What causes NTC thermistor failure?
The cause of such failures are usually due to mechanical separation between the resistor element and the lead material, caused by handling damage, excessive heat, thermal mismatch, etc. The second most common failure mode is drift in resistance value as the thermistor ages, or parameter change.
What is a NTC thermistor used for?
NTC Thermistors are used to measure temperature in various applications, some of these applications are; Medical applications. Patient monitoring. Industrial processing.
How do you know if a thermistor failed?
Thermistor Failure Symptoms The most common way to know if a thermistor is bad if it starts displaying inaccurate temperature readings. This can be caused by excessive heat, improper handling, a thermal mismatch, or a dip in resistance accuracy due to regular use and age.
What is the difference between a NTC thermistor and a PTC thermistor?
They are available with either a negative temperature coefficient, (NTC) of resistance or a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) of resistance. The difference being that NTC thermistors reduce their resistance as the temperature increases, while PTC thermistors increase their resistance as the temperature increases.
Why NTC thermistor is popular than PTC thermistor?
In a circuit, they can limit in-rush current by self-heating when current is initially applied, and then allow normal current flow since their resistance drops to a negligible amount during steady-state operation. This capability makes NTC thermistors the most commonly used thermistor.
What happens when a thermistor goes bad?
When a thermistor is failing, it’ll display incorrect temperatures, or you’ll see impossible temperature fluctuations. For example, you may initially get a reading of 210 degrees only to see the temperature drop to 189 degrees and jump back up again.