UNIT III

Thermal sensors: Introduction, Thermal Expansion type, Acoustics temperature

sensors, Thermo-emf sensor, Materials for thermos-emf sensors, Thermocouple
construction, Radiation Sensors, Characteristics, Geiger Counters, Scintillation
Detectors, Application on Radiation Sensors
 THERMAL SENSORS - INTRODUCTION

 Thermal sensors are primarily temperature sensors and their operating principles have long been established,
specially those of the primary sensors, also called thermodynamic sensors.
 Any physical quantity say Q is usually expressed as its magnitude in number N and in unit U so that

Q = NU
 If it is possible to relate temperature T directly in the above form of Eq., from the first principles, in a
sensing system, then it is called a primary sensor.
 Even though the principles of thermal sensing are well established, newer innovations are added to the stock
of sensors dependent on these principles with improved quality and better practical approaches.
 Many of the commonly used practical 'thermometers' are, however, not primary in that sense and may be
called secondary as the relationship between Q and T used by them is largely empirical.
Primary Thermal Sensor - Measured property of matter is known so well that temperature can be calculated
without any unknown quantities.
Secondary Thermal Sensor – Knowledge of measured property is not sufficient to allow direct calculation of
temperature.
A brief classification of primary and secondary temperature sensors is presented in Table 3.1.
 There are different kinds of heat flux sensors which measure heat flux in terms of
temperature difference.
 Even in temperature measurement. there are special types of sensors such as pneumatic
type, pyroelectric type and so on.
 The following discussion describes the primary sensors. perhaps, in principles alone, mainly
because of their limited applications in industry.
 Some of these are transformed to or adapted in commercial applications with minor changes.
The overall measuring systems are not discussed but the basic sensing mechanisms are dealt
with greater emphasis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JuKqkZVgTU
PNEUMATIC TEMPERATURE SENSOR:
• A pneumatic temperature transmitter with a sensor of liquid fill or gas fill operates based on the force balance principle.
• Thermal expansion of gas or liquid inside the capillary and bulb produces a 3-15 output signal proportional to the
measured temperature.
• It is functionally similar to a proportional controller.
PYROELECTRIC TEMPERATURE SENSOR:
• Pyroelectricity (from the two Greek words pyr meaning fire, and electricity) is a property of certain crystals which are
naturally electrically polarized and as a result contain large electric fields.
• Pyroelectricity can be described as the ability of certain materials to generate a temporary voltage when they are heated or
cooled.
• The change in temperature modifies the positions of the atoms slightly within the crystal structure, such that
the polarization of the material changes.
• This polarization change gives rise to a voltage across the crystal. If the temperature stays constant at its new value, the
pyroelectric voltage gradually disappears due to leakage current.
THERMAL EXPANSION TYPE THERMOMETRIC SENSORS
 The thermal expansion types thermometric sensors are, perhaps. the oldest varieties still used
commercially to a certain extent.
 Earliest of this kind is the solid expansion type bimetallic sensor which uses the difference in
thermal expansion coefficients of different metals.
 Two metal strips A and B of thickness tA and tB and thermal expansion coefficients αA and αB
are firmly bonded together at a temperature, usually the lowest or the reference temperature,
to form a cantilever or a helix with one end fixed as shown in Figs 3.4(a) and 3.4(b)
respectively.
 When the temperature of the cantilever or the helix is raised by heating or lowered by cooling. one
strip expands or contracts more and free end of either of the two moves as shown.
 The cantilever, in fact, bends into a circular arc with radius of curvature R given by the relation
 increases linearly with length and inversely with strip thickness for a given pair
of metal elements. Usually element B is made of invar (a Ni-Fe alloy) of αB 1.7 x 10-
6/°C which is quite low and element A is brass or steel of different alloying
compositions. Such sensors can work precisely but not very accurately in a range -50-
400°C.
 Besides cantilever and helix forms, they are also made in spiral and disc forms in
different control applications.
 Next in line is the liquid-in-glass thermometer—the liquid in majority of the cases being
mercury. With mercury, this thermometer is almost the basic temperature measuring unit
in home (as clinical thermometer), in laboratories and even in industries.
 It utilizes the expansion property of the liquid kept in a bulb to which a capillary, closed
at the far end, is attached through which the expanded liquid rises and an indication in
mm, calibrated directly in temperature scale, is obtained.
 The schematic is shown in Fig. 3.5 The range of mercury thermometer is normally -35-
300°C and the upper limit is 357°C. its boiling point.

