RESISTANCE TEMPERATURE DETECTOR (RTDs)

MADE BY :- ABHISHEK SINGHEE ROLL NO. :- 26 IV SEM INDUSTRIAL ENGG.

WHAT ARE RTDs ???

Resistance thermometers, also called resistance temperature detectors or resistive thermal devices (RTDs), are temperature sensors that exploit the predictable change in electrical resistance of some materials with changing temperature. As they are almost invariably made of platinum, they are often called platinum resistance thermometers (PRTs). They are slowly replacing the use of thermocouples in many industrial applications below 600 C, due to higher accuracy and repeatability.

CONSTRUCTION

These elements nearly always require insulated leads attached. At temperatures below about 250 C PVC, silicon rubber or PTFE insulators are used. Above this, glass fibre or ceramic are used. The measuring point, and usually most of the leads, require a housing or protective sleeve, often made of a metal alloy which is chemically inert to the process being monitored. Selecting and designing protection sheaths can require more care than the actual sensor, as the sheath must withstand chemical or physical attack and provide convenient attachment points.

Advantages
Advantages of platinum resistance thermometers:  High accuracy  Low drift  Suitable for precision applications  Linear over wide operating range  Wide temperature operating range(-200 to 660OC)  High temperature operating range  Interchangeability over wide range  Good stability at high temperature

Disadvantages & Limitations

The disadvantages of using RTD's include:  Higher cost than thermocouples  No point sensing  Affected by shock and vibration  Requires three or four-wire operation  RTDs in industrial applications are rarely used above 660 C. At temperatures above 660 C it becomes increasingly difficult to prevent the platinum from becoming contaminated by impurities from the metal sheath of the thermometer.  Compared to thermistors , platinum RTDs are less sensitive to small temperature changes and have a slower response time .

Sources Of Error
The common error sources of a PRT are: Interchangeability: the closeness of agreement between the specific PRT's Resistance vs. Temperature relationship and a predefined Resistance vs. Temperature relationship, commonly defined by IEC 60751. Insulation Resistance: Error caused by the inability to measure the actual resistance of element. Current leaks into or out of the circuit through the sheath, between the element leads, or the elements.[4] Stability: Ability to maintain R vs T over time as a result of thermal exposure. Repeatability: Ability to maintain R vs T under the same conditions after experiencing thermal cycling throughout a specified temperature range. Hysteresis: Change in the characteristics of the materials from which the RTD is built due to exposures to varying temperatures. Stem Conduction: Error that results from the PRT sheath conducting heat into or out of the process. Calibration/Interpolation: Errors that occur due to calibration uncertainty at the cal points, or between cal point due to propagation of uncertainty or curve fit errors. Lead Wire: Errors that occur because a 4 wire or 3 wire measurement is not used, this is greatly increased by higher gauge wire. 2 wire connection adds lead resistance in series with PRT element. 3 wire connection relies on all 3 leads having equal resistance. Self Heating: Error produced by the heating of the PRT element due to the power applied. Time Response: Errors are produced during temperature transients because the PRT cannot respond to changes fast enough. Thermal EMF: Thermal EMF errors are produced by the EMF adding to or subtracting from the applied sensing voltage, primarily in DC systems

Calculations

Here, RT is the resistance at temperature T, R0 is the resistance at 0 C, and the constants (for an alpha=0.00385 platinum RTD) are

Since the B and C coefficients are relatively small, the resistance changes almost linearly with the temperature.

Applications
Applications of RTD's include Air conditioning and refrigeration servicing Food Processing Stoves and grills Textile production Plastics processing Petrochemical processing Micro electronics Air, gas and liquid temperature measurement Exhaust gas temperature measurement

Types Of RTDs

Wire-wound thermometers Film thermometers

Coil elements