Temperature Measurement

By V.N.PRASAD
What is Temperature?
• Temperature is a measure of the internal energy of a system.
• Heat is a measure of the transfer of energy from one system to another.
• Heat transfer takes place from a body at a higher temperature to one at a lower
temperature. The two bodies are said to be in thermal equilibrium when both of
them are at the same temperature and no heat transfer takes place between them.
• The rise in temperature of a body is due to greater absorption of heat, which
increases the movement of the molecules within the body.
Contact type sensors

• Liquid in glass thermometers

• Bimetallic strip thermometers
• Thermocouples
• Resistance temperature detectors (RTDs)
• Thermistors
Non – Contact type sensors
• Optical pyrometers
• Infrared thermometers
Liquid-in-glass thermometers
Bi metallic thermometer
These thermometers use the following two principles:
1. All metals change in dimension, that is expand or contract when there is a change in
temperature.
2. The rate at which this expansion or contraction takes place depend on the temperature co-
efficient of expansion of the metal and this temperature coefficient of expansion is
different for different metals.
3. The metal strips tend to bend owing to their different coefficients of expansion.
4. The contraction or expansion of one strip will be greater than that of the other.
5. The difference in the expansion of two metals, which makes the strip bend, is a measure
of temperature.
6. Since two different metal strips are employed it is called a bimetallic strip thermometer.
• The bimetallic strip is in the form of a cantilever beam. An increase in temperature will result in
the deflection of the free end of the strip as shown in diagram.
• This deflection is linear and can be related to temperature changes. The radius of the curvature of
the bimetallic strip which was initially flat is determined using the following relationship.
• Different common forms of bimetallic sensors are
1. Helix type.
2. Spiral type.
3. Cantilever type.
4. Flat type.
Bimetallic Dial Thermometer Working
• Metals used in bimetallic strips

• High expansion
1. Brass
2. Nickel-iron alloy with chromium & manganese.
Low Expansion
1. Invar (alloy of nickel & iron).

• Salient Characteristics
 Inexpensive; commonly used wherever an industrial mercury-in
glass thermometer can be employed
 Simple, compact and robust construction
Pressure Thermometers
• The sensing element in a pressure thermometer consists of a stainless steel bulb
containing a liquid or gas. Because of the fluid is constrained, temperature rise cause
a rise in the pressure of the fluid.
• The change in pressure of the fluid is measured by a suitable pressure transducer
such as the Bourdon tube.
• This transducer is located remotely from the bulb and connected to it by a capillary
tube.
 Thermocouples
• Thomas See beck made this discovery in 1821.
• A thermocouple is comprised of at least two metals joined together to form two junctions.
• One is connected to the body whose temperature is to be measured; this is the hot or
measuring junction.
• The other junction is connected to a body of known temperature; this is the cold or
reference junction.
• Therefore the thermocouple measures unknown temperature of the body with reference to
the known temperature of the other body.
 Working Principle
• The working principle of thermocouple is based on three effects, discovered by Seebeck, Peltier
and Thomson. They are as follows:

• 1) Seebeck effect: (named after the scientist who discovered it in 1821):The Seebeck effect
states that If two junctions of thermo-couple are placed at different temperature, then an emf will
be produced in thermo-couple which will be proportional to the temperature difference.. The
amount of emf generated is different for different combinations of the metals.

• 2) Peltier effect: Later, in 1834, Jean Peltier found that the opposite of the Seebeck effect is also
true: that a potential difference (and thus a current) can cause a temperature difference,
regardless of what the ambient temperature is.

• i.e. when an electric current is passed through thermo-couple ,heat is evolved at one junction and
absorbed at the other end i.e one end become hot while other become cold. The absorption and
evolution of heat depends on the direction of flow of current.
• Thomson Effect:
• The major difference between Thomson effect and other two is that in Thomson
effect deal with only single metallic rod and not with thermo-couple as in Peltier
effect and Seebeck effect.
• According to this effect, if a conductor has placed in varying temperature along its
length and current is passed through it then it will absorb or evolve heat.
Absorbing or evolving heat will depend on direction of current.

In most of the cases the emf suggested by the Thomson effect is very small and
it can be neglected by making proper selection of the metals. The Peltier effect
plays a prominent role in the working principle of the thermocouple.
Laws of Thermocouples
The actual application of thermocouple to the measurement requires consideration of
following three laws.