 The range can be extended upto 600°C by filling the volume above mercury with pressurized
dry nitrogen.
 The volume of the bulb is made 100 to 400 times larger than the capillary volume. Other
liquids used as expansion media are given in Table 3.3 with their corresponding ranges.
 When the measurement is made, the thermometer should be immersed upto the meniscus in the
capillary which means that the thermometer is to be moved for varying temperatures.
 Alternatively, the entire thermometer is immersed, or, only the bulb is immersed. The last
alternative is the most common one and for this purpose. a correction has to be applied for the
mercury column above the immersion line because the column is at a different temperature tc
than the measured value tm.
 The correction term is

 An extension of this is the industrial type liquid filled-in system which consists of a metallic bulb
attached to a metallic capillary. The other end of capillary is fitted with a Bourdon. The expansion
of the liquid in the bulb is transmitted to the Bourdon which uncurls in the usual manner.
 The basic scheme is similar to that presented in Fig. 3.1. A number of compensations are necessary
to obtain correct indication by the measurement system using such a sensor.
 The correction methods are available in standard texts on industrial instrumentation.
 ACOUSTIC TEMPERATURE SENSOR

 The realization of this technique is made in acoustic helium interferometer whose working is
explained through Fig. 3.6.
 A quartz crystal excited to its resonance frequency is used to transmit this wave through a gas
(He) column to be faced by a piston. The wave is reflected at the piston surface to form a pattern
as shown.
 When the path length l has a multiple number of half-wavelengths and correspondingly the gas
column is set to resonate at each such half-wavelength gap, with the piston moving away from the
crystal at each resonant peak, the crystal gives out maximum energy and hence the voltage VQ
across the crystal defines peaks as shown in Fig. 3.6(c).
 If the piston moves by a distance d to give n such peaks, d = nλ/2 from which C, is determined and
thence temperature T. The piston movement must be accurately monitored to within, say 1 μm.
 There is a nonresonant acoustic sensor that utilizes the pulse-echo transit time difference which
changes with temperature. Figure 3.7 is a schematic representation of the sensory parts of the
measurement system.
 An ultrasonic pulse is transmitted through the sensor, a part of which is reflected at the entrance (a
discontinuity) and a part at the end, as shown.
 The reflected pulses are received by the transreceiver coil at an interval of called the transit time.
 The pulse that travels the entire length of the sensor is delayed more/less depending on the
change in the sensor temperature.
 This temperature dependence is a function of the path length l, sensor material, temperature
range, and vibration mode even if the first echo is considered.
 The different materials are listed in Table 3.4 with their temperature ranges.
 The sensor may be made in the form of a thin wire with restrictions or constrictions at
intervals of space where the reflections would occur.
 The wire diameter varies from 0.03-3 mm and spacing between restrictions varies from 5-
10 mm in a sensor length of 15-50 mm, and a number of echos can then be produced.
 There should not be any inhomogeneity in the material faced by the wave except for the
restrictions.
 THERMOEMF SENSORS
 Thermoemf temperature sensors are thermocouples which are most extensively used in industry,
over a wide range of temperatures. The range, however, is made wide using different materials
The measurement does not involve separate supply.
 A resolution of 0.1-0.2°C at ambient condition is obtained which increases at high values to
about +5°C.
 It was discovered by J. Seebeck that when two conductors C1, and C2 of different compositions
are made up into a closed electrical circuit as shown in Fig. 3.19. a small current flows through it
if one of the junctions J1, has a different temperature than the other junction J2.
 This current is driven as an emf is generated between these two junctions because of temperature
difference. This emf is called the thermoelectric potential or the Seebeck emf which is dependent
on the compositions of C1, and C2 and the difference of temperatures ϪT with the polarity
depending on the sign of ϪT . For measurement of temperature, one junction temperature is held
constant.
 The Seebeck emf has been found to be the algebraic sum of two potentials named after their
discoverers—Peltier and Thomson

 The 'Peltier effect states that one of the junctions is heated and other cooled. lf a current is allowed
to flow in the circuit, the amount of the temperature rise in one junction and the amount of
temperature fall in the other as also which will be heated and which cooled, will depend on the
current intensity and direction, besides the compositions of the conductors.
The heat flow Hf (power) across the circuit is proportional to current I in the circuit so that.
 While making a measurement with thermocouple sensors. it is necessary to introduce measuring

Instruments which therefore are likely to affect the thermoemf property of the couple. Some new

junctions in effect are formed because of these insertions.

 The ideal conditions leading to the thermoemf generation for a couple are rarely met in practice

and more often than not empirical situations arise and calibration of the measuring system with

the thermoemf transducer becomes necessary.

