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HomeISAPublicationsInTechMagazine2013/MayJuneAutomationBasics:Basicsofthermowelldesignandselection

May/June 2013
Automation Basics

Basics of thermowell design and selection

Donotunderestimatetheimportanceofthermowellsintemperaturemeasurements

Fast Forward
Understandingprocessconditionsthataffectperformanceisessentialtoselectingthebestthermowell.
Industrystandardsprovidesimplecalculationsthatcanbeperformedtoensureoptimalthermowelloperation.
Considerrelevantfactorsandstandardsduringthethermowellselectionprocess.

By Ehren Kiker
Whenplanningforatemperaturemeasurementapplication,afairamountofconsiderationistypicallygiventosensorselection(e.g.,
thermocouplevs.RTD)andwiringoftheoutput(e.g.,transmittervs.directwiring),andhowthesefactorswillaffectthemeasurement.
Often,bycomparison,relativelylittleconsiderationisgiventothemechanicalcomponentsofthesensorassembly,particularlythe
thermowell.
Ofallthecomponentsinatypicaltemperatureassembly,athermowellwouldseemtobethesimplestandleastcritical.Inreality,the
thermowellisfundamentallyimportantbecauseitdirectlyandsignificantlyaffectsthelifespanofthesensorandaccuracyofthe
measurement.Italsoprotectstheclosedprocess,providingplantandpersonnelsafety.
Anunderstandingofprocessconditionsthataffectthermowellperformance,basicdesign,andinstallationcriteriaisessentialto
selectingthebestthermowellfortheparticularapplication.Industrystandardsforthermowelldesignprovidesimplecalculationsthat
canbeperformedtoensureperformanceandreliability.Understandingconditionsandperformingrelevantcalculationscanmeanthe
differencebetweentemperaturemeasurementsthatperformasexpectedandmeasurementsthatareunreliable,unsafe,andcostly.
Temperaturemeasurementisoftenaninvasiveprocedurebecauseasensorprotectedbyathermowellisinsertedintoaprocess
pipe,tube,orvessel.Whilethesensormakestheactualtemperaturemeasurement,thethermowelldoestheheavyliftingoftakingwhatevertheprocessthrowsatit,whileallowing
properoperationofthesensor.Aproperlydesignedthermowellmustbeabletowithstandallprocessconditionsandphenomenawithminimaleffectontemperaturemeasurement
responsivenessandaccuracy.
Manyapplicationconditionsmustbeconsideredwhenmakingdesigndecisionsforthethermowell.Theseconditionscanbebroadlycategorizedasstaticloads,fluiddynamicloads,
thermalloadsimposedbytheprocess,andthecorrosionrateallinfluencedbythechemicalandphysicalconditionsoftheprocessmedia.
Designingthethermowellforoptimalperformancebeginswithdefiningalltheconditions,whichmaycausethermowelldegradation,damage,orfailure.Next,determinewhich
featuresareneededtoallowthethermowelltowithstandworstcaseapplicationconditions.

Figure1:Thebasicelementsofathermowellincludethetubularhousing,whichismachinedfrombarstock
andweldedtoapipeorvesselattheprocessconnection,andthetemperaturesensorprobe,whichis
threadedintothestemtoreachdeepintotheprocess.

Thermowell design considerations

Oncetheapplicationconditionsaredefined,thenextstepistodelineatethebasicdesignofthethermowell.Whilethermowelldesigncantakemanyvariations,thebasicdesign
criteriaarethedefinitionoftherawmaterial,theprocessconnection,andthegeometry/shape(Figure1).
Oneofthemostimportantfactorsinrawmaterialselectioncentersonmaterialcompatibilitywiththeprocessmedia.Alsoimportantisthemechanicalstrengthofmaterialwhen
installedintheprocess.Considernotonlytoselectingamaterialthatiscompatiblewiththecorrosionpropertiesofthespecificprocessfluid,butalsothecostofdifferentmaterialsor
coatings.Selectinganexoticmetal,suchasMonel,mayprovidegreatercorrosionresistancecomparedtostainlesssteel,butmaybeprohibitivelyexpensive,promptingtheuseofa
coating.
Theprocessconnection(i.e.,wherethethermowellisinsertedintothepipeorvessel)isanimportantvariablethatdefinesthephysicalconfigurationoftheinstallation.Theprocess

connectionalsoaffectsthethermowell'sperformance.
Selectionoftheprocessconnectiondependsonprocessconditions,suchaspressure,temperature,fluidspeed/flowrate,andfluidtype.Typicalprocessconnectionsforindustrial
applicationsaresocketweldin,threaded,andflanged.Otherprocessconnectionsareavailableforhygienicindustries(e.g.,TriClamp).
Whenselectingaflangedprocessconnection,considertheweldingprocedureusedtomatethethermowelltotheprocessconnection.Theweldingproceduremustbeadaptedto
theexistingorestimatedloadconditionsitfallsintotwocategories:standardweldingandfullpenetrationwelding.Standardweldingismainlysuitablefor"lightmiddle"applications
(temperaturelessthan600Fandpressureupto1500psi),whilefullpenetrationweldingisdesignedfor"heavy"applications.
"Heavy"applicationsarethosewhereitisnecessarytoforeseeandaccommodatethermalandfluiddynamicphenomenacombinedwiththeinteractionbetweensolidbodiesand
highspeedfluids.
Thethickness,materialtype,andshapeofthethermowellcanhavesignificantimpactontheresponsivenessofthesensortoachangeinprocesstemperature.Thegreaterthewall
thicknessofthethermowell,theslowertheresponsetime,astheheatfromtheprocessfluidmustbeconductedthroughthethermowelltothemeasuringtipofthesensor.Athinner
wallthicknessprovidesquickerresponsetimesfortemperaturemeasurement,butitalsolowersthemechanicalstrengthofthethermowell.Thespecificthermowellmaterialcanalso
affectresponsiveness,and,therefore,mustbeconsideredasanimportantdesignelement.
Thermowellgeometrycanhaveaprofoundeffectonthemechanicalintegrityofthethermowell,asitaffectsthevibrationeffectsinducedbytheflowofprocessfluidpastthe
thermowell.Theseeffectscanbequantifiedandevaluatedusingindustrystandardcalculations,suchasthosefoundintheASMEPTC19.3TW2010standard.Typicalthermowell
geometriesaretapered,stepped,orstraight.
Thethermowellimmersiondepth(Ulength)shouldbesufficienttoeliminateanyconductionerrorfromtheatmosphereoranotherprocesstemperature.Ageneralruleistousean
insertionlengthequaltoaminimumof10timesthediameterofthethermowell.Inpipeswithasmallcrosssection,thesensortipshouldreachorextendslightlypastthecenterof
thepipe.
Theidealinstallationforathermowellisonethatminimizesconditionsthatcancompromisethemechanicalintegrityofthethermowellwhilemakingsurethatthemeasuringtipis
locatedinastable,representativeportionoftheprocesstemperatureprofile.

