Calibration methods and uncertainties estimation of WEST infrared thermography diagnostics

Abstract

This paper presents the method toward quantifying the global uncertainty on the blackbody temperature measurement from the infrared (IR) diagnostics of WEST. To address this goal, the main functional elements of the IR diagnostics are identified. Then the temperature calibration and calculation principles are presented and analysed to extract the main potential uncertainty contributors, such as the optical transmission coefficients and their stray lights, or the accuracy of temperature references used for calibration. These contributors are individually estimated, or experimentally measured when a supposed effect on the overall uncertainty is identified, like environmental conditions or parasitic radiations. In particular, effects of environmental temperature on the transmission lines and camera is thoroughly studied. All contributions are then aggregated in the uncertainty propagation calculation and results in an overall temperature uncertainty versus the temperature estimation. The uncertainty is in the range of 5–10% for blackbody temperatures above 200 °C, and progressively worsens when temperature decreases.