UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY SARAWAK

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

EEM3971
ENGINEERING LABORATORY 3
LABORATORY REPORT

LAB CODE

TH1

LAB NAME

TEMPERATURE

MEASUREMENT

AND CALIBRATION
TEAM NO

NAME

TAN SIA HOW

ID NO

BME 15070003

DATE OF EXPERIMENT

4/10/2016

DATE OF SUBMISSION

11/10/2016

LECTURER/INSTRUCTO

DR. SUFIAN FARID SHAKER

CONTENT
OBJECTIVE......................................................................................................................
METHOD..........................................................................................................................

THEORY...........................................................................................................................
APPARATUS.....................................................................................................................
PROCEDURE...................................................................................................................
RESULT AND CALCULATION......................................................................................
CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION.............................................................................
REFERENCES................................................................................................................

TH1: THERMOMETRIC PROPERTIES

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the thermoelectric properties of a platinum resistance device, a
thermocouple, and a thermistor. To investigate the effect of temperature on a
liquid in-glass device. To investigate the effect of temperature on a bi-metal
thermometer.

METHOD
To look at the changes in the properties (sensor output) of a range of temperature
sensitive devices, using a heated water-bath.

THEORY
Several techniques are available to measure variations in temperature. All are
made possible because some measurable property of a device varies with
temperature, such as electrical resistance or volume.
Liquid filled thermometers:
Liquid filled thermometers make use of the associated expansion of a liquid due to
an increase in temperature. The most common type is the liquid-in-glass
thermometer, which relies on the expansion of the enclosed liquid being greater
than the expansion of the glass for any given temperature rise. The thermometer
consists of a capillary tube with a liquid-filled bulb, sealed such that the tube
contains only liquid and liquid vapour. On heating, the liquid expands relative to
the glass container and a column is pushed along the bore of the tube, displaying
the expansion as linear displacement. A scale along the tube that is calibrated in
units of temperature gives a direct reading of temperature.
Bi-metal thermometers:
Bi-metal thermometers rely on the differential expansion of two different metals.
The metals are fixed together in a strip with the result that the strip bends when it
2

is heated or cooled. The bi-metal strip is connected to a mechanical indicator or

recording device, such as a Bourdon gauge, which is calibrated directly in units of
temperature corresponding to the amount of bend in the strip.
Calibration is far from linear, due to the characteristic of the bi-metal strip. For
this reason, the bi-metal thermometer is suitable only for operation over short
ranges of temperature and suffers from lack of sensitivity at low readings. In
service, the range should be selected so that the gauge remains within operational
limits with the normal operating point at approximately two thirds of full scale
reading.
Resistance thermometers:
Resistance thermometers make use of metals such as nickel, copper, and tungsten,
which are good electrical conductors and have a resistance that increases with
increasing temperature. Due to its reliability, platinum is the most widely used and
is specified in the International Temperature Scale for interpolation between the
oxygen point (1187.97C) and the Antimony point (630.5C).
The element itself usually consists of a length of platinum wire trimmed to give an
accurate resistance of 100C at 0C. The wire is wound on to an insulated former
and protected by additional insulation, the whole assembly then being encased in a
metal sheath.
Thermistors:
Thermistors make use of semiconducting materials, where resistance decreases
with increasing temperature. The change in resistance with temperature is far
greater than in the case of pure metals, which means less sensitive instrumentation
may be used. In addition, miniature bead thermistors may be manufactured which
are so small that the thermal response is virtually instantaneous, and the effects of
thermal transfer between the sensor and the system being measured are negligible.
The relation of the resistance of thermistors and temperature are approximation
equal to:
B

R=R 0 e

( T1 T1 )
0

(1)

Where

is resistance at temperature

reference temperature
B

T0 .

