Additive manufacturing involving layer-wise selective laser melting of a powder material, or laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), is a fast-growing industry. At the Additive Manufacturing Metrology Testbed (AMMT) at the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) an integrating hemispherical reflectometer has recently been developed to facilitate measurements of spatially resolved reflectance of the laser-melting heat affected zone (HAZ) during the LPBF process. Reflectance is then used to determine spatially resolved emissivity. The design features of the hemispherical-directional reflectometer are discussed. Then, the reflectometer performance and measurement uncertainties are detailed. A two-dimensional map of emissivity and emissivity uncertainty of the HAZ around a meltpool of high-purity nickel are presented. It is found that emissivity measurements are in good agreement with literature values at the melting point of high-purity nickel with acceptable uncertainty.
Laser powder bed fusion processes are driven by scanned, focused laser beams. Along with selectively melting the metal powder, laser energy may be converted and transferred through physical mechanisms such as reflection from the metal surface, heat absorption into the substrate, vaporization, spatter, ejection of heated particles, and heating of the metal vapor/condensate plume that is generated by the laser-metal interaction. Reliable data on energy transfer can provide input for process modeling, as well as help to validate computational models. Additionally, some related process signatures can serve better process monitoring and optimization. Previous studies have shown that the proportion of the transfer mechanisms depend on laser power, spot size, and scan speed. In the current investigation, the energy conservation principle was used to validate our measurement of reflected energy, absorbed energy, and energy transfer by vaporization on bare plates of Nickel Alloy 625 (IN625). Reflected energy was measured using an optical integrating hemisphere, and heat absorbed into the substrate was measured by calorimetry. Transfer from vaporized mass loss was measured with a precision balance and used to establish an upper bound on energy transfer by mass transfer. In addition to measurement of total reflected energy, the reflected laser power was time-resolved at 50 kHz in the integrating hemisphere, which provided insight into the process dynamics of conduction, transition, and keyhole modes.
The paper describes efforts to establish traceable measurements of radiance temperature on laser-induced heated metal surfaces on the NIST Additive Manufacturing Metrology Testbed (AMMT). Knowledge of radiance temperature with a well understood uncertainty budget is a necessary initial step towards an ultimate project goal of traceable emittance and true surface temperature across the heat affected zone, which is a key objective in additive manufacturing research, and the subject of another paper at this conference.
Reliable measurements of radiance temperature with an imaging system require (1) calibration of its responsivity at select radiance levels, (2) establishing a calibration equation that interpolates between these levels, (3) dealing with finite spectral bandpass and spatial non-uniformity of the sensor responsivity, and (4) ability for compensate effects of imperfect optical imaging and readout electronics on spatial distribution of the target.
The developed system includes an integrating sphere-based calibration source, a pyrometer for its calibration against external blackbody, and an imaging system co-axially aligned with the heating laser, each of which using identical narrow band filters. This paper describes the evaluation of an 850 nm band, with additional wavebands planned for the future. This paper presents experimental results, description of measurement equation and processing algorithm, as well as a framework for establishing an uncertainty budget, including current estimates and future performance goals.
NIST’s Physical Measurement and Engineering Laboratories are jointly developing the Additive Manufacturing Measurement Test bed (AMMT)/ Temperature and Emittance of Melts, Powders and Solids (TEMPS) facilities. These facilities will be co-located on an open architecture laser-based powder bed fusion system allowing users full access to the system’s operation parameters. This will provide users with access to machine-independent monitoring and control of the powder bed fusion process.
In this paper there will be emphasis on the AMMT, which incorporates in-line visible light collection optics for monitoring and feedback control of the powder bed fusion process. We shall present an overview of the AMMT/TEMPs program and it goals. The optical and mechanical design of the open architecture powder-bed fusion system and the AMMT will be also be described. In addition, preliminary measurement results from the system along with the current system status of the system the will be described.
The calibration of infrared (IR) radiometers, thermal imagers and electro-optical systems relies on use of extended area blackbodies (BB) operating in the ambient environment. "Flat plate" designs, typically using a thermoelectric heat pump backed with an air- or liquid-cooled radiator, allow one to adequately meet the requirements of geometrical size and temperature span. The tradeoff comes in the form of limited temperature uniformity and lower emissivity that such an approach can provide given the limitations in achievable thermal conductivity of the plate and reflectance of the black paint, respectively.
The availability of spectrally resolved radiance temperature data for infrared calibrators has become especially vital in the last few years with the widespread use of multi- and hyper-spectral electro-optical systems that enable better detection and identification of targets.
In an effort to increase the measurement accuracy of IR spectral radiance of near-ambient BB calibrators, NIST has recently built a dedicated capability which is a part of its new AIRI (Advanced Infrared Radiometry and Imaging) facility. The Tunable Filter Comparator (TFC) is a key new element in this setup, allowing us to perform a precise comparison of the unit under test (UUT) with two reference blackbodies of known temperatures and emissivity.
The report describes the major design features of the TFC comparator, the algorithm used for signal processing, and results of a performance evaluation of the TFC.
