Abstract:
The standard resistance thermometer is an important temperature measuring instrument used in deep low-temperature range. However, due to the thermal effect caused by the excitation current, the temperature of the thermometer is usually higher than the actual temperature to be measured, this phenomenon is the self-heating effect. The correction of this effect is crucial for accurate temperature measurements with standard resistance thermometer. The methods for measuring and correcting the self-heating effect are introduced, including two-current method, multi-current method, and reference thermometer method. Through experimental studies at 5 K, the effects of these methods on self-heating effect measurement of the standard rhodium-iron resistance thermometer are investigated. The results show that optimizing the configuration of the two excitation currents in the two-current method can effectively reduce the uncertainty of self-heating effect measurement, and the multi-current method can further reduce the uncertainty, but the degree of reduction gradually decreases with the increasing number of excitation currents. Combining the above methods with the reference thermometer method can further reduce the self-heating effect measurement uncertainty without increasing the measurement time. Considering the correction uncertainty and measurement time required, it is recommended to use the general two-current method (current ratio 1∶2) combined with the reference thermometer method for measurements of standard resistance thermometer in deep low-temperature range. The research results can provide reference for highly accurate temperature measurements of standard resistance thermometers in the deep low-temperature range, such as temperature calibration, reproduction, and international comparison.