Taking Temperature Measurements with RTDs: How-To Guide

Publish Date: Mar 30, 2016

Overview
This document is a part of How-To Guide for Most Common Measurements (http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/7136)
centralized resource portal.

Table of Contents
1. RTD Overview
2. How to Make an RTD Measurement
3. Recommended Hardware and Software
4. RTD Webcasts, Tutorials, and Other How-To Resources

1. RTD Overview

A platinum resistance temperature detector (RTD) is a device with a typical resis

tance of 100 Ω at 0 °C. It consists of a thin film of platinum on a plastic film. Its r
esistance varies with temperature and it can typically measure temperatures up
to 850 °C. Passing current through an RTD generates a voltage across the RTD
. By measuring this voltage, you can determine its resistance and, thus, its temp
erature. The relationship between resistance and temperature is relatively linear
.

Figure 1. Physical Architecture of an RTD

RTD Fundamentals
RTDs operate on the principle of changes in electrical resistance of pure metals and are characterized by a linear positive
change in resistance with temperature. Typical elements used for RTDs include nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu), but platinum (Pt)
is by far the most common because of its wide temperature range, accuracy, and stability.
RTDs are constructed using one of two different manufacturing configurations. Wire-wound RTDs are created by winding a
thin wire into a coil. A more common configuration is the thin-film element, which consists of a very thin layer of metal laid out
on a plastic or ceramic substrate. Thin-film elements are cheaper and more widely available because they can achieve higher
nominal resistances with less platinum. To protect the RTD, a metal sheath encloses the RTD element and the lead wires
connected to it.
Popular because of their stability, RTDs exhibit the most linear signal with respect to temperature of any electronic temperature
sensor. However, they are generally more expensive than alternatives because of the careful construction and use of platinum.
RTDs are also characterized by a slow response time and low sensitivity, and, because they require current excitation, they
can be prone to self-heating.
RTDs are commonly categorized by their nominal resistance at 0 °C. Typical nominal resistance values for platinum thin-film
RTDs include 100 and 1000 Ω. The relationship between resistance and temperature is nearly linear and follows this equation:
For <0 °C RT = R0 [ 1 + aT + bT2 + cT3 (T - 100) ] (Equation 1)
For >0 °C RT = R0 [ 1 + aT + bT2 ]
Where RT = resistance at temperature T
R0 = nominal resistance
a, b, and c = constants used to scale the RTD
The resistance/temperature curve for a 100 Ω platinum RTD, commonly referred to as Pt100, is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Resistance-Temperature Curve for a 100 Ω Platinum RTD, a = 0.00385

This relationship appears relatively linear, but curve fitting is often the most accurate way to make an accurate RTD
measurement.

The most common RTD is the platinum thin-film with an a of 0.385%/°C and is specified per DIN EN 60751. The a value
depends on the grade of platinum used, and also commonly include 0.3911%/°C and 0.3926%/°C. The a value defines the
sensitivity of the metallic element, but is normally used to distinguish between resistance/temperature curves of various RTDs.
Table 1. Callendar-Van Dusen Coefficients Corresponding to Common RTDs
Standard Temperature Coeffic

DIN 43760 0.003850

American 0.003911

ITS-90 0.003926
* For temperatures below 0 °C only; C = 0.0 for temperatures above 0 °C.

2. How to Make an RTD Measurement

Measuring Temperature with RTDs
All RTDs usually come in a red and black or red and white wire-color combination. The red wire is the excitation wire and the
black or white wires are ground wires. If you are not sure which wires are connected to which side of the resistive element, you
can use a digital multimeter (DMM) to measure the resistance between the leads. If there is close to 0 Ω resistance, then the
leads are attached to the same node. If the resistance is close to the nominal gage resistance (100 Ω is a common RTD
nominal gage resistance), then the wires you are measuring are on the opposite side of the resistive element. In addition,
reference the RTD specification to find the excitation level for that particular device.
Most instruments offer similar pin configurations for RTD measurements. The following example demonstrates an RTD
measurement using an NI CompactDAQ (http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/207534) chassis and the NI 9217
(http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/202713) RTD module (see Figure 3). For higher-channel countr measurement
systems, National Instruments provides the PXIe-4357 RTD input module.
 Figure 3. NI CompactDAQ Chassis and the NI 9217 RTD Module

