Thermocouple homogeneity scanning

Abstract

The inhomogeneities within a thermocouple influence the measured temperature and contribute the largest component to uncertainty. Currently there is no accepted best practice for measuring the inhomogeneities or for forecasting their effects on real-world measurements. The aim of this paper is to provide guidance on the design and performance assessment of thermocouple inhomogeneity scanners by characterizing the qualitative performance of the various designs reported in the literature, and developing a quantitative measure of scanner resolution. Numerical simulations incorporating Fourier transforms and convolutions are used to gauge the levels of attenuation and distortion present in single- and double-gradient scanners. Single-gradient scanners are found to be far superior to double-gradient scanners, which are unsuitable for quantitative measurements due to their blindness to inhomogeneities at many spatial frequencies and severe attenuation of signals at other frequencies. It is recommended that the standard deviation of the temperature gradient within the scanner is used as a measure of the scanner resolution and spatial bandwidth. Recommendations for the design of scanners are presented, and include advice on the basic design of scanners, the media employed, operating temperature, scan rates, construction of survey probes, data processing, gradient symmetry, and the spatial resolution required for research and calibration applications.