A Universal Ethernet Thermocouple Scanner

The growing use of Ethernet interfaces in Aerospace and Industrial Process applications has created a need for an Intelligent Thermocouple Scanner to operate on an Ethernet network and complement Intelligent Pressure Scanners. The scanner must be able to accept several different thermocouple inputs, convert the signals to engineering units using NIST tables and output the data over a TCP/IP Ethernet link. The scanner must be able to withstand the harsh environments required for flight test, turbine tests, and other turbo machinery development testing. This paper describes the design process that resulted in an instrument that meets all of the environmental and operational characteristics for a laboratory, production facility, or development test cells.