ChE 422L: Chemical Engineering Laboratory I

EMISSIVITY EXPERIMENT

Bantilan, Justine Joyce S. (2010-00089)

Gonzales, Niox B. (2011-00056)

Nagar, Niui Pye T. (2011-00081)

Pica, Mae Flor B. (2014-00443)

BSChE – 4A

Chemical Engineering Department

Eastern Visayas State University

in coordination with

Adamson University

Tacloban City

Date of Performance: 3/7/19 Group: 2

Date of Submission: 4/26/19 Partners’ Role: Collaborative Group Experiment

This report is my own unaided work and was not copied from any other person

Signed __________________________________________________________
ChE 422L: Chemical Engineering Laboratory I

EMISSIVITY EXPERIMENT

Justine Joyce S. Bantilan, Mae Flor B. Pica, Niox B. Gonzales, and Niui Pye T. Nagar

Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering

Eastern Visayas State University – Main Campus

Tacloban City, Leyte 6500

ABSTRACT

Emissivity was measured on three different plates, which are, silver anodized plate,

matte black plate, and polished plate based on six increasing distances with constant

ambient temperature, which was measured by the laboratory technician. The source

temperature and radiometer reading were also recorded to calculate the final value of

emissivity and heat emitted by each plate on a constant distance and varying source

temperature. Based on the graph, the matte black plate has the highest emissivity.

Moreover, the graph showed that as the temperature increases, the emissivity also

decreases, thus showing an inverse proportionality between the two functions.

ChE 422L: Chemical Engineering Laboratory I

Experiment No. 1

Emissivity Experiment

I. Introduction

Among the three mechanisms of heat transfer, thermal radiation is the one that

students have difficulty understanding and applying. The concept of electromagnetic

waves as a medium to transfer energy through space is something abstract. However, it is

necessary that engineers should be able to quantify radiation in terms of heat energy when

it is intercepted, emitted or absorbed by a surface. To help students understand some of the

important concepts, theories and applications of radiation, this experiment involving the

emissivity law are performed and the experimental data compared with the theory.

II. Theory

The emissivity of the surface, so defined, is a gross factor, as radiant energy is being

sent out from a body not only in all directions but also over various wavelengths. For actual

surfaces, the emissivity may vary with wavelengths as well as the direction of emission.

Emissivity of surface will depend on the material of which it is composed. The

radiation emitted per unit area per unit time from the surface of a body is called its emissive

power. The ratio of emissive power of a body to the emissive power of a black body is

called emissivity. The heat emitted by the test plate per unit area is,

𝑞𝑏
𝜀=
𝜎(𝑇𝑆4 − 𝑇𝐴4 )
ChE 422L: Chemical Engineering Laboratory I

III. Methods

A. Apparatus

Figure 1. Experimental Set-up for Emissivity

The main set-up for this experiment is the horizontal bench-mounted track that

contains a heat radiation source and a self-contained light source that is placed at the two

ends of the bench. Attached in the middle of the bench is the metal plate itself with a

thermocouple, the heat radiation detector and a light meter. The detector and other

accessories are clamped to stands that can be positioned at different distances from the

source. The temperatures of the metal plates are displayed on a digital display, either

reading being selected by changing the switch.

Radiometer. The sensor surface of the radiometer is 65 mm from the center line of

the radiometer mounting rod. Hence, for the position of the radiometer sensor, 65 mm must

be subtracted from the marked center of the detector stand.

ChE 422L: Chemical Engineering Laboratory I

B. Procedure

The metal plate was placed 150 mm away from the heat source. The ambient

temperature was made constant by the laboratory technician, which is 20°C. The source

temperature readings and the radiometer readings were recorded for each self-selected

increment of increasing temperature. After reading from the radiometer, the cover is put

back to the heat source. The procedure was repeated using three different plates which

were matte black plate, silver anodized plate, and polished plate.

