Message Board Thread - "Best marking to put on tank for IR level measurement"

Title	By	Posted On
Best marking to put on tank for IR level measurement	IRfriend	6/15/2004
What is the best color or material to put on a tank to be able to use an IR photo of the tank to see the feet and inches of material in the tank? I thought black would work best on a white tank but tests have shown that black does not work real well. Would reflective tape would well? Does anyone have any experience with this? BBlack Calvert City, KY
Re:Best marking to put on tank for IR level measurement	Thermoimagen	6/15/2004
put a strip of electrical black tape from top to bottom. color does not affect. Best time to check levels are: morning or evening, please not at Noon .. good luck.
Re:Best marking to put on tank for IR level measurement	IRfriend	6/16/2004
Let me further explain my question. I would like to mark our tanks with a line at every foot mark on the side of my tank. What is the best way for these feet markings to show up in the IR image of the side of my tank? I would like to take an IR image of the side of my tank and be able to read where the liquid level is in relation to the feet markings on the side of tank.
Re:Best marking to put on tank for IR level measurement	JKEngineer	6/16/2004
You need a high emissivity tape in the vertical direction if the outside of the tank is either low emittance or non-uniform. If the tank is uniform and emissive, then skip the vertical stripe. For level indicators use horizontal pieces of a material with significantly different emissivity than the tank, such as reflective tape or stripes of reflective paint (like a silver metallic). Silver duct tape, aluminum foil, aluminum faced tape will all work. Jack Jack M. Kleinfeld, P.E. Kleinfeld Technical Services, Inc. Infrared Thermography, Finite Element Analysis, Process Engineering Bronx, NY 10463 718-884-6644 866-884-6644 toll free 212-214-0919 fax and voice mail JKEngineer@aol.com or JKEngineer@KleinfeldTechnical.com come see what we can do for you: http://www.KleinfeldTechnical.com
Re:Best marking to put on tank for IR level measurement	Jim T.	7/7/2004
My experience is that there is not enough difference in paint emissivities to achieve what you are looking for. Most paints are already at 0.85 to 0.95, so you are unlikely to find a paint that would make the level marker look "hot". Your best bet is to use bare shinny metal (ie. very low emissivity). I've often used a piece of aluminum furnace duct tape to attache temperature sensors in my field of view. The shinny aluminum tape has a very low emissivity, and is very easy to see in the IR image. If you want a more permanent setup, maybe attach polished aluminum plates to the exterior of your tank instead of tape.