MICHELE SCERVINI'S RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Michele Scervini is currently a PhD student at the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy of the University of Cambridge, where he is working on materials for thermocouples along with his supervisor Dr Cathie Rae.
Thermocouples are currently the most commonly used temperature sensors due to the wide range of temperatures they are able to operate at, which spans from cryogenic temperatures to very high temperatures.
The main aim of Michele's research is the improvement of the temperature capability of thermocouples for gas turbine application, which is currently limited to about 1000°C. In particular Michele is focused on the metallurgical modifications occurring in thermocouples during operation; the time-dependent degradation of the physical and chemical properties of the materials the thermocouple is made of can produce significant errors in the temperature measurement: this phenomenon is called drift.
A better understanding of the causes of drift can result in the design of:
- reduced drift thermocouples,
- drift-less thermocouples.
In order to achieve this result Michele is working on both traditional type K thermocouples and new materials for thermocouples.
Michele's work is part of HEATTOP, a European project where European industrial partners and European Universities develop sensors for gas turbines. HEATTOP project is funded by the European Community as part of the Sixth Framework Proramme (FP6).
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