Stability Studies of a New Design Au/Pt Thermocouple Without a Strain Relieving Coil

The performance of a simple, new design Au/Pt thermocouple developed by NMIA is assessed. This thermocouple is proposed as a more accurate replacement, over the temperature range from 0 to 1,000°C, for the commonly used Type R and S industrial transfer standards, in a robust form familiar to industrial calibration laboratories. Due to the significantly different thermal expansions of the Au and Pt thermoelements, reported designs of the Au/Pt thermocouple incorporate a strain-relieving coil or bridge at the thermocouple junction. As the strain relieving coil is mechanically delicate, these thermocouples are usually mounted in a protective quartz tube assembly, like a standard platinum resistance thermometer (SPRT). Although providing uncertainties at the mK level, they are more delicate than the commonly used Type R and S thermocouples. A new and simple design of the Au/Pt thermocouple was developed in which the differential thermal expansion between Au and Pt is accommodated in the thermocouple leads, facilitated by a special head design. The resulting thermocouple has the appearance and robustness of the traditional Type R and S thermocouples, while retaining stability better than 10 mK up to 961°C. Three thermocouples of this design were calibrated at fixed points and by comparison to SPRTs in a stirred salt bath. In order to assess possible impurity migration, strain effects, and mechanical robustness, sequences of heat treatment up to a total of 500 h together with over 50 thermal cycles from 900°C to ambient were performed. The effect of these treatments on the calibration was assessed, demonstrating the sensors to be robust and stable to better than 10 mK. The effects on the measured inhomogeneity of the thermocouple were assessed using the NMIA thermocouple scanning bath.