Measurements and
instrumentations
Thermometers
thermometer
• Is a tool used to measure the temperature of solids liquids and gases. Thermometers are of different varieties based on range
and area of application include
1. Expansion thermometer; this is a thermometer that measure temperature by using the expansion of fluid or gas by the
change shape of the device consist of two types bimetallic thermometer and liquid in glass thermometer
I. Bimetallic thermometer; is a thermometer that measure temperature by using the different expansion rates of two
different two metals (copper and steel or steel and brass)
range of bimetallic thermometer
It has a range of -750C to +15000C some have a range of -700C to +6000C
advantages of bimetallic thermometers
• Its cheap compared to other thermometers
• Easy to use as it is simple to install and maintain
• Has nearly linear response to temperature changes
disadvantages……
• Requires frequent calibration
• Slow response time
• Not suitable for very high temperatures
Cost sensitivity…
Bimetallic thermometers are inexpensive compared to other types because they use common metals and require simple
mechanical technology
Area of application
• Used in monitoring temperature of air conditional
• Monitoring temperature of the engine coolant in vehicles
• Providing temperature readings for chemicals
Diagram of a Bimetallic thermometer
ii. Liquid in glass thermometer
Is a thermometer that measures temperature by using the thermal expansion of liquids to indicate the temperature;
example of liquid in glass thermometer are colored alcohol and mercury
Range of a liquid in glass thermometer depends on the liquid used and can vary from -2000C to +600oC
Mercury thermometer vary from -35oC to 600oC, Alcohol thermometer varies from -800C to 70oC
Area of application
• Medicine for measuring body temperature
• Education general use
• Scientific research for measuring temperature
• Maintaining temperature records
Advantages ……
Advantages…
• Uses thermal expansion
Disadvantages…
• Limited accuracy have small accuracy and temperature ranges
• Cannot be used in monitoring systems
• High risk of parallax errors
Liquid in glass maybe more expensive due mercury properties and concerns
Diagram of liquid in glass thermometer
[Link] thermometers
• These are the thermometers that measure the temperature of a gas or liquid inside a bulb; it
has three types include;
• Liquid pressure thermometer
• Constant volume gas thermometer
• Liquid vapour thermometers
I. Liquid pressure thermometer this measures temperature by measuring the pressure of the
liquid inside a bulb
Range of the liquid pressure thermometer
It can Vary depending on the type of thermometric liquid but tytpically range from -300C to 5500C
advantages….
• High accuracy
• Stability they can be stable and reproducible
• Low cost
• responsiveness
Disadvantages…
• Limited measurement range since it has a thin scale range
• Pressure thermometers require proper calibration
• Mechanical damage these thermometers can be easily susceptible to mechanical damages
• Risk of errors may increase due to temperature gradients and glass components changes
Area of application
• Laboratory research; measuring temp in laboratory research
• Medical equipment; measuring temperature in medical equipment
• Furnace temperature equipment when the fumes prevent the use of optical or radiation
pyrometers
It might be more expensive due to components used example; mercury maybe expensive due to
controlled nature of mercury use
Diagram of liquid gas thermometer
Diagram of liquid pressure thermometer
ii. Constant volume thermometers; is the thermometer that measures the temperature
of the substance by measuring the pressure of the gas inside the bulb
it has wide range of the temperature from -2700C to 15000C
Cost sensitivity; the gas filled thermometer is less expensive compared to liquid pressure
thermometer
Advantages…
• Has high accuracy of nearly 0.0050C from 00C To 1000C
• Wide range
• Very sensitive
Disadvantage…
• Bulky; not portable hard to transport
• No direct readings hence requires skill to read
• Cant measure rapidly changing temperature the bulb needs time to reach a steady state
• Easy subjected to errors due to change in mercury volume pressure on the bulb and dead
space
area of application
• Calibrating other thermometers because they record accurate temperature change
• Understanding absolute zero play a role in understandings how absolute zero could be
discovered before cryogenics
• Understanding substance behavior such as boiling point freezing point
Diagram of constant volume gas thermometer
iii. Liquid vapour thermometer
• A thermometer that uses a liquids variable saturated vapour pressure to measure temperature
It has the temperature range from 200C to 3500C
Its cost is mainly influenced by choice of liquids temperature range construction and maintenance needs
area of application
• Used in temperature monitoring the vapour pressure thermometers are used to monitor temperatures
in facilities because they are not affected by ambient change in temperature
• Measuring furnace temperature because fumes prevent the use of other methods
• Temperature control system example in pneumatic control systems
• Checking boiling and freezing points
• Measure maximum and minimum temperature of a place
advantages …..
