FILLED THERMAL SYSTEMS

FILLED THERMAL SYSTEMS

• In this, basically a pressure gauge

connected by small bore tubing to the bulb
acting as the temperature sensor.

• The whole system is gas-tight, and filled

with an appropriate confined gas or liquid
under pressure.

Basic Principle:

• Works on… Expansion/ contraction of fluids

with temperature.

• As the temperature of fluids changes, >> the

volume also changes. >> pressure changes.

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 FILLED THERMAL SYSTEMS

• The Scientific Apparatus Makers

Association (SAMA) has classified filled-
system thermometers into four major
classes according to filling material.

FILLED THERMAL SYSTEMS

• The classes are….

Class Ι – for liquid filled Systems

Class ΙΙ – for vapour filled Systems

Class ΙΙΙ – for gas filled Systems

Class V – for mercury filled systems

FILLED THERMAL SYSTEMS:

components
• A sensitive pressure bulb,
• A capillary tube,
• An indicator,
• A linkage movement to effect indication,
reading and transmission.

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 FILLED THERMAL SYSTEMS:
components

FILLED THERMAL SYSTEMS:

components

FILLED THERMAL SYSTEMS:

components: Bulb
• Use of largest bulb will…
– cut down on ambient temperature errors,

– permit smaller spans and longer capillaries

• Higher speed of response can be obtained with

a long, thin, bendable bulb.

• Usually made up of Stainless Steel

– Relatively inert and withstand high temperature

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 FILLED THERMAL SYSTEMS:
components: Capillary
• Relatively fragile

• Thin walled

• Protected by Stainless steel or PVC covered

bronze tubing

FILLED THERMAL SYSTEMS:

components: Extension Neck
• An extension neck to the bulb prevents the tubing
from being immersed directly in the measured
medium.

FILLED THERMAL SYSTEMS

• Class Ι and Class V use the Volumetric

principle, while Class ΙΙ and Class ΙΙΙ
use the Pressure principle.

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 Class I: Liquid-Filled Systems

Class I: Liquid-Filled Systems

• This liquid filled (mercury excluded)
classification is subdivided into 3 groups:
1. Class Ι - uncompensated
2. Class ΙA - fully compensated (capillary and
case)
3. Class ΙB - case compensated only

Class ΙA Full Compensation

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 Class ΙB Case Compensation

Class ΙΙ - liquid vapour system/

vapour-pressure system

Class ΙΙ - liquid vapour

system/vapour-pressure system
• Utilize the vapour pressure of a volatile
liquid as a pressure source to actuate the
element.
• The pressure element, capillary, and bulb of
a Class II system have the filling medium
in both the liquid and vapor form.

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 Class ΙΙ - liquid vapour
system/vapour-pressure system
• No compensation required.
• Care must be taken during manufacture to
have the fill liquid, bulb, capillary and case
at the same temperature.
• Disadvantage: The nonlinear nature of the
vapor-filled thermal systems. [vapor
pressure tends to rise exponentially with
temperature]

Class ΙΙ A - liquid vapour

system/vapour-pressure system
• Bulb filled with a Gas

• Capillary and spiral

contains vapours

• At the cold end: liquid

• At the hot end: vapor.

Class ΙΙ B - liquid vapour

system/vapour-pressure system
• Bulb: filled with volatile
liquid
• The rest of the system:
vapor-filled.
• Useful: only if the
temperature at the bulb is
always lower than the
ambient temperature
around the capillary.
• requires the smallest of the
vapor-filled bulbs
• Upto -1840C

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 Class ΙΙ C - liquid vapour
system/vapour-pressure system
• capable of operating as a
Class IIA or a Class IIB
• Bulb is large enough to
accept all the liquid filling
from the Bourdon tube and
capillary.
• Useful: When the process
temperature either above or
below the ambient.
• Cannot be used when it might
cross the ambient
temperature.

Class ΙΙ D - liquid vapour

system/vapour-pressure system
• Two filling liquids: volatile and
nonvolatile.

• Volatile : in the bulb,

• Non Volatile : in the Bourdon tube,

capillary, and part of the bulb.

