STUDY OF TEMPERATURE SENSORS

GENERAL DESCRIPTION :-

This setup is combined setup to study THERMOCOUPLE, RTD & THERMISTOR

temperature modules one by one. Internally each sensor has its separate signal
conditioning process with Separate potentiometer for calibration.
User has to share digital panel meter (0-200 mv) in between 3 Sections Min –
max adjustment is provided on the front panel in its respective section (except
thermistor).
Each Sensor section has INPUT (SENSOR Connection, with proper polarity for
Thermocouple) terminals in the bottom. Also each sensor section has OUTPUT
terminals on top of each section.
For Thermocouple (T/C) characteristics separate switch is provided for selection
of temperature indication or thermocouple characteristics
300W 1.2 LTR stainless steel heating cup is provided for water bath is provided.
Also Laboratory mercury thermometer is provided with the circuit.
In this manual, separate sections for each module is described with circuit
diagrams.

.
 ❖ THERMOCOUPLE INTRODUCTION:
Thermocouple, a transducer based on See beck effect is the most common and
widely used single device for temp. measurement in industrial applications, for the
range 0 degree to 4000 degree F. Thermocouple is a self generating transducer
and is basically a pair of dissimilar metallic conductors, joined so as to produce an
e.m.f. depending upon magnitude of temp. difference and materials of conductors.
Combinations used for base metal thermocouple are copper constantan (- 300 to
800F) ,Iron constantan (- 300 F to 1580 F) Chromel - Alumel etc.

Thermocouples are low in cost, reliable in service, are easily used , cover wide
range of temp. measurement and have very good time response characteristics
(because of low thermal mass),but they are not perfectly linear over entire range
and require cold junction compensation if ice -bath is to be avoided.

• Circuit operation: (refer fig. 1)

The temp. indicator p.c.b. using thermocouple as the sensor includes the following
circuits.
A separate power supply +6.1 volts and - 6.2 volts is obtained by an extra 9 volt A-
C supply. This serves to provide +ve and - ve supply for the Op/Amp on the
p.c.b. Thermocouple output is connected to the non inverting terminal of the op-
amp. To the inverting terminal of the op-amp , output from a wheatstone’s bridge
is supplied. This bridge is excited from a highly stabilised d.c. supply of 6.5 volts
using IC 723 as a voltage regulator. The bridge excitation comes from a separate
d.c. supply. Finally about 40 milivolts of the excitation is made available to the
bridge for Chromel -alumel thermocouple and 50 millivolt are required for Iron-
constantan themrocouple. As ambient temp. goes on changing , the RTD’s
resistance also changes and small output voltage is developed across the bridge.
RTD is prepared from a copper wire wound on an insulating former and exhibits
resistance of about 24 ohms at room temperature. The bridge output is fed to the
inverting input of the amplifier. With higher ambient temp., thermocouple
transducer tends to produce lower output voltage.

The RTD bridge circuit automatically takes care of this tendency of thermocouple
by applying a small voltage of proper polarity to the inverting terminal of the
amplifier.

Condenser “C” connected across the terminals “2 and 3” of the op amp is useful
in suppressing any unwanted noise. The potentiometer “MAX”(P1) on the panel is
connected as a gain controlling feedback resistance and is useful for carrying out
calibration operation. Potentiometer marked “MIN”(P2) is useful for zero
adjustment.
• Operating instructions:

1) Connect the thermocouple supplied to you at the input terminal. For Chromel-Alumel
thermocouple, Chromel must be connected to +ve(yellow wire) input terminal and
Alumel must be connected to -ve (Red marking) input terminal.
2) Connect the RED & BLACK terminals from thermocouple output to the input
of DPM.
3) Potentiometer marked “MAX” & “MIN” must be kept at middle position initially
4) Ensure that water heater is ready and the container contains sufficient
amount of water. Now switch ON the heater supply.
5) Immerse the thermocouple in the Ambient temperatue water & adjust the
pot. Marked “MIN” on the panel to get minimum temperature . with respect to
mercury in glass thermometer.
6) When the water starts boiling , the potentiometer marked “MAX” is adjusted to
get an indication of the boiling point temp (which is measured with the help of
mercury in glass type thermometer). Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you get
satisfactory indication at minimum or ambient temperature of tap water and at
boiling point.
7) Turn Off the heater so that water starts cooling down. Note the indicated
reading on the DPM and the thermometer reading. Enter the observations in
Table No.1 given below and then plot the graph of thermometer reading on X
axis and thermocouple reading on Y axis choosing proper scales.

