LINEARIZATION OF SIGNAL CONDITIONING CIRCUIT FOR THERMISTOR

AIM: To linearize the Thermistor signal conditioning circuit used for the temperature measurement. EQUIPMENT REQUIRED: 1. 2. 3. 4. Thermistor - 10K (range) Signal conditioning circuit. Digital Multimeter. Thermometer

THEORY: Thermistor comes from Thermally sensitive resistor that is highly sensitive to the temperature. It is mainly used for the body temperature measurement. Principle of thermistor: Thermistors are based on the temperature dependence of a semiconductors resistance which is due to the variation in no of available charge carriers. When the temperature increases the no of charge carriers increases while the resistance decreases thus yielding a negative temperature coefficient. Symbol of thermistor: the

-tC

The resistance dependence on the temperature is given by the relation: Rt = R0 + exp { (1/T- 1/T0) }
R0- resistance at 25C ,T0- Temperature in Kelvin

- Characteristic temperature of the material

Materials used for Thermistor: Sintering oxides of metals like Copper, Manganese, Nickel, Cobalt ,Iron etc., Features of thermistors: 1. They are more sensitive and can detect even minute changes in the temperature. 2. They can be made very small and hence will respond quickly to the temperature changes. 3. Their small mass makes them especially susceptible to the self heating errors. Characteristics of thermistors:

Sensitivity of thermistors is given by S= = dRt/dT= - /T. Disadvantages of thermistor: 1. They are highly nonlinear which is dependent upon the process parameters. 2. They have limited range : -100C to 300 C. 3. Less stable Applications of thermistors: 1. Temperature compensation. 2. Temperature control. 3. Time delay.

SIGNAL CONDITIONING CIRCUIT FOR TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT USING THERMISTOR

EXISTING CIRCUIT:

Circuit operation : 1. Thermistor is connected across the pins inverting terminal and output of opamp. 2. A fixed current of will be flowing through it and the output terminal will generate a potential to the resistance of the thermistor which is proportional to temperature. Observational Readings: Temperature ( C) 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 28 Disadvantage of the Existing circuit: Very high nonlinear characteristics of resistance vs temperature is obtained. Resistance (k) 1.4 1.86 2.23 2.40 2.81 3.26 3.91 4.63 5.7 6.7 8.07 10

MODIFIED CIRCUIT:
Temperature to Time period conversion circuit

OUTPUT

Fig 1

Waveforms Obtained:

Fig2

Circuit operation : An approximation derived from Bosson's Law for thermistor resistance, RT, as a function of temperature, , comprises RT=AB. This relationship closely represents an actual thermistor's behavior over a narrow temperature range. A parallel resistance, RP, of appropriate value is connected across the thermistor and obtain an effective resistance that tracks fairly close to AB. In fig 1 the network connected between terminals A and B provides an effective resistance of resistance of RAB =AB. JFET Q1 and resistance RS form a current regulator that supplies a constant current sink, IS, between terminals D and E. Through buffer-amplifier IC1, the voltage across R4 excites the RC circuit comprising R1 and C1 in series, producing an exponentially decaying voltage across R1 when R2 is greater than RAB. At the instant when the decaying voltage across R1 falls below the voltage across thermistor RT, the output of comparator IC2 changes its state. The circuit oscillates, producing the voltage waveforms in fig 2 at IC2's output. The period of oscillation, T, is T=2R1C1ln(R2/RAB)= 2R1C1[ln(R2/A)+lnB]. This equation indicates that T varies linearly with thermistor temperature . The conversion sensitivity, T/, can be varied by varying resistor R1's value. The current source comprising Q1 and R1 renders the output period, T, largely insensitive to variations in supply voltage and output load. The period, T, can be varied without affecting conversion sensitivity by varying R2. A frequency counter to convert the period into a digital output. Design procedure: For a given temperature range, L to H, and conversion sensitivity, SC, the circuit can be designed as follows: Let C represent the center temperature of the range. Measure the thermistor's resistance at temperatures L, C, and H. Using the three resistance values RL, RC, and RH, determine RP, for which RAB at C represents the geometric mean of RAB at L and H. For this value of RP, RAB is exactly equal to AB at the three temperatures, L, C, and H. RP is computed using: RP=RC[RC(RL+RH)2RLRH]/(RLRHRC2). Because temperature-to-period-conversion sensitivity, SC, is 2R1C1lnb, R1 and C1 can be chosen such that R1C1=SC[HC]/ln(RAB at L/RAB at H) to obtain the required value of SC. To get a specific output period, TL, for the low temperature, L, R2 should equal (RAB at L)eY, in which Y represents (TL/2R1C1). In practice, a lower

value for R2 can be used because the nonzero response delay of IC2 causes an increase in the output period. Potentiometers R1 and R2 are set close to their calculated values. After adjusting R1 for the correct SC, R2 is adjusted until T equals TL for temperature L. The two voltage-divider resistances, R3 and R4, should be equal in value and of close tolerances. Because only a fraction of current IS is through the thermistor, IS should be low to avoid self-heating effects.

Specifications: The range of thermistor taken: 10k The range of temperature measured: 35C to 85C The sensitivity Sc= 1 msec/k. TL = 35msec.

Design Values of the circuit: From the above design procedure, the design values are calculated as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. R1= 33.16 k Rp= 40.245 k R2= 20.657 k A= 1.098 * 10^ 5 B= 1.032

Observations:
Temperature C Resistance K Time Period (theoretical) (m sec) Time period (practical) (m sec)

28 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 85

10 8.07 6.7 5.74 4.63 3.91 3.26 2.81 2.4 1.4

29 34.9 39.9 44.08 50.01 54.78 59.98 64.8 68.92 84.99

28.87 34.1 39 43 49.06 54.02 59.03 63.45 68.49 84.67

Time period (m sec) T

Temp (C)

Conclusions: 1. The linearity of the circuit for thermistor is improved as Time period T varies linearly with thermistor temperature . 2. The circuit is more accurate. 3. A frequency counter can be used to convert the period into a digital output.