DETERMINATION OF THE TIME CONSTANT OF A FIRST ORDER RESPONSE SYSTEM

USING A MERCURY IN GLASS THERMOMETER

BY

AYEOLA OLAJIDE ABDUL-HAFEEZ

15/ENG07/008

CHE 302

A LABORATORY REPORT

SUBMITTED TO THE

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL AND PETROLEUM ENGINEERING

COLLEGE OF ENIGINEERING
AFE BABALOLA UNIVERSITY ADO-EKITI (ABUAD)

DATE PERFORMED 28TH FEBRUARY 2018

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 7TH MARCH 2018

SUPERVISOR;
DR YAHAYA D. BABA

i
 ABSTRACT

In this experiment, the time constant of a first order response system using a mercury in
glass thermometer and a digital thermometer was determined. The time constant is
defined as the time taken for the thermometer response to reach the final value of the step
change if the initial rate of change of temperature is assumed constant Through this
experiment sensitivity of an instrument can be determined and aid in the appropriate
selection of an instrument for optimum performance

All the results gotten were recorded, thus calculation is made and the graphs were
plotted based on the results.

At the end of the report, discussion about the calculation was written in addition to
some recommendations.

Keywords:

Time constant, Mercury in glass Thermometer, Response Time, Sensitivity & Digital
Thermometer.

i
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................................................i
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... iii
LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. iv
LIST OF EQUATIONS ...........................................................................................................v
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................... vi
1 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................. 1
1.1 TEMPERATURE ........................................................................................................ 1
1.1.1 EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE ............................................................................. 1
1.2 THERMOMETER ...................................................................................................... 1
1.2.1 Thermometric materials .................................................................................. 2
1.2.2 CALIBRATION OF THERMOMETERS ................................................................. 3
2 THEORY .......................................................................................................................... 5
2.1 FIRST ORDER RESPONSE SYSTEM ........................................................................... 5
2.1.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF STEP RESPONSE ............................................................ 5
2.2 TIME CONSTANT ..................................................................................................... 5
2.1.2 TIME CONSTANT FOR A MERCURY IN GLASS THERMOMETER ....................... 6
2.1.3 ASSUMPTIONS CONSIDERED WHEN USING A MERCURY IN GLASS
THERMOMETER ........................................................................................................ 6
3 EXPERIMENTAL MATERIALS AND METHOD .................................................................. 8
3.1 APPARATUS USED ............................................................................................... 8
3.2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE ............................................................................ 10
4 RESULTS ....................................................................................................................... 11
4.1 TABLE OF RESULTS ................................................................................................ 11
4.2 GRAPHS PLOTTED ................................................................................................. 12
4.2.1 ANALYSIS OF GRAPHS PLOTTED .................................................................... 14
5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................... 16
5.1 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 16
5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................... 16
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................... 18
APPENDICES .................................................................................................................... 19

ii
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Cross view of the thermometer[2] .................................................................... 2

Figure 2; Response of a first order system to a step input .............................................. 5
Figure 3: Two mercury in glass thermometer[5].............................................................. 8
Figure 4: Heating mantle[6] .............................................................................................. 8
Figure 5: Glass cylinder[6] ............................................................................................... 9
Figure 6: Stopwatch[6] ..................................................................................................... 9
Figure 7: Digital Thermometer ....................................................................................... 10
Figure 8 : A plot of temperature indicated by analogue reading against time. ............. 13
Figure 9: A plot of temperature indicated by digital reading against time. ................... 13
Figure 10 : Ln(temperature ratio) against time for the analogous reading. .................. 14

iii
 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 :Showing the initial and maximum temperature of the thermometers ........... 11
Table 2: Showing the readings obtained using mercury in glass thermometer ............ 11
Table 3: Showing the readings obtained using digital thermometer ............................. 11
Table 4: Showing time constant T for different time t of the mercury in glass
thermometer........................................................................................................... 12
Table 5: Showing time constant T for different time t of the digital thermometer ...... 12

iv
 LIST OF EQUATIONS

(2-1) .................................................................................................................................. 6
(2-2) .................................................................................................................................. 6

