Title : Procedure for calibration of non contact type thermometer and uncertainty of

measurement.

Scope : To determine error of non contact type thermometer.

Range : -20 C. to 1200 C.

References : NABL – 141 , ITS – 90 , MSL Tech guide – 22,

Principle :- Comparison technique ( It involves comparing inferior IR thermometer with

superior master equipment )

Equipment used for calibration:

1. Portable black body source ( -15°C to 60°C)

2. Portable calibration Furnace Model PEGASUS plus 1200 ( Range – 150 to 1200 0 C )
3. IR thermometer ( Range – -50 to 1200 0 C )
4. Glass Thermometer (NI/TH/04&05)( for Measure Ref. junction temperature)
5. Isotech Temp. Bath Model 907 ( for 0 C Ref. Junction )
6. Temperature Bath polyscience ( for 0 C Ref. Junction )
7. Any other instrument as decide by Head calibration lab.

Set up preparation:

1. The calibrator shall be placed on calibration table with at least 150 mm free space around
the instrument.
2. Enough space should be left in front of the calibrator to allow for safe and easy insertion
and removal of probes.
3. Insert the Master Thermocouple at location of black body &Insert into the drywell
4. Connect Master Thermocouple to zero ref probe than to the Digital Multimeter
5. The emissivity setting of the infrared thermometer should be the same as the source’s
emissivity its help to remove measurement error.
6. Infrared thermometer should be allowed enough time to reach the temperature of the
laboratory, typically 15 minutes
7. Leave the setup up for 15 minutes at room temperature

Document No:- NI Procedure for calibration of non contact type thermometer and Sect. No:- Thermal
/LAB/CPM uncertainty of measurement.
Issue No:- Issue Date:- 01- Revision No :- Revision Date:- Prepared By & Approved By:-
04 02-2022 V.B. Hingmire ( TD )

1
 Block Diagram ; UUC - IR thermometer & IR thermometer .

UUC Master

Temperature Source

Fig. 1

Step-by-step calibration Procedure:

1. Check the connections of Temperature source, UUC & Master Thermocouple etc.
2 Set the required temperature of the temperature source to starting point of the calibration
3 The emissivity setting of the infrared thermometer should be the same as the source’s
effective emissivity. Some infrared thermometers have a fixed emissivity. In these cases a
mathematical correction may be made.
4 To mount the infrared thermometer. To do this, first set the measuring distance. Once the
distance is set, the infrared thermometer should be mounted on a mounting device
maintain the essential distance from the radiation source. The measuring distance should
be kept such that the spot size of the infrared thermometer is less than the radiating area.
5 Align the infrared thermometer so that it is centered on the calibrator surface. This can be
done by using the laser provided with the infrared thermometer, or in case there is any
other sighting device, or by maximizing the signal by moving the infrared thermometer up
and down and side to side. When alignment is completed, the line from the infrared
thermometer to the calibrator surface should be perpendicular.
6 Let the temperature source stabilize at the set point .measure amb temp. & record.
7 After stabilization measure ( EMF ) o/p signals of master thermocouples (Master ) using
61/2 multimeter in mV or in 0 C. if measure in mV convert mV into temp. as per

Document No:- NI Procedure for calibration of non contact type thermometer and Sect. No:- Thermal
/LAB/CPM uncertainty of measurement.
Issue No:- Issue Date:- 01- Revision No :- Revision Date:- Prepared By & Approved By:-
04 02-2022 V.B. Hingmire ( TD )

2
 ITS-90 scale & correct these reading as per error correction chart of master a & using
formula Texp . a measurement is ready to be made. The measurement should be initiated.
The measurement time should be ten times longer that the infrared thermometer’s
response time. For handheld infrared thermometers, the measurement is made by holding
the trigger for five to ten seconds. The resulting final readout temperature should be
recorded as the readout temperature for the calibration. Note down readings of UUC &
Master in the calibration data sheet.
8 Where 0 º C ref not used at that time ref junction temp necessary to be add in the result.
9 Take three measurements for the same calibration point (allow an interval of 2 min. from
each measurement)
10 Repeat the above steps for remaining points
11 Fill the observation in the DOC. N0. CDS/T/03.
12 Ref customers’ suggested calibration points If customer has not suggested than take five
points to cover entire range.

Conventional blackbodies are made from cavities so that their effective emissivity is very close to
1 These blackbody cavities include purpose-built furnaces and inserts into dry-block calibrators.
We can estimate the effective emissivity of a cavity, ebb, from its length L, the radius of its
aperture, r, and the emissivity of the material from which it is made, es:

Єbb= 1- ( 1-Єs ) { r/ L } 2

The temperature of the surroundings is usually equal to ambient temperature,

Tamb. Thus, we can rewrite equation for the expected thermometer reading, Texp, as:

Texp = Єbb ( Tref )+ ( 1- Єbb )S ( Tamb ) – ( 1- Є instr )S ( Td ) / Є instr

where ebb is the effective emissivity of the blackbody and Tref is the true temperature of the
blackbody, as determined by the reference thermometer. The second term in the numerator of
equation corresponds to ambient radiation that enters the blackbody cavity from the
Surroundings and finds its way back out, or the radiation that is reflected off the flat plate. For the
case of the cavity, whose effective emissivity is generally very close to 1, this term will be very
small. For a given set of conditions, the expected temperature can be calculated by evaluating the
right-hand side equation

