IEC 60584-3:2007

IEC 60584-3
Edition 2.0 2007-11
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
Thermocouples –
Part 3: Extension and compensating cables – Tolerances and identification
system
Couples thermoélectriques –
Partie 3: Câbles d’extension et de compensation – Tolérances et système
d’identification
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IEC 60584-3
Edition 2.0 2007-11
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
Thermocouples –
Part 3: Extension and compensating cables – Tolerances and identification
system
Couples thermoélectriques –
Partie 3: Câbles d’extension et de compensation – Tolérances et système
d’identification
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
COMMISSION
ELECTROTECHNIQUE
PRICE CODE
INTERNATIONALE
J
CODE PRIX
ICS 17.200.20 ISBN 2-8318-9453-0

– 2 – 60584-3 © IEC:2007
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
THERMOCOUPLES –
Part 3: Extension and compensating cables –
Tolerances and identification system

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote interna-
tional co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To this
end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications, Techni-
cal Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC Publication(s)”).
Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested in the subject
dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-governmental organiza-
tions liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely with the International Or-
ganization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by agreement between the two
organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all inter-
ested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
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4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence be-
tween any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC provides no marking procedure to indicate its approval and cannot be rendered responsible for any equip-
ment declared to be in conformity with an IEC Publication.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and ex-
penses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC Publica-
tions.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard IEC 60584-3 has been prepared by subcommittee 65B: Devices and
process analysis, of IEC Technical Committee 65: Industrial-process measurement, control
and automation.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition of IEC 60584-3 issued in 1989. It
constitutes a technical revision.
The main technical changes with regard to the previous edition are as follows:
– Addition of Subclause 5.4 Connectors.
– Addition of Clauses 7 Dimensions and 8 Requirements.

60584-3 © IEC:2007 – 3 –
The text of this standard is based on the following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
65B/642/FDIS 65B/646/RVD
Full information on the voting for the approval of this standard can be found in the report on
voting indicated in the above table.
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
A list of all parts of the IEC 60584 series, under the general title Thermocouples, can be
found on the IEC website.
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the maintenance result date indicated on the IEC web site under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in
the data related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
– 4 – 60584-3 © IEC:2007
THERMOCOUPLES –
Part 3: Extension and compensating cables –
Tolerances and identification system

1 Scope
This part of IEC 60584 specifies manufacturing tolerances for extension and compensating
cables (other than mineral insulated cables) provided directly to users of industrial processes.
These tolerances are determined with respect to the e.m.f.-temperature relationship of Part 1
of the standard.
The method for identification of insulated thermocouple extension and compensating cables
other than mineral insulated cables is described.
Furthermore, requirements for extension and compensating cables for use in industrial pro-
cess control are specified.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document.
For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition
of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
IEC 60584-1:1995, Thermocouples – Part 1: Reference tables
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1
extension and compensating cables
are used for the electrical connection between the open ends of a thermocouple and the ref-
erence junction in those installations where the conductors of the thermocouple are not di-
rectly connected to the reference junction. The thermoelectric properties of extension and
compensating cables shall be close to the properties of the corresponding thermocouple.
3.1.1
extension cables
are manufactured from conductors having the same nominal composition as those of the cor-
responding thermocouple. They are designated by the letter "X" following the designation of
the thermocouple, for example "JX".
3.1.2
compensating cables
are manufactured from conductors having a composition different from the corresponding
thermocouple. They are designated by the letter "C" following the designation of the thermo-
couple, for example "KC". In some cases different tolerances apply for the same thermocou-
ple type over different temperature ranges. These are distinguished by additional letters such
as, for example, KCA and KCB.
60584-3 © IEC:2007 – 5 –
3.2
tolerance
the tolerance of an extension or compensating cable is the maximum additional deviation in
microvolts caused by the introduction of the extension or compensating cable into the meas-
uring circuit.
4 Tolerance values
Table 1 shows the specified tolerance for extension and compensating cables when used at
temperatures within the ranges indicated as "Cable temperature range".
Table 1– Tolerance classes for extension and compensating cables

