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Foundation Level
Infrared Training
James Taylor
Land Instruments International Ltd
Land Instruments
International Ltd.
Foundation Level
Copyright 2009-2010 Land Instruments International Ltd
Revision 4c
12th August 2010
James Taylor
Introduction
Contents
Introduction........................................................................................... v
Contents................................................................................................vi
Why Measure Temperature?.................................................................9
Contact Measurement.............................................................................9
Non-Contact Measurement...................................................................10
Introduction to Infrared Theory ........................................................13
Back to Basics......................................................................................13
Electromagnetic Radiation...................................................................20
The Electromagnetic Spectrum............................................................21
More on Thermal Radiation.............................................................22
Absorption, Transmission and Reflection............................................25
Blackbody Radiation............................................................................26
Emissivity.............................................................................................29
Which Emissivity Value?......................................................................33
Effect of emissivity on temperature measurement................................34
Ways of correcting for emissivity.........................................................35
Coping with emissivity.........................................................................35
Application of Emissivity Enhancement by Multiple Reflection..........38
Scale Shape..........................................................................................41
Different Measurement Cases............................................................43
Reflectivity............................................................................................43
A hot target in cool surroundings.........................................................44
A hot body in surroundings at the same temperature...........................44
A hot body in even hotter surroundings...............................................45
Other reflection problems.....................................................................48
The Radiation Thermometer...............................................................49
Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
Types of Thermometer..........................................................................49
Construction of a Radiation Thermometer..........................................50
Detectors..............................................................................................51
The Thermometer Optical System........................................................53
Optical Materials.................................................................................56
Calibration of Infrared Thermometers.................................................57
The Ratio Thermometer......................................................................59
The need for dual wavelength detectors...............................................59
The Turn Down Factor.........................................................................60
Emissivity and Non-Greyness...............................................................62
Temperature Measurement and Transparent Materials...................67
Semi-Transparent Targets.....................................................................69
Low Temperature Measurement . ......................................................77
Background Reflections........................................................................78
Signal Processing.................................................................................79
Averager Function................................................................................80
Peak Picker Function...........................................................................80
Track & Hold........................................................................................81
Summary..............................................................................................83
Types of Radiation Thermometers........................................................83
Land Training School...........................................................................84
Appendix 1...........................................................................................85
Glossary...............................................................................................85
Appendix 2...........................................................................................89
Selection Criteria for Fixed Infrared Thermometers...........................89
vii
1
Why Measure Temperature?
CONTACT MEASUREMENT
Thermocouples
NON-CONTACT MEASUREMENT
Infrared
All objects emit infrared energy, the hotter the object the more active its
molecules are, hence the more infrared energy it emits.
10
Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
11
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12
2
Introduction to Infrared Theory
BACK TO BASICS...
Although it may not seem like it, we all have had direct experience of
atoms and the forces that hold them together (and apart). Press your finger
against a desk or other solid object - the force you feel pushing back is
the same force which bonds the constituent parts of the object together
and repulses your finger tip, preventing it from passing through the object.
Both these forces exist at the atomic level and are responsible for the way
different materials interact with each other.
All materials are made from fundamentally the same stuff - we can take
a material, any at all, and look at the chemical compounds which make
up that substance. Chemical compounds in turn, are made from molecules
- the smallest constituent piece that behaves, chemically, like the whole
substance. The molecules in turn, are made from elements - these are
basic materials which cannot broken down into any simpler substance.
And heres the final part: elements are made up of atoms. While its
something of an over-simplification, its enough to say that different
arrangements of atoms produce different elements. More specifically,
each atom is made up of a different number of electrons, protons and
Foundation Infrared Training Notes
neutrons - the exact number of each gives us the different elements and
are responsible for determining the chemical, electric and magnetic
properties of each.
So how does this all relate to temperature? The atoms possess a certain
amount of internal energy and in general terms, the more energy they
have, the hotter the object. The atoms in a solid will vibrate around their
fixed positions: at low temperatures this vibrational motion is small, but
at higher temperatures the atoms will vibrate more energetically. We can
also relate the three states of matter (solid, liquid and gas) to temperature
and therefore internal energy.
