Identification of the dynamic properties of temperature-sensors in natural and petroleum gas

Abstract This paper presents a theoretical and experimental investigation of the dynamic properties of contact temperature-sensors in air as well as in natural and petroleum gas. Particularly with gas-supply systems, which can operate either with natural or petroleum gas, a knowledge of a sensor’s dynamic properties and sensitivity to different pressure and velocity conditions can be a crucial factor in the regulation and control of the system. The frequency characteristics of contact temperature-sensors in dynamic processes with air were analysed. The experimental results are presented for real Pt-resistance temperature-sensors, with an evaluation of the time-dependent uncertainty from different uncertainty sources. In real gas-supply systems, strict protective measures and a hazardous environment tend to prevent any standard experimental identification of the dynamic properties of temperature-sensors. This was the reason for our theoretical approach to the identification of the dynamic properties of the investigated temperature-sensors in natural and petroleum gas with the use of a computational calibration model, which was experimentally verified in an air-flow. Our experimental and theoretical investigation has shown that different gas compositions, pressures and velocities in the gas-supply system result in considerable variations which could lead to the applicability of the procedure in evaluating dynamic properties in highly hazardous systems.