Simulation and Evaluation of Two Different Skin Thermocouples A Comparison made with Respect to Measured Temperature

Joel Lundh

Applied Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics

Degree Project Department of Management and Engineering LIU-IEI-TEK-A--07/0076--SE

Copyright
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c 2007 Joel Lundh

Abstract The demand for more accurate measurements is increasing in todays industry. One reason for this is to optimize production and thus maximize prots. Another reason is that in some cases government regulations dictate that supervision of certain parameters must be followed. At Preemra Lysekil there are basically four reasons for measuring skin temperatures inside red process heaters, namely; because of government regulations, in order to estimate the load of the red process heater, to estimate the lifetime of the tubes inside the red process heater and nally, to determine the need of decoking. However, only the rst three of these reasons are applied to H2301/2/3. The current skin thermocouple design has been in use for many years and now the question of how well it measures surface temperature has risen. Furthermore a new weld-free design is under consideration to replace the old skin thermocouple design. Another question is therefore how well the new design can measure the surface temperature under the same operating conditions as the old one. In order to evaluate this, threedimensional computer simulations were made of the dierent designs. As this thesis will show, the dierences in calculated skin thermocouple temperature and calculated surface temperature is about the same for the two designs. However, the current design will show a lower temperature than the surface temperature, while the new design will show a higher temperature. Regarding the core of the skin thermocouple designs, namely the thermocouple, no hard conclusions can be drawn, although the industry appears to favor type N over type K.

Sammanfattning Efterfrgan p bttre mtningar kar alltjmt i dagens industri. En anledning till detta r fr att optimera produktionen och drigenom maximera vinsten. En annan anledning r att i vissa fall nns det lagkrav som dikterar att vervakning av vissa parametrar mste gras. Vid Preemra Lysekil nns det i praktiken fyra skl till att mta yttemperatur, s.k. skintemperatur, inuti processugnar. Dessa skl r: det nns myndighetskrav, fr att uppskatta ugnens last, fr att gra en livslngdsanalys p ugnstuberna samt fr att avgra nr avkoksning skall ske. I H2301/2/3 r det dock bara de frsta tre anledningarna som r aktuella. I mnga r s den nuvarande skinelementdesignen anvnts och nu s har frgan om hur pass rtt den mter dykt upp. Utver detta s har en svetsfri design fngat Preemra Lysekils intresse d ett eventuellt byte av design kan vara aktuellt. En annan frga som har dykt upp r hur den nya desigen str sig mot den gamla gllande avvikelse i uppmtt kontra nskad temperatur. Fr att kunna utvrdera den nya designen mot den gamla utfrdes tredimensionella datorsimuleringar och som det hr examensarbetet visar kommer avvikelsen mellan den berknade uppmtta temperaturen och den berknade tubtemperaturen att vara ungefr lika fr de tv olika skinelementen. Den gamla designen kommer dock att visa en lgre temperatur n tubtemperaturen medan den nya designen kommer att visa en hgre. Angende sjlva krnan i skinelementet, nmligen termoelementet, kan inga bestmda slutsatser dras. Dock verkar industrin i allmnhet ha en tendens till att favorisera typ N ver typ K.

Acknowledgments
I would like to give my thanks to the following persons which have, in their own way, contributed to this master thesis. Elisabet Blom Nils Bjrdal Per Carlsson Roland Grdhagen Stefan Karlsson Saeid Kharazmi Nils Larsson Faisal Mohamed Ali Hans Wernergrd Joakim Wren Furthermore, I would like to give my sincere thanks to Jan-Gunnar Alexandersson for making this master thesis possible and for all guidance.

Last but certainly not least I would like to express my sincere gratitude to professor Dan Loyd. I am truly amazed at his vast knowledge, rich experience and his ability to always nd time to sit down and talk problems through. His guidance has truly been invaluable during this master thesis.

Linkping Mars 2007 Joel Lundh

Contents
1 Introduction 1.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Heat Transfer 2.1 Conduction 2.2 Convection . 2.3 Radiation . A Short Repetition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 3 5 5 6 7 9 10 10 13 13 15 15 15 16 18 19 19 20 21 23 23 24 26 28 31 33 33 34 36 38

3 Skin Thermocouples 3.1 The Current Skin Thermocouple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 The New Skin Thermocouple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Thermocouples 4.1 The Principle Behind the Thermocouple . . . 4.2 The Physics Behind the Thermocouple . . . . 4.2.1 Charge Carrier Diusion . . . . . . . . 4.2.2 Phonon Drag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 The Eight IEC Standardized Thermocouples . 4.4 The Type K and Type N Thermocouples . 4.4.1 Corrosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4.2 Hysteresis and In Situ Drift . . . . . . 4.5 Extension Wire and Compensation Cable . . . 4.6 Considerations at a Thermocouple Installation 5 Method 5.1 ThreeDimension Simulation . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.1 Geometries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.2 Assumptions and Boundary Conditions 5.1.3 Mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6 Results 6.1 ThreeDimension Simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.1 Reference Simulation The Tube . . . . . . . 6.1.2 Current Skin Thermocouple . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.3 New Skin Thermocouple . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.4 New Skin Thermocouple Larger Spray Area i

7 Discussion 7.1 Simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1.1 Simplications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1.2 Mesh Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1.3 Material Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2 Thermocouple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3 Skin Thermocouples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4 Long Time Operation of the Skin Thermocouple 8 Conclusions and Recommendations 9 Nomenclature A Appendix

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41 41 41 42 42 43 43 45 47 49 53

ii

List of Figures
1.1 This picture shows how burners inside H2301/2/3 heat the vertically placed tubes. [This picture has been published with the permission of Preemra Lysekil] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This picture shows how a skin thermocouple exits the red process heater through the oor. [This picture has been published with the permission of Preemra Lysekil] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Schematic gure of the current skin thermocouple. The tube outer diameter is 114.3 mm and the thickness 6.02 mm. The diameter of the sheathing is just over 60 mm, the thickness is close to 4 mm and the length is 150 mm. The dimensions for the plate on which the thermocouple is placed upon is approximately 24 x 24 x 3 mm. . . . . . . . . . Schematic gure of the new skin thermocouple. The height of the thicker protective part of the skin thermocouple is 13 mm, the length is 38 mm and the maximum breadth is 16 mm. The contact surface towards the tube has the dimension 8 x 38 mm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Picture of the new skin thermocouple when fasten to a tube. [This picture has been published with the permission of Nils Bjrdal] . . . . . Schematic gure of a thermocouple. DMM is an abbreviation for digitalmulti-meter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This gure shows the output signal from the dierent thermocouples with respect to the temperature in the measuring point. The reference point is assumed to have a temperature of 0 C.[20, 19] . . . . . . . . . This gure shows how the Seebeck coecient varies with temperature for the eight IEC standardized thermocouples.[19] . . . . . . . . . . . . Schematic gure of a MIMS thermocouple. The conventional MIMS thermocouple has a sheath of Inconel or stainless steel and incorporates Ni-based thermoelements, i.e. type K or type N.[7] The insulation used between the sheathing and the thermoelements is exclusively MgO.[11] Schematic gure of a oven. The temperature on the inside is more or less the same and therefore will the total temperature gradient be placed in the wall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