States of Matter
Again, in our daily life we will have experienced the three classic states of
matter: Solid, Liquid and Gas.
Gases: In a gas, the molecules have more energy still, so that the effect of
the inter-molecular forces is small, and the molecules are far apart from
each other (on an atomic scale) and can move around quickly. A gas has
no definite shape or volume, but occupies the entire container in which
it is confined. A liquid may be converted to a gas by heating at constant
pressure to the boiling point, or else by reducing the pressure at constant
14
Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
Bonding in Solids
Thermal Energy
This electromagnetic bonding force holds all the atoms of a solid in their
specific positions, each atom exerting a force on all its neighbours in an
atomic balancing act. There is however, a continual motion of the atoms
due to thermal agitation: the atoms vibrate around the centre of their fixed
positions. The greater the level of vibration, the greater the temperature of
the solid.
Heat
Contrary to popular use of the term, heat doesnt refer to the temperature
of an object, only the transfer of thermal energy due to a temperature
difference. Within an object, thermal energy can be transported as heat
by atomic collisions, from an area of high temperature to an area of low
temperature. An object contains or stores thermal energy, not heat. Once
the energy is transferred, it can no longer be called heat and must be
referred to again as thermal energy.
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17
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differences produce a density gradient within the fluid and the warmer
fluid rises as a result of buoyancy.
Radiation: This occurs in a very different manner from the other two
modes of heat transfer. The energy transfer takes place in the form
of electromagnetic emission and absorption (the same mechanism
responsible for visible light, radio waves and even x-rays), it therefore
occurs at the speed of light and can travel through a vacuum.
Thermal Radiation
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
If an object is hotter than its surroundings, it will emit more radiation than
it absorbs, and will tend to cool down, conversely, if the object is cooler
than its surroundings, it will absorb more radiation than it emits, and will
tend to warm up. Usually, the object will (eventually) come to thermal
equilibrium with its surroundings; at this point the rate of absorption and
radiation of infrared energy will be equal.
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
Electrical Energy
Wa
vele
ngt
h (
)
Magnetic Energy
20
Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
c
f =
l
f = frequency, Hz
c = speed of light, ms-1
l = wavelength, m
Gam
ma Ra
ys
t
le
io
V
le
ra
ib
X-Ra
lt
is
ys
U
ed
V
0.1nm
ar
fr
In
10nm
Radio
Waves
Visib 0.1cm
le
Infra
red
0.4m
0.8m
15m
21
Foundation Infrared Training Notes
Most infrared emissions are outside the range of the human eye and
therefore cannot be observed. They can, however, still be focused by an
optical system on to a detector inside an infrared thermometer in a similar
way to visible light in a photographic camera.
The spectrum of thermal radiation from a hot body is continuous: for any
given temperature, the object will emit electromagnetic radiation in a
continuous range of wavelengths.
C1
J lT .l =
C2 lT
l e
5
1
J lT .l = Blackbody radiation emittted at temperature T, K
l = Wavelength, m
C1 = Planck's First Constant, 3.741016 Wm2
C2 = Planck's Second Constant, 1.4388102 m K
22
Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
Studying both these equations explains why the peak shifts to shorter
wavelengths as temperate increases, and why peak level increases as the
temperature increases.
23
Foundation Infrared Training Notes
ENERGY EMITTED
Visible Spectral Region
5800K
2000K
1000K
800K
300K
100K
50K
1200C
50
Energy Emitted by Object
40
30
1000C
20
800C
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Wavelength (m)
24
Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
The sum total of the three individual components must always add up to
the initial value of radiation which left the source.
t
Incident
Infrared Energy
a r
a + r + t =1
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
It then follows from Kirchoffs Law, that radiation from the walls incident
on and absorbed by the object must equal the radiation emitted by the
object. For objects whose absorption ability is less efficient, then their
emission ability will be correspondingly lower.
a=
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Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
This leads onto a very important concept - that of the perfect absorber/
perfect emitter - the blackbody object. The blackbody is an ideal
surface having the following properties:
In a blackbody object, the total radiant power and its spectral distribution
depend only upon temperature. For this reason, artificial blackbodies are
used for calibration of infrared thermometers.
