Physics Department

Universiti Putra Malaysia

RESISTANCE TEMPERATURE DETECTORS

Lecture 1

1. INTRODUCTION
Temperature transducers can be divided into three main categories:
1.

Resistance temperature detectors (RTDs),

2.

Thermocouples,

3.

Thermistors,

RTDs are wire-wound resistances with moderate and positive coefficients of

resistance. Platinum is the most widely used resistance wire type because of its high
stability and large operating range. Beside platinum, nickel and copper are also used
as RTDs. Platinum RTDs provide the ultimate in accuracy and stability.
The advantages of using RTDs are the following:
1. Linearity over a wide operating range.
2. Wide operating temperature range.
3. High temperature operation.
4. Interchangeable over a wider range than other temperature transducers.
5. Better stability at high temperature.
The disadvantages of RTDs include the following:
1. Low sensitivity.
2. Higher cost than many other temperature transducers.
3. Requires no point sensing.
4. Can be affected by contact resistance, shock, and acceleration.
5. Requires three or four wire operations.

Sensors and Transducers - PHY3303

Dr Ionel Valeriu Grozescu

The size of RTDs results from the need for an internal structure bobbin to support the
windings in addition to external protective housing Because of this, RTDs are not
adaptable to applications requiring fast response or small area temperature sensing.

2. THE RELATIONSHIP OF RESISTANCE AND

TEMPERATURE IN RTDs
Compared to other temperature devices, the output of an RTD is relatively linear with
respect to temperature. The temperature coefficient, called alpha (), differs between
RTD curves. Although various manufacturers may specify alpha differently, alpha is
most commonly defined as the change in RTD resistance from 0 to 100C, divided by
the resistance at 0C, divided by 100C:

(//C) =

R 100 - R 0
R 0 100C

(1)

where R100 is the resistance of the RTD at 100C, and R0 is the resistance of the RTD
at 0C. For example, a 100 platinum RTD with = 0.003911 will measure
139.11 at 100C. Figure 1 displays a typical resistance-temperature curve for a
100 platinum RTD.

Figure 1 Resistance-Temperature Curve for a 100W Platinum RTD, a = 0.00385

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The resistance thermometer uses the fact that resistively, and therefore resistance,
changes with temperature in a known manner. The Callendar-Van Dusen equation is
commonly used to approximate the RTD curve:
R t = R 0 1 + A t + B t 2 + C (t - 100)3

(2)

where Rt is the resistance of the RTD at temperature t oC, R0 is the resistance of the
RTD at 0C, A, B, and C are the Callendar-Van Dusen are the constant coefficients,
characteristic of the material (Table1), and

t is the temperature in C. For

temperatures above 0C, the C coefficient equals 0. Therefore, for temperatures above
0C, this equation reduces to a quadratic.
Table 1. Callendar-Van Dusen Coefficients Corresponding to Common RTDs

* For temperatures below 0C only; C=0.0 for temperatures above 0C.

where R0 is the resistance at 00C, and A and B are constants, characteristic of the
material from which the resistance thermometer is made.
As shown in Equation (2), the resistance of a resistance thermometer increases as the
temperature increases, and vice versa. To select a 100 platinum RTD, the following
information is helpful
1.

Temperature range: ~200oC to 8500C.

2.

Temperature coefficient in percent/0C at 250C, , equals 0.39.

3.

Construction: wire wound or thin-film deposited platinum.

4.

Self-heating: 0.020 to 0.750C/mW (typical).

5.

Lead wire: copper; two, three, or four wires depending on the system

6.

Load resistance compensation: Use three- or four-wire lead system

7.

Accuracy 0.60 at 1000C.

8.

Resolution: 0.29 to 0.39 /0C.

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9.

Drift: approximately 0.0100 to 0.10C per year.

