CHE151-1L Chemical Engineering Laboratory 2

4th Quarter AY 2016-2017

Thermal Radiation

Kenneth S. Pingol1, Rence Christian L. Terrado1, Ricky Jay C. Gomez1

1
Student, Mapa Institute of Technology, School of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry

ABSTRACT
Thermal radiation is one of the mechanisms of heat transfer, wherein the energy is in the form of electromagnetic
waves which requires no medium for the transfer to occur. The mechanism starts with the conversion of energy into
radiation energy, which is then absorbed by the body and emitted as thermal energy. One property of matter that
describes its effectiveness of emitting thermal radiation is the emissivity. Stefan-Boltzmann law derived the equation
for the estimation of the emissivity of various materials. This experiment was done to determine and compare the
emissivity of three materials, namely Matt black, Silver anodized and Polished plates. Also, the effect of changing the
operating temperature to the emissivity of these materials was determined. One significant finding in this experiment
was the comparison between the emissivity of the three materials mentioned. The calculated emissivity of the Matt
black, Silver anodized and Polished plates are 0.96, 0.72 and 0.65, respectively. Comparing this to the literature values,
the errors are 4%, 17.24% and 103.25%. As the material becomes more polished, more errors were encountered. The
reason for this could be the inefficiency of the equipment to record accurate data for more polished materials. Also,
the effect of temperature to emissivity was determined. Both Matt black and Silver anodized plates have increasing
trend of curve, wherein as the temperature increases, the emissivity increase as well. However, in the case of Polished
plate, the trend of curve is fluctuating. There are several factors affecting the actual results such as the radiation
wavelength, surface finish, color of the material, etc.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION Stefan-Boltzmann law is the key concept governing

the radiation heat transfer. It stipulates the effect of
Thermal radiation is one of the fundamental
temperature difference between the surroundings and
mechanisms of heat transfer. It is a form of
an object, specifically a black body, so that the net
electromagnetic wave, which travels in a straight line
energy gained or lost by the body can be measured [3].
and requires no medium for the transfer of heat to
This is mathematically expressed as:
occur [1]. These electromagnetic waves are emitted by
= 2 ( 4 4 ) (1)
all matter which are at temperatures higher than zero
where,
[2]
absolute temperature . Thermal radiation is most
qemitted = radiation emitted by the surface, W/m2
effective when the heat transfer is in vacuum, since it
= emissivity of the surface
does not need any medium to propagate.
 = Stefan-Boltzmann constant, 5.676x10-8 W-
2 -4
m -K
= refractive index
Tp = heat source / plate temperature, K
Ts = temperature of the surroundings, K
A black body is said to be an ideal body for the
emission and absorption of radiation heat. There is no
other surface can emit more radiation energy than a
black body. Regardless of the wavelength and
direction of incident radiation, a black body can absorb
it. Also, it emits radiation uniformly in all directions
normal to its surface [4]. Figure 1 shows the difference
between the emission mechanism of a blackbody and
a real body.
Figure 1. Comparison between a blackbody and a
real body [4].
Emissivity is a property of a body that is used to
determine the effectiveness of its surface to emit
radiation energy [5]. It is always defined as the ratio of
the radiation emitted by the surface to that of the black
body at the same temperature. A black body is a
perfect emitter, thus, its emissivity is equal to 1. For a
gray body, any matter that does not emit all the thermal
energy absorbed, has emissivity value less than 1.
Real surfaces have emissivity which is a function of
radiation wavelength, angle of incidence, surface
temperature and surface finish. Roughened, oxidized
materials have high emissivity whereas polished
surfaces have low emissivity.
In this experiment, a thermal radiation sensor is used
to measure the emissivity of different surfaces of
various materials, namely matt black plate, silver
anodized plate and polished plate. A heat source is also
used, and measurement are done at different
temperature ranges. Figure 2 shows the setup for this
experiment. Also, literature values for the materials
are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1. Emissivity for the different materials used in
the experiment.
Matt black plate =1
Silver anodized plate = 0.87
Polished plate = 0.32
Figure 2. Setup for the thermal radiation experiment.
The mechanism of heat transfer for this experiment is
composed of three steps: (1) thermal energy from a hot
source is converted into electromagnetic waves; (2)
this energy travels through intervening medium and
furthermore will strike the cold object; (3) the object
absorbs the radiant energy and then converted to
thermal energy which will then be emitted by the
surface of the material. This mechanism is shown in
Figure 3 For the calculations, a radiometer reading
will be determined from the equipment as well as the
operating temperature for the runs.
Figure 3. Mechanism of a thermal radiation transfer.
For this experiment, the emissivity for the three
materials should be evaluated and compared. Also, the
effect of the variation on operating temperature of the
heat source to the emissivity of the materials should be
determined and compared by calculating their
respective emissivity.
METHODOLOGY
Materials and Equipment
For the experiment, the thermal radiation apparatus is
used with the corresponding plates - which are painted
matte black, anodized silver and polished metal plate.
A thermometer is also used to measure the room
temperature.
Operation of the Thermal Radiation Unit
Setting up the radiation unit starting with the
installation of the plates from matte black plate to
polished metal plate accordingly with 80 mm spacing
from the heat source to the stand and setting the
distance of 105 mm to the sensor (see Figure 4). As
per change in the plate, the room temperature is also
recorded accordingly, for every fifteen (15) minute
interval with a 2-minute cooldown of the apparatus,
the power control knob was turned until three settings
(marks 1-3) per plate and data was recorded.
Figure 4. Thermal Radiation Unit.
Treatment of Results
As data was collected, the results were treated by
showing the plot of emisivities vs the corresponding
temperatures. Actual emissivity in every heater setting
can be obtained from equation (2).
6.2 107
= (2)
4 4
R is the radiometer reading in W/m2, Tp and Ts are the
temperatures of the plate and surroundings,
respectively. The average actual emissivity is obtained
from the individual emissivity from different heater
setting. Also, it would be more clarified if the heat
emitted by radiation heat transfer is obtained, the
equation for this is shown in equation (3).
(0.0632 + 2 )
= (3)
0.0632
Since in the experiment, L was fixed at 105 mm (0.1
m), the equation for solving R was derived as follows:
= 3.52 (4)
A plot of qemitted vs actual emissivity per heat setting
per plate was presented to verify its relationship.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS wide range of wavelength. To further discuss the
principles of emissivity, a graph is presented below.
There are many factors that affect the thermal radiation
The emissivity as y-axis variable and temperature of
energy of a material: color of the surface, surface
the plate as the x-axis variable was plotted.
temperature and surface area. In the experiment, the
factors involved are the space lengths between the heat
1.2
source, plates and sensor, the surface area of the plates,
1
the heater power, and the air condition such as

