Daniel James Watkins [Static and Dynamic Calibration of an Insulated and Un-insulated Thermistor]

BEng Mechanical Engineering Page 1

Introduction
One of the most common types of physical measurements is temperature. Temperature can be
measured in many environment and channel counts. There are various types of temperature
measuring sensors and components. Depending on the temperature range, desired accuracy and
expense; appropriate sensors must be selected (National Instrument, 2011).
There are three types of Semiconductors classifications; elemental semiconductors, compound
semiconductors and junction semiconductors. Thermistors are compound semiconductors that are
used for temperature measurements and identify a special resistor that varies in resistance with
temperature (McGee, 1988).
Background Theory
Thermistors
Thermistors are resistors that contain high rate of change of resistance with temperature. Typically,
they are inexpensive ceramic compounds that are highly sensitive to temperature change.
Regardless of the high sensitivity, they are commonly used for temperature control within the
temperature range from approximately -100 to 500C (McGee, 1988). Mostly, themistors are
compound semi-conductors that contain complex conduction processes. Compound semiconductors
are usually ceramic in which solid solutions of transition metal oxides are used (McGee, 1988).
Thermistors are employed in many electronic devices to control the temperature response or to
compensate for temperature changes in electronic circuits. In term of temperature measurement, to
minimize Joule heating which cause the thermistor to have a higher temperature than its
surroundings, the current flows through a thermistor should be small (McGee, 1988). Sufficient
current to casue Joule heating is desirable in the case of temperature control, switching purposes
and fluid flow measurements or any other properties that have an effect on heat transfer from the
thermistor. The internal heating is negligible when a small voltage is applied to a thermistor,
therefore, its temperature will practically be the same as its surrounding temperature (McGee,
1988). Themistors contain negative temperature coefficients of resistance, therefore, the Joule
heating causes the resistance to drop, increases the current and increases heat transfer from the
thermistor.
The relationship between the Voltage and current is nonlinear due to the resistor R (Figure 1.1) is
not constant. When the voltage increased, the heat transfer increases which will compensate for the
Joule heating and a point will be reached where the maximum voltage will appear for any particular
souce of current (Figure 1.1 and 1.2). The current-voltage relationship becomes unstable when the
resistance of the thermistor drops and impulsive increases in current take place in between point B
and C (Figure 1.3). The electrical power N provided to the thermistor equals to the heat dissipated to
the surroundings P along the V-I curves. The V-I curves is extremely useful in many thermistor
circuit applications.
Daniel James Watkins [Static and Dynamic Calibration of an Insulated and Un-insulated Thermistor]

BEng Mechanical Engineering Page 2

Figure 1.1: The voltage drop V across thermistor depends on the current I, the source resistance R,
and the temperature of T (McGee, 1988). [Figure Abstracted from: McGee, T. (1988) Principles and
Methods of Temperature Measurement, New York: John Wiley & Sons, p.210]


Figure 1.2: Voltage-current response of the thermistor showing the thermistor resistance and
temperature at different current levels (McGee, 1988). [Figure Abstracted from: McGee, T. (1988)
Principles and Methods of Temperature Measurement, New York: John Wiley & Sons, p.211]


Daniel James Watkins [Static and Dynamic Calibration of an Insulated and Un-insulated Thermistor]

BEng Mechanical Engineering Page 3

Figure 1.3: Stable (C) and unstable (B) points of a simple thermistor circuit (McGee, 1988). [Figure
abstracted from: McGee, T. (1988) Principles and Methods of Temperature Measurement, New York:
John Wiley & Sons, p.211]
In temperature measurement applications, the current must be kept at minimal to minimize self-
heating errors. This requires a small voltage applied or current limiting. The voltage and current
measurement errors increase as their value is decreased. In many applications, a compromise is
needed between minimizing self-heating errors and minimizing resistance measuring errors (McGee,
1988).
Most thermistors contains a negative coefficient relating resistance with temperature, however,
Positive-Temperature-Coefficient (PTC) thermistors are available and used due to their greater
sensitivity. PTC thermistors contain positive coefficient only over a limited temperature range,
beyond this range, the coefficient is negative (Leigh, 1991). The typical curve for a negative and
positive-temperature coefficient thermistor is shown in Figure 1.4 and 1.5.