T ,

R0

is reference resistance at

is coefficient of proportionality. To find the

we rearrange the equation 1:

ln
B=

( RR )
0

1 1

T0 T

(2)

Thermocouples:
Thermocouples rely on the existence of an electromotive force across the junction
of two unlike metals, which varies with the temperature of the junction.
A thermocouple consists of two wires of dissimilar metal joined together at one
end. When the metallic junction is heated an e.m.f. is generated, known as the
Peltier E.M.F.
By suitable connection of junctions and instrumentation, a circuit can be created
which may be used to determine temperature differences. The construction of such
a circuit is shown below.

By combining the thermocouples in this manner with a temperature gradient

between junction 1 and junction 2, four sources of e.m.f. are generated as follows:
1. The Peltier E.M.F. at junction 1 between metals A and B due to the
temperature T1.

2. The Peltier E.M.F. at junction 2 between metals B and A due to the

temperature at T2.
3. The Thompson effect along metal A due to the temperature gradient T1 T2.
4. The Thompson effect along metal B due to the temperature gradient T1 T2.
The resultant e.m.f. produced by the circuit is the sum of these four separate
e.m.f.s and is called the Seebeck E.M.F.
The net e.m.f. produced is a function of the two metals used to form the junctions
and the temperature difference between the two junctions. Hence, for a particular
temperature metal combination, a calibration of e.m.f. against temperature
difference may be produced. The results obtained are reproducible and provide a
reliable method for temperature measurement.

APPARATUS

Water
level

Liquid-in-

Bi-metal

glass

gauge

thermometer

PROCEDURE
1. Stirrer and the heater were checked so that both were switched off and
hypsometer/water was cooled.
2. The slotted chimney on the steam vent were removed.
3. The hypsometer/water-bath was filled by water until the water level was
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

located between the top two marks on the sight glass at the front.
The slotted chimney was replaced.
The gland nuts should be finger tight.
The liquid-in glass thermometer was securely fastened into the carrier.
The initial reading for each sensor was recorded.
The heater and the stirrer was switched on.
The reading for each sensor was recorded every 5 C until the water
had reached boiling point. The rotary selector switch was used to change

the channel of the result.

10. The heater was switched off but the stirrer was still running.
11. The reading for each sensor was recorded every 5 C until 5 records
were taken.

RESULT AND CALCULATION

Table 1: Result of heating process
PT100RE

F ( C )
26.55
31.55
36.55
41.55
46.55
51.55
56.55
61.55
66.55
71.55
76.55
81.55
86.55
91.55
96.55
100.07

PT100IN
D ()
111.41
113.26
115.22
117.15
119.18
121.09
122.96
124.8
126.67
128.38
130.09
131.78
133.45
135.13
136.85
138.09

Thermocoupl
e ( V )
1035
1258
1495
1682
1888
2091
2293
2491
2698
2924
3145
3330
3563
3765
3955
4100

Thermisto
r ()
2787
2241
1790
1491
1224
1020
847
713
599
500
418
361
305
266
230
207

liquidBiin-glass ( metal ( water

C )
C ) level
(cm)
26.5
28
0.7
32
32
0.7
37
36
0.7
41.5
40
0.7
46.5
45
0.7
51
49
0.7
56
53
0.7
61
60
0.7
66
64
0.7
71
69
0.7
76.5
74
0.65
81
79
0.65
86
84
0.65
91
89
0.65
96
93
0.6
99
97
0.6

PT100 IND againts PT100 REF

160
140
f(x) = 0.36x + 102.17
120
100

PT100 IND ()

80
60
40
20
0
20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

PT100 REF ()

From the graph, the resistance of the PT100 IND increases linearly when the
temperature increases. The equation of the best fit line is

y=0.3624 x +102.17 .

