Features of High-Temperature Calibration of W/Re Thermocouples

Investigations of Type A (W-5 %Re/W-20 %Re) thermocouples were performed at several laboratories to validate their reference function before its standardization in the new issue of the international standard IEC 60584. The Type A thermocouples investigated were equipped with sealed protection tubes made of sapphire which were filled with an inert gas (argon). The investigations at Russian laboratories were performed mainly in carbon-free high-temperature furnaces. The calibration results obtained in the temperature range (600 to 1850) in the carbon-free environment were within % tolerance limits and confirmed the suitability of Type A thermocouples for industrial applications. In contrast, the Type A thermocouple 89/95-P investigated at PTB (Germany) was exposed to a carbon environment when annealed at and when it was calibrated at metal-carbon eutectic (Me-C) fixed points. Measurements made at Me-C fixed points did not deviate from the reference function by more than about 6 K at the first stage when temperatures were below . However, the inhomogeneity of the thermoelements increased continuously after the calibration at the Me-C eutectic fixed points. The additional measurements at the peritectic fixed point () resulted in a continuous emf drift to deviations from the reference function of about (100 to 150) which corresponds to a temperature equivalent of about (9 to 14) K. The thermoelectric stability and homogeneity of the thermocouple 89/95-P during these investigations was checked by repeated measurements at the freezing point of copper ().