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Thermocouples
UsingThermocouplesinTemperatureMeasurement

Athermocoupleisasimple,robustandcosteffectivetemperature
sensorusedinawiderangeoftemperaturemeasurementprocesses.It
consistsoftwodissimilarmetalwires,joinedatoneend.When
properlyconfigured,thermocouplescanprovidemeasurementsovera
widerangeoftemperatures.

Knownfortheirversatilityasatemperaturesensors,thermocouples
aremanufacturedinavariatyofstyles,suchasthermocoupleprobes,
thermocoupleprobeswithconnectors,transitionjointthermocouple
probes,infraredthermocouples,barewirethermocoupleorevenjust
thermocouplewire.

Theyarecommonlyusedinawiderangeofapplications.Duetotheir
widerangeofmodelsandtechnicalspecifications,itisextremely
importanttounderstanditsbasicstructure,functionality,rangesasto
betterdeterminetherighttypeandmaterialofthermocoupleforan
application.

Whatisathermocouple? Thermocoupletypes FAQaboutthermocouples

Howdothermocoupleswork? Thermocouple Howtochooseathermocoupletype?

Thermocouplecalibration
Thermocoupleresponsetime
Thermocoupletables:ranges&color
codes
ThermocoupleProbes
SurfaceThermocoupleProbe
NonContactInfraredThermocouples
IndustrialThermocouples
Choosingtherighttemperature
measurementdevice
ThermocoupleReferenceTables
PopularThermocoupleModels

Learnmoreaboutthermocouples

Howdoesathermocouplework?
Whentwowirescomposedofdissimilarmetalsarejoinedatboth
THESEEBECKEFFECT
endsandoneoftheendsisheated,thereisacontinuouscurrent
whichflowsinthethermoelectriccircuit.Ifthiscircuitisbrokenat In1821ThomasSeebeckdiscoveredthe
thecenter,thenetopencircuitvoltage(theSeebeckvoltage)isa continuouscurrentflowinthe
functionofthejunctiontemperatureandthecompositionofthetwo thermoelectriccircuitwhentwowiresof
metals.Whichmeansthatwhenthejunctionofthetwometalsis dissimilarmetalsarejoinedatbothends
heated,orcooled,avoltageisproducedthatcanbecorrelatedback andoneoftheendsisheated.
tothetemperature.

Thermocoupletypes
Thermocouplesareavailableindifferentcombinationsofmetalsorcalibrations.ThemostcommonaretheBaseMetal
thermocouplesknownasTypesJ,K,T,EandN.TherearealsohightemperaturecalibrationsalsknownasNoble
MetalthermocouplesTypesR,S,CandGB.

Eachcalibrationhasadifferenttemperaturerangeand
CommonThermocoupleTemperatureRanges environment,althoughthemaximumtemperature
Temperature StandardLimits SpecialLimits varieswiththediameterofthewireusedinthe
Calibration
Range ofError ofError thermocouple.
0to750C Greaterof2.2C Greaterof1.1C
J Althoughthermocouplecalibrationdictatesthe
(32to1382F) or0.75% or0.4%
temperaturerange,themaximumrangeisalsolimited
200to1250C Greaterof2.2C Greaterof1.1C
K bythediameterofthethermocouplewire.Thatis,a
(328to2282F) or0.75% or0.4%
verythinthermocouplemaynotreachthefull
200to900C Greaterof1.7C Greaterof1.0C temperaturerange.
E
(328to1652F) or0.5% or0.4%
250to350C Greaterof1.0C Greaterof0.5C KTypeThermocouplesareknownasgeneralpurpose
T
(328to662F) or0.75% or0.4% thermocoupleduetoitslowcostandtemperature
range.

ChoosingaThermocouple
Becauseathermocouplemeasuresinwidetemperaturerangesand
HOWTOCHOOSEATHERMOCOUPLE
canberelativelyrugged,thermocouplesareveryoftenusedin
industry.Thefollowingcriteriaareusedinselectinga
thermocouple: 1.Determinetheapplicationwherethe
Temperaturerange thermocouplewillbeused
Chemicalresistanceofthethermocoupleorsheathmaterial
2.Analyzethetemperaturerangesthe
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Abrasionandvibrationresistance thermocouplewillbeexposedto
Installationrequirements(mayneedtobecompatiblewith
existingequipmentexistingholesmaydetermineprobediameter) 3.Consideranychemicalresistanceneeded
forthethermocoupleorsheathmaterial
Whatistheresponsetimeofathermocouple?
Atimeconstanthasbeendefinedasthetimerequiredbyasensor 4.Evaluatetheneedofabrasionand
toreach63.2%ofastepchangeintemperatureunderaspecified vibrationresistance
setofconditions.Fivetimeconstantsarerequiredforthesensorto
approach100%ofthestepchangevalue.Anexposedjunction 5.Listanyinstallationrequirements
thermocoupleoffersthefastestresponse.Also,thesmallerthe
probesheathdiameter,thefastertheresponse,butthemaximum
temperaturemaybelower.Beaware,however,thatsometimestheprobesheathcannotwithstandthefulltemperature
rangeofthethermocoupletype.Learnmoreaboutthermocoupleresponsetimes.

