TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT

PART-2
 Constant Volume Gas Thermometer

• The ideal gas law:

PV = RT
P = Absolute pressure
V = Volume
R = Universal gas constant
T = Absolute temperature
P = (R/V)T
• Inert gases such as helium, hydrogen, nitrogen, etc. are filled
at constant volume
• A gas expansion thermometer operates on constant
volume, the gas expanding according to its temperature
• The pressure created by expanding gas is measured by a
pressure spring and the changes are suitably calibrated in
terms of temperature
• Operating range:

Helium(He) - below 320F

Hydrogen(H2) - 32 - 2120F

Nitrogen(N2) – above 2120F

• Disadvantage – Deviation from ideal gas law as these are not ideal
gases

• Nitrogen is the commonly used gas in gas expansion thermometer and

gives a range of -1300C to 5400C
• A wider temperature range requires a larger bulb

• To reduce errors, use of large bulb is recommended

• A bimetallic compensator is employed to eliminate the errors

Pressure Spring Thermometer
• The construction and mechanical operation of all types of pressure
spring thermometers are identical.

• The thermal system of pressure spring thermometer contains a metal

bulb, capillary and receiving element.

• Metal bulb contains a thermometer fluid, a liquid or a gas or a liquid

vapour and is inserted at the point at which the temperature is to be
measured.

• The bulb comes in thermal equilibrium with its surroundings, thereby

developing a given pressure or displacement of fluid.
• A metal capillary is connected to the bulb and transmit the pressure at
the bulb to the receiving element at the instrument

• The receiving element is a form of bourdon tube or pressure spring

and is used to convert the pressure or displacement of fluid in the
thermometer bulb into a motion

• This motion is used to operate a pointer for the indication of

temperature
• The materials of bulb are copper, steel, stainless steel and Monel
• For mercury-filled thermometer bulbs, stainless steel is universally used

• The size of bulb varies considerably, depending on the type of filling

medium, temperature span of instrument, and length of capillary tubing
with which it is used

• The capillary is made of copper or steel and is about 1/16 in. outside
diameter and about 0.015 in. inside diameter

• Mercury systems employ a stainless steel capillary with thicker walls

• The capillary tubing is the part of a thermal system most vulnerable to
damage
• For protection against damage or corrosion the capillary is enclosed in armor
tubing and also must be installed carefully to avoid mechanical damage
• The armor may be spiral wound bronze, steel or stainless steel or it is

sometimes covered with rubber or other plastic material

• The receiving element in a recording thermometer is in spiral
or helix form (usually a bourdon tube)

• The material commonly used in thermometer spiral or helix are

phosphor-bronze, beryllium-copper, steel and stainless steel

• Mercury-filled thermometer uses only steel or stainless steel

 Pressure spring thermometers are of three types:

i. Liquid expansion thermometer

ii. Gas expansion thermometer

iii. Vapor actuated thermometer

i. Liquid Expansion Pressure Spring Thermometer
• It utilizes the volumetric expansion of a liquid caused by the
temperature changes to operate the pressure spring and indicate the
temperature.

• The relation between volume of a liquid and its temperature is given by

the law of cubical expansion:

V1 = V0(1+BT)

V1 : Final volume ; V0 : Initial volume

B : Mean coefficient of volumetric expansion ; T : Temperature

• Mercury ,Alcohol or Toluene used as thermal liquid

• The temperature limits of the mercury filled pressure

thermometer are about -35 to 10000F(-37 to 5370C)

• Applications: Pumps, compressors, HVAC,petrochemical

processing, and power generation.
ii. Gas Expansion Thermometer (Gas Thermometer)

• It utilizes the expansion of a gas caused by the temperature

changes to operate the pressure spring and indicate the
temperature

• Most commonly used gas is Nitrogen

• Helium and Hydrogen are also used as thermometric fluids

• Suited to application where vibration occurs

iii. Vapour – Actuated Thermometer

• A vapor actuated thermometer operates from the vapor pressure of

liquid that partially fills the thermal system

• Partly filled with liquid & partly with vapour of same liquid

• Liquid-vapour interface at the bulb

• The most common fluids in use are: Methyl chloride, sulphur dioxide,
ether, toluene, propane, butane, ethyl alcohol, aniline and hexane