A quick summary:
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
28
3
Emissivity
40% Radiated
Infrared Energy
60% Internal
Reflection
100% Infrared
Energy
Figure 6 shows why objects are not perfect emitters of infrared energy.
The atoms of an object will have both vibrational and translational motion.
This motion causes collisions between the objects atoms occasionally, a
collision will increase an atoms energy and an electron will be pushed-
up into a higher energy level. When the electron drops back down, it
emits electromagnetic energy (or more strictly, a photon). When this
Foundation Infrared Training Notes
electromagnetic energy reaches the boundary of the object (ie the surface),
a portion will be reflected back inside, and a portion will be radiated out.
This internally reflected energy will never leave by radiative means.
(1-R).B
=.B
R.B
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Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
The table below shows some typical, real-world values for emissivity for
various materials.
Observation of the table shows the non-metals such as brick tend to have
high values of emissivity. Metals with unoxidised surfaces tend to have
quite low emissivities.
Material Emissivity at 1m
Unoxidised Steel 0.35
Oxidised Steel 0.85
Unoxidised Aluminium 0.13
Oxidised Aluminium 0.40
Unoxidised Copper 0.06
Oxidised Copper 0.80
Brick 0.80
Asphalt 0.85
Asbestos 0.90
Effect of Wavelength
It should be noted that in the table above the emissivity values are
specified for a given wavelength. Emissivity will normally vary with
wavelength - for example, the emissivity of polished metals tends to
decrease as wavelength becomes longer. Non-metallic materials tend to
behave differently to metals often showing large variations of emissivity
with wavelength. Semi-transparent materials such as plastic film also
show strong variations with wavelength and require special consideration.
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
Figure 7 shows the typical emissivity curve for iron, along with a
greybody object which has a constant emissivity across the whole of the
infrared spectrum.
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Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
Effect of Temperature
The emissivity of materials does not tend to vary with temperature when
using a thermometer which operates over a narrow waveband. Emissivity
will usually only change with temperature if the surface properties of the
material change, for example if coatings become tarnished or degraded.
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It can be seen that the error from the short wavelength thermometer is
about 10C for a 10% change in emissivity for a target at 1000C. The
long wavelength thermometer gives much greater errors with similar
changes in target emissivity.
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
It can be seen that in the event of a 20% reduction in energy from the
target (a change in emissivity from 1.0 to 0.8), the reduction in indicated
temperature (or error) from the short wavelength thermometer is in the
order of 20C. The response from the long wavelength thermometer
shows a reduction in indicated temperature in the order of 80C for the
same change in target energy.
Figure 11 shows the rapid rise in radiated energy with temperature at short
wavelength. The actual change in signal output from a short wavelength
thermometer, when viewing a target at 1000C, is often around 1% for
every 1C change in target temperature. The result of this is that a 1%
reduction in radiated energy, possibly due to a change in target emissivity,
will result in a fall in indicated temperature of only 1C. This translates to
an error of 0.1% in temperature.
1.2
True Target
Temperature 1500C
1
Emitted Energy from Target
0.8
0.6
Small Error
0.2
Short Wavelength
Thermometer
0
1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700
Indicated Temperaure (C)
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Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
Black Body radiation will exist in any enclosure or cavity whose walls
are at a uniform temperature. The radiation level is defined by the
temperature only (by Plancks Law): It is independent of the shape and
size of the enclosure and wall material.
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
Multiple
Reflections
Reflected
Energy
Incident
Radiation
A quick summary: A cavity that is at least six times deeper than its width
will appear to a radiation thermometer to be (almost) a black body.