1.2

3.1

10

3.2

11 11

3.3

4.1 4.2

14

17 18

4.3 4.4

19

4.5

21

5.1

5.2

5.3 5.4 6.1

This gure shows the geometry of the current skin thermocouple on which the simulations were made. The actual tube has an outer diameter of 114 mm, a thickness of 6 mm and a length of 277 mm. The radiation shield has an outer diameter of 60 mm, a thickness of 4 mm and a length of 150 mm. The plate has the dimensions 24 x 24 x 3 mm and is placed on the tube 10 mm from the end of the radiation shield. . . . . . . . . (a) shows how the new skin thermocouple with the three spray layers were modeled in COMSOL. The actual tube has an outer diameter of 114 mm, a thickness of 6 mm and a length of 200 mm. The skin thermocouple is 13 mm at its widest and has a contact area of 8 x 38 mm towards the tube. The three spray layers are equally thick with a thickness of 1 mm. (b) is just a variant of (a). The dierence is that in (b) the spray area is larger. The total spray area, excluding the contact area of the thermocouple, is about 0.003 m2 . (c) illustrates the reference geometry, namely the tube it self. The outer diameter is 114 mm, it has a thickness of 6 mm and a length of 277 mm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This gure illustrates a simple 2D mesh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This gure shows two dierent meshes used in the mesh independence test. As seen, the mesh in (a) is quite more dense than the one in (b) . Temperature eld on the topside of the metal plate on which the thermocouple is placed upon. The z axis is parallel to the length of the tube and the tube height is increased with decreasing z. The measuring point is placed at x = 0 and z = 0.1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Temperature eld of the surface between the tube and the skin thermocouple. The z axis is parallel to the length of the tube and the tubes height is increased with decreasing z. The measuring point is placed at x = 0 and z = 0.09. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Temperature eld of the surface between the tube and the skin thermocouple. The z axis is parallel to the length of the tube and the tubes height is increased with decreasing z. The measuring point is placed at x = 0 and z = 0.09. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The absolute deviance between calculated skin thermocouple temperature and calculated skin temperature for the various simulations. It should be noted that the current skin thermocouple shows a lower temperature than the actual skin temperature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

24

25 28 29

34

6.2

36

6.3

38

7.1

44

iv

List of Tables
4.1 This table shows the IEC-code, which metal/alloy the positive and negative wire is made of, the eld of work and which atmosphere the specic thermocouple is designed for.[20] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This table shows the letter designation of extension wire and compensation cable according to IEC standard.[20] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

16 20 31 32 33 33 35

4.2 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4

Values of the parameters used in the rst simulations two cases. . . . . Values of the parameters used in the second simulations three cases. . Calculated skin temperature at an ambient temperature of 800 and 850 C. Calculated skin temperature for three dierent internal heat transfer coecients, at an ambient temperature of 800 C. . . . . . . . . . . . 6.5 Deviation between calculated skin temperature and calculated skin thermocouple temperature for the current installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.6 Deviation between calculated skin temperature and calculated skin thermocouple temperature for the current installation in an ambient temperature of 800 C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.7 Deviation between calculated skin temperature and calculated skin thermocouple temperature for the new skin thermocouple. . . . . . . . . . . 6.8 Deviation between calculated skin temperature and calculated skin thermocouple temperature for the new skin thermocouple in an ambient temperature of 800 C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.9 Deviation between calculated skin temperature and calculated skin thermocouple temperature for the new skin thermocouple with a larger spray area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.10 Deviation between calculated skin temperature and calculated skin thermocouple temperature for the new skin thermocouple with a larger spray area, in an ambient temperature of 800 C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1 Results from the mesh independence check. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

35 37

37

39

39 42 53 53 54

A.1 This table gives an explanation of the abbreviations regarding metals and alloys that are common in thermocouples.[12] . . . . . . . . . . . . A.2 Parameters used in the boundary heat ux calculation. . . . . . . . . . A.3 This table presents an overview of the material parameters used in the simulations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 1 Introduction
Today the demand for better and more accurate measurements of various parameters, e.g. temperature, increases. Some of the main reasons for this is that the industry wants to optimize its processes in order to maximize their prots or to more closely check certain parameters. Another reason is that in some cases government regulations dictate that supervision of certain parameters must be done.

1.1

Background

In the oil renery business unexpected shutdowns of machinery and or processes equal big monetary losses, especially when it comes to critical equipment. This is why all equipment, if possible, must be chosen so that they can be easily repaired, replaced or so that they can last over a long period of time. Preemra Lysekil use thermocouples in their red process heaters to measure the skin temperature1 . Depending on which type of thermocouple used and how these are fasten to the tubes, the error in the measured temperature varies. In this thesis the skin thermocouples2 in the red process heater designated H2301/2/3 has been considered. In H2301/2/3 naphtha3 and hydrogen are being heated in tubes placed vertically as gure 1.1 shows. The skin thermocouples are placed both at the ceiling and the oor of the red process heater. Figure 1.2 gives a more detailed view of the tubes and it also shows how one of these skin thermocouples exits the red process heater through the oor.

Skin temperature is another word for surface temperature. Skin thermocouples are used for measuring surface temperature, see chapter 3. 3 Naphtha is one of the products from the distillation of crude oil. It usually contains hydrocarbons in the range of C7 C11.
2

Introduction

Figure 1.1: This picture shows how burners inside H2301/2/3 heat the vertically placed tubes. [This picture has been published with the permission of Preemra Lysekil]

Figure 1.2: This picture shows how a skin thermocouple exits the red process heater through the oor. [This picture has been published with the permission of Preemra Lysekil]

1.2 Objective The reason why skin thermocouples are used in this red process heater is threefold. The rst reason is due to government regulations. If a red process heater exceeds a certain output eect than government regulations dictate that supervision of the temperature must be done. The second reason is to estimate the load of the H2301/2/3 and the third and nal is to estimate the lifetime of the tubes inside the red process heater. Every fth year Preemra Lysekil stops all production for inspection and maintenance during a four week period. During this time the skin thermocouples in H2301/2/3 are being replaced with new ones. The next stop is due in October 2007 and the question of how reliable the current skin thermocouple design really is has risen. Furthermore, another type of skin thermocouple, one that requires no welding to the tube, has captured Preemra Lysekils attention, see section 3.2.

1.2

Objective

Based on the information given in 1.1 this thesis has the following objective: To give a short repetition of the fundamentals of heat transfer. To give an orientation regarding the function and physics behind the thermocouple. To give a short survey of the eight IEC4 standardized thermocouples that are used in the industry today and a more detailed one about the type K and type N thermocouples. To give an analysis, of the present skin thermocouple as well as of the possible replacement skin thermocouple, regarding deviations in measured skin temperature versus actual skin temperature. Finally the ultimate goal of this master thesis is to: Give a recommendation on which type of thermocouple and which skin thermocouple that is most suited to use in H2301/2/3.

International Electrotechnical Commission.

Introduction

Chapter 2 Heat Transfer - A Short Repetition

There are basically three fundamental modes that heat can be transferred from one medium to another, namely by conduction, convection or radiation. In all of these modes, heat is always transferred from the higher temperature medium to the lower one.[4] In real applications however, it is seldom just one mode of heat transfer that is involved, but rather a combination. This chapter will present a brief overview of each of these modes.

