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Figure 35
Thin Film Omega® TFD Element
Although this construction produces a very stable Glass sealed Biflar Winding
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Metals - All metals produce a positive change in impedance can contribute a significant error to our
resistance for a positive change in temperature. This, temperature measurement.
of course, is the main function of an RTD. As we shall A ten ohm lead impedance implies 10/0.385 ≅ 26°C
soon see, system error is minimized when the nominal error in measurement. Even the temperature coefficient
value of the RTD resistance is large. This implies of the lead wire can contribute a measurable error. The
a metal wire with a high resistivity. The lower the classical method of avoiding this problem has been the
resistivity of the metal, the more material we will have to use of a bridge.
use.
Table 6 lists the resistivities of common RTD
Z
+ DVM
materials.
–
METAL RESISTIVITY OHM/CMF
_________ ___________________
(cmf = circular mil foot) RTD
Gold Au 13.00
Silver Ag 8.8
Copper Cu 9.26 WHEATSTONE BRIDGE
Platinum Pt
Tungsten w
59.00
30.00
Figure 39
Nickel Ni 36.00
Table 6 The bridge output voltage is an indirect indication
Because of their lower resistivities, gold and silver of the RTD resistance. The bridge requires four
are rarely used as RTD elements. Tungsten has a connection wires, an external source, and three
relatively high resistivity, but is reserved for very high resistors that have a zero temperature coefficient. To
temperature applications because it is extremely brittle avoid subjecting the three bridge-completion resistors
and difficult to work. to the same temperature as the RTD, the RTD is
Copper is used occasionally as an RTD element. separated from the bridge by a pair of extension wires:
Its low resistivity forces the element to be longer
than a platinum element, but its linearity and very
low cost make it an economical alternative. Its upper + DVM
( ) ( )
Vs - 2Vo 4Vo
Rg = R3 ———— - RL ————
+ VS + 2Vo Vs + 2Vo
i =0
i 100 W RTD
DVM The error term will be small if Vo is small, i.e., the
i =0
–
1�
4-WIRE OHMS MEASUREMENT 200�
- +
Figure 42 6V
+
- 3V
VO
2.0066V
1�
bridge. The output voltage read by the dvm is directly 100�
( )
R2
R3 R = 100 —————
6 - 1.9868 = 199.01 ohms
g 6 + 1.9868
Figure 43
The correct answer is of course 200 ohms. That’s a
This is a small price to pay if we are at all concerned
with the accuracy of the temperature measurement. Resistance to Temperature
Conversion
3-Wire Bridge Measurement Errors The RTD is a more linear device than the
If we know VS and VO, we can find Rg and then solve for thermocouple, but it still requires curve-fitting. The
temperature. The unbalance voltage Vo of a bridge built Callendar-Van Dusen equation has been used for years
with R1 = R2 is: to approximate the RTD curve:11, 13 3
R3 1
(
VO= VS ——— – VS —
R3 + Rg ) (2)
RT=R0+R0 α
[ (
T ——
T-δ —— -1
100 100
100
) ( ) (
T -β —— -1
T —— T
100
) ( ) ]
If Rg = R3, VO= 0 and the bridge is balanced. This can
be done manually, but if we don’t want to do a manual Where:
bridge balance, we can just solve for Rg in terms of VO: RT = Resistance at Temperature T
Ro = Resistance at T = 0˚C
(V————
+ 2V )
VS - 2VO
Rg = R3 α = Temperature coefficient at T = 0˚C
S O
(typically +0.00392Ω/Ω/˚C)
δ = 1.49 (typical value for .00392 platinum)
RL
Rg β = 0 T > 0
+ - +
VS
- VO
0. 11 (typical) T < 0
R3
RL The exact values for coefficients α , β , and δ are
determined by testing the RTD at four temperatures and
Figure 44 solving the resultant equations. This familiar equation
DVM was replaced in 1968 by a 20th order polynomial in
This expression assumes the lead resistance is zero. order to provide a more accurate curve fit.
If Rg is located some distance from the bridge in a The plot of this equation shows the RTD to be a more
3-wire configuration, the lead resistance RL will appear linear device than the thermocouple:
11, 13 Refer to Bibliography 11 and 13.
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