Figure 1.4: Typical resistance/temperature curve for a negative-temperature-coefficient thermistor
(Leigh, 1991) [Figure abstracted from: Leigh, J. (1991) Temperature Measurement & Control, Herts:
Peter Peregrinus Ltd., p.25].
Daniel James Watkins [Static and Dynamic Calibration of an Insulated and Un-insulated Thermistor]

BEng Mechanical Engineering Page 4

Figure 1.5: Typical resistance/temperature curve for a positive-temperature-coefficient thermistor
(Leigh, 1991) [Figure abstracted from: Leigh, J. (1991) Temperature Measurement & Control, Herts:
Peter Peregrinus Ltd., p.25].
Advantages and disadvantages of Thermistors
The advantages of thermistors include; High Sensitivity, Small physical size and resistance at ambient
temperature may be specified in a range of 0.1-300 k. However, the disadvantages of thermistors
are their limited temperature range and their modest upper usable temperature (Leigh, 1991).
Static and Dynamic Characteristics Respond
The term Static characteristics of an instrument refer to the steady state reading that it gives when it
has settled down. These types of characteristics may be stated in terms of accuracy, linearity, etc.
The expression of Dynamic Characteristics illustrates the behaviour of an instrument in the time
between when the measured quantity changes and a steady reading are provided (Figure 1.6)
(Bolton, 1991).

Figure 1.6: Dynamic responses [Figure abstracted from: Bolton, W. (1991) Industrial Controls &
Instrumentation, Essex: Longman Group UK Limited, p.9]
Daniel James Watkins [Static and Dynamic Calibration of an Insulated and Un-insulated Thermistor]

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Experimental Apparatus

Laboratory 1: Characterise the static performance of two sensors, insulated thermistor and un-
insulated thermistor.
Equipment provided:
- Hot water
- Thermocouple acting as a thermometer
- Beaker
- Digital Voltage Meter
Experiment procedure:
1. Fill beaker with hot water and place one of the two thermocouple wire in the beaker and
another outside the beaker at room temperature.
2. Slowly poor in cold water into the beaker to reduce the temperature of the water, therefore,
changing the net voltage values on the voltmeter.
3. Take readings and obtain the temperature and voltage values. Note that the thermocouple
acts as a thermometer which in turns, two readings are obtained Temperature and voltage
change.
4. Repeat the experiment several times until desire data are obtained.
5. Repeat the above procedures for but with form insulated thermistor.
Figure 2.1: Experiment 1 Set-Up


Daniel James Watkins [Static and Dynamic Calibration of an Insulated and Un-insulated Thermistor]

BEng Mechanical Engineering Page 6
Laboratory 2: Investigate the dynamic performance of the two temperature sensors, following a
step change in temperature.
Equipment Provided:
- Hot Water
- Beaker
- Computer with data acquisition system
Experiment Procedure:
1. Prepare the computer data acquisition system.
2. Fill in the beaker with hot water.
3. Start the computer measurement system; wait one or two second before placing the
thermistor inside the beaker and wait until all samples has been taken.
4. Set the samples and the rate and time for the themistor to measure at 1000 samples at the
rate of 50 samples per second.
5. Repeat the test until desire results are obtained.
6. Repeat the procedures for Insulated thermistor experiment except that the test will run at
720 samples at the rate of 1 sample per second.
7. Obtain all results to be further process.
Figure 2.2: Experiment 2 Set-Up


Daniel James Watkins [Static and Dynamic Calibration of an Insulated and Un-insulated Thermistor]

BEng Mechanical Engineering Page 7
Results and Discussion
Experiment 1: Static Calibration
Graph 1.1: Static Calibration with no insulation results

