Question

what could be done to speed up the response of the thermocouple?

Answer 1

The response is a function of the mass of the sensor and its efficiency in transferring heat from its outer surfaces to the wire sensing element. A rapid time response is essential for accuracy in a system with sharp temperature changes.

The smaller the diameter, the faster the thermocouple will respond. Grounding the junction will also improve the response time by approximately 50 percent.

An exposed junction thermocouple offers the fastest response. Also, the smaller the probe sheath diameter, the faster the response, but the maximum temperature may be lower