An automated thermocouple calibration system

An automated thermocouple calibration system (ATCS) was developed for the unattended calibration of type-K thermocouples. This system operates from room temperature to 650°C and has been used for calibration of thermocouples in an eight-zone furnace system which may employ as many as 60 thermocouples simultaneously. It is highly efficient, allowing for the calibration of large numbers of thermocouples in significantly less time than required for manual calibrations. The system consists of a personal computer, a data acquisition/control unit, and a laboratory calibration furnace. The calibration furnace is a microprocessor-controlled multipurpose temperature calibrator with an accuracy of ±0.7°C. The computer software is menu-based for flexibility and ease of use. The user needs no programming experience to operate the system