Figure 4. PXIe-4357 RTD Module

An RTD is a passive measurement device; therefore, you must supply it with an excitation current and then read the voltage
across its terminals. You can then easily transform this reading to temperature with a simple algorithm. To avoid self-heating,
which is caused by current flowing through the RTD, minimize this excitation current as much as possible. There are
essentially three different methods to measure temperature using RTDs.
Two-Wire – RTD Signal Connection
Connect the red RTD lead to the excitation positive. Place a jumper from the excitation positive pin to the channel positive on
the data acquisition device. Connect the black (or white) RTD lead to the excitation negative. Place a jumper from the
excitation negative to the channel negative on the data acquisition device.

Figure 4. Two-Wire RTD Measurement

In the two-wire method, the two wires that provide the RTD with its excitation current and the two wires across which the RTD
voltage is measured are the same.
The easiest way to take a temperature reading with an RTD is using the two-wire method; however, the disadvantage of this
method is that if the lead resistance in the wires is high, the voltage measured, VO, is significantly higher than the voltage that
is present across the RTD itself. The NI 9217 does not support two-wire measurement configurations.
Three-Wire – RTD Signal Connection
Connect the red RTD lead to the excitation positive. Place a jumper from the excitation positive pin to the channel positive on
the data acquisition device (Note: This step is not necessary with the NI 9217; it internally connects these two channels, see
below). Connect one of the black (or white) RTD leads to excitation negative and the other to channel negative.
Figure 5 shows the external connections for the measurement as well as the pin-outs for the NI 9217 RTD module. The
excitation positive is connected to RTD0+ because the NI 9217 internally connects this to the excitation terminal.

Figure 5. Three-Wire RTD Measurement

Four-Wire – RTD Signal Connection
To connect this RTD, simply connect each of the red leads on the positive side of the resistive element to the excitation
positive and channel positive on the data acquisition device. Connect the black (or white) leads on the negative side of the
resistive element to the excitation and channel negative on the data acquisition device. The two additional leads from a two-
wire RTD increase the attainable accuracy. Figure 6 shows the external connections for the measurement as well as the pin-
outs for the NI 9217 RTD module.

Figure 6. Four-Wire RTD Measurement

The four-wire method has the advantage of not being affected by the lead resistances because they are on a high-impedance
path going through the device that is performing the voltage measurement; therefore, you get a much more accurate
measurement of the voltage across the RTD.
RTD Noise Considerations
RTD output signals typically run in the millivolt range, making them susceptible to noise. Lowpass filters are commonly
available in RTD data acquisition systems and can effectively eliminate high-frequency noise in RTD measurements. For
instance, lowpass filters are useful for removing the 60 Hz power line noise that is prevalent in most laboratory and plant
settings.

You can also significantly improve the noise performance of your system by amplifying the low-level RTD voltages near the
signal source. Because RTD output voltage levels are very low, you should choose a gain that optimizes the input limits of the
analog-to-digital converter (ADC).
Getting to See Your Measurement: NI LabVIEW
Once you have connected the sensor to the measurement instrument, you can use LabVIEW graphical programming software
to visualize and analyze the data as needed.

Figure 7. LabVIEW RTD Measurement

3. Recommended Hardware and Software
Build Your own CompactDAQ RTD Measurement System (http://ohm.ni.com/advisors/jsp/common/load/load.jsp?
id=CD4264634)
High Accuracy RTD Measurements with a DMM and Switch (http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/3778)
Learn about and test-drive LabVIEW software for free (http://www.ni.com/labview/whatis/)
4. RTD Webcasts, Tutorials, and Other How-To Resources
Measuring Temperature with an RTD or Thermistor (http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/3643)
Learn About Relevant Training Options: Data Acquisition and Signal Conditioning
(http://sine.ni.com/tacs/app/overview/p/ap/of/id/1578/)

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