Experiment: Calibration of Thermocouple Objective 1. Learn how the connection between transmitter, calibrator and sensor are working.

2. To obtain the core understanding on the operation of temperature calibration. 3. To get the comprehension on how the importance the calibration of temperature measuring device for usage in the plant. 4. To perform the calibration using HART communicator. Theory A thermocouple is a junction between two different metals that produces a voltage related to a temperature difference. Thermocouples are a widely used type of temperature sensor for measurement and control and can also be used to convert heat into electric power. They are inexpensive and interchangeable, are supplied fitted with standard connectors, and can measure a wide range of temperatures. The main limitation is accuracy: system errors of less than one degree Celsius (C) can be difficult to achieve. Any junction of dissimilar metals will produce an electric potential related to temperature. Thermocouples for practical measurement of temperature are junctions of specific alloys which have a predictable and repeatable relationship between temperature and voltage. Different alloys are used for different temperature ranges. Properties such as resistance to corrosion may also be important when choosing a type of thermocouple. Where the measurement point is far from the measuring instrument, the intermediate connection can be made by extension wires which are less costly than the materials used to make the sensor. Thermocouples are usually standardized against a reference temperature of 0 degrees Celsius; practical instruments use electronic methods of cold-junction compensation to adjust for varying temperature at the instrument terminals. Electronic instruments can also compensate for the varying characteristics of the thermocouple, and so improve the precision and accuracy of measurements.

Equipment

Figure 1: Thermocouple and temperature transmitter. 1. Control Lab Thermocouple

a. ASSET NO a. Model c. Series No

: 18001127 : RTT20-T1WRKFN-L1 : 99122555 Procedure

2. Temperature Transmitter
b. Reference No : 30005001

Figure 2: Experimental Setup in Lab 1. Setup the equipment shown as Figure 2. 2. Setup the temperature simulator as below: a. Go to Menu option, select Window 2, Hart and rename the instrument name into TT123. b. Select Device Setting to configure its range, as acceptable range of the device is from -40 C to 750 C.

c. Go to Trim option, Analogue Output and rearrange the lower range to 4mA and the upper range value to 20mA.
d. Select End Hart after finished all the configuration.

e. Go to Calibrate Mode to start calibrate the data. f. After finished calibrated, select Save as Both to end the configuration. Result Part 1 : Range 100-200 C

Input (C) 100.01 125.01 150.01 174.99 200.03 175.00 149.99 124.98 100.02

Output (mA) 4.2469 8.2674 12.2845 16.2946 20.2443 16.2537 12.2566 8.2206 4.2314

Error (%) 1.533 1.661 1.768 1.851 1.497 1.586 1.614 1.399 1.426

Maximum Error: 1.851 Maximum Hysteresis: 0.266 Maximum Unlinearity: 0.345 Span Error: -0.036 Zero Error: 1.533

Part 2 : Range 100-500 C

Input (C) 99.98 200.00 300.02 400.01 500.00 400.01 299.98 200.01 100.02

Output (mA) 4.0566 8.0496 12.0466 16.0483 20.0610 16.0724 12.0719 8.0808 4.0659

Error (%) 0.359 0.310 0.286 0.299 0.381 0.450 0.454 0.503 0.407

Maximum Error: 0.503 Maximum Hysteresis: 0.193 Maximum Unlinearity: 0.102 Span Error: 0.023 Zero Error: 0.359

Discussion The experiment has been carried out within two operating ranges which are 100 - 200 C and 100 - 500 C. Apart from that, the student also has to operate the experiment in such a way of ascending and descending order of injecting input. Within each region, 5 points have been selected to be analyzed. For range 100 - 200 C, the error is considered large which is around 1.3%-1.8%. On the other hand, for range 100 - 500 C, the error is small which is around 0.2%-0.5%. For the calibration part 1, this maybe due to the selection of small range compared to the wider range for calibration part 2, which is 100 - 500 C. Hence, the wider range used in calibration will lead to the error to be reduced. Another thing is, as the temperature input increase, the error is seems to be reduced. This is may be due to the equipment heating element that is start to warming up. As the experiment been carried out, the error is reducing. Another factor associated with the problems is maybe caused by human error. The injected input is very difficult to be accurate to the desired input value, For example, to inject 25C , the value that been injected become 24.99C or 25.02C . This factor also contributes to the inaccuracy in calibration.

Conclusion From this experiment, students are exposed to the function of a communicator and knew how to configure the communicator. Students also learn how to do calibration using communicator and RTD temperature transmitter. As the conclusion, better understanding regarding the calibration technique and its function in industrial process instrumentations that used for monitoring and control obtained.