HowdoIknowwhichjunctiontypetochoose?
Sheathedthermocoupleprobesareavailablewithoneofthreejunctiontypes:grounded,ungroundedorexposed.Atthe
tipofagroundedjunctionprobe,thethermocouplewiresarephysicallyattachedtotheinsideoftheprobewall.This
resultsingoodheattransferfromtheoutside,throughtheprobewalltothethermocouplejunction.Inanungrounded
probe,thethermocouplejunctionisdetachedfromtheprobewall.Responsetimeisslowerthanthegroundedstyle,but
theungroundedofferselectricalisolation.

Top
Choosingtherighttypeandstyleofthermocouple

BeadedWireThermocouple
Abeadedwirethermocoupleisthesimplestformofthermocouple.Itconsistsoftwopiecesof
thermocouplewirejoinedtogetherwithaweldedbead.Becausethebeadofthethermocoupleis
exposed,thereareseveralapplicationlimitations.Thebeadedwirethermocoupleshouldnotbe
usedwithliquidsthatcouldcorrodeoroxidizethethermocouplealloy.Metalsurfacescanalsobe
problematic.Oftenmetalsurfaces,especiallypipesareusedtogroundelectricalsystemsThe
indirectconnectiontoanelectricalsystemcouldimpactthethermocouplemeasurement.Ingeneral,
beadedwirethermocouplesareagoodchoiceforthemeasurementofgastemperature.Sincethey
canbemadeverysmall,theyalsoprovideveryfastresponsetime.

ThermocoupleProbe
Athermocoupleprobeconsistsofthermocouplewirehousedinsideametallictube.Thewallofthe
tubeisreferredtoasthesheathoftheprobe.Commonsheathmaterialsincludestainlesssteeland
Inconel.Inconelsupportshighertemperaturerangesthanstainlesssteel,however,stainlesssteel
isoftenpreferredbecauseofitsbroadchemicalcompatibility.Forveryhightemperatures,other
exoticsheathmaterialsarealsoavailable.Viewourlineofhightemperatureexoticthermocouple
probes.

Thetipofthethermocoupleprobeisavailableinthreedifferentstyles.Grounded,ungroundedand
exposed.Withagroundedtipthethermocoupleisincontactwiththesheathwall.Agrounded
junctionprovidesafastresponsetimebutitismostsusceptibletoelectricalgroundloops.In
ungroundedjunctions,thethermocoupleisseparatedfromthesheathwallbyalayerofinsulation.
Thetipofthethermocoupleprotrudesoutsidethesheathwallwithanexposedjunction.Exposed
junctionthermocouplesarebestsuitedforairmeasurement.

SurfaceProbe
Measuringthetemperatureofasolidsurfaceisdifficultformosttypesoftemperaturesensors.In
ordertoassureanaccuratemeasurement,theentiremeasurementareaofthesensormustbein
contactwiththesurface.Thisisdifficultwhenworkingwitharigidsensorandarigidsurface.Since
thermocouplesaremadeofpliablemetals,thejunctioncanbeformedflatandthintoprovide
maximumcontactwitharigidsolidsurface.Thesethermocouplesareanexcellentchoicefor
surfacemeasurement.Thethermocouplecanevenbebuiltinamechanismwhichrotates,makingit
suitableformeasuringthetemperatureofamovingsurface.TypeKisChromega/Alomega.

WirelessThermocouples
Bluetoothwirelesstransmittersthatconnectwithsmartphonesortablestologandmonitor
temperaturemeasurements.Thesetransmittersmeasuredifferentsensorinputs,includingbutnot
limitedtotemperature,pH,RTD,relativehumidity.Thedatatransmissionisperformedvia
Bluetoothwirelesstechnologytoasmartphoneortabletwiththeappinstalled.Theappwillallow
thesmartphonetopairandsetupmultipletransmitters.

