Study of Temperature Measurement Accuracy by Using Different Mounting Adhesives on Plastics

Thermal compounds are adhesive used to improve heat conduction between two surfaces. It can be used to secure a thermocouple to a surface which the temperature is being measured. This paper studies the temperature accuracy when using different types of thermal adhesives to secure thermocouples to a plastic surface. A plastic plate attached to an aluminium block attached to heater resistors, is heated up by supplying varying power levels to create different temperatures. The measured temperature is compared to a reference thermal camera reading to check the accuracy of each thermocouple when it is secured with different adhesives. It was found that using the Loctite 380 and Loctite 416 to secure a thermocouple to a plastic surface will produce the most accurate temperature reading with an error <1.5°C for a temperature range of about 40°C to 85°C. Additionally, it is concluded that different thermal compounds are required for metals and plastics in order to obtain more accurate temperatures.