2.1

Conduction

Conduction can take place in solids as well as in gases or liquids. In gases and liquids the conduction is due to collisions and diusion of the molecules during their random motion. In solids, conduction is a combination of the vibrations the molecules in the lattice and the energy transport by the free electrons.[4] The rate at which heat is transferred by conduction through a homogeneous medium can be described as: dT Q = kA dx where Q is the heat ux, k is the thermal conductivity, A is the area and temperature gradient.
dT dx

(2.1)

is the

This equation, (2.1), is called Fouriers law of heat conduction. The negative sign on the right-hand-side is a consequence of the second law of thermodynamics which states that heat must ow from a high temperature to a low temperature.[15] In electrical circuits the ow of electric current can be calculated as the voltage potential divided by the electrical resistance. This method is also applicable for heat ow in a thermal circuit. This states that the heat ux, Q, is equal to the temperature dierence, T , divided by the thermal resistance, RT , as equation (2.2) shows.[15] 5

Heat Transfer - A Short Repetition

Q=

T RConduction

(2.2)

where the thermal resistance for a plate or wall can be written as: RConduction = t Ak (2.3)

or for a tube or pipe it will be as follows: RConduction = ln( ro ) ri 2kL (2.4)

2.2

Convection

Convection is a way of energy transfer between a solid and a gas or a liquid. It can be divided into two subcategories, free convection and forced convection. Convection is called forced convection when the uid is forced over the solid e.g. by a fan or a pump. Convection is called free convection or natural convection when the uids motion is caused by buoyancy forces which are created by density dierences due to temperature variations in the uid.[4] Convection can be described by Newtonss law of cooling, equation (2.5): Q = hA(Ts T ) (2.5)

where Q is the heat ux, A is the surface area, Ts is the surface temperature, T is the temperature of the uid far from the surface and h is the average convection heat transfer coecient. The value of the convection heat transfer coecient, h, is dependent on many parameters such as the geometry of the surface, the physical properties of the uid, the uids velocity and in some cases even the temperature dierence, Ts T .[15, 4] It is quite clear that all of these properties are not constant over a surface and that h may vary from point to point. However, in most engineering applications an average value of the convection heat transfer coecient is satisfactory. In the same manner as with conduction a thermal resistance can be calculated, as shown in equation (2.6). RConvection = 6 1 hA (2.6)

2.3 Radiation

and thus the heat ux can be calculated as: Ts T Q= RConvection (2.7)

2.3

Radiation

Radiation is energy emitted from a body by electromagnetic waves. All solids, liquids and gases emit, absorb and/or transmit radiation of varying degrees. However, radiation is mostly considered a surface phenomena for opaque solids.[4] The maximum heat ux a body can emit by radiation is given by the Stefan-Boltzmann law, equation (2.8): Qemit,max = ATs4 (2.8)

where Q is the heat ux, is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, A is the area and T is the temperature in Kelvin.

It should be noted that this equation, equation (2.8), is only valid for an idealized surface, called a blackbody. In real life no body can emit that much radiation.[4] Because of this, the property emissivity is introduced and equation (2.8) can now be written as: Qemit = ATs4 (2.9)

It should also be noted that the emissivity is in the interval of 0 < <1 and is dependent on the form and texture of the body. However, a body will not only emit but also absorb radiation. In other words it is the net rate of radiation heat transfer that is interesting. Between two surfaces this can be described as:
4 Q = A(Ts4 T )

(2.10)

In this case, equation (2.10), the emissivity factor is based not only on the body, for which the calculations are made, but also on the surrounding surfaces.

As for conduction and convection a thermal resistance can also be described for radiation, as equation (2.11) shows. RRadiation = The heat ux can then be calculated as: Ts T Q= RRadiation (2.12) Ts T 4 A(Ts4 T ) (2.11)

Heat Transfer - A Short Repetition

Chapter 3 Skin Thermocouples

Thermocouples can be used to measure temperature at many various locations, e.g. the temperature of the air in a duct, the temperature inside a wall or the surface temperature of a tube. Another expression for surface temperature is skin temperature hence the term skin thermocouple. It is however not uncommon to mount the thermocouple to the surface in quite dierent ways, according to the situation. In some cases it might be more practical, from an installation point of view, to have the thermocouple welded to a plate which later on is placed on the objects surface. In this case the whole design with thermocouple and plate is referred to as the skin thermocouple. In this thesis two types of skin thermocouples were studied. First the current installation which has been in use for many years and secondly a new solution which has not been tried out at Preemra Lysekil yet.

Skin Thermocouples

3.1

The Current Skin Thermocouple

Figure 3.1 illustrates the current installation. Here the whole design including metal plate, thermocouple, insulation and radiation shield is referred to as the skin thermocouple.

(a) Cross-sectional view from above

(b) Cross-sectional view from side

Figure 3.1: Schematic gure of the current skin thermocouple. The tube outer diameter is 114.3 mm and the thickness 6.02 mm. The diameter of the sheathing is just over 60 mm, the thickness is close to 4 mm and the length is 150 mm. The dimensions for the plate on which the thermocouple is placed upon is approximately 24 x 24 x 3 mm. In this current installation, see gure 3.1, the metal plate is welded to the tube on three sides allowing for expansion in one direction. This is also the case with the thermocouple which is welded on three sides to the metal plate. The protective shield placed over the thermocouple is welded to the tube and the space between the shield and the tube is lled with verilight, which is a kind of cement. The thermocouple used in this design is of type K. More information of this specic type of thermocouple can be found in section 4.4.

3.2

The New Skin Thermocouple

This type of skin thermocouple is, compared to the current installation, very simple. In fact it is just a thermocouple which has been fasten to the tube by two layers of metal and nally an additional layer of aluminiumoxide. In order to protect the measuring section of the thermocouple its sheathing is a bit thicker in that area, otherwise it is a normal thermocouple. In order to fasten the thermocouple to the tube, it is rst smoothen by blasting. This is done in order to get a good contact surface between the thermocouple and the tube. The thermocouple is then fasten to the tube with metal ties and a metal spray of hastalloy xates it. In order to make the installation mechanically robust a second layer of Ni-200 is added upon the thermocouple and nally to enclose and protect the thermocouple from oxidation and reduction a layer for aluminiumoxide is added. A big advantage with this design is that no welding has to take place. As stated in the beginning of this chapter this type of skin thermocouple has not been 10

3.2 The New Skin Thermocouple tested at Preemra Lysekil yet. Figure 3.2 gives a schematic picture of the new skin thermocouple and gure 3.3 shows how it will look when fasten to a tube.

(a) Cross-sectional view from above

(b) Cross-sectional view from side

Figure 3.2: Schematic gure of the new skin thermocouple. The height of the thicker protective part of the skin thermocouple is 13 mm, the length is 38 mm and the maximum breadth is 16 mm. The contact surface towards the tube has the dimension 8 x 38 mm.

Figure 3.3: Picture of the new skin thermocouple when fasten to a tube. [This picture has been published with the permission of Nils Bjrdal]

11

Skin Thermocouples

12

Chapter 4 Thermocouples
The rst and foremost thing to know about thermocouples is that they do not measure an absolute temperature, but rather a temperature dierence.[20] This chapter will give a brief description of the principle and the physics behind the thermocouple. This chapter also includes a short presentation of dierent thermocouples and a concluding section in which a more detailed study on type K and type N thermocouples is presented.

4.1

The Principle Behind the Thermocouple

In 1821 Thomas Johann Seebeck discovered that when a conductor, e.g. a metal bar, is exposed to a temperature gradient, it will generate a voltage. When two dierent metals, which are subjected to a temperature gradient, are put together to form a closed circuit, a continuous current will ow in the conductors. This is due to the voltage, the thermoelectric emf1 , between the two metals. This eect is called the Seebeck eect or the thermoelectric eect.[21]

Consider the the circuit shown i gure (4.1). If T2 = T1 + T and V is the voltage observed at b-c, then the thermopower, i.e. Seebeck coecient, is dened by: SAB = lim V T 0 T (4.1)

As stated before, the thermoelectric eect occurs only when two dissimilar conductors are used. This means that the thermoelectric eects are determined by the properties of the individual conductors and thus: SAB = SB SA (4.2)

Where SA and SB are the Seebeck coecients of the metals A and B. Both SA and SB depend on the respective conductors material, molecular structure and usually also the
1

Electromotive force.

