How to measure wall losses by Infra

Red Pyrometer
Pyroprocessing

PROCESS MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES - PR-PYR P06-25 V1.0

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Introduction

When making a thermal heat balance on equipment (kiln, cooler), heat losses (wall losses) by
radiation and convention heat transfer need to be taken into account. The principle is to measure the
average surface temperature of the equipment.

This procedure explains how to measure the wall losses on the kiln shell as an example. All other wall
losses such as cooler, preheater, etc can be measured following the same principle

Safety aspects

Hot surfaces
Rotating equipment
Dust
Radiative heat
Trips when looking at equipment

Prerequisites

The most important tool is an Infra Red Pyrometer as shown in the picture. The
measuring point on the shell is indicated by a laser beam and the surface
temperature can be read immediately.

Further the basic dimensions of the equipment need to be known in order to

calculate the surface area.

Measure the local ambient air temperature around the surface to be measured
For surfaces exposed to wind check local wind speed with an anemometer
Avoid conducting this measurement during rainfall

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Procedure Template developed by

How to measure wall losses by Infra

Red Pyrometer
Pyroprocessing

PROCESS MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES - PR-PYR P06-25 V1.0

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Action Steps
1.

Make meter marks on the kiln shell

2.

Using a measuring tape, make a mark every meter along the kiln shell. Use the hand rail of the kiln
walkway or any other convenient equipment for the marks.

Measure the kiln shell temperature at every mark

Set the emissivity to a value corresponding to the colour of the shell, see the table in the appendix.
Note that it is important to set this properly otherwise incorrect readings of temperature will be
obtained.

Typically for the kiln shell a value in the range of 0.90 - 0.95 can be used depending upon the
discolouration.

At every mark, take a temperature reading of the shell. If for example the kiln length is 60 m, there will
be 60 temperature readings.

At every mark, point the pyrometer on the shell for an entire kiln revolution. Record the average shell
temperature.

Measure and record the ambient temperature and the wind speed.
In areas with running shell cooling fans a simple approach is to increase the ambient wind speed by 2
m/s for this shell section.

For other surfaces like cyclones:

3.

A good practice for non rotating equipment is to measure the surface temperature with a contact
thermocouple or by just attaching a small thermocouple on the surface. Measure the same spot with
the Pyrometer and adjust the emissivity accordingly to achieve the same temperature. Carry out that
procedure at least twice for every type of surface structure.

In areas with many neighbouring hot surfaces (for example a narrow preheater/calciner structure or
tertiary air duct close to kiln) ambient temperature should be measured for the specific location.

Calculate the wall losses

Calculate the losses due to radiation only as follows:

4

Determine the average of Tshell Tambient (in Kelvins) for the entire shell then calculate
Radiation losses

Qradiation= x x x A x ( Tshell4 Tambient4)

Where
Qradiation is radiation loss in Watts

is the view factor (normally taken as 1 provided there are no close

obstructions that could prevent the heat being radiated to the surroundings
is the emissivity of the surface

is the Stefan Boltzmann Constant 5.6697 x 10-8 W/m2.K4

Procedure Template developed by

How to measure wall losses by Infra

Red Pyrometer
Pyroprocessing

PROCESS MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES - PR-PYR P06-25 V1.0

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Action Steps
A
is the surface area in m2
Tshell
is the shell temperature in Kelvins
Tambient is the ambient temperature in Kelvins

Calculate the losses due to convection only as follows:

Determine the average temperature difference between the shell and the ambient tshell tambient (in
Celcius), then calculate convection losses by:

If there is no wind, i.e. natural convection use the flowing equation:

Qconvection= 1.7794 x A x ( tshell tambient)1.25

In the case that the shell loss is affected by wind, i.e. forced convection, then use the alternative
equation:

Qconvection= (7 + 0.514 x V) x A x ( tshell tambient)

Where

Qconvection is the convection loss in Watts

2
A
is the surface area in m
tshell
is the shell temperature in Celcius
tambient is the ambient temperature in Celcius
V
is the velocity of the wind in m/s

The total heat loss from the shell is sum of both the radiation and convection losses

QTotal = Qradiation + Qconvection

This calculation approach is recommended to be used for all surfaces (preheater / cooler / kiln / ).
Theoretically different formulas are required depending on the surface shape. Nevertheless the error of using
one common formula is small compared to measurement errors. For example calculating the kiln using the
Anselm curves or by above formula shows a difference of below 5%.

Procedure Template developed by

How to measure wall losses by Infra

Red Pyrometer
Pyroprocessing

PROCESS MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES - PR-PYR P06-25 V1.0

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Appendix
1.

Typical Values for Emissivity:

Material
Bricks
Steel
For oxidized steel
For dusty kiln shell
For silica bricks
Other data
Iron oxide
Zinc galvanized sheet bright
Iron polished
Steel dense shiny oxide layer

0.8
0.95
=0.996-2.88*10-4.(ts-100)
=0.96-5.2*10-4.(ts-100)
=0.81-6.08*10-4.(ts-200)
ts
500C
28C
425C
25C

0.78
0.23
0.144
0.82

Steel oxide
Steel oxide
Steel polished
Steel pipe

ts
40C
370C
770C
200

0.94
0.97
0.52
0.8

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