The x-intersection of the graph is -281.926 . This value is corresponding to

absolute zero temperature -273.15

(0K). So, the absolute error of the graph

is calculated:
error=|experimentactual|

error=|281.926(273.15)|
error=8.776 K

The standard deviation

Thermocouple agiants PT100 REF

4500
4000

f(x) = 40.85x

3500
3000
2500

Thermocouple ()

2000
1500
1000
500
0
20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100 110

PT100REF ()

From the graph, the thermocouple is directly proportional to the PT100REF. The
equation of the best fit line is equal to y = 40.854x. The value of the thermocouple
is equal to 0 V

as the Peltier E.M.F should be the same when the temperature

of water is equal to reference junction which is 0 . The standard deviation of

the best fit curve is:
S . D .=

( xx expected )
n

S . D .=21.3365 V

Thermistor againts PT100REF

3000

2500

2000

Thermistor () 1500
1000

500

0
20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

PT100REF ()

From the graph, the thermistor grows exponentially to PT100REF. To calculate

the B value, 299.55K (26.55 ) is selected to be
to be

T0

and 2787 is selected

R0 and substitute all the value into eq2 and form table below.

PT100REF ( C

PT100REF (K)

)
31.55
36.55
41.55
46.55
51.55
56.55
61.55
66.55
71.55
76.55
81.55
86.55
91.55
96.55
100.07

304.55
309.55
314.55
319.55
324.55
329.55
334.55
339.55
344.55
349.55
354.55
359.55
364.55
369.55
373.07

Thermistor ()

2241
1790
1491
1224
1020
847
713
599
500
418
361
305
266
230
207

3978.333392
4105.431671
3929.235514
3938.169201
3908.836229
3919.119996
3903.323167
3909.45962
3940.58564
3973.111982
3946.677782
3971.392693
3946.731953
3945.051449
3952.099535

Then, the average value of B is calculated:

B=

Bi
n

B=3951.170655
From eq1 the theoretical value of resistance is:
3951.170655

R=2787 e

1
1
)
( 299.55
T

And the table of experimental versus theoretical value is formed.

PT100REF
C )

Experimental ()

Theoretical ()

31.55
2241
2244.339
36.55
1790
1820.028
41.55
1491
1485.803
46.55
1224
1220.679
51.55
1020
1008.956
56.55
847
838.7901
61.55
713
701.1842
66.55
599
589.2544
71.55
500
497.6978
76.55
418
422.4026
81.55
361
360.161
86.55
305
308.4554
91.55
266
265.2981
96.55
230
229.1117
100.07
207
207.1265
The average of percent error between theoretical value and
0.760278351%.

10

% error (%)
0.148762
1.649866
0.349809
0.272022
1.094583
0.978778
1.685119
1.653883
0.462578
1.042272
0.232941
1.120221
0.264555
0.387696
0.06109
experimental value is

liquid-in-glass againts PT100REF

120

100

f(x) = 0.99x

80

liquid-in-glass ()

60

40

20

0
20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

PT100REF ()

From the graph, the reading of liquid in gas thermometer is directly proportional
to reading of PT100REF. The gradient of the best fit line is 0.9939. The gradient
of theoretical value of gradient is 1. This is because both thermometer use the
same temperature scale, which is . The percent error of the line is:

|experimentactual
| 100
actual

error =

|0.99391
|100
1

error =

error =0.61

The standard deviation of the line is:

S . D .=

( xx expected )
n

S . D .=0.517349012

11

Bi-metal against PT100REF

120

100
f(x) = 0.97x
80

60

bi-meter ()

40

20

0
20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

PT100REF ()

From the graph, the reading of bi-meter thermometer is directly proportional to

reading of PT100REF. The gradient of best fit line is equal to 0.9538. The gradient
of theoretical value of gradient is 1. This is because both thermometer use the
same temperature scale, which is . The percent error of the line is:

|experimentactual
| 100
actual

error =

|0.96761
|100
1

error =

error =3.24

The standard deviation of the line is:

S . D .=

( xx expected )
n

12

S . D .=2.37121277

13

Table 2: Result of cooling process

PT100
REF

C )

