Instrumentation and Systems EE 892

Objectives of todays lecture

Transducer and Sensors For Industrial

Measurements
Temperature Sensors

Temperature
The word Temperature indicates the hotness or coldness of a body
with reference to some standard value. The measurement of
temperature is probably the most widely measured and controlled
industrial variable. Temperature of a substance is simply a number
that tells you how hot or cold a substance is.
Temperature is an expression for the kinetic energy of vibrating
atoms and molecules of a matter. This energy can be measured by
various secondary phenomena, e.g., change of volume or pressure,
electrical resistance, electromagnetic force, electron surface charge,
or emission of electromagnetic radiation. OR
Since pressure, volume, electrical resistance, expansion coefficient,
etc are all related to temperature through the fundamental
molecular structure, they change with temperature, & these changes
can be used to measure temperature. So we measure temperature
based on the Effect" it produces.
Many temperature measurements are involved in heat transfer,
boiler operation, Heating Ventilation Air Condition (HVAC) systems,
welding and a host of many other industrial processes.

Temperature Scale
The most frequently used temperature scales
are Celsius and Fahrenheit, which divide the
difference between the freezing and boiling
points of water into 100 and 180, respectively.
C = (5 /9) (F - 32), and F = (9 /5) C + 32
The thermodynamic scale begins at absolute
zero, or 0 Kelvin, the point at which all atoms
cease vibrating and no kinetic energy is
dissipated.
0 K = 273.15 C = 459.67 F

Reference Temperature
We cannot build a temperature divider as we can a
voltage divider, nor can we add temperatures as we
would add lengths to measure distance.
We must rely upon temperatures established by
physical phenomena, which are easily observed and
consistent in nature.
The International Temperature Scale (ITS) is based on
such phenomena. Revised in 1990, it establishes
seventeen fixed
points and corresponding
temperatures.

 Reference temperatures include the triplepoints (the temperature and pressure at

which solid, liquid, and gas phases of a given
substance are all present simultaneously in
varying amounts) of several important
engineering substances.

Types of Temperature sensors

What is the best sensor to measure
temperature?

Types of Temperature sensors

What is the best sensor to measure temperature?
There is no such thing depends on the temperature
range, the accuracy needed, the environment, the
cost, etc.
Temperature can be measured via a diverse array of
sensors. All of them infer temperature by sensing
some change in a physical characteristic of the device.
The types with which an engineer is likely to come
into contact are:

Thermocouples,
Resistance temperature devices (RTDs
and thermistors),
Infrared radiators,
I.C. sensors,
Bimetallic devices,
Liquid expansion devices, and
Change-of-state devices

The Ideal Gas Thermometer

Liquid in gas thermometer

Bimetallic devices
Bimetallic devices take advantage of the
difference in rate of thermal expansion
between different metals.
Strips of two metals are bonded together as
illustrated in Figure,

 When heated, one side will expand more than the

other, and the resulting bending is translated into a
temperature reading by mechanical linkage to a
pointer.
usually steel and copper, or in some cases brass
instead of copper. The strips are joined together
throughout their length by riveting, brazing or
welding.
The different expansions force the flat strip to bend
one way if heated, and in the opposite direction if
cooled below its initial temperature.

 The metal with the higher coefficient of

thermal expansion is on the outer side of the
curve when the strip is heated and on the
inner side when cooled.
The sideways displacement of the strip is
much larger than the small lengthways
expansion in either of the two metals. This
effect is used in a range of mechanical and
electrical devices.

 These devices are portable and they do not

require a power supply, but they are usually
not as accurate as thermocouples or RTDs
and they do not readily lend themselves to
temperature recording.

 An ELECTRICAL THERMOMETER is a device having electrical

characteristics that change when heated or cooled. Certain metals
when heated or cooled actually change their electrical
characteristics. When they are used as part of an electrical circuit,
a change in temperature can close a switch to start a motor, or
cause a solenoid valve to open or close, or the electrical signal
may be converted into a digital signal to be used by a
microprocessor.
A common electrical thermometer is a thermostat used in homes
to control the temperature. When air temperature is too low, the
heating system is turned on until the air temperature reaches a
preset value. Common electrical thermometers include:
Thermocouples, Resistance Temperature Detectors, Thermistor,
and Semiconductor Thermometers.

RTDs (Resistance Temperature

Detector)
As a result of the physical nature of the conduction of electricity,
electrical resistance of a conductor or semiconductor varies with
temperature. Using this behavior as the basis for temperature
measurement is extremely simple in principle, and leads to two basic
classes of resistance thermometers: resistance temperature detectors
(conductors) and thermistors (semiconductors).
As their name indicates, RTDs rely on resistance change in a metal, with
the resistance rising more or less linearly with temperature.
The most common RTDs are made of either platinum, nickel, or nickel
alloys.
The economical nickel derivative wires are used over a limited
temperature range. They are quite non-linear and tend to drift with time.
For measurement integrity, platinum is the obvious choice.

Resistance Temperature Devices

Resistance temperature devices capitalize on
the fact that the electrical resistance of a
material changes as its temperature changes;
R = R [1 + (T T )]
Where R is the resistance at T=T and is the
temperature coefficient of the device. Two
key types of metallic devices are commonly
used RTDs, and thermistors.
0

 The resistance measurement may be performed by

some kind of bridge circuit. For steady-state condition
a null condition will suffice whereas the oscilloscope
reading could depict the transient measurements.
Practical problems which are encountered with RTDs
involve lead error and relatively bulky size which
sometimes give rise to poor transient response and
conduction errors.
There is a possibility of self-heating (i2R) which may
alter the temperature of element.