The resistance of the resistance thermometer is generally determined by using some

type of Wheatstone bridge.
3. PLATINUM RESISTANCE
TEMPERATURE CHARACTERISTICS
Platinum resistance thermometers are designated by the International Committee of
Weights and Measures for temperature definition from -259.34o to 630.740C. The
National Bureau of Standards (NBS) calibrates high-quality platinum thermometers
for use as thermometric standards. It might therefore be expected that using such a
thermometer or resistance temperature detector (RTD) automatically ensures
precision measurement or control, but this is not necessarily true.
In practice, manufacturers have not standardized the relationships between
resistance and temperature. Even the standards are not uniform. The International
Practical Temperature Scale of 1968 requires that the ratio of resistance at 1000C to
that at 00C exceed 1.3925. The American military standard MIL-T-24388 specifies R
100/R0

= 1.3924, while the corresponding ratios for the Japanese JIS C 1604 and the

German DIN 43760 are 1.3916 and 1.3850, respectively. The British Standard
1904:1964 matches the German value for R100/R0, but values ofR200IR0 are 1.7585 and
1.7584, respectively.
The differing resistance temperature characteristics of platinum elements are
related to the designs and manufacturing techniques used by various suppliers. For
example, strain in the platinum will reduce the ratio of R1001R0. Annealing is therefore
essential to reduce strains introduced during wire manufacture. Strains may also be
produced during thermometer fabrication, and, for example, a resistance ratio
decrease from 1.3926 to 1.3906 will typically occur when an element is embedded in
ceramic or glaze.
Material purity is also a factor. Strain-free fully annealed platinum with purity in
excess of 99.999% will have a resistance ratio slightly in excess of 1.3926. Adding a
controlled degree of impurity produces elements that meet the German standard of
R1001R0 = 1.3850 in the strain-free state.

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The required accuracy should be specified at or near the operating temperature. It

makes little sense to specify resistance and tolerance at 00C when the thermometer
will be used at 2000C. By focusing at the temperature range of interest, much of the
error inherent in resistance-temperature slope variations is eliminated.
The resistance temperature characteristics of the thermometer must be a part of
the specifications considered by both the instrument manufacturer and the RTD
supplier, because there is no accepted U.S. standard. Specifying temperature range
and accuracy requirements for each application we ensure system compatibility and
accuracy.
4. RTD CONNECTIONS
Resistance temperature detectors (RTD temperature sensors that generally have a
wire-wound element whose resistance changes with temperature in a known and
highly repeatable manner. RTDs are available in two, three, and four-wires
configurations. as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. RTD in two, three, and four-wires configuration.

RTDs are frequently specified for temperature sensing because of their accuracy
and long-term stability. Good application engineering can carry the accuracy of the
RTD element through its lead wires and extensions to the readout or control
instrumentation with minimal introduction of error.

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This section discusses two-, three-, and four-wire RTDs and their connections to
instrumentation to help the design engineer in making decisions for optimum
accuracy and cost.
The two-lead RTD normally is a little lower in cost, but can be specified only
when lead resistance is low in comparison with the ohms/0C resistance change of the
RTD, or when lead wire resistance compensation is provided in the instrumentation.
The three-lead RTD offers a cost-effective and practicable method for lead wire
compensation that is sufficiently accurate for most industrial applications. Resistance
change due to ambient temperature change is automatically compensated by the
bridge of Figure 6 , which is the input to instrumentation
The four-lead RTD is usually the most expensive approach, especially when long
four-wire extension leads are needed to connect to the instrumentation. However, the
four-lead RTD can offer the greatest accuracy the instrumentation is properly
designed. Four-lead resistance thermometers are widely used in laboratory work
where highest precision is required.
4. 1 Two-Wire RTD Connections
Most instruments use the Wheatstone bridge or a modified version of it as the input to
which the RTD leads are connected. This bridge is essential a resistance-measuring
device that translates the resistance of the RTD in an electrical signal that is used for
monitoring or controlling temperature. The basic Wheatstone bridge, with a two-wire
RTD connected, is shown Figure 3.

Figure 3. Uncompensated bridge with RTD connected in one arm.

When the bridge is balanced, the voltage drops across the two upper arms, R1 and
RT+L1 +L2, are equal to one another, and the output vo1tage E0 is zero. Values of the
fixed resistors, R1, R2, and R3 are specified so that the bridge ratios are equal at
balanced condition:

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R 1 R T + L1 + L 2
=
R2
R3

(3)

Maximum bridge sensitivity is realized if

R1 = R2 = R3 = RT + L1 + L2

(4)