Graph 1.2: Static Calibration with Insulation results

Graph 2 shows the sensor output (V) against the temperature (C) which indicates the values of
voltage for the insulated and un-insulated thermistor. The information obtained may be used to
conduct calculations which include static sensitivity (K) for un-insulated and insulated thermistor.
R = 0.9351
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
0 20 40 60 80 100
V
o
l
t
a
g
e

O
u
t
p
u
t

(
V
)

Temperature (C)
Static Calibration with Insulation
Set-1
Set-2
All
Poly. (All)
Daniel James Watkins [Static and Dynamic Calibration of an Insulated and Un-insulated Thermistor]

BEng Mechanical Engineering Page 8
This can be achieve by the use of gradient best fit line which correspond for the static sensitivity k
(V/C)
Calculation:
Ideal Straight line equation can be calculated as follow:
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
min max
min max
) (
I I
O O
K slope Line Straight Ideal (1.1)
min min
) ( I K O a Intercept Line Straight Ideal = (1.2)
) 1 ( / 041 . 0
25 90
2 . 1 74 . 3
1 results Set C V K =
|
.
|

\
|

=
) 2 ( / 039 . 0
25 90
22 . 1 77 . 3
2 results Set C V K =
|
.
|

\
|

=
040 . 0 =
Average
K
23 . 0 = a
63 . 2 =
+ =
Ideal
Ideal
O
a I K O


Un-insulated Thermistor span:
min max
I I span Input = (1.3)
65
25 90
=
=
span Input
span Input

min max
O O Span Put Out = (1.4)
57 . 2
2 . 1 77 . 3
=
=
Span Put Out
Span Put Out





Daniel James Watkins [Static and Dynamic Calibration of an Insulated and Un-insulated Thermistor]

BEng Mechanical Engineering Page 9

Un-insulated thermistor linearity:
) (
min
min max
min max
min
I I
I I
O O
O O
|
|
.
|

\
|

= (1.5)
) 25 65 (
25 9
2 . 1 77 . 3
2 . 1 57 . 2
|
.
|

\
|

=
58 . 1 37 . 1 =

Insulated thermistor span:
43 . 0
33 . 1 75 . 1
65
25 90
=
=
=
=
Span Output
Span Output
Span Input
Span Input


Insulated thermistor Linearity:
27 . 0 91 . 0
) 25 . 65 (
25 90
33 . 1 75 . 1
33 . 1 41 . 0
=

|
.
|

\
|

=


From observation of the graph, there was error occurred during the experiment. The static
sensitivity was calculated as 0.04 V/C. It can be said that the un-insulated thermistor was more
suitable for the static calibration.







Daniel James Watkins [Static and Dynamic Calibration of an Insulated and Un-insulated Thermistor]

BEng Mechanical Engineering Page 10
Experiment 2: Dynamic Calibration
Graph 2.1: Dynamic Calibration without insulation


Graph 2.2: Dynamic Calibration with insulation




0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
0 5 10 15 20 25
S
e
n
s
o
r

o
u
t
p
u
t

(
V
)

Time (s)
Dynamic Calibration with out Insulation
Test 4
Test 3
Test 2
1.4
1.45
1.5
1.55
1.6
1.65
1.7
0 200 400 600 800
V
o
l
t
a
g
e

(
V
)

Samples
Dynamic Calibration with Insulation
Daniel James Watkins [Static and Dynamic Calibration of an Insulated and Un-insulated Thermistor]

BEng Mechanical Engineering Page 11
The graph of the results obtained for un-insulated indicated that the maximum value is 2.9 with the
minimum value of 1.40.
The Y value from the graph can be calculated as follow:
( ) | |
V Y
Y
22 . 2
4 . 1 632 . 0 4 . 1 7 . 2
=
+ =

The time constant of 0.632 (value of step change) indicates in percentage form of 63.2%
To find the X value, straight line was plotted at 90 degrees against the Y value at 2.2. The X value
was found to be 5.5 seconds (Time Constant)
5 . 5 = t Seconds (time constant), Sampling rate = 50 Samples/1 Second = 50 samples/sec
The time constant (t ) is estimated at 5.5 seconds from the un-insulated graph which represent the
dynamic performance for first order instrument.
The results obtained from the computer software displayed that the maximum value of insulated
test is 1.66 with the minimum value of 1.44.
( ) | |
) . ( 115
115
6 . 1
44 . 1 632 . 0 44 . 1 66 . 1
ant const Time
X
V y
y
=
=
=
+ =
t