1. Law of homogeneous circuit—an electric current cannot be sustained in a circuit of a

single homogeneous metal by the application of heat alone.
This law suggests that two dissimilar materials are required for the formation of any
thermocouple circuit.
2. Law of Intermediate Metals

If an intermediate metal is inserted into a thermocouple circuit at any

point, the net emf will not be affected provided the two junctions
introduced by the third metal are at identical temperatures. This law allows
the measurement of the thermoelectric emf by introducing a device into
the circuit at any point without affecting the net emf, provided that
additional junctions introduced are all at the same temperature.
3. Law of successive or intermediate temperatures: The emf generated in a
thermocouple with junctions at temperatures T1 and T3 is equal to the sum of
emf’s generated by similar thermocouple, one acting between temperatures T1
and T2 and the other acting between T2 and T3, where T2 lies between T1 and
T3.
This law allows us to make corrections to the thermocouple readings when
the reference junction temperature is different from the temperature at which
the thermocouple was calibrated.
• Thermocouple
Materials
•
Theoretically, any two different
materials can be used to form a
thermocouple.
• However, only a few are suitable
for temperature measurement
applications.
• Combinations of different
thermocouple materials and their
temperature range are given in
Table 15.2.
Advantages of Thermocouple
The following are some distinct advantages that merit the use of thermocouples:
1. Temperature can be measured over a wide range.
2. Thermocouples are self-powered and do not require any auxiliary power source.
3. A quick and good response can be obtained.
4. The readings obtained are consistent and hence are consistently repeatable.
5. Thermocouples are rugged, and can be employed in harsh and corrosive conditions
6. They are inexpensive.
7. They can be installed easily.
• Disadvantages of Thermocouple
1. They have low sensitivity when compared to other temperature-measuring
devices such as thermistors and RTDs.
2. Calibration is required because of the presence of some non-linearity.
3. Temperature measurement may be inaccurate due to changes in the reference
junction temperature; hence thermocouples cannot be employed for precise
measurements.
4. For enhancing the life of thermocouples, they should be protected against
contamination and have to be chemically inert.
 Thermopiles
• An extension of thermocouples is known as a thermopile. A thermopile comprises a number of
thermocouples connected in series, wherein the hot junctions are arranged side by side or in a
star formation. In such cases, the total output is given by the sum of individual emfs. The
advantage of combining thermocouples to form a thermopile is that a much more sensitive
element is obtained.
• For example, a sensitivity of 0.002°C at 1 mV/°C can be achieved with a chromel–constantan
thermopile consisting of 14 thermocouples.

• For special-purpose applications such as measurement of temperature of sheet glass,

thermopiles are constructed using a series of semiconductors.
• For average temperature measurement, thermocouples can be connected in parallel.
• During the formation of a thermopile, one has to ensure that the hot junctions of the individual
thermocouples are properly insulated from one another.
Resistance Temperature Detectors
An RTD is a temperature sensor that works on the principle that the resistance of
electrically conductive materials is proportional to the temperature to which they are
exposed.
Resistance of a metal increases with an increase in temperature.
Hence, metals can be classified as per their positive temperature coefficient (PTC).
When temperature measurement is performed by a resistance thermometer using metallic
conductors, is called a resistance temperature detector (RTD).
RTDs are also known as resistance thermometers.
On the other hand, semiconductors used for temperature measurement are called
thermistors.
Thin Film RTD (How they look like)
• RTD uses platinum, nickel or copper as a resistance element.
• Generally, platinum wire is wound on ceramic bobbin to form a resistance element.
• This resistance element is placed inside the hollow structure called protection tube. It is made up of
stainless steel or carbon steel.

• Operation
Initial resistance is measured by using Wheatstone bridge. Probe tip of the RTD is placed near the
heat source. Outer cover uniformly distributes heat to sensing resistance element. As the
temperature varies, the resistance of the material also varies. Now, final resistance is again
measured. From the above measurement, variation in temperature can be calculated as follows,

Where,
Rt = Final resistance
R0 = Resistance at room temperature.
Dt = Difference in temperature.
X = Temperature coefficient of RTD material.
• Advantages:
 Accuracy is more.
 More linear than thermocouple.
 No necessary for temperature compensation.
 Performance is stable for long period.

• Disadvantages:
 Expensive.
 Their change in temperature is very small even for large change in
input temperature.
 External current source is required.
 Low sensitivity.
 Thermistors
• Semiconductors that are used to measure temperature are called thermistors.
• When a thermistor is employed for temperature measurement, its resistance decreases with
increase in temperature.
• The relationship between temperature and resistance is given by the following equation

• Here, R is the resistance at temperature T,

• RR is the resistance at the reference temperature TR

• e is the base of the Napierian logarithm, and

• β is a constant, which lies in the range of 3000–4600 K depending on the composition
Semiconductor Material for Thermistors
• Germanium containing precise proportions of arsenic, gallium, or antimony is most
preferred as thermistor material.
• The temperature measurement range of thermistors is -250 to 650°C.