Sr.No. Thermometer reading DPM reading

1 98 degree C
2 90 degree C
.
.

10 25 degree C
 At the end of the experiment , the following points may be noted.

1. Thermocouple output is fairly linear and there is good agreement in the reading shown
by the thermocouple and the thermometer. Calibration curve can be seen to be almost a
straight line.

NOTE: DPM used

• 199.9 milivolt type
The maximum temperature indicated is 199.9 degree centigrade
(with 1 milivolt = 1 degree centigrade )

------------------------------######-----------------------------
EXPT NO.2 THERMOCOUPLE CHARACHTERTICS
Under this experiment students can plot Thermocouple output voltage (mv) vs actual
temperature plot . For this experiment we need 2 no of thermocouple with 1 acting as REF
JUNCTION and OTHER as HOT JUNCTION with one terminal of each is made common and
two other ends of the thermocouple is connected DPM internally through switch sw 2.

Procedure for plotting Thermocouple characteristics :-

1) Connect thermocouple to the input of the thermocouple section .

2) Now Put thermocouple in boiling water or Hot water.

3) Now keep the switch to the THERMOCOUPLE O/P IN mv. SIDE.

4) Now you should get mv output on DPM .

 5) Now read the table and get theoretical output and compare the same with actual output
on DPM .

6) Following is the way ,you can read the table

Ex:- if Hot junction at 80 Degree celcius and Ref junction(internally connected) at 25 deg
celcius (ambient temperature) then difference is +55 Degree Celsius then
Read the Table in Column of 50 and Row of 5 so expected output is 2.25mv , compare
this with experimental output on DPM.

Put switch SW2 on Thermocouple output in mv side

Sr no. Thermocouple output indicated in Thermocouple output
mv calculated from chart in mv

1
 Thermocouple

Sr.no Temperature Temperature V (mv)

Thermometer Indicated ( DEG.C on (thermocouple
DPM) charachtertics)
(hot junction /cold
junction)
2 62 61.7 1.1
3 52 51.4 0.8
4 53 53.4 0.9
5 49.8 49.7 0.7
6 46.8 46.7 0.6
7 43.5 43.2 0.5
**FOR THERMOCOUPLE CHARACHTERTICS REFER
CHART GIVEN
 THERCOUPLE OUTPUT – STANDARD
CHART (FOR ‘K’ TYPE (CHROMEL-
ALUMEL))

DEG 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DEG
C
0 0.000 0.039 0.079 0.119 0.158 0.198 0.238 0.271 0.327 0.357 0.397 0
10 0.397 0.437 0.477 0.517 0.557 0.597 0.632 0.672 0.718 0.758 0.798 10
20 0.798 0.838 0.879 0.919 0.960 1.000 1.041 1.081 1.122 1.162 1.203 20
30 1.203 1.244 1.285 1.325 1.366 1.407 1.448 1.469 1.529 1.570 1.611 30
40 1.611 1.652 1.693 1.734 1.776 1.817 1.858 1.898 1.940 1.981 2.022 40
50 2.022 2.064 2.105 2.147 2.188 2.225 2.270 2.312 2.352 2.394 2.436 50
60 2.436 2.477 2.519 2.560 2.601 2.648 2.689 2.726 2.767 2.809 2.850 60
70 2.850 2.892 2.932 2.978 3.016 3.090 3.100 3.110 3.183 3.224 3.266 70
80 3.266 3.307 3.344 3.390 3.432 3.475 3.513 3.556 3.598 3.639 3.681 80
90 3.681 3.722 3.764 3.805 3.847 3.880 3.930 3.971 4.012 4.054 4.095 90
100 4.095 4.137 4.178 4.219 4.261 4.302 4.343 4.363 4.426 4.467 4.508 100
110 4.508 4.549 4.590 4.632 4.673 4.714 4.755 4.796 4.837 4.878 4.919 110
120 4.919 4.960 5.001 5.042 5.083 5.124 5.164 5.205 5.246 5.287 5.327 120
130 5.327 5.368 5.409 5.430 5.490 5.531 5.571 5.612 5.652 5.693 5.733 130
140 5.733 5.774 5.814 5.855 5.895 5.936 5.976 6.014 6.057 6.097 6.137 140

