Lab 5

Thermocouple Time Constant Dynamic Measurements Using DAQ Systems Jon Newell, Garret Johns, Ryan Ellison Jon Newell November 10, 2009

Abstract: The purpose of this lab was to experimentally determine the time constant of a thermocouple. Also this lab familiarizes the use of data acquisition systems. The setup for the first lab activity consisted first of connecting the DAQ device to the computer using a serial cable. The output of the signal conditioner was then connected to the input of the DAQ device, the signal conditioner is also connected to a power source. The next step is to connect one of the thermocouples to the input of the signal conditioner. Using the WinDAQ software along with this setup, the experiment is conducted by placing the thermocouple into a boiling pot of water, after the thermocouple reaches a steady state in the pot it is then pulled out of the pot and data is recorded in WinDAQ until it reaches a steady state at room temperature. This experiment is to be repeated with three different thermocouples that have different diameters. It was observed that connecting a voltmeter to the thermocouple and the DAQ device did not change the voltage displayed on the screen. The sampling rate was adjusted in WinDAQ to a reasonable value; the number that is specified is equally divided between the four channels. This value should be altered based upon the data that is obtained. The data that is collected was recorded as a measure of voltage and must be exported to excel and then converted to temperature. The second lab activity was done using LabView software. This experiment was done by connecting the yellow thermocouple to the 2345 signal conditioner, then repeating the process of the first activity. It was noticed that the sampling rate should be re-adjusted because there is only one channel in this experiment. The data obtained in LabView did not need to be converted to temperatures but should be exported to excel in order to plot the results. The plot was then compared to the data obtained in the first activity and it was noticed that all of the curves have a similar shape.

Introduction: The objective of this lab was to determine the time constants of 4 different type K thermocouples. We tested three different thermocouples using DAQ hardware, and we tested the fourth using Labview on the computer. As we saw in this lab, temperature measurements are a great application of DAQ. The DAQ is used to collect voltage measurements at certain time intervals. Engineers can also use DAQ in many applications other than temperature measurements. A DAQ system can also be used to collect data from pressure gauges, strain gauges, etc. A time constant characterizes a response of any function that varies with time. In our experiment we used thermocouples which are known to each have a specific time constant. It helps represent the time for the thermocouples response to a change in temperature. The time constant for a thermocouple depends on specific material properties and size of the couple itself. Each type of thermocouple will have a different time constant because of its size, and because each is made from different materials. We determined the time constant with a fairly simple experiment. We held each thermocouple in boiling water until it reached a temperature of 100 oC. Then, we removed the couple from the water and held it in the air until it reached room temperature. We recorded the voltage produced by the thermocouple, using a DAQ system, while it was cooling. We performed a linear regression on the data using the formula ln

= . We allowed t to

represent time, T to represent the temperature at that time, and to represent the time constant. We obtained the slope of the data from the linear regression, and therefore, were able to solve for . Experimental Results and Technical Analysis: Experimental Setup:

Plots of temperature vs. time of the three thermocouples:

Thermocouple 1
100 T e m p e C r a t u e 80 60

40
20 0 0 20 40 Time 60 80 Series1

T e m p e C r a t u e

T e m p e r C a t u r e

The data obtained for thermocouple 3 does not show the true behavior which is due to the fact that the sampling rate was not increased for this experiment. The sampling rate should have been increased due to the fact that the third thermocouple has a much smaller diameter which

( ) ( ) ( )

Thermocouple 2
100 80 60 40 20 0 0 5 10 Time 15 20 25 Series1

Thermocouple 3
25 20 15 10 5 0 0 1 2 Time 3 4 Series1

will cause it to have a very low time constant. So sampling at too long of intervals will skip over the critical portion of the data that is desired. Plot of temperature vs. time of the yellow thermocouple:

Yellow Thermocouple
120
T e m p e r a t u r e 100 80 60 40 20 0 0 10 20 Time 30 40 Series1

Below is a table that compares the time constants of the thermocouples. Thermocouple 1
6.43

Thermocouple 2
1.72

Thermocouple 3
0.295

Yellow Thermocouple
5.76

These time constants were calculated by plotting the ln((Tinf-T)/(Tinf-To)) vs. time and then using linear regression to get the slope of the line which is equal to -1/. All of the thermocouples are made of the same metal combination and as a result of this their time constants are related to their diameters. Below is a plot of thermocouple time constant vs. diameter.
8 c o T n i s m t e a n t 6 4 2 0 0 0.01 0.02 Diameter 0.03 0.04

Conclusion: The lab showed and proved true that the cross-sectional area of the thermocouple wire plays a direct role in the time constant calculation. The thicker thermocouple wires had a larger time constant than the very thin thermocouple wire. The heat left the thin wire in a much faster time than the thick wire. The speed of the heat leaving the very small wire made data collection for this thermocouple very difficult to obtain. The number of samples per second needed to be very high in order to get a significant amount of data to properly find the time constant. The sampling rate was determined by first taking an estimate of how long the thermocouple should take to return to room temperature. The number of samples needed to be taken was then decided on the basis of taking enough data to make a conclusion while not taking excessive data. The quantizing error in the experiment was around 7oC. All of our data seemed to be off by this rather surprisingly large temperature change. The lab was accomplished fairly well. The data collection for the smallest thermocouple was rather hard to obtain. The rest of the lab went along as planned. The lab was successful in learning about time constants and how to find them.

Appendix: Work breakdown Jon Newell (Major Responsible Person): 1. Wrote the abstract 2. Activity 3 Ryan Ellison 1. Wrote conclusion 2. Activity 3 Garret Johns 1. Wrote introduction 2. Activity 3 All three members worked together in the lab. The deliverable was split up, but the major technical analysis was in activity three so all members provided input for this activity to provide for the best result.