100.07
95
90.08
85.05
80.09

PT100
IND ()
138.09
136.51
134.89
133.23
131.51

Thermoco
uple
(

V )

4100
3884
3679
3473
3263

Thermisto
r ()
207
240
279
325
381

liquid-inglass
( Bi-metal ( water
level
C )
C )
(cm)
99
97
0.6
94
97
0.6
89
92
0.6
84
87
0.6
79
82
0.6

PT100 IND against PT100 REF

140

138

f(x) = 0.33x + 105.18

136

PT100 IND () 134

132

130

128
75

80

85

90

95

100

105

PT100 REF ()

From the graph, the resistance of the PT100 IND is increase linearly with the
temperature increase. The equation of the best fit line is

y=0.3624 x +102.17 .

The x-intersection of the graph is -281.926 . This value is corresponding to

absolute zero temperature -273.15

(0K). So, the absolute error of the graph

is calculated:
error=|experimentactual|

14

error=|319.308(273.15)|
error=46.158 K

Thermocouple against PT100 REF

4500
4000

f(x) = 40.87x

3500
3000
2500

Thermocouple ()
2000
1500
1000
500
0

PT100 REF ()

From the graph, the thermocouple directly proportional to the increase in

PT100REF. The equation of the best fit line is equal to y = 40.866x. The value of
the thermocouple should be 0 V

as the Peltier E.M.F should be the same when

the temperature of water equal to reference junction which is

standard deviation of the best fit curve is:
S . D .=

( xx expected )
n

S . D .=6.710483125 V

15

0 . The

Thermistor against PT100 REF

450
400
350
300
250

Thermistor ()

200
150
100
50
0
75

80

85

90

95

100

105

PT100 REF ()

From the graph, the thermistor is grow exponentially to PT100REF. To calculate

the B value, 373.07K (100.07 ) is selected to be

and 207 is selected

R0 and all the values are substituted into eq2 to form the table below.

to be

PT100REF ( C

PT100REF (K)

)
100.07
95
90.08
85.05
80.09

373.07
368
363.08
358.05
353.09

Thermistor ()

207
240
279
325
381

3952.099535
3948.923294
3940.084349
3939.784816
3931.084259

Then, the average value of B is calculated:

B=

T0

Bi
n

B=3942.395251

16

From eq1 the theoretical value of resistance is:

3942.395251

R=207 e

1
1
)
( 373.07
T

And the table of experimental versus theoretical value is formed.

PT100REF
C )

Experimental ()

Theoretical ()

31.55
2241
2244.339
36.55
1790
1820.028
41.55
1491
1485.803
46.55
1224
1220.679
51.55
1020
1008.956
The average of percent error between theoretical value and
0.75298988%.

17

% error (%)
0.148762
1.649866
0.349809
0.272022
1.094583
experimental value is

liquid-in-glass against PT100REF

120

100
f(x) = 0.99x
80

liquid-in-glass ()

60

40

20

0
75

80

85

90

95

100

105

PT100 REF ()

From the graph, the reading of liquid in gas thermometer is directly proportional
to the reading of PT100REF. The gradient of the best fit line is 0.9883. The
gradient of theoretical value of gradient is 1. This is because both thermometers
use the same temperature scale, which is . The percent error of the line is:

|experimentactual
| 100
actual

error =

|0.98831
|100
1

error =

error =1.17

The standard deviation of the line is:

S . D .=

( xx expected )
n

S . D .=1.058480042

18

Bi-metal against PT100REF

100

f(x) = 1.01x

95

90

85

Bi-metal ()

80

75

70
75

80

85

90

95

100

105

PT100 REF ()

From the graph, the reading of bi-meter thermometer is directly proportional to

the reading of PT100REF. The gradient of best fit line is equal to 1.0092. The
gradient of theoretical value of gradient is 1. This is because both thermometer use
the same temperature scale, which is . The percent error of the line is:

|experimentactual
| 100
actual

error =

|1.00921
| 100
1

error =

error =0.92

The standard deviation of the line is:

S . D .=

( xx expected )
n

19

S . D .=2.216388955

20

CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION

Based on the experiment, the response of the sensor across the temperature is
shown as below:
1. Value of PT100REF increases when the heater is switched on. When the
water is boiling, the value of PT100REF is equal to 100.07

which is

very near to the actual value (100 ).

