Accuracy, Precision and Calibration

Santiago Mejía Ramos Julio César Hernández Martínez Sergio Wilberth González Rozo
Universidad El Bosque Universidad El Bosque Universidad El Bosque
Sensors and Instrumentation Sensors and Instrumentation Sensors and Instrumentation
Bogotá, Colombia Bogotá, Colombia Bogotá, Colombia
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Abstract— This article describes the operation of the pt100

III. OBJECTIVES
sensor, and its calibration by taking two resistance
values with their corresponding known temperature and
finding the transfer function assuming that it is linear. 1. Determine the characteristics of a sensor.

Index Terms— PT100, temperature, sensor, accuracy, 2. The objective is to calibrate the PT100 of each
precision, calibration, transfer function, error. group by taking two values of resistances at two
known temperatures; and assuming that the transfer
function is linear, find it from the measured values.
I. SUMMARY

The design of a constant current source was made, in order

to take voltage values on the PT100 sensor. The sensor is a IV. THEORETICAL MARK

variable resistor, with an initial value of 100 ohms with zero

degrees temperature. Using the ohm’s law you can calculate Calibration can be briefly described as an activity in which
the resistance value measuring the voltage on the PT100 and the equipment under test is compared to a known reference
dividing with the value of the constant current source. value. Calibration, in its simplest form, is a comparison of
measurements; One of the known, constant or precision
values of an instrument and another measurement as close
II. INTRODUCTION
as possible to the second. The equipment with known or
specified accuracy is called a standard. The second device is
It is often difficult to see the benefits of sensor calibration at the device or instrument to be tested.
a glance, however, the advantages vary widely and are very
important for obtaining accurate information at the sensor
output. Calibration, in its most rudimentary definition, is a Problems and costs of not calibrating
modification or correction made to a sensor or amplifier to
ensure that it is operating as accurately as possible. Unfortunately, calibration has relevant costs and in
uncertain economic times, this activity is often overlooked
This document aims to understand and determine the or intervals are expanded between calibrated tools, after
characteristics and importance of a sensor, as well as to they provide or simply due to lack of resources or
perform the calibration process of a sensor from construction sites. However, ignoring calibration can cause
measurements, the objective of this calibration is to get a loss of production or downtime of an unexpected device, in
sensor which is accurate and precise, both in theory and in product or process quality or even in total product and
practice. modifications. Similarly, if the instrument serves an
important function in a process or hazardous area, if the
Many sensors may have errors in measurement. These sensor deviation is not repaired, a safety risk may arise over
differences in structure are the algebraic difference between time.
the value given by the sensor and the value of the variable
being measured. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the Similarly, the end product resulting from a system with poor
instruments used in measurement, such as a sensor, provide calibration tools can be risky for both consumers and
accurate information. operators. In some positions, this situation can ensure that
the community loses operating licenses due to
non-compliance with regulations. This is especially true in
the food and beverage sector, as well as in the
pharmaceutical industry.
Importance of calibration
VI. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

Calibration ensures that instrument deviations are kept to a

minimum. Even high quality tools change over time and First test: glass with water and ice
lose their ability to provide accurate measurements.
Therefore, it is of utmost importance that all instruments are Using the PT100 sensor, the voltage measurement is
calibrated at appropriate intervals. The stability of the tool performed on the beaker with ice 9 times, allowing the
depends largely on its application and the environment in resistance to stabilize at 30 second intervals. Using a
which it operates. Temperature changes, adverse 0.57mA source, the resistance value can be obtained using
manufacturing conditions (dirt) and the passage of time are ohm's law.
factors.

Even tools manufactured by the same supplier can vary in

performance over time. Calibration also ensures that the
quality of the product or shipment remains high despite the
passage of time. Quality systems such as ISO 9001, ISO
9002 and ISO 14001 require systematic and documented
calibration for accuracy, uncertainty and reliability.

Neglecting the calibration of process tools can also affect

the company's bottom line. This is especially true if
revenues are based on accurate process measurements, for
example, of weighing instruments or gas converters.

Due to bias, all instruments require calibration at certain

time intervals. How often they should be calibrated depends
on several factors. First, the instrument manufacturer will
provide a recommended calibration range. This period
should be reduced if the tool is used in a critical process or Table 1. Data obtained and calculated
application. The quality standard may also specify how
often a pressure or temperature sensor should be calibrated. Average and standard deviation of the collected points
The most effective way to determine when an instrument
needs calibration is to use some type of historical trend
analysis. Optimal calibration intervals for different
instruments can only be determined by analyzing the
historical trend through software. Therefore, a highly stable
sensor that is not calibrated at the same frequency as the
sensor is more prone to drift.

Table 2. Calculation of average and standard deviation

V. RESEARCH

Use in industry According to the theoretical equation of the PT100, the

resistance for 0°C is:
When a sensor or device experiences temperature changes
or physical stress over a period of time, its performance will
always start to decrease, which is known as "drift". This
means that the measurement of data through this sensor is
no longer reliable and this fact can also affect the quality of
the company's production.

