“Platinum RTD”

By

Binita Khua
(170010111007)

Guided by
Prof. Mayur Parmar
Assistant Professor, ECE Dept.

A report Submitted to
Electronics & Communication Engineering Department

A. D. Patel Institute of Technology

New Vallabh Vidyanagar
Gujarat, India
 Abstract
Platinum RTDs (Resistance Temperature Detectors)
are sensing elements that are made of pure platinum
wire coil (wire wound) encapsulated in ceramic or
glass, or a thin film platinum deposited on a ceramic
substrate. Platinum RTDs have a positive temperature
coefficient. The electrical resistance increases as
temperature rises in a known and repeatable manner.
Their linearity and unmatched long term stability
firmly establish platinum RTD elements as an ideal
sensor for most industrial applications. Thin film
elements offer performance equal to standard wire
wounds, but with improved cost, size and
convenience.

0
INDEX

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................. 1

1.1) HISTORY OF PRTD
1.2) OVERVIEW
Chapter 2: PLATINUM RESISTANCE TEMPERATURE
DETECTOR .............................................................................. 3
2.1) RESISTANCE TEMPERATURE DETECTOR
2.2) TYPES OF RTD
2.3) PRTD
2.4) ADVANTAGES OF PRTD
Chapter 3: CONFIGURATIONS OF PRTD ......................... 6
3.1) TWO WIRE CONFIGURATION
3.2) WHEATSTONE BRIDGE CONFIGURATION

3.3) THREE WIRE BRIDGE CONFIGURATION

3.4) FOUR WIRE CONFIGURATION
3.5) DISADVANTAGE OF USING 4 WIRE
CONFIGURATION
Chapter 4: CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE .......... 11
REFERENCES ........................................................................ 12
APPENDIX
 CHAPTER: 1- INTRODUCTION

1.1) HISTORY OF PRTD

Early in the 19th century, electricity was an exciting area
of scientific investigation, and scientists soon discovered
that metals varied in their resistance and conductivity. In
1821, Thomas Johann Seebeck discovered that a voltage is
created when the ends of dissimilar metals are joined and
placed at different temperatures. Peltier discovered that this
thermocouple effect is reversible and can be used for
cooling.

In the same year, Humphrey Davey demonstrated how the

electrical resistivity of a metal is related to temperature.
Five years later, Becquerel proposed using a platinum-
platinum thermocouple for temperature measurement, but
it took until 1829 for Leopoldo Nobili to actually create the
device.

Platinum is also used in the resistance temperature detector

invented in 1932 by C.H. Meyers. This measures the
electrical resistance of a length of platinum wire and is
generally considered the most accurate type of temperature
sensor. RTDs using wire are by nature fragile and
 unsuitable for industrial applications. Recent years have
seen the development of film RTDs, which are less
accurate but more robust.

The 20th century also saw the invention of semiconductor

temperature measurement devices. These respond to
temperature changes with good accuracy but until recently
lacked linearity.

1.2) OVERVIEW
An RTD (resistance temperature detector) is a
temperature sensor that operates on the measurement
principle that a material’s electrical resistance changes
with temperature.

The relationship between an RTD’s resistance and the

surrounding temperature is highly predictable, allowing
for accurate and consistent temperature measurement. By
supplying an RTD with a constant current and measuring
the resulting voltage drop across the resistor, the RTD’s
resistance can be calculated, and the temperature can be
determined.
CHAPTER-2: PLATINUMRESISTANCE
TEMPERATURE DETECTOR

2.1) RESISTANCE TEMPERATURE DETECTOR

A resistance temperature detector (RTD) can also be called

a resistance thermometer as the temperature
measurement will be a measure of the output resistance.
The main principle of operation of an RTD is that when the
temperature of an object increases or decreases, the
resistance also increases or decreases proportionally. The
main difference between a RTD and a Thermistor is that
the sensing element used in a RTD is a metal and a
thermistor uses ceramic or polymer material. As platinum
is the most commonly used metal for making RTD’s, the
device can also be called Platinum Resistance
Thermometers (PRT’s).

2.2) TYPES OF RTD

RTD types are broadly classified according to
the different sensing elements used. Platinum, Nickel
and Copper are the most commonly used sensing
elements. Platinum is considered the best as it has the
widest temperature range. This is shown in the
resistance versus temperature graph below. Platinum
type RTD is also known for its best interchange
ability than copper and nickel. It also has the highest
time stability. PRT’s can also be used in unsuitable
environments where it can reduce atmospheric
metallic vapours and also catalizable vapours if the
 element is bare. It can also be used in radioactive
environments. In industrial applications, a PRT is
known to measure temperatures as high as 1500
degree Fahrenheit while copper and Nickel can
measure only to a maximum of 400 degree
Fahrenheit.

2.3) PRTD
Platinum RTDs (Resistance Temperature Detectors) are
sensing elements that are made of pure platinum wire
coil (wire wound) encapsulated in ceramic or glass, or a
thin film platinum deposited on a ceramic substrate.
Platinum RTDs have a positive temperature coefficient.
The electrical resistance increases as temperature rises in a
known and repeatable manner. Their linearity and
unmatched long term stability firmly establish platinum
 RTD elements as an ideal sensor for most industrial
applications. Thin film elements offer performance equal
to standard wire wounds, but with improved cost, size and
convenience.