v
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

SYMBOLS MEANING

θo The actual thermometer response

θi Step value

t Time elapsed after immersion of the

thermometer

T or τ Time constant

h Convective heat transfer coefficient

Tf Final temperature

Ti Initial temperature

vi
 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 TEMPERATURE
Temperature is a physical quantity which is often referred to as the degree of hotness
or coldness of a body. The most commonly used scales are the Celsius scale, denoted in
°C (informally, degrees centigrade), the Fahrenheit scale (°F), and the Kelvin scale. The
kelvin (K) is the unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), in which
temperature is one of the seven fundamental base quantities.
The coldest theoretical temperature is absolute zero, at which the thermal motion of all
fundamental particles in matter reaches a minimum. Although classically described as
motionless, particles still possess a finite zero-point energy in the quantum mechanical
description. Absolute zero is denoted as 0 K on the Kelvin scale, −273.15 °C on the
Celsius scale, and −459.67 °F on the Fahrenheit scale.
Temperature is a proportional measure of the average translational kinetic energy of
the random motions of the constituent microscopic particles in a system (such as
electrons, atoms, and molecules); based on the historical development of the kinetic
theory of gases, but more rigorous definitions include all quantum states of matter.
Temperature is important in all fields of natural sciences as well as in our daily lives[1].

1.1.1 EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE

Many physical processes are affected by temperature, such as

 Physical properties of materials

 rate and extent to which chemical reactions occur[1]
 the amount and properties of thermal radiation emitted from the surface of an
object
 speed of sound is a function of the square root of the absolute temperature[1]

1.2 THERMOMETER

A thermometer is a device that measures temperature or a temperature gradient. A

thermometer has two important elements
i. a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb of a mercury-in-glass thermometer) in which
some physical change occurs with temperature.
ii. some means of converting this physical change into a numerical value (e.g. the
visible scale that is marked on a mercury-in-glass thermometer). Thermometers
are widely used in industry to control and regulate processes, in the study of
weather, in medicine, and in scientific research.

There are various principles by which different thermometers operate. They include
the thermal expansion of solids or liquids with temperature, and the change in pressure

1
of a gas on heating or cooling. Radiation-type thermometers measure
the infrared energy emitted by an object, allowing measurement of temperature
without contact. Most metals are good conductors of heat and they are solids at room
temperature. Mercury is the only one in liquid state at room temperature, and has high
coefficient of expansion. Hence, the slightest change in temperature is notable when it's
used in a thermometer. This is the reason behind mercury and alcohol being used in
thermometer.[2]

Figure 1: Cross view of the thermometer[2]

1.2.1 THERMOMETRIC MATERIALS

There are various kinds of empirical thermometer based on material properties.
Many empirical thermometers rely on the constitutive relation between pressure,
volume and temperature of their thermometric material. For example, mercury expands
when heated.
If it is used for its relation between pressure and volume and temperature, a
thermometric material must have three properties:
(1) Its heating and cooling must be rapid. That is to say, when a quantity of heat enters
or leaves a body of the material, the material must expand or contract to its final volume
or reach its final pressure and must reach its final temperature with practically no delay;
some of the heat that enters can be considered to change the volume of the body at
constant temperature, and is called the latent heat of expansion at constant
temperature; and the rest of it can be considered to change the temperature of the body
at constant volume, and is called the specific heat at constant volume. Some materials
do not have this property, and take some time to distribute the heat between
temperature and volume change.
(2) Its heating and cooling must be reversible. That is to say, the material must be able
to be heated and cooled indefinitely often by the same increment and decrement of

2
heat, and still return to its original pressure, volume and temperature every time. Some
plastics do not have this property;
(3) Its heating and cooling must be monotonic. That is to say, throughout the range of
temperatures for which it is intended to work,
(a) at a given fixed pressure,
either (α) the volume increases when the temperature increases, or else (β) the volume
decreases when the temperature increases;
but not (α) for some temperatures and (β) for others; or
b) at a given fixed volume,
either (α) the pressure increases when the temperature increases, or else (β) the
pressure decreases when the temperature increases;
but not (α) for some temperatures and (β) for others.
At temperatures around about 4 °C, water does not have the property (3), and is said to
behave anomalously in this respect; thus water cannot be used as a material for this
kind of thermometry for temperature ranges near 4 °C.
Gases, on the other hand, all have the properties (1), (2), and (3)(a)(α) and (3)(b)(α).
Consequently, they are suitable thermometric materials, and that is why they were
important in the development of thermometry. [2]

1.2.2 CALIBRATION OF THERMOMETERS

Thermometers can be calibrated either by comparing them with other calibrated
thermometers or by checking them against known fixed points on the temperature
scale. The best known of these fixed points are the melting and boiling points of pure
water. (Note that the boiling point of water varies with pressure, so this must be
controlled.)
The traditional way of putting a scale on a liquid-in-glass or liquid-in-metal thermometer
was in three stages:

1. Immerse the sensing portion in a stirred mixture of pure ice and water at
atmospheric pressure and mark the point indicated when it had come to thermal
equilibrium.
2. Immerse the sensing portion in a steam bath at Standard atmospheric
pressure and again mark the point indicated.
3. Divide the distance between these marks into equal portions according to the
temperature scale being used.
Other fixed points used in the past are the body temperature (of a healthy adult male)
which was originally used by Fahrenheit as his upper fixed point (96 °F (36 °C) to be a
number divisible by 12) and the lowest temperature given by a mixture of salt and ice,
which was originally the definition of 0 °F (−18 °C). (This is an example of a Frigorific

3
mixture). As body temperature varies, the Fahrenheit scale was later changed to use an
upper fixed point of boiling water at 212 °F (100 °C).
These have now been replaced by the defining points in the International Temperature
Scale of 1990, though in practice the melting point of water is more commonly used
than its triple point, the latter being more difficult to manage and thus restricted to
critical standard measurement. Nowadays manufacturers will often use
a thermostat bath or solid block where the temperature is held constant relative to a
calibrated thermometer. Other thermometers to be calibrated are put into the same
bath or block and allowed to come to equilibrium, then the scale marked, or any
deviation from the instrument scale recorded. For many modern devices calibration will
be stating some value to be used in processing an electronic signal to convert it to a
temperature.[2]

4
 2 THEORY

2.1 FIRST ORDER RESPONSE SYSTEM

First order system is a system whose dynamic behaviour is described by a first

order differential equation. First order systems are also first order lag and single
exponential stage[3]

Figure 2; Response of a first order system to a step input

2.1.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF STEP RESPONSE

i. The value of the output reaches 63.2% of its ultimate value after 𝑡= 𝜏
ii. If the initial rate of change is maintained the response will be completed after 𝑡=
𝜏
iii. The response is completed after 𝑡= 5𝜏
iv. The speed of the response of a first-order system is determined by the time
constant for the system. As t increases, it takes longer for the system to respond
to the step disturbance.

Figure 2.2: Effect of the time constant on the step response of a first order system

2.2 TIME CONSTANT

A temperature measuring system can often be modelled as a first order system. The
time constant can be determined by subjecting the sensor of a temperature probe to a
step change in temperature, and monitoring its dynamic response.

5
In physics and engineering, the time constant, usually denoted by the Greek letter τ
(tau), is the parameter characterizing the response to a step input of a first-order, linear
time-invariant (LTI) system. The time constant is the main characteristic unit of a first-
order LTI system.[4]

The time constant is defined as the time taken for the thermometer response to reach
the final value of the step change if the initial rate of change of temperature is assumed
constant i.e. if the tangent is drawn to the initial slope and the intercept with step
change is drawn.

2.1.2 TIME CONSTANT FOR A MERCURY IN GLASS THERMOMETER

When we consider the mercury in glass thermometer is suddenly dipped into a beaker
of boiling water (i.e. a step change in input temperature is applied to the transducer).
The response of the thermometer to this step input is exponential in form.

The actual thermometer response θ0 approaches step value θ0 exponentially according

to the according to the relationship:

t
(2-1)
θ0 = θi (1 − e−T )

Upon further mathematical manipulation we have the time constant to be given as;

t (2-2)
T=−
θ
ln (1 − θ0 )
i

Where t is the time elapsed after immersion of the thermometer, T is the same constant
of the instrument, which is a measure of speed of response.

2.1.3 ASSUMPTIONS CONSIDERED WHEN USING A MERCURY IN GLASS

THERMOMETER

The following assumptions must be considered:

6
 i. All the resistance to heat transfer resides in the film surrounding the bulb
(conduction resistance is neglected).
ii. All the thermal capacity is in the mercury.
iii. The mercury assumes a uniform temperature throughout.
iv. The glass wall containing the mercury does not expand or contract during the
transient response.
v. Constant properties

7
 3 EXPERIMENTAL MATERIALS AND METHOD

3.1 APPARATUS USED

i. Mercury in glass thermometer
It is a glass tube is filled with mercury and a standard temperature scale is
marked on the tube. With changes in temperature, the mercury expands and
contracts, and the temperature can be read from the scale. Mercury
thermometers can be used to determine body, liquid, and vapour temperature.

