Evaluation of High-Temperature Platinum Resistance Thermometers Based on ITS-90

Abstract

High-temperature standard platinum resistance thermometers (HTSPRTs) are used to establish the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90) for temperatures up to 960 °C. Currently available thermometers, which may differ in the design of the platinum winding of the sensor, the shape and finish of the sensor frame, the frame material, the protective sheaths, and sealing materials, need some treatments to exhibit the stabilities expected of them and some of the causes of the instability are not well understood. This paper demonstrates a novel model of commercial HTSPRT that reportedly employs a novel sensor winding construction designed to eliminate instability arising from strain on the sensor winding due to differential thermal expansion between the sensor and the sensor frame. The stability of eight different HTSPRTs, including the novel model, are compared at the triple point of water (TPW), the melting point of gallium, and the freezing points of tin, zinc, aluminum and silver. Heat treatments included annealing at 500 °C, a preheating temperature for use at the freezing points of aluminum and silver, and at 800 °C, which was selected for checking the stability of the HTSPRTs in the middle of the temperature range between the freezing points of aluminum and silver. The consistency of the resistance values at the different fixed points was also confirmed by calculating the S parameter. We found three HTSPRTs stable during the described thermal conditions within ± 0.5 mK at the TPW. The novel model of commercial HTSPRT was the best one with a stability in the resistance at the TPW of within ± 0.3 mK over the entire temperature range. These indicate that the stable three HTSPRTs are promising instruments to provide accurate temperature scale at temperatures from the freezing point of aluminum up to the freezing point of silver based on the ITS-90.