Multispectral infrared pyrometer for temperature measurement with automatic correction of the influence of emissivity

A new method for contactless temperature measurement has been developed.⁽¹⁾ It is applied advantageously to highly reflecting objects of moderate temperatures (emitting no visible radiation), where conventional methods fail. A set of data is collected by radiance measurement m a number of n narrow spectral bands. These data represent numerical values for a set of analytical equations of the radiation emerging from the object. Solving the set of equations leads to u ⩽ n unknowns, which are the temperature of the object, its emissivity and the temperature of its environment. Balancing calculation enhances the accuracy. Software simulations, including the balancing calculation, the radiation transfer and the hardware of the prospected multispectral radiometer optimized the whole system prior to hardware development. The finally assembled laboratory model, a ten channel filter spectrometer, proved to function as predicted. The temperature of objects about 500 K and an emissivity as low as 0.03 has been determined with less than 1% deviation from thermocouple measurement. Measurement at lower temperatures and/or higher emissivities or higher temperatures and/or lower emissivities is possible with comparable accuracy.