Considering Emissivity Factors of a Workload When Projecting Heating Rates in a Vacuum Furnace

Materials being processed in a vacuum furnace can encompass a large variety of metals. Different metals have different emissivity values which must be considered when projecting furnace heating rates and time to stabilize at temperature.  Also, when using separate thermocouple blocks to simulate the actual work temperature of the load, it is essential that the T/C block be properly sized and its surface condition is identical to the workload resulting in correct readings on the T/C.

This presentation will discuss emissivity and heat absorption of materials and will present testing data that illustrates the critical concerns of these factors.