13

Thermocouples temperature.[10] Furthermore it is important to point out that the resulting Seebeck coecient SAB is a non-linear parameter. T2 a

T1

DMM

T1

Figure 4.1: Schematic gure of a thermocouple. DMM is an abbreviation for digitalmulti-meter. If there is a nite dierence between the temperature T1 and T2 then the voltage generated in the circuit shown in gure (4.1) is:
T2

Vc Vb =
T1

SB (T ) SA (T ) dT

(4.3)

or rewritten with equation 4.2:

T2

V =
T1

SAB (T )dT

(4.4)

In some cases equation 4.4 can be simplied into:

V = SAB (T2 T1 )

(4.5)

The simplication from equation (4.4) to equation (4.5) is only valid when the Seebeck coecient is constant enough. The variation of the Seebeck coecient, for the eight IEC standardized thermocouples, with respect to the temperature can be found in gure 4.3 in section 4.3. 14

4.2 The Physics Behind the Thermocouple

4.2

The Physics Behind the Thermocouple

As stated in section 4.1 it is the Seebeck eect which allows a conversion of temperature, or rather temperature dierence, into electricity. This is due to two eects, namely charge carrier diusion and phonon drag.[10]

4.2.1

Charge Carrier Diusion

If there is a thermal gradient in a conductor, the charge carriers2 will diuse from one end to the other. This means that the hot carriers will diuse to the cold end of the conductor due to the lower density of hot carriers there. By the same token cold charge carriers will diuse to the hot end of the conductor. The conductors however are not perfect. There are imperfections and impurities which scatter the diusing charges and if the scattering is energy dependent, e.g. if the hot electrons scatter more then the cold ones, the hot and cold carriers will diuse at a dierent rate. This will create a density dierence between the two ends of the conductor and thus create a potential dierence, i.e. a voltage.[10]

4.2.2

Phonon Drag

In the simplest model of charge carrier diusion, its assumed that the phonons3 always are in thermal equilibrium. This of course is not completely true and phonons will move along the temperature gradient.[10]

The phonons will interact with crystal imperfections and with electrons and thus lose some of their momentum. If the greater part of the interaction is between phonons and electrons then the phonons will lose their momentum to the electrons and push them to one side of the conductor. This will contribute to the thermoelectric eld.The phonon drag contribution will be at its most when the phonon-electron interaction is predominant. This occurs for temperatures T 1 D where D is the Debye temperature4 .[10] 5

In metals the charge carriers are electrons and in semiconductors they are electrons and holes.[10] The quantum of acoustic or vibrational energy, considered a discrete particle and used especially in mathematical models to calculate thermal and vibrational properties of solids..[2, 3] 4 Debye temperature: In the Debye model of the heat capacity of a crystalline solid, D = hvD , k where h is Plancks constant, k is the Boltzmann constant, and vD is the maximum vibrational frequency the crystal can support..[16]
3

15

Thermocouples

4.3

The Eight IEC Standardized Thermocouples

The IEC has standardized eight types of thermocouples out of the very many that exist in the world today.[20] Out of these eight there are ve that are made of non-precious metal alloys and three that are. These thermocouples have the designations E, J, K, N, T and S, R, B respectively.[20] Table 4.1 gives a quick overview over the eight IEC standardized thermocouples. In table A.1 in Appendix a more detailed explanation of the metal and alloy abbreviations can be found.

Type E J K N T S R B

IEC-code Violet Black Green Pink Brown Orange Orange Gray

+Wire/-Wire Chromel/Constantan Fe/Constantan Chromel/Alumel Nicorsil/Nisil Cu/Constantan Pt-10%Rh/Pt Pt-13%Rh/Pt Pt-30%Rh/Pt-6%Rh

Field of Work -200 - 900 C -200 - 760 C -200 - 1200 C 0 - 1300 C -200 - 370 C 0 - 1480 C 0 - 1480 C 0 - 1700 C

Atmosphere Good in oxidizing atmosphere Not for use in oxidizing atmosphere or in acids Good in oxidizing atmosphere Good in oxidizing atmosphere Not for use in oxidizing atmosphere Ceramic protective pipe Ceramic protective pipe Ceramic protective pipe

Table 4.1: This table shows the IEC-code, which metal/alloy the positive and negative wire is made of, the eld of work and which atmosphere the specic thermocouple is designed for.[20]

16

4.3 The Eight IEC Standardized Thermocouples As gure 4.2 shows, the dierence in output voltage between the thermocouples of type R and type S is extremely small and as table 4.1 indicates it is but a small dierence in composition in the positive thermoelement that separates them. The reason that they are both included in the standard is that Europeans and Americans could not agree upon which of the thermocouples, type S from Germany or type R from the US, to use.[20]

80 E J T K N R S B

70

60

50

40 emf [mV] 30 20 10 0 10 0

200

400

600

800

1000 Temperature [C]

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

Figure 4.2: This gure shows the output signal from the dierent thermocouples with respect to the temperature in the measuring point. The reference point is assumed to have a temperature of 0 C.[20, 19]

As can be seen in gure 4.2 the eight dierent thermocouples diers from each other regarding the output in voltage with change in temperature. Since all real systems have a certain amount of background noise, it is favorable to have a large dierence in output voltage per degree Celsius since changes in output signal will be easier to detect.

The Seebeck coecient for a thermocouple is not linear and depends on the physical parameters of the included thermoelements as well as the temperature, i.e. the Seebeck coecient is a material parameter dependent on the temperature. Figure 4.3 shows how the Seebeck coecient varies with increased temperature for the eight IEC standardized thermocouples. 17

Thermocouples

90 E J T K N R S B

80

70

Seebeck coefficient [ V/C]

60

50

40

30

20

10

10

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

Temperature [C]

Figure 4.3: This gure shows how the Seebeck coecient varies with temperature for the eight IEC standardized thermocouples.[19]

4.4

The Type K and Type N Thermocouples

The type N thermocouple was developed to overcome the instabilities of the conventional type K thermocouple.[6] The main dierence between the two is the fact that type N does not experience the aging process of type K. The aging process will result in a drift in output signal. If this drift is large enough the output signal will be unreliable. However, type N will not give these unreliable output signals, to the same extent, since it will most likely fail before that occurs.

In the industry, when measuring higher temperatures, it is necessarily to protect the thermoelements that makes up the thermocouple because ordinary insulation like PVC5 will melt. The thermocouples used are so called MIMS thermocouples, where MIMS stands for Mineral-insulated metal-sheathed. A schematic picture of the MIMS thermocouple can be found in gure 4.4.

Polyvinyl chloride, a type of plastic.

18

4.4 The Type K and Type N Thermocouples

Figure 4.4: Schematic gure of a MIMS thermocouple. The conventional MIMS thermocouple has a sheath of Inconel or stainless steel and incorporates Ni-based thermoelements, i.e. type K or type N.[7] The insulation used between the sheathing and the thermoelements is exclusively MgO.[11]

4.4.1

Corrosion

The most known and most severe material change that can occur in the type K thermocouple is the corrosion of chromium. In unfavorable conditions, i.e. at 850 1000 C and with a low content of oxygen, some risk of corrosion of the Chromel wire exists even in MIMS thermocouples.[11, 20] What happens is that the chromium oxidizes at the surface of the wire. This means that less metallic chromium is at the surface of the wire and thus there will be a continuous ow of chromium towards the surface until its depleted. The change in material composition will give a lower Seebeck coecient which means that the measured output emf will dier from the expected one.[11] The change in output emf due to this corrosion may give deviations in temperature of around 10 C/1000h in operation around 1000 C.[13]

In type N thermocouples the amount of chromium is increased and the large amount of silicon gives a stronger oxide layer. There has been no reports of corrosion problems in type N thermocouples.[11]

4.4.2

Hysteresis and In Situ Drift

Hysteresis6 in the type K thermocouple predominates at lower temperatures, i.e. around 400 C. For the type N alloys it is in the vicinity of 700 C that hysteresis is greatest. For both types of thermocouples these peaks cause changes in the net Seebeck coecient of about 1-1.5 %. This means that hyseteresis contributes with about 2 C to long time drift.[7, 8]
Phenomenon in which the response of a physical system to an external inuence depends not only on the present magnitude of that inuence but also on the previous history of the system.[1]
6

