Emissivity Adaptation

A project under the Tufts University Research for Undergraduates 2000 Program described both theory and experiments related to welding of metals. Its report is online (CLICK HERE FOR FULL REPORT) and the Abstract is below.

Abstract

"The basic assumption behind the operating principle of modern thermal imaging thermometers is a “graybody approximation”. For a graybody, the emittance, reflectance and transmittance are constant for all wavelengths within the wavelengths within the waveband over which the instrument measures.

"In reality however, these factors change, and for applications that take place over a wide temperature range, the emissivity variation needs to be taken into account. This work suggests a method for an in-process emissivity identification and adaptation in order to dynamically calibrate infrared temperature measurement systems for applications like heat treatment, welding, cutting etc. A series of experiments has proven that once the spatial and temporal components of emissivity are decoupled, a model can be developed, which in conjunction with direct IR radiosity monitoring can provide information about the required emissivity compensation."