Temperature Calibration – Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)

Feb. 2020
Table of Contents

Experimental overview.................................................................................................................... 4

Equipment............................................................................................................................................. 4
Operational Schematic.............................................................................................................................. 4
Safety...................................................................................................................................................... 5
Risk Summary.............................................................................................................................................. 5
Emergency Shutdown................................................................................................................................ 5
Reporting and Duty of Care...................................................................................................................... 6
Calibration Process............................................................................................................................ 6

List of Figures

Figure 1: Temperature calibration equipment........................................................................................... 4

Figure 2 Bath Switches........................................................................................................................................ 5
Figure 3 General Switches.................................................................................................................................. 6
Figure 4 Probes arrangement........................................................................................................................... 7
Figure 5 Probes arrangement inside bath.................................................................................................... 7
Figure 6 Recording Labview interface........................................................................................................... 8
Figure 7 Reading LabView Interface.............................................................................................................. 8

List of Tables

Table 1: List of apparatus equipment............................................................................................................. 4

Experimental overview

This document describes the procedures to calibrate platinum resistance elements or probes
for temperature measurements.

Equipment
Table 1: List of apparatus equipment

Equipment Description
Thermostat Bath Julabo model FK31
Standard Platinum Resistance WIKA
thermometer sensor
Digital temperature indicator WIKA CTR 5000
Acquisition System - Computer

Operational Schematic

Figure 1: Temperature calibration equipment

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Safety

Risk Summary
The following table should only be used as a general overview of the hazards associated
with this experiment

Hazards Controls
Slips and trips  Maintain tidy work area.
Other experiments in  Respect others workspace.
vicinity  Communicate clearly with others intentions in lab space.
Manual handling  Proper technique.
 Take time to assess task.
 Ask for assistance when required

Emergency Shutdown

In the event of emergency

1. Turn off the thermostatic bath;

Figure 2 Bath Switches

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 2. If necessary, turn off the power wall switches of the electronic components.

Figure 3 General Switches

In case of fire in the laboratory:

1- If it can be done safely, isolate the equipment and use a fire extinguish to put out
the flames.
2- If the fire is uncontrollable, sound fire alarm and remove yourself and others
from the area.
3- Find the floors fire warden if possible and communicate any important
information about the event.

Reporting and Duty of Care

 It is your duty of care responsibility to fix and/or report any hazards that you
notice in the laboratory. Don’t walk away and leave it for someone else; take
responsibility for your workspace.
 If an event or near miss does occur you must report it to the lab supervisor ASAP.
 Ensure you are aware of the nearest emergency stop, fire extinguishers and fire
alarm is to your work area.

Calibration Process
Before starting the calibration process, the bath must be fulfilled with the adequate oil
according to the temperature range of evaluation. For low temperatures (-30 to 50 °C)
the bath fluid should be PSF-5Cst silicon fluid. For high temperatures (20 to 200 °C), the
user should use CF-100 silicon fluid. The work temperature range of the bath is from -
30 to 200ᵒC.

The resistance elements or probes should be wired to the NI 9217 PT100 RTD analog
input card in the NI 9172 compactDAQ chassis (the manufactures instructions, available
in online manuals should be followed). The resistance elements or probes must be then
located as close as possible of the standard platinum resistance temperature sensor
(SPRT) in order to ensure that they are in thermal equilibrium. In this case, Figure 4
shows a typical arrangement where probes are aligned closely with the SPRT sensor.

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 Figure 4 Probes arrangement

With all the probes attached together, these probes must be inserted inside the bath
according to Figure 5. The SPRT plastic housing may be held with a clamp stand so that
the SPRT does not touch any surfaces inside the bath.

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 Old Hart SPRT
plastic housing

Wika SPRT
plastic housing

Figure 5 Probes arrangement inside bath (two SPRTs are shown in this photo)

With all the probes ready, the bath should be set to the desired temperature of
calibration. While it is achieving the steady state, the user should open the LabVIEW file
named as “Data Recorded Temperature Calibration” on the computer. Figure 6 displays
this interface.

Figure 6 Recording Labview interface

This file records the resistance of each probe as well as the standard one. During the
calibration, an excel file is generated according the path written in the “File Path and

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Name” box. Also, the user is able to insert names for each probe as is illustrated in the
12 boxes under “Sensor Names”.

In order to verify the resistance reading of each probe and identify the steady state time,
the file “DAQmx Resistance MultiChannel” (Figure 7) shows the values in form of a
graph and must be run while the “Temperature Calibration Data Recorder” is being
used.

Figure 7 Reading LabView Interface

After the acquisition of one temperature for a good time period of reading, the user can
change the temperature manually on the bath and start again another calibration point
in the desired calibration range.