Emissivity ()
0.8
temperature and humidity. The heater power is varied 0.6
to investigate the effect the emitting bodys 0.4
temperature. The emissivity and percent error are 0.2
calculated using formula (2) and the raw data that can 0
be found in the appendix. The results are shown in the 300 310 320 330 340 350 360
Temperature (Tp)
table below. Matt Black Silver-Anodized Polished

Table 2. Emissivity and percent error

Figure 5. Emissivity Versus Temperature

Plate Heater ave lit %

Based on the results and on Figure 5, the matt black
setting error
plate had the highest emissivity and the polished plate
Matte 1 0.86 0.96 1 4
has the lowest emissivity. The amount of radiation
black 2 0.97
from the surface of a body at a given temperature and
3 1.03
at a given wavelength depends on the material of the
Silver- 1 0.62 0.72 0.87 17.24
body and nature of its surface. Depending on type of
anonized 2 0.75 surface, the reflected radiation is specular or diffuse.
3 0.79 A smooth and polished surface is more specular while
Polished 1 0.56 0.65 0.32 103.25 the rough surface is more diffuse [6].
2 0.74
3 0.65 200
Radiation (W/m^2)

R = 0.9975
Table 2 shows the calculated emissivity and it can be
seen that matte black has the highest emissivity, silver
R = 0.9882 R = 0.9984
anonized ranks second and polished comes in last. The
0
calculated emissivities match the lit values. It can also 300 320 340 360
be seen that the percent error is big in polished plate. Temperature (Tp)
Matt Black
Silver Anodized
Since the radiation from a surface is emitted in all Polished

possible directions, a body at a temperature above

absolute zero emits radiation in all directions over a Figure 6. Radiation Versus Temperature
Based on Figure 6, the growth in the height of the to have the max heater setting to have larger qemitted and
curve as the temperature increases is very abrupt. A emissivity. There are errors done in performing the
linear relationship with R-squares ranging from experiment and it can be seen on Table 2. The matt
0.9882 to 1.000 indicates that the Stefan-Boltzmann black plate has an error of 4%, the silver anonized
constant is observed during the performance of the plate has an error of 17.24% and the polished plate has
experiment In addition, Dark objects lose and gain the highest percentage error which is 103.25%. One of
heat faster than light objects. Thus, dark colors absorb the possible sources of errors is the equipment itself as
more radiant energy than do light colors. it cannot be able to function well due to its inaccuracy
and ineffectiveness and due to the material being
Table 3. Calculated qemitted
exposed to different conditions which are uncontrolled,
giving erroneous results. In addition, the differences
Q(W) Emissivity
on temperature and humidity of air affect the
70.4 0.86
experimental data which can lead to minor errors.
176 0.97
Principal error may also arise in the accuracy of the
404.8 1.03
readings such as distance measurements, time and the
52.8 0.62
radiometer.
147.84 0.75
249.92 0.79
21.12 0.56 CONCLUSION
52.8 0.74
98.56 0.65 The emissivities and heat transfer of different plates:
matte black, silver anodized, and polished plate, were
obtained in the experiment through the thermal
radiation apparatus. Data shows that matte black plate
1.2
perceives the highest heat transfer and emissivity that
1
is close to unity as temperature increases. The data
0.8
Matt black proves that the matte black plate represents a perfect
0.6