The value of RT at the control point or at the midpoint of the temperature range to be
monitored will influence the resistance values selected for the bridge arm resistors, R1,
R2, and R3. Also, these values must be chosen to limit bridge currents to avoid selfheating of the RTD or bridge resistors. The bridge resistors must be stable and
insensitive to ambient temperature variations for best bridge accuracy. If all four
bridge arms are equal in resistance, the supply voltage, Es, and the output voltage, E0,
may be interchanged in Figure 3 without affecting bridge operation.
The RTD usually is in a more rugged environment than the associated
instrumentation. There is no electrical advantage in mounting the bridge resistors with
the RTD, so these resistors are normally part of the instrumentation. The lead wire
runs between the RTD and the instrument may be only a few feet or may be several
hundred feet if on board ship or in an industrial plant where remote temperaturesensing points must connect to a central control room.
Lead wire resistances cannot be ignored because the RTD is a resistance device
and any extraneous resistance in its circuit will cause an error in temperature
indication. This is apparent in Figure 3, where lead resistance adds to the resistance of
the sensing element, RT, causing a somewhat higher temperature reading than actually
exists at the RTD location. If the leads length is no more than 2 or 3 ft and the lead
wire resistance is negligible in comparison with the ohms/0C of change of RT, this
slight offset will be of little consequence in most industrial applications. However,
adding two-wire extension leads to the RTD leads can cause serious offset error and
should not be done without determining that the resulting offset is acceptable in the
monitoring or control system.
If the extension leads are in a temperature environment that change only a few
degrees, a fixed resistor of the same value as the extension leads can be added in
series with resistor R3 in that arm of the bridge. This will compensate for the extension
lead resistance, as shown in Figure 4, where
REX = LX1 + LX2, R1 = R2, and R3 =RT + L1 + L2

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(5)

Figure 4.Bridge with resistor REX to compensate for extension lead resistance Lx1 and Lx2.

Another method of compensating for lead resistance is shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. The CalIendar-Griffiths compensating loop of wire balances RTD lead resistance.

A two-wire RTD is made with an additional loop of lead wire, equal in resistance and
length to the RTD element leads, L1 and L2. This added loop is connected in series
with R3 in the adjacent arm of the bridge. Extension leads can be compensated in like
manner by adding extension wires to the compensating loop that are equal in
resistance and length to the extension leads. This approach is similar to the method
shown in Figure 4, except the loop of compensating lead wire is actually run adjacent
to the RTD leads. This results in automatic compensation for lead wire resistance
changes due to ambient temperature changes, which the fixed resistor, REX, in Figure
4 cannot do.
4. 2 Three-Wire RTD Connections
The three-lead RTD is a convenient and widely used method of lead wire
compensation. A three-lead RTD is shown connected to a Wheatstone Bridge circuit
in Figure 6. This circuit is recommended whenever lead wire resistance is significant
in comparison with the ohms/0C sensitivity of the RTD element. For instance, the
10 copper RTD element, used in many industrial applications, should always have

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three leads, which are connected into a lead-resistance compensating bridge as shown
in Figure 6. Other commonly used RTD elements such as 100 platinum and 120
nickel may also need such compensation when lead wire resistance is significant or
extension leads are to be added, and especially when the ambient temperature of the
extension leads changes enough to cause significant error.
The ideal balanced bridge condition of Figure 6 is with all arms of the bridge
equal in resistance; that is,
R1 = R2 = R3 + L2 = RT + L1

(6)

Maximum sensitivity to resistance temperature change of the RTD occurs from this
condition. Note that one of the RTD leads, L1, is in the arm of the bridge with RT, and
a second lead, L2, is in the adjacent arm with R3. The same current flows through both
these leads; therefore, the voltage drops across them will be identical and will
effectively cancel one another. Matched extension leads are canceled in the same way.
The resistance of the third lead, L3, is in the output circuit of the bridge and does no
affect the bridge ratios or balance. In fact, no current flows through L3 when bridge is
in balance.

Figure 6. Three-lead connection to the bridge compensates for lead wire resistance.

In the Figure 6 circuit, lead resistance compensation will be optimum if the following
provisions are made:
1. Lead resistances L1 and L2 should be equal. Similarly, any extensions in these
two arms should be matched in resistance. The resistance of extension wire should be
actually measured, preferably at a controlled temperature, to assure that equal
resistance is added to each arm of the bridge. Lead wire of the same AWG size can
vary as much as 5% in resistance per foot from one lot to another purchased from the
same supplier. Introducing unequal lead resistances into the bridge arms of Figure 7
can cause unacceptable error when mismatch is large compared with the resistance
temperature change of the RTD element.

