Development of a Wide Range Temperature Pyrometer for Gas Turbine Application

The applications of optical pyrometry in gas turbines are diverse. Optical pyrometry provides many advantages over other techniques for temperature measurement. The inherent problems associated with low temperature measurement have limited optical pyrometry equipment for the hot cascade and low temperature turbine component applications. Traditional uses of this type of equipment have been limited to high temperature (>600°C) measurements. A wide range temperature pyrometer (>230°C) with unique design concepts was developed to address these issues. The pyrometer effectively operated in a long wavelength (2.00 to 2.25 mm) radiation to measure a relatively low temperature, as well as avoid the absorption bands of the gases commonly present in gas turbines. It was analytically and experimentally proven that the pyrometer was practically insensitive to the distance and view angle. The pyrometer was calibrated in a controlled-temperature model, and its reliability and applicability were demonstrated in a hot cascade environment.