0.4 black body that by nature, absorbs all the heat

Silver
0.2 anonized transferred to it and the silver and polished plates
Polished
0 represents gray bodies. This is due to their nature of its
0 200
Qemitted 400 600 reflectivity to heat and its inability to absorb all heat

Figure 7. Qemitted vs.
In Figure 7, all of the qemitted and emissivity are plotted
that are calculated are plotted. Table 3 shows that the
qemitted is directly proportional to the emissivity. It can
be seen that the plots grow upward except for the
polished plate. The ideal plot for the polished plate is
that is transferred to it. Comparison of actual data and
literature data were done through percentage errors
and as observed that these errors were mainly attained
from errors in the instrument. Comparing of
emissivities from the true values to the actual values
gave clarity and precision to the literature of radiation.
Also, varying temperatures of the heat source would
also affect the heat transfer to the plate. Increase in
heat source temperature would generate much larger
heat absorbed by the plate. Conducting more trials APPENDIX

with the same heat setting for this experiment may or

Heater R Tp (K) Ts (K)
could lessen the percentage error. Familiarization with
the apparatus would also help to determine where the
Setting (W/m2)
instrument would fail and therefore avoid large 1 20 312.65 300.15
percentage error. 2 50 326.15 300.15
3 115 350.05 300.15
REFERENCES
Table 1a. Emissivity of Matt Black Plate
[1] Gutierrez, L. and De Guzman, M. R. 2005.
(Readings)
Chemical Engineering Laboratory Manual Part 2.
[2] Klobucar, L. 2016. Thermal radiation heat transfer
Heater qemitted (W/m2)
between two surfaces. Faculty of Mathematics and
Setting
Physics, University of Ljubljana.
[3] National University of Singapore. Undated. 1 70.4 0.86
Stefan-Boltzmann Law. Retrieved from: 2 176 0.97
http://www.physics.nus.edu.sg/~L1000/PC1142/Stefa 3 404.8 1.03
nsLaw.pdf Average 0.96
[4] K. N. Toosi University of Technology. Undated.
Percentage Error (%) 4
Retrieved from:
Table 1b. Emissivity of Matt Black Plate
http://kntu.ac.ir/DorsaPax/userfiles/file/Mechanical/O
stadFile/Sayyalat/Bazargan/cen58933_ch11.pdf (Calculations)
[5] IFRF Online Combustion Handbook. Undated.
Heater R Tp (K) Ts (K)
Surface Emissivity.
[6] Heat Transfer: Radiation. Setting (W/m2)
http://www.efunda.com/formulae/heat_transfer/radiat 1 15 313.15 300.15
ion/overview_rad.cfm 2 42 328.15 300.15
[7] Heat Transfer by Radiation: Theory.
3 71 342.15 300.15
http://vlab.amrita.edu/?sub=1&brch=194&sim=802&
Table 2a. Emissivity of Silver-Anodized
cnt=1
Plate (Readings)

Heater qemitted (W/m2)

Setting
1 52.8 0.62
2 147.84 0.75
 3 249.92 0.79 where:
Average 0.72
R is the radiometer reading (W/m2)
Percentage Error (%) 17.24
Table 2b. Emissivity of Silver-Anodized L is the distance of heat sensor from the
Plate (Calculations) plate (mm)

Heater R Tp (K) Ts (K) 20(0.0632 + 0.12 )

qr =
Setting (W/m2) 0.0632
1 6 306.15 300.15
= . /
2 15 311.15 300.15
3 28 322.15 300.15 R(0.0632 + L2 )
=
Table 3a. Emissivity of Polished Plate 0.0632 2 (Tp2 Ts4 )

(Readings)
where:

Heater qemitted (W/m2)

R is the radiometer reading (W/m2)
Setting
1 21.12 0.56 L is the distance of heat sensor from the
2 52.8 0.74 plate (mm)
3 98.56 0.65
is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant
Average 0.65
(5.676 W/m2K4)
Percentage Error (%) 103.25
Table 3b. Emissivity of Polished Plate is the refractive index (for air, = 1)
(Calculations)
Tp is the temperature of the plate (K)
Matt black plate =1
Ts is the temperature of the
Silver anodized plate = 0.87
surroundings (K).
Polished plate = 0.32

20(0.0632 + 0.12 )
Table 4 The emmisivities of the three plates =
(5.676 x 108 )0.0632 (1)2 (312.654 300.154 )

Sample Computations (Matt black Plate): = .

R(0.0632 + L2 ) 1 + 2 + 3
qr = ave =
0.0632 3
 0.86 + 0.97 + 1.03
ave =
3

= .

Theo ave
% Error = x100
Theo

0.96 1
% Error = x100
0.96

% = %