A CFD Study on a Calibration System for Contact Temperature Probes

Surface-temperature measurements by means of contact probes require a detailed investigation of the probe-surface interaction. For an accurate calibration of such probes, the heat transfer processes involved in contact measurements must be well known and the impact of any influence parameters must be taken into account. At present, contact probes are generally calibrated by means of a temperature-controlled hot plate. A calibration system for contact surface-temperature probes, based on such a hot plate, was developed at INRIM. It covers the temperature range from ambient to 350 °C. The reference temperature is available on the upper surface of a metal block and is determined by linear extrapolation of the readings of three calibrated thermometers embedded into the block at different depths. However, the actual temperature of the reference surface largely depends on the sensor-to-surface interaction. The contact thermal resistance, the thermal conductivity of the block, the geometry of the probe, and the temperature of the surrounding fluid are just some of the parameters that affect a calibration and that may cause measurement errors if they are not properly taken into account and corrected for. Better insight into the interaction between the surface and the probe is therefore required. Since the experimental evaluation of measurement errors is not straightforward, mathematical modeling could represent a crucial tool to better understand the interactions between the probe and the calibration system. In this paper, a finite-element numerical model of the INRIM calibration system was developed in order to investigate the temperature field across the reference block as well as on its surface during a calibration. The thermal load introduced by a commercial contact probe during a calibration was also included in the simulation and its effect on the temperature field was studied. In order to obtain a detailed mathematical model, the surrounding air was also included in the simulation, avoiding the imposition of boundary conditions at the interface between solid parts and fluid. The proposed model was validated by comparing the results obtained with the available experimental data.