The ability to count and measure things is key to the human race’s success. Without the capability to perform accurate measurements, the world as we know it would simply not exist. For example, there would be no electric lighting or heating because there would be no electricity. Similarly, there would be no radios and televisions, and no movies called Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. There would be no movies at all… or planes… or trains… or automobiles.
Batteries are proliferating, along with the need for battery testing. A new isolated high voltage measurement instrument proves to deliver accurate and highly repeatable voltage measurements, especially for this application.
The road to a green-energy future is a long and winding one. Much progress has been made in using renewable resources such as wind, but many twists and turns lie ahead. Natural gas will continue to have a role to play, and small modular reactors (SMRs) offer energy-source flexibility and overcome the disadvantages of conventional nuclear plants. As the energy industry plots optimal paths forward, it must take advantage of innovations ranging from sophisticated CAD tools and digital twins to accurate, reliable data-acquisition systems.
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Signal integrity matters. Whether you’re designing a new jet engine or building a medical-grade freezer, you need bulletproof testing to ensure that your products are up to spec. The only way to do that is through proper data acquisition systems with uncompromised signal integrity.
Thermocouples are without a doubt the most popular type of temperature sensor, and the VTI Instruments EX1000A Precision Voltage Measurement Instrument Series provides 48 voltage channels and supports Type J, K, T, E, S, R, B, and N thermocouples. To help you avoid some common pitfalls when making thermocouple measurements and get the most out of your instrument, we offer the following tips:
When accuracy really counts, you should make four-wire resistance measurements. Sometimes referred to as the Kelvin method, the four-wire resistance method is often used in automated test applications where long cable lengths, numerous connections, or switches exist between the digital multimeter (DMM) and the device under test (DUT).
Testing that requires the use of strain gages often consume large amounts of resources and effort to prepare for. One way to reduce the amount of time and energy spent configuring a test is to use sensors that support the Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) interface. Many VTI measurement instruments support TEDS sensors including the EX1629 48-channel high-performance strain gage measurement instrument, EX1403 16-channel bridge/strain gage instrument, and the RX1024 24-channel bridge/strain gage instrument.
Although thermocouples are the most commonly used temperature sensor in test applications, a close second is the resistance-temperature detector, or RTD. RTDs operate on the principle that the resistivity of a metal is proportional to its temperature. The higher the temperature, the higher the resistivity.
For many test applications, measuring the temperature is a necessity. For example, when testing an aircraft engine, you may need to measure manifold temperature or the exhaust gas temperature. To help you take those measurements, VTI Instruments offers a number of options, including the EX1000A series of precision voltage measurement instruments and the RX1032 rugged thermocouple measurement system.
Thermocouples are arguably the most common type of temperature sensor, although you can also use resistance temperature detectors (RTDs), or thermistors. The EX1000A series supports all three types of sensors, while the RX1032 supports only thermocouples.