19

Thermocouples In situ drifts7 in the emf, due to changes in the Seebeck coecient, are smaller for wires in Inconel8 sheathing than for those in stainless steel. This change is even less if a thermoelement of type N is used rather than one of type K. The change in emf is linked to the presence of the element manganese in stainless steel, Alumel and to some extent in Inconel.[9]

If a type N thermocouple is sheathed with stainless steel and is used at high temperatures, i.e. temperatures in the vicinity of 1100 C, then an in situ drift in emf corresponding to 25 30 C is to be expected when used for 1000 h. If however a sheathing of Inconel is used instead, the variation in emf would be equivalent to 3 5 C.[9]

4.5

Extension Wire and Compensation Cable

The dierence between the extension wire and the compensation cable is that the compensation cable is made out of a dierent material than the thermocouple but has the same thermoelectric properties, at least in a narrow temperature range. The extension wire on the other hand is made of the same material as the thermocouple although the tolerance demands have a limited temperature range compared to the thermocouple.[20] Regarding thermocouples of type K and type N there is virtually no reason for using anything other than thermocouple cable. However, regarding thermocouples of type S, R and B, i.e. noble thermocouples, there is much money to be saved using a compensation cable.

Extension wire and compensation cable for dierent thermocouples have been standardized. Table 4.2 shows the dierent designations according to the IEC. Designation K KX KCA Explanation Type of thermocouple, according to standard. Extension wire of the same material as the thermocouple. Compensation cable of a dierent material than the thermocouple. The last letter, i.e. the A, stands for the type of alloy used.

Table 4.2: This table shows the letter designation of extension wire and compensation cable according to IEC standard.[20]

In situ drift refers to the changes in emf while the emf is monitored at a xed T, i.e. with a constant temperature prole along the MIMS thermocouple.[9] 8 Inconel is a registered trademark referring to a family of austenitic nickel-based high-performance alloys.

20

4.6 Considerations at a Thermocouple Installation

4.6

Considerations at a Thermocouple Installation

As described in section 4.1 a thermocouple will generate a voltage, i.e. an emf, when subjected to a temperature gradient. This means that every part of the thermocouple, that is in a temperature gradient, will contribute to the output emf.

Consider gure 4.5. The temperature is, more or less, the same inside the oven. This means that there will be no output emf from the part of the thermocouple that is inside the oven. However, the part of the thermocouple that is in the wall is subjected to a large temperature gradient. It is here that all of the output emf is generated. This behavior is quite an important thing to have in mind when installing a thermocouple.

T6

Figure 4.5: Schematic gure of a oven. The temperature on the inside is more or less the same and therefore will the total temperature gradient be placed in the wall. Consider gure 4.5 again. If the extension is made inside the oven all of the emf will be generated in the extension cable. This might be very undesirable if the extension cable and the thermocouple cable diers in thermoelectric properties. If this in fact is the case, then the output signal from the thermocouple will correspond to a temperature that diers from the real temperature.

21

Thermocouples

22

Chapter 5 Method
The method used to evaluate the skin thermocouples is based on two cornerstones, namely simulation and the experience of competent people in and around the temperature measuring business. Regarding the simulations made, it is important to realize that these are based on a model which is just an approximation of the real world and not an exact replica.

5.1

ThreeDimension Simulation

In the threedimension simulation process it was the program COMSOL, formerly FEMLAB, that was used. In fact all of the simulation process, the implementation of the geometry, the meshing, the simulation and the after study were done in COMSOL.

The simulations were divided into two sets with two and three cases respectively. All geometries, see 5.1.1, were used in each case. The fundamental dierence between the simulation sets is the boundary condition on the inside of the tube, see 5.1.2. In the rst simulation set a constant heat ux is used and in the second simulation set a convective boundary condition is utilized.

23

Method

5.1.1

Geometries

In all, four dierent geometries has been considered. The rst geometry was that of the current skin thermocouple. As gure 5.1 shows some simplications were made. For one, the actual thermocouple has been left out. Another is that, due to symmetry, the tube has been cut in half. The reason for these simplications is non other than to reduce the number of cells in the mesh and thus minimize the number of calculations.

Figure 5.1: This gure shows the geometry of the current skin thermocouple on which the simulations were made. The actual tube has an outer diameter of 114 mm, a thickness of 6 mm and a length of 277 mm. The radiation shield has an outer diameter of 60 mm, a thickness of 4 mm and a length of 150 mm. The plate has the dimensions 24 x 24 x 3 mm and is placed on the tube 10 mm from the end of the radiation shield.

24

5.1 ThreeDimension Simulation The second geometry studied was the new skin thermocouple, as shown in gure 5.2 (a). Even here some simplications to the geometry has been made. Just as for the current skin thermocouple, the actual thermocouple were left out and the tube were cut in two. Furthermore the spray were idealized to cover just the thermocouple and only a small area of the tube. The third geometry considered, gure 5.2 (b), were in fact a variant of the second geometry. In this case however the spray were applied on a larger area of the tube, as can bee seen in 5.2. The fourth and last geometry considered is used as a reference in the oncoming simulations, gure 5.2 (c).

(a) Geometry 2: New Skin Thermocouple

(b) Geometry 3: New Skin Thermocouple Larger Spray Area

(c) Geometry 4: Reference geometry

Figure 5.2: (a) shows how the new skin thermocouple with the three spray layers were modeled in COMSOL. The actual tube has an outer diameter of 114 mm, a thickness of 6 mm and a length of 200 mm. The skin thermocouple is 13 mm at its widest and has a contact area of 8 x 38 mm towards the tube. The three spray layers are equally thick with a thickness of 1 mm. (b) is just a variant of (a). The dierence is that in (b) the spray area is larger. The total spray area, excluding the contact area of the thermocouple, is about 0.003 m2 . (c) illustrates the reference geometry, namely the tube it self. The outer diameter is 114 mm, it has a thickness of 6 mm and a length of 277 mm.

25

Method

5.1.2

Assumptions and Boundary Conditions

The validity of a model is, as in all models, based on the boundary conditions and assumptions made for the model. In this master thesis two simulation sets were utilized and the assumptions and boundary conditions for these are as follows.

Simulation Set 1 For the two simulation cases in the rst simulation set the following boundary conditions were set: BC 1: The inside of the tube has a heat ux boundary condition. BC 2: The outer side of the tube and the skin thermocouple has a radiative and convective boundary condition. BC 3: The cut surfaces of the tube has symmetric boundary conditions. The boundary condition on the inside of the tube can be justied, at least from an engineers point of view, as follows. The temperature of the naphtha is known in both ends of the pipe and thus can a mean value of the heat transfered be calculated. The values of the parameters used in the calculation of the heat ux can be found in table A.2.

Simulation Set 2 For the three simulation cases in the second simulation set the following boundary conditions were set: BC 1: A convective boundary condition is used on the inside of the tube. BC 2: The outer side of the tube and the skin thermocouple has a radiative and convective boundary condition. BC 3: The cut surfaces of the tube has symmetric boundary conditions.

26

5.1 ThreeDimension Simulation The assumptions made in the two simulation sets were as follows: A steady state situation. A constant ambient temperature. The heat ux from the inside of the tube to the naphtha is uniformed over the whole pipe. (First simulation set) The heat transfer coecient is the same along the inside of the tube. (Second simulation set) All sides of the skin thermocouple is subjected to radiation. The measured temperature is the same as the temperature in the point where the measuring point of the thermocouple is placed. No heat ux due to convection on the outer side of the skin thermocouple. Regarding the last assumption, it has been made due to two facts. The rst one is that in this high temperature environment the heat ux due to radiation is much greater than the heat ux due to convection. Secondly, it is very hard to calculate/approximate the convective heat transfer coecient from the ue gas to the skin thermocouple.

