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REF TU-SOE-ME-LS017
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MECHANICAL ENGINEERING PROGRAMME

THERMAL RADIATION STUDY BENCH

SAFETY REGULATIONS AND GUIDELINES FOR STUDENTS

Students performing experimental work in the Engineering laboratory must follow and
abide by the following safety regulations and guidelines. Students must complete a safety
declaration form before they are allowed to work in the laboratory.

GENERAL

Students are not allowed to enter the laboratory without the permission of the lecturer
or laboratory assistant.
Unauthorized experimental work in the laboratory is strictly
forbidden.
Prior to the use of laboratory out of timetabled periods, students must apply for usage
from relevant laboratory staff.
Students are not allowed to work alone in the laboratory.
Bags and books must not be left on benches or on stools and should be placed
in designated area. Do not block passageways or fire exits.
All working spaces must always be kept clean.
Long hair, ties, jewellery and clothing must never be allowed to hang loose, since any
of these items can easily become entangled in the moving parts of machinery, and hence
cause serious injury.
Suitable clothing must be worn; long trousers or jeans are recommended for boys
and dresses, slacks or jeans for girls. In particular, sleeveless t-shirts and sleeveless
blouses are prohibited.
Students must wear covered footwear during laboratory and workshop sessions.
Sandals, open-toed shoes, slippers or similar footwear are prohibited. Students may
be refused entry to the laboratory or workshop if not in proper footwear.
Storage and/or consumption of food and drink, smoking and the application of
cosmetics in the laboratory are not allowed.
Indiscipline in the laboratory or workshop (e.g. whistling, horseplay etc.) will not
be tolerated.
No reagent, solution or apparatus is to be removed from the laboratory without
approval from the lecturer.
Do not pour waste down the sink unless authorized to do so by your
lecturer.
Defective equipment or broken glassware must be reported to the lecturer or lab
assistant.
Do not run in the laboratory or along corridors. Exercise care when opening and
closing doors on entering and leaving the laboratory.
Laboratory doors must be kept closed at all times during practical
classes.

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SAFETY NOTE (ENERGY AND FLUIDS LABORATORY)

-Appropriate lab attires (t-shirts, trousers and shoes) MUST BE WORN at all times as
precautionary measures.
-Do not go near the heat source as the thermal radiation is intense and surrounding
temperature is high.
-Do not touch the surface of the heat source when the experiment is running as the
temperature of the surface will be very high.

OBJECTIVES

1. Experiment A- To show that the intensity of radiation on a surface is inversely

proportional to the square of the distance of the surface from the radiation source.
2. Experiment B- To show that the intensity of radiation varies as the fourth power of the
source temperature.

CHEMICAL AND APPARATUS

1. Thermal Radiation Study Bench

INTRODUCTION:
Thermal radiation is a mode of heat transfer which differs significantly from the other two
modes, namely conduction and convection. The fact that radiant energy transfer occurs across
a vacuum is often disturbing to students unless the theory relating to properties of
electromagnetic waves has been presented.
The engineer is not directly concerned with the mechanism by which heat transfer occurs,
but a sound knowledge of the properties and laws relating to the topic is required.

The bench has been designed to demonstrate the fundamental laws relating to radiation.
By performing a series of simple experiments the student may verify the relevant equations
and appreciate the behaviour of radiation.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES

EXPERIMENT A
EQUIPMENT SET-UP:

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Allow time for radiometer reading to stabilize (at steady heat source temperature) before
noting radiometer reading.

NOTE: To reduce heating of the radiometer body the protective cover should be fitted to the
front of the radiometer when not taking measurements.

SUMMARY OF THEORY:
The total flow of energy dQ from an element dA can be imagined to flow through a
hemisphere of radius r, as in Fig.1. A surface element on this hemisphere dA1 lies on a line
and makes an angle with the normal in. The solid angle subtended by dA1 at dA is
d=dA1/r2.
in
i

dA1

dA r

Fig. 1 Spatial Distribution of Energy Emitted from a Surface Element dA

If

the rate of flow of energy through dA1 is dQ then dQ i d dA , where i is the

intensity of radiation in the -direction.

INITIAL VALUE OF VARIABLES TO BE USED:

Distance from heat source X = 100 mm

READINGS TO BE TAKEN:

Record the radiometer reading R and the distance from the heat source X for a number
of positions of the radiometer along the horizontal track.
Calculate the logarithm values (Log10) of the data taken.

RESULTS:

Plot a graph of radiometer reading vs. distance.

Plot a graph of Log10 R versus Log10 X.
Determine the gradient of the slope for the graph of Log10 R versus Log10 X.
What is the magnitude of the gradient of slope determined and what does indicate?
What can you verify from the graphs? (show any related derivation if necessary)

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Distance X (mm) 100

Radiometer Reading R (Wm-2)

Log10 X 2.00

Log10 R

Slope of line -2
Log10 R

Log10 X
Fig. 2 A log-log Plot of Radiometer Reading against Distance

A log-log plot of radiometer reading against distance will result in a straight line having a
negative slope of -2 thus verifying the inverse square relationship between distance and
radiation intensity.

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EXPERIMENT B

EQUIPMENT SET-UP:

The power control on the instrument console should be varied from minimum to
maximum in steps to create difference temperatures on the black plate for this experiment.

SUMMARY OF THEORY:
The Stefan-Boltzmann Law states that:

q b TS4 T A4
where:
q
b = Energy emitted by unit area of a black body surface (Wm-2)
= Stefan-Boltzmann constant equal to 56.7 x 10-9 (Wm-2K-4)
TS = Source temperature (black plate) (K)
TA = Temperature of radiometer and surroundings (K)

INITIAL VALUE OF VARIABLES TO BE USED:

Distance from radiometer to heat source (X) = 110 mm
Distance from black plate to heat source (Y) = 50 mm

NOTE: To reduce heating of the radiometer body, the protective cover should be fitted to the
front of the radiometer while the black plate stabilises in temperature after each
adjustment of the power control.

READINGS TO BE TAKEN:
Record the temperature reading T and radiometer R at ambient conditions then for
selected increments of increasing temperature up to maximum within a practical range.
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Both readings should be noted simultaneously at any given point having allowed the
radiometer to stabilize after replacing it on the track.

RESULTS:

READINGS CALCULATIONS
Source
Temperature
Ambient
Temperature (TA)
Radiometer
Reading (R)
TS TA
q b TS4 T A4
q b
Reading (TS) R
o o
C C Wm-2 K K Wm-2

where
K = oC + 273 and
= 56.7x10-9 Wm-2K-4

Average ___________________________________

Compare calculated values for. If the Stefan-Boltzmann relationship holds true (i.e.
temperature to the fourth power) then the calculated value of should be the same
irrespective of temperature.

REFERENCES:
1. Coulson & Richardson (1999), Chemical Engineering Volume 1, Butterworth-Heinemann.
2. Holman, J.P. (1997), Heat Transfer, 8th ed., McGraw Hill, New York.
3. Rogers G. & Mayhew Y. (1992), Engineering Thermodynamics, Work & Heat Transfer.
4th ed., Longman.