OUTOUT in Millivolts
 RTD PT-100
TEMPERATURE MEASURMENT: RESISTANCE TEMPERATURE
DETECTOR (RTD)
The principle of operation of resistance temperature detectors (RTD) is based on the
fact that the electrical resistance of many metals increases almost directly with temp.
And is reproducible to high degree of accuracy. The term used to express this
characteristic is well known temperature coefficient of resistance and is defined by the
appropriate formula:
Rt = Ro (1 + t) where
 -Temp coefficient of resistance for the metal used.
Ro - Resistance of the element at 0 degree Celsius
t - Temperature of the element in degree Celsius.
Platinum ,Nickel
and copper are generally used as basic materials for RTD.
We may note the following as regards the RTD as transducer for temp. measurement.
1. The resistance of R.T.D. increases as the temp. increases. The resistance and
temp. are linearly related over a wide temp. range.
2. In general, resistance thermometers are larger and less convenient to apply than
the thermocouple. They are massive and hence exhibit poor time response
characteristics.
3. They require bridge balance circuitry and have rather restricted upper temp. range.
They exhibit higher accuracy, reliability than thermocouples.

• Circuit operation:
• Part I:Study of RTD characteristics.
•
In this set up we see that the RTD is connected across terminals 2 and 6 of this op
amp .With terminal No 2 of op amp at virtual ground potential, a fixed current of -1
milli amp will be flowing through the RTD .As such output pin No. 6 of the op amp will
generate a potential which is exactly proportional to the resistance of the transducer
under study. If the resistance of RTD is 199.9 ohms, 1 milli amp current flowing
through it will produce 199.9 millivolts which is directly measurable by 199.9 mV DPM.
The resolution provided will be 0.1 ohms.
OBSERVATION :-
EXPERIMENT NO :1 :- TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT USING RTD
Keep toggle switch in RTD section to TEMP side and connect DPM output to ‘T’
terminal (for getting temperature output ) ( YELLOW to RED AND YELLOW TO
BLACK)
You can get readings in Following format .
 Sr no. TEMPERATURE INDICATED ON TEMPPERATURE
DPM IN DEG C MEASURED USING LAB
THERMOMETER IN DEG C

EXPERIMENT NO :2 :- RTD characteristics Vs Temperature measured

Keep toggle switch in RTD section on ‘RTD’ side and connect DPM output to ‘R’
terminal (for getting resistance output ) ( BLUE to RED AND BLUE TO BLACK)
You can get readings in Following format .
Sr no. TEMPERATURE MEASURED USING RESISTANCE IN Ohm
THEMOMETER
1

RTD characteristics

120

100

80
Indicated Temp in degree C

60

40

20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Measured Temp in degree C
 NTC THERMISTOR

Negative Temperature Coefficient Thermistor

Negative temperature coefficient of resistance thermistors, or NTC
thermistors for short, reduce or decrease their resistive value as the
operating temperature around them increases. Generally, NTC
thermistors are the most commonly used type of temperature sensors as
they can be used in virtually any type of equipment where temperature
plays a role.
NTC temperature thermistors have a negative electrical resistance versus
temperature (R/T) relationship. The relatively large negative response of
an NTC thermistor means that even small changes in temperature can
cause significant changes in its electrical resistance. This makes them
ideal for annunciation application . Thermistor characteristics is
typically non linear and two same type of thermistors (base
specifications) may have different characteristics curve .
NTC thermistors reduce in resistance with an increase in temperature and
are available in a variety of base resistances and curves. They are usually
characterised by their base resistance at room temperature, that is 25oC,
(77oF) as this provides a convenient reference point. So for example,
2k2Ω at 25oC, 10kΩ at 25oC or 47kΩ at 25oC, etc.
Depending upon type thermistor (1k type or 10k type) connected ,range
switch can be selected as 2k or 20K .We have provided 1K NTC thermistor
with the setup .
You can get readings in Following format .
PROCDURE:-
1. Connect ntc thermistor to the terminals marked as input from
sensor
2. Keep the switch to the 2k range.
3. Connect output from sensor to the DPM input.
4. Note down the readings as per the table given below

Sr no. TEMPERATURE MEASURED USING RESISTANCE IN Ohm

THEMOMETER neglecting Decimal point
1
 Thermisitor Characteristics

1.2

0.8
Resistance in Kilo-Ohms

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Temp. in Degree C

PRECAUTIONS:-
1) HANDLE SENSORS CAREFULLY

2) DO NOT TOUCH THE HOT SENSORS ,IT CAN CAUSE SERIOUS

DAMAGE.

3) DO NOT SHORT ANY OUTPUT TERMINALS.

4) CONNECT THE PATCHING CABLES CAREFULLY .

THERMCOUPLE CIRCUIT
RTD CIRCUIT