Since some parameters of certain materials could not be found, they were substituted with those of materials with similar characteristics. Table A.3 shows the values of all material parameters used in the calculations.

27

Method

5.1.3

Mesh

As stated early in chapter 5.1, COMSOL were used to generate a mesh. The mesh generation in COMSOL is not complex per se. However if a mesh is made to ne, a great deal of computational power is required since the equations are to be solved in all nodes. To illustrate this problem consider gure 5.3. This gure illustrates a simple two dimensional mesh where x and y are the distance between the nodes. Given a x area the number of nodes will increase with a decreasing distance in x and y direction and hence a increased number of calculations for a ner mesh. x

Figure 5.3: This gure illustrates a simple 2D mesh. In order to validate that the mesh did not have any fundamental impact on the solution, several simulations were made with the same assumptions and boundary conditions but with dierent meshes. Figure 5.4 illustrates two of the dierent meshes used in the three dimensional simulations.

28

5.1 ThreeDimension Simulation

(a) Mesh with about 112 000 elements

(b) Mesh with about 8 100 elements

Figure 5.4: This gure shows two dierent meshes used in the mesh independence test. As seen, the mesh in (a) is quite more dense than the one in (b)

29

Method

30

Chapter 6 Results
The results presented in section 6.1 were calculated with the values given in table 6.1 and in table 6.2. As pointed out in section 5.1.2 all geometries were used in all of the simulation cases. As stated in section 5.1 the main dierence between the two simulation sets is the inside boundary condition, namely constant heat ux and a convective boundary condition.

Parameter

Simulation set 1 Value 800 C 0.9 43500 W/m2 0 W/m2 C Value 850 C 0.9 43500 W/m2 0 W/m2 C

Tamb , ambient temperature , thermal emissivity q, heat ux ho , heat transfer coecient Parameter Tamb , ambient temperature , thermal emissivity q, heat ux ho , heat transfer coecient

Case 1

Case 2

Description Based on measurements of the ue gas temperature Estimated value on the outside of the tube and the radiation sheathing Calculated from process data given by Preemra Lysekil No convective heat ux added on the outside of the tube Description Based on measurements of the ue gas temperature Estimated value on the outside of the tube and the radiation sheathing Calculated from process data given by Preemra Lysekil No convective heat ux added on the outside of the tube

Table 6.1: Values of the parameters used in the rst simulations two cases. 31

Results Simulation set 2 Value 800 C 0.9 50 W/m2 C 0 W/m2 C Value 800 C 0.9 100 W/m2 C 0 W/m2 C Value 800 C 0.9 800 W/m2 C 0 W/m2 C

Parameter

Tamb , ambient temperature , thermal emissivity hi , heat transfer coecient ho , heat transfer coecient Parameter Tamb , ambient temperature , thermal emissivity hi , heat transfer coecient ho , heat transfer coecient Parameter Tamb , ambient temperature , thermal Emissivity hi , heat transfer coecient ho , heat transfer coecient

Case 1

Case 2

Case 3

Description Based on measurements of the ue gas temperature Estimated value on the outside of the tube and the radiation sheathing Based on process data given by Preemra Lysekil No convective heat ux added on the outside of the tube Description Based on measurements of the ue gas temperature Estimated value on the outside of the tube and the radiation sheathing Based on process data given by Preemra Lysekil No convective heat ux added on the outside of the tube Description Based on measurements of the ue gas temperature Estimated value on the outside of the tube and the radiation sheathing Based on process data given by Preemra Lysekil No convective heat ux added on the outside of the tube

Table 6.2: Values of the parameters used in the second simulations three cases.

32

6.1 ThreeDimension Simulations

6.1

ThreeDimension Simulations

Just as in the beginning of chapter 5 it is important to stress that these results are based upon a model which is a simplication of the real world. With this in mind one should realize that there will be deviations between the model and the real world.

6.1.1

Reference Simulation The Tube

Simulation 1 Ambient Temperature 800 C 850 C Calculated Skin Temperature 593 C 681 C

Table 6.3: Calculated skin temperature at an ambient temperature of 800 and 850 C. Simulation 2 Heat Transfer Coecient 50 W/m2 C 100 W/m2 C 800 W/m2 C Calculated Skin Temperature 748 C 708 C 548 C

Table 6.4: Calculated skin temperature for three dierent internal heat transfer coecients, at an ambient temperature of 800 C.

33

Results

6.1.2

Current Skin Thermocouple

Simulation 1

(a) Ambient temperature of 800 C

(b) Ambient temperature of 850 C

Figure 6.1: Temperature eld on the topside of the metal plate on which the thermocouple is placed upon. The z axis is parallel to the length of the tube and the tube height is increased with decreasing z. The measuring point is placed at x = 0 and z = 0.1.

34

6.1 ThreeDimension Simulations Calculated Skin Thermocouple Temperature 574 C 646 C

Ambient Temperature 800 C 850 C

Calculated Skin Temperature 593 C 681 C

T - 19 C - 35 C

Table 6.5: Deviation between calculated skin temperature and calculated skin thermocouple temperature for the current installation. Simulation 2 Heat Transfer Coecient 50 W/m2 C 100 W/m2 C 800 W/m2 C Calculated Skin Temperature 748 C 708 C 548 C Calculated Skin Thermocouple Temperature 739 C 695 C 540 C

T - 9 C - 13 C - 8 C

Table 6.6: Deviation between calculated skin temperature and calculated skin thermocouple temperature for the current installation in an ambient temperature of 800 C.

35

Results

6.1.3

New Skin Thermocouple

Simulation 1

(a) Ambient temperature of 800 C

(b) Ambient temperature of 850 C

Figure 6.2: Temperature eld of the surface between the tube and the skin thermocouple. The z axis is parallel to the length of the tube and the tubes height is increased with decreasing z. The measuring point is placed at x = 0 and z = 0.09.

36

6.1 ThreeDimension Simulations Calculated Skin Thermocouple Temperature 648 C 725 C

Ambient Temperature 800 C 850 C

Calculated Skin Temperature 593 C 681 C

T + 55 C + 44 C

Table 6.7: Deviation between calculated skin temperature and calculated skin thermocouple temperature for the new skin thermocouple. Simulation 2 Heat Transfer Coecient 50 W/m2 C 100 W/m2 C 800 W/m2 C Calculated Skin Temperature 748 C 708 C 548 C Calculated Skin Thermocouple Temperature 760 C 728 C 583 C

T + 12 C + 20 C + 35 C

Table 6.8: Deviation between calculated skin temperature and calculated skin thermocouple temperature for the new skin thermocouple in an ambient temperature of 800 C.

37

Results

6.1.4

New Skin Thermocouple Larger Spray Area

Simulation 1

(a) Ambient temperature of 800 C

(b) Ambient temperature of 850 C

Figure 6.3: Temperature eld of the surface between the tube and the skin thermocouple. The z axis is parallel to the length of the tube and the tubes height is increased with decreasing z. The measuring point is placed at x = 0 and z = 0.09.

38

6.1 ThreeDimension Simulations Calculated Skin Thermocouple Temperature 629 C 709 C

Ambient Temperature 800 C 850 C

Calculated Skin Temperature 593 C 681 C

T + 36 C + 28 C

Table 6.9: Deviation between calculated skin temperature and calculated skin thermocouple temperature for the new skin thermocouple with a larger spray area. Simulation 2 Heat Transfer Coecient 50 W/m2 C 100 W/m2 C 800 W/m2 C Calculated Skin Temperature 748 C 708 C 548 C Calculated Skin Thermocouple Temperature 755 C 720 C 567 C

T + 7 C + 12 C + 19 C

Table 6.10: Deviation between calculated skin temperature and calculated skin thermocouple temperature for the new skin thermocouple with a larger spray area, in an ambient temperature of 800 C.