Categories of RTD sensors

There are three main categories of RTD sensors; Thin
Film, Wire-Wound, and Coiled Elements.
According to the International Temperature Scale (ITS90), precision temperature instruments should be
calibrated at reproducible equilibrium states of some
materials.
While these types are the ones most widely used in
industry there are some places where other more
exotic shapes are used, for example carbon resistors
are used at ultra low temperatures (-173 C to -273
C).

Coiled elements

Thermistors
Like the RTD, the thermistor is also a
temperature sensitive resistor.
It is based on the resistance change in a
ceramic semiconductor; the resistance drops
nonlinearly with temperature rise.
There are two types as the positive
temperature coefficient (PTC) and negative
temperature coefficient (NTC) as illustrated in
Figure,

 Though it is extremely sensitive because it

gives very rapid change in resistance with
temperature however it has highly nonlinear
behaviour. DAS may employ a computing
program to provide temperature directly
against the resistance measurement.

 The thermistor is the most sensitive

temperature transducer. Of the three major
categories of sensors shown in Figure,

 Very sensitive and very consistent

performance within 0.01 o C.
Compared to RTD, it has small errors due to
lead and self-heating. This is because of its
high resistance.
Attention should also be paid to the selfheating of the sensor!!

Integrated Circuit (I.C.) Sensors

A Semiconductor Thermometer is a semiconductor
device having change in electrical properties with a
change in temperature and are either RTDs or
Thermistors. They are typically produced in the form
of integrated circuits as an individual circuit within
the IC.
An innovation in thermometry is the integrated
circuit temperature transducers shown in Figure,

 These are available in both voltage and currentoutput configurations. Both supply an output that is
linearly proportional to absolute temperature.
Some integrated sensors even represent temperature
in a digital output format that can be read directly by
a microprocessor.
They are semiconductor devices and thus have a
limited temperature range. The same problem of selfheating is evident and they require an external power
source.

Thermocouple
The most common electrical method of temperature
measurement uses the thermocouple, thermocouples
consist essentially of two strips or wires made of different
metals and joined at one end.
An electromotive force (e.m.f) is induced between the
other ends whose value is related to the temperature of
the junction.
As temperature goes up, this output e.m.f of the
thermocouple rises, though not necessarily linearly.
Thermocouples are a widely used type of temperature
sensor for measurement and control and can also be used
to convert a temperature gradient into electricity.

 When two wires composed of dissimilar

metals are joined at both ends and one of the
ends is heated, there is a continuous current
which flows in the thermoelectric circuit as
shown in Figure. This is called the Seebeck
effect.

 If this circuit is broken at the centre as shown

in Figure , the net open circuit voltage (the
Seebeck voltage) is a function of the junction
temperature and the composition of the two
metals.

 All dissimilar metals exhibit this effect. For

small changes in temperature the Seebeck
voltage is linearly proportional to
temperature:
where , the Seebeck coefficient, is the
constant of proportionality. (For real world
thermocouples, is not constant but varies
with temperature.).

 If a voltage is applied, then there will be

temperature change at the junction. This is
called the Peltier effect and can be used for
heating and cooling (refrigeration).

 The Law of Intermediate Temperatures states that in

a thermocouple circuit, if a voltage is developed
between two temperatures T1 and T2, and another
voltage is developed between T2 and T3, the
thermocouple circuit generates a voltage that is the
sum of those two voltages when operating between
temperatures T1 and T3
To summarize this law, the law states:
The temperature at the end of the wires determines
the electrical potential regardless of the intermediate
temperatures.

 This law says it is possible to

use a reference junction with
any fixed temperature T2
that is lower than T3. This is
the basis of cold junction
temperature compensation
in
thermocouples.
A
temperature
sensitive
resistor, or thermistor, is
used to measure the
reference temperature and
an adjustment is made to the
measured
voltage
to
determine the temperature
at the measured junction.

 The Law of Intermediate Metals states that

the use of a third metal in a thermocouple
circuit does not affect the voltage, as long as
the temperature of the three metals at the
point of junction is the same.
To summarize this law, the law states:
Other metals may be used in a thermocouple
circuit as long as the junctions are at the
same temperature.

 Therefore, metals different

from the thermocouple
materials can be used as
extension wires in the circuit.
This is common practice in
industry.

By Radiation

Radiation Detectors (Infrared

Sensors)
Infrared (IR) sensors are non-contacting devices
that infer temperature by measuring the
thermal radiation emitted by the surface of a
material. Electro-magnetic energy radiates from
all matters regardless of their temperatures.
In many process situations, the energy is in the
infrared region. As the temperature goes up, the
amount of infrared radiation and its average
frequency go up.

 Different materials radiate at different levels of

efficiency. This efficiency is quantified as
emissivity, a decimal number or percentage
ranging between 0 and 1 or 0% and 100%.
Most organic materials, including skin, are very
efficient, frequently exhibiting emissivity of 0.95.
Most polished metals, on the other hand, tend
to be inefficient radiators at room temperature,
with emissivity or efficiency often 20% or less.

 To
function
properly,
an
infrared
measurement device must take into account
the emissivity of the surface being measured.
This can often be looked up in a reference
table. However, we have to bear in mind that
tables cannot account for localized conditions
such as oxidation and surface roughness.