Stray thermal influences in zinc fixed-point cells

The influence of thermal effects is a major uncertainty contribution to the calibration of Standard Platinum Resistance Thermometers (SPRTs) in fixed-point cells. Axial heat losses strongly depend on the fixed-point temperature, constructional details of cells and SPRTs and the resulting heat transfer between cell, thermometer, furnace and environment. At the zinc point contributions by heat conduction and thermal radiation must be considered. Although the measurement of temperature gradients in the re-entrant well of a fixed-point cell provides very important information about the influence of axial heat losses, further investigations are required for a reliable estimate of the resulting uncertainty contribution. It is shown that specific modifications of a zinc fixed-point cell, following generally accepted principles, may result in systematic deviations of the measured fixed-point temperatures larger than typically stated in the uncertainty budget of National Metrology Institutes (NMIs). The underlying heat transport processes are investigated and the consequences for the construction of zinc cells are discussed.