• Less bulky compare to other pressure thermometers
• Have good response time
• They require little maintenance
Disadvantages…
• Dependence on the substance used
• Affected by change in atmospheric pressure hence cause fluctuation in vapour pressure
• Slow response time
• Toxicity and environmental concerns incase of spillage of liquids like mercury may cause
toxicity
• less durable because materials used are mostly fragile
3. Resistance thermometer
• This is the type of thermometer that measure temperature by detecting the change in electric
resistance of a material as its temperature changes
This type of thermometer is more expensive compared to others due to materials used that
makes it attain high accuracy
Advantages ….
• Resistance thermometers are generally very accurate
• This thermometer is very stable
• Has a linear relationship with the change in surrounding temperature
Disadvantages….
• Small resistance change; the change in resistance is very small hence the rest of the
thermometer equipment need to be very sensitive
• Requires additional equipment like bridge circuit and power supply
Areas of application
• Used in industrial boilers petrochemicals and exhaust gas monitoring and food processing
Areas of application
• Railway technology; used in trains where they are fixed to the vehicle specific requirements
• Laboratory environment; where they can be integrated to the installation locations
range of resistance thermometer
It ranges from -2000C to 6000C
Diagram of resistance thermometers
4. Thermocouple thermometer
This is a thermometer that measures temperature using a thermocouple, which is a sensor
made of two dissimilar metal wires joined together to form a joint
It has variety of ranges depending on the type of thermocouple used example;
Type K has -2000C to 1250 0C
J has 00C to 7500C
E has -2000C to 9000C
T has -3500C to 3500C
B has 00C to 18200C
General range is -2000C to 25000C
Thermocouple thermometers are less expensive compared to many thermometers but depends
on the area of application
Area of application
• Industries
• Home in ovens
Advantages…
• Have wide range capabilities
• Low cost and easy maintenance
• Thermocouple are very durable
• Self powered don’t need external power source
• Rapid response time
Disadvantages ….
• They generally have low sensitivity
• Weak out put signal requires sensitive equipments
• Causes electrical noise
• Requires frequent calibration
Diagram of a thermocouple thermometer
5. Radiation pyrometers
• Is a device that measures temperature of an object from a distance by detecting the thermal
radiation it emits
Radiation pyrometer has the general range of 00C to 30000C but total radiation pyrometer has a
range of 7000C to 20000C
Radiation pyrometers has different cost depending on the desired performance high
performance cost much while low performance pyrometers cost less
areas of application
• Used in industry to measure the temperatures of the furnace oven boilers and other high
temperature process
• Glass manufacturing; measuring the temperature of glass during production to ensure quality
• Aerospace; used to measure temperature of heavenly bodies space crafts and other space
engines
• Electrical engineering used to measure the temperature of electrical devices
Advantages…
• Non contact measurements hence prevents contamination with high temperature bodies and
sources
• Fast response can measure dynamic and hard to reach surfaces
• Wide temperatures ranges; ranging from few degrees to thousands degree
• Durable can withstand tough environmental conditions
• Less affected electromagnetics
Disadvantages..
• Non linear scale shows non linearity in scale
• May have errors due to emissivity variation, dirt on optical components
• Calibration and maintenance; they require calibration and maintenance so as to maintain
accuracy
Diagram of radiation pyrometer
