Learn more about the difference between contact and non-contact temperature measurement.
Infrared pyrometers have a wide range of applications in fields like metallurgy, glass production, semiconductor manufacturing and industrial furnaces. They are used to monitor processes like glass tempering, metal heating and the temperature of gases in boilers or incinerators. IR pyrometers are also used in scientific research and for monitoring mechanical systems, as well as for measuring high temperatures remotely. [BUD - this came from AI - what do you think? Have it here as an idea for an intro - please feel free to modify/re-write! Don't want to sound too "AI" :) ]
HEITRONICS has more than 25 years of experience using infrared pyrometers to measure a wide range of incinerator and boiler processes.
The HEITRONICS incinerator and boiler pyrometer, an infrared radiation thermometer (IRT), provides unique spectral responses for CO2 gas emissions, which produce the highest quality measurements of the gas temperature. The pyrometer is installed outside the furnace and is therefore not exposed to the high temperatures or aggressive gases, and is easy to access.
HEITRONICS combustion gas pyrometer solution characteristics include:
Read more about HEITRONICS combustion gas pyrometer applications: Combustion Gas Temperature Measurement using Infrared Pyrometers -Application Summary (PDF)
The use of infrared radiation thermometers to measure temperature in incinerators offers the following advantages:
The ammonia consumption of the SNCR (Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction) can be reduced significantly if the injection takes place in the optimum temperature window of 850..1000 oC. Knowledge of the actual temperature distribution within the incineration chamber is a crucial precondition to do this.
Read more: SNCR Operating in the Optimal Temperature Window in a Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Incinerator
The use of Infrared Radiation Thermometers (also called infrared pyrometers or IRTs) for combustion gas temperature requires a channel or view port with diameter larger than the field of view of the IRT.
Read more: Infrared Thermometer Measures Combustion Gas with Focused High Precision Optics to Simplify Installation
HEITRONICS TempControl 2.0 displays the thermal distribution of gas temperatures in a combustion chamber, and provides intuitive detection of hot spots and imbalances by graphical image of the temperature distribution.
Read more: TempControl Thermal Distribution of Gas Temperatures in a Combustion Chamber
Infrared radiation thermometers (also called IRTs, radiometers or pyrometers) make it possible to provide remote, non-contact temperature measurement of sea, snow, ice and land surfaces, as well as sky and clouds.
HEITRONICS' radiometers have been successfully used for decades on Airborne Platforms, Marine Vessels, and Ground Based Systems to measure temperature. In 1997, a HEITRONICS system was the first commercial infrared pyrometer to be part of a scientific experiment in the Columbia Space Shuttle SpaceLab project.
HEITRONICS infrared radiometers support the following Atmospheric and Oceanic Science applications:
Read more about applications of HEITRONICS infrared radiation thermometers for Atmospheric & Oceanic Science: Application of Infrared Radiometers to Meteorology
From May 15 to October 11, 2019, six Saildrone un-crewed surface vehicles (USVs) were deployed for 150-day cruises collecting a suite of atmospheric and oceanographic measurements from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, transiting the Bering Strait into the Chukchi Sea and the Arctic Ocean. Saildrones are predominantly powered by wind and solar, and are equipped with advanced meteorological and oceanographic instruments and artificial intelligence technology. Two Saildrones funded by NASA, SD-1036 and SD-1037, were equipped with HEITRONICS infrared radiation pyrometers having a 8..14 micron spectral range, positioned on the deck for the determination of the ocean sea surface skin temperature. One infrared pyrometer aimed up at the sky, and the other two aimed towards the sea. The resulting measurement represents the temperature of the top 10-20 μm layer of sea surface while compensating for the sky temperature reflecting off the sea surface.
The sea-viewing infrared radiation thermometer (IRT) was CT15.10 and the sky-viewing IRT was CT09.10. Both infrared radiometers have the merits of long term calibration stability and temperature measuring stability while subjected to varying ambient temperature due to the HEITRONICS chopped radiation method.
Read the article: High Latitude Sea Surface Skin Temperatures Derived From Saildrone Infrared Measurements | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE Xplore
See also this article from the New York Times on the use of the crewless Saildrone surface vehicles for the collection of vital sea-level data from inside a storm: The Tiny Craft Mapping Superstorms at Sea
[Overview text of HEITRONICS infrared calibration equipment offerings here]
Infrared Calibration Equipment Brochure - Performance & Features Summary
Blackbody Calibration Sources are required to calibrate infrared radiation thermometers and thermal imaging cameras. ME30 will satisfy many requirements including fever/elevated body temperature measuring instruments used, for example, for COVID-19 virus screening.
Read more: Blackbody Calibration Source ME30 for Infrared Thermometers and Thermal Imaging Cameras
Infrared Calibration Equipment includes two key items: a Blackbody Radiation Source (BBR) and a Reference Thermometer. The Reference Thermometer can be either a Contact Probe or a Transfer Radiation Thermometer (TRT). This article focuses on using a TRT to obtain the best achievable uncertainties via the Scheme II method of calibration.
Read more: Introduction to Radiometric Calibration of Thermal Imaging Cameras
For assistance with your application, fill out our Customer Application Requirements Form, complete it the best you can, and email it to win@wintron.com for review by one of our experts, or contact us.
A variety of effects can be used to measure temperature, from a change of length vs temperature (e.g. bi-metal strips) to volume change vs. temperature (e.g. mercury thermometer) to voltage change vs. temperature (e.g. thermocouples). For all of these measuring approaches, the sensor has to be in direct mechanical and thermal contact with the measured object. After contact is established, time is required for heat transfer, and then the sensor "measures" its own temperature.
When measuring with contact, acceptable results can be produced as long as the heat conduction is good and the thermal mass of the object is much larger than the sensor. However, in the case of poor heat conduction or low mass objects, the object's temperature is not completely transferred to the sensor and the measurement fails. In addition, for moving objects, or those which are far away, it is difficult to establish a mechanical contact. This is where non-contact temperature measurement enters the game.
How does non-contact temperature measurement work?
Any matter at a temperature above 0 Kelvin emits electromagnetic radiation. The spectrum and intensity of the radiation is governed by Planck's law, a universal mathematical relationship between temperature and radiation. WIth non-contact temperature measurement, the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the object is what the infrared pyrometer measures. The advantages are apparent:
For more information on Infrared Pyrometers, see Infrared Explained.
Wintronics Calibration provides the highest level of measurement service available today to ensure the exacting quality you demand from your measurement equipment.
NIST
PTB (National Metrology Institute of Germany)
Wintronics, Inc. is an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 Accredited Laboratory that performs Calibration traceable to International Standards.
Download ISO Certificate
Wintronics, Inc.
50 Division Avenue
Millington, NJ 07946
908-647-0144 800-247-7976
win@wintron.com
Contact Wintronics
