In this video the following questions are answered and explained by one of our Endress+Hauser temperature experts.
- What is an RTD? RTD stands for Resistance Temperature Detector, a sensor with a resistance change as temperature changes.
- What does Pt100 stand for? Pt100 is a specific type of [a linear] RTD sensor and short for Pt = Platinum and 100 = nominal resistance of 100 Ω at 0 °C (32 °F). A Pt100 has a so-called PTC (positive temperature coefficient), as the resistance increases with the temperature.
- What are the most common types of RTD? The wire-wound RTD sensor consists of a platinum wire wound in a helix and is protected by ceramic. The other type, the thin-film sensor, has a thin layer of platinum on ceramic, protected by glass.
- What are NTC measurements? NTC stands for Negative Temperature Coefficient. This measurement works oppositely to PTCs as the resistance is dropping with increasing temperature. These measurements are mainly used in consumer electronics as they are not as standardized as a Pt100 for example. They are not commonly used in process technology applications and therefore not available at Endress+Hauser.
- Which sensors does Endress+Hauser offer? We offer all standard RTD and TC sensors, but also exclusive and patented sensor technologies such as iTHERM StrongSens, iTHERM QuickSens and iTHERM TrustSens.
Video Transcript
You think temperature measurement is boring? Not at all! Today it's about RTD measurement for industrial applications. The industrial standard for temperature measurement in process control applications is a RTD measurement using the Pt100. RTD stands for Resistance Temperature Detector and Pt100 stands for Platinum 100. Platinum is the most noble material in the world. It doesn't corrode and doesn't react on nothing. And 100 stands for 100 Ohm of electrical resistance at a temperature of zero degrees celsius. 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature of melting ice. A Pt100 is a positive temperature coefficient sensor that means the electrical resistance is rising if the temperature is increasing and this method is used for industrial applications since decades or a century. This is how these sensors really look like.
There are two general types: the first one and the older one is a wire-wound sensor that means there is a thin wire of Platinum as a helix protected by this ceramic body and it's connected here and the helix goes down again. The total length of a device like this is around half of an inch 12 to 15 millimeters long. The most common standard today is the so-called thin-film sensor. Again we have some ceramics here but let's have a look in detail. On this ceramic body there is a thin layer of Platinum spotted on, so that the total length of this conductor line at the end reaches 100 Ohm. And this Platinum conductor is protected with a small shield of glass. Additional to this Pt100 technology, RTDs, there are NTC measurements. NTC measurements are working the opposite way that means that resistance is dropping down with the temperature.
They are not standardized in the same way like the Pt100 and that's the reason they are mainly used in consumer electronics and not in process technology applications. Additional to the standard thin-film and wire-wound sensors which are very common in the industry, Endress+Hauser has developed innovative sensor technologies like the StrongSens, the QuickSens and the self-calibrating TrustSens.