39

Results

40

Chapter 7 Discussion
7.1 Simulations

7.1.1

Simplications

In all simulations a steady state situation has been considered. This is of course a simplication since there will be uctuations both in the temperature on the outside of the tube due to variations of the fuel gas feed rate and quality of the fuel gas but also on the inside of the tube. The uctuations on the inside of the tube will mainly depend on the product feed rate and the quality of the naphtha. However these variations are fairly small over time and so the approximation to a steady state is valid.

Another simplication that has been made regards the thermal conductivity. In real life the thermal conductivity is dependent on the temperature, in the simulations however it has been approximated as a constant.

In the models, the thermocouple has been excluded. This has been done for two main reasons. The rst reason is simply to reduce the number of calculations that has to be done. In order to include the thermocouple in the simulations a very ne grid must be used and thus more calculations must be done. The second reason is to avoid mesh related problems. In early models, which included a thermocouple, problems with the grid occurred. In order to get a working mesh of good quality a very large number of cells were required. Unfortunately the computational power available was not enough. In short, the exclusion of the thermocouple in the models, will have an impact on the results; the extent of which has not been investigated in this thesis. 41

Discussion

7.1.2

Mesh Independence

The mesh independence was controlled in the following manner. Four meshes with dierent number of elements were made for the current skin thermocouple. The mean temperature over outside boundary were then compared amongst the meshes. Table 7.1 presents the results.

Number of Elements 112136 64816 62992 8102

Mean Value of Temperature on the Outside Boundary [ C] 596.683 596.701 596.701 596.810

Deviation From Densest Mesh [%] 0.003 0.003 0.02

Table 7.1: Results from the mesh independence check.

As table 7.1 shows, there is little dierence between a mesh with about 112 000 elements and one with about 8 000 elements. It is therefore quite safe to assume mesh independence. However when a mesh with few elements is used, every element cover a larger piece of the geometry and in certain regions, e.g. areas with small details, problems with the resolution might arise.

7.1.3

Material Parameters

In the simulation process it is important to try to approximate the thermal conductivity of the dierent materials as well as possible since it might have a large impact on the solution. To give an example consider the current skin thermocouple and in particular the verilight. In this simulation verilight has been approximated with ordinary cement and with a thermal conductivity of 1.77 W/m K. If however a higher thermal conductivity is used say 35 W/m K, as the one for aluminiumoxide, the plate on which the thermocouple is fasten to will experience a 140 C change upward in temperature in an ambient surrounding of 800 C. This will mean that from measuring a lower temperature than the real tube temperature, it will now measure a higher one. However, it should be realized that this example was a sort of worst case scenario, where the thermal conductivity changed with about 2000 %. For smaller uncertainties, e.g. the one with aluminumoxide which according to [5] is in the range of 18 35 W/m K, the impact on the solution will hardly be noticable. In the case with the aluminumoxide the change from 35 W/m K, which was used in the simulations, to 18 W/m K gave an over all change in temperature of less than 2 C in an ambient surrounding of 800 C. 42

7.2 Thermocouple

7.2

Thermocouple

The life expectancy of the thermocouples are very dicult to anticipate. Although it can be said that the life expectancy will decrease with increased temperature. The life expectancy will also decrease if the thermocouple is located in an unfavorable atmosphere. Since the thermocouple is embedded in either cement or in two metal layers and a aluminiumoxide layer, the atmosphere is assumed to have little impact on the thermocouple and thus the lifetime of the thermocouple is more dependent on the temperature than on the atmosphere in the red process heater. However at high temperatures some materials will be no more dense than a sieve. Regarding the dierences between the type K and type N thermocouple, it is hard to draw any good conclusions. Information obtained in articles, e.g. [11, 20, 12] points to an slight advantage for type N. One big advantage with the type N is that it does not age in the same manner as type K and thus the output signal from a type N will be more reliable. Furthermore, in todays industry more and more companies are replacing their old type K thermocouples with new type N. Thermocouples can be designed in various ways. One example of this is the placement of the measuring point, which can be connected to ground through the sheathing or not. However, in this thesis the eects on the thermocouple due to the placement of the measuring point has not been investigated.

7.3

Skin Thermocouples

As can be viewed in chapter 6 the current skin thermocouple presents a 20 40 C lower temperature with respect to the actual tube temperature, given the set conditions in the rst and second case in the rst simulation set. The boundary condition on the inside of the tube is however, relatively harsh. If this condition is replaced with a more gentle one, as that in cases 1 3 in the second simulation set, the skin thermocouple temperature will dier downwards with about 10 15 C from the actual tube temperature. If this information is used in a lifetime analysis of the tubes it will result in an overestimation of the lifetime of the tubes. Having the thermocouple in a lower temperature however, is favorable for the thermocouple itself since it will last longer.

Regarding the new skin thermocouple it is important to realize that it will work as the opposite of a cooling ange. If only a small area is utilized when xating the thermocouple to the tube, it will mean that a large outside area will be connected to a small area on to the tube and thus a hot-spot will be formed. This however is heavily dependent on which type of material used in the xating-, i.e. spray-, process. In a comparison between the new skin thermocouple and the current one, the simulations shows that the deviation from the tube skin temperature is about the same for the two. However the new skin thermocouple will, according to the simulations, show a too high temperature meanwhile the current one will show a too low temperature 43

Discussion with respect to the actual tube temperature. Figure 7.1 shows the deviation between the calculated skin thermocouple temperature and the calculated skin temperature. It should be noted that the heat transfer coecient will most likely be in the range of 100 800 W/m2 C in the real case.
Difference in temperature Calculated Measured Temperature Vs Calculated Tube Temperature (Absolute Values) 60 Current Skin Thermocouple New Skin Thermocouple New Skin Thermocouple Larger Spray Area 50

40

[C]

30

20

10

Tamb = 800 C

Tamb = 850 C

h = 50 W/m K

h = 100 W/m K

h = 800 W/m K

Figure 7.1: The absolute deviance between calculated skin thermocouple temperature and calculated skin temperature for the various simulations. It should be noted that the current skin thermocouple shows a lower temperature than the actual skin temperature.

44

7.4 Long Time Operation of the Skin Thermocouple

7.4

Long Time Operation of the Skin Thermocouple

One important thing to have in mind is that once the skin thermocouple is in place it will run continuously for, at least, ve years and without any means of calibration. In order to validate the thermocouple, a reference system should be implemented. It is not important that the reference method used gives a correct reading of the temperature, what is important is that the error in the reference system is constant. As stated before, there is no means of replacing or calibrating the skin thermocouples today. Once they are installed they will be in use at least ve years. If however a solution with a sheathing through the ceiling or the oor of the red process heater was designed, it would mean that the thermocouple could be replaced and or calibrated. It is important to realize that the thermocouple is just a measuring device and like all measuring devices it is in need of regular calibration in order to be reliable.

45

Discussion

46

Chapter 8 Conclusions and Recommendations

It is hard to draw any conclusions regarding which type of thermocouple to use. The type N thermocouple has the advantage that it will not drift in output signal in the same manner as type K. Furthermore, many industries are making the switch from type K to type N. An educated guess would then be that, since they are not changing back, the type N thermocouple is better or at least just as good as the type K. In order to validate this, it is recommended that a survey is carried out on companies that have gone from type K to type N.

According to the simulations made, there is little dierence between the two dierent skin thermocouples, in a measured temperature point of view. The current skin thermocouple will show a lower temperature than the skin temperature on the tube and the new skin thermocouple will show a higher one. The dierence between measured and wanted temperature is however almost the same. It is therefore recommended that the decision on which skin thermocouple to use should be based more on other parameters, e.g. the usage of welding or not.