• The vapor pressure is measured by a pressure spring and the

instrument is calibrated in terms of temperature
• Since vapor pressure depends solely on the temperature at the free

surface of the liquid, vapor - actuated thermometer indicates only the

temperature existing at the free surface

• The range depends entirely on the filling medium. The range of this

instrument is from -500F to 6000F (-45.60C to 315.60C)

• Used to monitor temperature in fixed cold chain equipment like

primary and intermediate vaccine stores.

 Thermocouples(Thermoelectric Sensors)

• A thermocouple is composed of two wires of different metals

joined together so as to produce a thermal emf

• Assume that the left-hand junction of wires is the point of

measurement, then it is called the measuring junction

• The right-hand junction is called the reference junction and is

frequently maintained at either 320F (00C) or 680F (200C)
 Favorable Characteristics of Thermocouple

 Good inherent accuracy

 Suitability over a broad temperature range (upto 23000C)

 Relatively fast thermal response

 Ruggedness

 High reliability

 Low cost

 Great versatility of application

 Thermoelectric Effect
• It is the direct conversion of temperature differences to electric
voltage and vice versa via a thermocouple.

• Thermoelectric devices create a voltage when there is a different

temperature on each side. Conversely, when a voltage is applied to it,
heat is transferred from one side to the other, creating a temperature
difference.

• The term ‘thermoelectric effect’ encompasses three separately

identified effects: the Seebeck effect, Peltier effect, and Thomson
effect
 Seebeck Effect

• In 1821, T.J. Seebeck discovered that an electric current flows

in a closed circuit of two dissimilar metals when one of the two
junction is heated with respect to the other

• In such a thermocouple circuit the current continues to flow as

long as two junction are at different temperatures
• Seebeck effect is the production of an electromotive force (emf)
and consequently an electric current in a loop of material
consisting of atleast two dissimilar conductors when two junctions
are maintained at different temperatures

• The emf is called the Seebeck emf

• The magnitude and direction of the current is a function of the

temperature difference between the junctions and of the thermal
properties of the metals used in the circuit
 Peltier Effect

• The Peltier effect relates the absorption and evolution of heat at

the junctions of a thermocouple to the current flow in the circuit

• When electric current is passed through a circuit consisting of two

different conductors, a cooling effect is observed in one junction
whereas another junction experiences a rise in temperature. This
change in temperature at the junctions is called the Peltier effect.
• Under conditions of use, heat is evolved at the reference junction
(cold junction) and absorbed at the measuring junction (hot
junction) in proportion to the flow of current, but independent of the
method by which the junction is made

• The Peltier effect is proportional to current alone and is different

from Joule heating effect which is proportional to I2R

• The emf produced by the junction of thermocouple is called Peltier

emf and the magnitude and direction of which depend on
temperature and the Peltier emf differs for different combinations of
metals
 Thomson Effect

• The Thomson effect predicted by Thomson, is a relation between

the emf generated in a single homogeneous wire and the temp
difference between the ends of the wire

• Thomson emf is proportional to the temperature and the

temperature difference in the wire and differs for different metals

• A thermocouple employs both Peltier effect and Thomson effect

and none can be used alone
There are four emf’s that appear in the thermocouple;
• The Peltier emf at the measuring junction
• The Peltier emf at the reference junction
• The Thomson emf along the wire A because of temperature
difference
• The Thomson emf along the wire B because of temperature
difference
 THERMO ELECTRIC LAWS
The law of homogeneous circuits states that an electric current
can not be sustained in a circuit of a single homogeneous metal,
however varying in section, by the application of heat alone

From it, we deduce that the thermal emf developed in the

thermocouple, when the measuring junction T is at a different
temperature from the reference junction Tr, is independent of the
temperature gradient and its distribution along the wires.