IV. Results and Discussion

Observed Data

Given: TA = 20°C

Matte Black Plate

Temperature
Radiometer
Reading (TS) TS (K) TA (K) Reading
(°K) (W/m2)

125 427 293 401.8

172 445 293 507.8
193 466 293 587.3

Silver Anodized Plate

Temperature
Radiometer
Reading (TS) TS (K) TA (K) Reading
(°K) (W/m2)

125 315 293 26.2

ChE 422L: Chemical Engineering Laboratory I

172 326 293 49.0

193 342 293 67.8

Polished Plate

Temperature
Radiometer
Reading (TS) TS (K) TA (K) Reading
(°K) (W/m2)

125 26.2 293 9

172 49.0 293 19
193 67.8 293 25

Calculated Data

Matte Black

E = qb/(TS4-
qb = 3.519 x
TA4) x σ
R (W/m2)
(W/m2)
1413.934 0.96
1786.948 0.99
2066.709 0.92

Silver Anodized Plate

E = qb/(TS4-
qb = 3.519 x
TA4) x σ
R (W/m2)
(W/m2)
92.1978 0.66
172.431 0.77
238.5882 0.67
ChE 422L: Chemical Engineering Laboratory I

Polished Plate

E = qb/(TS4-
qb = 3.519 x
TA4) x σ
R (W/m2)
(W/m2)
31.671 0.87
66.861 0.35
87.975 0.25

Average Emissivity of the Three Plates

Average
Plates
Emissivity
Matte Black 0.96
Silver
0.7
Anodized Plate

Polished Plate 0.49

Sample Calculation

From matte black:

Given: R = 30, σ = 5.67x10-8, TS = 427 K, TA = 293 K

𝑞𝑏 = (3.519)(𝑅)

𝑞𝑏 = (3.519)(401.8)

𝑞𝑏 = 1413.934 𝑊 ⁄𝑚2

𝐸 = (𝑞𝑏 )/(𝑇𝑆4 − 𝑇𝐴4 )(𝜎)

𝐸 = (1413.934)⁄(4274 − 2934 )(5.67𝑥10−8 )

ChE 422L: Chemical Engineering Laboratory I

𝐸 = 0.96

Given: E1 = 0.96, E2 = 0.99, E3 = 0.92

0.96 + 0.99 + 0.92

𝐸𝑎𝑣𝑔 =
3

𝐸𝑎𝑣𝑔 = 0.96

Discussion

Emissivity vs. Temperature

1.2
1
0.8
Emissivity

Matte Black Plate

0.6
Silver Anodized Plate
0.4
Polished Plate
0.2
0
125 172 193

The graph shows that the matte black plate has the highest emissivity among

the three plates. As the temperature increases, the emissivity of the polished plate

decreased. It is also shown that the matte black plate has the highest emissivity value since

it is close to the blackbody surface.

V. Conclusion

The emissivity of the three plates, namely, silver anodized plate, matte black plate,

and polished plate would vary due to the different factors affecting them such as the

distance, temperature, and the condition of the room from which the experiment was

conducted on.
ChE 422L: Chemical Engineering Laboratory I

VI. Recommendation

During the entire experiment, the room from which the experiment is being done

should be kept dark and free of any air currents so as to reduce the radiation coming from

a light source and the convection from the surrounding air.

References

Olaño, S. (2007). Experiments in Chemical Engineering. De la Salle University.

Welty, J. R., Wicks, C. E., Wilson, R. E., & Rorrer, G. L. (2008). Fundamentals of

Momentum, Heat, and Mass Transfer. Corvallis, Oregon: John Wiley & Sons,

Inc.

Nomenclature

E = emissivity of the plate

qb = input power to the two plates is same and conduction heat loss are also same

R = radiometer reading

TA = ambient temperature

TS = source temperature

σ = Stefan-Boltzmann constant
ChE 422L: Chemical Engineering Laboratory I

Appendix A. Documentation
ChE 422L: Chemical Engineering Laboratory I