By Gary Freeman, ABB Measurement Products
Non-contacting temperature measurement techniques for the processing industries complement thermocouple and RTD sensors. Innovations in infrared technology are reducing their cost and size while increasing reliability.
Non-contacting temperature measurements offer several advantages:
- Fast, permitting more consecutive measurements in a given time interval, such as for temperature distribution measurements.
- Measurements on moving objects (conveyer processes, rolling mills, etc.).
- Measurements in dangerous or inaccessible locations (objects at high voltage, long distance measurements).
- High measuring temperatures up to 3000 °C (5432 °F). In such applications, contacting thermometers have a limited life span.
- No interaction with the measured object measurement (suitable for poor heat conductors such as plastics and wood.)
- No mechanical influences on the measured surface (painted surfaces, foams, elastomers.)
- No contamination of the measured object (hygienic applications).
