ET372 Instrumentation Measurement & Lab

Nicholas Muronda

Student Number -: G00189433

Electronics Engineering Technology, Grantham University

Week # 3 Lab – Thermal Sensors Lab Report

Taghi Hajibeigy

Date: 2 January 2024

Introduction

In a chemical processing plant, a critical chemical tower employs vaporization processes. It is imperative
to safeguard the system by initiating a safe shutdown if the vapor temperature within the tower exceeds
150°C. To accomplish this, a Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD) will be employed to measure the
vapor temperature. The primary objective of this lab is to design a circuit in Multisim that activates an
LED alarm when the temperature reaches or exceeds 150°C. Instead of the actual RTD, a potentiometer
or variable resistor will be utilized for simulation purposes.

The RTD, acting as a variable resistor, is tasked with measuring the temperature of the vapor and
presenting a specific resistance value. A bridge circuit will interpret this resistance value, generating an
output voltage for the comparator based on the chosen resistors within the bridge. The comparator
circuit, tasked with voltage comparison, will trigger a 5V signal to the LED alarm when the bridge output
surpasses the predetermined voltage threshold. Consequently, the LED will illuminate, signaling a vapor
temperature exceeding 150°C.

Powering the bridge circuit is a 5V source, while two 220Ω resistors serve as R1 and R2. The RTD,
emulating a variable resistor, has a maximum value of 356.4Ω, corresponding to a maximum
temperature of 175°C. The nulling resistor (R3) has been meticulously calculated, accounting for the
impact of self-heating in the system.
Equipment/Components

 (3) resistors
 (1) variable resistor
 (1) voltage sources
 (1) multimeter
 (1) ideal comparator
 (1) LED.

Procedure
 Draw a block diagram for the design.
 Design the circuit and show all calculations.
 Construct the circuit in Multisim using the calculated resistor values.
 Create a table with temperature, RTD resistance, RTD resistance adjusted for self-heating, and
LED status.
 Find the precise resistance and temperature in which the LED turns on.

Circuit Design
20 ° at 62 % Alarm off

50 ° at 69 % Alarm off
8 0 ° at 77 % Alarm off

10 0 ° at 81 % Alarm off
125 ° at 8 8 % Alarm off
15 0 ° at 9 4 % Alarm off

15 0 ° at 9 6 % Alarm off
170 ° at 98 % Alarm off

17 5 ° at 100 % Alarm off

Analysis

Temperatur RTD Adjustment for Self- LED Alarm

e RESISTANCE heating
20 220Ω 220.96 Ω OFF
50 246.4 Ω 247.4 Ω OFF
80 272.8 Ω 273.76 Ω OFF
100 290.4 Ω 291.4 Ω OFF
125 312.4Ω 313.4 Ω OFF
150 334.4 Ω 335.4 Ω ON
170 352 .0 Ω 352.96 Ω ON
175 356 .4 Ω 357.4Ω ON

Conclusion

The optimal resistance value for R3 was determined to be 335.01Ω, resulting in a deviation of only 5.9%
from the exact temperature of 150.3°C. This underscored the significance of accounting for self-heating
effects, as the alarm activation at precisely 150°C was influenced by this factor. The findings emphasized
the necessity of meticulous compensation and calculation for self-heating in the circuit design.

In summary, the circuit design effectively employed a Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD) for
temperature-based alarming. It highlighted the critical consideration of self-heating adjustments in
circuit designs of this nature. The null resistor, computed with respect to the self-heating adjustment in
the design, indicated a slight deviation above 150°C for the alarm trigger temperature. Potential
tolerance variations in resistors may have contributed to this minor discrepancy, but overall, the lab was
deemed successful.