Top
FrequentlyAskedQuestions

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Whataretheaccuraciesandtemperaturerangesofthevariousthermocouples?
Youcanfindoutmoreaboutthermocoupleaccuracyandtemperaturerangesonthisthermocouplecolorcodetable.Itis
importanttorememberthatbothaccuracyandrangedependonsuchthingsasthethermocouplealloys,the
temperaturebeingmeasured,theconstructionofthesensor,thematerialofthesheath,themediabeingmeasured,the
stateofthemedia(liquid,solid,orgas)andthediameterofeitherthethermocouplewire(ifitisexposed)orthe
sheathdiameter(ifthethermocouplewireisnotexposedbutissheathed).

ShouldIuseagroundedorungroundedprobe?
Itdependsontheinstrumentation.Ifthereisanychancethattheremaybeareferencetoground(commonin
controllerswithnonisolatedinputs),thenanungroundedprobeisrequired.Iftheinstrumentisahandheldmeter,then
agroundedprobecanalmostalwaysbeused.

CanIuseanymultimeterformeasuringtemperaturewiththermocouples?
Themagnitudeofthethermoelectricvoltagedependsontheclosed(sensing)endaswellastheopen(measuring)end
oftheparticularthermocouplealloyleads.Temperaturesensinginstrumentsthatusethermocouplestakeintoaccount
thetemperatureofthemeasuringendtodeterminethetemperatureatthesensingend.Mostmillivoltmetersdonot
havethiscapability,nordotheyhavetheabilitytodononlinearscalingtoconvertamillivoltagemeasurementtoa
temperaturevalue.Itispossibletouselookuptablestocorrectaparticularmillivoltagereadingandcalculatethe
temperaturebeingsensed.However,thecorrectionvalueneedstobecontinuouslyrecalculated,asitisgenerallynot
constantovertime.Smallchangesintemperatureatthemeasuringinstrumentandthesensingendwillchangethe
correctionvalue.

Howtochoosebetweenthermocouples,resistancetemperaturedetectors(RTDs),thermistorsand
infrareddevices?
Youhavetoconsiderthecharacteristicsandcostsofthevarioussensorsaswellastheavailableinstrumentation.In
addition,Thermocouplesgenerallycanmeasuretemperaturesoverwidetemperatureranges,inexpensively,andare
veryrugged,buttheyarenotasaccurateorstableasRTDsandthermistors.RTDsarestableandhaveafairlywide
temperaturerange,butarenotasruggedandinexpensiveasthermocouples.Sincetheyrequiretheuseofelectric
currenttomakemeasurements,RTDsaresubjecttoinaccuraciesfromselfheating.Thermistorstendtobemore
accuratethanRTDsorthermocouples,buttheyhaveamuchmorelimitedtemperaturerange.Theyarealsosubjectto
selfheating.InfraredSensorscanbeusedtomeasuretemperatureshigherthananyoftheotherdevicesanddoso
withoutdirectcontactwiththesurfacesbeingmeasured.However,theyaregenerallynotasaccurateandaresensitive
tosurfaceradiationefficiency(ormoreprecisely,surfaceemissivity).Usingfiberopticcables,theycanmeasure
surfacesthatarenotwithinadirectlineofsight.

ThermocoupleReferenceTables
Thermocouplesproduceavoltageoutputthatcanbecorrelatedtothetemperaturethatthethermocoupleismeasuring.
Thedocumentsinthetablebelowprovidethethermoelectricvoltageandcorrespondingtemperatureforagiven
thermocoupletype.Mostofthedocumentsalsoprovidethethermocoupletemperaturerange,limitsoferrorand
environmentalconsiderations.

Thermocouple Thermocouple Thermocouple Thermocouple Thermocouple Thermocouple Thermocouple Thermocouple
TypeB(C) TypeB(F) TypeC(C) TypeC(F) TypeE(C) TypeE(F) TypeJ(C) TypeJ(F)

Thermocouple Thermocouple Thermocouple Thermocouple Thermocouple Thermocouple Thermocouple Thermocouple

TypeK(C) TypeK(F) TypeN(C) TypeN(F) TypeR(C) TypeR(F) TypeS(C) TypeS(F)

Thermocouple Thermocouple Tungstenand CHROMEGA

TypeT(C) TypeT(F) Tungsten/ vs.Gold0.07
Rhenium AtomicPercent
Iron

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