value not less than 1.390.
Course Name: 77784 Auto 221: Basic Control Engineering
Course Schedule: Monday and Wednesday (6:01-7:31PM)
Student's Name: BEN ALDRIAN T. IBAÑEZ
Instructor's Name: ENGR. ORBELY D. AGUSTINO

(F)        Gas Thermometer
A device to measure temperature by measuring the pressure exerted by a definite amount of gas
enclosed in a constant volume; the gas (preferably hydrogen or helium) is enclosed in a glass or fused-
quartz bulb connected to a mercury manometer. Also known as constant-volume gas thermometer. The
thermodynamic temperature scale was realized over the range -183 °C to 100 °C by using a helium
constant volume gas thermometer.

Also, a gas thermometer is a thermometer that measures temperature by the variation in volume
or pressure of a gas. It is a device for measuring temperature in which the working fluid is a gas. It
provides the most accurate method of measuring temperatures in the range 2.5 to 1337 K. Using a fixed
mass of gas a constant-volume thermometer measures the pressure of a fixed volume of gas at relevant
temperatures, usually by means of a mercury manometer and a barometer.
Course Name: 77784 Auto 221: Basic Control Engineering
Course Schedule: Monday and Wednesday (6:01-7:31PM)
Student's Name: BEN ALDRIAN T. IBAÑEZ
Instructor's Name: ENGR. ORBELY D. AGUSTINO

(G)        Temperature-Sensitive Crayon
The range of temperatures that can be shown by the use of temperature indicating crayons is very
large, from 38°C (100°F) to approximately 1370°C (2500°F), a different crayon for each temperature.
They are good for a quick evaluation of temperature, and are used to check preheat, post heat and other
heat treatments.

Also, 'Tempilstik' is a trade name for temperature indicating crayons. The crayons can indicate
temperature in several ways: If a certain temperature, or temperature within a certain range is required,
several marks from crayons indicating a range of temperatures can be applied to the material on the
reverse side to the heat source. When the crayon indicating the desired temperature has melted, but the
next crayon mark has not, the desired temperature has been reached. If a certain minimum temperature is
required, the crayon mark will melt when the minimum temperature is reached.

It is not possible to control temperature using temperature crayons, as they only indicate when a
certain temperature has been reached or exceeded. To control and correct, temperature crayons should be
used in conjunction with thermocouples or contact thermometers to ensure the minimum temperature
does not drop below the specified value, or exceed any maximum requirement, after checking with a
temperature crayon.
There are many other temperature indicating products that can be used in the same way as a
crayon, for example, paints, pellets and indication cards that indicate temperature by circles of
temperature sensitive paper. These are all single-use items, and give no indication of temperature drop or
rise after application, so further applications of the temperature indicating product to the workpiece are
needed to check, for example, the interpass temperature, and whether it is below that specified, and above
the preheat temperature.
Course Name: 77784 Auto 221: Basic Control Engineering
Course Schedule: Monday and Wednesday (6:01-7:31PM)
Student's Name: BEN ALDRIAN T. IBAÑEZ
Instructor's Name: ENGR. ORBELY D. AGUSTINO

(H)       Alcohol-In-Glass Thermometer
Ethanol-filled thermometers are used in preference to mercury for meteorological measurements
of minimum temperatures and can be used down to −70 °C (−94 °F). The physical limitation of the ability
of a thermometer to measure low temperature is the freezing point of the liquid used. So, alcohol, which
freezes at temperature below the point where water freezes, was used. The red colored or silver line in the
middle of the thermometer moves up and down depending on the temperature. The thermometer measures
temperatures in Fahrenheit, Celsius and another scale called Kelvin.

The alcohol thermometer or spirit thermometer is an alternative to the mercury-in-glass

thermometer and has similar functions. Unlike the mercury-in-glass thermometer, the contents of an
alcohol thermometer are less toxic and will evaporate quickly. The ethanol version is the most widely
used due to the low cost and relatively low hazard posed by the liquid in case of breakage.

An organic liquid is contained in a glass bulb which is connected to a capillary of the same glass
and the end is sealed with an expansion bulb. The space above the liquid is a mixture of nitrogen and the
vapor of the liquid. For the working temperature range, the meniscus or interface between the liquid is
within the capillary. With increasing temperature, the volume of liquid expands and the meniscus moves
up the capillary. The position of the meniscus shows the temperature against an inscribed scale.