Type Tolerance class Cable temperature Measuring junction
range temperature
1 2
JX ±85 μV (±1,5 °C) ±140 μV (±2,5 °C) –25 °C to +200 °C 500 °C
TX –25 °C to +100 °C 300 °C
±30 μV (±0,5 °C) ±60 μV (±1,0 °C)
EX –25 °C to +200 °C 500 °C
±120 μV (±1,5 °C) ±200 μV (±2,5 °C)
KX –25 °C to +200 °C 900 °C
±60 μV (±1,5 °C) ±100 μV (±2,5 °C)
NX ±60 μV (±1,5 °C) ±100 μV (±2,5 °C) –25 °C to +200 °C 900 °C
KCA  ±100 μV (±2,5 °C) 0 °C to +150 °C 900 °C
KCB  0 °C to +100 °C 900 °C
±100 μV (±2,5 °C)
NC  0 °C to +150 °C 900 °C
±100 μV (±2,5 °C)
RCA  0 °C to +100 °C 1 000 °C
±30 μV (±2,5 °C)
RCB  ±60 μV (±5,0 °C) 0 °C to +200 °C 1 000 °C
SCA  ±30 μV (±2,5 °C) 0 °C to +100 °C 1 000 °C
SCB  0 °C to +200 °C     1 000 °C
±60 μV (±5,0 °C)
NOTE 1 Cable temperature range may be restricted to figures lower than those shown in the table because of
temperature limitations imposed by the insulant.
NOTE 2 A cable comprising two copper conductors may be used with Type B thermocouples. The expected
maximum additional deviation within the cable temperature range 0 °C to +100 °C is 40 µV. The equivalent in
temperature is 3,5 °C when the measuring junction of the thermocouple is at 1 400 °C.
NOTE 3 Tolerances are specified in microvolts. The table also includes, in parentheses, the approximate
equivalent tolerances in degrees Celsius. Because thermocouple e.m.f.-temperature relationships are non-
linear, the tolerance in degrees Celsius depends on the temperature of the measuring junction of the thermo-
couple. The figures shown in the table are those appropriate to the measuring junction temperatures in the final
column. In most cases the error expressed in degrees Celsius will be larger at lower thermocouple junction
temperatures.
5 Colour coding
5.1 Negative conductor
The insulation of the negative conductor shall be WHITE for all thermocouple types.
5.2 Positive conductor
The insulation of the positive conductor shall be as given in Table 2.
5.3 Outer sheath
The outer sheath, if any, shall be coloured as given in Table 2. If for intrinsically safe circuits
the outer sheath is coloured BLUE, then the thermocouple type shall be indicated by other
means, for instance by printed or coloured tags (colour as given in Table 2).

– 6 – 60584-3 © IEC:2007
Table 2 – Colour code for extension and compensating cables

Thermocouple Colour of positive
type conductor and
sheath insulation
T Brown
E Violet
J Black
K Green
N Pink
B Grey
R Orange
S Orange
5.4 Connectors
The connectors, if any, used in conjunction with thermocouples and compensating or exten-
sion cables, shall be coloured as given in Table 2. The colouring may be a mass colouring or
a coloured dot on the connector’s surface.
6 Additional identification
6.1 Information applied by the manufacturer shall have the following format:
Example: IEC  – K  X   – 1
IEC – †   † – †
Tolerance class (1 or 2)
Type of cable (X, CA, CB)
Type of thermocouple
(T,E,J,K,N,R,S)
IEC Code
6.2 Additional markings for number of pairs, cross-section of conductors, temperature range,
manufacturer, etc., may be made if necessary.
7 Dimensions
The dimensions of conductors should be agreed between user and manufacturer taking into
account for example tensile strength and flexibility of the cable. Tables 3a and 3b show typi-
cal examples of nominal dimensions.

60584-3 © IEC:2007 – 7 –
Table 3a – Dimensions of conductors (typical nominal values)
Solid wire diameter and
wire diameter of strands
mm
0,10
0,12
0,18
0,20
0,30
0,32
0,40
0,45
0,50
0,60
0,63
0,65
0,80
1,00
1,25
1,29
1,38
1,60
Table 3b – Cross-sectional area and construction of stranded conductors

Stranded wire nominal cross- Construction
sectional area
(number of strands
mm
* diameter in mm)
0,05 7 * 0,10
0,11 12 * 0,12
0,22 7 * 0,20
3 * 0,30
0,38 12 * 0,20
0,41 13 * 0,20
0,50 16 * 0,20
7 * 0,30
0,60 19 * 0,20
0,72 23 * 0,20
0,75 24 * 0,20
11 * 0,30
1,00 32 * 0,20
14 * 0,30
5 * 0,50
3 * 0,65
– 8 – 60584-3 © IEC:2007
Table 3b (continued)
Stranded wire nominal cross- Construction
sectional area
(number of strands
mm
* diameter in mm)
1,20 7 * 0,45
4 * 0,60
1,25 4 * 0,63
1,30 4 * 0,65
1,50 48 * 0,20
21 * 0,30
3 * 0,80
2,00 16 * 0,40
7 * 0,60
2,2 7 * 0,63
2,3 7 * 0,65
8 Requirements
8.1 Materials
8.1.1 Insulating materials
The choice of insulating materials has to be agreed between vendor and user.
8.1.2 Conductor materials
For the cable temperature range the thermal e.m.f. of conductor materials shall comply both
with IEC 60584-1 and with the tolerances specified in Clause 4 of this standard.
8.2 Electromagnetic shielding
The cables shall be manufactured by using pairs of twisted conductors or flat parallel conduc-
tors. Additional shielding should be used for thermoelectric circuit in order to reduce the sus-
ceptibility to electrical noise.
8.3 Capacitance and inductance
The capacitance and inductance - b
...