Novel Method for Measurement of Total Hemispherical Emissivity

Abstract

Abstract : This report was developed under a SBIR contract. This paper describes a heat flux-based method for measuring emissivity of a surface. In this method the emissivity of a surface is calculated using direct measurement of the heat flux passing through the surface. Unlike storage-based calorimetric methods, this method does not require application of known amounts of heat to the surface or the temperature history of a known amount of thermal mass to calculate the surface emissivity. Application and operation of this method is much simpler than calorimetric methods as it does not require careful thermal insulation of the heat radiating body from the surroundings. This technique allows emissivity measurements of the newly developed variable emissivity surfaces with significantly lighter and energy efficient measurement equipment that can operate for long term space missions. In this study, a commercially available thermopile heat flux sensor was used to measure the emissivity of a black paint and a variable emissivity surface, Electrostatic Switched Radiator (ESR). This paper details the concept, experimental setup, and the experiment results.