“blackbody correction”, ΔTbb, is the difference between the expected reading and the reference
thermometer’s reading:

ΔTbb = Texp-Tref

Document No:- NI Procedure for calibration of non contact type thermometer and Sect. No:- Thermal
/LAB/CPM uncertainty of measurement.
Issue No:- Issue Date:- 01- Revision No :- Revision Date:- Prepared By & Approved By:-
04 02-2022 V.B. Hingmire ( TD )

3
 Error calculation:

Error = (Average of three readings of UUC - Average of three readings of Master)

Uncertainty of measurement

The following contributions are applicable for uncertainty of measurement:

1. Uncertainty of Master Thermocouple 2. Uncertainty of Digital Multimeter

3. Accuracy of Digital Multimeter
5. Stability of temperature source
7. Zero Referance Junction
9. Uncertainty due to emissivity
11. Type A contribution: repeatability
4. Drift of master Thermocouple
6. Uniformity of temperature source
8. Resolution of Unit under calibration
10. Uncertainty due to ambient condition.
12. Other components where applicable

Note:- While contact thermometer is using as a master then heat exchange error
component do not required to consider in evolution of uncertainty.

Type A contribution:
Repeatability:

1. take three measurements (qj where j = 1,2 and 3))

2. Calculate mean (qm)= (q1+q2+q3)/3

3. Calculate Uncertainty due to repeatability (Ua)= sqrt(Σ qj-qm)2/n(n-1)

4. Degree of freedom = n-1

Type B Contribution:

1. Contribution due to Uncertainty of Master Thermocouple(U 1) = Uncertainty of Master

Thermocouple / k Where k is coverage factor from the calibration certificate of Master
Thermocouple, degrees of freedom = ∞

2. Uncertainty of Digital Multimeter (U2)= Uncertainty of DMM / k Where k is coverage

factor from the calibration certificate, degrees of freedom = ∞

3. Contribution due to Accuracy of Digital Multimeter ( U 3)= Accuracy of DMM/√3

(Considering rectangular distribution, degrees of freedom = ∞)

4. Contribution due to Drift of master T/C = Drift of master T/C(U 4) = Stability of

temperature source / √3 (Considering rectangular distribution, degrees of freedom = ∞)

Document No:- NI Procedure for calibration of non contact type thermometer and Sect. No:- Thermal
/LAB/CPM uncertainty of measurement.
Issue No:- Issue Date:- 01- Revision No :- Revision Date:- Prepared By & Approved By:-
04 02-2022 V.B. Hingmire ( TD )

4
 5. Contribution due to Stability of temperature source(U 5) = Stability of temperature source /
√3 (Considering rectangular distribution, degrees of freedom = ∞)

6. Contribution due to uniformity of temperature source (U 6)= uniformity of temperature

source / √3 (Considering rectangular distribution, degrees of freedom = ∞)

7. Contribution due to Reference junction (U7)= Uncertainty of thermometer. / k Where k is

coverage factor from the calibration certificate, degrees of freedom = ∞

8. Contribution due to resolution of UUC source (U 8)= (Resolution of UUC /2)/√3

(Considering rectangular distribution, degrees of freedom = ∞)

9. Contribution due to emissivity (U 9)= Emissivity/√3 (Considering rectangular distribution,

degrees of freedom = ∞)
10. Contribution due to Amb. correction (U10)= Amb. correction/√3 (Considering rectangular
distribution, degrees of freedom = ∞)

11. Where applicable other contributions should be taken

Combined uncertainty (Uc) = Sqrt (Ua2+ U12+U22+U32+U42+U52+U62 + U72+U82+U92+U102)

Effective degree of freedom (νeff )= Uc4/( ΣUi4/νi), where i = 1 to n, νi is degrees of freedom

Expanded uncertainty = Uc x k where k is coverage factor as per NABL-141

Result: Average of UUC reading ± Expanded Uncertainty at 95.45 confidence level at k = ---

Reporting the Results :

1. Average of three readings or worst reading of the observations of both UUC & Master
with Uncertainty of measurement at confidence level approximately 95 %
2. Emissivity value should be reported in cal .report.

Records:

1. The calibration report should be issued. . A copy of the same shall be retained in the file with
subject “Record of the calibration certificates issued”
2. The original observations should be retained in the file with subject “Observation sheets”
CDS/T/03
3. All calibration request formats duly filled by customers and Cal lab should be retained in the
file with subject “Calibration request forms”

Document No:- NI Procedure for calibration of non contact type thermometer and Sect. No:- Thermal
/LAB/CPM uncertainty of measurement.
Issue No:- Issue Date:- 01- Revision No :- Revision Date:- Prepared By & Approved By:-
04 02-2022 V.B. Hingmire ( TD )

5
Prepared By Approved By
Technical Manager Technical / Quality Manager