Infrared Primer

Electric Infrared Technology Infrared energy is made up of electromagnetic waves, and behaves the same way as light energy. The energy can be split, reflected, absorbed and transmitted in the same manner. Frederik Herschel discovered infrared energy around 1800. He showed that when a prism separated sunlight through a small slit, the resulting light could be projected onto a table and a hot spot appears after the red band in the projection. This hot spot represents the infrared light that is not perceivable by the human eye. The infrared spectrum ranges from 0.76 to 10 microns, and is split into three sub-ranges. The three sub-ranges are shortwave, mediumwave and longwave with shortwave being the one closest to visible light. All objects radiate energy according to the Stefan-Boltzmann law (Equation 1). Q = T 4
Equation 1, Stefan-Boltzmann Law

In the Stephan Boltzmann Law, Q is the resultant radiative heat energy, is the StephanBoltzmann constant, and T is the temperature. Infrared energy can be generated through both gas and electric emitters. The gas emitters are restricted to two specific wavelengths, either mediumwave, or longwave. Electric infrared emitters can emit any wavelength depending on the voltage fed to the emitter. Infrared (IR) technology is a line of sight technology, which means that the product has to be in sight of the emitter to be heated. This line of sight restriction makes it particularly good for situations where a product needs to be heated at the surface, or some of the surface, but cannot be heated in other places. Water is very responsive to infrared energy, which means it is very effective in heating and drying waterborne products. The efficiency of infrared ranges from 50-70% (some vendors claim up to 90%). This efficiency is most directly due to the characteristic of light energy that it is not absorbed by air. Infrared is often split into three bands, mostly because of the different equipment used to emit the energy. Short wave infrared energy is often considered the most powerful because it uses a filament based tube and can achieve the highest watt densities of the three. Short wave is also the closest to the visible spectrum, giving it a bright white appearance.

Figure 1, Short Wave IR

Figure 2, Medium Wave IR

Figure 3, Long Wave IR

It can emit up to 1200 W/in2, and can reach full temperature within a few seconds. Medium wave energy is emitted by a thicker element than short wave, which has often
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Infrared Primer

been shaped in a serpentine fashion (Figure 2), or in a calrod (like oven elements or stove eyes), or coiled in a quartz tube like a short wave emitter. Medium wave energy emits a bright orange glow and can emit up to 80 W/in2, which takes up to a minute to achieve. Finally, long wave energy emits a very dull orange glow, and in many cases is not even perceivable to the human eye. Long wave emitters (Figure 3) can get watt densities up to 40 W/in2, but they can take 5 minutes or longer to reach their peak emittance. Benefits There are many benefits of electric infrared. One of the most important factors is the speed that the ovens can react to changing needs. Shortwave emitters can reach temperature in less than one second, and cool almost as quickly. The high density of heating that can be achieved requires less floor space and quicker processing of most products. An ordinary convection oven may be 30% efficient where infrared can be from 50% (longwave) to 70% (shortwave) efficient. Applications Infrared is common for a variety of industrial applications. Many plastics are molded using infrared to heat the plastic to a high enough temperature to blow, vacuum, rotamold, or squeeze between calendar rolls. Textile and paper manufacturers use infrared to dry the product quickly and completely. Other applications are ink-curing, powdercoating, drying of parts, fine soldering, shrink fitting metal, silk-screening, latex and adhesive drying, annealing/curing of rubber, and shrink wrapping. Infrared is ideal in situations where flat products are being heated, dried, or cured. Because of the surface-heating characteristic, applications requiring heating deep beneath the product surface are not typically good for IR. Also because of the nature of radiative heating and view factor, parts with a lot of hidden surfaces are not typically good applications. The typical cost of an infrared system is between $400 to $700 per kilowatt. A list of manufacturers is given in Table 1.
Manufacturer ITW BGK Black Body Heraeus Amersil Research Inc. Solar Products Phone Number (612)784-0466 (636)343-3952 (770)623-6000 (612)941-3300 (973)835-9370 Website www.itwbgk.com www.bbcind.com www.heraeus-amersil.com www.researchinc.com www.solarproducts.com Emitter Types SW LW MW SW, MW, LW MW, LW

Table 1, Infrared Manufacture

For More Info Call: Ewan Pritchard Engineer Advanced Energy (919)857-9028 epritcha@advancedenergy.org www.advancedenergy.org