Some laws of the behavior of the thermocouple have accordingly been derived. These are

1. Low of Intermediate temperature: The emf for a couple. each element of which is homogeneous in

constitution, with junctions at temperatures T1, and T2 is not affected by temperatures elsewhere in the

circuit.
2. Law of Intermediate metals: If a third homogeneous metal is inserted anywhere in the couple

without affecting the junctions J1, and J2 and their temperatures T1 and T2, and the new junctions

of the asserted metal having identical temperature, the thermoemf of the couple remains unaffected.

3. Law of homogeneous circuits: If the circuit is made of a single homogeneous metal, no current

flows through the application of heat done and no thermoemf develops.

 MATERIALS FOR THERMOEMF SENSORS
Materials for Thermoemf Sensors

Material choice is guided by quite a few important factors:

(a) high thermoemf per unit temperature change, that is high thermoelectric power.
(b) low electrical resistance of the couple.
(c) linearity of E-T curve over the range of Interest.
(d) high melting point of the couple materials for wider range,
(e) material should be available as pure and homogeneous, workable in desired shapes and should not be
easily contaminable.
(f) should be usable over king period of time without getting brittle. or acquiring scales. or change of
composition (for alloy type materials).
(g) should be properly annealed to make it free from Mains/stresses produced during cold drawing
process.
 Elemental materials listed by Seebeck are not all suitable for commercial pairing to form
thermocouples. Throe categories of thermocouple do mist in practice. namely
i. the base metal type consisting of couple members made of elemental base metals or alloys thereof.
ii. the noble / Precious metal type made from noble metals or alloys thereof. and
iii. nonmetallic types.
 Thermocouples are usually Identified by capital letters of the English alphabet. The base metal types
are identified by letters E, I, K, N, and T; and the noble metals thermocouples are identified by G, C,
D, B, R, and S. Nonmetallic thermocouples are special kind and will be considered separately.
 Several countries have included this standardized nomenclature providing temperature range,
tolerance, service. (intermittent or continuous) and quality (standard or special). International
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) publication 584 with various parts (1, 2, 3) is such a standardizing
document. Table 3.9 shows a specification sheet of the various types of couples.
 PYROELECTRIC THERMAL SENSOR
 The pyroelectric thermal sensor is comparatively a new entrant in the area of thermal/temperature
detection.
 It comprises a type of ferroelectric material. Ferroelectric materials are non centrosymmetric and
their ferroelectricity is attributed to the spontaneous electric polarization on a polar axis.
 The direction of this polarization can be changed by the application of electric field. Also, there
occurs a remanent polarization because of permanent electric dipole in the primitive unit cell of the
crystal.
 If the permanent dipoles in the material exhibit electric polarization with temperature, the
characteristic property is called pyroelectricity.
 Materials of this category are mainly ceramics. The dipoles, normally are in random orientation in
the material and net electric output is zero, and at ambient temperature these orientations are also
fixed. If the temperature is now raised above a certain value, often called the Curie temperature or
'critical' temperature, which is again a characteristic of the material, the molecules with the dipoles
are free to rotate.
 When a slice of pyroelectric ceramic is placed between a pair of electrodes and the electrodes given an
electric field, with its temperature raised above Curie point, the molecules in the material orient
themselves in the direction parallel to the applied field with opposite polarity of the dipoles.
 This state, however, persists even when the field is removed (see Fig. 3.50). The amount of polarization
thus affected is proportional to the applied field. Thus, if P is the polarization and E, is the applied field,
then
 Radiation Sensors
Radiation detectors, also called radiation sensors, are instruments that sense and measure
radiation emissions or levels of radiation produced by a source.
When radiation passes inside a detector, it causes ionization of gas atoms, separating
atoms into positive ions and electrons.
Separated electrons and positive ions are attracted to the electrodes, causing a current to
flow. This is converted into electric signals, which are then measured as the amount of
radiation.
Types of Radiation Sensors

• There are three different types of radiation detectors.

These are detectors
 Based on gas ionization,
 scintillation detectors, and
semiconductor detectors.