The TFC development has enabled us to achieve BB radiance temperature comparisons with a standard deviation of 5 to 15 mK at temperatures of 15-150 C across the 3 to 5 µm and 8 to 12 µm atmospheric band ranges with a relative spectral resolution of 2 to 3%.
We summarize recent progress in our infrared (IR) spectral radiance metrology effort. In support of customer blackbody characterization, a realization of the spectral radiance scale has been undertaken in the temperature range of 232 °C to 962 °C and spectral range of 2.5 μm to 20 μm. We discuss the scale realization process that includes the use of Sn, Zn, Al and Ag fixed-point blackbodies (BB), as well as the transfer of the spectral radiance scale to transfer standard BBs based on water, Cs and Na heat pipes. Further we discuss the procedures for customer source calibration with several examples of the spectral radiance and emissivity measurements of secondary standard BB sources. For one of the BBs, a substantial deviation of emissivity values from the manufacturer specifications was found. Further plans include expansion of the adopted methodology for temperatures down to 15 °C and building a dedicated facility for spectral characterization of IR radiation sources.
Realization of a radiometric temperature scale for near ambient temperatures with accuracy at the 20 to 50 mK level is crucial for a number of demanding military and commercial applications. In support of such measurements, radiation sources with high stability and spatial uniformity must be developed as reference and working standards. Traditionally, the temperature scale, maintained at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), relies on water bath and oil bath blackbodies in this temperature range. Recently, a water heat pipe blackbody was used at NIST as a spectral radiance source in a spectral emissivity measurement facility. Now a new, more versatile high emissivity water heat pipe blackbody was designed and characterized to be used as a reference radiance source for the radiometric temperature scale realization between 50 °C and 250 °C. Furthermore, it will serve as a reference source for the infrared spectral radiance measurements between 2.5 μm and 20 μm. The calculated spectral emissivity of the painted copper alloy cavity was verified by reflectance measurements using a CO2 laser at 10.6 μm wavelength. The spatial thermal uniformity and stability of the blackbody were characterized. Two independent realizations of the radiometric temperature scale were compared in order to verify the accuracy of the scale. Radiance temperature, calculated from the cavity temperature measured with a calibrated PRT contact thermometer and from the emissivity of the cavity, was compared to the radiance temperature, directly measured with a reference pyrometer, which was calibrated with a set of fixed point blackbodies. The difference was found to be within measurement uncertainties.
KEYWORDS: Reflection, Reflectivity, Data modeling, Calibration, Black bodies, Infrared radiation, Sensors, Radiometry, Numerical modeling, Monte Carlo methods
Use of linear or concentric grooves is a well-known approach for increasing the surface emissivity to enable the construction of compact blackbody radiators, improve absorptance of stray radiation traps, baffles and thermal radiation detectors, as well as enhance thermal radiation transfer. Emitters with V-grooved surfaces are widely used as reference sources in radiation thermometry and radiometry. In the design phase of such devices, it is important to predict their performance. Most existing models are devoted to modeling isothermal linear grooves with purely diffuse or specular reflectance. Radiation behavior of concentric grooves differs from linear ones and becomes similar only for large values of the ratio of the radial coordinate to the groove period. This paper covers numerical modeling of isothermal and nonisothermal concentric grooves with mixed specular-diffuse reflection for various viewing conditions using Monte Carlo specialized software. It is shown that the temperature drop towards the peak of a groove might lead to a substantial decrease of the grooves' effective emissivity.
New transfer standard pyrometers, named "RT900" and "RT1550," operating at 900 nm and 1550 nm, respectively, have been designed, characterized, and calibrated with defined fixed points of the International Temperature Scale 1990 (ITS-90) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The pyrometers are designed for radiance temperature measurements in the range between the freezing temperatures of Sn (231.928 °C) and Ag (961.78 °C). These instruments also incorporate design elements optimized for compactness and portability that allow them to be used to interpolate, maintain and disseminate radiance temperature scales as well as for inter-laboratory comparisons. The calibration of the RT900 at different fixed points demonstrate agreement to within 25 mK. The size of source effect (SSE) correction for a source with a 40-mm diameter has been measured to be as low as 0.01 %.
A new facility for the measurement of spectral emittance (emissivity) of materials that employs a set of blackbody sources is being built at NIST. This facility has also been used to investigate the capabilities of Fourier transform (FT) spectrometers to characterize the spectral emissivity of blackbody sources. The facility covers the spectral range of 1 μm to 20 μm and temperatures from 600 K to 1400 K. The principle of operation involves the spectral comparison of an unknown source with a group of variable temperature and fixed point reference sources by means of the FT spectrometer and filter radiometers. Sample surface temperature is measured by non-contact method using a sphere reflectometer. The current reflectometer setup allows measurements of opaque samples, but it is planned to include semitransparent materials at a later stage.