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Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
Reflected Energy
almost nil Incident Infrared
Radiation
Emissivity Enhancers
39
Foundation Infrared Training Notes
Thermometer
40
Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
SCALE SHAPE
The scale shape of a radiation thermometer is the relationship between
the radiation power detected by the pyrometer and the target temperature.
This can be calculated from Plancks Law once the spectral response
of the pyrometer is known. From the scale shape, or by calculation, it
is possible to determine the percentage change in output for a 1C rise
in target temperature. This is a very useful value, known as Percent-
per-Degree (%/C), which is enables us to evaluate the amount of
measurement error for a given change in target emissivity. As the scale
shapes for thermometers are non-linear, the value of %/C will vary with
temperature. The %/C value will also varies with operational wavelength
of the thermometer.
C2
%/C = 100
lT 2
C2 = Planck's Second Constant, 1.4388 x 10-2 m K
l = Operational wavelength of thermometer
T = Temperature of target object, K
14388
%/C = 100
110002
= 1.44
% error in emissivity
measurement error =
%/C
5.0
measurement error =
1.44
= 3.47C
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
It should be clear that a high %/C value reduces the effect of change
in target emissivity, improving the accuracy of the measurement. High
values of %/C are obtained at short wavelength, since the energy emitted
by a hot target changes rapidly at short wavelength, and values tend to
improve as the target temperature reduces.
42
4
Different Measurement Cases
REFLECTIVITY
We have seen that when radiation from the interior of a body reaches its
internal surface, it is partially reflected. This process will also occur to the
same degree to radiation incident on the external surface of the body.
Thus, the radiation leaving the surface is the sum of the emitted and
reflected radiation. The former depends on the temperature of the body,
the latter on the (average) temperature of the surrounding environment.
The thermometer however, cannot distinguish between them, and the
indicated temperature will therefore depend on these two temperatures as
well as the reflectivity and emissivity of the surface.
Surroundings at
Background Temperature
Incident Radiation
from Surroundings Energy from
Hot Target
Hot Target
V = e B + I R
B = Internal blackbody energy
I = Incident Infrared En
nergy
R = Reflectivity (1 e)
RB
Black Body
Radiation, B
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Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
is pushed through the furnace on water cooled skids. The furnace has
normally three controlled temperature zones, which raise the temperature
of the stock as it moves through the furnace. These are known as the
pre-heat zone, heating zone and soaking zone. The soaking zone is used
to ensure that the stock is thermally homogeneous before it is discharged
from the furnace on to the roller mill table.
V = e B + I R
= (1 R ) B + R B
=B
Incident
Emitted Energy,
Radiation, I
B
Reflected Energy,
RI
RB
Black Body
Radiation, B
This could be, for example, measurement of a steel target in the Heating
Zone of a Reheat Furnace. In addition to the radiated energy from the
hot target, there will be a large component reflected from the hot furnace
walls. Large errors may now arise if no effort is made to correct for the
large component of reflected radiation. This is the most difficult case and
special consideration to the measurement solution must be made. It may
be possible to screen off the ambient radiation by fitting the thermometer
with a water-cooled sighting tube. Another method is to determine the
magnitude of the reflected component and then subtract this value from
the measured value to obtain true target temperature.
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
Incident
Emitted Energy,
Radiation, I
B
Reflected Energy,
RI
RB
Black Body
Radiation, B
Radiated component from furnace wall
Processor Output
= True Product temperature
Hot Product
46
Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
100
90
80
70
Transmission (%)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Wavelength (m)
47
Foundation Infrared Training Notes
100
90
80
70
60
Radiation (%)
50
30
20
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Wavelength (m)
48
5
The Radiation Thermometer
TYPES OF THERMOMETER
Broad Band
Short Wavelength
Selected Waveband
Ratio
Consists of two detectors using the same optical system but sensitive to
two different wavelength bands. The ratio of the two detector outputs is a
function of the surface temperature and is independent of both emissivity
and absorption in the sighting path, provided these are the same for both
channels.
