A Metrology Experiment For Engineering Students: Platinum Resistance Temperature Detector

: This paper describes the use of a platinum resistance temperature detector to develop a calibration experiment and to introduce metrology principles. The Callender-Van Dusen equation is used to analyze the temperature-resistance characteristic of a detector. Linearity of this characteristic is explored using a MATLAB simulation. Resistance is measured at four different temperatures to estimate all of the parameters in Callender- Van Dusen equation. Since the uncertainty of temperature and resistance measurements during calibration determines the accuracy of the temperature measurements using platinum detector, it is necessary to assess the calibration errors. A simulation package is developed that applies different levels of errors into measurements used for parameter estimation. The goal is to study the influence of calibration uncertainty on the temperature detector's readings. The next challenge is a practical realization of the calibration process. A simple experiment is proposed and the least square fit is used to estimate the parameters.