2.4) ADVANTAGES OF PRTD

A platinum RTD probe has the features as follow
comparing with a thermocouple probe.
• 1.The platinum RTD probe has a big advantage on
measuring temperature similar to room temperature
because resistance value change versus temperature is
large, and reference junctions that are necessary for
thermocouple is not used for an RTD probe.
• 2.The platinum RTD probe has high long-term stability.
• 3.The platinum RTD probe enables highly accurate
measurement.
• 4.Maximum temperature for the platinum RTD probe is
lower than a thermocouple probe.
Chapter 3: CONFIGURATIONS OF PRTD
3.1) TWO WIRE CONFIGURATION
The common values of resistance for a platinum RTD
range from 10 ohms for the bird-cage model to several
thousand ohms for the film RTD. The single most common
value is 100 ohms at 0ºC. The DIN 43760 standard
temperature coefficient of platinum wire is α = .00385. For
a 100 ohm wire, this corresponds to + 0.385 ohms/ºC at
0ºC. This value for α is actually the average slope from 0ºC
to 100ºC. The more chemically pure platinum wire used in
platinum resistance standards has an α of +.00392
ohms/ohm/ºC.

Both the slope and the absolute value are small numbers,
especially when we consider the fact that the measurement
wires leading to the sensor may be several ohms or even
tens of ohms. A small lead impedance can contribute a
significant error to our temperature measurement.

A ten-ohm lead impedance implies 10/.385 ≈ 26ºC error in

measurement. Even the temperature coefficient of the lead
wire can contribute a measurable error. The classical
method of avoiding this problem has been the use of a
bridge.
3.2) WHEATSTONE BRIDGE CONFIGURATION

The bridge output voltage is an indirect indication of the

RTD resistance. The bridge requires four connection wires,
an external source, and three resistors that have a zero
temperature coefficient. To avoid subjecting the three
bridge-completion resistors to the same temperature as the
RTD, the RTD is separated from the bridge by a pair of
extension wires:

3.3) THREE WIRE BRIDGE CONFIGURATION

These extension wires recreate the problem that we had
initially: The impedance of the extension wires affects the
temperature reading. This effect can be minimized by using
a three-wire bridge configuration:
If wires A and B are perfectly matched in length, their
impedance effects will cancel because each is in an
opposite leg of the bridge. The third wire, C, acts as a sense
lead and carries no current.

The Wheatstone bridge shown in Figure 41 creates a non-

linear relationship between resistance change and bridge
output voltage change. This compounds the already non-
linear temperature-resistance characteristic of the RTD by
requiring an additional equation to convert bridge output
voltage to equivalent RTD impedance.
3.4) FOUR WIRE CONFIGURATION
The technique of using a current source along with a
remotely sensed digital voltmeter alleviates many
problems associated with the bridge.

The output voltage read by the dvm is directly portional to

RTD resistance, so only one conversion equation is
necessary. The three bridge-completion resistors are
replaced by one reference resistor. The digital voltmeter
measures only the voltage dropped across the RTD and is
insensitive to the length of the lead wires.

3.5) DISADVANTAGE OF USING 4 WIRE

CONFIGURATOION

The one disadvantage of using 4-wire ohms is that we

need one more extension wire than the 3-wire bridge. This
is a small price to pay if we are at all concerned with the
accuracy of the temperature measurement.

3.6) The Callendar-Van Dusen equation

The RTD is a more linear device than the thermocouple,
but it still requires curve-fitting. The Callendar-Van Dusen
equation has been used for years to approximate the RTD
curve:

Where:

RT = Resistance at Temperature T
Ro = Resistance at T = 0ºC
Temperature coefficient at T = 0ºC ((typically
α =
+0.00392Ω/Ω/ºC))
δ = 1.49 (typical value for .00392 platinum)
β =0 T > 0
0. 11 (typical) T < 0

The exact values for coefficients α , β, and δ are determined

by testing the RTD at four temperatures and solving the
resultant equations. This familiar equation was replaced in
1968 by a 20th order polynomial in order to provide a more
accurate curve fit. The plot of this equation shows the RTD
to be a more linear device than the thermocouple.
Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE
There is a variety of temperature sensing systems in each
of the engineering and industrial areas which can be
categorized according to the requirements and the range of
temperatures to be measured. In high temperature
situations (molten state of materials, separation of ores etc.)
the Resistive Temperature Detective (RTD) materials are
generally used which are basically thermocouples, works
on Seebeck Effect. This research work puts a protest for the
alteration of these temperature accuracies due to the effect
of electric and magnetic fields, which are generally present
in such operating conditions and affect the thermoelectric
properties. Hence, this research work inspires for the
consideration of effect of such external parameters for the
precise measurements; to seek the reliability of a system.
REFERENCES
Kindly visit this link for how to write references
• https://www.thermoprobe.net/platinum-rtd-sensors/
• http://www.instrumentationtoday.com/resistance-
temperature-detector-rtd/2011/09/
• https://www.omega.com/techref/rtd-measurement-
and-theory.html
• http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/92
42/16/16_chapter%207.pdf
• https://in.omega.com/technical-learning/history-of-
the-temperature-sensor.html
APPENDIX