• nonvolatile liquid transmit the vapor

pressure

Class ΙΙI – Gas filled system

• The speed of response of gas-filled systems is
usually good.
• The system is usually compensated for ambient
temperature effects in one of the two ways :
• 1. Class ΙΙΙA: With a second thermal system
minus the bulb, or an equivalent means of
compensation.
• 2. Class ΙΙΙB .With compensation means within
the case only.

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 Working substance
• Gas thermometers contains gas like
– Helium
– Hydrogen
– Nitrogen
• Nitrogen is inert and cheap
• It reacts somewhat with steel bulb material
at temp. above 427 0C

Working

• Bulb of gas filled thermometer is well

inserted in the bath.
• Gas inside bulb receives heat from bath
with results change in pressure (Gay-
lussac’s law)
• Indicated by pointer deflection on calibrated
scale.

Class V – Mercury filled system

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 Calibration
• All pressure spring thermometers are
calibrated by comparing their response with
standard thermometer
• Both are dipped in same bath under
identical condition

Performance Characteristics
A. Static Characteristics
1. Accuracy
– ± 0.5 % of full range
– ± 1% of span for gas system

AMBIENT-TEMPERATURE
COMPENSATION
• The measured variable in a filled thermometer is the
total internal pressure.
• This pressure is the result of two factors:
– the temperature around the bulb and
– the ambient temperature around the rest of the system.
• The error introduced by ambient-temperature
variations is different for the different types of fills,
and it also increases as the bulb or span gets smaller
or as the capillary length is increased.

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 • When the ambient temperature effects are
compensated for in both the capillary and in the
readout instrument, the design is called fully
compensated. (A)

• When the case and the capillary are at the same

ambient temperature and the length of the
capillary is relatively short, it might be sufficient
to leave the capillary portion uncompensated and
provide case compensation only. (B)

Full Compensation
• Provides compensation at the case (Bourdon tube) and
capillary
• Second receiving element and capillary filled with liquids
or gas is used.
• Capillary tubings of measuring system and compensating
system both run adjacent to each other.
• Change in ambient temperature cause equal deflection of
bourdon tube
• measuring and compensating bourdon tubes are connected
in opposite so change cancel each other.

Full Compensation

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• Full Compensation is adequate for narrow
range, small bulb and long capillary system

Compensation using Bimetal strip

(Case Compensation)
• Capillary and Receiving element cause free
end deflection of bourdon tube
• Deflection compensated by equal and
opposite deflection of bimetal strip
• Effect of ambient temperature is
compensated or nullified.
• Adequate when case and capillary are at
same temperature and length of capillary is
not too long.

Case Compensation

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• Class II (vapor-filled) systems do not need any
compensation because the liquid/vapor interface is
always within the bulb.
• In the case of Class IIA fillings, it is important to
keep all sections of the capillary at a temperature
which is below that at the bulb. Otherwise, the fill
fluid could vaporize in the capillary and introduce
substantial errors.

Ambient Temperature Compensation

• Ratio of volume of the liquid in the bulb to
volume of liquid in capillary and receiving
element is large, 1000:1 then ambient temp
effect is negligible.

Ambient temperature effect in

gas filled thermometer
• Gas thermometers having wide temperature
range so ambient temperature effect is small
• Compensation can be achieved by second
gas filled capillary and receiving element.

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 Ambient temperature effect in
vapour filled thermometer
• In vapour actuated thermometers pressure in
the thermal system is determined only by
the temperature at the free surface of the
liquid .
• Do not require any ambient temperature
compensation
• Any change in volume, compensated by
establishing new vapour pressure
equilibrium at the liquid surface

B. Head effect
• When thermometer bulb is at considerably
higher or lower than the receiving element,
pressure head in liquid inside the capillary
affects the pressure spring reading. This is
called as head effect.
• Due to head effect, pressure spring shows
pressure reading greater or smaller than the
pressure corresponding to the bulb
temperature

Head effect in liquid filled

thermometers
• Working liquid like mercury is filled at high
pressure, say 1000 psi, hence error due to
head effect is negligible.
• The thermometer is calibrated with the bulb
in its elevated or depressed position

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Head effect in Gas Thermometers
• Head effect is negligible due to pressure
head of gas column inside the capillary is
small as compared to pressure at which gas
is filled in the system.