Mathlab software and Laplace Transform was used to calculate time constant in both cases. The
time constant for un-insulated themistor was found to be less than the insulated one.
Conclusion
Overall, the results obtained for both Static and Dynamic experiments were fairly accurate.
However, there were minor errors occurred which may have cause by human in term of inaccurate
data observation, systematic or self-heating etc.
It was observed for the static calibration that the un-insulated thermistor was the best option to be
used for the experiment due to its least error. For the dynamic calibration, the time constants were
compared and the un-insulated thermistor was found to be more appropriate for the dynamic
calibration.
Also, from the experimental observation, it can be stated that the instrument system might
encounter some error due to chemical reaction, dirt and dust in the laboratory environment.
Therefore, the instrument system should be examined at particular time intervals maintaining the
international standards. The regular reports of the instrument examined should be preserved further
accuracy

Daniel James Watkins [Static and Dynamic Calibration of an Insulated and Un-insulated Thermistor]

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Reference
- Bolton, W. (1991) Industrial Controls & Instrumentation, Essex: Longman Group UK Limited,
p.8-10.
- McGee, T. (1988) Principles and Methods of Temperature Measurement, New York: John
Wiley & Sons, p.206, 466-474, 504-511.
- Sachse, H. (1975) Semi-Conducting Temperature Sensors and Their Applications, New York:
John Wiley & Sons, INC., p.159-165.
- Leigh, J. (1991) Temperature Measurement & Control, Herts: Peter Peregrinus Ltd., p.24-26.
- Childs, P. (2001) Practical Temperature Measurement, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann,
p.39-41.
- Benedict, R. (1984) Fundamentals of temperature, Pressure, and Flow Measurements, 3rd
ed. 1984: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., p.146.
- Figliola, R. and Beasley, D. (2006) Theory and Design for Mechanical Measurements, 4th ed.
New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., p.12-15.
- National Instruments (2011) Temperature Measurement, [online] Available at:
http://www.ni.com/temperature/ [Accessed: 10th Dec 2011].













Daniel James Watkins [Static and Dynamic Calibration of an Insulated and Un-insulated Thermistor]

BEng Mechanical Engineering Page 13
Appendices
Sensors Calibration
Calibration consists of determining the indication or the output of a temperature sensor with
respect to a standard sufficient number of known temperatures so that, with acceptable means of
interpolation, the indication or output of the sensor will be known over the whole range of
temperature used (Benedict, 1984, p146). The problem areas of calibration are immediately
apparent; four main points must be available:
1. Means for measuring the output of the temperature sensor
2. A satisfactory temperature standard
3. Controlled temperature environments
4. A scheme for interpolating between calibrations points (Benedict, 1984).
As Benedict (1984, p147) described, the environments for calibration distributed into two classes
depending on the method of determining the temperature of the test sensor.
Firstly, the sensor is exposed to a fixed-point environment so that under particular conditions,
naturally exhibits a state of thermal equilibrium whose temperature is established numerically by
the IPTS without recourse to a temperature standard. Secondly, the test sensor and temperature
standard are simultaneously exposed to a controlled-temperature environment whose temperature
is established by the standard instrument (Benedict, 1984).
Static Calibration
Static calibration is the most common type of calibration. For this procedure, known value is input to
the system under calibration and the system output is recorded. The term Static implies that the
values of the variables involved remain constant. In static calibrations, only the magnitudes of the
known input and the measured output are important (Figliola et al. 2006).
Dynamic Calibration
Dynamic variables are time dependent in their magnitude and frequency content. Dynamic
calibration determines the relationship between an input of known dynamic behaviour and the
measurement system output. Normally, these calibrations involve applying sinusoidal signal or a
step change as the known input signal (Figliola et al. 2006).