Incomplete hemispherical irradiation of the sample (or collection of radiation, in the reverse geometry) in an integrating sphere reflectometer is unavoidable due to sample viewing (or illumination) requirements. This means that one measures with nearly hemispherical irradiation and obtains a quantity that is not identical to the hemispherical/directional (or directional/hemispherical) reflectance factor (HDR) of the sample. The assumption that this quantity is identical to the HDR can lead to error in the measurement result, which is not generally corrected for.
The error, a.k.a. "port loss error", is minimal for comparative measurements of samples with similar reflective properties, but can easily amount to several percent for a diffuse vs. specular comparison and could be even higher for samples that exhibit strong forward scattering. Few papers in the literature have dealt with this issue, perhaps due to the existence of other larger sources of error.
Our approach to this problem has three elements: (1) establish a definition and set of equations that quantify the error due to incomplete irradiation of the sample due to the presence of the viewing port ("port loss" uncertainty); (2) develop algorithms and computer models to predict port loss effects for a specular-diffuse sphere coating and specular-diffuse (or more general bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF)) sample; (3) design a technique and instrumentation to allow routine direct measurements of port loss to correct the error; using reference standards such as an Al mirror and a polytetraflouroethylene (PTFE).
KEYWORDS: Black bodies, Temperature metrology, Solar concentrators, Nitrogen, Calibration, Liquids, Reflectors, Reflectivity, Monte Carlo methods, Mirrors
Radiation temperature calibrations of IR radiometers and imaging systems, pre-launch characterization of spaceborne optical sensors require low and medium-background test facilities, equipped with reference blackbodies for full aperture calibration. Such extended area blackbodies have been recently developed and characterized by VNIIOFI and Vega International, Inc. Target technical specifications for the low temperature blackbody include 100 mm full aperture, plus or minus 12 degrees viewing angles, 0.999 effective spectral emissivity in 3 micrometer to 15 micrometer band, 100 K to 450 K temperature range, 50 mK temperature uniformity across aperture and, finally, 30 mK temperature setting/measurement accuracy. Monte Carlo technique and finite element method were employed for computer modeling of temperature distributions and effective emissivities of radiating cavities consisting of V-grooved flat bottom and particularly profiled reflector. The design features and technical specifications of blackbodies, developed for operation in high vacuum conditions in the temperature range from 100 K to 900 K, are presented. Results of investigation confirm applicability of the selected approach, though leaving space for improvement of blackbodies performance. Main directions of further research and development are discussed.
KEYWORDS: Black bodies, Temperature metrology, Calibration, Solar concentrators, Nitrogen, Reflectivity, Liquids, Monte Carlo methods, Reflectors, Control systems
Two extended area reference blackbodies, covering temperature range from 100 K to 900 K, have been designed and built by VNIIOFI and Vega International, Inc., for German Institute of Space Sensor Technology. The design objectives were to develop Plankian sources for high accuracy IR calibrations; provide, where possible, both high vacuum and atmospheric operation capabilities for easier achievable calibration traceability; and attain compact design to serve as a portable transfer standard. Target technical specifications for the low temperature blackbody BB100 include 100 mm full aperture, +/- 12 degree viewing angles, 0.999 effective spectral emissivity in 3 micrometers to 15 micrometers band, 100 K to 450 K temperature range, 50 mK temperature uniformity across aperture and, finally, 30 mK temperature setting/measurement accuracy. An employed design was selected after conceptual design study, which involved extensive thermophysical modeling and optimization. A finite element method has been applied to calculation of temperature distribution. Effective emissivity simulation was realized by the Monte Carlo method. The result of computer modeling of temperature distributions and effective emissivity are presented. Both target specifications and results of BB characterization are provided. Results of investigation confirm validity of selected approach and assumptions. Possibilities of further improvement of blackbodies performance are discussed.
The present state of the art of temperature blackbody (HTBB) sources development at the All-Russian Institute for Optical and Physical Measurements (VNIIOFI, Russia) and their characteristics are analyzed. The precision graphite blackbody BB22p, operating now at NIST, PTB, NPL and VNIIOFI, large area blackbody BB2000 and super high temperature pyrolitic graphite blackbody BB3200pg are described. Results of their theoretical and experimental investigation are given.
The Monte Carlo method was applied to statistical modeling of radiometric properties of integrating spheres. According to employed model of reflectance, specular and diffuse components are approximated by polynomial function of incident angle cosine. Developed software allows to simulate the irradiance distribution over internal surfaces of sphere with relative uncertainty of 0.1%. Sphere geometries with arbitrary number of apertures and baffles of circular shapes are admitted. To illustrate capabilities of software, an irradiance distribution over internal surfaces of the integrating sphere is plotted for several cases of practical importance.
The design of filters with specific spectral characteristics is a requirement not only for the design of filter radiometers, but also for many applications in optical measurements. The most general type of absorptive filters are composite subtractive-additive filters and the general problem of filter radiometer spectral response optimization using such filters is formulated. The algorithm and software realization of constrained optimization for various objective functions with arbitrary weight functions are described. Successive random search and Hooke-Jeeves methods are employed in the optimization and several goodness-of-fit criteria are used for evaluation of the results. Illustrative numerical examples are presented.
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