Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jalozai Campus, University

of Engineering and Technology Peshawar

Name Section
Registration Number Lab Session Number

Experiment Title: Comparing the output of several temperature measurement sensors

Objective
To introduce several temperature measurement techniques
Apparatus
The apparatus is equipped with a variety of temperature measuring devices including: bimetallic
thermometer, several electrical temperature sensors, liquid thermometer, and gas thermometers.
Three temperature sensors are fitted to the unit, these convert the temperature into electrical
signals.
These signals are indicated on digital displays

Thermistors
A thermistor is a type of resistor whose resistance strongly depends on temperature. A thermistor
is a temperature-sensing element composed of sintered semiconductor material and sometimes
mixture of metallic oxides such as Mn, Ni, Co, Cu and Fe, which exhibits a large change in
resistance proportional to a small change in temperature. Pure metals have positive temperature
coefficient of resistance, alloys have nearly equal zero temperature coefficient of resistance and
semi-conductors have negative temperature coefficient of resistance.

Thermistors can be classified into two types

Positive temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistor:-resistance increase with increase in
temperature.
Negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor:-resistance decrease with increase in
temperature.

The thermistor exhibits a highly non-linear characteristic of resistance vs. temperature

The dependence of the resistance on temperature can be approximated by following equation,
R=Ro e β[(1/T)-(1/To)] (1)
R is the resistance of thermistor at the temperature T (in K)
R0 is the resistance at given temperature T0 (in K)
β is the material specific-constant

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Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD)
An RTD is a temperature sensor which measures temperature using the principle that the
resistance of a metal changes with temperature. In practice, an electrical current is transmitted
through a piece of metal (the RTD element or resistor) located in proximity to the area where
temperature is to be measured. The resistance value of the RTD element is then measured by an
instrument. This resistance value is then correlated to temperature based upon the known
resistance characteristics of the RTD element
The most common RTD element material is platinum, as it is more accurate, reliable, chemically
resistant, and stable material, making it less susceptible to environmental contamination and
corrosion than other metals. It is also easy to manufacture and widely standardized with readily
available platinum wire available in very pure form with excellent reproducibility of its electrical
characteristics. Platinum also has a higher melting point, giving it a wide operating temperature
range. For an RTD sensor, it is the wires, which connect to the sensing element and the wire
insulation, which generally limit the maximum application temperature of the sensor.

The electrical resistance of the RTD changes as a function of temperature. Circuitry similar to a
Wheatstone bridge is built into control designed for use with RTD. Constant current into the
bridge produces an output voltage that varies with temperature

The temperature range for RTD is around -182.96 oC until 630.74 oC. Extension wires use with
RTD may be plain copper wire.

Fig. RTD connected with Wheatstone bridge

Thermocouple
Thermocouple is a temperature measurement sensor that consists of two dissimilar metals that
joined together at one end (a junction) that produces a small thermoelectric voltage (emf) when
the junction is heated. This emf is a function of temperature for a given pair of metals. If one of
the junctions of a thermocouple is held at constant temperature T o, the thermo-emf of the
thermocouple will be a function of the temperature T 1 at which the other junction is kept. A

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thermocouple can be used for temperature measurement after calibration, i.e. after determining
how its thermo-emf varies with the temperature of one of the junctions (the other junction being
kept at a constant temperature ). The working junction of a thermocouple is usually called the hot
junction and that kept under thermostatic conditions, cold (reference) junction. Thermo-emf of a
thermocouple is measured by a millivoltmeter or a potentiometer connected by copper wires
(leads) to the free-ends of the thermocouple. With different temperatures at each junction,
different voltage is produced and current flows in the circuit. A thermocouple can therefore only
measure temperature differences between the two junctions.

The controller or indicators measure the small voltage and convert into a temperature signal.

Fig. Temperature versus voltage of thermocouples

Fig. Measuring and reference junction

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Thermocouple is available in various types with different combinations of dissimilar metals. The
most common types are: Type J, K, T and E. For example, Type K Thermocouple is ranged
between -190°C to 1370°C and Type J Thermocouple is ranged between -190 °C to 760°C
SYMBOL Wire Combination Temperature Range( oC )
J Iron-Constantan -190 to 760
K Chromel-Alumel -190 to 1370
T Copper-Constantan -200 to 400
E Chromel-Constantan -190 to 880

Constantan (55-60% Cu+ rest Ni), Chromel ( 90% Ni+10% Cr), Alumel (94%Ni+2%Al+4%Mn)

Glass Thermometer
In a glass thermometer, the relative expansion of a liquid compared to the contents of the bulb is
measured. The majority of the liquid is in a spherical or cylindrical-shaped bulb that forms the
thermometer’s actual sensing element and the bulb opens into the long, thin glass capillary tube.
The volume of the medium in liquid thermometers changes with temperature as follows:
VT = Vo (1 + γΔT) (2)
where VT is the volume at temperature T, Vo is the volume at 0°C, and γ is the coefficient of
thermal expansion.

Bimetallic Thermometers
This type of thermometer exploits the differential expansion of two different materials to indicate
the temperature. Two or more layers of different materials are rolled together, see Fig. 2. During
this process, different shapes can be manufactured depending on the application. One end of the
sensor is firmly anchored; the other is coupled to a transmission gear or directly to a display
device. Variation of the temperature results in expansion of the metallic coil which itself leads to
rotation of the free end

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 Fig. Spiral form of bimetallic thermometer

Vapor Pressure Thermometer

The gas thermometer is one of the most important devices used to realize the thermodynamic
temperature scale over a very wide temperature range almost down to absolute zero. Using this
method, the change in the pressure or volume of a gas is measured as a function of temperature
in accordance with the ideal gas equation:
PV=mRT (3)

Procedure
In order to compare the accuracy and the required time for getting accurate reading in different
two known temperatures should be measured with all different thermometers. Here you have to
measure the temperatures of water-ice mixture and boiling water. Therefore, put some ice cubes
in the insulated flask and fill it with water. Insert thermometers inside the flask and wait until the
steady state condition is reached. Measure the time required for reaching the steady state
condition in each case.
Next, fill the small vessel with water and put it on top of the heater. Once the water comes to
complete boiling, insert the thermometers and measure the steady state temperature and the
required time. Compare the measured temperatures with the values reported in thermodynamic
tables and comment on the accuracy and settling time (required time to reach to steady state) of
each thermometer

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Calculations
Senor Water-Ice mixture Boiling water
K-Type thermocouple
J-Type thermocouple
Thermistors
RTD
Liquid glass thermometer
Bimetallic thermometer
Gas thermometer

Conclusion and Discus

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