Pyrometer

An optical pyrometer

A sailor checking the temperature of a ventilation system A pyrometer is a type of thermometer used to measure high temperatures. Various forms of pyrometers have historically existed. In the modern usage, it is a non-contacting device that intercepts and measures thermal radiation, a process known as pyrometry. The thermal radiation can be used to determine the temperature of an ob ect!s surface. The word pyrometer comes from the "reek word for fire, #$%&# 'pyro(, and meter, meaning to measure. )yrometer was originally coined to denote a device capable of measuring temperatures of ob ects above incandescence 'i.e. ob ects bright to the human eye(.*citation needed+

Contents

, )rinciple of operation - .istory / Applications

o o o o o

/., 0melter Industry /.- 1ver-the-bath )yrometer /./ Tuy2re )yrometer /.3 0team boilers /.4 .ot Air 5alloons

3 )yrometry of gases 4 0ee also 6 7eferences 8 9xternal links

Principle of operation
A modern pyrometer has an optical system and a detector. The optical system focuses the thermal radiation onto the detector. The output signal of the detector 'temperature T( is related to the thermal radiation or irradiance j: of the target ob ect through the 0tefan;5olt<mann law, the constant of proportionality =, called the 0tefan-5olt<mann constant and the emissivity > of the ob ect.

This output is used to infer the ob ect!s temperature. Thus, there is no need for direct contact between the pyrometer and the ob ect, as there is with thermocouples and resistance temperature detectors '7T?s(.

History
The potter @osiah Aedgwood invented the first pyrometer to measure the temperature in his kilns,*,+ which first compared the color of clay fired at known temperatures, but was eventually upgraded to measuring the shrinkage of pieces of clay, which depended on the heat of the kiln.*-+ Bater examples used the expansion of a metal bar.*/+

A pyrometer from ,C4-. .eating the metal bar 'a( presses against a lever 'b(, which presses against another lever 'c( that serves as a measuring index. 'e( is an immovable prop which holds the bar in place. A spring on 'c( pushes against 'b(, causing the index to fall back once the bar cools. Dodern pyrometers became available when the first disappearing filament pyrometer was built by B. .olborn and E. Furlbaum in ,GH,.*3+ This device superimposed a thin, heated filament over the ob ect to be measured and relied on the operatorIs eye to detect when the filament vanished.*4+ The ob ect temperature was then read from a scale on the pyrometer. The temperature returned by the vanishing filament pyrometer and others of its kind, called brightness pyrometers, is dependent on the emissivity of the ob ect. Aith greater use of brightness pyrometers, it became obvious that problems existed with relying on knowledge of the value of emissivity. 9missivity was found to change, often drastically, with surface roughness, bulk and surface composition, and even the temperature itself.*6+ To get around these difficulties, the ratio or two-color pyrometer was developed. They rely on the fact that )lanck!s law, which relates temperature to the intensity of radiation emitted at individual wavelengths, can be solved for temperature if )lanckIs statement of the intensities at two different wavelengths is divided. This solution assumes that the emissivity is the same at both wavelengths *4+ and cancels out in the division. This is known as the gray body assumption. 7atio pyrometers are essentially two brightness pyrometers in a single instrument. The operational principles of the ratio pyrometers were developed in the ,G-Hs and ,G/Hs, and they were commercially available in ,G/G.*3+ As the ratio pyrometer came into popular use, it was determined that many materials, of which metals are an example, do not have the same emissivity at two wavelengths.*8+ Eor these materials, the emissivity does not cancel out and the temperature measurement is in error. The amount of error depends on the emissivities and the wavelengths where the measurements are taken.*4+ Two-color ratio pyrometers cannot measure whether a materialIs emissivity is wavelength dependent. To more accurately measure the temperature of real ob ects with unknown or changing emissivities, multiwavelength pyrometers were envisioned at the J0 Kational Institute of 0tandards and Technology and described in ,GG-.*3+ Dultiwavelength pyrometers use three or more wavelengths and mathematical manipulation of the results to attempt to achieve accurate

temperature measurement even when the emissivity is unknown, changing, and different at all wavelengths.*4+*6+*8+

Applications
)yrometers are suited especially to the measurement of moving ob ects or any surfaces that can not be reached or can not be touched.