• Detectors based on gas ionization are the

Ionization Chamber,
 Proportional Counter, And
 Geiger–muller Counter.
Use of Radiation Sensors
• A radiation detector is a device used to track, detect, or identify high-
energy particles or radiation from natural or artificial sources such as
cosmic radiation, nuclear decay, particle accelerators, and X-rays.
Radiation Sensors
• Radiation sensors are also called as Sensistors.
• It can be classified as
1. Photoelectric cell such as Photo emissive cell.
2. Photoemf cell such as Photovoltaic, barrier layer, boundary layer
type
3. Photoconductive cell such as light sensitive resistors.
Radiation Sensors
• Photosensistor was considered as a combination of two electrodes in
an electrolyte.
• According to the radiation changes, frequency or wavelength ,the
electrodes change in Size and shape and the electrolyte also changes
,that is becomes gas, liquid or solid.
• One of the fundamental laws on which some of these sensors are based
is the Photoelectric effect.
Radiation Sensors
• Radiation energy propagating through space in quanta when collides
with matter, certain integral number of quanta called photons are
emitted, reflected and others absorbed depending on the material
characteristics.
• The intensity of incident radiation determines the number of electrons
released.
• The mechanism s explained by the band structure.
Radiation Sensors
• If the photon energy is sufficient to raise an electron in the material to
a vacant conductivity band level , the electrical conductivity of the
material increases.
• Two situations may now arise:
1. The incident radiation energy hv is just sufficient to transfer an
electron into a vacant conductivity level and not beyond. This
process leads to increased photoelectric conductance of a substance
and the effect is sometimes referred to as Inner photoelectric
Effect.
Radiation Sensors
• hv is high enough, it then causes the electron to be detached and
emitted from the material. This is known as the Outer photoelectric
effect and is effective in gaseous systems.
Radiation Sensors-Characteristics
Geiger Counters
• Its also called as Geiger –Muller Counter.
• Mostly used Gas filled counter.
• A Geiger counter is an instrument used for detecting and
measuring ionizing radiation. Also known as a Geiger–Müller
counter (or Geiger–Muller counter).
• It is widely used in applications such as
radiation dosimetry, radiological protection, experimental physics, and
the nuclear industry
Geiger Counters
• It detects ionizing radiation such as alpha particles, beta particles,
and gamma rays using the ionization effect produced in a Geiger–
Müller tube, which gives its name to the instrument.[1] In wide and
prominent use as a hand-held radiation survey instrument, it is perhaps
one of the world's best-known radiation detection instruments.
• It can be made to have longer operating life time by particularly using
Halogen gas filling.
Geiger Counters
• The commercially available varieties are
1. End-Window type.
2. Cylindrical type.
3. Needle type.
End-Window type
End-Window type
• In the end window type, a metal coated glass tube of cylindrical form
has a thin tungsten wire of 0.002-0.01 cm diameter passing through
the centre acting as the collector electrode with the body as the other.
• The end window s usually made of mica sheet of a thickness less than
1 mg/cm².
• To avoid spark over the central electrode, it terminates into a glass
bead .
• Radiation is received by the end window.
Cylindrical& Needle type
• In the cylindrical GM counters,radiation is received by the side walls.
• In the Needle type GM counter, where insertion in a narrow channel s
required.
Geiger Counter
• The GM counter chamber uses a gas at a low pressure of about 0.1-
0.15 kg/cm² that consists of 90% insert gas such as Ar & Ne and 10%
ethyl alcohol or other organic vapours like methane.
• This mixture ensures charge transit through electrons only.
• One important thing in gas filled counters is the discharges
mechanism.
• In the GM counter, the Townsend discharge occurs and with the bulk
of electrons in the discharge being collected by the anode, a positive
ion sheath or cloud is left to reduce the field and stop the discharge.
This is known as Quenching of the discharge.
Scintillation Detectors
• Certain single crystals of organic or inorganic materials, activated
glasses/liquids or plastic fluors have the property that when they
receive high energy radiation, they produce very short duration light
pulses or flashes called “Scintillations”.

• These materials are known as Scintillators.

Scintillation Detector
Scintillation Detectors
• The basic principle behind this instrument is the use of a special material which
glows or "scintillates" when radiation interacts with it.
• The most common type of material is a type of salt called sodium-iodide. The light
produced from the scintillation process is reflected through a clear window where
it interacts with device called a photomultiplier tube.
• The first part of the photomultiplier tube is made of another special material called
a photocathode.
• The photocathode produces electrons when light strikes its surface.
Scintillation Detectors
• These electrons are then pulled towards a series of plates called dynodes through
the application of a positive high voltage.
• When electrons from the photocathode hit the first dynode, several electrons are
produced for each initial electron hitting its surface.
• This "bunch" of electrons is then pulled towards the next dynode, where more
electron "multiplication" occurs.
• The sequence continues until the last dynode is reached, where the electron pulse
is now millions of times larger then it was at the beginning of the tube.
Application of Radiation Sensors
• They are widely used in medical applications for
image generation (X-rays and tomography), as well
as high-energy physics experiments, plant laboratories,
airports security (X-rays machines), and radiation
sensing for nuclear installations.