2. PT100IND increases linearly with the increase in PT100REF. The value of
the PT100IND becomes zero when the temperature falls to absolute zero
temperature.
3. The value of thermocouple is directly proportional to PT100REF.
4. The value of thermistor reading is inversely proportional to PT100REF.
5. The value of liquid-in-glass thermometer is directly proportional to
PT100REF
6. The value of bi-metal thermometer is directly proportional to PT100REF.
The result taken during heating process is more reliable than those obtained during
cooling process because we only obtain 5 record in our experiment.
After the experiment, the suitability of each device are discussed. The
thermocouple sensor is suitable to use in industry, home and office as the
thermometer in thermostat. Thermostat is used to maintain the temperature of the
system approach to decide temperature. Sensors used in thermostat do not require
high accuracy result. The advantage of thermocouple sensor can detect width
range of temperature. Besides that, the price of thermocouple is cheaper than other
thermometer. Another advantage of thermocouple is they can direct contact with
the material they are measuring. The weakness of thermocouple is the metal inside
the thermocouple will corrode and can result in miss reading.
The properties that need to be considered to construct the thermocouple are:
1.

The materials used for the thermocouple should be resistant to the

corrosion.
2. The materials should be stable in the specific temperature range.
3. The Peltier E.M.F should have noticeable different in different temperature
to ensure it have high responsible time and accuracy.
The properties of some common used materials in the thermocouples are:
21

1. Copper with constantan (combination of 60% copper and 40% nickel).

This combination is used for temperature between -300

to 650

. The advantage of this combination is inexpensive and it produces high

E.M.F output. This combination known as type T.
2. Chromel (combination of 10% chromium, 90% nickel) with constantan
(combination of 60% copper and 40% nickel). This combination is used
for temperature between 0

to 1000

. The advantage of this

combination is good stability and it produces high E.M.F output (68

V/C). This combination also known as type E.
3. Iron with constantan. This combination is used for temperature between 0

to 1500

. The advantage of this combination is inexpensive

and it produces high E.M.F output. However, the iron will oxidize after
1500 . This combination known as type J.
4. Chromel (combination of 10% chromium, 90% nickel) with alumel
(combination of 2% aluminum, 90% nickel and remainder silicon and
manganese). This combination is used for temperature between 600
to 2000 . This combination known as type K.
5. Platinum with 10% rhodium. This combination is used for temperature

between 1300

to 2850

. The advantage of this combination is

resistant to oxidation and stable. However, it is expensive, produces low

output and can only be used in high temperature.
Thermistor is suitable in measuring small change of the temperature and any high
accuracy measurement. The advantage of thermistor is their size are very small,
stable, so they can build in most of the electronic device to detect the temperature
change. The sensitivity of thermistor is very high, around 4% to 6% error per
. The temperature range is larger than liquid in glass thermometer which is

about

100

to

300 . The disadvantage of thermistor is the

relationship between resistance and temperature change is non-linear, so this will

complicate the electronic circuit. Besides that, they cannot be used in extreme
high temperature.
22