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2. Lead wires and any extensions to them should be cabled together or run
adjacent to one another. If this is done, ambient temperature changes will have the
same effect on all leads and will automatically balance the adjacent bridge arms.
3.Input impedance of electronic circuitry connected to E0 should be relatively
high so that current drain is negligible. Otherwise, current flowing through this part of
the circuit will cause inaccuracy when the bridge is not in balanced condition, such as
when the RTD changes resistance with temperature. This also results in less effective
lead wire compensation.
4.In the bridge of Figure 6, reversing the locations of the supply voltage, E0, and
the output voltage, E0, is permissible, but will affect bridge sensitivity. Reversing Es
and E0 results in the total bridge current passing through L3 and any extension lead
wire in series with it. The voltage drop across L3 and the extension lead wire reduces
the voltage across the bridge resulting in slightly less sensitivity. Furthermore, the
voltage drop across L3 and its extension will change as the lead wire resistance
changes due to variations in ambient temperature. This causes variations in bridge
sensitivity.
4. 3 Four Wire RTD Connections
The three-lead compensation method of Figure 6 provides accuracy for most
industrial applications. However, the four-lead RTD may be specified when greater
accuracy is required. A bridge circuit that provides lead wire compensation for fourwire RTDs is shown in Figure 7. Leads L1 and L2 are connected to one end of the RTD
element, and each lead carries a portion of the current in the upper right bridge arm.
Leads L3 and L4 are connected to the other end of the RTD element, and each carries a
portion of the current in the lower right bridge arm.
An analysis of current flows shows how this circuit works. By opening or
removing resistors P and K, similarity to the three-lead circuit of Figure 6 can be
noted. One lead resistance, L2, is in the upper right bridge arm with RT, and another
lead resistance, L4, is in the lower right arm with R3. With resistor N removed and P
intact, L2 effectively moves from the upper right to the upper left bridge arm. With
both N and P in the circuit and properly balanced, L2 resistance is essentially split

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between the two upper bridge arms, which compensate one another. L1 does not affect
bridge balance because it is not in any one of the bridge arms.
Similar analysis of the lower portion of the bridge (alternately open-circuiting
resistors K and M and tracing current flows) will show that L4 is essentially split
between the two right-side bridge arms when K and M are in the circuit and properly
balanced. The two right-side bridge arms compensate one another. L3 is not in a
bridge arm so it does not affect bridge balance.

Figure 7. Four-lead RTD connected to compensating bridge circuit.

By selecting the proper values for resistors N and P and for resistors M and K, the
voltage drops in the leads in the upper arm will cancel those in the lower arm. Best
compensation is achieved when the four leads and their extensions are matched in
resistance and bundled in the same cable so the resistance variations due to ambient
temperature are the same in each lead.
The four-lead connection is essential in resistance thermometers use as reference or
working standards in the calibration laboratory. The Mueller bridge is a variation of
the Wheatstone bridge that is often used where temperature measurements of the
highest precision must be made.

Figure 8. Simplified schematic of the Muller bridge.

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Figure 8 is a simplified schematic of the Mueller bridge. With the switches in the
position shown, the total bridge current flows through lead L1. This current divides at
the junction of L1 and L3, effectively putting the resistance of L in the upper left arm
of the bridge. The resistance thermometer RT and lead L2 are in the upper right arm of
the bridge. Throwing the switches to their alternate position makes L4 the currentcarrying lead, reverses the direction of the current through RT, and interchanges L2 and
L3. L2 is now in the upper left arm, and L3 is with RT in the upper right arm. Two
readings are taken, one with the switches in the position shown and a second with the
switches in their alternate position. The mean of the two readings gives the true
resistance of the thermometer, RT. Variations in lead resistances and thermal emfs
generated in the leads or their connection points are nullified by the Mueller bridge
measurement procedure. The special switching and the requirement for two
measurements and a computation make this circuit unsuitable for industrial
applications such as recording, automatic readout, or control of temperature.
4.4 Differential Connections
Differential temperature indication or control is sometimes needed in industrial
applications. Two RTDs at different temperature-sensing locations are connected to a
Wheatstone bridge as shown in Figure 10. Usually, both RTDs have the same
resistance temperature characteristic. E0 will change in magnitude as either of the two
RTDs changes resistance with temperature. The polarity of E0 will indicate which
RTD is at the higher temperature. If the resistance differences in the lead wire and
extensions introduce significant error, a compensating resistor for each RID may be
inserted in the bridge. The compensating resistor must be in the arm adjacent to that in
which the respective RTD is connected.

Figure 10. Two RTDs connected for differential temperature detection.

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