The biggest drawback with the skin thermocouples is that it is not possible to replace or remove them for calibration during operation. It is therefore highly recommended that, if not a removable solution is implemented, a reference system is utilized.

47

Conclusions and Recommendations

48

Chapter 9 Nomenclature
Symbol A h k L Q R ro ri SAB SA SB t T1 T2 Ts T V Description Stefan-Boltzmann constant Emissivity Debye temperature Area Convection heat transfer coecient Thermal conductivity Length Heat ux Thermal resistance Outer radius Inner radius Resulting Seebeck coecient Seebeck coecient for material A Seebeck coecient for material B Thickness Lower temperature Higher temperature Surface temperature Ambient temperature Voltage Unit W/m2 K 4 C m2 W/m2 K W/m K m W K/W m m V/ C V/ C V/ C m C C C C V

49

Nomenclature

50

Bibliography
[1] The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. Columbia University Press, sixth edition, 2003. [2] The American Heritage R Dictionary of the English Language. Houghton Miin Company, fourth edition, 2004. [3] Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2005. [4] Yunus A.engel and Robert H. Turner. Fundamentals of Thermal-Fluid Sciences. McGraw-Hill, 2001. ISBN 0-07-239054-9. [5] Accuratus. Aluminum oxide. http://www.accuratus.com/alumox.html. [6] G. Bailleul. Type n (nicrosil-nisil) thermocouple - comparison with type k and type r. Technical report, Philips electronic instruments: Norcross, Georgia. [7] R E Bentley. Thermoelectric hysteresis in nicrosil and nisil. Physics E: Scientic Instruments 20, 1987. [8] R E Bentley. Thermoelectric hysteresis in nickel-based thermocouple alloys. Physics D: Applied Physics 22, 1989. [9] R E Bentley and TL Morgan. Ni-based thermocouples in the mineral-insulated metal-sheathed format:thermoelectric instabilities to 1100 c. Physics E: Scientic Instruments 19, 1985. [10] Robert M. Besanon, editor. The Encyclopedia of Physics. Van Nostrand, third edition, 1985. ISBN 0-442-25778-3. [11] G. Bruce. Termoelement typ n och k, en jmfrelse. Technical report, Pentronic AB, 1997. [12] Noel A. Burley. Nicrosil/nisil type n thermocouples. [13] P B Coates. The replacement of type k by nicrosil-nisil thermocouples. Physics E: Scientic Instruments 14, 1981. [14] Goodfellow. gfHome.csp. Fe90/cr 9/mo 1. http://www.goodfellow.com/csp/active/
Brooks/Cole , T homsonLearning

[15] Frank Kreith and Mark S. Bohn. Principles of Heat Transfer. edition, 2001. ISBN 0-534-37596-0. 51

sixth

BIBLIOGRAPHY [16] David R. Lide, editor. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Taylor and Francis, 2007. Internet Version 2007. [17] MatWeb. Hastelloy, sanicro 31 ht. http://www.mymatweb.com. [18] High Temp Metals. Ni-200. hitempNi200data.php. http://www.hightempmetals.com/techdata/

[19] Pentronic. http://www.pentronic.se/svensk/katalog/pdf/kap10.pdf. [20] Hans Wenegrd. Felkllor vid temperaturmtning. Technical report, Pentronic AB. [21] Wikipedia. Thermoelectric Peltier-Seebeck_effect. eect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

52

Appendix A

Metal/Alloy Chromel Constantan Fe Alumel Nicrosil Nisil Cu Pt Rh

Description/Composition (Weight-%) (90.1) Nickel, (9.5) Chromium and (0.4) Silicon (54) Copper, (44) Nickel, (1) Silicon, (0.5) Cobalt and 0.5 Iron Iron (93.585) Nickel, (3) Manganese, (2) Aluminum, (1) Silicon and (0.015) Magnesium (84.4) Nickel, (14.2) Chromium and (1.4) Silicon (95.5) Nickel, (4.4) Silicon and (0.1) Magnesium Copper Platinum Rhodium

Table A.1: This table gives an explanation of the abbreviations regarding metals and alloys that are common in thermocouples.[12]

Parameter T1 T2 Cp x di L

Value 408 C 543 C 3266 J/kgK 744 kg/m3 60 120.26 mm 212.81 m

Description Temperature on the incoming product Temperature on the outgoing product Mean value of the specic heat of the product Density of the naphtha Number of tubes Inner diameter of the tubes Length of tubes from roof to ceiling

Table A.2: Parameters used in the boundary heat ux calculation. 53

Appendix Material A335 P9 Parameter Thermal conductivity Thermal conductivity Thermal conductivity Thermal conductivity Density Naphtha Specic heat Sanicro 31HT Thermal conductivity Value 26 W/m K 12 W/m K 44 W/m K 35 W/m K 744 kg/m3 3266 J/kg K 19 W/m K Usage Material used in the tube Used in plate and in rst spray layer Used in second spray layer Used in third spray layer The uid that ows in the pipe Used in the protective sheathing of the current skin thermocouple Used as lling in the current skin thermocouple Description Estimation based on the thermal conductivity of a 9Cr 1Mo Steel.[14] Estimation based on the thermal conductivity of Hastelloy at 26 C.[17] Estimation based on the thermal conductivity of Ni-200 at 20 C.[18] Estimation based on 99.5 % pure Al2 O3 .[5] Values given by Preemra Lysekil. Estimation based on the thermal conductivity of Sanicro 31HT at 400 C.[17] Estimation based on the thermal conductivity of cement.[15]

Hastelloy

Ni-200 Al2 O3

Verilight

Thermal conductivity

1.8 W/m K

Table A.3: This table presents an overview of the material parameters used in the simulations.

54

Presentationsdatum 2007-03-01 Publiceringsdatum (elektronisk version) 2007-03-14

Institution och avdelning Institutionen fr ekonomisk och industriell utveckling, avdelningen fr mekanisk vrmeteori och strmningslra

Sprk Svenska x Annat (ange nedan) Engelska Antal sidor 54

Typ av publikation Licentiatavhandling x Examensarbete C-uppsats D-uppsats Rapport Annat (ange nedan)

ISBN ISRN LIU-IEI-TEK-A07/0076SE

Serietitel Serienummer/ISSN

URL fr elektronisk version http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-8519 Publikationens title Simulation and Evaluation of Two Different Skin Thermocouples A Comparison made with Respect to Measured Temperature Frfattare Joel Lundh Sammanfattning The demand for more accurate measurements is increasing in todays industry. One reason for this is to optimize production and thus maximize profits. Another reason is that in some cases government regulations dictate that supervision of certain parameters must be followed. At Preemraff Lysekil there are basically four reasons for measuring skin temperatures inside fired process heaters, namely; because of government regulations, in order to estimate the load of the fired process heater, to estimate the lifetime of the tubes inside the fired process heater and finally, to determine the need of decoking. However, only the first three of these reasons are applied to H2301/2/3. The current skin thermocouple design has been in use for many years and now the question of how well it measures surface temperature has risen. Furthermore a new weld-free design is under consideration to replace the old skin thermocouple design. Another question is therefore how well the new design can measure the surface temperature under the same operating conditions as the old one. In order to evaluate this, three dimensional computer simulations were made of the different designs. As this thesis will show, the differences in calculated skin thermocouple temperature and calculated surface temperature is about the same for the two designs. However, the current design will show a lower temperature than the surface temperature, while the new design will show a higher temperature. Regarding the core of the skin thermocouple designs, namely the thermocouple, no hard conclusions can be drawn, although the industry appears to favor type N over type K. Nyckelord Skin thermocouple, Heat Transfer, Type K, Type N, Seebeck coefficient