The Effect of a Pre-Lens Aperture on the Temperature Range and Image Uniformity of Microbolometer Infrared Cameras

Conference · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2016

OSTI ID:1329139

Dinwiddie, Ralph Barton ^[1]; Parris, Larkin S. ^[2]; Lindal, John M. ^[3]; Kunc, Vlastimil ^[1]

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1. ORNL
2. Wichita State University
3. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)

This paper explores the temperature range extension of long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) cameras by placing an aperture in front of the lens. An aperture smaller than the lens will reduce the radiance to the sensor, allowing the camera to image targets much hotter than typically allowable. These higher temperatures were accurately determined after developing a correction factor which was applied to the built-in temperature calibration. The relationship between aperture diameter and temperature range is linear. The effect of pre-lens apertures on the image uniformity is a form of anti-vignetting, meaning the corners appear brighter (hotter) than the rest of the image. An example of using this technique to measure temperatures of high melting point polymers during 3D printing provide valuable information of the time required for the weld-line temperature to fall below the glass transition temperature.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1329139
• Resource Relation: Conference: InfraMation 2016, Las Vegas, NV, USA, 20160927, 20160929
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

Thermography
Addative Manufacturing
BAAM
3D Printing
Microbolometer
PPSU
carbon fiber reinforcement