Wright State University, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
ME 495: THERMAL-FLUID SCIENCES LABORATORY
Thermocouple and Flow Meter Calibration
Objectives: Learn how to calibrate thermocouples and an electronic flow meter.
References:
Flow Meter: The manuals for the flow meter and the signal conditioner are given below:
FTB-101 Turbine Flow Meter: http://www.omega.com/Manuals/manualpdf/M0389.pdf
or http://www.cs.wright.edu/people/faculty/sthomas/m0389.pdf
FLSC-18B Signal Conditioner: http://www.omega.com/Manuals/manualpdf/M0390.pdf
or http://www.cs.wright.edu/people/faculty/sthomas/m0390.pdf
Thermocouple:
An excellent description of how thermocouples work is given in the following websites:
http://www.omega.com/temperature/Z/pdf/z019-020.pdf
or http://www.cs.wright.edu/people/faculty/sthomas/z019020.pdf
http://www.omega.com/temperature/Z/pdf/z021-032.pdf
or http://www.cs.wright.edu/people/faculty/sthomas/z021032.pdf
Operator’s manual for the Lauda Recirculating Chiller:
http://www.cs.wright.edu/people/faculty/sthomas/lauda.pdf
Labview program to monitor chiller temperature:
http://www.cs.wright.edu/people/faculty/sthomas/bathmonitor.vi
Labview program for thermocouple calibration:
http://www.cs.wright.edu/people/faculty/sthomas/tccalibration.vi
Labview program for flowmeter calibration:
http://www.cs.wright.edu/people/faculty/sthomas/flowmetercalibration.vi
Method:
1. Calibrate thermocouples using a constant-temperature bath and the built-in
precision resistance temperature detector
2. Calibrate an electronic flow meter using a stop watch, lab scale and beaker.
Data to be Collected:
Thermocouple:
1. Steady state thermocouple temperatures and the corresponding RTD temperatures
Flow Meter:
1. Output voltage of the signal conditioner
2. Time it takes to fill the beaker
3. Mass collected
Report: Prepare a brief written report.
Thermocouple:
1. Title page
2. A list of the equipment used in the calibration.
3. A description of the procedure.
4. Plots of the steady state RTD temperatures (ºC) versus the Type T thermocouple
temperatures (One plot for each thermocouple, x-axis = Type T temperatures, yaxis = RTD temperatures). Use a regression analysis to fit a straight line to the
data for each thermocouple. Show the equation of the straight line on your plot.
5. A plot of the uncertainty of the temperature versus temperature for each
thermocouple. This must account for the uncertainty of the RTD, the confidence
interval for a confidence level of 99%, and the difference between the actual data
and the prediction using the straight line.
6. A discussion of the results:
 How does a thermocouple work?
 What is the actual temperature when the thermocouple reads 28.2ºC? Use the
regression equation and uncertainty (X±Y ºC).
Flow Meter:
1. Title page
2. A list of the equipment used in the calibration.
3. A description of the procedure.
4. A plot of the mass flow rate (gm/sec) versus the voltage reading (volts) (x-axis =
voltage, y-axis = mass flow rate). Use a regression analysis to fit a straight line to
the data. Show the equation of the straight line on your plot.
5. A plot of the uncertainty of the mass flow rate versus mass flow rate. This must
account for the uncertainty of the calculated value, the confidence interval of each
average value for a confidence level of 99%, and the difference between the
actual data and the prediction using the straight line.
6. Sample calculations showing the error analysis.
7. A discussion of the results:
 Briefly, how does a turbine flow meter work?
 How repeatable was the experimental data?
 What is the flow rate when the flow meter reads 1.505 volts? Use the
regression equation.
RAW DATA SHEETS:
Thermocouple:
Transient Data:
Time (minutes)
0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.0
6.5
7.0
7.5
8.0
8.5
RTD Temperature (ºC)
Time (minutes)
9.0
9.5
10.0
10.5
11.0
11.5
12.0
12.5
13.0
13.5
14.0
14.5
15.0
15.5
16.0
16.5
17.0
17.5
RTD Temperature (ºC)
Steady State Data:
RTD Temperature (ºC) Type T Thermocouple Temperature (ºC)
Flow Meter:
Setting
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
5
6
6
6
6
6
7
7
7
7
7
8
8
8
8
8
Voltmeter
Reading
Time to Fill Beaker
(seconds)
Mass of
Water (gm)
Mass Flow Rate
(gm/sec)