Novel thermocouples for temperature measurement in automotive applications

Measurement of engine and exhaust temperatures in automotive applications is necessary for controlling the combustion process to fulfill present and future emission standards. State of the art temperature sensors are very limited in their response characteristic and installation space requirement. Miniaturized sensor concepts with a customizable geometry are needed. The basic idea of the novel sensor concept is to use thick film technology on planar and freeform surfaces. Different standardized and nonstandard material combinations of thermocouples have been produced for the validation of this technology concept. Application oriented measurement took place in the exhaust part of a test vehicle and were compared to standard laboratory conditions.