Although drift cannot be completely eliminated, it can be

located and corrected by calibration. The purpose of
calibration is to determine how accurate the device or sensor
is. While most of today's instruments are very accurate,
regulators often need to know how accurate a particular
instrument is and whether or not it deviates from the
allowable time difference.
Table 3. Calculation of Accuracy and Precision
Second test: Body Temperature

Another point at a known temperature must be sought. One

possibility is the body temperature of a particular person, for
which a contact person thermometer will be required.
Measure the temperature under the arm (armpit), leave the
thermometer for at least 1 minute or as indicated by the Table 7. Calculation of Accuracy and Precision
manufacturer, record this temperature and use it as a
standard.

Place the PT100 on the same person and on the same arm
and allow at least 30 seconds to record the resistance value
(more time may be required).

Known temperature taken with a human thermometer will

be the pattern:

Figure 1. Sensor Calibration and Transfer Function

Table 4. Temperature taken with thermometer

Figure 2. Error calculated

Table 5. Data obtained and calculated VII. CONCLUSIONS

● Since the resistance of the PT100 sensor changes

with temperature change, it is obvious that to know
the temperature it is necessary to measure the
resistance or voltage in this case provided by the
PT100 sensor. The resistance can be measured in
Table 6. Calculation of average and standard deviation ohms and then converted to a temperature
measurement according to the given theoretical
equation.
According to the theoretical equation of the PT100, the
resistance for 35,5°C is: ● The most commonly used method to calibrate
sensors quickly and efficiently is to use two points
to lay out a straight line describing the relationship
between measured and target values. Two-point
calibration is performed directly in the sensor
channel configuration.
 ● Calibrating a sensor is important as it verifies the With the electric current source we can connect the
accuracy of the sensor as well as our measurement thermocouple and take resistance measurements that can be
system. It is mandatory to calibrate a sensor to traduced in temperature measurements.
obtain reliable and accurate results.
The thermocouple used in the experiment is a sensor called
PT100. This sensor has the capacity to change its resistance
VIII. REFERENCES
depending on the temperature starting in 100 Ohms that
[1] equal to zero Celsius degrees. If the temperature is greater
than zero degrees the resistance increases and if the
“¿POR QUÉ CALIBRAR? ¿CUÁL ES EL RIESGO DE NO CALIBRAR?” temperature is less than zero degrees the resistance
[ONLINE]. AVAILABLE: decreases.
HTTP://WWW.CONTROLWARE.COM.PE/BEAMEX/PUBLICACIONES/POR According to the vendor, the characteristics of the PT100
QUECALIBRAR_LOSRIESGOS.PDF. used in the experiment are:
‌[2] Temperature range: -20 °C ~ 450 °C
H. LAURILA, “SENSOR DE TEMPERATURA PT100 – LO QUE HAY Cable length: 0.5 m
QUE SABER,” BEAMEX.COM, JAN. 09, 2020. Sensor Type: RTD (Resistance Temperature Detector)
HTTPS://BLOG.BEAMEX.COM/ES/SENSOR-DE-TEMPERATURA-PT100-L
Number of wires: 2
O-QUE-HAY-QUE-SABER (ACCESSED FEB. 28, 2022).
Water Resistance: Yes

‌ PT100 - Definition
Pre-report
The PT100 is an RTD (resistance temperature detector)
IX. RELEVANT INFORMATION AND SIMULATIONS sensor, where the resistance depends on the temperature.
RTD sensors are made of platinum, copper, or nickel.
For the practical lab we searched for an electric current
The resistance of the RTD sensor changes with temperature,
source diagram and we made the implementation in a
so it is necessary to measure the resistance in Ohms and
protoboard with three resistors and a 2n2222a transistor.
then convert it to a temperature measurement.
With this circuit we obtain an electric current of 1 mA in the
load. In this case the load is a thermocouple, a temperature
There are different ways to measure sensor resistance, using
sensor made in platinum, a metal with good physical
two, three and four wire connections. The two-wire
properties at high temperatures properties and good electric
connection is the only one suitable for measurements where
properties.
high accuracy is not required. A two-wire sensor will be
used in the experiment.
The diagram shown below shows the simulation of the
electrical circuit for a source of electrical current and the
Once the resistance and temperature data have been taken, it
ammeter shows an electrical current less than 1 mA:
is possible to graph the information and observe how the
resistance of the PT100 depends on the temperature, having
a linear behavior, but not perfect, since it presents a slight
curvature as in the following graph.

Theoretical graph of temperature vs. resistance of a PT100

sensor
Electric current source made in Multisim
 X. PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS

● Finding the standard deviation of a set of data is

often very useful on occasions when you have very
dispersed data, either because the system varies or
the measurement elements are not as accurate as
expected, this calculation indicates how dispersed
the data are with respect to the mean, by knowing
this, it is possible to establish a reference value to
estimate the overall variation of a process.

● Calibration of instruments is a mandatory practice

if we want to obtain accuracy when making
measurements, this helps to establish the
relationship between the values given by an
instrument and the values that have been taken as a
reference.

● To make a more accurate measurement, a pattern

must be found, which will be used as a reference
material from which data can be taken with an
instrument.

XI. POSSIBLE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

● Calibration has various uses and is applied in

different industries, one of them for example in
aviation, where the calibration and accuracy of the
instruments incorporated in an aircraft is vital to
keep everyone safe, especially in situations where
visibility for pilots is almost null.

● A PT100 is one of the most commonly used

sensors in different industries that require
temperature controls, temperature recorders,
temperature controllers or temperature monitoring,
either to implement it in industrial processes or for
a simple body temperature detection control.