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Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
H o t ta rge t
R e p re se n ta tio n o f
th e rm o m e te r field o f
visio n
P ro te ction
W in do w
Lens M irror
O p tical
filter
D e te cto r
As stated above, the optical system defines the angular field of view of
the thermometer, which in turn determines the minimum size of hot object
(target size) that can be measured. It may also contain a filter to select
the desired band of wavelengths to which the thermometer is sensitive.
The spectral sensitivity is the product of the spectral transmission of the
optical system and the spectral sensitivity of the detector. Either of these
may be the limiting factor.
DETECTORS
Detectors can be split into two main types: thermal detectors and photon
detectors. In thermal detectors the incident radiation is absorbed as heat,
the resulting temperature rise producing the output signal. They absorb
(nominally) all wavelengths, the spectral response being limited by the
transmission through the optical system. Since the operation depends on
the attainment of a temperature equilibrium, a finite amount of radiation
is required depending on the thermal mass. A fast response requires a thin
construction and it is not easy to build a detector with a response time
of less than 100ms: many types have a response of the order of a few
seconds, however this is very often sufficiently fast.
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
Pyro-Electric
Thermompile
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Wavelength (m)
Photon Detectors
In photon detectors, the incident photons lift electrons from the valence
band into the conduction band provided that the photon has energy greater
than the energy gap between these two bands: this is to say that the
photon must be shorter in wavelength than a certain critical value. The
resulting free electrons can be made to produce an electric current either
by applying a potential across the device (photo-conductive mode) or by
the presence of a pn junction (photovoltaic mode). The detectors used
in Land thermometers work in the photo-voltaic mode. They operate, as
indicated above, only for wavelengths below a critical wavelength so that
they are essentially short wavelength devices. Since we are concerned
with sub-atomic phenomena the response is extremely fast of the order of
a few microseconds.
Thermopiles
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Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
Pyro-electric
Figure 21 shows a thermometer and its field of view. The diagram shows
the sizes of target required at various distances. The instrument focus is at
500mm, where a target size of at least 5mm is required here to ensure the
field of view is completely filled. The instrument may be used to measure
a target at say 300mm, provided it is at least 9mm in diameter to ensure
the field of view is filled.
3000 2000 500 300
110 68 5 9
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
Land provides tables of target size values at various distances from the
optical datum on the instrument on the data sheets and operation manuals
for each instrument variant. This enables the user to ensure that the target
area is big enough to fill the field of view at the location of the target. The
reader should be aware that the use of lenses involves the calculation of
correction factors to overcome spherical (due to the shape of the lens),
and chromatic aberrations (due to the different wavelengths of energy
passing through the lens). These factors have already been taken into
account in the production of target size tables for Land Thermometers.
These target size tables show the minimum size of target required at a
range of distances. In some instances, the target size may have to be
calculated for distances not shown on that table. Note that a thermometer
may be stated as focusing at some distance, say 1200mm, but it can be
used at any distance, provided the target is sufficiently large (or small),
and there is no obscuration between the thermometer and the target to
reduce the incident energy.
Only a small amount of infrared radiation from the target will reach the
detector there are two main reasons for this: atmospheric absorption and
the inverse square law.
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Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
For a fixed focus thermometer, in order to calculate the target size at any
distance we need just 3 factors:
Target Size
at Focus (T)
Lens Diameter (L)
Up to focusing distance, V:
(T L) D
Target Size = +L
V
(T + L) D
Target Size = L
V
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
(30 + 35)
target size = 1200 35
600
= 95mm
s
d=
FOV
d = Target Size, m
s = Target Distance, m
FOV = Field of View
w of thermometer
OPTICAL MATERIALS
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Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
1.8 to 20m
0.15 to 12m
0.4 to 11.5m
0.2 to 5.5m
0.3 to 3.5m
0.3 to 2.7m
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
For the most accurate work the furnace is used as a transfer between
the thermometer being calibrated and a standard thermometer. Standard
thermometers have proved to be stable over a period of several years. In
this use there is no need to measure furnace temperature except to ensure
that its temperature is steady.