Smelter Industry
Temperature is a fundamental parameter in metallurgical furnace operations. 7eliable and continuous measurement of the melt temperature is essential for effective control of the operation. 0melting rates can be maximi<ed, slag can be produced at the optimum temperature, fuel consumption is minimi<ed and refractory life may also be lengthened. Thermocouples were the traditional devices used for this purpose, but they are unsuitable for continuous measurement because they melt and degrade.

Over-the-bath Pyrometer
0alt bath furnaces operate at temperatures up to ,/HH LM and are used for heat treatment. At very high working temperatures with intense heat transfer between the molten salt and the steel being treated, precision is maintained by measuring the temperature of the molten salt. Dost errors are caused by slag on the surface which is cooler than the salt bath.*C+

Tuyre Pyrometer
The Tuy2re )yrometer is an optical instrument for temperature measurement through the tuyeres which are normally used for feeding air or reactants into the bath of the furnace.

',( ?isplay.'-( 1ptical.'/( Eibre optic cable and )eriscope. '3( )yrometer tuy2re adapter havingNi. 5ustle pipe connection. ii. Tuy2re clamp iii. Mlamp washer iv. Mlamp stud cOw and fastening hardware v. "asket vi. Koranda Tuy2re 0ilencer vii. valve seat viii. ball '4( )neumatic MylinderN i. 0mart Mylinder Assembly with Internal proximity switch ii. "uard )late Assembly iii. Temporary Elange Mover )late used to cover periscope entry hole on tuy2re adapter when no cylinder is installed on the tuy2re. '6( 1perator station panel '8( )yrometer light station 'C( Bimit switches 'G( 3 conductor cab tire ',H( 5all Valve ',,( )eriscope Air pressure switch. ',-( 5ustle )ipe Air pressure switch. ',/( Airline filterOregulator ',3( ?irectional control valve, 0ub-plate, silencer and speed control mufflers. ',4( -# nom. low pressure air hose, 3Hm length

Steam boilers
A steam boiler may be fitted with a pyrometer to measure the steam temperature in the superheater.

Hot Air Balloons

A hot air balloon is ePuipped with a pyrometer for measuring the temperature at the top of the envelope in order to prevent overheating of the fabric.

Pyrometry of ases
)yrometry of gases presents difficulties. These are most commonly overcome by using thin filament pyrometry or soot pyrometry. 5oth techniPues involve small solids in contact with hot gases.

See also

Aethrioscope Infrared thermometer Tasimeter Thermal radiation Thin filament pyrometry Thermography

!eferences
,. "ump up # #.istory - .istoric EiguresN @osiah Aedgwood ',8/H - ,8G4(#. 55M. ,G8H-H,-H,. 7etrieved -H,/-HC-/,.

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3. 4. 5. 6.

"ump up # #)yrometer#. Aedgwood Duseum. 7etrieved -/ August -H,/. "ump up # ?raper, @ohn Ailliam ',C6,(. A Textbook on chemistry. .arper Q 5ros. p. -3. R @ump up toN a b c B. Dichalski et al, Temperature Measurement, Second Edition. 'Ailey, -HH,(, pp. ,6-;-HC. R @ump up toN a b c d M. Dercer, Optical metrology for fluids, combustion, and solids. 'Fluwer Academic, -HH/(, pp. -G8;/H4. R @ump up toN a b ?. Kg and ". Eralick '-HH,(. #Jse of a multiwavelength pyrometer in several elevated temperature aerospace applications#. Re ie! Scientific "nstruments $% '-(N ,4--. doiN,H.,H6/O,.,/3H44C. R @ump up toN a b ?. 1linger, @. "ray, 7. Eelice '-H,H-H,-,/(. #0uccessful )yrometry in Investment Masting#. #roceedings of the $$th Annual Technical %onference on "n estment %asting. Investment Masting Institute. 7etrieved -H,/-HC-/, ; via ?ocstoc.com. "ump up # B. Dichalski et al, STemperature Deasurement, 0econd 9dition& '(iley, )**+,, pp& -*./-*-

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