Construction of iron-constantan thermocouple from locally available raw materials

Abstract

Measuring of temperature in furnaces has been a problem in many research institutes and universities. The objective of this research is to produce a device capable of measuring temperatures in the range of 400 to 1000°C. This research is on the design of a type J or iron-constantan thermocouple. Constantan is an alloy having a composition of 60% copper and 40% nickel. A type J thermocouple was made by twisting iron lead wire and constantan lead wire. A performance evaluation carried out showed that the measurements were reliable at 95% confidence level for temperatures up to 1000°C