58
6
The Ratio Thermometer
THE NEED FOR DUAL WAVELENGTH DETECTORS
Hot Target
Long Wavelength Signal
Amplifier
Divider Output
Amplifier
Optical system
The optical system focuses infrared energy onto two detectors which
are operational at different wavelengths. The amount of refraction of
infrared energy as it passes through the optical material of a simple single
lens is wavelength dependent infrared energy of different wavelengths
is focused by a different amount at each wavelength. This effect is
known as chromatic aberration. Since the Ratio Thermometer operates
at two wavelengths the apparent target size presented at one detector is
larger than the other due this chromatic aberration effect. Therefore, an
achromatic doublet lens is used to ensure good target size matching at the
two operating wavelengths.
Detector
A ratio thermometer will still indicate the correct temperature even when
the target area is partially filled or obscured. The actual amount to which
this area can be reduced is determined by the thermometer turn down
factor. If the target area is so small, or so obscured, that insufficient
energy is present to make a reliable measurement, the thermometer
will generate an alarm and send the output either to maximum value or
minimum value depending on user preference.
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Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
Ratio = 0.69
10
1400C Target 10% Energy Received
Ratio = 0.69
1
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
Wavelength (m)
Figure 25: Comparison of Ratio Thermometer Output for the same target
with 0% and 90% Obscuration
A ratio thermometer will still read correctly even though the target area
is reduced. The value of this reduction is determined by the turn down
factor (normally expressed as a percentage) and the target emissivity. For
a standard ratio thermometer, the turn down factor will remain constant
at a value of around 5% for temperatures from 1700C down to 900C.
When viewing a blackbody, a turndown factor of 5% means that the size
of target area could be reduced down to an absolute minimum value
of 5% of the thermometer spot size. If the target area was less than 5%
the thermometer would assume that the target was so obscured that
insufficient energy was present to make a reliable measurement. The ratio
thermometer will generate an alarm when the thermometer is in turn
down and send the output either to maximum value or minimum value
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
The minimum target area for a ratio thermometer will change with target
emissivity. If for example a ratio thermometer had a turn down factor
of 5% when viewing a black body, the minimum target area could be
as small as 5%. If the emissivity of the target were to drop to 0.1, the
minimum possible target area would then have to be to 50%.
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Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
S = e F (T )
e1 F (T )
S=
e2 F (T )
As the ratio thermometer sees two different emissivity values, one channel
detector tends to see more energy than the other, and this results in a
measurement error. The non-greyness control on the Ratio thermometer
can be adjusted to match the ratio of the emissivities at both wavelengths
or non-greyness value of the target. This is similar to adjusting the
emissivity value on a single wavelength thermometer, and has the effect
of removing the measurement error at that particular value of target non-
greyness. If the emissivities of the target change equally then there will be
no measurement error.
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
l1l2
=
l1 l2
l1 , l2 = the operational wavelengths of the ratio
o thermometer
Once we have the effective wavelength, we can again calculate the %/C
value for a target temperature of for example, 1000K.
14388
% / C = 100
1010002
= 0.14
% error in non-greyness
measurement error =
%/C
For the above Ratio thermometer with a %/C value of 0.14, if the non-
greyness value of target is 1.115 and the non-greyness setting on the
instrument is 1.150, the measurement error may be calculated as follows:
Non-greyness error is - 3%
3.0
measurement error =
0.14
= 21.43C
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Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
3.0
measurement error =
1.44
= 2.08C
It can be clearly seen that even a small change in non-greyness can cause
a large measurement error. It should be noted that the non-greyness
control of a Ratio thermometer has to be a factor of approximately 10
times more precise than the emissivity on a single wavelength device
to obtain similar measurement accuracy. Even if the non-greyness
value were set exactly right it would take only a small change in target
non-greyness to create quite a large measurement error. As has been
mentioned, short wavelength thermometers with their high values
of %/C are very good at minimising the effect of changes in target
emissivity. In practice however, it is usual for non-greyness at the target
to vary significantly less than emissivity.