Figure 3: Two mercury in glass thermometer[5]

ii. Heating mantle

It is a piece of laboratory equipment used to apply heat to containers, as
an alternative to other forms of heated bath.

Figure 4: Heating mantle[6]

iii. Glass cylinder

It is a simple container for stirring, mixing and heating liquids commonly

used in many laboratories.

8
 Figure 5: Glass cylinder[6]

iv. Stopwatch
It is a handheld timepiece designed to measure the amount of time elapsed
from a particular time when it is activated to the time when the piece is
deactivated. The second button is also used to record split times or lap times.

Figure 6: Stopwatch[6]

v. Digital thermometer
Digital thermometers contain an electric resistor, also known as a
thermistor, which is temperature-sensitive. When the temperature rises, the
thermistor becomes more conductive. This happens at about 37°C.

9
 Figure 7: Digital Thermometer

3.2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

1) Water was poured into the glass cylinder and placed on the heating mantle.
2) The mercury thermometer was inserted into the water and the initial temperature
of the water was recorded. The water was heated until it reached the maximum
temperature.
3) When the temperature of the water became steady, the other thermometer was
dipped into the hot water and the rise in temperature with time was recorded for
5 second interval until there was no further rise temperature as indicated on the
thermometer.
4) The steps two and three were repeated for the digital thermometer.
5) A graph of actual thermometer response, θ0 against time, t for the two
thermometers was plotted and the time constant T was determined.

10
 4 RESULTS

4.1 TABLE OF RESULTS

Temperature Mercury in glass thermometer Digital thermometer

Initial Temperature (°C) 24.0 24

Maximum Temperature (°C) 94 94.8

Table 1 :Showing the initial and maximum temperature of the thermometers

S/N Time(sec) Temperature(°C)

1 5 74

2 10 90

3 15 96

4 20 98

5 25 98
Table 2: Showing the readings obtained using mercury in glass thermometer

S/N Time(sec) Temperature(℃)

1 5 85.2

2 10 98.1

3 15 98.7

4 20 98.7

5 25 98.8
Table 3: Showing the readings obtained using digital thermometer

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 S/N Time t
(sec) Time constant T (sec)

1 5 12.75

2 10 32.2

3 15 52.14

4 20 71.20

5 25 89.0
Table 4: Showing time constant T for different time t of the mercury in glass thermometer

S/N Time t
(sec) Time constant T (sec)

1 5 15.75

2 10 35.64

3 15 53.94

4 20 71.79

5 25 71.89
Table 5: Showing time constant T for different time t of the digital thermometer

4.2 GRAPHS PLOTTED

The graphs below shows the relationship between the time(secs) and the temperature
indicated by the mercury in glass thermometer (Analogue reading):

12
 A graph of Analogue Reading(°C) against
Time(secs)

120
Analogue reading (°C)

100

80

60

40

20

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time(s)

Figure 8 : A plot of temperature indicated by analogue reading against time.

The graph below shows the relationship between the time(secs) and the temperature
indicated by the Ion meter (Digital reading):

A graph of digital reading(°C)

against time(s)

100
98
Digital Reading(°C)

96
94
92
90
88
86
84
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time(s)

Figure 9: A plot of temperature indicated by digital reading against time.

13
The graph below shows the ‘ln(temperature ratio)’ relationship between the time(secs)
and the temperature indicated by the mercury in glass thermometer(Analogue reading):

Graph of Ln(Temperature ratio) against time(s)

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
-1 y = -0.2485x + 0.1643
ln(Temperature ratio)

R² = 0.9956
-2

-3

-4

-5

-6

-7
time(s)

Figure 10 : Ln(temperature ratio) against time for the analogous reading.

4.2.1 ANALYSIS OF GRAPHS PLOTTED

From the experiment carried out two graphs of actual thermometer response, θ0
against time, t was plotted for the two thermometers.

The time constant was then determined graphically as illustrated in Figure 4.1 The
graph shows an initial straight line which indicates the rapid change in temperature
when the thermometer in dipped initially into the water in the glass cylinder. Then slow
change is observed as the straight lines begins to curve and finally steady state (i.e.
maximum temperature) is reached. The initial straight line is meant to be extended and
drawn until it intersects with the line drawn through the maximum temperature. Then
from the point of intersection, another line down to the horizontal axis. The line (or
arrow) drawn down indicates the time constant T.