The only temperatures related to the thermal emf are the T and Tr,
and all other intermediate temperatures are of no consequence
The law of intermediate metals states that the algebraic sum of the
emf in a circuit composed of any number of dissimilar metals is zero if
the circuit is at a uniform temperature

 In a circuit as shown consisting of two dissimilar metals with their

junctions at temperatures T1 and T2, a third metal is introduced by
cutting and forming two junctions as shown

 If the temperature of the third metal introduced is uniform over its

entire length, the total emf will be unaffected
The law of successive or intermediate temperatures states
that if two dissimilar homogeneous metals produce a thermal
emf of E1 when the junctions are at temperatures T1 and T2, and
a thermal emf of E2 when the junctions are at temperatures T2
and T3, then the thermal emf generated when the junctions are
at temperatures T1 and T3 will be E1 plus E2
 The desirable properties of thermocouples for industrial use are:

 Relatively large thermal emf

 Precision of calibration

 Resistance to corrosion and oxidation

 Linear relation of emf to temperature

 Types of Thermocouples

 Chromel – Constantan
 Iron – Constantan

 Chromel – Alumel

 Copper – Constantan

 Platinum – Platinum,13% rhodium

 Platinum – Platinum,10% rhodium

 Chromel – Constantan (ANSI Symbol E)

• This may be used for temperature upto 8700C

• Suitable in vacuum or inert, mildly oxidizing or reducing, sub-zero

atmosphere

• At sub-zero temperature, the thermocouple is not subject to corrosion

• This has the highest emf output

• It is well suited to low temperature (cryogenic) use

• It is non-magnetic
 Iron – Constantan (ANSI Symbol J)
• Suitable in inert, low oxidizing or reducing atmosphere

• The operating range is -40 to +750 °C

• Limited range makes type J less popular than type K.

• The main application is with old equipment that can not accept ‘modern’
thermocouples

• Iron wire undergo crystalline change if kept at higher temperature for long time

• So undesirable for prolonged high temperature use and subzero use

• Susceptible to corrosion where oxygen or water vapour present

• Used in gas chromatographs, mass spectrometers and other laboratory and

industrial equipments
 Chromel – Alumel (ANSI Symbol K)

• Type K is the ‘general purpose’ thermocouple

• Suitable in inert, oxidizing atmosphere

• Resistance to oxidation

• More service life than iron - constantan at higher temperature

• The operating range is 12600C for the largest wire sizes and smaller
size wires should operate in correspondingly lower temperature
• Susceptible to attack in reducing atmosphere where oxygen is
lacking and hydrogen and CO present

• Both wires are prone to damage by sulphurous gases

• So the wires are housed in suitable steel and insulated from each
other by mineral oxide powder

• It is of low cost and, owing to its popularity, it is available in a wide

variety of probes
 Copper – Constantan (ANSI Symbol T)

• Suitable in vacuum or inert, mildly oxidizing or reducing, sub-zero

atmosphere

• Operating range is upto 4000C

• Suitable for application where moisture is present

• Excellent for subzero measurement

• Corrosion resistant in most atmospheres

 Platinum Rhodium Alloys
• Three types are in common use:

 A positive wire of 90% Pt and 10% rhodium used with a negative wire of
pure Pt (ANSI Symbol R)

 A positive wire of 87% Pt and 13% rhodium used with a negative wire of
pure Pt (ANSI Symbol S)

 A positive wire of 70% Pt and 30% rhodium used with a negative wire of
94% Pt and 6% rhodium (ANSI Symbol B)

• Operating range is upto 16000C

• Have very low emf compared to others

 Thermistors
• A thermistor is a non metallic resistor (semiconductor of ceramic
material) having a negative temperature coefficient of resistance & this
coefficient at room temperature is about 10 times greater than that of
Copper or Platinum.

• Very sensitive

• Thermistors are made by sintering mixtures of metallic oxides of

manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper, uranium and iron

• Made in different shapes- disc, washer, rod, bush type, bead type with
two lead wires.

• Range : -100 to 3000C

• With the change of temperature, the resistance of the thermistor changes
and the current flow through the microammeter can be calibrated in terms
of temperature
• Very accurate and cost-effective sensor for measuring temperature