Despite this effect ratio thermometers do have their uses where the target
does not fill the field of view or where there are obstructions in the sight
path. Cement Kiln burning zones and wire rod mills are examples of this.
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
66
7
Temperature Measurement and
Transparent Materials
In some industrial applications, there will be a window or viewing
port between the thermometer and the target, which can reduce the
radiant energy reaching the thermometer. A useful statement is that a
thermometer can only measure what it sees. The following table shows
some common optical materials with their usable transmission and
reflection loss per surface. When using a thermometer to look through a
window, it is important to ensure that the operational wavelength of the
thermometer falls within the usable transmission band of the window. It
is also important that the target emissivity is adjusted due to the loss of
energy across the window, enabling the thermometer to read the correct
temperature.
In most cases, tint is equal to 1 (the window doesnt absorb any infrared
energy), and R1 and R2 are equal, so the above equation simplifies to:
eset = etarget (1 R) 2
Caution: If the window is very thick, or the material is not ideally suited
to the thermometer waveband, the simplified equation may not yield the
correct result, and it might be necessary to use the full formula given at
the start. Additionally, this formula assumes that infrared energy emitted
by the window, or reflected into the thermometer by the window is
negligible. This is normally true when viewing high temperature targets.
The assistance of the Design Department should be sought in situations
where the target temperature is near or below ambient, or where the
window temperature is close to that of the target. Care should also be
exercised to ensure that the window cannot reflect radiation from a high
temperature source directly into the thermometer.
Smoke, steam and solid objects in the sight path of the thermometer
will reduce the infrared energy from the target and should be avoided
wherever possible.
68
Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
these regions, water vapour and CO2 in the atmosphere will absorb the
infrared energy.
100
90
80
70
Transmittance (%)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Wavelength (m)
SEMI-TRANSPARENT TARGETS
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
a + r + t =1
S = a F (T ) + r F (TB ) + t F (TF )
T = Target Temperature, K
TB = Backgrouund Temperature, K
TF = Foreground Temperature, K
It can be seen from the Figure 27 that there will be a reflection loss at
the front surface of the material and a portion of the remaining energy
will be absorbed. The energy which is not absorbed or reflected will be
transmitted through the material and will end up in the foreground. The
absorption and transmission of a semi-transparent material is dependent
on material thickness. The transmission of a partially transparent material
decreases with increasing thickness. If the reflectivity remains constant
the absorption and hence emissivity must increase as the transmission
decreases.
Semi-Transparent Material
Transmission (t)
Re
fle
ct
io
n
(r)
Thermometer
Absorption (a)
Foreground Background
70
Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
100
90
0.1mm
80
70
Transmission (%)
60
10mm
1mm
50
40 6mm
30
100mm
20
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Wavelength (m)
71
Foundation Infrared Training Notes
80
70
Transmission (%)
60
50
40
30
20
Reflectivity
10
Transmission
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Wavelength (m)
72
Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
90
80
70
Transmission (%)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Wavelength (m)
73
Foundation Infrared Training Notes
100
90
80
70
Transmission (%)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7
Wavelength (m)
The transmission and the reflection from the surface of an object will
limit the emissivity of any semi-transparent target. For most hydrocarbon
plastics, the reflection coefficient is 0.04 per surface. This sets an upper
limit of 0.96 for the emissivity, even when it is 100% opaque. The
emissivity value will fall with reducing thickness of the plastic film,
leading to an increase in transmission from any infrared sources behind
the target. It is useful to specify a minimum thickness for a particular
plastic material to ensure reliable temperature measurement results.
Minimum Thickness
74
Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
75
Foundation Infrared Training Notes
76
8
Low Temperature Measurement
Although the target is hot and will radiate infrared energy, it should be
understood that the detector inside the instrument will be at ambient
temperature and will also be capable of radiating infrared towards the
target.
The amounts of energy radiated depend upon the temperature of the target
and the detector. The net radiation at the detector is the amount received
from the target less the amount emitted by the detector.