Thermistor are differentiated into two types, Negative temperature coefficient

(NTC thermistor) and Positive temperature coefficient (PTC thermistor). NTC
thermistor has negative coefficient of resistance, which means the resistance
decreases when temperature increases. PTC thermistor has positive coefficient of
resistance, which means the resistance increases when temperature increases. In
this experiment, we are using NTC thermistor. The shape and size of thermistor
are various and depend upon the requirements for the application. There are two
types of structure and composition of thermistor:
1. Metallic oxide thermistor. This type of thermistor is used between
temperatures of 200K to 700K. These thermistor made by compressed and
sintered fine metal powder in high temperature. Most common used
materials in these thermistor are manganese oxide (Mn2O3), nickel oxide
(NiO), cobalt oxide (Co2O3), copper oxide (Cu2O) and ferric oxide
(Fe2O3). For higher temperature, the thermistors may be made from
Aluminium oxide (Al2O3), Beryllium oxide (BeO), Magnesium oxide
(MgO), Zirconium dioxide (ZrO2), Yttrium oxide

(Y2O3) and

Dysprosium Oxide (Dy2O3).

2. Semiconductor thermistor. This type of thermistor is used for extreme low
temperature. Germanium thermistors is used for temperature below 100K.
Silicon thermistor is used for temperature below 250K. These thermistors
are made from a single crystal which has been doped to a level of
10

17

16

10

per cubic centimetre.

Liquid in glass thermometer is suitable in measuring the fluid substances in small

range of temperature near to room temperature. The advantage of liquid in glass
thermometer is they are cheaper as compare to the other thermometer. Besides
that, they do not need power source to operate and once the calibration is done, it
can be reused forever. It can be carried to other place easily and easy to use. It
responds quickly and accurate to the changes in surrounding temperature. The
disadvantage of liquid in glass thermometer is they cannot operate in extremely
high and low temperature because this will cause the liquid in the glass to freeze
or boil. Moreover, the glass of the thermometer is brittle and can be broken easily.
So, observer must use the thermometer carefully because sometimes the liquid
23

used in the thermometer is poisonous. Besides that, they are manual reading and
cannot produce digital output or electronic signal to interact with the other device.
There are two common types of liquid in glass thermometer:
1. Mercury Thermometers. This type of thermometer is used for temperature
between -39

(freezing point of mercury) to 356

(boiling point

of mercury). Disadvantage of mercury thermometer is mercury is

poisonous substance and it also can be vaporized.
2. Alcohol Thermometers. This type of thermometer is used for temperature
between -115

(freezing point of alcohol) to 785

(boiling point

of alcohol). Disadvantage of alcohol thermometer is alcohol is volatile

fluid, so it can vaporize and need to reunite frequently. Otherwise will
lower the accuracy of thermometer.
Bi-metal thermometer is suitable in measuring temperature in harsh and
aggressive environment such as in the chemical, oil, and gas industry. It also can
be used as circuit breaker in heating devices. The advantage of bi-metal
thermometer is the range of temperature it can detect is wide. Besides that, it is
cheap and can be built easily. Moreover, it does not require power source to
operate. The disadvantage of bi-metal thermometer is their accuracy is very low
and the respond time to temperature time is also slow. Besides, it is not suitable
for extreme low temperature and can only be used in high temperature. Moreover,
the metal used in the bi-metal thermometer may undergo plastic deformation after
a long period of operation and affect the result accuracy. The common material
used in Bi-metal thermometer is the combination of a copper and a steel strip.
Other than these sensors, we also measure the water level of the water bath to
investigate the expansion of water with the change of temperature. From the
result, we conclude the rate of expansion of water is very low or insensitive to
temperature change. The water level drops when its temperature is about 75
due to the vaporization process. So, we conclude that the water is not suitable to
become the liquid in the liquid-in-glass thermometer because the rate of thermal
expansion is extremely low. Besides that, the temperature range of water is very

24

narrow and it can easily vaporize. Moreover, the water will stick to the wall of
glass and affect the accuracy of result.
In the nutshell, the arrangement of accuracy in this experiment from higher to
lower is: Thermistor > liquid in glass > thermocouple > bi-metal thermometer.

REFERENCES
Michael J. Moran, H. N. (2011). Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics.
United States of America: Don Fowley.
Thomas G. Beckwith, N. L. (n.d.). Mechanical Measurements .

25