Performing thermowell calculations

Whenathermowellisputintoservice,itissubjectedtoavarietyofstresses.Thesestressesaretypicallycreatedbythemovementoftheprocessfluidaroundthethermowell,which
causesinlineandtransversevibrationsthatcaninducemechanicalfailureofthethermowell.Suchafailuremaynotonlyresultinlossofmeasurementbutcanalsocausesignificant
damagetoexpensiveequipmentandcreateaserioussafetyrisktoplantpersonnel.
Thesestressesaretheprimarycauseofthermowellfailureinprocessapplications,soitisoftennecessarytoruncalculationsonthethermowelldesigntomakesurethesestresses
donotexceedmaximumallowablelimits.
Avarietyofmethodsexistforcalculatingthefailurepotentialofaspecificthermowelldesign.OneofthemostcommonlyacceptedmethodsintheAmericasisfoundintheASMEPTC
19.3TW2010standard.PTC19.3looksatthespecificthermowelldesignandconsidersalldimensionsofathermowell,materialproperties,andthegeometryofthethermowell.The
calculationdeterminesmanyfactorshavingtodowiththeprocessapplication,includingthefrequencyratio,dynamicandstaticstresslimits,andthepressurelimits.Inaddition,the
standardcanalsobeusedtocalculatethemaximumallowablegaugepressure,aswellasthemaximumthermowelllength.
Whilethesecalculationscanbetimeconsuming,thereisavarietyoffreeonlinesoftware,suchasEndress+Hauser'sApplicatorsoftware.Thesesoftwareprogramsallowan
engineertoperformthermowellcalculationsperASMEPTC19.3andcheckthesuitabilityofthethermowelldesignwiththespecificprocessconditions(Figure2).

Figure2:Softwareforsizing,designing,andspecifyingathermowellisavailablefromseveralsources,
includingEndress+Hauser.

Selecting thermowell options

Sometimes,accordingtotheASMEPTC19.3calculations,athermowellcannotwithstandtheoperatingconditionsforwhichitisbeingdesigned.Inthesecases,itmaybenecessary
tomodifythethermowellgeometry.Thetwomostcommonmodificationsareshorteningandwidening.Anothermodificationthatissometimesusedisavelocitycollar.
Shortening:Ashorterthermowellhasahighernaturalfrequencyandahighercompressionloadstrength,resultingintheabilitytowithstandgreatervibrationforces.Thedrawbackof
shorteningisthatthesensortipwillbefartherfromthecenterlineofthepipeorthedesiredtemperatureregioninthevessel,whichcouldhaveanadverseeffectonthe
measurement.
Widening:Athermowellwithalargerdiameterwillhaveabiggertip,resultinginalowerwakefrequency,whichresultsinalowerratiotothenaturalfrequency.Thedrawbackof
wideningisthatathickerthermowellcausesaslowerresponsetimeofthemeasurement.
Aneffectivetemperaturemeasurementischaracterizedbyhighaccuracy,longtermstability,reproducibility,reliability,adequateresponsetime,easeofmaintenance,noise
immunity,andminimaldisturbancetotheprocesstemperaturethatisbeingmeasured.
Athermowellmayseemlikenothingmorethanahunkofmetalthatexiststoprotectthetemperaturesensorfromdamage,but,inmanyways,itistheonecomponentina
temperatureassemblythathasthegreatestinfluenceontheoverallefficiencyofthetemperaturemeasurement.Understandingafewbasicrulesforgoodthermowelldesignand
usingindustrystandardcalculations,suchasASMEPTC19.3TW2010,canresultintemperaturemeasurementsthatprovideimprovedsensorperformanceandincreasedplant
safety.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

EhrenKiker(ehren.kiker@us.endress.com)isaproductmanagerwithEndress+Hauserwithmorethan15yearsofexperienceinprocesscontrolinstrumentation.
Viewtheonlineversionatwww.isa.org/intech/201306basics.

Resources:
Thetemperaturetango:Temperatureinstrumentationproblemsandsolutionsinindustrialprocesses
www.isa.org/link/TheTemperatureTango
Temperaturesensordiagnostics:Troubleshootingoldtechnologydevicestakeshightechtilt
www.isa.org/link/TemperatureSensor
Anoteabouttemperaturestandards:Whichdoyouchoose?
www.isa.org/link/TemperatureStandards
PracticalThermocoupleThermometry,SecondEditionbyThomasW.KerlinandMitchellJohnson
(www.isa.org/thermometry),ISA,2012.