Thermocouple and method of forming a thermocouple on a contoured gas turbine engine component

A thermocouple for a contoured gas turbine engine hot gas path component, comprising:

• a first leg of a thermocouple;
• a plurality of second legs of the thermocouple, each intersecting the first leg at a respective junction;
• and
• a calibration target comprising a known emissivity value and size sufficient for detection by a thermal imager;
• wherein the calibration target and the plurality of second legs derive from a common pattern of material, and wherein the pattern comprises a thickness of at least ten microns.

A method of forming a thermocouple on a gas turbine engine hot gas path component, the method comprising:

• depositing a first material on the component to form a first leg of the thermocouple;
• depositing a second material through a mask to form a pattern on the component, the pattern forming a plurality of discrete second leg junction ends and a continuous patch of the second material comprising indiscrete lead ends of the second legs, each second leg junction end spanning from a respective junction with the first leg to the continuous patch, wherein the pattern comprises a plurality of layers each associated with a cycle of a deposition process and each layer at least one micron thick, the pattern comprising a thickness of at least 10 microns;
• and
• laser-ablating the continuous patch to eliminate excess patch material and to form discrete lead ends, wherein each lead end is electrically connected to a respective junction end, thereby forming discrete second legs each comprising one junction end and one lead end;
• wherein the first and second materials each comprise a platinum group metal;
• wherein the method is effective to produce a measured loop-resistance value of the thermocouple within 10% of a target loop-resistance value;
• and
• wherein the junctions are disposed on the component at locations effective to provide a temperature profile of the component during operation.