The amount of energy radiated by the detector can, and does, vary
with detector temperature, which will be influenced by the ambient
conditions. To overcome this difficulty, the temperature of the detector is
measured using an internal sensor and this value is compensated for in the
thermometers signal processing stage.
Foundation Infrared Training Notes
BACKGROUND REFLECTIONS
When the emissivity of the measured target is less than 1.0, some fraction
of the total energy reaching the thermometer will have originated in the
background and have been reflected by the target into the thermometer.
There are three components to consider.
78
9
Signal Processing
The energy radiated from the detector must be compensated for. This
performed by measuring the temperature of the detector and then adding
it to the output of the detector.
AVERAGER FUNCTION
The averager time function is used to smooth out any unwanted variations
in the process variable signal. An averager may be used to ensure
smooth, gradual changes in the output even though a rapidly fluctuating
thermometer signal is present at the processor.
The averager time constant is adjustable. The effect of increasing the time
constant is similar to increasing the damping.
4
3.8
Raw Thermometer Signal
3.6 Short Time Response
3.2
Temperature
2.8
2.6
2.4
2.2
2
Time
0 5 10 15 20 25
The peak picker allows the signal to rise instantaneously to the peak and
then decay slowly to the arrival of the next higher level of temperature.
80
Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
The output of the thermometer is rather like a saw tooth wave, but the
form of the output can be improved by using a peak picking system.
Signal decay from the detected peak is user adjustable to allow the system
to follows progressively cooler peaks.
4
3.8
3.2
Temperature
2.8
2.6
2.4
2.2
2
Time
0 5 10 15 20 25
The track and hold time function enables control of the output by an
external command signal.
With the external command signal at high level the processor is in track
mode with output as normal. When the external command signal is at low
level the output is locked regardless of the input level. The output will
remain held until the command signal returns to high level.
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
3.8
3.6
3.4
3.2
Temperature
2.8
2.6
2.4
2.2
2
0 5 10 Time 15 20 25
82
10
Summary
It has also been shown that different types of Radiation Thermometer are
required for specific applications. These depend upon process conditions -
an overview is shown below.
Broad Waveband
Selected Waveband
Short Wavelength
Ratio Thermometers
James Taylor
Technical Trainer
james.taylor@ametek.co.uk
+44 (0) 1246 417 691
84
Appendix 1
GLOSSARY
86
Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
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Foundation Infrared Training Notes
SPOT SIZE The diameter of the area where the thermometers field of
view intersects the target object.
88
Appendix 2
Selection criteria for the thermometer can be broken down into the
following categories:
The first consideration should be that of the process type, the method of
heating (e.g. oil fired, induction, etc) and where would the measurement
take place (e.g. in furnace, on conveyer, at the rolling mill coiler).
Another consideration is the sight path conditions (e.g. Clean and clear air,
dust, fumes, steam, obstructed, products of combustion etc) as this will
determine the air purge and sighting tube requirements of the system.
It is essential that the target object be greater in size than the diameter of
the spot size of the thermometer. Installation limitations may require the
thermometer to be mounted a set distance from the target. In this case
divide the target distance by the required spot size to give the minimum
spot size ratio.
For the required temperature range, select thermometers that meet the
measurement point Max/Min/Normal. We will select the output range
later...
Final selection of the exact model based on the other selection criteria will
determine the output range of the thermometer, which would normally
cover the max, min and normal operating temperatures.
It is important to know the target material (e.g. steel ingot, molten glass,
thin film plastic) in order to correctly select the operational wavelength
of the thermometer. Normal practice is to use the shortest wavelength
available for the required temperature range. As previously discussed,
short wavelength thermometers are better able to cope with variable
emissivity targets. However, the are some cases, such as measurement
of glass and plastic, when specific wavelength thermometers should be
employed.
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Foundation Level Infrared Training Notes
will determine the emissivity of the target and if there is any level of
variance.
Alarms required
None
High and low
High
Low
91
This Training Manual presents an introduction to infrared
temperature measurement, giving a solid basis in the principles
employed in the technique.
w w w.landinst. co m
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