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Paper describing EMPIR research on a standard flame wins The International Journal of Thermophysics, 2020 Ared Cezairliyan Best Paper Award

The International Journal of Thermophysics 2020 Ared Cezairliyan Best Paper Award has been awarded to a paper entitled Validation of Emission Spectroscopy Gas Temperature Measurements Using a Standard Flame Traceable to the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90)

The paper describes work undertaken as part of two EMPIR projects:

• Enhancing process efficiency through improved temperature measurement (14IND04, EMPRESS). Most industrial processes such as steel production, gas turbines used for power generation, and waste incineration need to be maintained at a specific temperature to maximise efficiency; and accurate control of temperature ensures process efficiency. By improving temperature measurement techniques for selected applications, this completed project aimed to enhance the efficiency of high value manufacturing processes in terms of reduced wastage, improved yield, more consistent processing, increased intervals between sensor checks and maintenance, increased reliability, improved energy efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. These developments were trialled in-process at end users’ facilities to solve documented manufacturing problems in high value manufacturing environments and introduce in-situ traceability to the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90). A partnership between a commercial and academic project partner has been formed to develop a new double wall mineral insulated thermocouple, commercialisation of phosphor thermometry based products are being explored, and the portable standard flame is now an artefact available to end-users.

• Enhancing process efficiency through improved temperature measurement 2 (17IND04, EMPRESS 2). This project is building on the work of the first EMPRESS project to improve the accuracy of a range of thermometer types used in manufacturing, as well as undertaking validation of in-situ references standards for combustion flame temperature measurement. For industrial processes where surface temperatures can reach the 1300 ºC region, methods will be developed with target levels of uncertainty less than 3 ºC, the measurements traceable to standards held by NMI laboratories. With better product uniformity resulting from improved temperature control, European manufacturers will be able to achieve greater efficiency through reduced wastage costs.

The Cezairliyan Award recognises that the paper, published in 2019 in the International Journal of Thermophysics, is judged to make a significant advance in the field of thermophysics. The certificate was presented at the Awards Ceremony of the European Conference on Thermophysical Properties, that took place on 27th November 2020.

The authors of the paper, all part of the EMPIR project consortia, were:

• Prof Gavin Sutton, NPL 
• Dr Alexander Fateev, Technical University of Denmark
• Dr Miguel A. Rodríguez‑Conejo, Dr Juan Meléndez, and Dr Guillermo Guarnizo, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M)

Prof Gavin Sutton from NPL said

‘It is a great honour to receive this prestigious award. The EMPIR EMPRESS and EMPRESS 2 projects provided the perfect mechanism to develop NPL’s standard flame facility to provide an unprecedented low level of uncertainty (0.5 % of temperature) for the in-situ validation of combustion thermometry instruments more commonly found in the R&D and industrial environments. Work with the standard flame currently continues in EMPRESS 2, to provide traceable calibration of two combustion thermometry systems – FTIR and hyperspectral imaging, with the ultimate goal of reducing emissions and costs, and increasing combustion efficiency in both the manufacturing and power generation environments.’

These EMPIR projects are co-funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the EMPIR Participating States.

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