Head effect in Vapour

thermometer
• Head effect error in vapour –actuated
thermometers is considerable.
• Pressure inside the thermal system is low
• Head effect is accounted by calibrating the
thermometer with the bulb in its elevated or
depressed position

C. Immersion effect
• When thermometer bulb is not inserted to a
sufficient depth, then heat conduction take
place from the bulb towards cold un-
immersed portion of the bulb or well.
• This results in temperature smaller than the
actual bath temperature. This is called as
immersion effect.
• To minimize,
– Bulb should be well immersed
– Extension neck should be insulated

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C. Radiation effect
• While measuring temperature of gas or air,
the thermometer bub has tendency to
exchange heat with the surrounding
• This results in error in temperature reading.
• To minimize,
– Radiation shield is to be constructed around the
bulb

Reproducibility
• Depends on effectiveness of ambient
temperature compensation
• Calibration may drift after certain time
period
• Calibration should be checked periodically.
• Working fluids like nitrogen, mercury are
used in pure form and they remain stable
over long period.
• Fluids may be get contaminated or
decomposed at higher temperature, results
in calibration drift.

Sensitivity
• Dead zone of industrial pressure spring thermometers
depends on
• Starting friction
• Lost motion in mechanical linkages and bearing
receiving elements
• Mercury thermometers develop a large force in
thermal system, hence they have smallest dead zone of
about 0.05 to 0.1% of full scale.
• Gas and vapour thermometers develop comparatively
smaller force in the thermal system, hence they have
larger dead zone of around 0.25% of full scale.

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• In the case of liquid- or mercury-filled systems
(Class I and Class V), the hydrostatic head caused
by the elevation difference between the case and
the bulb is a constant and can be zeroed out.
• For Class IIA, Class IIB, and Class IID vapor-
filled systems, correction of the elevation error is
similar to correction for Class I and Class V.
• In the case of Class III gas filling, no correction is
needed.

Dynamic Characteristics
• Cross Ambient Effect
• Dip Effect
• Effect of thermal well

• Dynamic response of pressure spring

thermometers depends upon
– Thermal capacitance and conductivity of
working fluid, bulb and Thermal well.
– Characteristics of bath fluid surrounding the
bulb like mass velocity, Thermal capacitance
and conductivity
• The response of thermometer depends on
the size of the bulb, its area, and method of
installation.
• For better speed of response, thermal bulb
should have large area, small mass, small
specific heat and high thermal conductivity.

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 Dip Effect
• The metal bulb containing fluid is used in
pressure thermometer, then sudden expansion of
the metal bulb take place before the expansion
of fluid.
• This cause temporary contraction of fluid
volume, that results in reverse temp. reading.
• This is called as dip effect.
• Causes time lag of 0.01 min in liquid filled
thermometer
• Effect is negligible in gas and vapour pressure
thermometers.

Effect of fluid surrounding the bulb

Effect of thermal well

• Thermal well around thermometer bulb
increases the response lag
• Heat transferred between bulb and well by
conduction, convection and radiation
• HT rate by conduction can be increased by
filling the space with metal powder, graphite,
oil or mercury
• Filling space can also prevents HT by
convection
• Above 550 0C most of the heat is transferred
by radiation.

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 Advantages
• Rugged, Self contained construction
• Low initial and maintenance cost
• Do not require any external power sources
• Remote indication upto 120m
• Accuracy and sensitivity are sufficient to meet most
industrial requirement
• Mercury thermometers has greater sensitivity than
other filled thermometers
• Widely used because less costly and simple to
maintain
• Gas thermometers has better accuracy and reach
considerably low temperature

Disadvantages
• Accuracy, Sensitivity and Temperature span
are low.
• For increasing accuracy, Large size bulb to
be used, requires larger space at point of
measurement
• All thermometers are contains some
pressure, it cant be broken without affecting
calibration
• In case of breakage, entire system should be
replaced

• For distance more than 30m, use of

transmitter is economical
• Vapour pressure thermometer indicates only
temperature at liquid surface.

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