The liquid used can be pure ethanol, toluene, kerosene or isoamyl acetate, depending on manufacturer
and working temperature range.[1] Since these are transparent, the liquid is made more visible by the
addition of a red or blue dye. One half of the glass containing the capillary is usually enameled white or
yellow to give a background for reading the scale.
The range of usefulness of the thermometer is set by the boiling point of the liquid used. In the case of
the ethanol-filled thermometer, the upper limit for measurement is 78 °C (172.4 °F), which makes it
useful for measuring daytime, nighttime and body temperatures, although not for anything much hotter
than these.
Course Name: 77784 Auto 221: Basic Control Engineering
Course Schedule: Monday and Wednesday (6:01-7:31PM)
Student's Name: BEN ALDRIAN T. IBAÑEZ
Instructor's Name: ENGR. ORBELY D. AGUSTINO

(I)         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. By using two strips of different metals
in a thermometer, the movement of the strips correlates to temperature and can be indicated along a scale.
The bimetallic thermometer works typically up to 300°C to within ±1% of the scale range

Bimetal thermometer is to make a spiral shape thermal bimetal piece as temperature sensor,
which is installed in a protective sleeve tube, one end is fixed, known as the fixed end, and the other end
is connected to a thin shaft, known as the free end. The pointer is mounted on a free-end spool. When the
temperature changes, the free end of the temperature sensor rotates accordingly, driving the pointer on the
thin axis to produce angle changes and indicating the corresponding temperature on the dial.

Bimetal thermometer is a kind of field temperature instrument for measuring medium and low
temperature. It can directly measure the temperature of liquid, steam and gas media in the range of -80℃
~ +500℃ in various production processes. It is suitable for temperature measurement with low precision
in industry.

(J)         Mercury-In-Steel Thermometer
Course Name: 77784 Auto 221: Basic Control Engineering
Course Schedule: Monday and Wednesday (6:01-7:31PM)
Student's Name: BEN ALDRIAN T. IBAÑEZ
Instructor's Name: ENGR. ORBELY D. AGUSTINO

This mercury-in-steel thermometer works on exactly the same principle as the liquid in-
glass thermometer. The glass bulb is replaced by a steel bulb and the glass capillary tube by one
of stainless steel. Changes of temperature affect the capillary and the mercury it contains, and
hence the thermometer reading. Also, A liquid-in-metal thermometer in which mercury is
enclosed in a steel envelope. The change in internal pressure caused by the temperature variation
is measured by a Bourdon tube that is connected to the mercury by a capillary tube. Mercury in
Steel Thermometer work on the principle of mercury expansion and contraction. They are
available in ranges from -38 deg C up to 600 deg C.

(K)        Optical Pyrometer

The optical pyrometer is a non-contact type temperature measuring device. It works on

the principle of matching the brightness of an object to the brightness of the filament which is
placed inside the pyrometer. The optical pyrometer is used for measuring the temperature of the
Course Name: 77784 Auto 221: Basic Control Engineering
Course Schedule: Monday and Wednesday (6:01-7:31PM)
Student's Name: BEN ALDRIAN T. IBAÑEZ
Instructor's Name: ENGR. ORBELY D. AGUSTINO

furnaces, molten metals, and other overheated material or liquids. Optical pyrometers operate
within the visible spectrum to measure temperatures typically in the range from 700°C to
4,000°C by comparing the photometric brightness of the heated object against the brightness of a
standard source, such as an incandescent tungsten filament.

2. Below each figure, give your brief discussion on the working principles, limitation and
applications of the illustrated instruments.

3. What type of temperature measuring instrument used on the following application.

a.  Over-temperature alarm at about 180◦C

-bimetallic thermometer

b.    Food processing plant in the range −250◦C to +250◦Cc. 

-copper– constantan thermocouple

c.    Automatic recording system for a heat treating process in the range 90◦C to 250◦C

-platinum resistance thermometer

d.    Surface of molten metals in the range 1000◦C to 1800◦C

-total radiation pyrometer

e.   To calibrate accurately a mercury in-glass-thermometer

-gas thermometer

f.   Furnace up to 3000 degree Celsius

-optical pyrometer

h.   Inexpensive method of measuring very small changes of temperature

-thermistor
Course Name: 77784 Auto 221: Basic Control Engineering
Course Schedule: Monday and Wednesday (6:01-7:31PM)
Student's Name: BEN ALDRIAN T. IBAÑEZ
Instructor's Name: ENGR. ORBELY D. AGUSTINO

i.   Metal surface where a visual indication is required when temperature reads 520 degree
Celsius

-temperature-sensitive crayon