Temperature measurement of a curved surface using thermographic phosphors

An optical technique for surface temperature measurement based on the fluorescent emission of rare earth ion-doped phosphors was demonstrated in an experiment with a heated cylinder in crossflow. In this experiment, a uniform heat flux was imposed by applying a constant voltage across the thin stainless steel cylinder surface to produce surface temperatures between 24°C and 55°C. The fluorescent emission of a thermographic phosphor, lanthanum oxysulfide doped with europium (La₂0₂S:Eu³⁺) deposited on the surface, was recorded to determine the temperature distribution at the curved surface. When excited by ultraviolet radiation, the phosphor emits a spectrum containing certain emission lines, the intensities of which vary with temperature. For a single temperature-sensitive line, ratios of the intensity at a reference temperature to the intensity at different temperatures were correlated as a function of surface temperature. The use of intensity ratio correlations avoids complications due to geometric (viewing angle) effects. Digitized images of the cylinder permitted calculation of surface temperatures and local Nusselt numbers. Differences between surface temperatures measured by calibrated thermocouples and temperatures determined from the phosphor technique were at most 1.2°C.