Due to the limited functionality of the program used, we were unable to carry out this
to show in this report. But upon manual plotting the value was gotten as read from the
Figure 8 the time constant T is seen to be 12.5s The time constant obtained using the
formula for t = 5 was calculated to give 12.7537s. These two values are approximately

14
the same and also indicates that the time constant for mercury in glass thermometer
t
can determine graphically and analytically using the formula θ0 = θi (1 − e−T ).

In the same manner, the values were also read for Fig 9. In this case, the graph shows
an initial straight line which indicates the rapid change in temperature when the
thermometer in dipped initially into the water in the glass cylinder. Then slow change is
observed as the straight lines begins to curve and finally steady state (i.e. maximum
temperature) is reached. As read from the Figure 9 the time constant T is seen to be
10.5 The time constant obtained using the formula for t = 2 was calculated to give
15.0703 sec. These two values are not exactly the same but it doesn’t fail to indicate
that the time constant for digital thermometer can be determined graphically with
relative precision.

15
 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 CONCLUSION

Following the successful completion of the experiment we were able to further lend
credence to the fact the time constant for a thermometer is determined by exposing it
to a step change.

Although there was variation in values of the experimental values compared to the
theoretical values. Nevertheless, the Experiment was carried out scrupulously to ensure
accurate results though the values still varied which may be due to factors beyond our
control.

In view of the above, we can proudly say this experiment was a success as the set out
objectives were achieved.

In conclusion, we round off based on these propositions as justified by the experiment;

i) The time constant for a thermometer is determined by exposing it
to a step change.
ii) the temperature changes rapidly until it reached a point where a slow
change is observed. It was observed that at some point in time, there was no
rise in temperature as indicated by the thermometer.
iii) The time constant of the system measures the rate at which a system can
respond to a certain change or disturbance
iv) The error in results is mainly because when taking readings, the rate is too
fast to measure using stopwatch.
v) The mercury in glass thermometer response is slower to a slight change in
temperature compared to the digital thermometer.
vi) The mercury in glass thermometer response is slower to a slight change in
temperature compared to the digital thermometer.

5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS

During the course of the experiment, we took notes of some things which may have
hindered getting the most accurate results for the Experiment. In view of this, I write to

16
propose some recommendations which should be considered during the course of
subsequent experiments and they are as follows;
i. A stirrer should be fitted into apparatus to ensure a faster and even circulation
of temperature through the water being heated.
ii. The glass should be properly insulated to prevent drought from cooling the water
while it is boiling.
iii. Provisions should be made for the availability of more of the devices used to
ensure full participation of all students.
iv. Proper Precautionary measures should be put into place so as to minimize the
risk of getting into an accident.
v. The apparatus should be returned to their various places when upon completion
of the experiment

17
 REFERENCES

[1] the free encyclopedia Wikipedia, “Temperature,” 2017. [Online]. Available:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperature. [Accessed: 02-Mar-2018].

[2] the free encyclopedia Wikipedia, “Thermometer,” 2018. [Online]. Available:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermometer. [Accessed: 02-Mar-2018].

[3] J. P. Holman, Heat Transfer. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008.

[4] the free encyclopedia Wikipedia, “Time Constant.” [Online]. Available:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_constant. [Accessed: 02-Mar-2018].

[5] H. PHYSICS, “Knowing different kinds of thermometers,” 2018.

[6] K. Website, “Laboratory Equipment Supplies,” 2017. [Online]. Available:

http://www.labequip.co.za/pg/76460/environmental-engineering. [Accessed:
13-Feb-2018].

18
 APPENDICES

SAMPLE CALCULATIONS

Time constant T at different time t for the mercury in glass thermometer

5
i. T=− 24 = 12.7537sec
ln(1− )
74
10
ii. T=− 24 = 32.242sec
ln(1− )
90
15
iii. T=− 24 = 52.1409 sec
ln(1− )
96
20
iv. T=− 24 = 71.1991sec
ln(1− )
98
25
v. T=− 24 = 88.9989 sec
ln(1− )
98

Time constant T at different time t for the digital thermometer

5
i. T=− 24 = 15.0703sec
ln(1− )
85.2
10
ii. T=− 24 = 35.6415sec
ln(1− )
98.1
15
iii. T=− 24 = 53.8399sec
ln(1− )
98.7
20
iv. T=− 24 = 71.7862sec
ln(1− )
98.7
25
v. T=− 24 = 71.87sec
ln(1− )
98.8

19