%0 Journal Article
%T Performance Evaluation of an Infrared Thermocouple
%A Chiachung Chen
%A Yu-Kai Weng
%A Te-Ching Shen
%J Sensors
%D 2010
%I MDPI AG
%R 10.3390/s101110081
%X The measurement of the leaf temperature of forests or agricultural plants is an important technique for the monitoring of the physiological state of crops. The infrared thermometer is a convenient device due to its fast response and nondestructive measurement technique. Nowadays, a novel infrared thermocouple, developed with the same measurement principle of the infrared thermometer but using a different detector, has been commercialized for non-contact temperature measurement. The performances of two-kinds of infrared thermocouples were evaluated in this study. The standard temperature was maintained by a temperature calibrator and a special black cavity device. The results indicated that both types of infrared thermocouples had good precision. The error distribution ranged from £¿1.8£¿¡ãC to 18£¿¡ãC as the reading values served as the true values. Within the range from 13£¿¡ãC to 37£¿¡ãC, the adequate calibration equations were the high-order polynomial equations. Within the narrower range from 20£¿¡ãC to 35£¿¡ãC, the adequate equation was a linear equation for one sensor and a two-order polynomial equation for the other sensor. The accuracy of the two kinds of infrared thermocouple was improved by nearly 0.4£¿¡ãC with the calibration equations. These devices could serve as mobile monitoring tools for in situ and real time routine estimation of leaf temperatures.
%K infrared thermocouple
%K thermometer
%K calibration equation
%K leaf temperature
%U http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/10/11/10081