• Thermistors are also produced using oxides of manganese, nickel cobalt, nickel copper, iron,
zinc, titanium, and tin.
• In order to attain better reproducibility and stability of the thermistor characteristics, some
chemically stabilizing oxides are added.
• The oxides are milled into powder form and mixed with a plastic binder, which are then
compressed into desired forms such as disks or wafers. leads are then added to these
thermistors and coated if necessary.
Thermistors
Advantages:
1. Thermistors possess very high sensitivity, which is much higher than that of RTDs and
thermocouples, and hence have the capability to detect very small changes in temperature.
2. Their response is very fast, and hence, they are employed for precise control of temperature.
3. They are inexpensive.

Disadvantages:
1. They have highly non-linear resistance temperature characteristics.
2. The temperature range is narrow.
3. Low fragility is often a problem.
4. High-temperature performance of thermistors is not good and they exhibit instability with time.
5. They are prone to self-heating errors.
 Pyrometry
Non-contact-type devices are called pyrometers.

The term pyrometer is of Greek origin, wherein pyro stands for ‘fire’ and metron means
‘to measure’.

Pyrometer was first invented by the great English potter Josiah Wedgwood in the early
1780s, for which he received the Fellowship of the Royal Society in 1783.

Measurements of temperature are carried out either by measuring energy radiated by a hot
body or by colour comparison. Pyrometers are classified into two distinct categories:
Total radiation pyrometers and optical pyrometers
 Total Radiation Pyrometer
• It gives a measure of temperature by evaluating the heat radiation emitted by a body.
• All the radiations emitted by a hot body or furnace are measured and calibrated for black
body conditions.

Detector may be a Thermo couple or Thermopile

Advantages:
It is a non contact type device
It gives a very quick response
High temperature measurement can be accomplished

Disadvantages:
Errors in temperature measurement are possible due to emission of
radiation to the atmosphere
Emissivity errors affect measurements.
Optical pyrometer (Disappearing filament Type)

Optical pyrometers work on the disappearing filament principle.

In order to measure temperature, the brightness generated by the radiation of the unknown
source or hot body whose temperature is to be determined is compared with that of the
reference lamp.
The brightness of the reference lamp can be adjusted so that its intensity is equal to the
brightness of the hot body under consideration.
The light intensity of the object depends on its temperature, irrespective of its wavelength.
A battery supplies the current required for heating the filament.
The current flowing through the filament is adjusted by means of a rheostat and an
ammeter is used to measure it. The current passing through the circuit is proportional to
the temperature of the unknown source.
• The advantages associated with optical pyrometers are as follows:

1. They are simple in construction and portable.

2. Optical pyrometers are flexible and easy to operate.
3. They provide very high accuracy of up to ±5 °C.
4. Since they are non-contact-type sensors, they are used for a variety of
applications.
5. They can be used for remote-sensing applications, since the distance between the
source and the pyrometer does not affect the temperature measurement.
6. Optical pyrometers can be employed for both temperature measurement and for
viewing and measuring wavelengths that are less than 0.65 µm.
• The following are the disadvantages of optical pyrometers:
1. Optical pyrometers can be employed for measurement only if the
minimum temperature is around 700°C, since it is based on intensity of
light.
2. Temperature measurement at short intervals is not possible.
3. Emissivity errors may affect measurement.
4. Optical pyrometers are used for the measurement of clean gases only.

• Optical pyrometers can be employed to measure temperatures of liquid

metals and materials that are heated to a high temperature. This method is
useful in situations where physical contact is impossible, for example, for
determining the temperature of molten metals and materials that are heated
to a high temperature. Temperature of furnaces can be measured easily
 Infrared Thermometers
It is a well-known fact that every material or matter whose temperature is above
absolute zero emits infrared radiations depending on the temperature.
Infrared radiations are invisible to the human eye and can be sensed as heat.
An infrared thermometer is a non-contact-type sensor that can detect infrared
radiation from a heated body.
We know that the radiation emitted by an object or a heated body has different
wavelengths. Radiations that have longer wavelengths than visible light are known
as infrared radiations; these radiations possess less energy and are less harmful.
A part of the infrared energy radiated by an object is detected by an infrared sensor.
It essentially measures the amount of radiation emitted by an object.
Infrared thermometers are ideally suited for high-temperature measurement.
The surface of the object begins to radiate when it attains a temperature of around 500–600°C.
The infrared energy increases with increase in temperature.
The practical wavelength range of infrared radiations is between 0.7 and 20 µm, but normally
radiations in the wavelength range 0.7 – 14 µm are employed for measurement.
An infrared thermometer facilitates the measurement of temperatures of
moving objects.
In situations where objects are placed in vacuum or in a controlled
atmosphere, or the distance between the source of the temperature and the
instrument of measurement is large, an infrared device is most useful.
It is particularly helpful when the objects are in inaccessible
areas/hazardous conditions, wherein non-contact measurement is the only
option available for determining temperature.