APPLICATIONS OF RADIANT ENERGY 16-25

temperature is higher than the stock temperature. Not only higher

efficiencies but also higher rates of temperature rise accompany high air
temperature. As long as the air temperature exceeds the temperature
attained by the stock, the absorbed radiation is completely utilized as
sensible heat retained by the stock.
If infrared lamps are the only energy source, heating of the air arises
from nonutilization of relatively expensive electrical energy. In combina-
tion radiant energy and convection ovens, auxiliary air heaters energized
by a cheaper means such as gas or oil maj^ be incorporated in the design.
The present trend is toward well-insulated ovens.
For good results the inside surfaces of an oven tunnel should be main-
tained with a high infrared-reflectance material to decrease the quantity of
radiation absorbed by the oven itself. The effect of using high-reflectance
oven walls is to increase the radiant-energy utilization and the uniformity of
irradiation.
Natural circulation of air has been used frequently for vapor removal.
Though this is satisfactory in open ovens, some positive means for vapor
removal must be supplied in a completely closed oven. If air stratification
is undesirable, a downdraft ma}^ be used to keep the air temperature more
uniform. Excessive air circulation increases the coefficient of heat transfer,
and if the stock temperature is above air temperature, the over-all efficiency
of the oven is decreased. The minimum circulation sufficient to remove
solvent vapors and suspended solids is the most efficient if safe lamp-bulb
temperatures are not exceeded.
Most of the sensible heating and the greater portion of the full tempera-
ture rise occurs during the first few minutes of exposure. During this time
convectional losses of heat to the air are low or may even be negative if the
air temperature is high. As more time passes, however, the additional
temperature rise is relatively small, but the cumulative convectional heat
losses continue to increase. The energy input increases linearly as time
passes so that as the exposure time is increased, the ratio of the energy
retained to the radiant energy input decreases. The use of as high energy
density as permissible not only brings about rapid attainment of high
temperature and high capacity for an installation, but also results in more
efficient use of the available radiant energy.
Radiant-heat ovens are well adapted for multiple heat-density operation.
If low initial temperature rise is desirable for producing wrinkle finishes or
for driving off thinners slowly to prevent pinholing, a low-density section
can be employed conveniently. This preliminary heating zone can be
followed by a high-density section in which high temperatures are obtained.
Other combinations of sectionalized design can be made.
Uneven heating temperatures may result if the stock has sharp changes in
surface contour and varying wall thickness. Good heat conductors such
as metals will tend to overcome this difficulty, especially in ovens with
high air temperatures.
Today, radiant heating competes with hot-air heating. With materials
for which it is applicable radiant heating has the advantage that very high