Traceability and Quality Control in a Radiation Thermometry Laboratory

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Traceability and Quality Control in a Radiation Thermometry Laboratory (525.27 KB)

In radiation thermometry, there have been a number of steps made to improve radiation thermometer calibration quality at temperatures below 1000 °C. These steps involve work done by national metrology institutes and standards bodies. The Fluke Infrared Calibration Laboratory in American Fork, Utah has benefitted from this progress to set up its own radiation thermometry program. The calibration range of this laboratory is -15°C to 500°C. This program involves calibrating radiometric transfer standards (with pyroelectric detectors) that, in turn, are used to calibrate flat-plate radiation sources, sometimes referred to as blackbodies. This paper discusses the traceability involved in this radiometric calibration program. It also discusses numerous quality control measures that have been taken to improve and assure measurement accuracy in both calibrations.