THERMOCOUPLE AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING.DOCVIP

THERMOCOUPLE AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING NIKHIL CHOPRA INTRODUCTION Temperature is the most frequently measured physical parameter. In this report we give a brief overview of the thermocouple as a temperature sensor. We also investigate the availability and pricing options available for these temperature sensors in the current market. A thermocouple cannot be used alone in conjunction with other devices and some signal conditioning has to be done in-order to use the temperature sensing measurements into our control laws for various applications. We have analyzed the AD 594/595 thermocouple from Analog Devices for this report. BASICS The basic principles of the thermocouple were discovered in 1821 by Thomas Seebeck. Two Wires of dissimilar metals, when joined together at both ends constitute the basic thermocouple loop( see Fig 1a). This loop generates a voltage proportional to the difference in temperature between the two junctions. Since the thermocouple is basically a differential temperature measuring device, measuring a single temperature requires that the temperature of one of the junctions be known. Users of thermocouples have relied on a variety of techniques to determine and compensate for the reference or ‘cold’ junction temperature. ICE POINT REFERENCING The voltage output of all thermocouples is referenced as 0° C. This means that the voltage across the thermocouple corresponds to the temperature of the measuring junction only if the reference junction is held at 0°C. This can be done with an ice point cell or a ‘ice bath’ as shown in Figure 1b. However in a production environment it is impractical to maintain a reference junction at 0°C. LAW OF INTERMEDIATE METALS In practice the need to eliminate the need for an explicit reference junction a direct connection equivalent to the basic thermocouple is made(see Figure 1c). The law of intermediate metals states that